FEBRUARY 2006 TOTALS

I read 3 books in February (Company; Black Brillion; The Brief History of the Dead). I purchased 3 books (Black Brillion; The Brief History of the Dead; The Ha-Ha).

I purchased 7 CDs (The Gun Album; Alligator; The Loon; Whatever People Say I Am, That's What I'm Not; Live at Town Hall; The Believer), one of which was a DVD/CD combo (That Striped Sunlight Sound).

I read 14 short stories.

I read 2 trade paperbacks (Astonishing X-Men: Dangerous; Powers: Psychotic), both of which were also purchased this month.

I watched 1 DVD (Serenity) and 2 DVD box sets (Veronica Mars Season 1; Buffy the Vampire Slayer Season 1). I also finished another DVD box set (The Simpsons Season 1) and am about halfway through yet another one (Buffy the Vampire Slayer Season 2).

I watched every new episode of 6 TV shows (How I Met Your Mother; 24; Gilmore Girls; Lost; The Office; Justice League Unlimited).

MUSICAL PREVIEWS

Today is a virtual record release party for Rhett Miller's new solo album, The Believer. You can head over to his MySpace site to check it out. It comes out this Tuesday.

I found out from my brother that the band he used to live with - Higgins - saw their album, Dear Higgins, released this past Tuesday. I still haven't been able to find it for purchase anywhere online but you can go here for a couple of tracks. Much of this was recorded while my brother was around and I met the guys a couple years ago. Good guys and good music.

Earlier this week I read about a new album from Matthew Sweet and Susanna Hoffs. The whole album is covers from the 60s and they have a couple of them up for a listen.

I will finally be purchasing my first Centro-Matic album on Mar. 7, when their Fort Recovery comes out. You can click over to Misra's website and find the stream for the whole album to find out why Patterson Hood of the Drive-By Truckers loves the band.

And while you're wandering all over the net for new music, head on over to Merge to stream Destroyer's Rubies, which came out this week. I didn't get a chance to pick it up but after listening to it I think I'll have to in the near future.

FROZEN NOSTALGIA

Late last week my parents asked if the three of us wanted to go to Chicago to go to the Berghoff before it closed. The Berghoff is a Chicago institution, a German restaurant that has been around since 1898, and it is now in its very last days - it closes on Feb. 28. I hadn't been there in almost 15 years but when I was young and we had family come in from out of town we would inevitably go down to Chicago and do the Sears Tower or the Museum of Science and Industry and we would go and eat at the Berghoff. It was always a treat - they had great homemade root beer and creamed spinach and great multi-grain bread and apple strudel for dessert. So naturally I was up for trying to go one last time, especially since Jill and Grant had never been there.

Our plan was to get there for a late lunch, figuring the line wouldn't be too bad (and I wanted to get to the sale at the comics shop before we left). We arrived in Chicago a little bit after 2:00 and by the time we parked and walked the couple blocks to the restaurant it was close to 2:30. There was a line. Now that wouldn't have been so bad but for the fact it was about 3 degrees. Still, we settled in and the line was moving fairly quickly. Jill and Grant made liberal use of the Walgreen's across the street to stay warm and at one point the three of us hit a nearby Starbucks for hot chocolate. It didn't take terribly long for us to get close to the door; however, the security came out and said it would be about an hour and forty minutes before the line moved again. Yeah right, we thought. An hour later in the freezing cold we were started to believe him. After some debate, I was sent to locate another possible eating place - my parents had just about had enough. I wandered around and didn't find anything suitable until maybe 10 minutes into my sojourn (into the wind!). I headed back to report and saw my parents waving across the street to Jill and Grant - someone had come out and said everyone would be inside in 5 minutes and seated within 20. It took closer to 15 to get in but then maybe 10 minutes to get seated. By this time our late lunch had turned into an early dinner but we were inside and on our way to warming up.

And here's the good news - the food was just as good as I remembered. We ordered a grilled marinated portabello for an appetizer and I had a bite of my dad's creamed herring appetizer. For dinner I had wiener schnitzel, German fried potatoes, and their fabulous creamed spinach. Dessert was apple strudel of course. And I washed it all down with two mugs of the best root beer ever.

