Music Monday -- New Music III

As part of my Day Zero Project, I am finding some new music.  Specifically I want to find a great new-to-me band for each letter of the alphabet.  Today, I have a few songs to share.Music Selections: 

Zulu Winter "We Should Be Swimming" -- Recommendation from YouTube from watching Gotye.  I really like it.

St. Vincent "Cheerleader" -- Another YouTube recommendation. They are really getting good at this. I love this song.

Walk the Moon "Anna Sun" -- Another one. But I also heard this on AltNation on Sirius XM many times, and never caught the name. So excited to know who this is now.

GROUPLOVE "Tongue Tied" -- Another AltNation find. Creepy video, but great song.

Imagine Dragons "It's Time" -- AltNation, I Love You! I found the video and this amazing acoustic version for your enjoyment.

Punch Brothers "Dark Days" -- From The Hunger Games soundtrack. I adore Chris Thile (lead singer) and somehow missed that he has a new band. No actual video, just enjoy the music.

Complete A to Z list (so far):

• A - Awolnation "Not Your Fault"
• B -
• C - Cake "Mustache Man (Wasted)"
• D -
• E - Ellie Goulding "Lights"
• F - Fun "We are Young"
• G - Gotye "Somebody That I Used to Know"
• H -
• I - Imagine Dragons "It's Time"
• J -
• K -
• L -
• M -
• N - Neon Trees "Everybody Talks"
• O - Of Mosnter and Men "Little Talks"
• P - Punch Brothers "Dark Days"
• Q -
• R -
• S - St. Vincent "Cheerleader"
• T - GROUPLOVE "Tongue Tied"
• U -
• V -
• W - Walk the Moon "Anna Sun"
• X -
• Y -  Young the Giant "Cough Syrup"
• Z - Zulu Winter "We Should Be Swimming"

Into the West Day #2

We're on our way.  We're heading to California to start a slightly modified life.  Excited as it may be, we've got a lot of ground to cover.  I thought you would like to see the things we encounter on our ~2000 mile journey.  (I know it 's just what you have all wanted!).  Enjoy! Travel miles today: 397 miles

Travel miles total: 605  miles

Places of interest: A huge day of sightseeing. Although I think I enjoyed it way more than J...

First stop: Sioux Falls downtown to see the reproduction of David in the park.  I found it pretty weird that Sioux Falls, SD, has a naked man statue in their downtown, but it was nice.  On our way out of town, we drove by the concrete outline of the USS South Dakota, but no pics.  It was pretty lame...  I want the real ship.

Next up: The Corn Palace in Mitchell, SD.  The height of cheese.  Loved it!

Then: 1880 town outside Murdo, SD.  We originally had a 1880 town close to Sioux Falls on the list.  We drove past and it was like the set of Texas Chainsaw Massacre.  We passed that one up for the original.

On to: Wall Drug in Wall, SD.  The best part... J got a pic of me riding a jackalope.  We marveled at the cheese.  We were almost eaten by a T-Rex.  And we scored some fudge, red raspberry rubarb jam, pheasant jerky, huckleberry tea, and bison summer sausage.

Finally: Mount Rushmore.  I actually really enjoyed the monument.  It was also nice to visit on the off season with hardly any other tourists.  And for some reason, we didn't have to pay.  Score!  We finished with the mountain, Wove our way through the Black Hills, and ended up in Hill City (Comfort Inn) for the night.

Tomorrow: Devil's Tower and Wyoming!

Spring Into Horror Readathon -- Finish Line

Go visit Castle Macabre for more details.

Time read today:  hour  minutes

Total time read: 10 hour 56 minutes

Pages read today:

Total pages read:  1510

Books read today:

Total books read: 4

Update in 6 words:

Goals:

• Read 3 books or more
• Write reviews for all books read
• Read an average of an hour a day (trying to not pressure myself too much)

TBR Pile:

• Bad Doings and Big Ideas by Bill Willingham
• Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire by J.K. Rowling
• Sense and Sensibility and Sea Monsters
• The Picture of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde
• The Radleys by Matt Haig (review pending)
• Allison Hewitt is Trapped by Madeleine Roux (review pending)
• The Physick Book of Deliverance Dane by Katherine Howe

Into the West Day #1

  We're on our way.  We're heading to California to start a slightly modified life.  Excited as it may be, we've got a lot of ground to cover.  I thought you would like to see the things we encounter on our ~2000 mile journey.  (I know it 's just what you have all wanted!).  Enjoy!

