Category Archives: The Friday Short Stack

The Short Stack, February 14, Love Day

Every Friday, I share  the pop culture, fashion, lit and random blips that crossed my radar during the week. (+ stuff like art) Except today when I share thoughts about love. Enjoy!

je t'aime valentines day card with cute cat

What a week. I don’t know about you, but I’m plum tuckered out today, Friday, Valentine’s Day. While other people are slipping into things made of lace and silk and getting ready to spend mucho dinero on a fancy dinner, I’m slipping into comfy pajama pants purchased  from The House of Kohl’s.  Hey, work hard, play hard, that’s my motto.

But that doesn’t mean that I don’t have two, yes, exactly two, V Day love-related thoughts to share.

Celebrate it, don’t celebrate, sneer at it, call it a Hallmark holiday in front of your co-workers then go home and cry yourself to sleep –  the truth is this is just one day but we all do need love. We don’t need thong underwear that comes balled up and packaged in the shape of a rose.

Love begins with your own self. Learning to love yourself is the greatest gift… well… OK, we all know how that turned out. But still…

My first thought on love is really a thought on celebrating the small things as they pertain to you, an individual in this moment. Not you and Jimmy or you and Lindsay, etc. etc.

“Chocolate is delicious, beautiful sights and sounds are all around, you do get many things done each day, and you do make a difference to others… There are people who wish you well, who like you, who see the good in you. Almost certainly, you are loved. Your kind heart and good intentions are real, they exist. You’ve created much good in the past and you continue to do so in the present. Like me, you’re not a perfect person – no one is – but you are a good one.” – Rick Hanson, Hardwiring Happiness

Thought on love #2: I’ve been married for almost eleven years. It’s edging into the territory where I feel like I have opinions and shit about what makes a good marriage, but I’ve never been able to encapsulate them as well as Ann Patchett does in her essay “This Is the Story of a Happy Marriage.”

“Standing waist deep in the swimming pool at Yaddo, I received a gift – it was the first decent piece of instruction about marriage I had ever been given in my twenty-five years of life. ‘Does your husband make you a better person?’ Edra asked.

There I was in that sky-blue pool beneath a bright blue sky, my fingers breaking apart the light on the water, and I had no idea what she was talking about.

‘Are you smarter, kinder, more generous, more compassionate, a better writer?’ she said, running down her list. ‘Does he make you better?'”

‘That’s not the question,’ I said. ‘It’s so much more complicated than that.’

‘It’s not more complicated than that,’ she said. ‘That’s all there is: Does he make you better and do you make him better?'”

Yes. That’s really all there is.

And yes, yes, yes, yes and yes, a thousand times yes. Plus, scallops and garlic mashed potatoes.

I would be remiss if I didn’t leave you with a Valentine’s Day gift: best friends who try out tips from the Internet together! Now that’s love.

 

 

 

The Short Stack, February 7

Every Friday, I share  the pop culture, fashion, lit and random blips that crossed my radar during the week. (+ stuff like art) Enjoy!

woman wearing swimming suit on cross country skis in the snow
What? Me, cold? Sick of the winter? Not a chance!

Reading:
My life is being permeated by Frank Sinatra. First, there’s the fact that I’ve been listening to “That’s Life” on repeat as I drive to work in the morning to give myself an extra boost in order to face another sub-zero day. It’s helpful to be reminded that you can be riding high in April, shot down in May.

Frank loomed large in Ava Gardner: The Secret Conversations (I need to quit that book like its Brokeback Mountain). She revealed tidbits about their marriage like this:

“Anyway, I heard this gun go off. We’d been fighting, of course. And drinking. Every single night, we would have three or four martinis, big ones, in big champagne glasses, then wine with dinner, then go to a nightclub and start drinking Scotch or bourbon.”

Considering this info, it was a little weird to open New York Magazine this week and see  this ad for Jack Daniels:

jack daniel's ad featuring Frank Sinatra

If you can’t read the paragraph copy it says he was even buried with a bottle of it, I guess to help ease his transition to the after world. Only in America can a person who abused a substance while living become it’s spokesperson and center of its marketing campaign in death.

And then, Keith brought this article from the New York Daily News to my attention – Paul Anka’s got a new memoir out called My Way (Paul Anka?! Sigh. Put it on the reading list. I cannot resist a show biz tell-all) that’s got a lot of Frank (and frank) material, too.

