Finished The Neverending Story! Such a beautiful book.

"I did everything wrong," he said. "I misunderstood everything. Moon Child gave me so much, and all I did with it was harm, harm to myself and harm to Fantastica." Dame Eyola gave him a long look. "No," she said. "I don't believe so. You went the way of wishes, and that is never straight. You went the long way around, but that was your way. And do you know why? Because you are one of those who can't go back until they have found the fountain from which springs the Water of Life. And that's the most secret place in Fantastica. There's no simple way of getting there." After a short silence she added: "But every way that leads there is the right one."

AthFest was wonderful, as always. A lot of great bands, and, as always, running into friends everywhere.

I also saw Mates of State at the 40 Watt. A great (and adorable!) band who put on a really high-energy show! A comedian named Nick Thune did stand-up before the show- he was pretty hysterical.



I finally got around to reading Carlos Ruiz Zafon's The Angel's Game and The Shadow of the Wind. Both excellent and well-crafted gothic novels with suspenseful, character-driven plots. I stopped about halfway through Justin Cronin's The Passage. I have a lot of books on my plate right now and may return to that one later. I can see why Cronin has received so much praise for the novel- he takes a rather tired genre and uses well-developed characters and excellent writing to give it new life. That being said... I think it's just not really my thing.



On the childrens' book front.... My work website has a review of "Lost and Found" by Oliver Jeffers who, along with Peter Sis, is my favorite childrens' author. He is apparently incapable of writing a book that fails to amaze. From the off-beat and amusing "The Incredible Book-Eating Boy" to the moving "The Heart and the Jar," Jeffers's simple, lovely illustrations and sparse prose ensure that each of his books strikes a powerful chord with the reader.



Here's the trailer for "Lost and Found" (it won a BAFTA!)








Which leads to another short I like...




I also recently learned that I will be spending an hour a week in the Young Adult section, which I think is a good enough reason to get to know their collection a little better! That, and the lovely people over there have excellent taste. Thus far, I have read: Uncle Montague's Tales of Terror by Chris Priestly (with illustrations and prose evoking Edward Gorey's morbid faux-Victorian/Edwardian works, it's a deliciously chilling collection of short stories all connected in some way to the eponymous Uncle Montague); The Red Pyramid by Rick Riordan (the first book in his post-Percy Jackson Kane Chronicles- although an intriguing idea, I was not as immediately attached to the characters or their quest but have decided to withhold judgement until I finish the series); The Neverending Story by Michael Ende, beautifully translated by Ralph Manheim (WHERE has this book been all my life? When my friend recommended it, she told me it "completely blew her mind" when she was younger and read it for the first time and has been one of her favorite books ever since. Speaking as an adult [kinda] I can attest that it is completely mind-blowing at any age); and I FINALLY started reading the Scott Pilgrim books (why I waited so long, I have no idea- it's awesome!).

Music-wise, I'm enjoying Florence + the Machine's Lungs (really lovely album, great female vocalist) and The Black Keys' new album Brothers (crazyawesomesexy).

Film-wise, Ponyo (Respect your father! I have a cape!):

is perfect- utterly precious and an instant classic!

Salt:

is fucking awesome. And, let's be honest, it's only supposed to be fucking awesome.

UPDATE: Eating two corn dogs really really fast is a bad idea for your tummy.

Also, go to http://www.clarke.public.lib.ga.us/hqdepts/childrens/books.html to see my review of Geraldine McCaughrean's The Death-Defying Pepper Roux. Short version: In his quest to avoid dying, Pepper experiences more living in a few months than most do in a lifetime. Throughout the novel, Pepper is unwaveringly kind and considerate of others. While these characteristics rarely work in Pepper's favor immediately, they do endear him to a host of characters. The novel does not gloss over some of life's more difficult aspects, but Pepper's optimistic outlook affirms life to himself and to the reader as he strives to keep his. Fans of Roald Dahl will enjoy the story and its dark humor; fans of adventure stories will enjoy Pepper's many adventures at sea and on land. I LOVED this book.

This just in- corn dogs are delicious!

The Features- http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U1k1pXrP0zM
Very good/fun band! Great music to dance to. One of Saturday night's many excellent moments.

Peter Sis's The Wall and Tibet Through the Red Box- such incredibly, incredibly beautiful books. I don't care who you are.

My whole, entire life right now... Is achingly fucking wonderful.

