Reading Rambo

I completely forgot that my theme song for this year was Harder Better Faster Stronger by Daft Punk, and that right after I chose it back in January, I got sick and fell behind in everything. THIS YEAR WAS COMPLETELY THE BEST. Remember how 2010 was the worst for everyone and we all listened to Cee Lo Green's "Fuck You" as the year changed and said "YEAH. THAT SENTIMENT, 2010"? Yeah, so the OPPOSITE of that to this year. Events (as opposed to books, which are lateeeer) for 2013: - Zombie musical . Oh, how you consumed my January/February, but ah, you were worth it. - Juice fast . Remember that, Tika? Remember how we made that terrible decision? The low point was me putting salt directly on my tongue, because oh how I missed it. - Getting over crushes on straight girls . That was a good move. - Singing wayyyy better than in previous years. Like. Way better. Good times ahead. And this year I joined VOX 3 and I get to write stuff for them, which is the c

Oh right, I have GIFs for this. and lest we forget: Keep your lips to yourselves, drunkies Yes, actual Christmas is past us, but the spirit lives on, particularly in the dying poinsettias I have returned to find at my office. Christmas cookies, tree decorating, visiting relatives -- all things my family fought over in the past few days. But no, it was a splendid holiday, rife with jewels like my three brothers and myself watching Sharknado  for the first time and seeing my one-and-a-half-year-old niece deftly keep the remote away from my brother, continuing a proud family tradition. Whilst at home, I finished The Great Emergence , which is about the direction the Church as a whole is taking, so LOOK FORWARD TO THAT REVIEW, EVERYONE, and other than that, I did basically nothing. I worked a bit on Feminist Theory: From Margin to Center  on the train home while too obviously trying to hide the title from my seatmate. "What? Oh, no, I'm a super-fun person. I am. DO

Does anyone REALLY expect blog updates in December? In all whatever, I haven't read for about two weeks. Two. Weeks. Do you know how weird that feels? Of course you do -- you're reading a book blog and therefore presumably have some interest in books. I've HAD a book with me all the time, but I have not opened it. In two weeks. Mostly because my life has been eaten by caroling, but THAT SHALL SOON BE OVER, and then I will race to finish my requisite three more books for the year. Luckily when caroling's over it's just Christmas/New Year's and those aren't busy times. The books I will be TRYING to finish in the next 15 days are  The Great Emergence  about the Church's new direction;  One Summer: America, 1927  by Bill Bryson, which is GREAT;  Gay Pride and Prejudice  because...obviously; and maybe Feminist Theory: From Margin to Center  because I like to party. HEY. I've read a lot of non-fiction this year. Comparatively. In previous ye

Yeah. That's right. We're starting your week off with a Columbine review. I don't even know if I'm allowed to use GIFs here. What is GIF-etiquette, re Columbine? Just not sure. Because obviously GIFs can come across as making light of something, and this is one of those situations where that really, really cannot happen. Why? Because two extraordinarily psychologically messed-up teenagers killed 13 people. While I believe GIFs can be used effectively in serious situations, I do not feel up to that at the moment. So let us proceed. It's about to get kind of sad up in here. I tend to ignore tragedies that didn't happen 100 years ago. They make me feel powerless and upset and so rather than figuring out whatever small thing I can do to help, I purposely ignore all news about them (hey, Katrina -- still not sure what went on with you). I don't remember learning that much in 1999 aside from information picked up by osmosis. The boys were bullied; they l

I MADE CUPCAKES AND I AM OVERLY PROUD OF THIS BEHOLD I don't know how to cook...at all, which my mother brings up frequently, so when I do anything involving the inside of an oven (asiiiide from when I heat up Bagel Bites, as we do not own a microwave for Reasons), I act like a five-year-old who just made her first thing in an Easy-Bake. I haven't been reading much because I've been trying to finish Why Classical Music Still Matters , and it's hella hard and ALSO caroling gigs start today and will consume 90% of my free time until Christmas (slight exaggeration). But did I tell you all I'm going to Minnesota in January? Awesome idea, yes? It is -3 degrees there right now, and it's not even mid-December. For a Chicagoan to be scared of how cold a place is -- that is terrifying.  I started a schedule spreadsheet, and my friend and I are going to see the St Paul Chamber Orchestra (SPCO if you're cool) in my quest to be less of an asshole about classi

November was less of a slouchy month than might be assumed. Actually, one would probably assume it would NOT be a slouchy month, as the end of the year approaches on swift wings, and everyone's suddenly realizing that if they want to meet their reading goals for the year, they have to get off their asses and stop watching old episodes of Futurama  while eating Hob Nobs. Yes, I'm looking at all of you. As I have of course been nothing but productive. YOU DON'T KNOW MY LIFE, ADELE I finished four books in November, which admittedly isn't stellar, but I WORKED ON twelve books. Which should somehow count. Yes. Hyperbole and a Half , Allie Brosh . I pre-ordered this back in March. And if you want a print version of Allie's blog (I did), then THIS IS THE BOOK FOR YOU. My main complaint is she changed some of the panels to make them 'better,' when what really happened is they became 'worse.' So. Maybe work on that for next time, Brosh. (or rathe