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OTDOD - 1-6-9 Interesting Reading Edition

Tiny by Faux on Comment 948 comments

With the coming of spring (actually the accumulation of too much shit), I've been bit by the cleaning bug. After 500$ made on Craigslist, and half a closet and a good chunk of the garage now clear to fill with more junk, I've turned my attention to the numerous bookshelves in my apartment with an eye on clearing them out to give myself a chance to use my Amazon gift cards to the fullest.

What does this mean for LL? An old-fashioned book discussion, of course. I'm going to use this opportunity to tell you about some of my most read items, list a few books I'm looking forward to reading, and I invite all of you to do the same.

Books I've read repeatedly, and urge you to as well:
1421-The Year China Discovered America
The Omnivore's Dilemma
Capitalism 3.0
Rum: A Social and Sociable History of the Real Spirit of 1776
I won't bore you with my many Fantasy/SciFi recommendations.

Books I'm looking forward to reading:
1434 (Followup to 1421)
Wikinomics
The Wisdom of Crowds
In Defense of Food: An Eater's Manifesto

And finally, a couple interesting links I've found on our sister sites:
How the 40 Man Roster Works (From BCB)
Interesting NYTimes story on Risk Management (Orig Posted on BTB)

0 recs  |  Comment 948 comments

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Read More: obligatory seattlebruin tag, obligatory sorry nola tag, brianl thinks jeff is awesome and you should worship him, whoever controls the pretzels controls the universe, girls reading is hot, so are girls wearing glasses, i was not told there would be cake, old school tags

Comments

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It's been so long since I've made the time to read that I don't even know what I'd like anymore

This saddens me. I used to be on the several books per week program all through school. I even took a speed reading class to make it easier to process info faster so I could get to more books. I need to try out a few and get back into it and try to find something that I would like

HA HA HA, your Grandpa's an ASS!- Tourette's Guy (R.I.P)

by tootthekazoo on Jan 6, 2009 9:00 AM PST reply actions   0 recs

If history is your thing, I can't rec 1421 or Rum enough.

Otherwise, I’m sure someone could give some good ones based on your interests.

It's hard to convince people to let you eat them if you're an asshole. - Thingray

by Faux on Jan 6, 2009 9:04 AM PST up reply actions   0 recs

I do love history

I’ll have to check those out. Now that I have normal work hours I can curl down with a good book to unwind every night, which I’ve been missing out on for many years

HA HA HA, your Grandpa's an ASS!- Tourette's Guy (R.I.P)

by tootthekazoo on Jan 6, 2009 9:13 AM PST up reply actions   0 recs

Following up with another history recomendation.

Check out Tragedy and Hope by Carol Quigly. It’s fascinating reading.

by JMKaustin on Jan 6, 2009 10:41 AM PST up reply actions   0 recs

So living in an apartment is really nice

I don’t have a clue as to how to cook however. Does anybody have neat easy recipe ideas that are cookable in small batches beyond the basics like sandwiches

Determined, Jonesing Commentor | Proud proprietor of Wyomingroutes.org & Washingtonhighways.org

by I'm NOT Corco on Jan 6, 2009 9:04 AM PST reply actions   0 recs

Four words - Contact Grill and Steaks

Other than that, chilis, soups, and stir-frys (ies?) are great for one person. And if you make a bunch of soup or chili, it handles well for freezing or refrigeration.

Although this might be more of a question for RC or NOLA.

It's hard to convince people to let you eat them if you're an asshole. - Thingray

by Faux on Jan 6, 2009 9:08 AM PST up reply actions   0 recs

Sounds like Corco just needs a food processor.

And a Costco bucket of mayo.

It's hard to convince people to let you eat them if you're an asshole. - Thingray

by Faux on Jan 6, 2009 9:51 AM PST up reply actions   0 recs

and some stray swine

I DRINK YOUR MILKSHAKE!!! I DRINK IT UP!!

by abender20 on Jan 6, 2009 9:52 AM PST up reply actions   0 recs

I just like substantial food

As long as it’s filling I’ll eat it

Determined, Jonesing Commentor | Proud proprietor of Wyomingroutes.org & Washingtonhighways.org

by I'm NOT Corco on Jan 6, 2009 11:31 AM PST up reply actions   0 recs

I'll agree with you on this, but ham salad still sounds pretty nasty.

But then again I don’t like chicken salad or anything like that anyway.

Man do I love midgets.

by Thingray on Jan 6, 2009 11:35 AM PST up reply actions   0 recs

What exactly is ham salad?

I figured it was just like chicken salad but with ham, or maybe tuna salad but with ham.

But I was telling gf about your obsession with ham salad and she asked me what it is. She’s a trained chef. I figure if ham salad’s a thing she should know about it.

I like using semi-colons; they make me feel smart.

by Llewdor on Jan 6, 2009 12:12 PM PST up reply actions   0 recs

Just Shake and Bake everything

HA HA HA, your Grandpa's an ASS!- Tourette's Guy (R.I.P)

by tootthekazoo on Jan 6, 2009 9:14 AM PST up reply actions   0 recs

I do like Shake and Bake

Determined, Jonesing Commentor | Proud proprietor of Wyomingroutes.org & Washingtonhighways.org

by I'm NOT Corco on Jan 6, 2009 9:18 AM PST up reply actions   0 recs

I grew up on the stuff

All my dad ever cooked was Shake and Bake and French Toast. Mom got off of work later so we never got any real food unless I took the initiative, but that goes back to the procrastination discussion from yesterday

HA HA HA, your Grandpa's an ASS!- Tourette's Guy (R.I.P)

by tootthekazoo on Jan 6, 2009 9:22 AM PST up reply actions   0 recs

You're no fun

HA HA HA, your Grandpa's an ASS!- Tourette's Guy (R.I.P)

by tootthekazoo on Jan 6, 2009 9:51 AM PST up reply actions   0 recs

Yeah, it's in my top 3 of things I take seriously.

I have never had Shake n Bake outside of Ricky Bobby, and I never will.

I DRINK YOUR MILKSHAKE!!! I DRINK IT UP!!

by abender20 on Jan 6, 2009 9:55 AM PST up reply actions   0 recs

Shake n Bake is delicious though

I’m having Shake n Bake porkchops for dinner tonight since nobody gave me better recipes before going to the store

I’ll do Jeff’s thing tomorrow

Determined, Jonesing Commentor | Proud proprietor of Wyomingroutes.org & Washingtonhighways.org

by I'm NOT Corco on Jan 6, 2009 12:06 PM PST up reply actions   0 recs

Shake and Bake porkchops was like 5 times a month at my house growing up.

Soooo good

HA HA HA, your Grandpa's an ASS!- Tourette's Guy (R.I.P)

by tootthekazoo on Jan 6, 2009 12:08 PM PST up reply actions   0 recs

I'd recommend Betty Crocker's Slow Cooker cookbook.

Just picked up a slow cooker on sale at Lowe’s, cookbook at Barnes & Noble, got the whole shebang for right at twenty bucks. Really really really wish I had one of these when I was a bachelor. Short and sweet prep times, throw it in the pot, pretty much covers it.

Formerly dpseadvr.

by Kermit. on Jan 6, 2009 12:10 PM PST up reply actions   0 recs

I love my crock pot

I’ve made some amazing things in it. Corned beef and cabbage is one of my specialties with it.

by coolguyrob on Jan 6, 2009 12:12 PM PST up reply actions   0 recs

Sauerbraten.

One of the most flavourful things you will ever make in your crock pot.

I like using semi-colons; they make me feel smart.

by Llewdor on Jan 6, 2009 12:13 PM PST up reply actions   0 recs

Yep, done that one too.

Another really easy one is to throw sauerkraut, brats and beer in it and cook on slow until you can’t wait anymore. So good.

by coolguyrob on Jan 6, 2009 12:15 PM PST up reply actions   0 recs

This is exactly why I wish I had it as a bachelor.

Divvy up those extras in ziplocs and there’s my microwave nights.

I think I need 2 of these slow cookers though, the desert stuff is pretty good, but it would be nice to have it all ready at the same time.

Formerly dpseadvr.

by Kermit. on Jan 6, 2009 12:21 PM PST up reply actions   0 recs

Get yourself a rice cooker and a george foreman grill

bento (or other sort of grilled chicken over rice, whatever) whenever you want, and the rice cooker will steam veggies as well.

Nice Guys Finish Third - Hopelessly lost, but makin' good time.

by pdb on Jan 6, 2009 10:35 AM PST up reply actions   0 recs

I got a cook book this christmas with quite a few easy recipes

It’s called A man, A can, a plan. It uses mostly canned for for simple recipes and some of the canned goods could be replaced with fresh stuff if you wish. I haven’t tried out any recipes out of it yet but it seems like it might have a lot of good apartment/budget recipes.

by Willie Mays Haze on Jan 6, 2009 10:43 AM PST up reply actions   0 recs

oh I greatly dislike that book

it presupposes that guys can never be trusted to cook anything that requires more than one pot. Books like this are much more useful and produce better food with not that much more effort. This one’s also good because in addition to a bunch of really easy recipes it also contains a list of things to keep in your kitchen so that you can always cook something decent.

Nice Guys Finish Third - Hopelessly lost, but makin' good time.

by pdb on Jan 6, 2009 10:47 AM PST up reply actions   0 recs

A Man, A Can never tries to get guys past "I'm too lazy to cook"

whereas the other ones teach you a bit in a pretty painless way.

Nice Guys Finish Third - Hopelessly lost, but makin' good time.

by pdb on Jan 6, 2009 10:57 AM PST up reply actions   0 recs

Can of chili + can of cheese soup = dip

That kind of thing?

Man do I love midgets.

by Thingray on Jan 6, 2009 11:03 AM PST up reply actions   0 recs

it's a little past that but that's the general idea

more like “can of spaghetti + can of beans = CHILI!” sort of thing.

Nice Guys Finish Third - Hopelessly lost, but makin' good time.

by pdb on Jan 6, 2009 11:04 AM PST up reply actions   0 recs

Somebody made a book about that kind of stuff and it actually sells?

That sounds like the kind of thing that somebody would make on accident while drunk or something (and yes I know that chili can be made that way, but my point still stands)

HA HA HA, your Grandpa's an ASS!- Tourette's Guy (R.I.P)

by tootthekazoo on Jan 6, 2009 11:14 AM PST up reply actions   0 recs

What I meant to say was...

