Since the Great Summer Vacation of 2008 began, and I have not had classes to kill all my free time, I've been reading like a fiend.  Okay, let's be honest... my last class was awesome, because I had to read about a hundred teen fiction books.  That's probably what kick-started me again.  Still, at the end of the semester, there were so many projects to finish that I only read 5 books in the whole month of April, and one of them was a graphic novel. 

But now it's summer, and in June alone, I read 22 books.  (Again, lots of graphic novels and fluff pieces, but still!)  I like ransacking a department and taking about 25 things home, guilt-free.  I like getting a recommendation, being able to hit the catalog button on my firefox and request something instantly, knowing I probably will get around to it.  And let me tell you, the sense of satisfaction I get from logging a new title in my LibraryThing is absolutely disgusting. 

Speaking of which, FTL, was it you who recommended me Were You Raised By Wolves?  Because if you did, you're my hero for the day.  It's that rare mix of snarky, funny, and useful, unlike every other fluffy "self help" book I've ever read.  Granted, I already know how to clean a toilet and boil and egg, but let's face it -- a lot of people don't.  And I am picking up a tip or two as I go along -- how to poach chicken, for example.  But the best feature is that she is freaking hilarious.  A quote from the chapter on working life - "It may not make your job easier, knowing your boss is a walking pinata of sheer, unbridled insanity, but at least you won't go into work thinking it's all your fault, which should make your step up the ladder just a little bit lighter."  For real, people, this book would be a superb gift for any young friend or relative who is just hatching into a grown up.

Okay, enough of this.  I only have about half an hour before I leave for work, and I need to get ready.  Ugh, vacation is so close I can taste it...

My dad talked me into going to a metal show this summer, so I am brushing up on my Motorhead.  Not usually a fan of the speed-metal, but this is remarkably listenable.  I'm going to review it, so as to sear it into my brain.

I also went to Maggie's Mercantile the other day.  They have a salad bar set up, where you fill a plate and they weigh it.  Cold stuff is something like $4-5 a pound, and warm stuff is a little bit more.  **



Stuff I tried (all cold) -

• raw green bean salad - pretty good
• flax crackers - delicious and fluffy / crispy
• some bizarre salad with chunks of tempeh and shreds of purple cabbage and carrots - fantastic
• "chicken" and rice - "chicken" was fantastic, rice was a bit underdone... raw foods and all I guess
• kale salad - very good, and the kale was notably not fibrous for being raw... more like parsley
• "dragon broccoli" or some such - mildly spicy in an unusual way, and excellent peanutty sauce

They also had an exotic selection of juices, an insanely good looking "cheese" cake, and assorted pastries.  There are books and doo-dads and some teas for sale.  They also have an organic produce cooler with some basic things in it.  And their bulletin board and/or literature rack is interesting, although it looks like they've just gotten it started.

Bottom line - looks like it would be quick getting in and out, a little bit pricier than the subway or PHI options but not ridiculous, and definitely worth it if you're in the mood for something green or unusual.  I didn't check out the produce prices, but it might be a good place to grab a banana on the way to work.


_______________________
** I know what the reviews say, but three of us ate for under $25, plus we brought a cookie back for the guy who filled in for us.  I swear.

I just had the best Indian truck-food in the whole neighborhood, I swear.  A giant takeout container was $5.  Samosas are $0.75 each, are huge, and come with dipping sauces.  The dude says he's cooked for 30 years - 10 here and 20 prior in London.  The butter almond lamb curry is HIGHLY RECOMMENDED.  OMG so deeleeeeeeeeeshus.  

He's there year-round, except national holidays.  He was the middle truck today, but they're all Indian... I believe his name is Vinay?   



 Thanks to John for the tipoff... but dude, you could have clued us in sooner.

Last night we went to the CMU carnival to catch a free Roots show - - the music was most excellent, and I no longer regret having missed them when they came to Denison.  We even saw a man in a hot leather bikini and garters, which made me just a little bit nostalgic for our college jaunts to Columbus.  My 21 year old self was in heaven.

There were a few stupid drunk sorority chicks bouncing around into us.  At one point, one of them hopped up onto the recycling box and peed into it, then announced to everyone who passed that she'd peed in it.  And then all of them were hanging around it and pushing each other into it and whatnot.  And I'm pretty sure it was still damp.  Okay, girls.  It takes a lot to get aggravated with drunk college students doing stupid things, as it was not that long ago that I was one.  But I think you may have crossed a line at some point last night. 