We were insane for doing that in single digit weather but I know I'll never forget the last time I got to eat at the Berghoff. It was worth it.

SHOOFLYPIE RADIO

I'm going to be a DJ. In a couple of weeks, I will be starting my very own show on our local Valparaiso radio station, WVLP. It's a low power station and only reaches about 5 miles out from the center of town but I will rock those 5 miles! I'll be playing a mix of music, basically the stuff I talk about here...your indie rock and power pop and alt. country and Springsteen and so on and so forth. It's been a dream of mine for a long time to be able to have my own show where I could program it myself (I went to Columbia College in 1993 to work on becoming a DJ and quickly stopped when I realized the jobs where you wouldn't be force fed a playlist were few and far between and highly coveted) and I'm very excited about it.

I went on a gift card shopping spree this evening, hitting both Barnes & Noble and Best Buy. I used up my cards for the former and managed to leave about $17 on the latter. The haul? 1 book (Kevin Brockmeier's new novel, The Brief History of the Dead); 1 CD (The National's Alligator, recommended by LTR); and 1 DVD (the second season of Buffy the Vampire Slayer - Veronica Mars got me in the mood for my favorite show about a spunky blond uncovering secrets amidst the hell of high school). I'm excited about all of that too.

I HEART...

Joss Whedon - Well, I always heart him but lately it's for the one/two punch of Serenity and the visual companion. I got both for Christmas and read the book, which contains the script and background info, right before watching the movie on DVD (Jill and I saw it in the theater when it came out). It's a really good movie and if it's the last we ever get of the "Firefly" universe...I'm happy.

TV shows on DVD - My son and I finally finished The Simpsons Season 7. I realized that I didn't see a number of those eps when they originally aired because I saw bits that were cut out in syndication. They were cooking that year with the appearance of Homer's mom, a spring break road trip by Bart and his friends, the very cool look at all the characters in "22 Short Films About Springfield," and so much more. Then I spent the past week watching Veronica Mars Season 1 as fast as I possibly could. It's easily one of the best shows on TV, with that perfect mix of humor and drama with interesting stories intercut with emotional stories all wrapped up in an overarching secret murder investigation. I cried a couple times watching the last episode. Now I can't wait until they start rerunning season 2 eps (or the DVD comes out).

New music (or new to me) - I mentioned the Jenny Lewis (with the Watson Twins) album in passing but I'd like to reiterate how good it is. She's got that great voice and the album frames it very well with a country feel. Got around to getting The Long Winters EP, Ultimatum, from last year. Good stuff, especially the title tracks. The new Minus Five is solid, as is The Go-Betweens live DVD/CD.

Books - The new Max Barry novel, Company, is pretty good. It's another satire of the business world from him but it takes things to an exteme level and the character work is stronger than in his previous novel (Jennifer Government).

STILL HERE

Yup.

THOUGHT BUBBLES

I wandered over to Best Buy today, thinking I would pick up "Bubble." That's the new project from Steven Soderbergh that is being released in a variety of formats at the same time; it's an idea I find interesting and something to support. I was dismayed to find it offered at $22.99 - and that was the sale price. No way am I going to pay that much money for an unknown quantity. If it were priced around $15...but it's not. So I will be passing. Guess I'll have to toss it in my wife's Netflix queue at some point.

Two great things about "My Name Is Earl" tonight - guest star Adam Goldberg as an annoying would-be suicide and "Ain't No Easy Way" by Black Rebel Motorcycle Club on the soundtrack (Howl is a good album, people).

I mentioned Godland: Hello, Cosmic! the other day. It's a comic heavily influenced by Jack Kirby with big machinery and cosmic concepts and dynamic art and coloring. The villains are a bit more interesting than the hero and his family - Basil Cronus, a skeleton head floating in a jar on top of his torso who is an addict, comes to mind - but the overall concept is decent and I was sufficiently entertained enough to make me consider getting volume two when it rolls around.

I can't get enough of those two songs from The Raconteurs, especially "Store Bought Bones." Thinking I might need to pick up some of The Greenhornes in the near future. I seem to remember my brother recommending them a while back (Theron, you reading? Confirm?).

