oxford comma love

Alice Hoffman

2009-11-10T15:26:00.000-08:00

I was first introduced to Alice Hoffman's work through her book Practical Magic. This novel was made into a movie starring Sandra Bullock and Nicole Kidman. I honestly remember liking the movie but then again I was in middle school when it came out. I think a lot of people lump Hoffman's work into the genre of "chick lit" because of this movie. However, I think she is a cut above most of those type of books.

It was a few weeks ago when I finally got around to reading Hoffman's first published novel, Property Of. The story centers around an unnamed narrator and her involvement with a charismatic gang leader named McKay. McKay is president of a gang called the Orphans. This book will bring you to your knees. It uses lyrical language in a way that is so grounded in reality that you are at once totally involved with the story. Hoffman captures what it means to be in love and the dangers of all kinds of addiction.

My favorite novel by Hoffman so far is The Probable Future. The Probable Future centers around the Sparrow family, a group of women who all have extraordinary abilities. Here, I fell in love with the characters. I absolutely rooted for them. I highly recommend this book.

I have not had a chance to read her most recent book, The Story Sisters. Have you? I'd love to hear if you think it is good.

Revive

2009-11-10T15:05:00.000-08:00

Hello.

Out of the many things Jillian and I have in common, a common constant is that we are always reading. So we have decided to refocus this blog on books.

I am a book junkie. Nancy Pearl is my role model. I can talk about novels I have read forever. I have been known to check out more books than I can carry. I am constantly awed by great reads - the classics as well as debut novels. I collect art books and signed first editions but mostly I buy used books -- so much cheaper!

I hope you check out our blog to find out what we are reading and to share your favorite reads.

Happy reading!

MIX CHALLENGE IV: I CAN'T FEEL MY FUCKIN' TOES MIX

2008-12-24T16:03:00.000-08:00

Here it is:

1. follow the rules for each song!
2. only use each band/artist once.
3. use discretion with side projects/remixes of bands/artists already used.
4. also use discretion with soundtracks.
5. the whole thing must fit on an 80-minute cd-r.

let me know if you're doing this and then copy&paste the tracklisting/upload that shit! it's the holidays! sharing is caring! etc!

i love the onion

2008-09-20T12:00:00.000-07:00

Disney Lab Unveils Its Latest Line Of Genetically Engineered Child Stars

Famous internet celebrities

2008-06-20T14:00:00.000-07:00

This is almost as good as Francesca Lia Block liking one of my paintings. Yes that did happen. We are myspace friends. Jealous?

A question that my good friend asked has been answered on Pot Psychology. It's the second (and least horrifying) question.

I think I'll take a shower to clean off the aggregate shame of the past 24 hours.

2008-06-19T10:36:00.000-07:00

Everything funny I type I stole from someone else.

welcome to gangsterville

2008-06-17T07:52:00.000-07:00

What do you do when out-of-towners come to Gainesville? My friend Jason came to visit last Friday and I was sort of at a loss for what to do. I love Gainesville. It's a fun college town with lots of character. But Jason lives in Brooklyn. With last call at 2am and a lack of corner delis what do you do when a big city boy comes to town?

First we started off at one of my favorite places to eat, Cafe Gardens. The burgers there are delicious. The live music was decidely not good. We ended up going to the Top Friday night. I had too many drinks. Jason was shocked at the lack of things open past midnight. We ended up walking to Suncenter plaza in search of cigarettes. Katy drove us there but we walked home.

Saturday we went to the Butterfly Rainforest. No, I'm not kidding. I think it's totally worth it. A butterfly landed on me. Then we got gelato. The Gelato company is an awesome place to get lunch as well. Jason said it smells funny but I do not agree. Then we saw Kung fu Panda. I highly recommend it. Saturday night we had Satchel's pizza. They gave us free cake.

Sunday we were in a coma brought on by too much food. Mostly napping. We walked to Tim & Terry's in the evening. Katy came too. It was pretty dead so we ended up going to Copper Monkey.

Monday we got breakfast at Jeff's Deli. I finally got to meet Jeff. I love Jeff's Deli. They have breakfast all day and it is much more fun than IHOP. I highly reccomend it. Then I drove Jason to the airport and said goodbye.

oy vey!