Travel miles today: 208 miles

Travel miles total: 208 miles

Places of interest:  No one place.  We got a late start, so no fun attractions along the way.  We did decide to take the Iowa Loess Hills Scenic Byway instead of just heading north on I-29.  Lots of great rolling hills, tiny towns, and bluffs.  We made it to Sioux Falls, SD, at dinner time, ate at Old Chicago, and checked into the Fairfield Inn.  Tomorrow we'll actually hit some great roadside attractions on the way to Mount Rushmore.

Spring Into Horror Readathon Day #6

Go visit Castle Macabre for more details.

Time read today: 3 hour 10 minutes

Total time read: 10 hour 56 minutes

Pages read today: 400

Total pages read:  1510

Books read today: 1 -- The Radleys

Total books read: 4

Update in 6 words: wouldn't want to live by Radleys...

Semi-Charmed Summer 2012 Challenge

Semi-Charmed Summer 2012 Book Challenge hosted at Semi-Charmed Kind of Life

Rules:

• The challenge will run from May 1, 2012, to September 1, 2012. No books that are started before May 1 or finished after September 1 will count.
• No re-reads! I want you to experience new books with this challenge.
• Each book must be at least 200 pages long, unless otherwise noted.
• A book can only be used for one category. If you want to switch the category later, that's fine, just be sure to account for that in your point total.
• Each category may only be completed once, so the highest possible total is 200 points.
• The first three people who finish the challenge will win a featured/guest post on my blog. If less than three people finish, the participants with the three highest scores will "win." Good luck!

The Challenge:

5 points: Read a book chosen for the 2012 World Book Night. 10: Read a book you were supposed to read in school, but either bailed on or Cliff-Noted. 10: Read a memoir or narrative nonfiction book. (Examples: Friday Night Lights, When the Game Stands Tall, The Devil in the White City, etc.) 15: Read a book in one day. (Must be at least 150 pages long.) 15: Read a book that you've always wanted to read but haven't gotten around to yet. 20: Read a pair of books that have antonyms in the titles. (For example: The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo and The Boy in the Suitcase, or The Unbearable Lightness of Being and Heart of Darkness, etc..) 20: Read a book that is set in a place you've never been but want to visit. 25: Find a book written the year you were born that was later made into a movie. Read the book and watch the movie; compare. Or find a movie released the year you were born that was based on a book. Do the same thing. 25: Go into a bookstore or library. Pick any bookshelf. Read the third book from the left on the fourth shelf from the top. (If it's not at least 200 pages, pick the next book to the right.) 25: Read a book about which you’ve heard bad things. 30: Read a trilogy. Total page count for all three books together must be at least 500 pages. (Remember, you can’t have read any of the books before!

Super excited about this challenge.  It just sounds like so much fun!  I am currently formulating my TBR list...  more soon.

Spring Into Horror Readathon Day #5

Go visit Castle Macabre for more details.

Time read today: 1 hour 52 minutes

Total time read: 7 hour 46 minutes

Pages read today: 213

Total pages read:  1110

Books read today: .6 of Allison Hewitt is Trapped

Total books read: 3

Update in 6 words: Can't wait to read the sequel to Allison Hewitt!

Spring Into Horror Readathon Day #4

Go visit Castle Macabre for more details.

Time read today: 78 minutes

Total time read: 5 hour 14 minutes

Pages read today: 135

Total pages read: 897

Books read today: .4 of Allison Hewitt is Trapped

Total books read: 2.4

Update in 6 words: Holy zombies Batman!  Love this book!

Distractions...

Today I should be finishing packing and reading for the Spring Into Horror Readathon.  Instead, I am finding distractions for myself on the interwebs...  Enjoy my distractions.

1. How awesome is he? I adore Newsies and really want to see it on Broadway, but I guess this is as close as I am going to come for awhile.

2. She is just amazing. Makes me want to watch every single one of these Disney movies (especially Hercules [love the Muses and Megara])

3. Can't wait until their new album... "Ghosts that We Knew"

4. Schmidt's work out video -- love him and the douchebag jar

5. Julian Smith "Buffering" -- he always makes me laugh

P.S. I did pack a few boxes and scrub the kitchen counters.  That counts, right?

The Picture of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde

Title: The Picture of Dorian Gray

Author: Oscar Wilde

Genre: Classic Horror

Pages: 248

Rating: 5 / 5 stars

Reading Challenges: Classics - Horror; Movies; Mount TBR

Oscar Wilde brings his enormous gifts for astute social observation and sparkling prose to The Picture of Dorian Gray, his dreamlike story of a young man who sells his soul for eternal youth and beauty. This dandy, who remains forever unchanged—petulant, hedonistic, vain, and amoral—while a painting of him ages and grows increasingly hideous with the years, has been horrifying, enchanting, obsessing, even corrupting readers for more than a hundred years.