Wanna see people make a genetic experiment.... and then fuck it? Then SPLICE is the movie for you! -Rachel Parker.

And that is all.

The Carolina Chocolate Drops:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wKTXJUYiAT4
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XBeYuQjCY1o
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Evu7TvAUTo0
I told the guy at Wuxtry that I had really enjoyed the show, and he gave me the poster! It was neato.

Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros:
I like the whole album, but especially:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4306i99LMXo

The Morning Benders (and the person who first showed me this video):
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7jgmgE-QDzA

Also, re-reading Harry Potter. Spoilers ahead if you haven't ever read them (in which case, you suck and should do so immediately).

I got up to Dobby's death while at work the other day. Was almost in tears in front of all the children. Went to bed kind of early to finish the book... And was up until 4 am. I cried and laughed and was overjoyed and desolate and remembered just how much I love it all.

Dandelion Wine was INCREDIBLE. The best depiction of childhood I have ever read, and the most truthful. Wonderful wonderfulwonderful.

We Have Always Lived in the Castle- Honestly.... Not a fan. Figured out the twist in the first few chapters. Only finished it because I was bored and it was short. It was well-written and everything, but I wasn't really that impressed overall.

Now off to get a new book from my shelf! Yay!

I'm going to copy Lucy (again). You can't get in trouble for that, because you can't plagiarize ideas! haha!
In 50 words... Since last time I posted... hmm... which was.. last Wednesday? Holy shit. Okay here goes.. Day words don't count. Nor does Thursday, 'cause I don't really remember what I did. Or Monday. Or hyphens.
Friday: new hair, wandering, beer, kittens, broccoli=trees, new people, piano, fire, Dandelion Wine, wonderful
Saturday: blues, termites, talking, barbecue
Sunday: Grit brunch, hink-hink, coffee, work, tea, dinner
Monday: cock crow, French toast, Dr. Who
Tuesday: [A break to quote my favorite kid ever:
"I found TWO books on race cars!"
"That's awesome! Do you want to be a race car driver when you grow up?"
"Yeah, because I love Nascar."
"That looks like a really fun job."
"Do you know what I really like?"
"No, what?"
"Monster trucks!"
"Oh, monster trucks are super cool!"
"Does your son like monster trucks?"
"Well, I don't have a son, but, if I did, I bet he would love monster trucks, 'cause they're rad."
"Nana! I'm over here reading about CONSTRUCTION VEHICLES!"
Also, he called me "lady".]
Then: mixtape, car ride, faux-German city, hiking, mountain field, pizza, Men Who Stare at Goats, more pizza, cookie, that makes fifty.
In less than ten words: Everything is fucking awesome right now.

MOOZAK

So, this mix I'm making has hit a critical stage- I've pared it down to 30 songs, but I don't know if I can cut any more! The goal is a nice little "love songs" mix, so I'm going to work through why each of these songs makes the cut, and then if I should keep them on here or not. Okay? Okay.

