fannishliss | Entries tagged with 31dayblogchallenge

hi all -- I am going on a three day trip, and wonder if anyone has any book recs for me to upload onto my Kindle? Especially Doctor Who or Sherlock related?   I realize I am shallow and fannish that way..... but also if any books have really rocked anyone, I'm open. :) Just saying, I do read at least one non-fiction book every month due to my book club. :D It could be a novel length fic as well...

Here's my rec in return: two excellent new (to me at least) songs by the Gregory Brothers.

1. O MY DAYUM
First, this awesome song about a really good cheeseburger. This guy was on NPR's Tell Me More and he is really psyched that the Gregory Bros. picked up his youtube. "Food critic and YouTube sensation Daymon 'Daym' Patterson travels the country to find the best takeout spots. He eats in the front seat of his car - when the food is hottest and freshest. Guest host Celeste Headlee talks with him about his new Travel channel show Best Daym Takeout."   I love this video and totally bought the song from iTunes. :D   The thing I love about the Gregory Brothers is how they focus on the oratory powers of their subjects and really bring it out by adapting the speech pattern into music. Awesome songs like "I love cats, I love every kind of cat", "Bed Intruder", Kristen Bell's song about the sloth, "double rainbow all the way across the sky" -- all those youtubes focus on powerful storytellers and then the Gregorys use their power as musicians to translate that into music -- so there is that amazing synergy between the original power of the story, with the added drama of the perfect rhythm, melody, and accompaniment, which is what the Gregory Brothers bring.

2. DJ PLAY MY SONG (NO! LEAVE ME ALONE!)
So now, we are only two degrees away from Psy!!! (My bro in law's BFF is a Gregory, so we rejoice in their successes. :D ) Here is a link to their amazing, funny, and awesome original song and video, DJ PLAY MY SONG (NO LEAVE ME ALONE). It is in the amazing genre of hiphop parody which we adore in the Lonely Planet or Flight of the Conchords. I am really amazed by Sarah's gorgeous performance!!   So if you ever wondered whether the Gregorys could write amazing songs under their own power, please enjoy this video. with special bonus PSY!!!

31 Day blog Challenge
27. Favorite Recipe -- I will post later

28. What I'm looking forward to: TRIP TO LA!! also, My album being finished and ready to publish on bandcamp. SO CLOSE.

29. Where Have I traveled.
In 1989, I spent a semester in England and took a field trip to Venice. I've been back to England only once, but am hoping to visit again next summer. I love England so much.
Living here on the East Coast, we've been to such cities as Boston, New York, Philadelphia, Baltimore, Richmond, Washington DC, and south to Fayetteville, Asheville, and Winston-Salem NC, where we have relatives. I've also been through Chicago and to Boulder CO.
In 1992, I spent the summer living in San Francisco. That was awesome. What a great city.
I went there by train and took a detour to Canada. I've been to Montreal twice. :)
In 1993, we toured the Southwest on our honeymoon, through New Orleans, Texas, New Mexico, Utah. Awesome!
In 1999 or so, we went to Washington state and camped around the Olympic peninsula, visited my uncle in Seattle, drove to Twin Peaks, and also to Vancouver, so I've been there as well. Washington was beautiful, we really loved it.
My BFF lives in Las Vegas so I've been there twice, and am now going to visit her in LA for three days. Woo hoo!
One bro in law studies History of Latin America, so we visited him in Recife, Brazil, in 2003.
Other bro in law went to El Salvador in the Peace Corps, so we visited him in 2008.
Last summer we visited our friend in Alaska.
This spring we visited friends in Puerto Rico.
We plan on going to England next summer. If you are English, and would like to show us the splendors of your town, please let me know!!

