Somehow or another, Friday sneaked up on me again.
Here is a thread to celebrate.
*** Update ***
Decisions: Star Trek because I’m dying to see it, or Angels and Demons, which I really don’t care much about, but it might make that insufferable prick William Donohue cry. I’m petty and shallow, so this is a much closer call than you might think.
*** Update #2 ***
ZOMG! It is the one year anniversary of the Whitey Tape! And while Dave Weigel taunts Larry Johnson, I should remind you that I actually delivered the Whitey Tape for you, my faithful readers:
The truth is out there!
schrodinger's cat
We are waiting for new pictures from Tunch Cam.
KG
is it sneaked or snuck? I always thought it was snuck.
TenguPhule
And you have some weekend reading to do.
Please let us know how it goes.
R-Jud
I realized this morning that we are nearly to June. I don’t know about anyone else, but 2009 is going way too fast for me.
John Cole
@KG: Sneaked when I was growing up, but snuck is acceptable now. Same with dived and dove, I believe, but I had sneaked and dived drilled into my head by the unit.
Dennis-SGMM
@R-Jud:
School will be out for the summer in less than a month here and we already have summer weather. Soon enough I’ll be another year older and not a damned bit wiser.
The Moar You Know
My fiancée is returning to town and good times shall abound. Three hours until arrival.
Punchy
Where the fuck is my Tim F. Friday Beer Blogging?
Laura W
Where the fuck is my DougJ Friday Wine Blogging?
KG
@ John Cole: gotcha. I’m just north of 30 and grew up on the west coast, so it was always snuck and dove for me. but i keep getting the red line under snuck.
The Cat Who Would Be Tunch
Who is John Cole?
R-Jud
@Dennis-SGMM:
We most definitely do not have summer weather here on the Island (rain, fog, and hail, about 55 today) but I hear you on the older and no wiser. Though that may just be my dread of the milestone birthday I’m having this year.
DanSmoot'sGhost
@The Moar You Know:
Your cutie’s due at 2:22 today?
Dennis-SGMM
@KG:
Everyone knows that the west coast is riven with sneaky back door nut snuckers.
Laura W
I need help in bed.
My bed is killing me. I wake up every hour to turn over cuz my arms and sides hurt. I think my mattress is too hard. (It’s taken me a full year to come to that conclusion, so draw your own about my amazing grasp of the obvious from that.)
Acupuncturist told me I need Memory Foam. (I’ve tried feather beds and they are worthless.) I just googled it and went to Overstock.com where the selection overwhelms me, of course.
Anyone have any Memory Foam love to share?
John, since you’re petty and shallow, why not stay home and watch the two-hour Farrah Anal Cancer special? IIRC, she was on your wall during a very formative time in your young life?
John Cole
@Laura W: I’d rather shower in prison than waste two hours watching that.
Laura W
@John Cole: You know, that’s the second time you’ve used the “shower in prison” option.
I notice stuff.
Dennis-SGMM
@Laura W:
Did you check for a pea under your mattress? :)
I always thought that firm mattresses were better for your back. I make a point of sleeping outdoors once a week so I might not be the person to give advice.
TenguPhule
Why not both?
Then curl up afterwards with a nice mug of hot chocolate and some grilled cheese sandwiches and start on Guards, Guards.
srv
Well, looks like Leon Panetta agrees with Newt.
Keep digging Nancy, we will be thrilled to kick you into the ditch.
TenguPhule
Like sleeping in quicksand, you soon discover you have somehow sunk into the bed.
-Tried, didn’t buy
Max
@Laura W:
I have a memory foam pad (4″ thick) over my mattress and I can’t decide if I like it.
I will warn you… they are very warm. Get some type of cotton cover so you’re not putting the sheet directly on it.
Fencedude
Angel’s and Demons, if its anything like the book, will suck horribly.
I hated myself for reading that book so much I went and dug up my copy of Focault’s Pendulum to purge the memory
Rick Taylor
gbear
Yep, another weekend in the Twin Cities. The clouds rolled in right on schedule at 4:30. This’ll be a good evening for books and music.
A couple of weeks ago we talked about a TC get-together. Tell you what, with all this coffee talk, I’m going to head up to Nina’s Coffee Shop at Selby and Western tonight about 7:00. Anyone nearby in StP? I’ll be wearing a green bb cap and I’ll probably be the only person in the whole place without a laptop, kindle, or any means of twittering.
South of I-10
@R-Jud: I won’t see 55 degrees again until late October. 90 here today and it is only going to get hotter. We have now entered the “why do I live here?” portion of the year.
gnomedad
We’re planning to see it this weekend to celebrate the end of a hectic week. I’m eager to see whether Star Trek still works without Jolly Ranchers-on-plywood control consoles.
The Cat Who Would Be Tunch
@Laura W:
I’ve been using a foam bed for a while now and I will say that it has drastically improved my comfort level whenever I sleep. I hated the damn spring mattresses so much that half the time I would just sleep on the ground. The foam mattresses are great because they are firm enough so as to keep their overall shape but are much better than other mattress types in terms of following the contours of your body.
Foam is the way to go, IMHO.
BTW, I must’ve been in a cave when the whole whitey thing broke out. I’ve always seen people alluding to it. Can somebody please provide me with the Cliff’s Notes version of what happened?
MikeJ
Ciccone Youth with a cut from the Whitey Album:
youtube.com/watch?v=zLQmCLpm_RE
Dennis-SGMM
Bite me.
OTOH, hillaryis44.org and No Quarter are still in business. “You can fool some of the people all of the time…”
Genine
I highly recommend Star Trek. I’ve seen it twice.
Angels and Demons won’t be the thing giving you the satisfaction, giving Donohue and co a big “Fuck you” will. So why don’t you write a nice “Fuck You” get it out of your system and save your $10 to $15 on something pleasurable, positive and uplifting.
Yes, being petty and shallow may bring short-term satisfaction. But Star Trek will give you long-term feel good. And haven’t you been railing against certain people thinking of the short-term over the long-term?
Indylib
@Laura W:
This is the memory foam I got from Overstock. No complaints, price is decent, and it didn’t stink to high heaven when it came out of the box. What more can you ask for?
Jackie
re not effected.@Laura W: I love, love, love my miracle astraunaute magic foam bed. All sorts of strange old person numbness and creakiness disappeared. It is very odd at first. It feels top hard and then about 2 days in you’re hooked. My husband hated it for a week and now has a hard time sleeping in any other bed. Mine came with a 30 day return policy.
They owe me a kick back for all the custom I have sent their way and one person of about the 30 I know who have tried it,sent it back. Every one else is hooked.
MikeJ
Go to a multiplex. Buy a ticket for A&D. Go see Trek.
Jon Wiesman
I’ve seen Star Trek twice. I’m trying to think of a good reason not to see it for a third time, and can’t come up with one. Highly recommended.
James K. Polk, Esq.
Two things about the memory foam (my little brother worked for a chiropractor who sold them)
1) Let the sucker degas after you buy it.
2) Many people return the all foam beds for foam mattress toppers because it’s hard to have sex on the all foam mattress.
