| Small Children Amuse Me |
[20 Jun 2007|08:52pm] |
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mood |
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 amused |
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music |
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The White Stripes - Conquest |
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So, the other night I babysat for a couple of kids, and the little one (2 or 3 years old I think) was put to bed, and I was sitting downstairs answering some e-mail, and all of a sudden I hear him singing to himself. He sang a little song about how his crib was going to keep him safe all night and how maybe when he woke up he would have "a big crib called a bed like Noam has." (Noam is his older brother.) It made me smile for hours.
Today I found out that he sings himself awake, too. When he wakes in the morning, he will sing little songs to himself about the sun and how big it is but how "it's not going to hurt us because it is very far away and so it is our friend." He also sings about how much he's going to do that day: "breakfast and then lunch and things after breakfast but before lunch and then playtime and soon i will have dinner." He also has little conversations with himself about all sorts of things. This invariably ends with him getting lonely and calling "Help me! Help me!" which used to give his mom a fright, until she realized it was just his way of saying "okay, enough of this, I want to get out of my crib now please!!"
Small children amuse me and make me smile.
Please share your own stories!
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| new music! |
[17 Dec 2006|12:58pm] |
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mood |
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content |
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music |
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The Dresden Dolls - Missed Me |
] |
bought some neeewwwww albums. Tower Records is closing, so they were cheeaaap.
Queen + Paul Rodgers - Return of the Champions (2 Disc live concert album)
Time Again - The Stories are True.
Towers of London - Blood Sweat & Towers
Nekromantix - Brought Back to Life *Again* (remastered, reconstructed reissue of Brought Back to Life)
The Dresden Dolls - The Dresden Dolls
The Dresden Dolls - Yes, Virginia...
The Vacancies - A Beat Missing or a Silence Added
The Switch-Ups - The Switch-Ups
The Vines - Vision Valley
Tiger Army - III: Ghost Tigers Rise
Hellcat Records Presents Give 'Em the Boot IV: Punk, Ska, and Psychobilly Compilation (featuring Rancid, Tiger Army, The Slackers, Dropkick Murphys, Lars Fredriksen and the Bastards, Nekromantix, HorrorPops, Transplants, Joe Strummer and the Mescaleros)
YAY
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| Ah, memories |
[10 Dec 2006|06:30pm] |
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mood |
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amused |
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music |
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Yeah Yeah Yeahs - Y Control |
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i just found this in an old thedarktower.net IRC chatlog.
me + booze (+ Thinny) = fun
LastReg: i call my basket-supplier
Thinny: lol
LastReg: AND I GET MY FUCKING BASKETS ON TIME
LastReg: baskets i tell you. they are the plastics of yesterday
Thinny: lmao
LastReg: like the time i went to baskettown tennessee
LastReg: they had plastics in spaceage cases
LastReg: but i got some fucking wicker
LastReg: so suck on that.
Thinny: Dude. I have no idea what you are talking about but its rather entertaining. lol
LastReg: it's a fucking basket promo
LastReg: it puts the basket in the basket or else it gets no basket
Thinny: lmao. Gotcha
LastReg: AND IT WANTS A BASKET I PROMISE YOU THAT
Thinny: Fava beans give me gas
LastReg: that's a myth
LastReg: you give gas to the fava beans
LastReg: and they trade the precious precious gas
LastReg: for baskets
LastReg: and books on basketmaking
LastReg: and basket-related accessories
LastReg: and candy
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| See the current music for my mood |
[07 Dec 2006|12:12am] |
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music |
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The Adicts - Love Sucks |
] |
yeah.
i need friends right now.
fuck. i don't have any in real life i can talk to about this.
sigh.
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| *sigh* |
[04 Dec 2006|11:54pm] |
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mood |
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 crushed |
] |
well. there went that relationship.
i fucked it up again, it seems.
didn't even get a proper goodbye kiss.
everything hurts.
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| Jesus is coming. Look busy. |
[03 Dec 2006|11:13am] |
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mood |
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thankful |
] |
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music |
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Elvis |
] |
despite traveling and logistical SNAFUs aplenty, Terri and i made it so see George Carlin last night. the show was fucking great; even the opening act was stellar. i like. i like.
now i are tired. the sleep wants me to be in it.
here's hoping latex lasts.
?