This week, the twists and turns in the Farrow Clan vs. Woody Allen drama were more than I could keep up with. Dylan Farrow in the NYT. The defected Moses Farrow in People. Oy. This whole thing could only be sorted out by one person: Dominick Dunne. Unfortunately, he’s no longer with us, so we’ll never get to read his 50,000-word article about it in Vanity Fair.

That got me thinking about Dominick, so I pulled his book The Way We Lived Then off my bookshelf. It’s a great Hollywood memoir/photo book mixed with his own riches to rags to semi-riches story. He battled alcohol and drug addiction that caused him to lose his wife and his position as a producer in Hollywood only to battle back, recreating himself as a writer.

And, of course, if you’re in the mood for books about out-of-control comedians (who isn’t!?):
Wired
The Chris Farley Show
Furious Cool

Still waiting for something that plumbs the depths of Jerry Lewis.

Watching:
Of course, Phillip Seymour Hoffman. The news had me longing to watch The Talented Mr. Ripley (streaming now on Netflix!) again, which is not just beautifully-shot, excellently cast but also filled with terrific dialog and cringe-worthy moments. This movie has a lot to say about class in America even though it takes place in Italy.  It sucks to be poor, especially when you’re hanging out with rich people, but don’t… ah… murder anyone over it. Who better to play the rich snob Freddie X than PSH? His voice, his inflections, the roll of his eyes – the first time I saw this movie (way back in the day – at the theater with my parents!) I didn’t quite grasp that he was acting, so perfectly did he embody the role.

Which Makes Me Think of More Reading:
Patricia Highsmith (author of Ripley) is on my reading list:  the biography, The Talented Miss Highsmith: The Secret Life and Serious Art of Patricia Highsmith, plus her books The Two Faces of January (adapted for a movie coming out this year starring Viggo Mortensen, Oscar Isaac and Kirsten Dunst) and The Price of Salt (the first published lesbian love story with a happy ending) which is sometimes called Carol (as it will be when it comes out as a movie starring Cate Blanchett and Rooney Mara and directed by Todd Haynes).

Wearing:
I wish I was wearing any of these costumes French photographer Charles Fréger documented in Europe.

Doing:
We’re heading to the Graves 601 Hotel this weekend for a mini-escape, during which we’ll pretend to be visiting this strange, cold world known as Minneapolis as if visitors from a foreign land. Looking forward to cocktails at Bradstreet and brunch at Hell’s Kitchen.

Next Friday is Valentine’s Day (look forward to a special love edition of Short Stack!). I have to admit I like this holiday. Like many people, I hated it when I was younger and not attached. Now I like it because it’s full of cute things in pink and it really doesn’t require much prep work if you don’t think you have to be cheesy about it. Plus, you can use it to widen the definition of the holiday and celebrate whoever you love, not just your lover. I will be giving my dog a special treat that day for being such a faithful friend.

Be happy we’re all here together. Make it an excuse to wear something bright. Make sure all your Christmas decorations are tucked away. Be bright and full of hope.

Order something cheap and pretty. Like this.

If you’ve got an arty person in your life this V-Day, consider taking them to go see Monuments Men and then buzz on over to the Minneapolis Institute of Arts to go on a Monuments Men tour of artwork rescued by this group of art heroes. My favorite kind of heroes. Or go on Valentine’s Day Eve, which is a Thursday night, when the museum is open until 9 pm and you’ll probably have most of the galleries to yourself, which means no one will mind if you steal a kiss in the Prairie School Architecture gallery.

Listening:
Hope my own sister is reading this, because I found our Halloween costumes…

The Short Stack: January 31 (Finally)

Every Friday, I share  the pop culture, fashion, lit and randomness that crossed my radar during the week. + stuff like food. Enjoy!

First things first… masks and eye coverings are on the rise in fashion…. it’s time to hide your face, I guess.

masks featured on models in fashion ads
Masks in Dior ad, Louis Vuitton ad, Calvin Klein editorial.

Oh Maw Gawd The Weather
Not only does the weather suck, it’s sucking the life out of me. I got stranded in a snowbank trying to go to Body Pump! Not a finer moment. Plus, my hair is gross. My dog is crazy. So crazy I was looking at puppies online today, thinking that if I just gave her something interactive to play with, she’d stop whining. People are mean to each other. There is no civility. Mad Men is not coming back until April? Great, we’ll all be dead by then.