2008-06-13T15:56:00.000-07:00

while i need to get off the gawker conglomerate of snarky blogs (and i really despise the word "snark" and all its permutations, by the way), i have to admit that i must not have been keeping up on my friday blog reading. more to the point: i have missed the wonderful nostalgia trip that is the weekly fine lines feature on jezebel. each week a rediscovered young adult classic is read, critiqued, and usually, loved all over again. judy blume novels are a distinct favorite - and i have to admit, getting a chance to relive my first (or thirty-first) reading of such chutzpah-laden classics as then again, maybe i won't and starring sally j. freedman as herself feels like being ten years old all over again. to say nothing of a wrinkle in time and summer of my german soldier! julie of the wolves is next week (alaska and sexual abuse is fun for kids of all ages!), and if at any point they cover iggy's house (judy blume's attempt at inserting people of color into her highly jewish/italian new jersey/connecticut/miami centered narratives) my nostalgia trip into my childhood literature will be complete.

well, at least it's an improvement from studying amy winehouse's hair and increasingly haggard face. poor thing.

further notes on the independent life

2008-06-12T18:49:00.000-07:00

frannie, i find it incredibly flattering for you to characterize me as one of your brave, adventurous, independent friends - especially because i harbor such doubts about being one of those people. i feel like a (seriously cliched) broken record saying this, but going to law school is probably the least adventurous and safest route that someone graduating from college can take. the stress/cognitive dissonance i am undergoing as a result of choosing this route is equally cliched and my own damn fault, to be honest. maybe i will change my mind and do something i enjoy more but is more financially risky, or maybe i will tough out law school as though it were, say, an overly demanding relationship that sinks me deep into debt but that is necessary for my well-being in some twisted manner. we'll see.

on that note, i was...gawking...on gawker today and found a hilariously scathing critique of cary tennis's advice (from salon.com), in this case given to a 24 year old girl who moved from suburban florida to LA, hated what she did in LA, has issues with her jewish boyfriend, and now wants to go soul-searching in thailand. i fucking know who that girl is, and while i could have seen it coming two years ago i HOPE TO GOD that i don't turn into her, somehow. mostly, i hope i don't find myself writing to cary tennis in a fit of desperation.

however, i am reading gawker (and jezebel). this probably means i am doomed to a perpetually snarky twentysomething existence, and definitely one rife with cliches like the ones previously called to attention. pass the bottle.

in pursuit of sketchiness

2008-06-12T10:45:00.000-07:00

My friends are all very different. They all look different (well Jen and Erica are a little more similar) and like different stuff. Jen just go a big fancy job. Katy is in grad school busy learning to save the world. Amy just finished a very prestigious internship in DC. Erica is moving to France. Bea moved recently to Boston. Michelle is going to grad school at UMASS. And our own miss jillian is going to go to law school. But my friends all have something in common. They are adventurers. They all take risks. They are all very brave and independent.

I am only now starting to realize how rare people like this are. Not everyone chooses to spend their Spring Break working on improving the drinking water in Central America. Or gets their ear pierced on St Marks in the middle of the night.

I want more. I want more adventure. I want more funny text messages. I want more strange people who become our friends. I want those conversations the next day and inside jokes. I want stories to tell my grandkids. A few of us have sort of reclaimed the title of sketchy.

before i crash.

2008-06-11T00:06:00.000-07:00

ten things i love at this particular moment:

1. frannie!
2. eating cold cereal straight from the box
3. roy lichtenstein
4. frank o'hara
5. staying awake until the sun rises
6. rainy early evenings
7. henry miller on new york city: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=swzQPz8oB1w
8. feministing.com
9. igloo hotels
10. SUMMER!

I go out 'cause I live in an empty house and it rains and it rains and it never stops

2008-06-10T14:40:00.000-07:00

ten things I love RIGHT NOW:
1. my jillie bean
2. patrick wolf
3. the fresh market
4. the rain (im inside and dry)
5. clorox clean up (but not windex!)
6. my longboard
7. smithcat
8. wayward council
9. clay
10. my new ballet flats from target (it's pronounced tar-jay)