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| Book Review: Lisey's Story |
[22 Nov 2006|11:12am] |
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mood |
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 drained |
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music |
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The Doors - Roadhouse Blues |
] |
NOTE: this book review will be published in the November 29 issue of The Commentator.
http://www.yucommentator.com
A Stephen King Book Unlike Any Other
by Michael Bernstein
It made me smile, and it scared the hell out of me. It warmed my heart, then broke it into five or six pieces. I'm not ashamed to admit that it inspired within me joy, terror, and sadness (sometimes more than one at a time).
It is Lisey's Story by Stephen King.
In the interest of full disclosure, I have to tell you up-front that I'm a Stephen King fanatic. I own them all and I've read them all: nonfiction (On Writing; Danse Macabre) as well as fiction (The Dead Zone; The Green Mile), the slice-of-life stories (Dolores Claiborne; The Girl Who Loved Tom Gordon) as well as the all-out screamers (The Shining; It). Now that that's out of the way, let me give it to you straight: Lisey's Story is one of the most powerful books I've ever read, by ANYONE.
There's good news here for everyone. Looking for an entertaining read? Look no further. How about a tale of enduring love and deep, soul-rooted connections? It's that, too. Need a well-written, thought-provoking novel you can be proud to be seen with in polite company? You got it. And of course, if you're looking for the Stephen King "standard," i.e. blood-n-guts and/or scenes that will literally make you stop and fill your lungs because you were too afraid to remember to breathe... Lisey's Story is a good choice for that as well.
And the amazing thing is, it manages to be all those things (and many more, indescribably wonderful things too) at once, without any of them ruining the quality of the others.
The story is a complicated one, and one I can't possibly do justice. But it wouldn't really be a good review if I didn't tell you about the book, now, would it? No. So I'll tell you what: I'll get this relationship underway; get some chemistry going between you and Lisey's Story. Let me introduce you to some of the characters.
Meet Lisey Landon. That's pronounced LEE-see, short for Lisa. Widow (for two years, now) of famed author Scott Landon. Right off the bat, let me assure you that Scott Landon is not Stephen King. The comparisons are there to be made, and inevitably will be, but they're bound to be awful, not to mention awfully weak. Anyway. Lisey has several sisters, one of whom is... how shall I put this... stone cold crazy. "Gone," as Lisey says.
That sister is Amanda Debusher. Cryptic for part of the book, catatonic for a good deal of the rest. Also wickedly funny, when she's in a sane spell.
Lisey's husband is Scott Landon, a lively, funny man who sometimes is also crazy. It's understandable, given his childhood. I won't say much more about that part of his character, because I'd botch it... King does it perfectly. But for the full effect, you'll have to go through 500 pages, since the climax of that storyline-in-the-past is in the book's closing pages. Don't let that discourage you... it's worth it. Oh boy, is it worth it.
Scott left stacks of books and papers in his workspace. It's been two years since he died, and now the vultures of the literary and academic worlds are circling over Lisey's head, pressuring her to release the contents of his office, study, and "memory nook" to the public.
So, introducing next: Professor Joseph Woodbody. A nice enough fellow, aside from being obsessive and vindictive. So, not very nice at all. But he's a saint compared to our next character.
Let's call him Zack; it's what he gives as his name the first time we encounter him. Zack is a creep, and not only that, he's a creep whose insanity makes Amanda's seem like a hiccup. He doesn't go catatonic, but you find yourself wishing that if anyone like him ever has bad intentions on you, they would fall not just comatose but suddenly and violently dead - anything to keep them away from you. Nor does he cut himself, as Amanda did (and as Scott's father did, not just to himself, but to Scott and to Scott's older brother, Paul), but he sure does get a kick out of cutting others... and well, you'll see. It's brutal, it's raw, it's frighteningly realistic, and it's not even the scary part of the book.
You haven't met the long boy yet.
The long boy, in case you were wondering, is not actually a boy. It is a massive, unspeakable creature I hope never to see in my dreams. If you have never been scared by a book before, and don't think it can happen to you, read this book. But don't call me at 3 AM when you need someone to talk to until the sun comes up.
And how does this unnamed, terrible... thing... show up in a book like this? It's not through metaphor, but through means both supernatural and (I think) somewhat plausible.