23 dream job -- well, I always wanted to be a rock star, and I am now working professionally as a musician, so I guess that is pretty close. :)

24 favourite childhood book(s).
One of my favorite things about childhood is books. I still love and read children's books all the time. Let's see.
Richard Scarry's Best Storybook Ever, including all time favorite I am a Bunny by Ole Risom, illustrated by R. Scarry.
My favorite Dr. Seuss books are One Fish Two Fish, The ABC Book, and I can lick 30 Tigers Today.
Inside Outside Upside Down by Stan and Jan Berenstain.
Three Bedtime Stories, a golden book illustrated by Garth Williams.
Fairy Tale book (will look for exact title).
D'Aulaires' Greek Myths.
The Cricket in Time Square, by George Selden.
The Treasure is the Rose, by Julia Cunningham.
Island of the Blue Dolphins, by Scott O'Dell.
The Witch of Blackbird Pond, by Elizabeth George Speare.
The X Factor by Andre Norton, and many others.
Ozma of Oz by L. Frank Baum, my favorite Oz book. The digital revolution is so amazing in so many ways. Many people have experienced something like my memory of traveling to England for my Junior Year abroad and wrestling with which cassette tapes to take along to listen to over my walkman. Now of course I currently have a thousand songs on my Kindle and over 10,000 on my laptop. But I also have the complete set of Oz books on my Kindle now, which I downloaded for a dollar. When I was a kid, I tried and tried to get a hold of those books. Del Rey started to reprint them and I haunted the local B. Dalton bookstore waiting for them all to come out.... I still don't think I have them all... then last month while we were on a camping trip my son wanted a bedtime story and I downloaded the entire set of Oz books -- presto! along with several other amazing children's classics. Wow.
A Wrinkle in Time by Madeleine L'Engle, and many others. My friend gave me a t shirt that is the old Scholastic cover of this book. so fun!
As a grown up with my own child I have come to adore Beatrix Potter. I downloaded her complete set of tales onto my Kindle. Yesterday we read Timmy Tiptoes, and the Roly Poly Pudding, both of which are hilarious.
Also, of course, Winnie the Pooh.
I could go on, but those are the highlights. If you read this please comment with a few of your favorite children's books.

25 my five favorite blogs. I guess I'm not really a reader of blogs per se. I used to love Dave's Long Box, which was about comics. And of course Allie Brosh's Hyperbole and a Half -- her book has a release date!! I spend all my time reading fic. :)

26 old photo of me. There is a great photo of me as a toddler in a bucket. My dad was a farmer. He is standing in the hog pen with me in the feeding bucket. It is one of my favorite pictures ever. I don't think I have a digital copy of it, which I need to rectify.

21. favorite ten foods: Oh I really love food, so this is hard.
1. Comfort food. My favorite comfort food is lasagna or spaghetti with meat sauce from the recipe we used when I was growing up. I also make "disaster lasagna" when we are expecting a big storm because it keeps very well and you can heat it up in foil over candles. :)
2. Korean food. We eat a lot of Korean style food at home and love to go to Korean restaurants. We even make our own kim chi! I love bulgogi of course, but I also love the vegetable side dishes and just the overall garlic, sesame oil, hot pepper, seafood and light pickle flavors. Yum.
3. Cheeseburgers. Wow, I love them.
4. Ethiopian. Every so often I get on a kick for Ethiopian. I love the soft, sour bread. I love the spicy meat full of berbere sauce made of paprika. I love their delicious ways with lentils and cabbages. NOM. A plate full of Ethiopian food is dangerous because I CAN'T STOP EATING IT.
5. Deviled eggs. A perfect morsel at a potluck.
6. Potato Chips or Tortilla Chips or indeed any salty snack out of a bag. Salty snacks are my downfall and I have to be careful about having them in the house. I will eat them until they are gone.
7. Fish and chips. a lovely piece of battered cod. But actually I love garlic mashed potatoes better than chips per se.
8. Pineapple chunks in chocolate fondue.
9. A perfectly fried fresh trout.
10. A full English breakfast. Ahhhh!! Now I have to go try and make a full English. at least beans on toast.