Huh, I’ll have to check out those books. I’m a moderately decent cook so a little more effort in the kitchen is no prob. Like I said hadn’t tried any recipes out of " A man…." but I can se what yer sayin’

by Willie Mays Haze on Jan 6, 2009 10:57 AM PST up reply actions   0 recs

If you're already a moderately decent cook

then you’re really already past “a man, a can”. I don’t know why that book bugs me so much but I think it’s because I hate to be assumed to be stupid or lazy based on my gender.

Nice Guys Finish Third - Hopelessly lost, but makin' good time.

by pdb on Jan 6, 2009 11:00 AM PST up reply actions   0 recs

I get that

And I kinda felt like I was past the recipes when I got the book. But since it was a gift I figured I’d give a couple recipes a go. Plus my living situation is kinda in flux right now so buying canned food for later recipes seemed like not a bad idea.

by Willie Mays Haze on Jan 6, 2009 11:04 AM PST up reply actions   0 recs

"My living situation is kinda in flux"

That doesn’t sound good.

Man do I love midgets.

by Thingray on Jan 6, 2009 11:06 AM PST up reply actions   0 recs

It's not bad

I recently moved out of my mad house in Seattle to my aunt’s in Spokane to go to school. But I dunno how long I’m gonna stay there before I find my own apt or house. Hence the “in flux” part.

by Willie Mays Haze on Jan 6, 2009 11:11 AM PST up reply actions   0 recs

I guess it kinda did

Now that I re-read that. Luckily I’m not one of the hobos quite yet

by Willie Mays Haze on Jan 6, 2009 11:14 AM PST up reply actions   0 recs

A hobo is a dangerous thing to be around here.

Certain members of LL are well known as hobo punchers.

Man do I love midgets.

by Thingray on Jan 6, 2009 11:17 AM PST up reply actions   0 recs

So I've read

That’s why I clarified that I was not a hobo lest I get punched

by Willie Mays Haze on Jan 6, 2009 11:18 AM PST up reply actions   0 recs

Willie Mays Haze.

Not a hobo.

Man do I love midgets.

by Thingray on Jan 6, 2009 11:21 AM PST up reply actions   0 recs

Most definitely not

Though I have been called a bum due to my lack of car. But not at all a hobo

by Willie Mays Haze on Jan 6, 2009 11:25 AM PST up reply actions   0 recs

Bum.

Man do I love midgets.

by Thingray on Jan 6, 2009 11:36 AM PST up reply actions   0 recs

yeah...

I hope to rectify this situation when get my two tax returns (I never filed for ‘06). I get the feeling that spokane isn’t as bus/pedestrian friendly like seattle is.

by Willie Mays Haze on Jan 6, 2009 11:39 AM PST up reply actions   0 recs

Or a taun-taun

but yeah there is a shit-ton of snow over here. They had over 6 feet fall in december. The not so fun part about the snow? It’s supposed to get up past 40 and rain later this week. That could spell flooding and I live not to far the river. “When the levee breaks got no place to stay.”

by Willie Mays Haze on Jan 6, 2009 11:43 AM PST up reply actions   0 recs

Sweet Zepplin reference.

Or whatever blues artist they stole it from. My brother sent me pictures from the L&I office over there, and it’s like walking through a snow cave just to get in the front door.

Man do I love midgets.

by Thingray on Jan 6, 2009 11:48 AM PST up reply actions   0 recs

Hahaha

So true about Zep.

Funny thing about the snow is some of it has already melted and there is still more than I’ve ever seen in a major city.

by Willie Mays Haze on Jan 6, 2009 11:52 AM PST up reply actions   0 recs

Good point.

Must be a busy man.

Man do I love midgets.

by Thingray on Jan 6, 2009 12:50 PM PST up reply actions   0 recs

Out of town, I believe

HA HA HA, your Grandpa's an ASS!- Tourette's Guy (R.I.P)

by tootthekazoo on Jan 6, 2009 1:36 PM PST up reply actions   0 recs

That would make sense.

Hope it’s somewhere warm.

Man do I love midgets.

by Thingray on Jan 6, 2009 1:38 PM PST up reply actions   0 recs

Simple

Sautee together:

-chopped onions
-chopped peppers
-garlic
-chopped or grated potatoes

If desired, add:

-egg
-strips of meat or dollops of sausage

Takes 10-15 minutes, smells great, fills you up, isn’t unhealthy.

by Jeff on Jan 6, 2009 11:33 AM PST up reply actions   0 recs

Mmmmm....

Sounds like tasty breakfast to me!

Man do I love midgets.

by Thingray on Jan 6, 2009 11:37 AM PST up reply actions   0 recs

Food bank.

I like using semi-colons; they make me feel smart.

by Llewdor on Jan 6, 2009 1:03 PM PST up reply actions   0 recs

The food bank was snowed in?

Or the “meals on wheels” didn’t show up?

Man do I love midgets.

by Thingray on Jan 6, 2009 1:05 PM PST up reply actions   0 recs

Im not fasting either, so it's probably not Yom Kippur.

Maybe he is having a colonoscopy this afternoon

I DRINK YOUR MILKSHAKE!!! I DRINK IT UP!!

by abender20 on Jan 6, 2009 1:08 PM PST up reply actions   0 recs

This begs a question.

Why, if not eating at all is fasting, is overeating not called slowing?

by Sec 108 on Jan 6, 2009 1:55 PM PST up reply actions   0 recs

As a person who has been known to overeat in the past,

it may not be called slowing, but it is still just that in many ways.

It's hard to convince people to let you eat them if you're an asshole. - Thingray

by Faux on Jan 6, 2009 1:56 PM PST up reply actions   0 recs

1 lb. ground beef.

1 large white onion.
1/3 jar of hot curry powder.
1/4 white flour
1/4 cup of salt (you need a lot of salt for this).
1 cup water

Brown the beef, and the stir in the chopped onions. Cook that until the onions are transparent.

Then add the water. Stir in the flour and the curry powder and cook everything on medium heat (stirring regularly) until it’s all the same colour and most of the water is gone. Then stir in the salt. Make sure you distribute it evenly.

Serve on rice.

Flavourful, hearty, and it has a nice spicy kick to it.

I like using semi-colons; they make me feel smart.

by Llewdor on Jan 6, 2009 1:01 PM PST up reply actions   0 recs

Hearty.

As in: “that much sodium can’t be good for your heart”.

Man do I love midgets.

by Thingray on Jan 6, 2009 1:06 PM PST up reply actions   0 recs

I've never actually measured it.

I just keep adding salt until it tastes right, but it feels like I’m adding a whole shitload of salt.

This is will feed at least two people, though.

If you don’t add enough salt the flavour is really flat. Shallow, even. There’s a thin veneer of flavour and then nothing beneath it. The salt really brings out the depth of flavour both from the curry and the beef.

I like using semi-colons; they make me feel smart.

by Llewdor on Jan 6, 2009 1:07 PM PST up reply actions   0 recs

As do I.

I’m picturing myself adding a measured 1/4 cup of salt to the recipe and it just seems like way, way too much.

by coolguyrob on Jan 6, 2009 1:09 PM PST up reply actions   0 recs

might try measuring the curry powder before offering that amount.

Jars vary in size.

I DRINK YOUR MILKSHAKE!!! I DRINK IT UP!!

by abender20 on Jan 6, 2009 1:08 PM PST up reply actions   0 recs

Pan fried noodles

Obtain a package of rice noodles or, failing that if you’re living in the boonies, egg noodles, and cook according to directions.
Get a wok or frying pan really hot. Add seseme, peanut or, if you must, veg oil. Not olive. When the oil is hot, throw in about a pound of chicken breast, cut into bite sized pieces, and cook about 3-5 minutes depending how hot you got your pan. Push the chicken to the side, throw in a couple of cloves of garlic, chopped up, and some chili pepper flakes. Add broccoli if you would like. Stir a couple minutes, then throw in the noodles. Stir for about two minutes, then add two tablespoons of soy sauce. Stir one minute, squeeze a lime over, and dig in.

by NOLAmarinergirl on Jan 6, 2009 1:38 PM PST up reply actions   0 recs

I'm contemplating THAT for dinner.

I’d need to go get rice noodles though, or settle for egg noodles. Could I use ramen noodles instead?

Man do I love midgets.

by Thingray on Jan 6, 2009 1:43 PM PST up reply actions   0 recs

Hmm...

I need to do this right the first time. I’ll go get some rice noodles.

Man do I love midgets.

by Thingray on Jan 6, 2009 2:40 PM PST up reply actions   0 recs

I just had bacon and eggs for dinner.

Which was good but after reading your idea I feel totally let down.

by coolguyrob on Jan 6, 2009 1:45 PM PST up reply actions   0 recs

I'm excited

because I just signed up for organic vegetable delivery. Every Monday, a box of “between 14-16” delicious local vegetables will appear on our doorstep. This is awesome.

Nice Guys Finish Third - Hopelessly lost, but makin' good time.

by pdb on Jan 6, 2009 1:46 PM PST up reply actions   0 recs

One the great things about living in Europe is all of the fresh fruit and veggie markets all over the place.

Though if they would bring them right to my door for my that would be most cool as well!

by coolguyrob on Jan 6, 2009 1:48 PM PST up reply actions   0 recs

I get that too. It's pretty fun.

I get one vegetable a week that I have never cooked with before, so I can figure out what to do with it. (I’m almost out of vegetables I have never cooked with)

by royalcurve on Jan 6, 2009 1:54 PM PST up reply actions   0 recs

The cool thing with this is that we don't get to choose

they just send us what’s been harvested that week, which will force some menu flexibility.

Nice Guys Finish Third - Hopelessly lost, but makin' good time.

by pdb on Jan 6, 2009 1:55 PM PST up reply actions   0 recs

Well, we do get to choose...

OrganicsToGo/Spud is fantastic. They’re actually up in Seattle (Spud) and bought out our local delivery company (OrganicsToGo), and we just re-signed up now that we’re more established in the new house.

This signature space for rent.

by PositivePaul on Jan 6, 2009 3:32 PM PST up reply actions   0 recs

Tonight: tofu!

Obtain a block of tofu. Open, drain, put on a plate, cover with a paper town, and place something heavy on it like a book. Let that squeeze the water out for about 30 minutes.

Marinate the tofu in stuff: garlic, ginger, green onion, a little soy, some Sambal or other Chili paste/sauce, and a little sesame oil.

Chop up some red bell pepper, bamboo shoots, chinese broccoli, and on choy.

Get a wok freaking with some veggie oil. Drop in the tofu for about 2-4 minutes then stop and drain the oil. Throw the veggies in, add some hoisin+chili garlic+soy, or buy a bottle of some sauce if you are lazy. Eat it over rice.