Laura W
@Jackie: Do you have a link to your specific product, Jackie? I love all the good things I’m reading here so far. Feeling pretty damn hopey! And changey!
Laura W
@Dennis-SGMM: (I clicked through. Shhhhhhh……)
TX Expat
@South of I-10:
Yep, I, too, am S of I-10. I am laying on my couch under the AC nursing a vicious sunburn I got at a baseball game yesterday (since when did it become illegal to bring sunblock into a stadium???).
55 degrees…never thought I would long for the Northwest during May, but there you have it.
noncarborundum
Short answer: yes.
Laura W
@Indylib: Thanks. I will bookmark that one and this one which goes to what Max said about them being hot, which I REALLY appreciate, since I run hotter than anyone I know as is. This one seems to be astronaut friendly, and cooling, but I would like a bit more thickness, I think.
Glad I asked. I hear a pretty resounding chorus of YES ON FOAM!
Politically Lost
We have people coming by to measure our countertops for replacement. (were doing some mild upgrades to our over priced hovel) Mrs. Lost called me at work to say how excited she was to finally be getting started on the upgrades and she was bragging about the granite samples the estimator left after the measurements.
Being the politically lost animal that I am…
I can’t get the GRANITE part our of my mind.
Should I spill some dijon on it just go full elitist?
Our discourse is so fucking dumb.
JenJen
I actually remain friendly with a couple who, back in the day, insisted the Whitey Tape would be the end of the Democratic Party if we nominated Barack instead of Hillary.
Should I send them an anniversary card? What’s appropriate?
@The Cat Who Would Be Tunch: Like Laura, I’m in the market for a new mattress, and thought the foam mattresses at Ikea were reasonably-priced and phenomenally comfortable, so much more than I expected. Any other suggestions in the foam mattress world?
TenguPhule
One of those newfangled ones that laughs like a clown when you open it.
flukebucket
Okay. I give up. How in the hell do I read the comments on my Kindle? I get the posts but not the comments. WTF!
Tiparillo
Live long and prosper.
R-Jud
@South of I-10:
@TX Expat:
The grass is always greener, I guess.
Or brown and seared, in your cases.
Fern
There cannot be too much taunting of Larry Johnson, I say.
Edited to say: I just looked at his sitemeter for the past year. Snirk.
demkat620
Go see Star Trek.
I spent a year listening to people tell me how great the DaVinci Code was. So I finally read it and my only thought was “This guy is a horrible writer” Great premise but just horrible writing. And the movie was pathetic.
I’d bet anything Angels & Demons will suck.
Indylib
@Laura W:
My husband is like a frickin’ furnace when he’s under the covers, I just double sheet, one over the memory foam and another over the top of the foam and the mattress. This seems to help.
Don’t go any thinner than 3 inches. I slept in one of my kids beds with 2 inch memory foam over the winter when my husband was sick and the difference was obvious.
SGEW
Ye gods, the Whitey tape. Was that a year ago already?
Re: Foam. Can be very comfy to sleep on; can be very inconvenient (discomforting, even) for a bed’s (ahem) other uses. Foam pads that can get rolled up and put away: good compromise.
Re: Star Trek vs. Angels and Demons. A&D looks like total crap . . . but what else can we expect from Ron Howard? Hell, the most recent preview I saw claimed that “It’s Better Than The DaVinci Code!” as if that was high praise. Avoid.
Star Trek, on the other hand, is remarkably well made: excellent casting, smooth direction, highly accomplished CGI, and very, very sharp dialogue editing. Somehow manages to balance over-the-top action sequences with some surprisingly subtle touches – and again, truly excellent casting. I was astonished at how much I enjoyed the film, even though the plot is cringe-worthy (but I suppose that had to keep some old Star Trek “charm”).
Little Dreamer
John, I think you need to do the Star Trek thing, but I read the book Angels and Demons several years ago and I’d be pretty interested to see it, personally.
Laura W
@JenJen: Just to clarify, I am in the market for a foam topper for my nearly new mattress. It’s just too hard and I think these 3-4″ memory foam overlay thingeys are they way to go. I wish I could afford a new mattress, but there’s no point since this is only a year old and a fine Serta Sleeper. I mean, fine, other than IT’S KILLING ME.
Indylib
The headline and pic on the front page of Huffpo right now is a win!
Laura W
@Indylib: Christ. I had to turn my eyes away from the 14″ers, I was so, um…captivated.
slag
@Laura W: I’ve had a natural latex mattress for 8 years that I can’t live without. Better for the environment than memory foam too.
Once you go rubber, you never go back.
Litlebritdifrnt
@Laura W:
Laura I went to Big Lots and got a memory foam cover for my mattress, I think it was the thickest one they had for like $50.00. I have slept like the proverbial baby ever since, no back aches, no tossing and turning, I sink into that memory foam stuff at night and I just sigh. DH on the other hand claims it is the stuff of the devil and that he sleeps much better in a motel room than he does in our bed. MEH. I loves me some memory foam.
JenJen
@Laura W: Ahhh. I need an entirely new mattress, unfortunately, and will have to save up for awhile. Have you checked out Ikea, though? They have the foam toppers, too.
What kind of pinot are we having tonight, by the way?
Indylib
@Laura W: lol I knew somebody was going to find a double entendre in there somewhere.
South of I-10
@TX Expat: Ouch! A cool shower, some aloe vera and some advil will make it much better. It sucks to walk outside sunburned when it’s 90 degrees!
The Grand Panjandrum
Score major pwnage for Cole.
Laura W
@JenJen: Er…I had 1/4 glass of the Las Rocas Rose left, and 1/2 glass of the Crane Lake Pinot Grigio left, so finished those off (with Perrier Citrus). Now I’m quaffing a fresh bottle of the 2007 Beringer Pinot Grigio, mixed 1/2 and 1/2 with a lovely little generic sparkler bursting with lime and raspberry. SASSY!
Litlebritdifrnt
@Litlebritdifrnt:
PS) yes on the hot thing, if you are at all suffering from the night sweats (the dreaded hot flashes) then expect to throw the covers off (then drag them back on again) a couple of times a night, but I no longer wake up with back pain and this has been the biggest boon for me. The memory foam is da bomb.
Steve V
John, please see Star Trek. Thanks.
Pooh
Star Trek is awesome.
Angels and Demons good but not as awesome, but a far far superior film to Da Vinci Code (largely because they didn’t really have to soften it much at all since the Catholic Church is more scenery than a central player as in DVC, so Howard had to do a lot less “softening” of the plot. Plus the plot is much more easily streamlined for a 2.5 hour movie…
KJ
Star Trek is a must see for any science fiction fan.
Jackie
@Laura W: I bought my tempurpedic about 5-6 years ago when they didn’t have so many different options and just went basic. I ordered it on their website. Expensive but worth every penny.
From what I gleaned theirs is visco elastic which makes it heat sensitive. I don’t know which models but some of their competitiors aren’t heat sensitive in normal human body temps. Since you are supernaturally hot who knows? I have the full mattress but if I recall it has a 4 inch topper of the foam. In the interval there are alot more products on the market but I think the heat sensitivity is critical.