my response to the summer mixtape challenge

2008-06-09T09:14:00.000-07:00

1. FOR THE LAST DAY OF SCHOOL
hot chip - "boy from school"

2. BY A TEENAGER
rooney - "when did your heart go missing?"

3. FOR A SUMMER FLING
hellogoodbye - "oh, it is love"

4. TO AIR GUITAR TO
Nirvana - Penneyroyal tea

5. ROAD TRIP!!
iggy pop - "lust for life"

6. THAT SAYS, "FUCK YOU! I'M FUCKING AWESOME"
vampire weekend - "oxford comma"

7. THAT FEELS LIKE THE SUMMER OF FIFTH GRADE
jane's addiction - "jane says"

8. LIKE A SATURDAY MORNING CARTOON INTRO
bright eyes - "arc of time"

9. TO BUILD SAND CASTLES TO
the police - "message in a bottle"

10. FOR THE SILLY
butch walker - "race cars and goth rock"

11. EXACTLY 2:01 LONG
I don't have a player that tells me this right now. But imagine this is where you take a break and eat something crunchy for two minutes and one second. There. Now you havent missed anything. I hope you ate some potato chips.

12. ABOUT OR MENTIONS FLOWERS
liz phair - "flower"

13. TO LOSE YOUR VIRGINITY TO
the sundays - "wild horses"

14. THAT WOULD PLAY DURING AN END-OF-SUMMER KISS
elliot smith - "thirteen"

15. WITH AN ALLITERATIVE TITLE
of montreal - "disconnect the dots"

16. FOR KOOL-AID ON THE PORCH/STOOP
shout out louds - "your parents livingroom"

17. THAT TOP-CHARTED SUMMER OF EARLY 1990S
smashing pumpkins - "today" (not at all accurate but it fits in my mind)

18. TO ACCOMPANY AN ICE-COLD BEER
velvet underground - "venus in furs"

19. FOR DAY TRIPPING...
travis morrison - "song for the orca"

20. YEAH! SUMMER!!
bloc party - "helicopter"

summer soundtracks

2008-06-05T17:04:00.000-07:00

i'm a big fan of music mixes. mix tapes, mix cds, mix playlists available for download. i like giving mixes and getting mixes. i like making mixes with specific people in mind, or themes, or seasons. not too long ago, at the very beginning of the summer, a friend and i came up with a summer mix challenge. each song would have to follow certain parameters and bands/artists could not be repeated. i thought it would make the perfect summer mix - one that by format would encompass triumph, beer, nostalgia, and fleeting love. here's the template interspersed with my mix picks, with a link to my complete mix at the bottom. welcome to summer!

mix challenge II: it's so fucking hot out mix
A SONG...

1. FOR THE LAST DAY OF SCHOOL
the kinks - "wait till the summer comes"

2. BY A TEENAGER
uffie - "pop the glock"

3. FOR A SUMMER FLING
camera obscura - "lloyd, i'm ready to be heartbroken"

4. TO AIR GUITAR TO
the stooges - "your pretty face is going to hell"

5. ROAD TRIP!!
kimya dawson - "my rollercoaster"

6. THAT SAYS, "FUCK YOU! I'M FUCKING AWESOME"
the vaselines - "you think you're a man"

7. THAT FEELS LIKE THE SUMMER OF FIFTH GRADE
bikini kill - "rebel girl"

8. LIKE A SATURDAY MORNING CARTOON INTRO
john zorn (naked city) - "batman"

9. TO BUILD SAND CASTLES TO
david bowie - "kooks"

10. FOR THE SILLY
abx - "stilettos in the park"

11. EXACTLY 2:01 LONG
the dismemberment plan - "do the standing still"

12. ABOUT OR MENTIONS FLOWERS
yo la tengo - "black flowers"

13. TO LOSE YOUR VIRGINITY TO
slowdive - "when the sun hits"

14. THAT WOULD PLAY DURING AN END-OF-SUMMER KISS
mirah - "don't die in me"

15. WITH AN ALLITERATIVE TITLE
of montreal - "disconnect the dots"

16. FOR KOOL-AID ON THE PORCH/STOOP
the boy least likely to - "i'm glad i hitched my apple wagon to your star"

17. THAT TOP-CHARTED SUMMER OF EARLY 1990S
elastica - "connection"

18. TO ACCOMPANY AN ICE-COLD BEER
hot chip - "over and over"

19. FOR DAY TRIPPING...
the magnetic fields - "take ecstasy with me"

20. YEAH! SUMMER!!
olivia tremor control - "the opera house"

LINK: http://www.zshare.net/download/12846199e22b328b/

2008-06-05T13:48:00.000-07:00