I DRINK YOUR MILKSHAKE!!! I DRINK IT UP!!

by abender20 on Jan 6, 2009 1:47 PM PST up reply actions   0 recs

Never could get into the tofu stuff.

It’s just filler to me. Add chicken, and now you’re talking.

Man do I love midgets.

by Thingray on Jan 6, 2009 1:49 PM PST up reply actions   0 recs

Tofu prepared right is as good as meat.

I’m not a vegetarian, but it is actually a nice change of pace. To make it more interesting, dredge the tofu cubes in flour and corn starch, then fry it.

I DRINK YOUR MILKSHAKE!!! I DRINK IT UP!!

by abender20 on Jan 6, 2009 1:50 PM PST up reply actions   0 recs

The trick is to fry it in beef lard.

It's hard to convince people to let you eat them if you're an asshole. - Thingray

by Faux on Jan 6, 2009 1:55 PM PST up reply actions   0 recs

Lard is from pigs.

If it’s from cows it’s called tallow.

I like using semi-colons; they make me feel smart.

by Llewdor on Jan 6, 2009 4:06 PM PST up reply actions   0 recs

Learn something new every day.

It's hard to convince people to let you eat them if you're an asshole. - Thingray

by Faux on Jan 6, 2009 4:07 PM PST up reply actions   0 recs

I think viewing it as a substitue for meat is where things go wrong.

I don’t get a craving for beef that can be satisfied by tofu, but I don’t get cravings for tofu that can be satisfied by beef either.

by acblue on Jan 6, 2009 1:55 PM PST up reply actions   0 recs

correct. I use it as another protein source to cook with and not instead of meat.

A good Mapo Tofu is one of my favorite foods period.

I DRINK YOUR MILKSHAKE!!! I DRINK IT UP!!

by abender20 on Jan 6, 2009 1:57 PM PST up reply actions   0 recs

Keep experimenting

Add a bit of fish sauce one time. Or rice wine vinegar and sugar or mirin. Or ginger. everything’s better with ginger.

Ginger freezes well, by the way.

by marc w on Jan 6, 2009 2:45 PM PST up reply actions   0 recs

I like good food

Determined, Jonesing Commentor | Proud proprietor of Wyomingroutes.org & Washingtonhighways.org

by I'm NOT Corco on Jan 6, 2009 2:45 PM PST up reply actions   0 recs

I'm so good at cooking I forgot to use a potholder

My left hand hurts

Determined, Jonesing Commentor | Proud proprietor of Wyomingroutes.org & Washingtonhighways.org

by I'm NOT Corco on Jan 6, 2009 4:29 PM PST up reply actions   0 recs

Two books everyone should read:

World War Z by Max Brooks. Arguably the best zombie book ever written. The faux non-fiction style is a unique approach and really leads to an immersive experience that you will never forget.

Anansi Boys by Neil Gaiman. This is my favorite novel of all time. I absolutely devoured it in a single sitting because I literally could not put it down. While it is a pseudo sequel to his novel American Gods, you do not need to read the first one to enjoy Anansi Boys.

Fear the NPE

by thewyrm on Jan 6, 2009 9:06 AM PST reply actions   0 recs

I liked American Gods better, to tell the truth.

Mr. Wednesday is easily one of my favorite characters in any book I’ve read.

It's hard to convince people to let you eat them if you're an asshole. - Thingray

by Faux on Jan 6, 2009 9:11 AM PST up reply actions   0 recs

I like it when my books jump around.

Not in a Robert Jordan sort of way with going from character to character, but in a Piers Anthony plot change way.

It's hard to convince people to let you eat them if you're an asshole. - Thingray

by Faux on Jan 6, 2009 9:20 AM PST up reply actions   0 recs

They are both great, but for different reasons.

I just prefer Gaiman’s more whimsical stories to the more dramatic ones.

Fear the NPE

by thewyrm on Jan 6, 2009 9:23 AM PST up reply actions   0 recs

Which reminds me, Firefly by Piers Anthony.

I love this book. It’s such a disturbing read, in a Oldboy sort of way, but ultimately a great story with well drawn out characters and an awesome ending.

Warning, not safe for the squeamish types, it contains a lot of bizarre sexual stuff that’s not everyone would want to read.

It's hard to convince people to let you eat them if you're an asshole. - Thingray

by Faux on Jan 6, 2009 9:26 AM PST up reply actions   0 recs

That feeling in your stomach while watching the credits roll on Oldboy is something you never forget.

My only response to that film was to let out an audible whimpering “Ugh.” when it was over.

Fear the NPE

by thewyrm on Jan 6, 2009 11:23 AM PST up reply actions   0 recs

Oh my God, I used to read everything and anything by Piers Anthony when I was a kid.

I swear I had an entire bookcase full of his stuff.

Man do I love midgets.

by Thingray on Jan 6, 2009 11:25 AM PST up reply actions   0 recs

I think Piers Anthony holds the record for most puns.

27 books and counting in the Xanth series.

"Beer is ... love ..." Ben Franklin

by Jed MC on Jan 6, 2009 11:35 AM PST up reply actions   0 recs

That thing is still going?

Crazy.

Man do I love midgets.

by Thingray on Jan 6, 2009 11:37 AM PST up reply actions   0 recs

I was talking with one of the writers at BioWare and he said

“I find it hard to believe I ever liked Piers Anthony.”

I like using semi-colons; they make me feel smart.

by Llewdor on Jan 6, 2009 11:42 AM PST up reply actions   0 recs

This isn't really like anything else Piers Anthony.

It's hard to convince people to let you eat them if you're an asshole. - Thingray

by Faux on Jan 6, 2009 11:57 AM PST up reply actions   0 recs

World War Z the movie is due in 2010

with Marc Forster (Monster’s Ball, Finding Neverland, Quantum of Solace) directing.

Nice Guys Finish Third - Hopelessly lost, but makin' good time.

by pdb on Jan 6, 2009 10:36 AM PST up reply actions   0 recs

I loved World War Z

That was one of those books that just took me over and I finished it in a couple days. I also enjoyed The Zombie Survival Guide quite a bit. It wasn’t near as immersive as WWZ. But as someone who has for years looked a structures and wondered what it would take to zombie-proof them this book was right up my alley.

Another good not-your-standard horror book is The Undead and Philosophy. It examines what exactly scares us about vampires, zombies, etc. I also enjoy their take on whether or not it’s murder to kill a vampire.

by Willie Mays Haze on Jan 6, 2009 11:10 AM PST up reply actions   0 recs

I mentioned this in yesterday's thread

but I’m currently reading Running the Table: The Legend of Kid Delicious, the Last Great American Pool Hustler. I don’t enjoy playing or watching billiards particularly, but the way this book is written, and Kid Delicious’ engaging personality makes it VERY enjoyable.

by Phildopip on Jan 6, 2009 9:07 AM PST reply actions   0 recs

I'm just glad someone reads the tags still besides me.

It's hard to convince people to let you eat them if you're an asshole. - Thingray

by Faux on Jan 6, 2009 9:16 AM PST up reply actions   0 recs

Girls reading IS hot.

I’m just glad I’m not the only one who apparently gets more turned on by the library scene than the bar scene.

by Omerta on Jan 6, 2009 9:19 AM PST up reply actions   0 recs

Hot girls go to libraries?

Where have I been all my life?

I’m off to the library

Determined, Jonesing Commentor | Proud proprietor of Wyomingroutes.org & Washingtonhighways.org

by I'm NOT Corco on Jan 6, 2009 9:21 AM PST up reply actions   0 recs

I think you're mixing cause and effect.

Hot girls don’t necessarily read, but the act of reading makes a girl hot.

It's hard to convince people to let you eat them if you're an asshole. - Thingray

by Faux on Jan 6, 2009 9:22 AM PST up reply actions   0 recs

The act of reading does make a girl hot

I just never drew the connection that fiinding those girls involved going to the library and not getting plastered and running around being crazy

Determined, Jonesing Commentor | Proud proprietor of Wyomingroutes.org & Washingtonhighways.org

by I'm NOT Corco on Jan 6, 2009 9:24 AM PST up reply actions   0 recs

Book stores are also a great place to find college women.

Wander the aisles and ask every check there for recommendations. It’s the perfect conversation starter.

It also makes for cheap dates at coffee shops and bookstores.

It's hard to convince people to let you eat them if you're an asshole. - Thingray

by Faux on Jan 6, 2009 9:34 AM PST up reply actions   0 recs

I do like cheap

Determined, Jonesing Commentor | Proud proprietor of Wyomingroutes.org & Washingtonhighways.org

by I'm NOT Corco on Jan 6, 2009 9:35 AM PST up reply actions   0 recs

Warning! You may have to read books and somewhat know what you are talking about.

It's hard to convince people to let you eat them if you're an asshole. - Thingray

by Faux on Jan 6, 2009 9:38 AM PST up reply actions   0 recs

It's always worked in the past

dumb girls think I’m really incredibly smart

Smart ones think I’m an idiot

Determined, Jonesing Commentor | Proud proprietor of Wyomingroutes.org & Washingtonhighways.org

by I'm NOT Corco on Jan 6, 2009 12:04 PM PST up reply actions   0 recs

I hope so

It’s a boring act

Determined, Jonesing Commentor | Proud proprietor of Wyomingroutes.org & Washingtonhighways.org

by I'm NOT Corco on Jan 6, 2009 12:08 PM PST up reply actions   0 recs

Not sure how that became check.

But it was chick.

It's hard to convince people to let you eat them if you're an asshole. - Thingray

by Faux on Jan 6, 2009 9:36 AM PST up reply actions   0 recs

Pistol Pete. (biography)

Must-read. It’s fantastic.

Big Z is the MAN.

by Taylor H on Jan 6, 2009 9:17 AM PST reply actions   0 recs

Fuck Utah for keeping the name Jazz.

So glad Pistol’s jersey still hangs in the rafters in New Orleans where it belongs.

Fear the NPE

by thewyrm on Jan 6, 2009 9:26 AM PST up reply actions   0 recs

Anything by John Feinstein

I particularly enjoyed The Last Amateurs

by seattlebruin on Jan 6, 2009 9:19 AM PST reply actions   0 recs

I haven't read The Omnivore's Dilemma, but I read In Defense of Food.

I liked it a lot. Made me want to move into the mountains and never go to a grocery store again. A friend of mine helped Pollan with fact-checking and other stuff when she was a grad student at Cal.

by Teej on Jan 6, 2009 9:20 AM PST reply actions   0 recs

Music Recs:

So Graham mentioning Emily Haines in yesterday’s OT led me to check her out and discovered her band Metric which I absolutely love. Amazing the things you can discover here. So what I propose is this: Everyone mention one band they love that may be a little obscure and you think people need to hear more of. I’ll start it off.