I have not found it an impediment in ,umm, not sleep mattress activities but then I hated waterbeds so maybe I’m weird.
The Other Steve
@slag: We just bought a Latex mattress in February. A sealy purembrace something something at Macy’s that was on clearance.
I wasn’t sure if I was going to like it at first as this one is extremely firm. But it is firm in a good way. It’s firm without digging into your back.
It’s the best sleep I’ve ever had. It’s simply incredible. It has a 20 year warranty compared to 10 for the regular mattresses. We’ll see.
Brandon T
@James K. Polk, Esq.:
Second that. Most fucking frustrating thing in the world. It’s about like trying to have sex in quicksand.
JenJen
@Laura W: Oh my goodness, your Pinot Spritzer sounds absolutely delightful!! Seeing as how I have a bottle of El-Cheapo Chardonnay (I’m momentarily Pinot-less) in the fridge, next to a case of Schwepp’s sparkling lime soda water, you just gave me the best idea EVER!
Speaking of Adventures in Grocery-Land, went to get some chicken breasts and was astounded at the price… $6.39/pound! They were right next to chicken breast tenders on sale, so I assume it was all a set-up to move the tenders. And of course I bought a package but now realize they’re too small for the grill and I’m gonna have to saute them. I hate grocery store mental games. :-(
@Brandon T and James K Polk: This is crucial information, for which you are both to be thanked. Are we talking, waterbed-awful, or what? Because you might have me re-thinking that foam mattress thing.
Litlebritdifrnt
@Laura W: You and this left over wine thing is just not on. There is no such thing as left over wine! :)
John Cole
No Star Trek tonight. I’m having a lambic and reading Guards Guards.
The Other Steve
go see star trek before angels and daemons
Tattoosydney
@TenguPhule:
Shhhh. He’ll start to get suspicious and our cunning plan won’t work.
ETA:
Move along there. Nothing to see here.
jnfr
We saw Star Trek today (in IMAX!) and loved it. Just loved it. Great fun reboot of the whole damn series.
On the way home NPR was doing a segment one Star Trek’s 40 years, and I realized I’ve been loving Star Trek since I was a teenager. But this is a worthy entry (just don’t pay attention to the science, as with any Star Trek).
SGEW
@John Cole:
A most wise choice, sir!
TenguPhule
But it’s a million to one chance, it has to work.
Dulcie
@Laura W: I love my memory foam. I travel a lot for work, and I cannot sleep in a hotel bed anymore, even the so called “Heavenly Bed” the Westin is so proud of. I bought mine at Overstock. I got the 2″ foam, and it came with two matching pillows for around $70.
Litlebritdifrnt
Oh and if I suddenly disappear it is because I am absolutely exhausted by the week that has just gone. I am merrily doing all the stuff I normally do on a Friday night, but I am exhausted. I am thinking that at some point my brain is going to say “that’s it you are done” and shut down. So anything I post after this point is posted with the “brain shut down” disclaimer.
Laura W
@Jackie: Yes, I really regret not going for the Tempurpedic since I could’ve had my choice of beds (it was a gift). I did fine, and a foam memory topper will probably rock my world.
It’s not easy being Supernaturally Hot!
Stooleo
Oh NOes,, Rik Roled again.. pfftttt.
I guess its back to drunken stop motion animation for me.
good weekend BJ’ers
SGEW
@TenguPhule: But that’s awfully specific, like. What if it’s only, say, a thousand to one instead of a million to one? Then it’s doomed!
Joel
Bobby Cox is this generation’s Jimy Williams, and Garret Anderson is this generation’s Darren Lewis.
TenguPhule
I have a very cunning plan to suck your attention away for hours on end
Warning, link is spoilerific. Also addictive. And possibly NSFW.
Brandon T
@JenJen:
I don’t really know, not having really lived in the era of waterbeds. Avoiding too much information, I’ll just say it’s worse the more “kinetic” you are. If you’ve ever tried to, say, walk around or move around on your knees on a foam mattress, you get the idea pretty quickly.
Tattoosydney
@TenguPhule:
But what if it’s only a 935,698 to one chance?
ETA: Dammit SGEW beat me….
Calouste
@Laura W:
I have a Tempur-Pedic, which is a Swedish brand you can also get in the States. It cost a mint, but that was also because I got the largest size they got, but it is good. It can get warm though and sometimes I feel like I have sunk in so much that I have to make an effort to turn over, but that has also something to do with my weight.
My advice would be to visit a retailer and try a matress out by lying on it for 10-15 minutes. Start with the most expensive one and work your way down price wise until you find one that is both comfortable and fits in your budget. Sleeping well is worth a lot of money though.
SGEW
Indeed. Not to mention the disconcerting sensations of . . . um . . . grippage. Throws one off one’s game.
JenJen
@Brandon T: Message received, loud and clear, my friend! Thank you for talking me out of it!
Fulcanelli
@Brandon T: You guys do it indoors? On a mattress? Hmmmm…
patrick
I just got back from Star Trek, and it is dead solid badass.
Brandon T
@JenJen: I hesitate to knock the mattresses so quickly, since I have friends that have them that I haven’t heard any complaints from. But then again, it’s not necessarily the sort of thing one WOULD hear complaints about, and people vary in frequency and intensity in these things (maybe I’m just clumsy!), so it might not be a huge problem for all people.
@Fulcanelli LOL
harlana pepper
Aw, now.
Can I be a drunk fangurl and say how much I lurves teh Michelle?
She is teh awesome.
Go ahead and throw yer termaters! I’m drunk.
Signed,
Drunk Fangurl of der Obamerrs!!
Emma Anne
@TenguPhule:
Eep. TV tropes and discworld? I am shutting it right now because we are leaving for Star Trek in 20 minutes.
harlana pepper
PS, I luv u guys also
life is good
HitlerWorshippingPuppyKicker
@JenJen:
Is that anything like an Eliot Spritzer?
harlana pepper
Being on this thread, which is most unfortunate for me, I must say that I have nevers lookkedd beyond teh original Star Trek nor do I feel a need to do so. My fantasies lie with der very youngish Bill shatner and Leonard Nimoys unt there is no need to look furder.
((sigh))
Cat Lady
Laura W – Tempurpedic memory foam … nom nom nom. First time in many many many years of marriage my heavier hubby doesn’t make me feel like I’m sleeping on the side of a hill. I wake up with the cat next to me in the morning in the same position we both fell asleep in. Yessssss.
We bought a knock-off for 1/3 of the price, and it’s ok, but not as good. It’s not 2/3 worse – it’s a little harder, but quite acceptable. Husband uses pillows for teh se*. (TMI)
Litlebritdifrnt
@harlana pepper:
You and me both, so lets them give us shit.
Anne Laurie
Alternate suggestion: Try a cheapo air mattress, half- or two-thirds inflated, on top of your too-firm mattress. You want to be lying in a “hammock” of air, with your butt not quite bottoming out.