Also can't get enough of the Jenny Lewis album; I should put up a proper review in the near future. Company is interesting so far. I'm almost through The Simpsons Season 7. After reading the "Serenity" script I'm ready to watch the movie again (for the first time on DVD)...maybe this weekend.

Super Bowl predictions, anyone?

JANUARY 2006 TOTALS

I read 4 books in January (Magic for Beginners; Private Wars; Glass Soup; Serenity: The Official Visual Companion). I abandoned 1 book (On Beauty). I purchased 1 book (Company).

I purchased 3 CDs (The Greatest; Rabbit Fur Coat), one of which was an EP (Ultimatum). I dowloaded 3 CDs (Little by Little; Psalterie), one of which was an EP (Building 55).

I read 23 short stories, some of which comprised 1 of the books I read.

I read 5 trade paperbacks (Runaways: Pride & Joy; 100 Bullets: Samurai; Seven Soldiers of Victory Vol. 1; Fables: Homelands; Godland: Hello, Comsic!). I purchased 3 of those trade paperbacks (the last three on the list). I purchased and read 5 comics (two issues of Firestorm; two issues of Teen Titans; one issue of Infinite Crisis - all were traded in at the comics shop).

I watched 1 DVD box set (Undeclared) and most of another (The Simpsons Season 7). I watched some of the extras from another DVD (The 40 Year-Old Virgin). I purchased 1 DVD (Wedding Crashers).

I watched every new episode of 7 TV shows (24; Gilmore Girls; Scrubs; Love Monkey; Lost; My Name is Earl; The Office).

YES!

The Raconteurs have a live website! Who are the Raconteurs, you ask? Why, they're that hot new band featuring Jack White and Brendan Benson and two of The Greenhornes. The site looks like an Apple computer circa 1982, has two songs up for listening pleasure, and tells us the full album will be out in May. Can't wait!

And to update yesterday's musings, I went to B&N today and spied the new Max Barry at 30% off for members. That clinched it for me and it will be my fifth book of 2006.

DISTRACTIONS

I've been using the internet for what God intended the last few days - wasting time.

My latest music site is http://woxy.com, where you can listen to live performances in the "Lounge Acts" section from The Hold Steady (acoustic!), The Wrens, Rogue Wave, and The National, to name the acts I've checked out so far.

I've also been listening to Trevor's January mix, which he was kind enough to share with everyone. Go grab it for yourselves!

Finally, I'm ready to purchase a new book after having tried the Zadie Smith again and giving it up again after 20 more pages - it's really not for me. So, what to buy? I have a $25 gift card to Barnes & Noble with which to help me choose. Do I go for something in hardcover like the new Max Barry (I enjoyed his previous novel, Jennifer Government)? Of course, I'd rather hold out for the new Kevin Brockmeier novel due Feb. 14 if I were going that route. If I go paperback, do I go with Tim Pratt? Murakami's Kafka on the Shore? David Mitchell's Number 9 Dream in advance of his new one? Mieville's Iron Council? So many choices...guess I'll go with what strikes me most when I'm standing in the store tomorrow.

Now back to my other time waster...sudoku on the web. Sigh.

UNDECLARED

It was the fall of 2001 and I was excited about a new show on TV. Why? It was a new show by Judd Apatow, who was responsible for one of my favorite shows of (then) recent memory, the cancelled-way-too-soon "Freeks and Geeks." One of the cast members from that show, Seth Rogen, was not only one of the main characters on the new one but he was also a writer. I couldn't wait. And once we got past the aftermath of 9/11, I was ready to laugh at a TV show. "Undeclared" fit the bill. Unfortunately, it followed it the footsteps of "Freeks" and was cancelled after only 17 episodes (one less than "Freeks"). Now it has once again followed its predecessor to DVD.

