SEPTEMBER 2008 ROUNDUP

We hit the end of September with the White Sox winning a one game playoff against the Twins, 1-0, to make it into the playoffs against the Tampa Bay Rays on Thursday. The Cubs start their playoff series against the L.A. Dodgers tomorrow. We are in uncharted territory...so let's take a moment and chart my pop culture intake, shall we?

I read 2 books in September, bringing my total for the year to 42. This is my smallest book total of the year but I am still 6 books ahead of pace in order to reach my goal of 48 on the year. I only need to read 2 books a month the rest of the way to meet that goal; I am confident that will still happen. Last September I read 4 books and had reached 29 for the year. Oh, I read The Sons of Heaven by Kage Baker and Room One by Andrew Clements.

I read 14 stories in September, brining my total for the year to 180. The stories came from the July 2008 issues of both Asimov's and F&SF, as well as the Aug. 2008 Asimov's. Last September I read 20 stories and had read 145 for the year.

I read 2 comics in September, both of them trades (Astro City: The Dark Age 1: Brothers and Other Strangers and JLA Presents: Aztek the Ultimate Man). I've read 75 comics so far this year, 28 of them trades; last year I'd read 109 comics, 23 of them trades, by this point.

I downloaded 4 CDs in September, for a total of 67 on the year. The only one not mentioned in my previous post was the new Kings Of Leon, Only By The Night. Last September I got 10 new CDs and had reached 82 for the year. My music consumption is definitely down.

I actually saw 1 movie in the theater in September (Pineapple Express), which brings my total for the year to 7. Last September I hadn't seen any movies in the theater but I'd seen 14 on the year. Guess my movie viewing is down this year too.

And there's three-quarters of the year down...

eMUSIC ROUND THIRTY-TWO

This may be the smallest number of albums I've grabbed in a single month on eMusic. It's all good stuff, at least...

The Broken West/Now Or Heaven
Okkervil River/The Stand Ins
Portastatic/Some Small History

More next month...

SUNDAY SHUFFLE #109

The White Sox have blown so many chances to win the division over the last week plus, yet they still have a chance. Amazing. Speaking of amazing, here's some music...

1. The Closer/The Baseball Project (4)
2. Green River/Creedence Clearwater Revival (6)
3. pleasure is mine/Matthew Sweet (4)
4. Bridges & Balloons/The Decemberists (9)
5. Lumberlung/Slobberbone (17)
6. Josephine/Portastatic (3)
7. Sweet Tooth/King Khan and The Shrines (7)
8. Biology Tricks/Centro-Matic (9)
9. Your Own Cloud/Portastatic (3)
10. Endlessly/Mercury Rev (1)

SUNDAY SHUFFLE #108

Another late start this week due to chores (like fixing the roof...though I mainly held the ladder) and my wife printing tickets for her fall play. The Emmys start soon and I may watch a bit. Regardless, here are ten songs from my iTunes...

1. Cursed Mirror/Superchunk (9)
2. Song For/Earlimart (8)
3. Weightless/Nada Surf (1)
4. Rosalie/Alejandro Escovedo (1)
5. Slow Show (Daytrotter Session)/The National (6)
6. About Today/The National (13)
7. Bandit Queen/The Decemberists (8)
8. Crimson/Apples In Stereo (10)
9. Green River/Creedence Clearwater Revival (5)
10. All The Things That Go To Make Heaven And Earth/The New Pornographers (18)

SUNDAY SHUFFLE #107

This Sunday Shuffle is coming to you live from a rain-drenched Valparaiso, IN. Your DJ has spent most of his weekend dealing with water and includes a trip to the attic to search for the source of a leak. Good times. Then again, it could have worse and the rain is now over - Hurricane Ike has left our building. I've done my algebra and I'm reading to ramdomly play 10 songs from my iTunes. Enjoy!

1. Cut Your Hair/Pavement (7)
2. Seen How Things Are Hard/Elliott Smith (8)
3. Onions/The Mountain Goats (8)
4. Down In A Hole/Jason Isbell (1)
5. It's Me/Dinosaur Jr. (10)
6. room to rock/Matthew Sweet (4)
7. I've Gotta Try/Sloan (13)
8. The Family Gardener (live)/Jeff Tweedy (8)
9. A Sentence Of Sorts In Kongsvinger/Of Montreal (12)
10. Penny and Jack/The Essex Green (23)

eMUSIC ROUND THIRTY-ONE

I have things to download this week, so I'd better let you know what I grabbed in August...

Dr. Dog/Fate
Gillian Welch/Time (The Revelator)
Ra Ra Riot/The Rhumb Line
Verbena/Souls For Sale
Hoodoo Gurus/Magnum Cum Louder
The Decemberists/Castaways And Cutouts

SUNDAY SHUFFLE #106

This week I layer in the third of my jobs, teaching swimming lessons once again. So I will be working at the elementary school every day from 8:30 to 3:15, going to school four nights a week, and now teaching swimming two nights a week plus Saturday mornings. The good news is I don't need to learn anything about teaching swimming since I've been doing it for so many years. The bad news is my time is going to get tighter but that's what I signed up for. It'll be fine.

Now I'll shut up and give you some songs...

1. Gang Bang Suicide/Broken Social Scene Presents: Kevin Drew (7)
2. Pre-Crimson/Apples In Stereo (9)
3. Most People Are DJs/The Hold Steady (13)
4. Faust Arp/Radiohead (19)
5. Somebody Changed/The Clientele (7)
6. Song From Debby's Stairs/M. Ward (7)
7. Fox Confessor Brings The Flood/Neko Case (5)
8. What Happened.../Grandaddy (12)
9. Baboon/The Mountain Goats (10)
10. I Wish I Was/The Twilight Singers (13)