Dorian Gray... so full of promise, so wasted in the end.  I have forgotten how truly terrifying this novel is.  To watch a man degrade himself to be nothing more than a hideous reflection of his former self is true horror.  Wilde shows the psychological horror well.  In the novel, we are served a cautionary tale.  And yet I wonder if Wilde saw himself as Gray or Lord Henry.  Was he the tempter or the tempted?  These questions intrigue me more after reading about Wilde's own life and subsequent court cases.  I am leaning toward the idea that Wilde is Gray who finally had to face his own portrait in the end.

On the writing of the book, I have one big issue...  Chapter 11 just kills me.  The first half of the book follows Gray's introduction to Lord Henry and the pleasures of the world.  We view his tragic relationship with Sibyl Vane.  We note his continual detachment from morality.  The second half of the book chronicles his downfall.  Yet in the middle we are "treated" to one ridiculously long list of the things he collected in the in between years.  If I had to read one more paragraph about embroidery, I was going to throw the book down in disgust.  The transition just isn't there.  And it blemishes an otherwise amazing horror novel.

Movie Version -- 2009 Starring Ben Barnes and Colin Firth

I watched this movie a few months back and my initial reaction was: that was really bad.  I wanted to try and rewatch it to pinpoint exactly why I felt it was horrid.  So I attempted a rewatch.

I think my main problem with this movie is that it tries to sensationalize the story.    It turns a psychological thriller in the view of Poe into a supernatural thriller complete with romance.  I just don't agree.  The story itself is a much more interesting psychological descent into corruption and madness.  I could have done without all the sex scenes.  I'm no prude, but those just seemed so out of place.  And the romance with Harry's daughter just felt forced.  Overall, I just couldn't connect with the movie at all.

Side Note: I love Alan Moore's version of Dorian Gray in The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen.  I feel that if Dorian hadn't of faced his portrait when he did but continue to live, he would have become the Dorian of Moore's universe.  And the movie version: just bad.  Anyone who has read LXG would agree that the movie could have been great, but it should have been rated R.  Only way for it be good.

Side Side Note: I did love Stuart Townsend as Dorian Gray in the movie.  Delicious!

Spring Into Horror Readathon Day #3

Go visit Castle Macabre for more details.

Time read today: 2 hours 46 minutes

Total time read: 4 hour 56 minutes

Pages read today: 217

Total pages read: 762

Books read today: .70 of The Picture of Dorian Gray

Total books read: 2

Update in 6 words: Book good, movie awful, sorry Wilde

Quote Wednesday -- Wood

"One is always considered mad when one perfects something that others cannot grasp."  -- Ed Wood

Thank you Mr. Wood.  Love it!

Spring Into Horror Readathon Day #2

Go visit Castle Macabre for more details.

I knew that attempting to ready for the move this weekend would cut into my reading time, just upset that I only read two chapters today.  Hopefully tomorrow goes better.

Time read today: 40 minutes

Total time read: 2 hour 10 minutes

Pages read today: 33

Total pages read: 545

Books read today: 33 pages of The Picture of Dorian Gray

Total books read: 1

Update in 6 words: Two chapters in and I'm horrified!

Top Ten Tuesday - All Time Favorite Characters

Top Ten Tuesday is an original feature/weekly meme created here at The Broke and the Bookish. This meme was created because we are particularly fond of lists here at The Broke and the Bookish. We’d love to share our lists with other bookish folks and would LOVE to see your top ten lists!Each week we will post a new Top Ten list complete with one of our bloggers’ answers. Everyone is welcome to join.  If you can’t come up with ten, don’t worry about it—post as many as you can!

A great topic for this week!

1. Alice from Alice in Wonderland -- There's something about Alice that I connect with.  Anyone want to analyze this one?

2. Edna from The Awakening by Kate Chopin -- I can relate to Edna's struggles with motherhood and wifehood.  I don't plan on ever taking her path, but I love reading her struggle.

3. All of Jane Austen's heros (especially Captain Wentworth, my favorite) -- How can you not love her heroes?  They are all different, but all amazing.

4. All of Jane Austen's heroines (especially Anne Elliott, my favorite) -- Have you guessed my favorite Jane Austen yet?  There's something about Anne's particular situation and character that appeal to me.