[Favorite Mad Men scene: Don enters a meeting and Lane is going over their expenses from their Baltimore trip and then complains about office supplies and disappearing credenzas. Don leaves the meeting.]

Reading
I’m not sure how anyone who had Ava Gardner calling him at 3 am to slur her deepest, darkest secrets manages to write a boring book but Peter Evans pulled it off. Granted, after she spilled the beans she decided against publishing  – he had to wait until she died and then, after he finished writing it, he died. Makes me wonder if Ava Gardner: The Secret Conversations is a first draft. Maybe he sent it to his editor with a note that said, “Here’s something I banged out over the weekend. What do you think?” and then kicked off that very night. In any case, you have to read A LOT of the same conversation before you get to the dirt. Take out all those parts where she’s wondering if she’d doing the right thing by telling her story and you’re left with about 20 pages of what a horn dog Mickey Rooney was, what a brute Artie Shaw and George C Scott were and something about Sinatra having a big dick.

About to embark upon Tori Spelling memoir number 3: uncharted terriTORI. After flipping through it I suspect that it’s about as uncharted as a Sandals resort in the Bahamas: seems like a retread of Mommywood. But I can’t say no to this…

Tori Spelling
Safari, anyone?

Plus, I want to be completely up-to-date when living in purgaTORI, her book about her troubles with Dean cheating and going to rehab, comes out. Christmas, er, Hanukkah, 2014?

Here’s what happened to Charlie from Girls, in case you care.

Wearing
Sweatshirts (or sweaters) with lace fronts. See here. That’s all I have to say. Kind of “Physical” by Olivia Newton John meets Stevie Nicks running errands.

Also, I got back into a pair of jeans I wore in… 2008. They are not in style. They were probably not in style then. I have never been so happy. (see reference to Body Pump above.)

Eating
Do you have a hard time figuring out what to snack on? I spend more time figuring out what is an appropriate snack than worrying about my retirement fund (which I spend zero time thinking about – I’m American!) Now baked pea crisps are sweeping the country. One week I had never had a baked pea and now I’m being offered them by strangers. My boss has an economy-size bag on her desk. And there must be a very effective marketing campaign going on because no fewer than three people have said to me, “Probably not great for you but so much better than eating potato chips.” May I ask when is the last time you saw anyone having a bag of potato chips for a snack? But here’s the truth about the peas.

Meanwhile, I’m falling in love with vegan chef Isa Chandra Moskowitz. I got her recipe book, Isa Does It!, for Xmas and I’ve made meals that have rocked the house. Plus, she has her website, The Post Punk Kitchen, with new recipes all the time, like this one for buffalo chickpea pitas with ranch for Super Bowl/ Puppy Bowl/Kitten Bowl. Get on that Isa train! She’s also on Twitter. And she lives in Omaha.

Doing
Nothing. Everything. Cardio. Staring at the wall. Watching dogs cross country ski.

Keith says, “Everyone should go running this weekend. Running is good.”

The Short Stack: January 24

Every Friday, I share  the pop culture, fashion, lit and random blips that were on my radar during the week. Enjoy! 

Let’s get the important stuff out of the way first. Is it me, or is putting a necklace on a baby, especially a black necklace of, like, a spider, pretty creep?

baby wearing a creepy necklace

Second in importance only to babies wearing costume jewelery, I’ve been exercising. Big deal, right? Well, it’s a big deal when you are starting from ground zero for arm muscles – suddenly you’re in a Body Pump class doing bicep curls in unison with 35 other people, some of whom have something to prove. I’ve now done the class three times and I go home and stand in front of the mirror looking for definition. What gets me through the class is thinking about the day I will wear a tank top, long flowy skirt and some kind of pretentious fedora on a summer day, preferably to an art show in a park, and I look amazing.

Soon I’ll be able to get in on the tail end of the moto craze. I’ll buy cute new clothes from Blank NYC (vegan clothing!) and Everlane (fair trade!).