The show was a half hour comedy on Fox and the title might tip you off to the subject: college. The focus was on a group of freshman. Roommates Steven, Lloyd, Ron, and Marshall (Jay Baruchel, Charlie Hunnam, Seth Rogen, and Timm Sharp) lived across the hall from Lizzie, Rachel, and eventaully Tina (Carla Gallo, Monica Keena, and Christina Payano). Also along for the ride was Steven's newly separated father, Hal (played by folk singer Loudon Wainwright). Episodes dealt with typical college stuff - the freshman 15, relationships, parties, reinvention, pledging a frat, and so forth. An ongoing plot was the relationship between Steven and Lizzie; they sleep together early on but she has a boyfriend...eventually that changes and they start dating. Now, I say typical college stuff but this was not a typical sitcom. No laugh track and it was a two camera show. Many of the scenes were improved as well. It all worked to make it a funny show and one that still holds up. It's that mixture of smart and dumb humor that appeals to me. Nor were they afraid to do a bit of drama in between. It helps that they had quality actors who were genuinely funny.

Actually, that's a hallmark of a Judd Apatow TV show. It's not just the main characters either. You can have good people in main roles but it can fail if the world isn't believeable. On "Undeclared" they fleshed out the dorm and campus with many great performers, allowing them to expand the cast as needed. Jason Segel of "Freeks and Geeks" fame is the prime example of this; he played Lizzie's older boyfriend Eric as the perfect mixture of sweet and creepy. He's just the tip of the iceberg of regular players and guest stars - Samm Levine (another "Freeks" alum) as a sadistic pledge master; Will Ferrell as a "townie" who writes papers for students; Kyle Gass and David Krumholtz as Eric's buddies at Kopy Town; Jarrett Grode as the deadpan Perry; Ben Stiller; Adam Sandler (as himself); Martin Starr (another...you guessed it!). The show had a whole world to be explored and I'm sad we never really got to explore it.

Obviously I highly recommend this DVD. Shows like this are why I watch TV. I'll leave you with a line that sums up the show for me...

Steven is talking to his father about Lizzie. The two have slept together but Steven has just found out about Eric and is trying to sort through his feelings. He tells Hal that Lizzie is exploring her options. Hal's response? "Then let her date Magellan! Vasco de Gama."

GLASS SOUP

I was leery about picking up this latest novel by Jonathan Carroll, as I wasn't overly excited by his previous novel (and the first part of this story), White Apples. That novel had some interesting ideas but was presented in a very frustrating way that it didn't make a whole lot of sense. Reviews for the new novel were pretty positive, however, so I asked for the book for Christmas. Now that present has become my third book for the year.

The story of these two novels concerns the unborn child of Vincent Ettrich and Isabelle Neukor. His name is Anjo. He is very important in the battle between Order and Chaos (or Chaos and how God really works, as is explained in the new book). This half of the story has the agents of Chaos trying to get Isabelle to willingly cross into Death (which she can go to after she rescued Vincent from his own death in the previous book) and what happens when they accomplish their goal. That's it, really.

Carroll tells his tale with a very odd structure - almost all of it is told in flashback, whether to things that happened before events in the first book or to things that just took place within the context of this novel. He will start a new section with a few lines to set up what has happened and will then take many pages to fill in the gap from the previous section. Why not just tell some things in sequential order? It just seems a very roundabout way to do things, though I suppose it somewhat fits the action of the book if you can call it that. Much of the book is Vincent or Isabelle or someone else figuring things out.

That said, there are some interesting ideas about what happens when we die and other thoughts along those philsophical lines. Carroll also dots the book with wonderful images and he is always readable, even if you're not sure what is going on.

I liked this book fairly well and it certainly helped the previous book make sense in retrospect (even with a three year gap between readings). But if you're looking to read Carroll for the first time, I'd suggest trying one of his standalone books like The Wooden Sea.

QUICK HITS

The second book I read this year was Private Wars by Greg Rucka; it also his second novel featuring characters from his comics series QUEEN & COUNTRY. I've read the series up to this point in trade paperback (it is soon to restart), so it's hard for me to know how the novel would translate to someone who hasn't read the comic. For example, there is little to no description of the characters - no big deal to someone who has seen them drawn but to a new reader...I don't know. That said, I really liked the book. It had that mixture of the personal and the political mixed up amidst some very tense action sequences. Anyone who likes a good thriller would do well to read his books and pick up those Q&C comics (as well as his WHITEOUT comics).