Is it so hard to imagine inspiration as a place one can visit? Not our world, but just as tangible, absolutely real, and just next door? A place where the daytime is safe and a pool is always glimmering in the sunlight, each sparkle off a wave another idea; a place where the night turns the sweet to rotten and the restorative to poisonous. This is a world of imagination: not in the sense that it is imagined, but in the sense that imagination lives there. Theories have been flying around for years about collective memory and hive consciousness and so forth. Why not a collective muse-world? Not a place we go in dreams, but a place where we go to dream.
Of course, not all dreams are pleasant. And the long boy inhabits this inspiration-world, waiting for night to fall. So it can hunt the ones who linger too long, forgetting their own safety and losing themselves in the moonlight on the water.
Scott has been to this world many times. And now Lisey must go, for herself, for her sister, and for her husband, who has left her clues like so many breadcrumbs to follow through the woods. To say much more is to ruin the delicate balance of emotions and ideas that King has struck in Lisey's Story, but I will say that this is a book about love and devotion as much as it is about suspense and blood.
Like I said, I'm a big fan of Stephen King and his work. I've read it all. But I have never read anything like Lisey's Story. I've called a book by King "amazingly written," another "really fun," and various others everything from "important" to "classic" to "unforgettable." But Lisey's Story is truly different. Because (and I realized this right after finishing the book, as I was wiping away tears that flowed freely as I read the last twenty pages) this is very possibly the first truly meaningful book, and I do mean "meaningful," in every sense of the word, that Stephen King has given us.
So do yourself a favor. Read it. I promise it will mean something to you, too.
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| Me and My Big Mouth |
[19 Nov 2006|08:15pm] |
so it appears that i went and did it again. spoke up too damn soon and put pressure on someone i'm fond of. kicking their doubt-gear into overdrive. whether she was unsure or not to begin with, i'm sure i didn't help my cause when i put the ball in her court by saying the magic words.
my mother's right; i DO have a self-destructive nature. not that my mother has anything to do with this situation.
it sucks. it sucks to have to beg for another chance or two or ten. to care about someone enough that you put aside pride and just ask in plain words for "a little more time" to go by before they decide whether or not they can see themselves being in a serious, long-term relationship with you.
it's exhilarating and wonderful to care about someone that much, but it's upsetting to hear that the person in question isn't sure she feels the same, and furthermore isn't sure she ever will.
i sound so fucking whiny, don't i? well, i guess i am whining. because that's what people do when they're told such things. not that i'm mad that she told me; i'm glad she did. i just hate that i have to appeal like a goddamn defendant in court; "your honor, my client respectfully requests a stay of sentence and would like to appeal for a few more months of dating." you see? the only thing about this that i can honestly say irks me about her side of the matter is that she implied that not-knowing-yet is a concern on the level of knowing-for-sure-that-it's-a-no. begging and pleading and hoping-against-hope aside, and since i'm sure she's being truthful when she tells me that she likes me and is attracted to me, i wish i didn't feel like she wasn't willing to give me, give US, a longer stretch of time in which to let the chemistry develop and let the connection strengthen. because it's not usually a nearly-immediate thing to have strong feelings be mutual. it's something i think should be given as much time as it needs, until you're sure one way or the other. and if the verdict is a "no," then so be it. but dammit, if it's not a "no," why rule out the possibility of "yes" just because it's currently an "uncertain," right?
now i feel weird about that poem i wrote. do i show it to her? not yet, i think. it'd complicate things too much.
anyway, now this song is running through my head.
Chairmen of the Board - Give Me Just a Little More Time
1970
Give me just a little more time
And our love will surely grow
Give me just a little more time
And our love will surely grow
Life's too short to make a mistake
Let's think of each other and hesitate
Young and impatient we may be
There's no need to act foolishly
If we part our hearts won't forget it
Years from now we'll surely regret it
Give me just a little more time
And our love will surely grow
Give me just a little more time
And our love will surely grow
You're young and you're in a hurry
You're eager for love but don't you worry
We both want the sweetness in life
But these things don't come overnight
Don't give up cos love's been slow
Boy, we're gonna succeed with another blow
Give me just a little more time
And our love will surely grow
Baby please baby
Baby please baby
Love is that mountain we must climb
Let's climb it together your hand in mine
We haven't known each other too long
But the feeling I have is oh so strong
I know we can make it there's no doubt
We owe it to ourselves to find it out
Just,
Give me just a little more time
And our love will surely grow
Give me just a little more time
And our love will surely grow
Give me just a little more time
And our love will surely grow
Baby, please baby
Baby, please baby
Give me just a little more time
And our love will surely grow
Give me just a little more time
And our love will surely grow
Baby, please baby
Baby, please
Give me just a little more time
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| weekday update |
[14 Nov 2006|04:32pm] |
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mood |
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 determined |
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music |
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Fountains of Wayne - Hey Julie |
] |
had a pretty bad pot experience this past saturday evening.