22. What's the best thing that happened this year.
My husband is playing the lead in Hamlet.
They are currently building my porch as I type.
My son finished his school year with advanced classes and did well after all that hard work. Another awesome thing is the beautiful Bach piece he can play on the flute.
I lost a sentimental piece of jewelry (my Cross that I got at Canterbury Cathedral in 1989) and so I've been taking the whole house apart to clean and find it. And finally I found it!!!! YAY. Also, my house is much cleaner.
We acquired the Civilized Gerbs. We officially named their birthday as July 20, the day Armstrong and Aldrin walked on the moon while Naranbattar orbited in the command module. :D

18. the meaning behind my blog name:
because I am Fannish and I am called Liss :)

19. what do I collect:
1. books (including comic books and graphic novels)
2. records
3. movies and tv shows
4. jewelry
5. art and craft pieces, masks, baskets, boxes
6. action figures and fannish toys
7. musical instruments (including bells)
8. feathers, seashells, stones, marbles, and other little things
9. coins, including flat pennies and commemorative coins
10. glassware and pyrex
11. skulls of animals
12. "old things at yard sales"

20. A difficult time in your life.
In 2005, my dad passed away, I bought a house, I got a new job, and my son started kindergarten. Yet, that time felt more like a time of great change than a time of difficulty. I think the very worst time I've ever had had to do with my graduate degree.... but I did finish, and that's what counts. :) Right now is a difficult time, because my husband's oldest friend died on June 23. It is a heavy loss for him and for all of us that I am doing my best to help him bear.

Day 16: What's at the top of your bucket list?
I want to see the Northern Lights.
Also, I want to publish my novel.
I take a little bit of exception to the concept of the bucket list, though. I think if you want something, you have to work and dream toward it -- don't wait!! don't put it off! Make it real before it's too late.

Day 17: What is your most proud moment?
Gosh, that's hard. I've had so many happy and proud moments in life-- the safe delivery of my son; my wedding ceremony; the completion of my PhD. These days I am often very proud of my son and husband in their accomplishments. I am one of those crazy proud moms who sits crying with pride at recitals etc. I'm very proud of my husband's most recent acting job. My everyday life is one of quiet accomplishment, so I like to take a moment to appreciate all the great little things instead of waiting for one big momentous thing.

Day 13: Earliest Memory:
My earliest memories are foggy. It's hard for me to really know. I do remember when my old babysitter Florence would sit with me on the steps in my house waiting for my mom to get home and we would eat a very sweet snack of a three musketeers bar (I remember when there used to be three small bars inside the package) and drink cola - I drank mine from my baby bottle! My son and my sister both have clear memories going all the way back into very early infancy. My son seems to remember things like the cradle thing they put babies in at the hospital and the car we owned when he was less than a year old. o_O

Day 14: If I won the lottery
I would travel all over the world. I don't get much out of luxury accommodations, but just the traveling and experiencing different places is so engrossing to me.

Day 15: Timeline of my day:
5:45 alarm goes off.
6 am -- husband goes to work. He works at a childcare center taking care of toddlers.
I get the laptop and mess around looking for stories to read etc.
It is summertime right now so our schedule is looser. This morning I did a lot of scheduling and emailing trying to put our fall brochure together. I do a lot of work from my home office. My son made cinnamon rolls for breakfast. Workmen arrived to start digging the footers for our screen porch!!!! It is so exciting to think about the new room that will soon be appended to our house.
It's around 10:30 now. I'm going to encourage son to take a walk with me because it is pretty outside.
I have to eat lunch between noon and 1 pm or I get cross!
Husband arrives home at around 3:30 from work and we have espresso. (I gave up coffee for Lent this year because it was wrecking my digestion, so now I have tea, but sometimes I do have a little halfshot of espresso.)
Then in the afternoon/evening I give music lessons, so my schedule is different every day.
We eat supper around 5:30 or 6 because husband often leaves to rehearse or son has dance class.
We try to send son to bed by 9:30 but it is getting harder to send him to bed at a reasonable hour as he gets older. Then we go to bed around 10:30 because of such an early rising time.
It is a fluctuating schedule but a very good life.