The Spousal Unit needs a very soft mattress to be comfortable, and I need quite a firm one. The Select Comfort airbeds, pricey though they be, have saved our marriage over the last 20 years. I know the conventional wisdom is ‘bad back, hard mattress’ but depending on your individual spine, the air-hammock on something not quite as dense as plywood works for a lot of people.
harlana pepper
PS, my mattress sux
harlana pepper
@Litlebritdifrnt: Really, they can suck rox if they don’t like it
Brandon T
@HitlerWorshippingPuppyKicker:
LOL. Why does that sound like a sex act that would be defined in the urban dictionary?
DarrenG
I’ll echo slag@56 on Talalay latex mattresses. All the benefits of memory foam without the over-heating problems and are firm enough for seriously vigorous sex. And yeah, they’re more environmentally friendly.
Pratchett, coffee, and mattresses this afternoon? I’m OK with this.
HitlerWorshippingPuppyKicker
@Brandon T:
Considering what he was paying, you’d think they’d name a sex act after him.
harlana pepper
mATRESSES wERE meant for Cat hair, NOt seXX
nikita
I love this place. Where else in the blogosphere can I come to for insider discworld jokes and candid advice about getting your freak on (being “kinetic”) on a foam mattress?
LMAO!
Rosali
Gotta love the 80s, when men and women wore Mom jeans.
HitlerWorshippingPuppyKicker
Um, inertia is an issue for me, on various levels, and especially in the area of physical health.
Why would I want a mattress that lets me sink in and become immobile all night? Okay, memory foam in a coffin, but in a bed?
Isn’t memory foam just a poor man’s sensory deprivation chamber?
Do I need to wear electrodes while I use it?
Litlebritdifrnt
@harlana pepper:
Speaking of which, has there ever been a more elegant couple in the WH? I mean really? Two people so obviously in love with each other, who have two adorable daughters who they obviously adore, doing stuff, ya know walking the dog, planting the garden, playing on a swing set, just stuff. And then you get stuff like Barack taking Hillary out to the swing set for a talk, cause he doesn’t want anyone else in on the conversation, I mean just damn, this guy is so damn good at this stuff. Where the fuck did he learn it? (Anything Britty says from this point on is discounted cause she is probably squiffy)
Laura W
OK, 7 Minutes to Farrah’s (probably very sad and yes I will be sobbing especially if I keep drinking the Eliot Spritzers) Anal Cancer Story.
John Cole….You really do owe it to her to watch, you know.
“WOMEN I WANTED TO BED WHEN I WAS 14”
(Wow. The link doesn’t catch your edit nor the comments! The archive search did. Whatever. You get the point. You owe her.)
Jackie
Additional benefit: When the 100 pound dogs decide to jump on or off, the mattress does not transmit the vibration. Plus they really liked it so much I bought memory foam dog beds for the pooches. It doesn’t stop them from dropping in for a visit but they really like them too.
I wasn’t kidding about deserving a kick back.
Ash
Angels and Demons isn’t even worth it out of vengeance. I’m seeing Star Trek for the second time tomorrow.
robertdsc
I liked A & D in novel form, haven’t read DVC yet.
I also liked his Digital Fortress and Deception Point novels. Both were fast paced and worked well for me.
South of I-10
@Harlana Pepper: I raise my margarita in your honor.
HitlerWorshippingPuppyKicker
So, when I am 90, and can’t remember anything, what happens to my memory foam? What if I can’t remember that I have memory foam?
Litlebritdifrnt
@Laura W:
I am not going to watch simply because I do not want to watch such a thing. I cannot sit and watch a person die. It is sad.
BeccaM
To John: Trek. It’s all that. We saw it a couple days ago and totally enjoyed it.
LauraW: I used to sleep on a well-filled, temperature-tuned waterbed…then moved overseas to locations where such a bed was impossible. So I got a 3″ memory foam mattress topper. Upon moving back to the States, we (my partner and I) decided to hell with it, we’ll just get another topper as it was plenty comfortable. I’d agree with the other commenter who mentioned to be sure to get a good cover for it, to reduce any heat transmission.
bvac
Juan Cole is on Bill Moyers Journal right now discussing Afghanistan. Which means John should be getting an uptick in hatemail shortly.
Laura W
@HitlerWorshippingPuppyKicker: This reminds me of the riff my acupuncturist when into about this very subject when he told me it is what I need. I was on my back, on his table, and he was walking around the room cracking really lame Memory Foam jokes. Just like yours. “You’ll remember where you slept.” “You’ll remember where your foam is!”
You ever meet people that are SO sweet and good that you just love them? But they are never, ever funny when they try to make jokes? You laugh because their jokes are so lame, but they don’t know that, nor would you ever tell them, because they are just so good and kind. So you want them to think you are laughing because they are really funny?
Yeah. Like that.
wasabi gasp
Beats sleeping on an elephant. Har!
JL
@Laura W: This comment is from the person who stalks BOB…
@Joel: Bobby does know how to win but he also has a few issues.
@Litlebritdifrnt: How’s DH?
Krista
My mattress isn’t memory foam, but more of a firm foam mattress, and I love it. It’s not sink-y like the memory foam is, so you do still have good leverage for bedroom shenanigans. But I don’t get pressure points in my hips and knees like I did with a a spring mattress. Plus, where I’m up 5 times a night to pee, a foam mattress doesn’t transmit the motion of me getting in and out of bed like a spring mattress would.
Hello to my drunken girls, by the way! I miss commenting while blotto — I’ll have to go on a good bender once I’m done breastfeeding and come on here to tell everybody how much I love them. :)
JL
@Krista: Hi, When’s your fiddle festival or classes? I figured that we would be left alone to come up with puns or appropriate sarcasm.
HitlerWorshippingPuppyKicker
@Laura W:
Whew, I was on pins and needles there for a minute.
Punchy
Go with the waterbed. The full motion kind. It’s like sleeping on a raft each nite. Full on titties awesum.
Laura W
@HitlerWorshippingPuppyKicker: Bruce? Is that you?
Tattoosydney
@Laura W:
Ouch.
Krista
@JL – the opening session was this evening. I’m just back from it. It was all right, although it was kind of mortifying when they got us all together on stage to jam. They’d get one person to pick a song to play, and everybody knew it….except for me. Then someone else would pick a song, and everybody knew it…except for me. I think there were a couple of people way in the back who were in the same boat as me, but I was right in the front row, with the stage lights right on my face, just sitting there like a prat and smiling weakly while everybody else was playing merrily. Out of the 20-some songs we played, I knew one of them. It was kind of like that nightmare where you’re writing an exam and are completely unprepared.
Tomorrow will be better, as we’ll actually be in small groups with the instructors. But man…tonight was very, very humbling.
Tattoosydney
@Laura W:
I’m begging of you, Jolene.
Be gentle. (You must love Dolly, right?)
Laura W
@Tattoosydney: Don’t be a trouble maker.
My acupuncturist is sweet, loving and un-funny.
HWPK is mean, cruel to animals, and funny.