Better Than Ezra. They had a few radio hits in the early 90’s but never really hit it off mainstream. Kevin Griffin is a great lyricist and songwriter who writes music for others as a day job so he can keep making BTE records despite not selling in large amounts. He is also one hell of a showman if you are ever fortunate enough to see them live.

Check them out here

Fear the NPE

by thewyrm on Jan 6, 2009 9:21 AM PST reply actions   0 recs

Love Better Than Ezra.

Put Dishwalla and Toad the Wet Sprocket on the list.

by Wilder. on Jan 6, 2009 11:09 AM PST up reply actions   0 recs

Make sure you follow The Wisdom of Crowds with

Extraordinary Popular Delusions and the Madness of Crowds by Charles MacKay. It was first published in 1841, and it isn’t entirely historically accurate, but there’s still an important message in there.

I like using semi-colons; they make me feel smart.

by Llewdor on Jan 6, 2009 9:24 AM PST reply actions   0 recs

On the list.

I keep reading the Malcom Gladwell type books, waiting for something to hit me from them. So I’m looking for a change of pace.

It's hard to convince people to let you eat them if you're an asshole. - Thingray

by Faux on Jan 6, 2009 9:28 AM PST up reply actions   0 recs

Or I should say, on the list now.

It's hard to convince people to let you eat them if you're an asshole. - Thingray

by Faux on Jan 6, 2009 9:35 AM PST up reply actions   0 recs

In Defense of Food is not as good as Omnivore's Dilemma, but it makes a quality followup.

The Rum book looks like one I need to put on my “to-read” list.

The books cluttering my nightstand are:
The Ball is Round: A Global History of Soccer
1491: New Revelations of The Americas Before Columbus
Gumbo Tales: Finding My Place at the New Orleans Table

by NOLAmarinergirl on Jan 6, 2009 9:26 AM PST reply actions   0 recs

1491's on my longer list, but I loved 1421 so much that I want to get 1434 done as soon as I can get my hands on it.

Also in that vein is Island of Seven Cities, which I’m looking forward to as well.

It's hard to convince people to let you eat them if you're an asshole. - Thingray

by Faux on Jan 6, 2009 9:31 AM PST up reply actions   0 recs

In all seriousness though, if you can make proper New Orleans cuisine...

that’s knowledge worth having.

I DRINK YOUR MILKSHAKE!!! I DRINK IT UP!!

by abender20 on Jan 6, 2009 9:54 AM PST up reply actions   0 recs

I make incredible gumbo and tasty red beans and rice.

I don’t do jambalaya because it’s rare that I like it.

by NOLAmarinergirl on Jan 6, 2009 9:56 AM PST up reply actions   0 recs

Andouille and I are good friends in the red beans and rice department.

I need to pick up the Cajun cooking. My repertoire is sorely lacking in that department

I DRINK YOUR MILKSHAKE!!! I DRINK IT UP!!

by abender20 on Jan 6, 2009 10:05 AM PST up reply actions   0 recs

I'd list all of my current reads

but I feel they all fall under the ZOMG category.

Nevertheless it’s nice to see what everyone else is looking at. Good call for a OFTOP, Faux.

by Omerta on Jan 6, 2009 9:27 AM PST reply actions   0 recs

I read a bunch of those as well.

I just left them off the list for obvious reasons.

It's hard to convince people to let you eat them if you're an asshole. - Thingray

by Faux on Jan 6, 2009 9:28 AM PST up reply actions   0 recs

Is that a year in pictures?

It's hard to convince people to let you eat them if you're an asshole. - Thingray

by Faux on Jan 6, 2009 9:40 AM PST up reply actions   0 recs

It shouldn't be.

It was supposed to be the headlines of every month from Jan 1900 to December 2005

by Robert on Jan 6, 2009 9:46 AM PST up reply actions   0 recs

Aha.

I didn’t actually go into the book, it just looked like one of the Time “We’ve got Pictures!” books they put out at every “0” year.

It's hard to convince people to let you eat them if you're an asshole. - Thingray

by Faux on Jan 6, 2009 9:47 AM PST up reply actions   0 recs

I was the same, but I mainly spent my time flipping through until I found an article about some disaster or other.

The Chronicle of Flight is the same sort of book, but concentrating on aviation for airplane lovers. I recommend that as well.

by HARRYP09 on Jan 6, 2009 10:27 AM PST up reply actions   0 recs

Reading 2666 right now.

Made every respectable top 10 books of 08 list, and the blurbs certainly are enticing.

I’m >100 pages in, and I have to say that if it weren’t for the high praise I’d have put it down by now. There is a tremendous amount of detail that so far seems to be included solely for the sheer joy of writing it down. And while I’m all for excessive description, Bolano is no Nabokov and his style is better suited for terser storytelling. Also, it’s hardly a compelling storyline (so far there are four career literary critics obsessed with a fictional German writer going to conferences and trying to sleep with one another. There, I just summarized about 80 pages). I’m giving it until about page 300 before I give up on it.

by Bearskin Rugburn on Jan 6, 2009 9:43 AM PST reply actions   0 recs

So I take it the beginning is worse than Savage Detectives?

Because that was probably one of the slowest books I’ve ever tried to read.

(PDB style disclaimer – I’m not into mainstream fiction for the most part, and crime stuff especially)

It's hard to convince people to let you eat them if you're an asshole. - Thingray

by Faux on Jan 6, 2009 9:51 AM PST up reply actions   0 recs

I have Savage Detectives on stand by

should I make a gift of it to someone I don’t much like instead?

by Bearskin Rugburn on Jan 6, 2009 11:11 AM PST up reply actions   0 recs

I would get a few pages in.

I have odd tastes in books that do not match well with mainstream fiction readers. It’s really a tossup whether other people will like what I do. If you like his other stuff (or even have read any of it) go for it.

It's hard to convince people to let you eat them if you're an asshole. - Thingray

by Faux on Jan 6, 2009 11:59 AM PST up reply actions   0 recs

Also for anyone who is into heroic epics

which I was and am, there’s an incredible new translation of the Iliad, or ‘retelling’ as he calls it by a guy called Christopher Logue. Just incredible, totally different from anything else out there yet arguably more true to the original than any of modern English translation (Pope included). I’ll be happy to provide some quotes or more info if anyone’s interested, but I’ll have to go home to get my copy.

by Bearskin Rugburn on Jan 6, 2009 9:47 AM PST reply actions   0 recs

Yeah I was going to say...

have you noticed much of a difference so far between this telling and, say, a version that most of us are familiar with?

by Omerta on Jan 6, 2009 9:54 AM PST up reply actions   0 recs

To be fair

he did say “more true to the original” not “more original”. I don’t really think the Iliad needed to be retold, though.

Nice Guys Finish Third - Hopelessly lost, but makin' good time.

by pdb on Jan 6, 2009 10:30 AM PST up reply actions   0 recs

Point still stands.

I find it hard to believe that with all the ancient greek scholars in the world that have translated the Iliad from primary source material, there would suddenly be a radically different version of the story that’s “more true to the original” unless a new, much older scroll was discovered.

by Matthew on Jan 6, 2009 10:38 AM PST up reply actions   0 recs

Reading the blurbs about it at amazon

it doesn’t seem like it’s “radically different”, but more of a fresh/updated retelling, which as you say doesn’t necessarily mean it’s more true to the original – it’s just a different retelling of the familiar story, which sounds like it’s one of the more accessible ones out there. My fear with these things is that it’d be like making Ulysses into a 35-page comic book, though – you could do it, but why?

Nice Guys Finish Third - Hopelessly lost, but makin' good time.

by pdb on Jan 6, 2009 10:44 AM PST up reply actions   0 recs

The point of reading the Iliad is certainly not its inaccessibility

I think I agree with where you were going, but I’m not sure….

by marc w on Jan 6, 2009 10:47 AM PST up reply actions   0 recs

My point being, the Iliad is a poem. It's written in a meter. The language, allusions, phrasing, etc are an integral part of it.

I am not saying the point of it is obtuseness for obtuseness’ sake, but that hearing a version described as “more accessible” conjures up an image to me of someone writing a more accessible version of The Waste Land, “The world sucks”

by Matthew on Jan 6, 2009 11:26 AM PST up reply actions   0 recs

this is my point.

Nice Guys Finish Third - Hopelessly lost, but makin' good time.

by pdb on Jan 6, 2009 10:47 AM PST up reply actions   0 recs

It's not more accessible than, say Fitzgerald or Lattimore

maybe a bit less so. That was not the point of his exercise.

by Bearskin Rugburn on Jan 6, 2009 11:02 AM PST up reply actions   0 recs

Not a comic book at all

it’s a translation of sorts that uses modern poetic forms and techniques to attempt to recreate for the modern ear what the greeks might have heard 2500 years ago. Logue felt unconstrained by the original Greek because modern English, and more importantly the modern english reader are so completely different from the ancient greeks. Trying to fit within the confines of meter and rhetorical structures makes it stiff. Going for blank verse or prose loses the sense of poetry. More to the point, descriptors like ‘the wine-dark sea’ are cliches in modern english and have none of the potency they once held.

I’ve read four versions of the Iliad in two languages, and have a great fondness for it. I abhor any attempts at abridgment or digests. I think these books are pretty great.

by Bearskin Rugburn on Jan 6, 2009 11:10 AM PST up reply actions   0 recs

So it's a modern update of it then.

That’s fine. I just would not have used the phrasing “more true to the original” because as a former classics scholar, true means original language.

by Matthew on Jan 6, 2009 11:29 AM PST up reply actions   0 recs

Eh

What do you think of the Seamus Heaney translation of Beowulf?
It’s not the original language, but the use of alliteration and kennings mean it’s, er, more true to the original. Yes?

I know nothing about these Iliad translations, but trying to give a sense of the poetry of the original using either the original meter or some sort of modern analog sounds interesting. Maybe it’s not the same meter, and maybe it’s changing some of the descriptive kenning-like language, I don’t know, but that seems like it could fall under the umbrella of ‘truer to the original.’ The baseline is important here, and many, many current translations just turn it into an adventure yarn. Which is cool and everything, but most people don’t know it’s a poem.

by marc w on Jan 6, 2009 11:39 AM PST up reply actions   0 recs

I don't have a problem with tackling the story this way, don't get me wrong.

I’m saying the truer to original clearly means something different to me.

by Matthew on Jan 6, 2009 11:47 AM PST up reply actions   0 recs

"Truer than what?" is still an important consideration.