day twelve: what's in my fridge. NOT FOR THE FAINT OF HEART.
( Read more about my fridge )

31 Day Blog Challenge, Day Eleven: Fifteen of my Favorite Things

At first I thought about taking "Things" literally and naming my objects that I am most attached to, like my Swiss Army knife, my piano, guitars and flutes and other instruments, or my precious books or jewelry, but then I decided to give answer more in the vein of the famous song. So here goes:

1. The smell of a mountain meadow in the summer sun
2. A tankful of gerbils all looking my way
3. How simple chores like cooking and washing dishes become fun and relaxing when you are doing them with minimalist gear at a picnic table in a campsite.
4. My cozy bedroom surrounded by trees full of birdsong
5. Bats diving for insects on a summer evening.
6. Receiving a mysterious package containing a set of four bottles of prescriptive jellybeans that correct the humours. (Such a package arrived today from my BFF!! :D)
7. Delicious gourmet pizzas thrown together by my husband from fresh ingredients we have on hand. Yay summertime!
8. Having so many pieces of art on display in the house that I can't really list them all.
9. Tamish neighborhood rabbits
10. The night sky in the wintertime when Orion rises
11. Working with a kid to help them perform a piece of music
12. Successfully cleaning the house so that it looks sleek and functional like a grownup lives here
13. Finishing a story or a poem or a song (and getting good comments)
14. Laughing my head off with loved ones
15. Fannish squee! (My Claude Rains figure also came today!)

My best physical feature is my really long hair, which represents 27 years of time and effort on my part, as well as a conscious decision not to go with passing styles.

My mom always had short hair and never liked my long hair. So, when I was a sophomore in high school I went and got what we called a poodle perm. I knew it was a mistake as soon as the beautician pulled up a long hank from the top of my head (probably about 18 inches long) and snipped it. Despite the shock and regret, there was no turning back. When it was finished, I basically had Tom Baker's hairstyle. My natural hair is very, very fine and perfectly straight without the slightest bit of curl in it. You can perm it, but it still takes loads of effort with the curling iron and hairspray and all. So, that was my hair for about a year. Then, by the time I was a senior in 1986 I cut it all off in a very short all over cut, and then went to college and NEVER CUT IT AGAIN.

My hair grows very, very slowly, about a little over an inch a year. So, after 27 years, it is down below my waist. No, I do not trim it. Normally it is all in one braid, but I can also put it up in a twist or in bun. Even with being so long, it is so very fine it still weighs almost nothing. I hope that in a few more years it will reach my knees -- that is my ultimate goal.

When I was a little girl I must have been influenced by the imagery of the hippies in the early 1970s. I thought their long straight hair was very beautiful. Also, Cher made the album Dark Lady (1974), which I really loved. On the cover she is holding a black cat on her hands and is wearing a long designer dress (Calvin Klein) and I thought she was awesome. And the Dark Lady from the title song is a fortune teller, an idea I loved. (I was fannish even as a tiny, tiny girl. It is intrinsic to my nature.) Another amazing fortune teller from that era is the character of Solitaire, played by Jane Seymour, from the Bond film Live and Let Die (1973). I thought she had to be the most beautiful woman in the world. She is in my icon.