It’s not all about clothes, even though I make it sound like that. Caring about clothes too much makes you boring, like the intern we just got rid of at work who spent 98% of her free time shopping and getting dressed, 1% sleeping, .5% eating and .5% doing work for us. She would prance into work mid-afternoon in these super cute, trendy outfits (I never saw her in the same outfit in 6 months), full make-up, hair all done up and it would turn out that all the fanfare was so that she could go have coffee with her dad. Hmmm… that brings us to…

Watching
Lifetime: I know the ratings were through the roof, but your Flowers In the Attic was a big yawn. OK, I give you that it was more “true to the book” than the original film adaptation in that you actually followed the plot – mostly – but what’s with no sex scenes? What’s with one little glimpse of Kiernan Shipka in a choppy wig instead of making her shave her head after the hair-cutting scene? Let’s take some cable-sized risks. I’ll tell you one thing: the kid who played Cory in the 1987 movie did a much better job of acting as though he were dying of poisoning:

Cory in Flowers in the attic
Now that’s what I call acting!

All this terribleness, combined with Heather Grahams’ insatiable desire to chew the scenery (I think her sole talent is that she can rock a pencil skirt),  made me wonder what V.C. Andrews would think, which made me wonder about V.C. Andrews, which got me to Googling and then this surprisingly thorough VC Andrews article on BuzzFeed.

Project Runway: Under the Gunn… YES! It started out slow but by the end of episode one, which you can watch for free, it started to look as though mentor Nick Verreos is assembling the Bad News Bears of fashion designers. Must watch.

Following
Bad Banana
Senile Don Draper
We Are New Yorkers

Reading
Homer and Langley by E.L. Doctorow, a fictional account of New York’s Collyers brothers (hermits and hoarders) that is good to read at 1 am when you can’t sleep.

Conquered Tori Spelling’s Mommywood mountain, though it was tough going and I had to start skimming in order to preserve some faith in humanity. That hasn’t stopped me from reserving Uncharted terriTORI at the library (and yes, the grammar on that, including lack of capitalization, drive me insane).

Going (if I ever recover from exercising)
“Vivian Maier: Out of the Shadows” exhibit opens at the Minneapolis Photo Center tonight.
Zinnia Folk Arts is having a series of trunk shows with artist B.J. Christofferson.
Don’t forget this month-long vintage sale – Blacklist Vintage in Mpls is closing!
Show your love for the Mpls Institute of Arts by doing this stamp thingy and you’ll get a big discount in the museum store + be entered to win something fab + you’ll be at the museum and can look at lots of art, like this:

painting by Santos Dumont

Listening
Chromeo!

Making
You could make this Admiral Sackbar puppet for someone and it would be cute.

The Short Stack: January 17

Every Friday, I share  the pop culture, fashion, lit and random blips that were on my radar during the week. Enjoy! 

Reading
Are you guys reading Bitches Gotta Eat? It’s the funniest thing out there. Especially if you’re feeling shitty about stuff. And she’s got a book out called Meaty that is hilarious.

Meaty by Samantha Irby - buy it!

I finished the first Tori Spelling book, sTORI Telling, and I immediately got Mommywood. Why am I doing this to myself? I think I find Tori’s confusion compelling and comforting. When something goes wrong, she never says the things we’re taught to say as adults. Stuff like, “Well, life isn’t fair, so I guess this is just the way it’s gonna be.” Instead, every tiny twist and turn her life takes is dissected, no matter how inconsequential, as if it will suddenly be different if she LiveJournals… I mean writes about it. Her contradictions are endearing – in the first book, she berated her mother for always throwing her Raggedy Ann themed birthday parties; in book two she’s nostalgic for those Raggedy Ann parties. She spends a lot of time talking about the birthday parties she had as a kid  in both books, saying how over-the-top they were. Then she throws her one-year-old an over-the-top party complete with a cake from the same bakery her mother got her cakes from. Oh, Tori.

[Confession: now that things are blowing up with Dean, it seems like the Tori divorce memoir can’t be that far off. One night when I had trouble sleeping I spent my time trying to think of a good title for it that would incorporate “Tori” or “Spelling” (her other books are uncharted terriTORI, celebraTORI and Spelling It Like It Is and was disappointed in myself when I couldn’t come up with anything.]

Watching
Soon I’ll be watching Tim Gunn’s new show Under the Gunn (har?) Finally getting out from underneath the yoke of Heidi, and with Anya Ayoung-Chee and Nick Verreos as mentors? Swaddle me in a chic, tasteful blanket, hand me a glass of pinot and leave me alone with the TV for an hour.

And this Flowers in the Attic thingy too, also on Lifetime? Wow, Lifetime. Are you reading my mind? Next thing you know they’re going to give Tori a talk show.