(Edit: Dolly’s OK, but since I am the only one so far, praise Shiva, to post music in this thread, as far as I can tell, you’re gonna have to up your game to match “Smooth”. Frankly, I’m still enjoying the music-link-free-Friday-Night-Open-Thread thing. I’m way more into my mattress issues and Farrah’s anus.)
HitlerWorshippingPuppyKicker
@Laura W:
That’s how you talk to a person who has a handful of sharp instruments in his hand which he is about to stab into your back?
I’d be eyeing that “Learn Acupuncture in 21 Days” book on the shelf, and telling him to pay attention.
Tattoosydney
@Laura W:
And yet, somehow, both lovable.
freelancer
@robertdsc:
Okay, but didn’t you notice by the time you read Brown’s third or forth book, that you could see who the bad guy was in the first 50 pages, and the 2-D antagonist type character in the first 3rd of the book was actually someone who would turn out to either be a red herring or a secret good guy.
They’re okay for forgettable beach reads, but I find his writing to be really, really cheap and shitty.
Now as far as popular writers with a strong story-telling ability and a wicked literary streak, for my money, it’s hard to do better than Dennis Lehane. His PI series is great. He wrote for The Wire the last 3 seasons, and his books have been made into some decent films.
Scorcese’s made Shutter Island, to be released in October, and I heard Sam Raimi has the rights to his latest novel.
Fern
@freelancer:
I find him to be pretty much unreadable.
Tattoosydney
@Tattoosydney:
While I am in the mood… Damn you Whitney Houston for ruining one of my favourite songs (that I usually keep locked up in my shame file).
HitlerWorshippingPuppyKicker
@Laura W:
Hey, I only kick Republican puppies. It’s not like they don’t deserve it.
And … Farah’s anus? Ye gods!
Little Dreamer, are you out there? This thread needs some help in a hurry.
JL
@Krista: lol.. I actually took a final many decades ago and fell asleep on my blue book. Fortunately there were only 3 questions and I answered the first two. My average was high enough that it just lowered me a grade. Sometimes you just have to laugh. Hopefully tomorrow is better.
Tattoosydney
@Fern:
Somewhere in Spain, quite near the railway tracks between Lisbon and Madrid, there is a moldering copy of “The Da Vinci Code”, which I threw out the window of the train in disgust. I had only reached page 9 or 10, I seem to recall, before being overwhelmed with an urge to burn the book. Ejecting it seemed a safer course.
Beauzeaux
My interest in seeing Star Trek was somewhat dampened when I happened to see a clip from the movie showing Spock as a young man/Vulcan having a dramatic moment of conversation with his mother. Ma Spock looked to be about 28 years old.
I know it’s science fiction, but come on!
BeccaM
I was gonna refrain from commenting on Dan Brown’s mad writing skillz…or what seems to me to be a near complete lack thereof.
He seems to have a few rules: (1) End every chapter on a cliffhanger, no matter how jarring, and (2) travel to lots of random touristy places in Europe, then work them all into the plot of a given novel so as to write it all off as tax deductible.
The characters are two dimensional and irrational, there are zero plot surprises after the first 50 pages, and the writing itself is pedestrian and as bland as a Wonderbread baloney sandwich with over-watered Koolaid and a Twinky dessert.
But that’s just me. I’ll take anything Dan Simmons writes over most other authors any day. For example.
p.s. (on update) Brown wrote “Angels & Demons” AFTER “The DaVinci Code.” It shows.
Betsy
I’m afraid I might be about to get kicked out of the Balloon Juice community, such as it is, but…I just got back from seeing Star Trek, and while I enjoyed it, I think it was HIGHLY overrated. The dialogue was corny, the characters were totally flat, the scientific/technical details were nonsensical…
i enjoyed seeing Star Trek the same way I like Men in Black – it was fun to watch, and had great special effects, but it was hardly the sublime experience everyone else in the world seems to think it is.
Carrie
Just got back from seeing Star Trek with the ultra trekkie nerd ex-husband.
I’m really surprised at how much I enjoyed it.
robertdsc
Some of his situations are ridiculously implausible, but otherwise, I thought they were OK. He’s no Tom Clancy or Stephen King (2 of my personal favorites), but I didn’t walk away from the ones I’ve read with any negative feelings. DVC is yet to come, though, so we’ll see.
BeccaM
Stupid update from me: Meant to say ‘Brown wrote A&D BEFORE DaVinci Code’. Otherwise what I said was pretty pointless. Grr.. Must punish brain with a gin & tonic or some other libation.
Little Dreamer
@HitlerWorshippingPuppyKicker:
I got nothing sorry. Well, maybe one thing (you may not like it), but if you don’t change some things in your own life, you aren’t going to be ninety to find out if you forgot where the memory foam is.
Sorry to be a downer.
Ummm, in case you forgot (despite a post I wrote earlier today) I’m the straight woman, remember? You make the jokes. I let you shine (but dammit, you really need to work on that shining thing lately). ;)
::sneaking out before I get kicked too::
Little Dreamer
Just wanted to clarify my reasoning for being interested in A&D, it’s two fold:
1. my interest in little known religious lore
2. I was brought up in a Masonic society so I took to studying the concepts to find out if they were as weird as conspiracy theorists had surmised.
Fern
@Betsy:
And this was a surprise?!
Little Dreamer
That makes two Betsy’s about to get kicked…
::fear face::
gwangung
Thus, PRIME Star Trek!
(And I speak as a contributor to the rec.arts.startrek.* FAQ).
HitlerWorshippingPuppyKicker
@Little Dreamer:
547763 alternatives.
Little Dreamer
@HitlerWorshippingPuppyKicker:
Oh, yes – definitely ;)
When?
Betsy
@Fern:
After everyone in the western hemisphere talking about how awesome the movie was, yes. Its score on Metacritic is higher than The Wrestler. With that kind of score, I expect it to more than a slightly-better-than-average action movie.
Betsy
@Little Dreamer: Are you a Betsy too? That’s great – I don’t meet too many others.
Little Dreamer
@HitlerWorshippingPuppyKicker:
Oh, I had a thought, does crankiness level increase over time? If so, I don’t think I want to know you when you’re ninety. ;)
Little Dreamer
@Betsy:
Yes Betsy, I’m a Betsy (I introduced myself to you under my old name a few months ago but, I’m sure you didn’t realize it was me).
We Betsy’s have to stick together. ;)
Betsy
@Little Dreamer:
Oh, I’m sorry!! I’m a sieve-brain sometimes.
Little Dreamer
@Betsy:
No you’re not, I changed my handle, and I didn’t notify the International Betsy Assoc.
asiangrrlMN
@Betsy: Well, at least you saw the movie. I haven’t, and I have no interest in seeing it.
As for A & D–feh. I tried to read The Davinci Code several times, but I could never get past the first two pages.
Mattresses–the harder the better. Laura W, I get hot, too. I fix that by sleeping sans clothing. Plus, the heater is set at sixty at night. Covers get tossed off, and all is good. Since I am, um, energetic, I would not want a foam mattress.
I don’t drink beer or wine (I have been suggested to try the lambic), either. Man. I am a BJ outcast.