I am 5' 1" and very strong, with a round face, blue eyes and a big smile. There are no movie stars who look like me with the possible exception of some sort of cross between Renee Zelweger and Dame Judy Dench.
So my hair is absolutely my best physical feature. I also have very nice feet, which are considered wide by the shoe industry. :)

1. Procrastination. I agree that "Don't put off till tomorrow what you can do today," but I actually am more like, "Do today whatever you can't put off till tomorrow..." :P
2. Pack rat fever. I form attachments to things very easily, and I see potential in everyday scraps. I am where the Ecologically Correct meets the Pathologically Frugal. I have to be very strict with myself. But I'm getting better.
3. Snappishness. I do get snappish when I can't (from my perspective) seize a moment's peace. Introverts and motherhood don't always mix. I am always trying for more patience and a more compassionate, generous outlook.
4. Feeder Bar. I do constantly surf the internet looking for stories. :)

Day Six -- your six senses right now.
Day Seven -- your pet hates
Day Eight -- what's in your handbag
( Read more... )

( Read more... )

There is a fantastic song by one of my favorite singers, Kirsty MacColl (may she rest in peace), called "In These Shoes" (go listen if you've never heard her*). In the song she keeps meeting different men, and one of them says in a Spanish accent, "What are you afraid of?" which is what I keep thinking when I hear this question. :) In that sense -- in the sense of being afraid to try new things or take risks, I'm not really afraid.

But the thing that wakes me up in the middle of the night is the feeling of impending catastrophe, and that it will be ALL MY FAULT. Usually by day that feeling ebbs. I have a job with a lot of responsibility and I literally have to repeat to myself, "If this venture fails, it's not going to start the Apocalypse." I just try to maintain a sense of scope and remind myself to get things done one day at a time. My husband points out that I'm never satisfied until I'm slightly overextended -- but I do have a Type A personality and the high blood pressure to prove it, so I guess that's true.

* My link leads to a live performance on "Later with Jools Holland." We don't get this show in the States, and more's the pity, because everyone awesome performs on it!! In this performance, Kirsty gives a perfect rendition of her song, with two funny aspects: 1, she is wearing extremely sensible shoes, unlike the persona in her song, and 2, she is absolutely deadpan throughout, when she has one of the sharpest wits of any songwriter ever. The album this song is from, "Tropical Brainstorm" is one of my favorite albums of all time. ...It's typical in this journal that I start with "what are you afraid of" and end up digressing about one of my favorite musicians. :D

Last sentence of Frankenstein: "He was soon borne away by the waves and lost in darkness and distance."
This is just the most beautiful sad resolution to the story of the Creature's perfection and isolation.

Favorite Bible Verse: Micah 6: 8: "He has shown you, O mortal, what is good; And what does the LORD require of you But to do justly, To love mercy, And to walk humbly with your God?"

Favorite Poem: Kublai Khan, by Samuel Taylor Coleridge.
as well as I can from memory:
In Xanadu did Kublai Khan a stately pleasure dome decree, where Alph, the sacred river ran, through caverns measureless to man, down to a sunless sea.
There twice fives miles of fertile ground with walls and towers were girded round, and there were forests bright with sinuous rills, where blossomed many an incense bearing tree, and there were forests older than the hills, enfolding sunny spots of greenery.
...um, It was a miracle of rare device: a sunny pleasure dome with caves of ice.
But o! that deep romantic chasm that slanted down the green hill, athwart a cedarn cover-- a savage place! as holy and enchanted as eer beneath a waning moon was haunted by woman wailing for her demon lover!
... tum de dum...
floated midway on the waves
as if the earth in fast thick pants were breathing, turmoil seething, massy boulders bounding, like chaff beneath the thresher's flail
it flung up momently the sacred river
And in that tumult Kublai heard from far, ancestral voices prophesying war.
...
A damsel with a dulcimer in a vision once I saw. It was an Abyssinian maid, and on her dulcimer she played, singing of Mount Aborah. Could I revive within me her symphony and song to such a deep delight twould win me that with music loud and long, I would build that dome in air, that sunny dome, those caves of ice, and all should cry to see them there, and all should cry
Beware, Beware-- His flashing eyes, his floating hair!
Weave a circle round him thrice
and close your eyes in holy dread,
for he on honeydew hath fed,
and drunk
the milk
of paradise.

----My husband just came early from work, and of course with his actor brain he knows the whole thing perfectly by heart, but I didn't let him correct me. I can never remember the middle part. :)