I think we agree on pretty much everything in this arena, so, y’know, don’t go changing.

by marc w on Jan 6, 2009 11:51 AM PST up reply actions   0 recs

This is what I was getting at

poetry is a tricky thing to translate – so much of it is in the subtlety of cultural contexts and wordplay. Borges has an essay (well, a transcribed lecture) on translating poetry where he argues that original and intended meaning can be almost irrelevant in a translation because it takes on a life of it’s own. One of his examples is the name ‘Don Quixote de la Mancha’, which in English evokes medieval castles and old-world chivalry, while in Cervantes’ Spain would have evoked something like Don Quixote of Kitsap County.

by Bearskin Rugburn on Jan 6, 2009 12:28 PM PST up reply actions   0 recs

Heaney's Beowulf was great

have you read Merwin’s Green Knight? Also fantastic, and unlike Beowulf you can kind of make out the original (it’s a bilingual edition) since Middle English, especially the author’s dialect, is pretty easy to make out.

by Bearskin Rugburn on Jan 6, 2009 12:21 PM PST up reply actions   0 recs

I like the green knight a lot; haven't read it in translation

I loved the Gawain poet when I was a wanna-be medievalist sort of person. Chaucer’s still my homeboy, though I look back and find it hilarious that I wanted to be a medievalist. I think that only lasted like a month, but… HA!

by marc w on Jan 6, 2009 1:14 PM PST up reply actions   0 recs

Yep

Pearl’s great. I first found those books as a kid reading Tolkien and have loved them since.

by Bearskin Rugburn on Jan 6, 2009 1:38 PM PST up reply actions   0 recs

Depends on what you think a translation should do.

If you accept, as I believe one must, that a translation of any poetic work is necessarily a stand-alone work of art (much like an adaptation of a book to the screen – literal faithfulness is pretty much out of the question) then being faithful to the wording or even structure of the original work can become cumbersome and even obstructive, depending on the language being translated from and into.

I’ve spent a lot of time with different translations of the Iliad, and while I’ve never read it in Greek I’ve tackled the Aeneid in Latin, and have an appreciation for what you call being ‘true to the original’ as well. The feeling of reading these translations however is entirely different than any other. Made my spine tingle and I stayed up all night to finish them.

The only caveat is you do have to have an open mind and at least a familiarity with and some appreciation for guys like Eliot, Pound, and Cummings (especially Cummings).

by Bearskin Rugburn on Jan 6, 2009 12:19 PM PST up reply actions   0 recs

Read pretty nicely the way it is.

I don’t know what you do for a living, but your abilities to break down a book in a recommendation are pretty frickin’ spiffy. This was most excellent, thanks.

Formerly dpseadvr.

by Kermit. on Jan 6, 2009 11:42 PM PST up reply actions   0 recs

He used secondary sources

(ie translations) and consulted Homer scholars for context, intended meaning and so forth. It’s not the story that’s different, it’s the way it’s told, and the telling is more important than the story.

by Bearskin Rugburn on Jan 6, 2009 11:16 AM PST up reply actions   0 recs

On the retelling the Illiad front, I can not recommend David Gemmell's Troy trilogy enough.

It’s kind of hard for me to explain the way the subject is tackled, but it’s written so you could see where storytellers would get the legend and folklore from, but without much of the legend itself. It’s just an intriguing series.

Acctually, I’ve just got to recommend David Gemmell in general. If you like heroic fantasy, he’s a guy I feel like you’ve got to check out.

Jeff's guide to not looking stupid:
+/- is an absolutely terrible stat, so don't use it, and don't give up on young players before they turn 24.
54!

by joof on Jan 6, 2009 10:57 AM PST up reply actions   0 recs

I just finished reading

Traffic: Why We Drive The Way We Do (And What It Says About Us). I was expecting it to be dry and academic, but it was actually pretty interesting. I also just finished reading Born Standing Up, Steve Martin’s autobiography of his life up through his stand-up days. I really think Steve Martin has become sort of a pretentious twat, but this was a really interesting book – he’s a good writer.

Next in my queue is Revolutionary Road, because I’m forcing myself to read more fiction in 2009.

Nice Guys Finish Third - Hopelessly lost, but makin' good time.

by pdb on Jan 6, 2009 10:29 AM PST reply actions   0 recs

based on your recommendation actually

I have a bunch more fiction books in the queue that I can’t recall at the moment, but I started Revolutionary Road last night. So far so good.

Nice Guys Finish Third - Hopelessly lost, but makin' good time.

by pdb on Jan 6, 2009 1:17 PM PST up reply actions   0 recs

To all you Fanatsy/SciFi people out there, I need to find a a couple books I used to have.

1 – The book revolves around a man that travels to the island of Krakatoa in the early 1800s from England, right before it explodes. He somehow ends up traveling through time and to alternate histories, ending with him dropping a atom bomb on a city from a balloon while in the Chinese resistance.

2 – Post-apocalyptic people are back to the basics of society after society is destroyed. A party goes out from a town in search of something, travels to the Northeast, through cities where they are confronted by helpful holograms and all the remaining technology from the world before, and end up unsealing a cave of books that starts flooding when high tide comes in, and they barely escape.

Damn, I’m horrible at remembering books.

It's hard to convince people to let you eat them if you're an asshole. - Thingray

by Faux on Jan 6, 2009 10:30 AM PST reply actions   0 recs

Aha!

Eternity Road is the second one, now I just need the first. (I’m looking for books that I read long ago, and seeing if I still like them)

It's hard to convince people to let you eat them if you're an asshole. - Thingray

by Faux on Jan 6, 2009 10:35 AM PST up reply actions   0 recs

I just read McCarthy's 'The Road', as far as Sci-Fi post apocalyptico stuff.

Very dark, very interesting. Apparently they are adapting it to a movie, which will be either very untrue to the book or very disturbing to see visually.

I DRINK YOUR MILKSHAKE!!! I DRINK IT UP!!

by abender20 on Jan 6, 2009 10:38 AM PST up reply actions   0 recs

The movie is finished.

It was supposed to be released in November, then they pushed it back to December, then “sometime in 2009” so it could come out during a less crowded release schedule.

by Phildopip on Jan 6, 2009 10:40 AM PST up reply actions   0 recs

I am greatly looking forward to this film

the book is amazing.

Nice Guys Finish Third - Hopelessly lost, but makin' good time.

by pdb on Jan 6, 2009 10:42 AM PST up reply actions   0 recs

Is it really short?

I just downloaded the Kindle version and it was only 149 kb.

Fear the NPE

by thewyrm on Jan 6, 2009 11:19 AM PST up reply actions   0 recs

250ish pages

I have no idea what that translates into as far as kb goes. Never read an e-book.

Nice Guys Finish Third - Hopelessly lost, but makin' good time.

by pdb on Jan 6, 2009 1:18 PM PST up reply actions   0 recs

funny you mention "The Road"

My friend gave that to me for Christmas and I have yet to read it. But as I sit here in the student union building I cant help but wish I had put it in my back pack today. Oh well, there’s always tomorrow.

by Willie Mays Haze on Jan 6, 2009 10:50 AM PST up reply actions   0 recs

obligatory Portland-person mention of Powell's

or in your case, Powells.com – they have a huge fantasy/sci-fi section (well, they have a huge everything section) but they also have a service online that lets you know when they get a specific book if they don’t actually have it in stock.

Nice Guys Finish Third - Hopelessly lost, but makin' good time.

by pdb on Jan 6, 2009 10:38 AM PST up reply actions   0 recs

I love Powells,

and in fact I asked a bunch of workers there about that first book when I visited Portland last.

The problem isn’t finding the books, it’s remembering the name…. (I must be getting old)

It's hard to convince people to let you eat them if you're an asshole. - Thingray

by Faux on Jan 6, 2009 10:40 AM PST up reply actions   0 recs

send them an email with the description above

and they will probably find someone that works there who knows the title.

Nice Guys Finish Third - Hopelessly lost, but makin' good time.

by pdb on Jan 6, 2009 10:42 AM PST up reply actions   0 recs

There's a book I loved as a teenager whose title I can't remember.

It’s driven me crazy for years. Even worse, I can barely remember what it’s about now. I used to describe it to people, but the details got fuzzy over the years. Ah well.

by royalcurve on Jan 6, 2009 1:28 PM PST up reply actions   0 recs

It's a little bit like A Wrinkle In Time

In that there are kids, stars and being separated from their … family, I think. Or maybe it was one kid that accidentally found a portal to another world. That’s all I remember, other than there being a big hill and alot of stars. Pretty specific, huh?

by royalcurve on Jan 6, 2009 1:35 PM PST up reply actions   0 recs

Anything by Harlan Coben is worth reading.

If you’re interested in thrillers at all, he’s the guy to go to. His books begin telling various, seemingly unrelated stories and by the end it’s all intertwined and you just have to say wow.

by CKel on Jan 6, 2009 10:47 AM PST reply actions   0 recs

The new Klosterman is great.

It’s his first try at fiction , and he definitely has a future in it.

by CstSnow on Jan 6, 2009 10:49 AM PST reply actions   0 recs

I was kinda hit and miss on it to be honest

although I did not expect the ending at all. What I liked about it was that, as a work of fiction, it definitely avoided the “I’m Chuck Klosterman and I’m cooler than most of you will ever be but I’m writing as though I’m not” strain that’s crept into a lot of his non-fiction recently.

Nice Guys Finish Third - Hopelessly lost, but makin' good time.

by pdb on Jan 6, 2009 10:50 AM PST up reply actions   0 recs

I agree on your second point.

You can still definitely tell that it’s him, but it does a good job avoiding the pretentiousness of some of his other stuff. Going forward I would be way more excited for fiction from him than non-fiction.

by CstSnow on Jan 6, 2009 10:56 AM PST up reply actions   0 recs

I'm definitely curious to see what he does next.

I hope he writes something a bit more out of his comfort zone – even though this was fiction, there was a strong streak of “Here’s where I’m from, I know these people and these are their pop culture references” going through it. It did seem like he was trying to stretch himself a bit with some of the characters, though, and I hope that continues.

Nice Guys Finish Third - Hopelessly lost, but makin' good time.

by pdb on Jan 6, 2009 10:59 AM PST up reply actions   0 recs

He deserves it.

I dislike Chuck Klosterman (though his review of Chinese Democracy was quite funny).

I like using semi-colons; they make me feel smart.

by Llewdor on Jan 6, 2009 1:01 PM PST up reply actions   0 recs

May I ask why?