Oh, John, fuck you for the rick-roll.
TattooSydney, you don’t have to eat Doritos–you just have to support me in my Dorito-obsession. Which is only now because of other BJ commenters.
Max
I see on Twitter that Politico is reporting that Obama is naming Huntsman to be Amb to China.
According to the source, Huntsman knows he’d never win a GOP primary because he’s not batshit crazy, so he’s throwing in the towel and hoping that party purges the wingnuts by 2016.
And the moderates continue to flee…. I’m starting to look forward to the Presidential debate between Palin and Obama. You betcha!
Betsy
@Little Dreamer:
Oh, well, in that case, I feel better. I try to stay current on the newsletters.
Ninerdave
My Mom was an English teacher and I have always said snuck and dove. Must be a west coast thing. Wasn’t until recently that I learned that was wrong.
Of course she’s from the midwest and says wa_R_sh and I used to torment her with ain’t. So…I might have missed a lesson somewhere.
Ash
It’s Star Trek…
It’s Star Trek…
Well, it’s Star Trek…
Fine, whatever, I’ll just have to see it three more times to make up for your standards, Betsy. :D
valdivia
@Max:
wow, for real?
Andy K
@Laura W:
You know, Laura, some of us found our dads’ copies of Playboy featuring Patti McGuire and replaced that Farrah poster in the blink of an eye.
bago
@Beauzeaux: It’s Winona Ryder. Don’t wanna age it too much.
AhabTRuler
Living in our nation’s capital, this kills me every time.
And for some reason, the Amtrak guys just love to really sell out on it: “Welcome to Union Station in WARSH-ing-ton, DC!”
sgwhiteinfla
I kinda liked “Digital Fortress” from Dan Brown and A n D and Davinci Code was interesting at the least on a theological level to me also. Besides that the most interesting thing to me about A n D was his writing about CERN trying to create anti matter and come to find out CERN was real and just last year they actually tried to create the anti matter much like he wrote in the book. And just like in the book some people freaked the fuck out and though it was going to create a black hole. I wouldn’t say he is a great author but at least his stuff is kinda interesting in my opinion.
Max
@valdivia:
Here’s the link to the Politico report.
politico.com/news/stories/0509/22589.html
And the comments on Malkin’s site can be summed up with a “Good Riddance”.
This was the one guy that Plouffe mentioned a couple weeks ago that worried him. Obama sends him to China, where he’ll probably come back a democrat…. This Obama Admin is a bunch of really smart people. 92 more months of them is really going to drive the GOP into total madness.
asiangrrlMN
@Max: Holy shit. What a coup for Obama. I don’t think there will be any moderate Republicans left at the end of Obama’s first year in office, let alone first term.
Tattoosydney
@asiangrrlMN:
If our fake-marriage can survive me having a husband, then I suspect it will survive differing snack food tastes.
Do you like this? I only heard it last night, and I think I like it… (well, more correctly, I like the bassline, and can cope with the idiot talking over it). (see about 1.03)
valdivia
@Max:
sorry to repeat myself but, I am gobsmacked. I remember Plouffe saying this so yes this is excellent news.
Pitfall Harry
Hey, don’t knock it ’til you try it.
sgwhiteinfla
I think this is a mutually beneficial move for Obama and Huntsman. Right now isn’t a good time for a moderate Republican in this country. So Huntsman gets to go to China which is probably our most important “ally” right now because of how much of our debt they hold and Obama removes him from the chess board just in case the GOP finds its sanity in the next 3 years. But he may be formidable in 2016. Probably the best part of the move is that the GOP will beat up on moderates in general and Huntsman in particular for accepting this post and more of the middle of the road Republicans will probably leave the party.
AhabTRuler
@Tattoosydney: Eh, go easy on Dizzee Rascal, Boy In Da Corner is fucking genius.
Max
@asiangrrlMN:
It’s moves like this that remind me of this:
tinyurl.com/9dgpj6
Tattoosydney
@AhabTRuler:
OK – which track should I listen to to convince me?
ETA: Got it. Not bad, but I still find myself wishing he’d shut up so I can listen to the beats in the background.
noncarborundum
You mean “red matter” isn’t real? There go my plans for the weekend.
Laura W
@Laura W: John, did you fix my link? It works now. Thanks to whoever made it happen.
I feel horrible for making Farrah anus jokes now.
No one should have to go through that much pain and loss.
I don’t know that it needs to be made into a two-hour teevee diary…but to each her own. Very sad, regardless, and yet another reminder of the cliche “Life is short, do what matters”, mantra.
AhabTRuler
@Tattoosydney: Click on genius, above. But in general, the beats are totally spent and the raps are tight, very tight.
Another good one.
AhabTRuler
And one more.
If you don’t like those three, then you don’t like Dizzee Rascal.
Tattoosydney
@asiangrrlMN:
@AhabTRuler:
Speaking of beats…. I am sure most people have seen this, but it bears a reviewing. Odd and disturbing, with crunchy beats.
John Cole
@Laura W: I did not fix your link, but I was just putting new sheets on my bed and looked up my mattress since you are having back pains, and I have a Serta Northstar Perfect Sleeper, and I love it. I swear I sleep an hour less (and I only ever slept 5-6 hours to begin with). I love it.
So does Tunch, since there are cat hairs on the damned bed within ten minutes of clean sheets, never fail.
Tattoosydney
@AhabTRuler:
Alas, I suspect this is the case… great beats… too much dizzee.
AhabTRuler
@Tattoosydney: Your link…there’s no there there!
JR
@John Cole: I saw both movies. If you can only see one, make it the one with the hot green chick in various states of disrobe.
Tattoosydney
@AhabTRuler:
Oops.
Anne Laurie
I used to work with someone who grew up with Dan Brown. He thought the problem was that DB’s family were all geniuses & polymaths, and even during his school days Dan would forget that just because the “average” person didn’t have an IQ of 160 it didn’t mean that we have an IQ of 60, either. Of course DB’s novels are Massive Bestselling Blockbusters, so maybe it’s true that you can’t go broke underestimating the intelligence of the general public {g}.
Betsy
@Ash:
We can’t all have good taste. ;)
HyperIon
@Laura W: i’m skipping to the end so apologies if i repeat someone else…
i have a sleep number bed and am quite pleased with it. i considered a memory foam mattress but hearing that they can be warm was a deal breaker. one thing i really like about my sleep # is that the two sides are independently adjustable. this is a good idea IMO. also they can last for 20 years and i know a large guy who “wore out” the memory foam in about 5 years. plus the swedish stuff is pricey. (i mean, paying more than one thousand dollars for two air chambers is one thing but two thousand for foam, please! i draw the line there.)
asiangrrlMN
@Tattoosydney: Well, I wouldn’t have the Doritos if SOMEONE who shall remain nameless (cough, gbear, cough) hadn’t mentioned them. I like the Dizzee Rascal video you linked. I like the beats and the rap. I like it better than the first one AhabTRuler linked. The second one is ok, and the third one is good.
Tattoosydney, ah Squarepushers. My ex liked ’em. I haven’t seen the vid before.
