You Are At The Archives for May, 2009

May 30th, 2009

Twin Study

If I were independently wealthy I would buy hundreds of copies of Stacey Richter’s short story collection Twin Study so that I could pass them out to people who claim to not like short stories or not to read them. “Here,” I would say. “Read this and then tell me how you don’t like short [...]

May 28th, 2009

A conversation outside of Cub Foods in Shakopee

Nolan and I ran to Cub yesterday because I needed bagels. Everyone at Supergenius HQ was aghast when we went to make breakfast (apples, peanut butter, bagels) only to discover the bagel cupboard was bare! Instead we made monkey bread with magic monkey crystals, real monkeys (according to Liam), and 3 wishes each in the [...]

May 27th, 2009

Where I quote Chuck Klosterman, diss on Nick Hornby, and admit I was wrong

If it weren’t for Christa’s rave review, I’d have never picked up The Song is You. See, I read Arthur Phillips’ Prague back in 2002 and was underwhelmed. After that I promptly forgot Arthur Phillip’s until Christa decided to read this latest novel. I even warned her all sassy-like, “good luck, his first novel sucked” [...]

May 26th, 2009

I watched a Spelling Bee and then I cried

I had no idea watching the National Spelling Bee would be so entertaining. Not only are the nerdy kids super smart and kind of quirky, but the dude handing out the spelling words was kind of sassy and snarky. “That’s the only definition I have,” he would say whenever they asked if there was an [...]

May 25th, 2009

Some notes from a long weekend, a list that isn’t so much about the weekend

I’ve been unemployed for 10 days. Today is the first one spent entirely in pajamas. I will probably have nightmares about Sleestaks tonight, because I’m in the midst of a “Land of the Lost” marathon on the Sci-Fi channel. Wednesday I had the Tibbles, Thursday I went to a reading, Friday Jaycie & Max spent [...]

May 22nd, 2009

Last night I met an author and didn’t do anything stupid, which is a first

It isn’t often when my love of Rock & Roll collides so beautifully with my love literature. Last night it did at Arthur Phillips’ reading for the delightful, delectable, delovely The Song is You Phillips, who grew up in Minnesota, read in the huge Carl Pohlad hall at the Central Library in Minneapolis. The place [...]

May 19th, 2009

The one where I turn into an alien from V

I woke up this morning, the first time at 6:30 a.m., to discover there is a dryish, scaly-feeling sort of rash-like thing happening on the back of my neck. The right side specifically. I went to bed scale free and bam! now I have scales. Chances are I was visited by aliens while I slept. [...]

May 17th, 2009

The Goth Family Robinson

There is a sort of adage passed down from writing teacher to student, usually after workshopping a student story where the last paragraph involves the main character waking up only to discover the previous thirteen or twenty-three pages have all been a dream. Oftentimes there is an alarm clock involved. The adage goes something like [...]

May 17th, 2009

I’m like Brian Johnson at the end of The Breakfast Club giving myself a congratulatory punch in the arm

If you ever find your self esteem lagging, I highly recommend losing your job as a means to boost it. Sure the impending financial calamity might be a high price to pay, but you’ll sure feel good about yourself on the way to the poorhouse. While I fully expected my friends and family to be [...]

May 15th, 2009

And now this happens 2: Unemployment Boogaloo

Because I like irony or poetic justice or just bits of weird symmetry in my life, the marketing department at The Nerdery went to the very same Mexican restaurant today, on my last day, that we went to on my first day. It kind of happened by accident because none of us can make lunch [...]

May 13th, 2009

Young turks

Nolan sat cross-legged on the floor (a manner of sitting my niece Jaycie calls “criss-cross apple sauce” and what was called “Indian style” when I was a kid), Lucinda, my guitar, draped across his lap. Liam sat on the other side of the guitar petting the green surface. “We’re going to play so loud, we’ll [...]

May 12th, 2009

Knockin’ on The Nerdery door

Tonight, at the moment really, I’m covering an event we’re hosting at The Nerdery. It’s about building secure websites, and it’s pretty interesting. People were listening intently to the woman who is presenting, I was typing away trying to keep good notes. I looked up from my laptop and noticed half the crowd had turned [...]

May 11th, 2009

A short list of movies I actually paid money to see at a theater

Howard the Duck Mannequin European Vacation Harlem Nights Short Circuit Bill & Ted’s Excellent Adventure Bill & Ted’s Bogus Journey Arachnophobia Dad Joe verses the Volcano Crazy People Dick Tracy Jetsons: The Movie

May 10th, 2009

Bottled up & now exploding

One of the very smart woman bloggers I read said recently that it’s humiliating to be held emotionally hostage by your hormones. I loved the line so much I’m ripping it off and I can’t even remember which of the very smart woman bloggers said it. If my memory or my mood were better I [...]

May 9th, 2009

The Tibbleflu claims more victims

I promised my immune system that I would buy it something pretty if it beat off the Tibbleflu like the champ I knew it was. Well, I am here to tell my immune system isn’t getting dick. The Tibbleflu claimed me and Jaycie as a victims yesterday, and from what I hear, Sister #2 is [...]