I’ve never actually sat down to read any of his books because at this point it’s basically impossible to come to it without this whole meta-Klosterman shit: Klosterman as the worst writer alive, Klosterman as an incisive cultural critic, Klosterman as guy-who-got-rich-by-repeating-ads-we-all-saw-when-we-were-young, etc.

I’m just shocked that anyone can inspire this much energy, both positive and negative.

by marc w on Jan 6, 2009 1:16 PM PST up reply actions   0 recs

There are many reasons, and some of them might be somewhat irrational, but in a nutshell:

He stubbornly refuses to acknowledge that his experiences growing up in a podunk town in the upper midwest were not shared by everyone of his generation. In his defense his earlier writings seem to come from more of a “not a lot of people are writing from a point of view that mirrors my own, so this is an alternate take on things” but it’s sort of devolved to him insisting that all cultural journalists are making shit up. It’s gone from “I listened to bad metal as a kid and I still don’t quite understand what was so great about Nirvana” to “no one listened to underground music in the 80s and no one really likes any of these bands; they just want to seem cool.”

In general I’m really sensitive to the whole “anti-hipster” movement, because it assumes that people’s motivations for dressing a certain way/hanging out at certain places/listening to certain music/watching certain movies are purely for the sake of appearances, and I think that Chuck Klosterman is a big reason people feel this way.

I could go on and on about why he sucks, but those are the main reasons; also, he slagged Sarah Dougher and Evergreen in print and the things he said were untruthful and needlessly hurtful. I think that’s what made me go from thinking he sucked to actively hating him.

by acblue on Jan 6, 2009 1:38 PM PST up reply actions   0 recs

"In general I’m really sensitive to the whole "anti-hipster" movement"

Again, I know nothing, but I thought many hated him because they saw him as nothing but a professional hipster, right down to the clothes/music/movies he likes. He’s anti-hipster?

irony!

by marc w on Jan 6, 2009 1:44 PM PST up reply actions   0 recs

I think hipster means "people that are into things I find pretentious/inaccessible" to most people.

Klosterman is a pop-culture junkie/apologist, and he pretty much labels anyone whose tastes fall outside of pop-culture (and I’m using a broad-ish definition of pop-culture here) as a pretentious hipster.

by acblue on Jan 6, 2009 1:47 PM PST up reply actions   0 recs

This is the crux of MY problem with Klosterman

he dresses like a hipster, he hangs out in Williamsburg with all the other hipsters, and he proudly declaims that Van Halen is awesome and that hipsters are stupid. It’s incredibly condescending and annoying for him to try to tell me/us/whoever why we shouldn’t be one way and then be that way.

Nice Guys Finish Third - Hopelessly lost, but makin' good time.

by pdb on Jan 6, 2009 1:48 PM PST up reply actions   0 recs

Right, this is a better way of putting it.

He clearly wants people to think he’s hip, so he uses all sorts of BS, pseudo-intellectual justifications for liking hair metal and Rambo movies and hating avant-garde music and film. I really don’t care if you think Appetite for Destruction is a good record; I do too, no need to justify it. Just don’t try and convince me it’s artistically superior to Pink Flag.

by acblue on Jan 6, 2009 1:52 PM PST up reply actions   0 recs

Hipster hate, or any strong feeling about hipsters

is the surest sign of hipsterhood. I can’t wait for that word to leave the national lexicon.

by Bearskin Rugburn on Jan 6, 2009 2:04 PM PST up reply actions   0 recs

Ha!

I don’t even know what a hipster is!

by coolguyrob on Jan 6, 2009 2:05 PM PST up reply actions   0 recs

No seriously, I have no idea what a hipster is.

Probably comes from living overseas for the majority of the last 15 years. The cool guy thing is just a nickname from ages past.

by coolguyrob on Jan 6, 2009 2:09 PM PST up reply actions   0 recs

not worth looking up

with luck by the time you get back to the states no one will have to know this anymore.

by Bearskin Rugburn on Jan 6, 2009 2:14 PM PST up reply actions   0 recs

2.5 years until I come back for good.

Unless I extend for another 12 months, which is likely.

by coolguyrob on Jan 6, 2009 2:17 PM PST up reply actions   0 recs

I recently read

Chuck Klosterman’s IV and had three distinct levels of like for it.
 His usual essays on pop culture are what I enjoyed the most, by far.
 His interviews with Britney Spears, Jeff Tweedy and Bono were alright.
 But his attempt at fiction that takes up the latter part of tht book did not interest me in the least.

I dunno if I’d be all that interested in reading his futuristic fiction.

by Willie Mays Haze on Jan 6, 2009 10:54 AM PST up reply actions   0 recs

well, it's not futuristic

it’s set in some sort of nebulous current-day Land That Time Forgot (North Dakota). It’s worth a read, if you can find it used.

Nice Guys Finish Third - Hopelessly lost, but makin' good time.

by pdb on Jan 6, 2009 10:56 AM PST up reply actions   0 recs

I totally miss read that

After reading about “The Road” I thought you said the book has some future in it, like it was set in a near future or something. I see what you mean now, though.

by Willie Mays Haze on Jan 6, 2009 11:00 AM PST up reply actions   0 recs

I think it is maybe late 80's, actually

I just couldn’t remember exactly when off the top of my head.

Nice Guys Finish Third - Hopelessly lost, but makin' good time.

by pdb on Jan 6, 2009 11:01 AM PST up reply actions   0 recs

Best book I read last year

was “The Name of the Wind.”

by BrianL on Jan 6, 2009 11:14 AM PST reply actions   0 recs

I thought they called the wind Mariah.

I like using semi-colons; they make me feel smart.

by Llewdor on Jan 6, 2009 12:08 PM PST up reply actions   0 recs

No; the wind was inherited

and the new owner’s still deciding on a name.

by marc w on Jan 6, 2009 1:17 PM PST up reply actions   0 recs

Still one of my favorite fiction books...

“The Berkut”

Definitely a good read…

This signature space for rent.

by PositivePaul on Jan 6, 2009 12:35 PM PST reply actions   0 recs

Just you man.

Hand over your man card.

Man do I love midgets.

by Thingray on Jan 6, 2009 12:42 PM PST up reply actions   0 recs

Tell that to my database software.

The gender field only has three possible options – Male, Female, and Unknown. And I can’t edit that.

I can edit other drop-down menus, but not that one.

I don’t even want to track gender. I want to track industry, and I wanted to co-opt the gender field for that, but I can’t because it’s not an editable drop-down.

It’s annoying.

I like using semi-colons; they make me feel smart.

by Llewdor on Jan 6, 2009 4:09 PM PST up reply actions   0 recs

Proprietary?

Because that’s odd.

It's hard to convince people to let you eat them if you're an asshole. - Thingray

by Faux on Jan 6, 2009 4:09 PM PST up reply actions   0 recs

Yes.

It’s marketed as fundraising software for non-profit groups, but it’s really just SQL Server with an overly restrictive front end tacked on it.

I like using semi-colons; they make me feel smart.

by Llewdor on Jan 6, 2009 4:21 PM PST up reply actions   0 recs

On Grey's Anatomy approximately 3465 people die every episode

That’s somewhat medical. I swear I don’t know how that hospital stays in business.

Nice Guys Finish Third - Hopelessly lost, but makin' good time.

by pdb on Jan 6, 2009 1:48 PM PST up reply actions   0 recs

After thewyrm's Gossip Girl and Paramore admissions

I might as well recommend the Twilight saga as being horrific but addicting and I loved them

by seattlebruin on Jan 6, 2009 2:01 PM PST up reply actions   0 recs

It's not a verb at all.

Past tense is still an adjective, just as present tense is.

It's hard to convince people to let you eat them if you're an asshole. - Thingray

by Faux on Jan 6, 2009 2:26 PM PST up reply actions   0 recs

Unless the addictive agent is the subject performing the action.

Heroin addicted me. Pay not be proper English but it works as a verb.

Fear the NPE

by thewyrm on Jan 6, 2009 2:28 PM PST up reply actions   0 recs

I would consider that to be worse than "addicting" ever could be.

It's hard to convince people to let you eat them if you're an asshole. - Thingray

by Faux on Jan 6, 2009 2:31 PM PST up reply actions   0 recs

That's kind of what I'm getting at

If addicting is incorrect that leads me to believe that addicted is just as wrong. One just probably say “I have an addiction to punching hobos” as opposed to “I’m addicted to punching hobos.”

by coolguyrob on Jan 6, 2009 2:29 PM PST up reply actions   0 recs

Yikes!

That just should be a should.

by coolguyrob on Jan 6, 2009 2:29 PM PST up reply actions   0 recs

I had to look where to put that "should".

My first reaction was to put it in “I should have an addiction to punching hobos”

It's hard to convince people to let you eat them if you're an asshole. - Thingray

by Faux on Jan 6, 2009 2:34 PM PST up reply actions   0 recs

The 'am' is the key there.

‘Am addicted’ is fine.

by Graham on Jan 6, 2009 2:31 PM PST up reply actions   0 recs

To explain further.
I might as well recommend the Twilight saga as being horrific but addicting

Both horrific and addicting are adjectives in this sentence. Addictive would be a replacement adjective for that.

It's hard to convince people to let you eat them if you're an asshole. - Thingray

by Faux on Jan 6, 2009 2:29 PM PST up reply actions   0 recs

From this page,

http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/addicting

It looks like a the transitive verb part was for “Addict”, and addicting is just a redirect to that. Look at the pronunciation, and it looks like that whole entry is for addict.

It's hard to convince people to let you eat them if you're an asshole. - Thingray

by Faux on Jan 6, 2009 2:40 PM PST up reply actions   0 recs

Wow I just got out my dictionary, you went all high-tech on me.

I thought you were saying that “addict” itself was not a verb which made me unsure sure about it myself so I looked it up. By the way, I’m in aggreeance with the addictive vs. addicting usage.

by coolguyrob on Jan 6, 2009 2:46 PM PST up reply actions   0 recs

No, we're good.

Addict = verb/noun (or transitive if you want to get fancy)
Addicted/ive = adj.

It's hard to convince people to let you eat them if you're an asshole. - Thingray

by Faux on Jan 6, 2009 2:49 PM PST up reply actions   0 recs

I have been addicted to drugs is correct

I find drugs addicting is not.

Nice Guys Finish Third - Hopelessly lost, but makin' good time.

by pdb on Jan 6, 2009 2:47 PM PST up reply actions   0 recs

Your tastes in everything are now suspect.

