Tag Archives: television

Reading, listening, and watching #8

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I was sick last weekend with a head/throat cold that was not fun.  I slept a lot and while I hardly read at all or listened to much music, I did watch a lot of things.  My newest love (obsession) is Parks & Recreation.  How have I not watched this show until now?!  I watched everything up ’til now in just a few days and I’m crazy about it.  They make me want to work in that office, live in a small Midwestern town, and be friends with Leslie Knope.  I’ve heard that Louis CK is coming back for 4 episodes which makes me happy because I like him but a little sad because I like Adam Scott (from Party Down, another favorite) so much.

I also watched a lot of movies like Bridesmaids (loved it), The Adjustment Bureau (liked it), The Lincoln Lawyer (liked it), Tree of Life (mostly liked it), Source Code (liked it), and Kick Ass (really liked it).

I’m still making my way through Frankenstein.   There is, in my opinion, a really annoying review of it on GoodReads that makes me wonder if we’re reading the same book  And the 73 people that like that review?  I guess honesty has it’s place and we all have our tastes.  Although I like it enough to have read it an a few days, it’s taken me over a month to read.  I’ve only really been reading before bed which means I make it through 2-5 pages and then I’m asleep.  Maybe when the quilting/creating slows down in March, I’ll have time to get sucked into a book.  I did get three books in the mail from my Dad.  I know exactly what they are but I still want something to open on Christmas morning!

Reading, listening, watching, creating, #6

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Sheesh, I should really try to do these more often.  It’s been since June!

I started reading “Geek Love” by Katherine Dunn on our beach vacation last month and only recently finished it.  It’s a story about a sideshow family that has been created by taking certain drug cocktails during pregnancy to produce children such as Arturo the “Aqua Boy” who has fins for arms and legs or Olympia the albino, hunchbacked dwarf.  It was unlike any story I’ve read before but really enjoyed it.

Now I’m reading “the Virgin Suicides” by Jefferey Eugenides.  I watched the movie again recently and having loved his second book, “Middlesex,” I thought I’d give this a try.  It’s a pretty easy read and so far I’m impressed how much like the book the movie was, though the book is much more… dingy.  I don’t know that that’s the right word but Sophia Coppola has a way of making everything kind of dreamy.  This story has more sadness and decay than the movie put forth.

I have been in love with the tv show Castle.  I first heard of it through my favorite podcast and then I was looking through a slideshow regarding the season premiers this fall, it was mentioned that season three ended with Castle telling Kate that he loves her after she gets shot.  If that wasn’t reason to try it out, I don’t know what would be.  But, now I’ve had three seasons to watch, knowing that eventually it gets to that point, which has kind of been driving me crazy.  In a fun way, of course.

It’s kind of a cheesy show about a writer, Rick Castle (Nathan Fillion), who, after consulting on a case where the killer murdered according to characters in his books, finds inspiration in Detective Kate Beckett and begins shadowing her while writing his new book(s) about Nikki Heat.  He makes a lot of bad jokes and they have, two seasons in, danced around their feelings for each other.  But I know an “I love you” comes eventually!

I haven’t really been listening to music much, honestly.  Having to DJ 6 hours of music at work every day makes me kind of sick of picking things out.  I still love Bon Iver’s record and am looking forward to getting Blind Pilot’s newest album but Castle has been my main entertainment.  Marcus and I did go see O’Death in Durham a couple weeks ago and it was such a good show.  It was at a small place called The Pinhook and they put on a good performance (I have a soft spot for bands that have both drummers and percussionists).

After a whirlwind few days with three finishes, it’s felt a little slow going around here.  I’ve continued to cut and press the plaid shirts.  The money I saved buying thrifted shirts, I’ve spent in time getting them prepped to be used.  I decided to change the layout a little bit and maybe use a combination of solids instead of just the quilter’s linen.  Not all the plaids are cut on the straight grain so I’m nervous the top will be really busy, not to mention all the bias edges.  Caitlin came over for a sewing date yesterday during which I finally finished cutting all the plaids and will hopefully cut out the linen triangles today.  She brought her Kona cotton challenge to bind which looks great!

Reading, listening, watching, & creating, #5

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I still haven’t found that book I’ve been looking for, the one that will enthrall me. I have however, started reading “Blood Meridian” by Cormac McCarthy and so far so good. I am a big fan of his and would like to one day, say I’ve read all his books.