Speaking of comics, I've also read a couple trades over the last few weeks. First up was 100 BULLETS: SAMURAI, the 7th volume in that series. It actually came out more than a year ago, so I was finally getting back into the swing of the series. This one collected two stories from the ongoing - Loop Hughes in prison where Lono shows up and more with the druggie Jack. Both are solid additions to the long-running story with great-as-always art by Eduardo Risso. Again, if you like thrillers and conspiracies this would be a good series to look into. The 9th volume is coming out soon, so I still have to catch up a bit.

The first part of Grant Morrison's sprawling DC series of mini-series was recently collected in SEVEN SOLDIERS VOL. 1. It opens with the issue #0, which sets the stage for who the Seven Soldiers were, who they've become, and what happens to them. That last part is used to launch into the various mini-series detailing those who are the new new Soldiers. Except they don't know it yet. Sound complicated? Well, it is and it isn't. Morrison and his various collaborators toss off a bunch of fun/strange concepts and you can start to see links amongst the series featuring Shining Knight, Guardian, Zatanna, and Klarion the Witch Boy. Great fun.

Finally, I read FABLES:HOMELANDS, which is the 6th volume of that ongoing series featuring classic fairytale and fable creatures. This volume sees Jack of the Tales going to Hollywood and trying to create a legacy for himself but it mostly focused on Boy Blue's trip into the Homelands to try and learn as much as he can about The Adversary (who forced them into the "real world"). Writer Bill Willingham went back to some of his cliched writing on these issues but on the whole it was a solid collection. For me, the series goes up and down in quality but is obviously worth reading if I've bought all six trades to this point.

There isn't much point in talking about the Feb. issue of Asimov's. Why? Well, it was full of stories that did nothing much for me. I don't want to be bored reading Asimov's; heck, I don't think I've ever felt that way about a whole issue. There's always a new one around the bend, at least.

Even though I said I gave up on Zadie Smith's latest and am now reading Jonathan Carroll, chances are good I'll pick up the Smith one more time. I hate having to put down a book...guess I feel like I'm failing it rather than it failing me...

THE BIG RAMBLE

My plan was to have posted a couple times this week but that obviously didn't happen. One reason was a misbehaving internet connection, which lead to reeeeeeeeally slow speeds when I could access things at all. Another was preoccupation with how I buy comics. Again. And a third was my typical ambivalence and angst about the whole endeavor. Or maybe I was just that I got hooked on watching "Undeclared" and "The Simpsons" Season 7 (plus commentaries!)...

So, comics. Back in October I decided to pick up the first issue of the latest DC company crossover, INFINITE CRISIS, which happens to be a sequel of sorts to its 1985 maxi-series, CRISIS ON INFINITE EARTHS. The teenage me loved that series with its cast of hundreds even though it got rid of the whole concept of multiple earths within the DC Universe. None of which is really important to the story at hand. I picked up the next issue the following month and then started picking up a couple comics here and there - ALL STAR SUPERMAN and FIRESTORM and TEEN TITANS and so on. Reading IC was getting that inner fanboy hooked again; earlier this week I made out a comics order for March which included a bunch of DC monthlies. But I realized I can't go down that road again. I can't start with just one monthly - it inevitably leads to comics sprawl. Yesterday I traded in those issues for some store credit and have gone back to reading trades and original graphic novels once again. I don't have the money or space or any sustained interest in being a monthly comics reader. It's much safer to go the trade route. It's very black and white on my part but that's the way my personality is wired.

That wiring tends to cause problems, mostly with myself. I mentioned my ambivalence about this blog earlier and anyone who's been following any blog I've had (this is the third one) has seen that play out. I can sustain regular posts for a few weeks and then I fall off for a few weeks before finding the energy again, etc. I'm not saying that's unusual for these types of things; I'm sure the web is littered with occasional blogs. My absences stem from that black and white outlook; I'm caught between wanting to just do creative writing and to write about everything under the sun. Part of me thinks I should take any writing energy and follow my stated career goals of being a writer - a writer of novels and short stories and screenplays and so on. Let me creative work speak for me. Of course, the fact that I've done little more than take notes on stories for 15 years poses a bit of a problem - not that I can't start now. The other part of me thinks I should just try and write about books and music and movies and TV and comics and and and - I enjoy ingesting all of that and want to turn other people on to the stuff I love, maybe get some free stuff coming my way and so on. In the end it just leads to the afore-mentioned flurry of posts/dearth of posts cycle. I want to break that cycle but I still have no idea of which way I will go or if I can work that grey area in between.