luckily, terri was there and was wonderful as usual :)
she got some food and water in me and i sobered up enough to function.
man, my judgment is so frequently shit. except i think i made a damn good decision asking terri out that first time. no, i KNOW that was a good decision.
therapist is working out alright...
my nose itches.
here comes the freight train of responsibility, y'know - tests, papers, registration, time management, newspaper work...
i can't decide if it's sweet, pathetic, irresponsible, clingy, fantastic, or just a sign of plain old loneliness (contrasted in this case with how i feel when i'm with her) that i wish i could just spend all my time with her. perhaps more than one of those descriptions; perhaps none... meanwhile, i keep telling myself just to relax and hope that 1) i don't screw this up and 2) she finds she loves me too.
...that was either stalkerish, emo, or poetic. actually, sort of like bad prose-poetry written by an emo stalker.
that ain't me...
so um. um. gaaahhhh i keep worrying that missing her so much is not coming across as affection but as obsession. i don't want to freak her out or drive her away. not only do i talk too much and not know how to quit while i'm ahead, i might also come on a little too strong.
arrgh. fuckit. things will work out as they are meant to work out. and now i have "We Can Work it Out" by The Beatles in my head. which is a good song, but is not really apropos, as that's a song about salvaging a relationship, and my situation is just one in which i'm agonizing (perhaps needlessly) about a relationship.
i talk too much; looks like i worry too much too. as if i didn't already know that.
NOTE TO SELF: Do not smother Terri.
P.S. But, be as loveable as you (I) can; possible ideas for doing this: undergo dimple-accentuation surgery, get a haircut, finish writing that poem about her, buy a maserati (?), just hold her hand and smile with her.
P.P.S. You're (I'm) either a hopeless romantic or just hopeless. *sigh* in triplicate.
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| wellity wellity wellity |
[08 Nov 2006|01:38pm] |
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mood |
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rejuvenated |
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music |
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Sweet - Ballroom Blitz |
] |
so i guess i'm back, or something.
been away for a while.
a lot has gone on in my life. i have a girlfriend, two jobs at the newspaper, and a new therapist; i turned 20, and so on and so forth.
i was reluctant to come back to posting on LJ after i was away from it for a month or two, because i didn't like the ominous task of reviewing all my friends' listed posts. now that it's many months later, i still find that a daunting prospect, so if you read this, i'd appreciate it if you'd leave a comment bringing me up to speed on what's happened since the last time i posted... a little over 7 months ago.
you should also (in an and/or way, if ye get me) ask me about what's been happening with me. i'd love to share. i just don't have any inspiration right now for specific details on any particular aspect of life.
anyhoo...
FUCK THE REPUBLICANS AND THEIR BULLSHIT NOISE.
long live america.
(P.S. i'm also looking for suggestions about ideas for a new LJ icon.)
(P. P. S. i like postscripts)
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| passover, and stuff |
[17 Apr 2006|10:49am] |
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mood |
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relaxed |
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music |
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The Doors - Riders on the Storm |
] |
sorry i havent updated in a bit, i'm at home for passover and the wireless connection is shaky and fickle.
i shall return!
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| poetry & prose reading, wrestlemania, and so on |
[04 Apr 2006|03:10pm] |
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mood |
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optimistic |
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music |
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Shinedown- I Dare You |
] |
last night i participated in a poetry & prose reading / open mic night.
it was part of the Arts Festival here at YU.
met some cool people. some girls, even. one of them asked where i was from, and i said Teaneck. She said "you're too cool to be from Teaneck." of course, being the dummy i usually am in social situations, i didn't take the compliment like a normal, grateful, rational person would. instead i replied "fuck you, teaneck is awesome." somebody help me with my people skills....
perel, the female third of the organizing trio (Paul and Mordechai were the other two), was pretty good. the stuff she read was interesting; i liked it. nice girl, too. a bit put off by my cursing, i think, but she did say she liked what i read. then again, David Stein said that too... and i don't think he's my type. nice ass, though (on David, that is. i didn't check out Perel's bottom. also, it's a joke- i have no opinion on David's ass, nor have i made any effort to form one).
a lot of the stuff was good. JB read some poems and was, as always, captivating.