Flowers in the Attic cast

Resolutioning
No big surprise, I’d love to lose some lbs. in 2014, just like the rest of America. So I went to Body Pump and made myself really sore as punishment. Raising my arms up more than a few inches made me grunt with pain for several days. I had to look up exactly which muscles were sore in my arms: apparently I haven’t been giving my deltoids, brachialis or brachioradialis enough to do in the past fifteen years. I WILL NOT BE DETERRED!

I have to say I can’t wait until all the weak-willed people give up and I can get a parking spot at the gym. By late February I’ll be parking in the front row. And while I’m complaining, let me add that the track at the gym is not the place to conduct your lover’s spat. A couple on Tuesday night managed to have a fight while walking the track, then started jogging, gave each other the cold shoulder while doing a million crunches while side-by-side on mats in the stretching area, then headed out for some more laps, during which the woman walked like she was sleepwalking, weaving into other people’s paths as she contemplated what an asshole her boyfriend is. I have to hand it to them though – they were there to exercise and, by god, they did it.

We’ve been eating more vegan-y. This is the cookbook where I’m getting all my good ideas these days – Isa Does It! It is amazing. It is wildly delicious. Double the pancake recipes.

Happening
It is winter. I hardly leave the house. I am boring and going insane. I am reading Tori Spelling memoirs as if they matter.

Unfortunately, Blacklist Vintage in Minneapolis is closing. Bad if you want some vintage come spring. Good if you want to go to a big sale starting January 25. OK, some Mary Tyler Moore-style blouses might get me out of the house.

Do you totally hate all your clothes right now? I have nothing to wear to go see 12 Years a Slave.

Listening
This song, originally from Karate Kid, is the best workout song there is. Why this is set to Rocky in this video, I don’t know  – the rippling thigh scene on the beach is cool though.

This is the song they’re going to play when I show up at Body Pump from now on:

The Short Stack: January 10

Every Friday, I share  the pop culture, fashion, lit and random blips that were on my radar during the week. Enjoy! 

Books
Sometimes  you read a book because you’re looking for answers but you’ll only end up with more questions when you read The Disaster Artist: My Life Inside The Room by Greg Sestero and Tom Bissell. I first saw The Room in 2009 and it replaced Deep Blue Sea as my favorite terrible movie –  I got my prized DVD signed by Tommy Wiseau at a midnight screening at the Uptown Theater in Minneapolis. After reading this book I want to know:  what does Tommy think of it? And is he ever going to make that vampire movie? Could he please, please be on The Bachelor?

Look deep into my eyes:

tommy wiseau of The Rooom

A Life of Barbara Stanwyck: Steel-True 1907-1940 is only the first volume of this new biography and the brick is 1056 pages long. This is my beach read for 2014 since I plan to spend a lot of time working on my tan. I mean a lot of time. If I want a shorter, trashier read I’ll go with Ava Gardner: The Secret Conversations.

Just finished Johnny Carson by his lawyer Henry Bushkin. Ultimately a sad portrait of a tormented man but Bushkin is equally as pathetic, giving up his family to trail around after Johnny like a puppy. Lots of boring details about their business dealings, not enough juicy Ed McMahon tidbits. Also question Bushkin’s taste in girlfriends: Joyce DeWitt and Mary Hart (from Entertainment Tonight?). Yick.

Fashion
I first looked at the book (un)fashion a couple of years ago, after I learned that Maira Kalman, one of my favorite illustrators, put it together with her husband. It’s a strange collection of, well,  unfashion photos from around the world that seem random at first except for the one or two word headings they’re grouped by, like “headgear” and “wedding.” I couldn’t stop thinking about it the book so I checked it out from the library again, trying to decode its message. I think maybe fashion can only be headed this way, into a disjointed but global, ethnic, freestyle vibe. Unfashion is the next, last, thing.

So in 2014 I’ll try to start cultivating my look of plaid pants, shawl, basket hat and mask now so as to be part of the first wave. The look is hard to explain but there’s something to this sweater:

child wearing hat, sweater and amulet necklace

Or this headgear:

sweet headgear, shirt, tie, cane combo

On the other hand, can someone bring riding habits back for, like, everyday wear, no horse required?

vintage riding habit, top hat and crop

Crafting Front
I’m trying to figure out if there is some way to make macrame truly cool. In my quest I spent a lot of time on etsy, where I stumbled into a nest of hundreds of macrame owls. Why the owl? Why no other animal?? I want to buy them all and make one gigantic exhibit.