5. Arthur Dent from The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy by Douglas Adams -- Arthur is the epitomy of the everyman.  He lives a quiet existance until he's thrown in a crazy situation.  J loves him so much that I had to agree to name our first son Arthur Dent (not that I had any real objections to that).

6. Lestat from Interview with a Vampire (and subsequent novels) by Anne Rice -- Yes, I know he's the ultimate badboy, but I still love him.  If you read the books, he's hilarious and charming and terrifying all rolled into one pacakge. 

7. Mary from The Secret Garden by Frances Hodgson Burnett -- Of all the childhood heroines, I related to Mary the most.  I even wanted to be here, moors and all. 

Spring Into Horror Readathon Day #1

Go visit Castle Macabre for more details.

Time read today: 1 hour 30 minutes

Total time read: 1 hour 30 minutes

Pages read today: 512

Total pages read: 512

Books read today: 1 (Bad Doings and Big Ideas by Bill Willingham)

Total books read: 1

Update in 6 words: Lost myself in Willingham's back work

Bad Doings and Big Ideas by Bill Willingham

Title: Bad Doings and Big Ideas

Author: Bill Willingham

Publisher: Vertigo 2011

Genre: Graphic Novel; Fantasy

Pages: 512

Rating:   5 / 5 stars

Reading Challenges: Mixing It Up - Graphic Novel and Comic; Support Your Local Library; A to Z - B

How I Got It: Library Loan

Collecting dark tales of the fantastic by FABLES creator Bill Willingham!  She’s one of the Sandman’s former lovers and a woman feared by gods. She is Thessaly, the fan-favorite character from THE SANDMAN: A GAME OF YOU, and the last of the deadly Thessalian witches. Now, Thessaly is on the run from a creature called Fetch, who might be composed of different beings killed across the eons by Thessaly herself.Then, in PROPOSITION PLAYER, a professional Vegas poker player collects vouchers for the souls of a roomful of people as a bar prank, not realizing that he’s just anted up for a game he never imagined. Joey is suddenly caught in the middle of a battle between heaven and hell. Can he bluff his way out of it?

This title also features numerous short stories starring members of The Sandman’s cast, as well as dark fantasy tales from HOUSE OF MYSTERY and more.

I fell into this volume with wild abandon today.  I absolutely adore Willingham's Fables series, but confess that I never read any of his other work.  This volume offered me a great opportunity to expand my Willingham.  I loved that he does a short introduction to each piece.  These gave me an idea of his professional growth and how see save each work.

I think my favorite story was Thessaly.  At initial glance, she's just an ancient witch living her quiet life.  But the series delves into the much darker workings of the universe and other worlds.  We get to see the big bads and bigger bads out there.  Thessaly's quiet, but she makes up for talking with her actions.  I especially loved the inclusion of various gods of the dead.  Nice touch!

My second favorite had to be the short House of Mystery tales thrown in the back.  Willingham goes from the funny horror story to the truly bizarre and disconcerting.  Hats off to you!  Now I really need to read The Sandman series.

Music Monday -- 2002

As part of my ongoing celebration for my 30th birthday, I am highlighting some popular songs from throughout my years.  Songs were picked based off of a list of Grammy award winners and Billboard Top 100.  Then, I chose my favorites to highlight.  

Year: 2002

Book: Unknown

Music Selections:

1. Nickel Creek "This Side" -- I have a little place in my heart for Nickel Creek.  Their bluegrass, lovely lyrical music just puts me in a good mood whenever I listen.  I own all their records and solo projects.
2. Dave Matthews Band "Grey Street" -- Another favorite band.  This is hands down my favorite song from them.
3. No Doubt "Hey Baby" -- Long time fan of No Doubt.  Great fun song.
4. The Calling "Wherever You Will Go" -- More of a one hit wonder, but it's still a great song.
5. Dixie Chicks "Long Time Gone" -- The forgotten Dixie Chicks album?  But still a great one.

Day Zero Project Update: Week 29-31

Instead of daily posts, I thought it would be a lot easier for me and you if I did weekly update posts.  These will track my progress each week.  I will highlight what I’ve done, what I want to do, and any interesting tidbits.  Sometimes I’ll add pictures and/or links.  Hopefully these posts will keep me accountable to me list…

What I Did

9. See 101 new movies (27/101)

• Journey 2: The Mysterious Island -- Impromtu movie while in Philadelphia.  The boys loved it and I actually enjoyed it.  A fun little adventure.
• Sleeping Beauty -- Not the Disney version.  The art house indie version.  I just didn't get it and was bored for most of the movie.  It helped that I was packing while watching.
• Take Me Home Tonight -- Typical boy obsessed over girl in high school, meets again years later.  Although having this movie set in the early 80s was a bit of a treat.
• Titanic -- The ABC mini series that just aired.  You could definitely tell that it was written by Julian Fellowes (Downton Abbey).  It was definitely Downton on a sinking ship.  Entertaining, but nothing that I would want to own.