Other than that it was pretty fun.  I'm impressed with how funky that yinzer science-nerd crowd can get.  I mean, sure, they were throwing devil horns like we were actually seeing Metallica, and the Bob Dylan cover was probably the biggest crowd-pleaser.  And when Black Thought, the MC, shouted "Everybody say, word up!" everybody was just pretty confused.  But a lot of people really got into ?uestlove's glowstick drum solo, and by the end the audience whole audience was clapping along.  In rhythm, even.



Overheard deep in the crowd -

hippie chick - "Why did you bring the bubbles?"
hipster dude - "To greet them."

.

So I have, like, an hour and fifteen minutes to blow, and an hour to get ready for work.  I could spend the morning doing nothing, or I could do that laundry I really do kind of need.  Instead, I think I'll write book reviews. 

Let's see, what have I read but not reviewed lately? 



Well, good.  After a little revision, a few of these can even be turned in to the work webpage.  Geo's gonna love me for this. 

1. One book that changed your life?  How to Be Idle by Tom Hodgkinson.  It beat the last lingering remains of "perfectionist overachiever" out of me and returned me to my pre-2002 self.

2. One book you have read more than once? There are many, many books I repeatedly read.  But I'm going to take advantage of this venue to plug Melanie Rawn's Dragon Prince series, since it's one of my writerly idols and a standard I try to shoot for, and I don't think it's read enough.

3. One book you would want on a desert island?  How to Live In Luxury Even Though You're Stranded On a Desert Island.  (Please ding me if you hear this has been published.)

4. One book that made you laugh?  Most recently, The Complete Idoit's Guide for Dumies.  Yes, you read that right.

5. One book that made you cry?  I don't cry much over books, as much as I may feel sad over them... the last one to actually draw tears might have been a Mercedes Lackey book I first read in high school... princess_poddy, help me out here, did Elspeth and the Tayledras get their gate hijacked by Vanyel in Winds of Fury, or was that in a Storms book?

6. One book you wish had been written?  How To Avoid Making Embarassing Mistakes In Public 

7. One book you wish had never been written?  What's Paris Hilton's book called?  We shouldn't be encouraging that girl.

8. One book you are currently reading?  I'm actually between books at this precise moment, but next up is probaby the one the boy's got his clutches into, The Secret Power Within, which is Chuck Norris' guide to Zen Buddhism.  (Yes, you heard me.)

9. One book you have been meaning to read?  Do you want that alphabetically, or categorically?  Eh, for the purposes of this meme, the one that's been hanging over me most is Alan Carr's Easy Way to Stop Smoking.

10. Now tag five people: Tagging's for losers.  My livejournal is voluntary participation only.


A final thought -- the sequel to The Justice Riders is slated for release in September!!!!!!!

Uninterrupted Vacation, day #2.  Main accomplishment: Killing the mystery tupperwares clogging up my fridge, cooking a tuna steak.  Next goal: finish the dishes and mop the floor.  Oh, and here's the Batman thing.

Roberts Hearing, Day #2. 

• Quote of the week:  "Fire up the popcorn, here comes Ted Kennedy." 
• Ted Kennedy's Most Memorable Quote:  "I'm not talking about a (er-ah) hand-out, I'm talking about a hand-up." 
• Other Highlights- see this page

Stupid F**kers

• "They kept those kids in cages, Denise, they kept 'em in motherfuckin' cages."
• L.A. has power trouble for 407231st time... this one must be terrorists!
• Irish Riots: the silent killer.
• Flight 93 memorial actually a "memorial to the terrorists."
• Texas wastes another one
• Britney breeds, disproving both evolution and intelligent design.

internet gutters i've been living in:

1. http://www.dearabby.com  i've been reading the archives forward in chronological order.
2. http://www.asylumcam.com.  found through ghost study.
3. http://web.myinky.com/ghost/cam.html  found through ghost study... and I mighta gotten one!
4. http://news.yahoo.com  i find it harder to keep up with the news, but the odd news is great.
5. http://www.gay.com/health/sexuality/qanda.html?sernum=870  savage love archives
6. http://www.mycathatesyou.com/ 
7. http://www.stuffonmycat.com/ 
8. http://postsecret.blogspot.com/ 
9. bill cosby game 

good email services i subscribe to:

1. http://www.thisistrue.com
2. http://www.stellaawards.com
3. http://www.theonion.com
4. http://www.celebritydeathbeeper.com/ (an invaluable tool for deadstaroftheweek displays)

mind blowing books i've been reading:

1. who's afraid of a large black man by charles barkley  (my review)
2. skipping toward gomorrah by dan savage  (my review)
3. how to be idle by tom hodgkinson  (review forthcoming)

what i've been listening to:

1. heidi's car mix, given to me for birthday 04.
2. the beatles- rubber soul
3. pink floyd- wish you were here