OK, here is one thing you can do with macrame knots that could kick some ass.

If you’re looking for a craft project, ornamental knots (I wish I was “respected internationally” for my knotting skills) offer some potential coolness. Rock an ornamental knot necklace with your cape and rag & bone jeans with your hair tied up in a rag and you got it – unfashion!

Places To Be
On January 29, Jake Rudh’s Transmission at the Varsity Theater is a tribute to Bowie. Start crafting your costume immediately.

Random
Um… who is in this photo and is it really possible for breasts to be this far apart and this perky at the same time?? Doesn’t even look like the blowsy Brit we’ve come to know and love. This looks like some woman named Candy waiting for her curtain call in Vegas Atlantic City Des Moines. But that “Work B**ch?” Very fine tune for running.

Work Bitch album cover Britney Spears

It may be 2014 but Homey still don’t play that.

The Short Stack: January 3, 2014

Every Friday, I share  the pop culture, fashion, lit and random blips that were on my radar during the week. Enjoy! 

Stuff To Do
When I was in Chicago last spring, one of the best things I saw was the Vivian Maier photography exhibit at the Chicago History Museum. Maier was a nanny in the suburbs of Chicago who took photos in her spare time – thousands of them. She was a street photographer who could put many professionals to shame – but no one knew while she was alive. Now Minneapolis is going to have a Maier exhibit of its own when the Minneapolis Photography Center opens Vivian Maier: Out of the Shadows this month. Exhibit preview night ($25)  is Friday, January 17 and features a book signing and talks with author Richard Cahan and Jeffrey Goldstein, owner of the collection. Free opening reception is Friday, January 24. Cool documentary screening is Saturday, January 25.

Articulture in the Seward neighborhood is having a Bad Drawing class for adults. About bloody time. I don’t know about you but I have a lot of bad drawings in me. Starts January 23.

If you’re fancy, you can take a bronze casting class at MCAD through their continuing ed program. How f’ing cool would you be? Starts February 12. Someone please cast a raccoon penis.

Aaaaand, you may as well mark your calendar now with a reminder to leave work early on April 9 in order to snag some seats for An Evening with Novelist David Mitchell at Northrop at the UofM. Cuz it’s free and open to the public and there are a lot of Cloud Atlas fans in these here parts. Although all the cool kids will ask him about Black Swan Green.

Things Floating Through My Mind
Hand of Fatima. Also known as hamsa. Get jiggy with it.  It’s said that the fingers of the hand can poke or pluck out the evil eye. Don’t we all need that in our lives?

I was at the airport recently and a guy walked by me wearing a Keith Haring t-shirt – black raglan sleeves (you really like clothes if you know what a raglan sleeve is), gray shirt featuring the image of the heart being held up by the Haring-esque people.

Keith Haring heart t-shirt by OBEY

You ever have one of those moments when you go from having no desire for something at all,  because you don’t even know if exits, to wanting it so bad it’s all you think about? Heavy googling led me to the knowledge that the shirt was made by OBEY and that it’s sold out everywhere because it came out in Fall of ’12. Yeah, eBay is my new best friend.

What was Annie Lennox thinking when she did this to her face for the Freddie Mercury tribute concert and why does it look so awesome? And why don’t we talk more about how awesome Annie is in general? This is my new look for the grocery store.

Annie Lennox in gray eyeshadow mask at the Freddie Mercury tribute concert.

I have decided something about the 1980s. It was a time of outstanding sunglasses. Or, as the French would say, les lunettes fantastiques!

1989 cutlter and gross sunglasses

 But then the 80s also gave us L.A. Gear, so go figure.

I’ve never read The Group by Mary McCarthy. Or The Best of Everything by Rona Jaffe. I need to get going on my ensemble-cast novels from the 1950s and 60s, people!

Don’t even get me started on Tori Spelling. Ripping my way through her first book even though I made a promise to myself back in 2009 I would never do that. Well, the hell with 2009! I already put her second book on hold at the library. What, did you think I was going to pay for that shit?

Anyway, if you need a good cry going into the new year or just cuz its Friday and the weather sux so bad… spend a minute or two missing Freddie.