Um, fake-hubby? If you’re trying to give me nightmares, u r doin’ it rite.
Oh, and if Krista is out there, sorry about the embarrassment at the jam. I know how you feel. I have messed up in front of audiences before (acting), and it’s never pleasant.
Tattoosydney
@asiangrrlMN:
Oops – wrong thread.
Don’t trust dogs, or little girls (or men in stretch limos). [Language NSFW]
Steeplejack
@TenguPhule:
@John Cole:
Book report: I finished it yesterday. Reported on it in a post later, but it was one of my late-night dead-thread comments that are usually seen only by the archiving gnomes.
Pratchett put me off initially with the shtick turned up to 11, like: “Would you like a side order of dark chocolate with your triple-chocolate cake?” Too much–too cloying. But once the plot got clanking along it got better, and I enjoyed the book quite a bit. Enough that I started Men at Arms today.
The point where it took off for me was when Captain Vimes went all Dirty Harry on the rioting mob with a small swamp dragon under his arm. And I liked many of the subsidiary characters, particularly Erroll and the Librarian. Oook!
Steeplejack
@Laura W:
C’mon, what a music-video tease! You say you’re enjoying the music-link-free evening, but you practically dare the guy to post one with “you’re gonna have to up your game”! It’s taking every bit of my own supernatural self-control not to post one myself. Urk–damn it!
asiangrrlMN
@Steeplejack: I hear you. It took me about fifty pages to get into Mort. I am now a hundred pages in, and I quite enjoy it. It just took some time to get into the groove of Patchett’s writing.
asiangrrlMN
@Steeplejack: Since I can’t edit my own fucking comment, I will add–nice video! Still, Laura W wins for sexiest song of the night. My fake hubby (TS) wins for most disturbing video of the night.
Tattoosydney
@Steeplejack:
Oook! (Trans: woo!)
Steeplejack
@Krista:
Second you on the “regular” (non-memory) foam mattress. The most comfortable bed I ever slept on was one I built myself (including foam mattress, from early mattress toppers sold at Sears) based on directions in Nomadic Furniture, a funky/awesome idea sourcebook from the early ’70s.
Regular foam gives you good support but doesn’t transmit movement/vibration and is much more “granular” than springs in supporting your body. Win. The old stuff could get a little warm occasionally–I think because it was not porous enough to wick away the heat–but I think the new latex stuff fixes that. Looking forward to getting one at some point.
Steeplejack
@freelancer:
I like Lehane–I just finished the Kenzie-Gennaro series a month or so ago–but, if you want someone who is even better, check out George Pelecanos (another writer-producer for The Wire), specifically his series about Derek Strange and related characters: Right as Rain, Hell to Pay, Soul Circus and Hard Revolution. Or, if you want a one-off as a sampler, try The Night Gardener.
Pelecanos has an anthropologist’s grasp of his milieu–D.C. and the near Maryland environs–and he marries that to absolutely tight plotting and characterization. Highly recommended.
Steeplejack
@Tattoosydney:
Dude, no shame in liking that song. Dolly is an incredible songwriter, and quite often she does her own material better than anyone else. Hell, I go back to “Coat of Many Colors.” And The Grass Is Blue is a great album. Also.
Steeplejack
@Tattoosydney:
Awesome fingerstyle guitar in that video of “Jolene,” by the way.
Wile E. Quixote
@John Cole
You should see Star Trek first, but then go see Angels and Demons because let’s face it, anything that makes that insufferable prick William Donahue cry hate-filled tears of butthurt is in all probability a good thing. That’s the only reason I’m going to go see it.
I just saw “Star Trek” this evening and I was amazed at how ballsy it is. I don’t want to get into details because that would fuck it up for anyone who hasn’t seen it, but it’s very, very, very, ballsy, and completely excellent.
Steeplejack
@Tattoosydney:
A palate-cleansing sorbet for you . . .
freelancer
@Steeplejack:
I went book shopping for Mother’s Day, ran into the now former Dean of Students at my Jesuit HS, Got my mom Sagan’s last book The Demon Haunted World, Natalie Angier’s The Canon; and along the way I picked up Dreams From My Father, Under the Banner of Heaven, and a $7 dollar audiobook of Hard Revolution (as read by Lance Reddick [Cedric Daniels]).
As a question though, is that where I should start with Pelecanos?
Score!
PS: Dan Brown has a BS disclaimer about his street cred at the beginning of each of his books, like all the technology is based on existing tech (aka there exists a special ops force beyond Delta Force that is completely autonomous and is so ruthless and exacting that, even in the Arctic, they use guns that utilize ICE as projectiles to go after our heroes. Somebody’s been reading too many DARPA proposals.) And then Brown factors them into ludicrous plot situations.
BTW, Robert, I moved past Tom Clancy and his banal technothriller style sometime in the late 90s. It’s not a fault, but there are so many other great stories to dive into.
For the modern technothriller, try Richard Clarke, for brilliant, pageturning, literary Scifi, Richard Simmon’s Hyperion Cantos will not disappoint. For the most profound, soul-searching, terrifying reading experience of all, I turned to Mark Z. Danielewski’s House of Leaves.
Wile E. Quixote
@asiangrrlMN
I think that if you continue reading you’ll like the later novels. I read Mort when I was living in Germany ten years ago and was desperate for English language reading material, and while I enjoyed it I wasn’t all that impressed. Flash forward to two years ago when my Dad and my Aunt Barb, who both love Pratchett, got me to read Going Postal and I spent the summer going on incredibly enjoyable Terry Pratchett jag. I enjoyed the earlier novels but think that his touch has gotten progressively more deft (Does that make any sense? I’ve been drinking.) as the series has progressed.
Links to Mort and Going Postal at Amazon below. Yes, it’s a filthy, e-commerce, pimping link to Amazon, but if you buy the books from them through this site John will get some filthy lucre and God knows he needs it because otherwise Tunch will
eat himeat him out of house and home.amazon.com/Mort-Terry-Pratchett/dp/0061020680
amazon.com/Going-Postal-Terry-Pratchett/dp/0060502932
freelancer
Oh Shit, I forgot, we need to mention if we’ve been out drinking?
In that case TG4Backspace.
Freelancer +12
Wile E. Quixote
@asiangrrlMN
Is it more disturbing than this video?
Steeplejack
@freelancer:
Jeez, don’t start with Hard Revolution! Talk about spoiler-rama.
Look, I am completely OCD about reading crime series in order, so when I lay them out you can take it to the bank:
1. Right as Rain.
2. Hell to Pay.
3. Soul Circus.
4. Hard Revolution.
Like I said, The Night Gardener is a stand-alone, but it gives you an excellent feel for Pelecanos. If you like that, you will love the Derek Strange series. But, since you like Dennis Lehane, I don’t think you could go wrong by starting with Right as Rain. You’ll get sucked into the series.
BeccaM
@sgwhiteinfla: Um, dude/ette: CERN’s been in existence since 1954 and has been crashing particles since its inception, and creating antihydrogen since 1995. (They also essentially invented the World Wide Web…but that’s beside the point.)