24. Keep a journal for this project

26. Keep a “Six Words to Describe the Day” journal for 6 months -- Ongoing 28. Blog 1001 times -- 25 posts this period (322/1001)

33. Read my height in books -- 4 inches this period (46/68in.)

65. Save $5 for every task completed -- $10 for these weeks ($45)

85. Stay at a Bed and Breakfast -- We stayed at one in the Philadelphia area during our Spring Break trip.

96. Visit 5 museums (5/5) -- all visisted on our Spring Break road trip

• Carnegie Mellon Museum of Naturla History -- my favorite from the trip
• Franklin Institute
• National Museum of the Air Force
• Frank Lloyd Wright's Fallingwater

What I Plan to Do Next Week

Not much as we are in the process of moving.  I will still be doing my journal and possibly some reading.

Monthly Goal

My day in 6 words.  Ongoing for the next five months.

Overall Progress

12/101

The Sunday Salon #8

Listening To: Finding some new and recommended music on YouTube.  Some of those selections will be featured in my next New Music Monday post.

Book finished: The Ghost Map by Steven Johnson; The Walking Dead: Book 4; The View from Saturday by E.L. Konigsburg

Reading: Bad Doings and Big Ideas

Making Lists: Of what to pack in the car for our big move.

Around the house: Boxes, boxes everywhere.  We're getting down to just a few rooms left.  Good thing because the moving truck comes on the 27th.

From the kitchen: Slowly emptying out the freezer, fridge, and cabinets.  And I'm really doing well.  We only have a few meals left in the freezer to eat.

On the Web: I've decided that I'm not a fan of author interview blog posts.  It's not that I don't like learning about new authors.  It's that I see the same ones over and over and over again.  Those blog tours are killing me.  I just speed past them in my GoogleReader.  I would rather read someone's review of a book than announcements of the book coming out.  *End rant*

Crafting: None.  Everything is packed in boxes and ready to go.  Unpacking my crafting supplies is going to seem like Christmas because I haven't seen them lately.

Work Observations: After some honest conversations with coworkers this week, I've realized that all the issues that I was having at work are felt by others.  Validation!

Watching: The theater is packed so I have rediscovered the beauty of Netflix instant queue.  Specifically I've been rewatching The IT Crowd.  Goodness that show is hilarious.  And I started watching The Bitch in Apartment 23 on abc.com.  James Van Der Beek you are a genius for playing a douchebag version of yourself.  Kudos!

Wondering: How many more boxes we need to pack?  Hopefully not very many...

From Nature:  Overall we've been having beautiful spring weather here in the Great Plains.  I just hope the weather holds out for our half country drive next week.

Shopping Scores: None.  I don't want to pack anything more, so I haven't bought anything.  In fact, I've gotten rid (Goodwill, Half Price Books, trash, Craigslist) of a ton of crap.  I love this feeling of cleaning out.

I did finally get my glasses and they are beautiful!  And I love being able to see.  It's a miracle!

Project: Duh! The move.  Although I have also spent some time this week (at work) researching summer activities for the boys.  I have a small list of summer camps to check out and run by them.  And I want to research the way out west.  We will be spending a few days on the road and it would be nice to have some interesting stops planned.

The Walking Dead: Book 4

Title: The Walking Dead: Book 4

Author: Robert Kirkman

Publisher: Image Comics 2008

Genre: Graphic Novel; Zombies

Pages: 304

Rating:  5 / 5 stars

Reading Challenges: Graphic Novels; Support Your Local Library

The hardcover features another 12 issues of the hit series along with the covers for the issues all in one oversized hardcover volume. Perfect for long-time fans, new readers, and anyone interested in reading a zombie movie on paper that never ends.

Every time I think this series has reached the limit, the next chapter just flies right past the previous limit.  It is crazy!  I cannot even begin to imagine where the series is going.  Yet I want to continue reading it until the end.  I like how this book focused more on the threat from fellow survivors than the zombies.  We get a real feeling of what the survivors we follow are up against.  It makes for a suspenseful read.  I'm also interested to see how the television series departs from the comic storyline.  Should be an interesting read.  And you know I always love my zombies!