On 88% of all weekends in any given year, I am perfectly happy not to leave the confines of Supergenius HQ. I have hermit-tendencies and I’m more than willing to indulge those tendencies. However, all that changes when the hermitude is forced upon me rather than something I freely choose. When it’s forced upon me [...]
November, 2009
26
Nov 09
Giving thanks, 2009 edition
When writing the traditional Thanksgiving post a blogger can go one of two ways –mushy and sincere or withering and sarcastic. Both have their bits of predictability — I’m thankful for my family and health and house and friends and blah OR I’m thankful that I live in a world where Matt Lauer talks about [...]
25
Nov 09
Await Your Reply wrecked me
I finished reading Dan Chaon’s Await Your Reply two weeks ago, and it wrecked me. I haven’t been able to read more than ten pages in any book since, which kind of makes sense considering Chaon’s novel is so fucking good it blew my mind.
This is the kind of novel that when I sit back [...]
23
Nov 09
American Born Chinese
While reading American Born Chinese, by Gene Luen Yang, I had to consistently remind myself that it was graphic novel for young adults. Without that reminder I found myself growing a little weary of the premise — dealing with racism in America, trying to find your identity, etc.
But when I kept in mind that this [...]
21
Nov 09
Angry at a book, an incoherent rant
The book I’m reading (which shall remain nameless for the time being) has just gone from being kind of annoying to actually making me angry. So angry that I cannot seem to stop writing snarky comments in the margins. Things like, “really, really people loved to hate Bill Gates in the late 80s?” Because, [...]
19
Nov 09
I blame the musicbloggers
Earlier today I was having a conversation via Twitter with Kyle Matteson (@solace) about the A.V. Club’s Best Music of the Decade list. I took issue with the fact that this is a best of the decade list by a sort of indie-pub and there were five bands on the list I’d never, ever heard [...]
17
Nov 09
Not really resisting the urge
Ever since Dawson’s Creek: The Complete Series came to Supergenius HQ I’ve had to resist, with every fiber of my being, the urge to create Tumblrs and Twitter accounts for all the characters and tweet each episode like some kind of deranged uber fan.
I fully realize that the fact that I even have to resist [...]
16
Nov 09
Essex County
Last week I was talking with my writing teacher, Dale, about graphic novels. I was reading one before class started and he, pretty unfamiliar with the form, was curious what a lit snob like me thought of them.
I told him I was pretty new to the form myself, having only started reading graphic novels [...]
15
Nov 09
A moral failing on my part
Some of the heartiest of Minnesotans might thing it was a moral failing on my part to take off virtually an entire week because of a cold. Those people can blow me. There is nothing fun about being sick and there’s nothing good or productive about doing a half-ass job while being sick.
No, taking a [...]
8
Nov 09
The rabid chipmunk makes me more emotional than usual
Even on my best days I’m kind of a crybaby. For reasons I cannot explain, crying is my go-to form of expressing emotion — sad, happy, angry, afraid — you name it, I cry. I would be more concerned about this if it wasn’t something I’ve done all my life. I’m just wired for tears. [...]
5
Nov 09
77 cheeseburgers
From the time I got my first pink walkman and a cassette of Chicago’s “17″ I would listen to music as I went to sleep. It helped with the insomnia that plagued me since I was a little kid. For as long as I could remember I did this. I would create entire bedtime playlists, [...]
4
Nov 09
Andromeda Klein
Andromeda Klein is a skinny, goofy-haired seventeen-year-old girl with disorganized collagen which causes her to have fragile bones and bad hearing. Because that’s not enough to make her a high school misfit, she’s also got a couple of wacky parents (Mom’s addicted to online role-playing games and Dad’s a conspiracy theorist) and is dealing with [...]
3
Nov 09
A short list of stuff I used to love that I have officially broken up with
Dave Eggers
Wilco
Weezer
Chuck Klosterman
2
Nov 09
The SciFi crybabies are at it again
I caught this piece about International Science Fiction Reshelving Day (November 18th) over on the Magers & Quinn blog yesterday and it made me laugh. Being a bookstore, their concern regarding ISFRD is legitimate. Being a bitch, mine is haughty.
The mere fact that the SciFi nerds have a day where they can “reclaim” books [...]