Paul Adam read a really REALLY good nonfiction piece, and i liked it so much i asked for a copy. he better send it to me or i will steal his awesome hats.
i decided to lead with an unusual genre for me, fiction. i read A Painless Procedure and i think it got a positive response. after a few more readers, they opened the mic for un-signed-up readers and/or those who had already read but wanted to showcase some more stuff. so i read California Mannequin, Epic Poem, Past, and (at my father's suggestion) Alphabecide.
in other, less intellectual news: Wrestlemania 22 was friggin amazing. every single match (except that stupid "playboy pillow fight" ... ugh) was spectacular. i dont even care that wrestling is fixed- as far as i know, you can't fake getting speared through a table that's set on fire. fuck yeah.
i think i need to read more sci-fi. i just read Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep and realized i've missed the genre.
also, thanks to perel, i now have a desire to rewatch Igby Goes Down. good good.
leave a comment or i'll turn you into a newt. and this time, you will NOT get better. til thursday.
i'm not funny, am i?
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| experiments in real life |
[28 Mar 2006|07:42pm] |
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mood |
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 thoughtful |
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music |
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Eric Clapton- After Midnight |
] |
so chani and i are pretty much going to try to be friends from now on.
mostly my decision, as i realized i can't be in a relationship right now.
'twas a hard thing to do, and i feel kinda shitty about it, but i think it was the right thing to do.
-------
Nyx from KoL came to visit for a short while this morning (iridina in the forums, Nikyera in-game).
and wouldn't you know, i tripped and my pants split. down the back. to the knee.
i had to borrow her coat to go change pants.
how unnecessarily humbling.
-------
life is hard, but it's just life.
lather, rinse, repeat.
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| brand-new song |
[24 Mar 2006|02:37pm] |
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mood |
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 creative |
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music |
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Pink Floyd- Brain Damage / Eclipse |
] |
Ghost
She pretends she doesn't know a thing
She acts like nothing's new
She wants to seem like everybody else does
The scent of perfume lingering
In rooms she passes through,
She hopes we think that's all her presence there was
She wants to be a ghost
She wants to not exist
At all
She needs to be a ghost
She needs to not exist
At all
She wanders and asserts to us
That everything is vague
She finds herself convinced that she's the same
She longs for the monotonous
It's her most favorite plague
She doesn't even know to be ashamed
She wants to be a ghost
She wants to not exist
Anymore
She needs to be a ghost
She needs to not exist
But I will not let her go
She is more than just a ghost
No matter what she tells the world
And I will make sure that she knows
That she's no ordinary girl
And no-one is a ghost
So long as there is love
The living and the dead alike survive
She's more than just a ghost
Because she has my love
And I will show her she can be alive
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| buh buh buh buh BOO |
[21 Mar 2006|09:09am] |
| [ |
mood |
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 tired |
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music |
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Courtney Love- Almost Golden |
] |
so, esti's wedding last night was wonderful. i'm really proud of her. we thought she'd never find anyone who was ok with her being really into torah and talmud, but she did, and yknow what? he's a great guy. i wish em the best.
i was seated with a bunch of JAPs though. one of whom had the flu. and josh harrison was there, so bleh. but at least driving back into nyc was quick later on... at like midnight.
oh, and... um. i'm hawt. or whatever.
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| Mark Your Calendars |
[12 Mar 2006|02:00pm] |
| [ |
mood |
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 confused |
] |
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music |
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Haha you were wrong |
] |
Sunday, March Twelfth, 2006.
1:35 - 2:00 PM Eastern Standard Time
New York City
Michael was dead fucking wrong.
Chani was totally right.
That is all.
P.S. - Damn you, East Side!
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| don't you dare judge me... |
[09 Mar 2006|09:14am] |
| [ |
mood |
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 awake |
] |
| [ |
music |
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The Hives- A Little More For Little You |
] |
how's about i get all Purim up in this bitch?
(google for -- "purim" "costumes" -- if you don't get what i'm talking about... Purim is next tuesday)
huzzah for Chani and many thanks for buying me the slip!
oh, and no criticizing how i look... i've never modeled (never even worn, actually) women's sleepwear.
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mikethebutcher's journal