Here's something I do know for sure - I will not be finishing Zadie Smith's On Beauty. I started it yesterday and made it about 75 pages in and I just don't like it. I really wanted to. Her debut, White Teeth, was highly enjoyable. I thought her second (The Autograph Man) was okay but reviews touted this latest one. I guess it was just how the script was supposed to go - brilliant debut, subpar second novel, followed by the fufillment of the debut's promise. Not for me. The writing style is unappealing and the characters and not interesting in the least. So long, Smith. On to the next book...

I've also decided I won't be picking up the new Strokes album either. Reviews for the new album seem to be following that critical script as well, with many positive reviews. I just can't get myself interested and the songs I've heard from it on KEXP haven't done anything to change that mindset. So long, Strokes. On to Tuesday's Cat Power and Jenny Lewis discs...

If you've read this far, thanks. Hope I gave you something for slogging through all that navel-gazing...

FREEDUMB NOTES

On Saturday night I had the opportunity to see my brother Theron perform in the Chicago Sketch Festival. He is a member of Freedumb, a sketch group that has its home base in New York City. While I've been able to see him perform his standup routine, this was my first time to see the group. It was a lot of fun seeing him on stage in front of a good-sized audience and Freedumb delivered the funny. I hope their appearance leads to more opportunites for them. We made a night out of it, going out to dinner with my parents and some of their friends; we also had the chance to meet the newly Chicago-based Little Toy Robot, which was also a lot of fun. It got the weekend off to a great start.

That start took a bit of a downturn yesterday when both the Bears and the Colts lost their playoff games. What happened to the Bears' D? And the Colts' O? Sigh.

I decided to check out the premiere of "24," a show I've not made much of an effort to get into before this. I figured I should give it a shot and I'm glad I did. I got all the setup I needed for the series in the first few minutes and then the story kicked into high gear. The first 4 hours were full of tense moments and action and all sorts of fun. I'm hooked. Not like I need another TV show to follow but when it's good, it's good.

I have been busy reading and watching other things in my few days away from posting and I'll be talking about some of it in the next few days. So please come back and see what's going on.

TV TALK

It's been nice to get new episodes of TV shows again. It started last week with a new "Arrested Development" where they really took it to Fox for the order reduction and it was hilarious. Last Tuesday saw two new eps of "Scrubs," which is still a fairly new show to me as far as watching it weekly goes (I have bought and watched the first 2 seasons on DVD). On Thursday I caught a brand-new "My Name Is Earl" (easily the best new sitcom on TV this year) and "The Office." It was the first time I'd ever seen a whole episode of the latter and I have to say I was very impressed. It has that mixture of smart and dumb humor I really love. I will definitely be watching more and am very tempted to pick up the first season on DVD (which reminds me, "The Flash" TV series came out on DVD this week, didn't it? Hmm....).

This week saw the return of "How I Married Your Mother." Some of the show is too "sitcom" but I really enjoy watching the actors on this show, no matter what the material (and there may be a genius of Jason Segel post at some point in the future). Last night brought back "Gilmore Girls" with the development of the complications that face Lorelai and Luke (I'm still catching up on this show via the repeats on ABC Family every afternoon). And then there were 2 more "Scrubs" - how awesome was the Turk and Todd ninja fight?

Tonight? "Lost." Mr. Eko. Charlie. What more do you need?

PRIDE & JOY

After completing the Link collection, I decided to jump to some comics as a transition to the next book. I turned to one of the trades I'd picked up in Columbus, Runaways Vol. 1: Pride & Joy. What drew me to it was its creator and writer, Brian K. Vaughan. I am a definite fan of his two current creator-owned ongoing series, Y: The Last Man and Ex Machina, and thought I'd finally get around to his book set within the Marvel Universe.