That Dan Brown found it just means he saw the brochures, same as the rest of the tourists. There’s no imagination needed.
BDeevDad
Since this is an open thread…
WolframAlpha sucks. I do not see it as very useful unless you are in a HS calculus or maybe history class. Even the source links don’t even reference the actual data just a website the data might be on.
freelancer
@Steeplejack:
Okay, I’ll tuck the CD’s away for a little reward. I just looked through my bookshelves, and I remember I bought Drama City by Pelecanos a couple years back after I heard his audio commentary on the 3rd seaon of the Wire, as a writer and fellow crime novelist. Is Drama City ALSO a stand-alone? I believe it is, but I’m not familiar.
One of the main things that drew me into Lehane’s writing is, as a former Fiction major, I saw a lot of my own written voice in his prose. I haven’t written anything worthwhile in a long time since, but the guy still speaks to me. His last novel was brilliant and sprawling, I thought, right up to the end, then it just kind of finished, as if his editor had reminded him of the manuscript’s submit date. It’s as if he panicked and wrapped up a 700+ page epic in 15-20 pages just because he knew they’d publish it and Sam Raimi would buy the movie rights. It was a tad disappointing.
BeccaM
@Anne Laurie: “I used to work with someone who grew up with Dan Brown. He thought the problem was that DB’s family were all geniuses & polymaths, and even during his school days Dan would forget that just because the “average” person didn’t have an IQ of 160 it didn’t mean that we have an IQ of 60, either.”
‘Genius’ doesn’t necessarily mean ‘talented’. Good writing is an art.
As near as I can tell, Brown certainly has managed to get himself some blockbusters. But his novels give me painful, wincing migraines. If I weren’t so stubborn, my own copies would’ve been tossed out to molder along the road. As it was, I donated both A&D and DaVinci to a local library.
freelancer
I vaguely remember posting something stupid and self-pitying here on New Years Eve, so out of vanity, embarrassment, and indifference I looked it up:
That night sucked, as did the weeks to follow. I have since moved into my own place, and have even jogged to work. Docs have said because of my hardware and the intrusion of surgery, my foot will feel twice as old, and I can attest to that as my left foot throbs like a raped rabbit hours before a thunderstorm is due. Here’s to being young but feeling so very worn out.
BDeevDad
I barely got through DaVinci the book, but turned the movie off after 20 minutes max. I have no desire to see A&D. Star Trek is a different story altogether.
Steeplejack
Drama City is a stand-alone. I haven’t read it yet, but it came out right after the Derek Strange series wrapped up, and Pelecanos was en fuego then, so it’s probably good. The Turnaround, from about a year ago, is another stand-alone that is excellent. And he’s got a new one just out. Can’t remember the name.
There’s an excellent Pelecanos bibliography here. (In general, I find Wikipedia to be a good source of bibliographies and chronologies for series writers.)
One of the reasons I like Pelecanos better than Lehane–and I do like Lehane–is because Lehane sometimes sounds “writerly” and Pelecanos always sounds real. Whenever you read a novel–well, anything, really–you’re submitting yourself to the spell of the voice you hear in the narrative. Lehane will occasionally hit a false note or double-clutch–e.g., you catch yourself thinking, “Oh, here comes the big ‘wisecracking detective has to man up’ existential crisis scene”–but Pelecanos never seems to. It’s as if you’re just a disembodied (but not disinterested) observer watching these characters’ story play out in front of you.
The carpentry analogy: Sometimes Lehane will let you see the framework of what he’s building and allow you to admire his handiwork. With Pelecanos, you see just the finished product and are left wondering, “How the hell did he do that?”
freelancer
@Steeplejack:
SOLD.
Tattoosydney
@Steeplejack:
Nice.
Steeplejack
@freelancer:
I think I actually remember that post. I feel for you.
I broke my jaw about 2½ years ago–two fractures, one compound–was wired shut for two months, got a pin in my jaw and have been coping with the sequelae since then. Originally I thought, “Well, after the wires come off everything will be back to normal,” but that was not the case. I still have some residual numbness/nerve pain on the right side of my jaw–it feels like I went to the dentist earlier in the day for some really invasive procedure and the anaesthetic hasn’t quite worn off–and occasionally, usually when I’m very tired, I get that “There’s a big storm a’comin'” throbbing you refer to. Haven’t been able to use it to predict anything, though. Damn it.
harlana pepper
@Litlebritdifrnt: hee,
yes, i love to see the interaction between the two, completely endearing, hope to have a relationship like that some day altho i’m no Michelle, maybe i should put that in my internets profile “Looking for My Barack” — heh
Poicephalus
Rickrolled twice in my life.
Both times by the infernal John Cole and my curiousity about all things Michelle.
C
GReynoldsCT00
you’re a dick John, cripes only halfway through my coffee and get rick- rolled. asshole.
Laura W
@Steeplejack: I can’t tell you how funny that video is in the morning only halfway through my free trade shade grown organic French Roast with soy milk and stevia.
Betsy
Though no one will probably see this now, in defense of my Star Trek opinion I give you Anthony Lane.
Steeplejack
@Laura W:
Ended up on the monitor, did it? I’ve been there.
Steeplejack
@Betsy:
Seen and noted.
I myself am dithering about whether to go see it on the big screen this weekend. I usually hate big, stupid Hollywooden blockbusters, and Star Trek adds the gasoline of cultish obsession to the fire. But . . . it has gotten (generally) great reviews, and I haven’t been to the theater in a while, so what the hell. I’ll probably go.
asiangrrlMN
Ok, I have to say it, I don’t like Dennis Lehane. And, don’t hate me Steeplejack, I couldn’t get into George Pelecanos, either. I have three of his books, but I couldn’t make it past the first one.
@Wile E. Quixote: I agree with you about Mort. It’s light and breezy thus far. An enjoyable read. However, what I didn’t tell the Discworld crowd (because, really, I’m already on the fringe here) is that I was wavering about reading another book. Glad to know there is more complexity later on.
P.S. Wile E. Quixote, thank god I didn’t see that video last night. Who knows how my nightmares might have looked? (Biiiiiig shudder).
Steeplejack
@asiangrrlMN:
No harm, no foul. Just sharing what I like and looking at what others like.
I had never picked up Terry Pratchett–I think I had pigeonholed him in the Piers Anthony slot–and I’m glad I read Guards! Guards! Don’t know if I’ll go on to read the whole series, but I did pick up Men at Arms. Hey, you taste, you try. If you like, you eat more. If not, meh. Good either way.
Betsy
@Steeplejack:
I think as long as you go expecting that it will be a fun, special-effects, space-and-explosions action flick, you will have a good time. If you go expecting inventiveness, profundity, or even basic character development, you will be disappointed.
Wile E. Quixote
@freelancer
I’ve been in a similar situation to what you described and I don’t see anything even remotely self-pitying in what you wrote.
Gabe
Clearly this blog…and others such as Daily Kos and Huffington Post are in clear position to call others “crazy”…Are you kidding me? Stunning lack of self awareness.