You Are At The Archives for April, 2009

April 30th, 2009

The year of magical thinking, not so magical

I picked up The Year of Magical Thinking because in his answers to the 6 questions we always ask, Bill Tuomala said he would take Joan Didion out to Jax. Plus, I vaguely remembered hearing great, great things about this memoir Didion wrote following the death of her husband. Didion’s husband, writer John Gregory Dunne [...]

April 29th, 2009

When the Tibbles are sick

“I cant watch TV,” Nolan said. “Why not?” “My bones aren’t strong enough.”

April 27th, 2009

She totally ruined it for me

You must live in a box if you don’t know novelist J.G. Ballard died a little over a week ago. I never read anything by him and probably never will. This has nothing to do with his reputation as a writer, which from what I read is pretty good. It has a little bit to [...]

April 26th, 2009

When we inevitably makeout

If you’ve ever spent any time with a girl between the ages of oh, 8 and 12, you know that one of their main reasons for existing is to apply lip gloss. They love lipgloss, it’s the G-rate cosmetic that all parents seem to deem okay. Girls will apply the lip gloss incessantly, the pinkier, [...]

April 25th, 2009

Crackpot Theory #17: Men let nostalgia get in the way of their critical thinking

Okay, I will admit upfront that I haven’t put this Crackpot Theory through the rigorous paces most of my Crackpot Theories are subjected to before the great reveal. But, well, I tempted fate by whining about being boring and unbusy which made me incredibly busy with no time for boredom. This theory of mine has [...]

April 22nd, 2009

The trouble with Beetles (and The Beatles)

At the age of four, Liam has decided he is not afraid of The Beatles’ Bear. The Beatles’ Bear had been living under my sink since that picture was taken in 2005. This morning when he arrived at Supergenius HQ, Liam announced he was no longer afraid of the bear and would very much like [...]

April 20th, 2009

8.14 crushes a day for the past 23 years

I recently (about 16 minutes ago) claimed to have had 66,283 crushes in the past 23 years. One of my Facebook friends figured out I averaged 8.14 crushes a day. That sounded about right to me. I love quickly and ficklely. Here is a short list of thing I have crushed on thus far today: [...]

April 19th, 2009

Fallen off the horse

Do you ever have those periods of time where you feel like the most boring person on the planet? I’ve gotten so boring I’m convinced that my brain is atrophying and now I brush my teeth with my left hand. I read somewhere that brushing your teeth with your opposite hand will help your brain [...]

April 16th, 2009

Enough with Susan Boyle you awful, judgmental pricks

I’m sure by now you’ve seen the video of Susan Boyle singing some song from Les Miserables on Britain’s Got Talent. If you haven’t wait about 4 minutes someone will forward it to you, link to it, tweet about it, or post it on their Facebook profile. The video is unavoidable and every time I [...]

April 13th, 2009

Positively raging Easter

I’m not sure how you spent your Easter Sunday, but I spent mine sitting on a couch with my nephew Max singing along loudly to The Hold Steady’s new live album, A Positive Rage. We did this mostly to annoy Sister #2 because she hadn’t yet received her copy. She deserved it since she banned [...]

April 12th, 2009

Ramona really was a pest, on first literary love

Most bookish women I know lay alms at the altar of Judy Blume, with good reason. I too love Judy. I learned a lot from her, and as everyone knows I am more prone to quote Tales of a Fourth Grade Nothing than any poem. But Judy was not my first love. My first real [...]

April 11th, 2009

When Hank gets to the point he’s really cooking

Hank Meyerson is that friend who takes a really, really long time to tell a story. Sure once you reach the end where the awesome is you’ve kind of forgiven him for taking the slow, meandering route, but still . . . In Scott Muskin’s novel The Annunciations of Hank Meyerson, Mama’s Boy and Scholar, [...]

April 9th, 2009

Political differences as narrated by a Tibble

“That car is so cool,” Nolan said as we were venturing home from the SuperT. We had just pulled up behind a car with a bunch of bumper stickers. “No it’s not,” I said. “Why not?” “He doesn’t like Obama.” The car was owned by a very red Republican and was the first time I’d [...]

April 8th, 2009

Superman comics make me cry

Superman is the Rodney Dangerfield of superheroes. He gets no respect. People claim he’s boring because he has all the powers. It’s the one chink in his invincibility. But people are wrong, and All-Star Superman Volumes 1 & 2 proves that. Writer Grant Morrison, artist Frank Quitely, and inker Jamie Grant have taken what we [...]

April 6th, 2009

Not so momentous

After something like wearing it for thirteen or fourteen years, I took my nosering out. I’m not exactly sure why, which is fitting because I’m not exactly sure why I got it pierced in the first place. I remember taking a shower one morning when I was twenty-three (or four) and deciding that day would [...]