It's hard to convince people to let you eat them if you're an asshole. - Thingray

by Faux on Jan 6, 2009 2:07 PM PST up reply actions   0 recs

This used to be a standard OFFTOP subplot

“someone questions sb’s taste in something”

by seattlebruin on Jan 6, 2009 2:18 PM PST up reply actions   0 recs

I'm old school OT.

Check the tags, yo.

It's hard to convince people to let you eat them if you're an asshole. - Thingray

by Faux on Jan 6, 2009 2:18 PM PST up reply actions   0 recs

The fourth book is good and almost makes reading the first three worth your time.

It is weird. The books are terrible, and in my brain I know this. Yet, I literally could not put the books down. I read them one after the other like a mad man.

Fear the NPE

by thewyrm on Jan 6, 2009 2:14 PM PST up reply actions   0 recs

Really?

I thought Book 4 was a huge letdown

by seattlebruin on Jan 6, 2009 2:18 PM PST up reply actions   0 recs

Maybe it was like Robin Williams trying not to be zany?

Some people bought it and found it to be his best stuff, while others liked the trainwreck hilarity of his past work and found the new him boring and pointless?

(Having never read these books, it’s my standard answer for disputes like this)

It's hard to convince people to let you eat them if you're an asshole. - Thingray

by Faux on Jan 6, 2009 2:21 PM PST up reply actions   0 recs

This is my opinion as well

I felt the plot of the fourth book was contrary to what made the overall storyline so compelling.

I previously posted as "Man From Nantucket"

by mem on Jan 6, 2009 4:05 PM PST up reply actions   0 recs

Why is likeing Paramore something to be ashamed of?

They are a decent band and Hayley has an excellent voice and charming personality.

Fear the NPE

by thewyrm on Jan 6, 2009 2:18 PM PST up reply actions   0 recs

I saw that this morning

too bad indeed.

Nice Guys Finish Third - Hopelessly lost, but makin' good time.

by pdb on Jan 6, 2009 1:49 PM PST up reply actions   0 recs

Who doesn't enjoy the occasional spoonerism?

That said: If your last name is Fernandez, name your kid Helix and teach him to pitch.

Greatest 1/2 punch ever.

Felix Hernandez and Helix Fernandez.

I DRINK YOUR MILKSHAKE!!! I DRINK IT UP!!

by abender20 on Jan 6, 2009 2:11 PM PST reply actions   0 recs

I think I'll suggest that to my local Scoop of Boy Trouts.

I like using semi-colons; they make me feel smart.

by Llewdor on Jan 6, 2009 4:10 PM PST up reply actions   0 recs

You're a real gorny huy, aren't you...

Is there a scex sandal brewing here???

This signature space for rent.

by PositivePaul on Jan 7, 2009 9:02 AM PST up reply actions   0 recs

Congratulations Drew Brees on being named Offensive Player of the Year!

You should have been the league MVP this season but none of the voters seem to understand what that award means.

Fear the NPE

by thewyrm on Jan 6, 2009 2:33 PM PST reply actions   0 recs

Really?

Rivers? LT? A Peterson?

It's hard to convince people to let you eat them if you're an asshole. - Thingray

by Faux on Jan 6, 2009 2:36 PM PST up reply actions   0 recs

Sproles.

Man do I love midgets.

by Thingray on Jan 6, 2009 2:37 PM PST up reply actions   0 recs

For what?

Frankly the fact that 26 people didn’t vote Brees the OPOTY is absolutely ridiculous. They should have their voting privileges revoked because no one else was even particularly close.

Fear the NPE

by thewyrm on Jan 6, 2009 2:41 PM PST up reply actions   0 recs

I was really hoping he'd break Marino's record.

That last pass that flew incomplete sucked.

by Phildopip on Jan 6, 2009 2:53 PM PST up reply actions   0 recs

That would have made me happy as well.

I never liked Marino for some reason, even though he was a great QB.

Man do I love midgets.

by Thingray on Jan 6, 2009 2:53 PM PST up reply actions   0 recs

With all the talk about food and some chatter about seasonal produce, I wonder--

Has anyone here been to the U-District farmer’s market recently?

by NOLAmarinergirl on Jan 6, 2009 2:33 PM PST reply actions   0 recs

I can't imagine it's worth going to the U-District.

Ballard Farmer’s Market is pretty great.

by acblue on Jan 6, 2009 2:40 PM PST up reply actions   0 recs

Does hipsterism apply to geographic locations?

It's hard to convince people to let you eat them if you're an asshole. - Thingray

by Faux on Jan 6, 2009 2:41 PM PST up reply actions   0 recs

Thank you.

Man do I love midgets.

by Thingray on Jan 6, 2009 2:45 PM PST up reply actions   0 recs

Down by Lombardi's,

I know where that is. I should have known it would be down on the waterfront somewhere.

Man do I love midgets.

by Thingray on Jan 6, 2009 2:46 PM PST up reply actions   0 recs

I took my Mom to Lombardi's in Ballard for her birthday one year.

Halfway through the meal their sewer backed up and flooded the restaurant. I have not been able to go back since. Nothing tasted good after that.

by Sec 108 on Jan 6, 2009 2:54 PM PST up reply actions   0 recs

Oh man that sucks.

It’s the kind of thing that isn’t really anyone’s fault, but could definitely swing your impression of a place towards the irredeemably negative.

by acblue on Jan 6, 2009 2:55 PM PST up reply actions   0 recs

They should have comped the meal and did not.

They offered a free dessert and I responded by saying only if it was to go.

by Sec 108 on Jan 6, 2009 2:57 PM PST up reply actions   0 recs

That's kinda shitty.

I actually am undying loyal to that place because I’ve always been treated so well there; the first time I went I took my girlfriend for her birthday. It was fairly obvious that we didn’t have all that much money, but we were treated so wonderfully by the waitstaff that it blew my mind. I had become so accustomed to be treated poorly at nice restaurants when it became apparent that I wouldn’t be spending $100s of dollars that I recommended it to everyone I knew immediately afterwards. So to hear that someone had an experience so out of character with what I’ve come to expect is kind of a bummer.

by acblue on Jan 6, 2009 3:01 PM PST up reply actions   0 recs

Nice pun.

Man do I love midgets.

by Thingray on Jan 6, 2009 3:02 PM PST up reply actions   0 recs

I have no animosity towards the place.

Most of my friends love it. Me, every time I drive past I see floating waste.

by Sec 108 on Jan 6, 2009 3:03 PM PST up reply actions   0 recs

That would do it.

It sucks when something like that ruins what could be a good experience.

Man do I love midgets.

by Thingray on Jan 6, 2009 2:55 PM PST up reply actions   0 recs

The U-District deserves to be destoryed.

Araya’s, the College Inn, Trading Musician and the movie theatres can all be spared.

by acblue on Jan 6, 2009 2:43 PM PST up reply actions   0 recs

I'd also spare Big Time

but I’d attach a requirement that frat boys are not allowed inside it.

Nice Guys Finish Third - Hopelessly lost, but makin' good time.

by pdb on Jan 6, 2009 2:50 PM PST up reply actions   0 recs

I usually have

but that’s because every time I go there I go with about 8 people and we take over most of the front and can thus ignore the rest of the place.

Nice Guys Finish Third - Hopelessly lost, but makin' good time.

by pdb on Jan 6, 2009 2:53 PM PST up reply actions   0 recs

I agree with the above

But I’m also partial to Aladdins Falafel and Gyro. Those guys have served me up some righteous gyros for years now. If Earl’s was still at it’s old location and not frat heaven I’d say spare that. Not too many other places where $8 gets you absolutely hammered.

by Willie Mays Haze on Jan 6, 2009 3:02 PM PST up reply actions   0 recs

Not that $8 hammered is a must

anymore but it’’s nice to know it’s there just in case you need it.

by Willie Mays Haze on Jan 6, 2009 3:07 PM PST up reply actions   0 recs

Good call.

Every once in a while I’d make a detour from someplace like downtown to grab a gyro for the road – after show food to tide me over on my drive home.

I used to like sitting on the comfy sofa way in the back. Good times.

by marc w on Jan 6, 2009 3:21 PM PST up reply actions   0 recs

Yer thinking different place

Alladin’s Gyrocery, easy to get confused I know. And that place isn’t bad either but they only take cash and often seem rther cold when I order. Alladin’s Falafel and Gyros is north of 45th right next to Thai Tom(mmm…Thai Tom)

by Willie Mays Haze on Jan 6, 2009 3:27 PM PST up reply actions   0 recs

I believe it does

see Capitol Hill. You need a snow plow to get through all the hipsters. You’d of course spend the next few days scraping skinny jeans and fix geared bikes off the plow but it’d be totally worth it.

by Willie Mays Haze on Jan 6, 2009 2:59 PM PST up reply actions   0 recs

entire cultural scene?

I’ve avoid capitol hill for years due to the low air quality from the large smug cloud that hangs over the area but I was unaware it was the city’s cultural heart.

by Willie Mays Haze on Jan 6, 2009 3:05 PM PST up reply actions   0 recs

My family grew up in and around Capitol Hill

and rest assured it’s not as full of smug hipsters as the Stranger would lead you to believe. Get east of 15th and it’s pretty much families and stuff. It’s full of money, sure, but not hipsters.

Nice Guys Finish Third - Hopelessly lost, but makin' good time.

by pdb on Jan 6, 2009 3:09 PM PST up reply actions   0 recs

This is true

When someone says Capitol Hill I always think of Broadway and the Pike/Pine corridor. I often seem to forget that there is a whole other side to it that is not covered in the smug cloud.

by Willie Mays Haze on Jan 6, 2009 3:13 PM PST up reply actions   0 recs

About 75% of the people I know involved in music or visual arts live on Capitol Hill.

The majority of the city’s good live music venues are on Capitol HIll. Most of the best record stores, book stores and arts organizations are there as well. It’s also the most densely populated neighborhood in Seattle by far. Are there annoying people on the hill? Of course. But there are annoying people everywhere, and I find Ballard, Fremont, the U-District and Queen Anne to be full of far more intolerable people than Capitol Hill.

by acblue on Jan 6, 2009 3:14 PM PST up reply actions   0 recs

I dunno

I know of quite a few good record stores in the U district that are just as good as those on Capitol Hill. As for music venues outside of Chop Suey whats a good music venue? Neumos, The King Cobra I’ve never been terribly impressed with. I guess they’re cheaper than The Showbox, The Moore, or the Paramount but I’m willing to pay more for those venues.

by Willie Mays Haze on Jan 6, 2009 3:22 PM PST up reply actions   0 recs

If you like the Moore better than Neumos, that's cool, but it just highlights

the fact that you and acblue will simply not see eye to eye on any of this. Not saying your view is out-and-out wrong, but I can’t get my mind around preferring the Moore to Neumo’s.