I cannot tell you how obsessed I am with Bon Iver’s new album. I listen to it multiple times a day. It’s so beautiful. I’ve read a couple interviews with Justin Vernon lately and it makes me love it/him even more. I am determined to go see him in Richmond VA on July 30th. I saw him on his “For Emma, Forever Ago” tour and it was such a good show (other than the super drunk girl that elbowed her way right in front of me and kept yelling their name incorrectly).
I watched a marathon of the BBC series Sherlock (available on Netflix Watch Instant). Granted, it was only 3 hour and a half long episodes but it was so good and I was so sad when it was over. It’s a take on Sherlock Holmes set in modern day London. I have never read or seen any other interpretations of Sherlock Holmes but I liked this one very much. If anything, it’s worth watching because the actor playing Sherlock is named Benedict Cumberbatch. How awesome is that? That said, some good friends of ours did not like it so you can’t just take my word for it, I suppose.

My recent creating was pretty well summarized in my last post where I joined in with the Finish It Up challenge so check it out and cheer me on!

Reading, listening, watching, & creating, #5

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I finished reading “My Antonia” a couple weeks back and I honestly haven’t started something in earnest since then. I began “A Collection of Plays” by Anton Chekov and didn’t get sucked in, I thought about rereading “Jane Eyre” after seeing the movie a few weeks ago but I always feel some guilt at rereading a book when there are so many unread ones on my bookshelf, I started “The Jungle” by Upton Sinclair and didn’t get sucked in, and now I’m thinking I might just get lost in a trusty ol’ Jane Austen novel. I think that ultimately though, I’m not in a book plowing mood and I might wait until something really strikes my fancy. I want to read Chekov’s plays and “The Jungle” eventually, just not right now.

I have been completely obsessed with O’Death’s record “Outside.” I didn’t love their first record “Head Home” but they changed their sound just enough that the new one is so good.

Find more artists like o’death at Myspace Music

Marcus and I started watching “Circus,” a 6-hour PBS documentary about the Big Apple Circus and it’s been really entertaining. It goes behind the scenes and looks at the lives of people that have actually run away and joined the circus. There is one particular character that I really like, a guy named Glen Heroy who plays a clown in the show. It’s his first year with the circus and he is such a nice, genuine guy.

I’m afraid to admit I haven’t been creating a whole lot lately. I did get my business cards in the mail that I’m super excited about. I ordered them from Moo and while I took a picture of them, that picture is on my dead computer. I did order a new power cord though so maybe I’ll have those up soon. My room, as I have previously mentioned, is a disaster so I’m thinking of making an Ikea trip this week or next. My creativity feel stiffled in such messiness. I’ll have something to show you soon, I promise!

Stitching and tv.

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I started watching this Danish television show called “Forbrydelsen” or “The Killing” and it is so good. There was an article in the New York Times about it last week that spurred me on to watching. The article talked of how much doesn’t happen in the show but that it’s been really popular in Britain. It’s 20 episodes where the crime happens in the first one and the following 19 are about solving the case. It’s a much slower pace than American shows like CSI (which is still one of my favorites). That said, “The Killing” is now has an American version, which started last night on AMC. I tend to prefer foreign originals over American remakes but I think I might watch both series, eventually.
While watching it I finished binding my siggy block quilt! It only took me over a year!
I am pretty happy with it. I’m considering sewing buttons unto the middle of the flower motif…(Oops! One block is facing the wrong way.)
but I only have black, pink, and white/clear buttons. Not a very good collection.The backing is some fabric that I acquired mysteriously. It’s pretty stiff and didn’t iron very well (the white ink melted a little?) so I figured it’d be a good backing for a wall quilt that won’t ever get washed.

So for now I’ll leave it like this and find somewhere nice to hang it.
Stats: Result of the Siggy block swap
28″ x 38½”
Made completely of scraps from various people.

I got a Herman Miller chair from the trash pile at work today!

One of my bosses had found it and it’s twin but had left them sitting in the rain for a few days. They have RJR and a string of numbers stamped on one of the legs but I can’t find anything about Herman Miller making chairs for RJ Reynolds. This one’s backing was coming apart but it was easily fixable and now I’m left wondering if it’ll be sacrilegious to spray paint it. The upholstery is yellow and dirty, the back is crosshatched and very ’70s, and the feet/base are silver when the rest is black. I want to paint the fabric and paint the base and back a shiny black. I think that ultimately if I’m making the chair into something I like a lot more, that’s what matters. And I can still brag that I have a Herman Miller chair :) And that brings the number of chairs I need to (re)finish up to 5, or 9 if you count recovering the dining room chairs that Addie munched on. No biggie :-/