• "This Must Be the Place"-Arcade Fire cover (one of my favorite bands, and it's such a cute song!)
• "Sleep"-Azure Ray (pretty pretty pretty)
• "All I Want Is You"-Barry Louis Polisar (wedding song. Am I right?)
• "Falling"-Ben Kweller (so, so, so cute)
• "All Is Full of Love"-Bjork (one of those songs you listen to a lot after you get dumped, actually... Removing now)
• "First Day of My Life"-Bright Eyes (always makes me think of the first boy I ever loved, and it's super cute)
• "Fly Around My Pretty Little Miss"-Built to Spill (not really a love song... more just a song I love... shit. Remove)
• "I Believe in a Thing Called Love"-The Darkness (this song IS 9th grade to me, and it's just so ridiculous it makes me happy. and, obviously, it's about love)
• "Soul Meets Body"-Death Cab for Cutie (the lyrics are so pretty.... but maybe it's on notice, 'cause I've already got a Ben Gibbard project on here, and I'm not fond of repetition, and I do prefer that little Mario-esque sample "Brand New Colony"'s got going on... And the lyrics on that one... Removing)
• "Trashcan"-Delta Spirit (okay, are they just on here for being one of my favorite bands? Let's take a look at lyrics... okay, not really a love song. Removing)
• "Mushaboom"-Feist (I just love "I got a man to stick it out/make a home from a rented house/and we'll collect moments one by one/I guess that's how the future's done")
• "Do You Realize??"-The Flaming Lips (it's just beautiful... and it could totally be a love song... I'll remove it if I have to)
• "The Way I Am"-Ingrid Michaelson (Rogaine when you start losing all your hair? Sweaters? Taking people the way they are? Too cute!)
• "Such Great Heights"-Iron & Wine cover (I love this song... and I think this version's beautiful... And I love the whole first verse... But maybe it's really more of a break-up song? Remove)
• "Kim & Jessie"-M83 (because it sounds like a John Hughes movie)
• "Toothpaste Kisses"-The Maccabees (once again, so, so cute)
• "Speak Easy"-Maria Taylor (I do already have Azure Ray on here... I like the lyrics, but I really love the old-timey feel of this one... But, as I said, this is a critical stage. Sacrifices must be made. Remove)
• "Anyone Else But You"-Michael Cera & Ellen Page version from Juno (I like both versions a lot, but I especially like how awkward this one sounds. Like awkward, 16-year-old indie kids singing a cute song to each other)
• "Arms Tonite"-Mother Mother (My favorite band writing a cutesy little song about being sad in the afterlife because the person you love isn't there? Adorable and dance-y? Yes, I do "think it's kinda cute"!)
• "She's Got You High"-Mumm-Ra (I mean, it IS in the 500 Days of Summer soundtrack... Never mind. Remove. It's super cute, but it will remind me of sad! And that's no good.)
• "Fake Empire"-The National (maybe not such a happy song... in a way, it's sort of pretty, but it doesn't really give me a warm, fuzzy, lovey feeling. it does have a horn section, though, and everyone should know how I feel about those! ilovethemtheyareliketheauralequivalentofjoy)
• "Baby"-Pnau (also features horn sections, and is much happier and cuter than the above... bye "Fake Empire")
• "Brand New Colony"-The Postal Service (as previously stated, love the lyrics and the Mario-style sample!)
• "Can You Tell"-Ra Ra Riot (I feel like the line about "when you turn your eyes/I promise I won't care" kind of bothers me... Removing)
• "Wonderwall"-Ryan Adams version (Once again... Song I love... Damn)
• "My Hands Are Shaking"-Sondre Lerche (super cute)
• "Hotel Yorba"-The White Stripes (great song, and the reason I fell in love with the White Stripes all over again when I heard it out of the blue last fall and hadn't listened to White Blood Cells since 8th grade)
• "Jesus, Etc."-Wilco (let's face it... kinda sad. nothing personal, Jeff Tweedy)
• "This Heart's On Fire"-Wolf Parade ("Sometimes we rock 'n' roll/sometimes we stay at home/and it's just fine", how can I say no? Also, one of my favorite bands...)
• "Hysteric"-Yeah Yeah Yeahs (once again... one of my favorite bands... and this song's just pretty. it sounds like holding hands in a nightclub)

And, with that, we have hit 19 songs, and I'm going to bed!

I'm really going to try to do this every day, but on days like this it's hard!
1. Saw Margot and Joseph's "wedding cake" last night- alternating layers of red velvet and funfetti, with white icing, flecks of blue, Hershey's kisses, tic-tacs, and goofy pictures of the best man, maids of honor, and groom's little sister. Possibly the best wedding cake ever.
2. Got a headache and went to bed early with the help of Advil.
3. Slept until 2. I should be more ashamed. I blame the Advil. Talked to my super rad new friend some.
4. Went to Joe's to see J-Miz's new bike- bright pink complete with horn, streamers, flag, and Disney Princess bell. He's never changing anything about it: "I'm going to be the guy in Athens that rides THIS bike."
5. WORK. Read a cute little book called "The Falling Raindrop," about a raindrop whose anxiety about change causes him to miss out on the fun of being a raindrop.
6. Went home to see my puppy! Optimum cuddling while discussing with him a potential photo shoot for his inclusion in the upcoming Hipster Puppies book. He feels the publicity will help his DJ career, even if they mock his fondness for Animal Collective. Also, ate the kind of sandwich only parents can afford the materials for.
Now, more Harry Potter, and a much-needed haircut tomorrow! Yay!