This trade is presented in a digest format, whereas the comic itself is published at the normal size. I'd read some complaints from fans about that choice but it doesn't bother me in the least. I like the digest format. That could stem from when I was a kid and DC Comics used to publish digests with new material and reprints. Plus, it's cute.

The story deals with six kids who discover something awful about their parents - they are super-villains. That's the whole of it really. We get the setup, the discovery, what the kids decide to do about it, more discoveries they make along the way, and a resolution to that setup. It's the origin of the group. Their personalities are varied and I like the various relationships that Vaughan sets up to explore. It's a fun book and I've always thought there's something to be said for that, especially in a super-hero comic.

The art by Adrian Alphona is solid stuff. I really like some of his poses and storytelling and some of it doesn't work quite as well but I think that's to be expected with a young artist. He is outdone by the covers included - a portait of each of the six kids (one per issue collected) by Joyce Chen. Knockout work.

I was definitely satisfied with this collection and I plan on picking up the rest of the trades; there are two more that collect the remainder of volume one of the series and one so far of the currently running second volume of the series (on the shelves of comics shops now!). Worth a look if you like an entertaining book about would-be super-heroes who also happen to be teenagers.

LOW ENERGY LINK DAY

I'm feeling very low on energy today so I'm just going to point you to a couple of albums available for free, which I just got around to downloading yesterday. You can find Little By Little from Harvey Danger here and the first album from The Prayers and Tears of Arthur Digby Sellers here. Enjoy.

MAGIC FOR BEGINNERS

My knowledge of Kelly Link's work was very limited going into last year. I'd been reading praises for her first story collection, Stranger Things Happen, for quite a while but just hadn't gotten around to buying it. I came across her story "Lull" in Conjunctions: 39 (the New Wave Fabulists issue) and her story "Catskin" in McSweeney's Mammoth Treasury of Thirlling Tales. I enjoyed the first but wasn't that excited about the second. Then Gordon Van Gelder published the title story to her second story collection in F&SF last year and I knew I had to start getting her work. Read and enjoyed STH a few months back and then received Magic for Beginners for Christmas; I made it my first book of 2006.

I wanted to write a very cogent review, assessing Link's strengths as a storyteller and as a writer. Instead, I just think...wow wow wow. Her stories deal with real life and the fanstastic in the same manner, as if it is all real (and who's to say it's not?). Are the fantasy parts an allegory for real life or is real like the allegory? The stories are stuffed with witty lines ("Life, like red hair or blue eyes, is a recessive gene" from "The Great Divorce") and humorous asides ("Imaginary houses are sexy. Real houses are work." from "Lull." The subjects range from zombies ("The Hortlak" and "Some Zombie Contingency Plans") to crumbling marriages ("The Great Divorce" and "Stone Animals," to name two) to a cannon ("The Cannon," which is also written in a very entertaining question-and-answer format). Then there is the title story, which after only two reads has become one of my favorite stories ever; it has the wonderful concept of a pirate TV show called "The Library" and a teenage boy who may or may not be saving one of the characters on that show. Of course, it's so much more than that.

I think Kelly Link is brilliant and I know I haven't done her any kind of justice with this short review. If you take anything from my rambling, take this - you need to read her work. Now.

WEEK ONE

Just for fun, I thought I'd give you a rundown of my week as far as what I read, listened to, watched, and so forth. I'm not planning on making it a regular Saturday feature but you never know.

This week I...

...read one book, which comprised 9 short stories (including some that may have been novellas or novelettes - I just classify them as short stories for economy's sake), and those were the only stories I read

...read 4 comics

...read one magazine and am halfway through another

...listened to 12 CDs and listened to one of those 3 times (guess which one), plus I'm halfway through another one in the car

...watched a deleted scene from "The 40 Year-Old Virgin;" 3 episodes of "The Simpsons Season 7;" and two episodes of "Undeclared"

...also watched 4 TV shows (one of which aired two episodes); 2 NFL playoff games; a smattering of other sporting events and sports-related shows; news

...posted to this blog six times, including this entry