I don’t live in capital hill, and wouldn’t choose to even if I could somehow afford it, but I’m glad it’s there.

by marc w on Jan 6, 2009 3:26 PM PST up reply actions   0 recs

Maybe it's the history of the place

that clouds my vision. I just remember all the great shows that used to be there so often and I enjoy that aspect of it. Neumos, I dunno. But I agree that ac and I will have to agree to disagree(as much as I hate that term) It’s not that I hate Capitol Hill really, I just don’t believe its quite the Mecca that some people make it out to be. Maybe it is the stranger. If my friend didn’t write for them I dunno if I’d ever read that paper.

by Willie Mays Haze on Jan 6, 2009 3:34 PM PST up reply actions   0 recs

Don't waste your time with The Stranger

no offense to your friend, but The Stranger is a hideous rag that has no redeeming features other than show listings.

Nice Guys Finish Third - Hopelessly lost, but makin' good time.

by pdb on Jan 6, 2009 3:37 PM PST up reply actions   0 recs

I actually love the Stranger's local news coverage

and if your friend is who I think he is I think he’s one of their best writers. It’s when they try to delve into national/world news that I think they screw things up terribly, and I hate hate hate their cultural criticism.

by acblue on Jan 6, 2009 3:43 PM PST up reply actions   0 recs

Jonah Spangenthal-Lee

that who you were thinking of? I agree with you on this. I also loathe Muedede’s constant dog bashing. I understand if people don’t like dogs but that doesn’t mean you have to actively make people who do like dogs feel like social retards because of it

by Willie Mays Haze on Jan 6, 2009 3:57 PM PST up reply actions   0 recs

Yeah, he's great.

Mudede drives me batshit insane. I loved his Police Beat columns, but everything he’s done since then has been like nails on a chalkboard.

by acblue on Jan 6, 2009 4:01 PM PST up reply actions   0 recs

Totally

I think Jonah does the Police Beat now. It’s also funny because Jonah is the only person at the stranger who knows anything/cares about sports. I can’t imagine being that isolated at my job.

by Willie Mays Haze on Jan 6, 2009 4:09 PM PST up reply actions   0 recs

He does an excellent job with Police Beat.

I really wish the Stranger would give him (or me! Hi Dan!) a shot at doing a sports column, but then where would they find the space to let Eric Grandy talk about his record collection?

by acblue on Jan 6, 2009 4:10 PM PST up reply actions   0 recs

I know!!

Jonah’s even pitched the idea to them and talked about having me help him(as I was the person that reintroduced him to sports) but no bites. He tried to give it a go with a sports blog which was a good time but his workload left me doing most of the work. And that was cool until I tired of not having other voices on the blog and now it’s gone silent. I regret this as there has been a lot to write about these past few months.

by Willie Mays Haze on Jan 6, 2009 4:14 PM PST up reply actions   0 recs

By "good" I mean venues that regularly put on good shows.

I’m also not a huge fan of Neumo’s, but they do great shows there. Same deal with the Comet. Haven’t been to King Cobra yet. Then there are the less-than-official venues, Healthy Times Fun Club being the most notable.

My larger point, though, is that “hipsters” do things like play in bands, produce art, promote shows, open clubs, run records labels, etc etc etc. It’s become fashionable to hate hipsters, but I think it often amounts to not liking people based on the way they dress/where they hang out and that it misses the point entirely.

by acblue on Jan 6, 2009 3:41 PM PST up reply actions   0 recs

I think the reason people don't like hipsters is

not because how they dress/where they hang out but that they do it only because other people do it. They see that the people from the bands and artists attend these bars or hear such and such bar is cool and hang out there just because it is cool. It’s not they there is something that they truly like the way they dress or things they do but those things are considered hip s they do it, hence “hipster”.

Take fixed gear bikes. They have their place, but a bike without the ability to slow down via shifting down gears and or breaks is not a good fit in a city like Seattle. But people ride them nonetheless because they saw it on a video on the internet or something. That kind of group think is something that irks me. Not only in hipsters but in all groups of people.

by Willie Mays Haze on Jan 6, 2009 3:47 PM PST up reply actions   0 recs

Fixed gear bikes are only a good fit on banked oval tracks where stopping is not important

I hate the fact that those things are so prevalent everywhere now.

Nice Guys Finish Third - Hopelessly lost, but makin' good time.

by pdb on Jan 6, 2009 3:50 PM PST up reply actions   0 recs

I have heard this argument many times, and I just don't buy it.

Are there people that are into things largely because their friends are into them? Sure. But you could say that about anything. I don’t understand why it’s so hard for people to believe that people share common interests.

by acblue on Jan 6, 2009 3:53 PM PST up reply actions   0 recs

You have to admit that there are way more sheep

Than shepherds in the world though don’t you?

by Sec 108 on Jan 6, 2009 4:02 PM PST up reply actions   0 recs

Sure, but that's in no way limited to hipsters.

It’s everywhere, and really, if it wasn’t for hanging out with people with better taste than mine and listening to what they said I wouldn’t have discovered nearly as many great bands/movies/books/whatever on my own.

by acblue on Jan 6, 2009 4:05 PM PST up reply actions   0 recs

Someone needs to copy edit the Ballard website
Meet, Seafood & Poultry

Also, I doubt I’ll be up for going anywhere next Sunday morning.

by NOLAmarinergirl on Jan 6, 2009 2:48 PM PST up reply actions   0 recs

A real man would come to Portland after leaving Tacoma

to go to the Lompoc and then stop by the HoTD brewery afterwards.

Nice Guys Finish Third - Hopelessly lost, but makin' good time.

by pdb on Jan 6, 2009 4:02 PM PST up reply actions   0 recs

word, yo

Nice Guys Finish Third - Hopelessly lost, but makin' good time.

by pdb on Jan 6, 2009 4:03 PM PST up reply actions   0 recs

Fuck family, this is LL.

It's hard to convince people to let you eat them if you're an asshole. - Thingray

by Faux on Jan 6, 2009 4:04 PM PST up reply actions   0 recs

...
A brother’s got a schedule

It's hard to convince people to let you eat them if you're an asshole. - Thingray

by Faux on Jan 6, 2009 4:05 PM PST up reply actions   0 recs

?

It's hard to convince people to let you eat them if you're an asshole. - Thingray

by Faux on Jan 6, 2009 4:31 PM PST up reply actions   0 recs

?

It's hard to convince people to let you eat them if you're an asshole. - Thingray

by Faux on Jan 6, 2009 4:34 PM PST up reply actions   0 recs

?

It's hard to convince people to let you eat them if you're an asshole. - Thingray

by Faux on Jan 6, 2009 4:37 PM PST up reply actions   0 recs

Any time. Any excuse.

Let me know, I’ll be there.

Nice Guys Finish Third - Hopelessly lost, but makin' good time.

by pdb on Jan 6, 2009 4:06 PM PST up reply actions   0 recs

It's pretty nice, they really have some nice fresh produce there and the crowds are usually pretty nice people

A lot of locals from the Ravenna ravine area frequent that market. The little strip along Ravenna Blvd from 15 Ave to 35th Ave, and bounded on the northern side by 65th is a great neighbourhood. Lot of teaching professionals in there, doctors, lawyers, artists, etc associated with UW. Not everything in the U-District is drunken frat boy/modern condo shit splattered crap. Sit at the bar under Third Place Books on 65th some week night, have a conversation with Caleb if he’s working. The person on your left will probably be a visual artist, the person on your right an astrophysicist, and the conversation will probably blow your mind.

Formerly dpseadvr.

by Kermit. on Jan 7, 2009 12:39 AM PST up reply actions   0 recs

no

Determined, Jonesing Commentor | Proud proprietor of Wyomingroutes.org & Washingtonhighways.org

by I'm NOT Corco on Jan 6, 2009 3:28 PM PST up reply actions   0 recs

no

Determined, Jonesing Commentor | Proud proprietor of Wyomingroutes.org & Washingtonhighways.org

by I'm NOT Corco on Jan 6, 2009 3:35 PM PST up reply actions   0 recs

no

Determined, Jonesing Commentor | Proud proprietor of Wyomingroutes.org & Washingtonhighways.org

by I'm NOT Corco on Jan 6, 2009 3:40 PM PST up reply actions   0 recs

vacuum cleaners have no reproductive value

why would I have sex with it

Determined, Jonesing Commentor | Proud proprietor of Wyomingroutes.org & Washingtonhighways.org

by I'm NOT Corco on Jan 6, 2009 3:41 PM PST up reply actions   0 recs

I eat ham salad

I do not have sex with it

I’m not even sure how the mechanics of that would work

Determined, Jonesing Commentor | Proud proprietor of Wyomingroutes.org & Washingtonhighways.org

by I'm NOT Corco on Jan 6, 2009 3:43 PM PST up reply actions   0 recs

What's your budget?

Don’t listen to anybody that says buy a Dyson. They’re overrated – not bad, but not worth what you’d pay. I got this one a couple months ago and like it pretty well. It doesn’t have an auto-retracting cord but other than that one annoyance it’s solid.

Nice Guys Finish Third - Hopelessly lost, but makin' good time.

by pdb on Jan 6, 2009 3:12 PM PST up reply actions   0 recs

I was looking to spend half that

I don’t need any gizmos, just a thing that sucks dirt from the floor

Determined, Jonesing Commentor | Proud proprietor of Wyomingroutes.org & Washingtonhighways.org

by I'm NOT Corco on Jan 6, 2009 3:14 PM PST up reply actions   0 recs

I want it to last

I want the 1988 Honda Accord of vacuum cleaners

Determined, Jonesing Commentor | Proud proprietor of Wyomingroutes.org & Washingtonhighways.org

by I'm NOT Corco on Jan 6, 2009 3:15 PM PST up reply actions   0 recs

Then spend the $150 and get something durable

you get what you pay for. Buy a $75 vac now and replace it in a year when it doesn’t work any more, and you’ve still spent $150.

Nice Guys Finish Third - Hopelessly lost, but makin' good time.

by pdb on Jan 6, 2009 3:15 PM PST up reply actions   0 recs

good point

Determined, Jonesing Commentor | Proud proprietor of Wyomingroutes.org & Washingtonhighways.org

by I'm NOT Corco on Jan 6, 2009 3:16 PM PST up reply actions   0 recs

I don't have any personal experience

but I had several people in my office swear by Dyson’s as awesome.

by Matthew on Jan 6, 2009 3:20 PM PST up reply actions   0 recs