Watched my favorite movie ever with Jordan and Justin this morning- Tetro.
Trailer: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZYZ8edKAWDs&feature=related
The acting, cinematography, story, music... Shit, everything. I love love love that movie. Nothing about it is intended to be commercially viable; it would never have been a blockbuster- it's just art. Beautiful beautiful art.
Work was great today, and here is an enumerated list of why:
1. Jason was wearing a shirt with a cute, chubby little pony with side bangs. Said cute, chubby little pony with side bangs had gotten his little leg caught in a bucket. The shirt read: Nobody's Perfect. We decided it was an excellent shirt, since it was both cute AND true.
2. NEW BOOKS. As anyone who works in a library knows, new books are a thing to be excited about. Especially in the children's area, where new books means PUTTING STICKERS ON THE NEW BOOKS. This is my favorite thing, so my boss kindly left the stickering to me this evening. Stickering, as everyone knows, requires one to at least peruse said book before determining what sticker to put on. This resulted in my finding the following items:
2(a): Cool Crafts With Old Jeans: a nifty arts and crafts book showing how to make bags, jewelry, belts, and (my favorite) place mats with old jeans. It also includes a little note on why thrift stores are awesome.
2(b): Henry and the Crazed Chicken Pirates: Cute book about some bunny pirates and how they fight off some chicken pirates.
2(c): The Heart and the Bottle: really beautiful little book about a girl who puts her heart in a bottle to protect it after she loses someone she loved. However, with her heart in a bottle, she could not appreciate all the other things in life that she had loved when that person was still around. The illustrations are simple, as is the language for the most part, but as lovely as the message. The book focuses on the importance of allowing yourself to feel pain, because, if you can feel pain, you can also feel wonder. And if you can't feel pain or wonder, then what's the point of living? Some people may think that children are too young or inexperienced to understand a message like that, but I disagree. Children lose things and people, too, but so much of children's entertainment is focused on ignoring that fact and making everything happy and... sterile. Not that it should be focused on telling them how horrible life is (because that's just not true), or that there should be no book/show/movie that has no purpose but to make kids laugh, but I think there should be more books like this one. Books that acknowledge that just because someone is young or has less "life experience" or whatever doesn't make one's feelings or struggles any less relevant.
2(d): A chapter book entitled Big Nate, with this priceless gem on the back cover: "But life doesn't always go your way just because you're awesome." True that, children's book author. True. That.
And now, back to Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince!

I only slept about three hours last night, on account of finishing Order of the Phoenix, complete with crying breaks. siriussiriussirius Then: Coffee! Pizza with my BFFAEAE Annabeth! Work (highlight: "She's going to show you where the books are! Librarians do that sometimes.")! Buying my favorite movie now on DVD and a new bag at the Gap! Buying dinner at Earth Fare, along with organic truffles!

On my first complete re-reading of the series, I'm also finding myself much more interested in Snape. I've always thought he was interesting, but I'm paying a lot more attention now that I know his whole story. I still don't like him. I wouldn't call him a favorite character (that's still Sirius! And Fred Weasley. And Harry. And Dumbledore. And Ginny. Luna. McGonagall....)

Also, Death Eaters. What do they think of their actions? How did Barty Crouch/"Fake Moody" feel about getting to know Neville and comforting him after his reaction to seeing the Cruciatus Curse? Knowing that Neville's reaction was because of his own actions? Was he proud of what he did, or did he think it was justified? And for what purpose? Was Voldemort going to instill a new world order that would in some way benefit people like him? Bellatrix is just crazy and evil, Voldemort the same, and Snape is a product of the environment in which he was raised. I feel that some Death Eaters are given redeeming qualities (the Malfoys love for their son, Draco's ultimate inability to kill Dumbledore), so they cannnot be meant to be purely evil, but if they are not, why do they do such evil things? I suppose it comes back to Grindelwald and Dumbledore... They think order will be brought to the world through such people? I'm totally working through this as I write, this probably makes no sense. When I have a Doctorate in Harry Potter Studies, this would be a good exam essay! In fact, I'm going to post this question on facebook and see what responses I get. So more on that later.
Now, to get back to Half-Blood Prince! Or, to quote... "And now, Harry, let us step out into the night and pursue that flighty temptress, adventure."

Here goes...

So, I'm posing Lucy. Also, I need a writing project. Also, I need something to do this summer besides laying out by the pool and reading Harry Potter. And so, I, too, have started a "blog". But now, I must go finish Order of the Phoenix... Every time I read it I hope it's going to end differently. SIRIUS-ly. haha