three

A long while back, Claire did this thing on her blog (one of those 'meme' deals, I think) where she shared three songs that were really truly Her. I thought that was so cool, and I'd love to see what songs all of my friends would pick, because it's such an interesting angle to look at someone from. Anyway, don't want to seem narcissistic or anything, but partly because I loved the idea, and partly because I didn't have to spend any time thinking about it because the three choices were so obvious, and mostly because they're just amazing songs and I want you all to hear them anyway, I'm doing the same thing.

So here we go, three songs that are me:

Brand New Shoes, by She & Him: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0Mk9sydXY_k

(sorry about the terrible, cutesy illustrations on this video; just listen and don't watch.)

All This Beauty, by The Weepies: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UN0A6h9Wc5c&ob=av2e

Quelqu'un Ma Dit, by Carla Bruni: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Rd4-sIRXRH4

(if you feel like hunting one down, you should read a translation of the lyrics . . . lovely)

aaaah, I love these three so much.

peer review season is upon us once again, with all its . . . diversions.

Doing peer reviews somehow manages to be at the same time one of the best and one of the worst parts of being a creative writing major. Some of the stuff I have read and reviewed y'all just wouldn't believe. I really should have saved more of it and made an anthology.

Here is one of the first true gems from short fiction workshop this semester. This is one of the few passages in a student piece that has ever made me choke on something:

"What is nothing? Nick pondered. The beginning thoughts about absolute nothing start with simplistic ideas like a vacuum, in which there are no objects or air particles in a vacuum chamber. But there still is space and extension in the chamber. Nick shifted in his seat to give his left buttock a break as it had gone asleep. Space and extension are something, not nothing. Absolute nothing is not even that. . . "

bring a little joy to your hum drum lives

. . . there really is something so wonderfully fortifying about wearing matching underwear.

more gems from faulkner oral reports

verbs were problematic for several classmates this past week:

". . . he hadn't dranken in years."

". . . we learn about his strive for success and prosperity. . ."

and then, there's my personal favorite, one of those that makes you wonder if the person was raised in a cave:

"it's, like, a pree-face to the story"

yes, ladies and gentleman. she was referring to the section of prose that precedes the first chapter of a book. and she did indeed pronounce it 'pree-face.'

yeah.

gets me every time

When our TV's reception gets messed up, a little box appears that says:

"program has no content."

ahahaha.

Today, during oral presentations in my Faulkner class:

"Ok, so, we all know about Faulkner by now, how he likes to take his characters and give them personality."

um.

compendium

I sat with Dan last night during the Duke-Baylor game, doing homework (actually read an entire Faulkner novel from 3:00 to 10:00-- I heart my attention span), and noticed that Baylor has got some of Richard Scary's Best Names Ever on their team. I call your attention to the following gems:

Quincy Acy

LaceDarius Dunn

Tweety Carter

I didn't have time to make a bracket this year, but I was planning to base my predictions on which team had more Exemplary Names. Had I done so, this right here might just have taken Baylor to the top.

Sometimes I love being a writer. Today I went to Cafe Brazil after school to have a mocha and get some writing done, and an overheard speech pattern of the woman at the table behind me triggered a whole set of new ideas and three pages of notes for my next short story. Moments like that are what keep me going.

Got 14 packages of pasta for 3.50 last week. Oh yeah.

Currently Listening: to one of Pottery Barn's ever-beloved jazz compilations. It's just right with the weather and my window down. Plus it's Elwood's favorite kind of music, and puts him in a peppy mood.

"Maybe you got a lot to learn

Don't waste another day!

Maybe you got to lose it all

Before you find your way.

Take a chance, play your part,

Make romance, though it may break your heart. . ."

Recently decided that I kind of love the name Nolan. It's so cool, but in an old-man-cool way, not an "aahh!!-hugh-jackman-named-his-kid-that!!!" way.

"She looked like the Soul's Awakening, done in pink."

Oh my oh my.

Dallas has been invaded by Aldi. Three stores opened this week, all close to our house.

Today, I went to the nearest one, which is three minutes away.

It was kind of an emotional experience.

I felt a new dawn breaking as I strolled aisles packed full of things that cost $1.49.

Beautiful.

apparently, pilots have the best names

Over the course of my job here at Southwest Airlines I see hundreds of pilot names. Some weeks ago I started keeping a list of the names that shine above the rest. Hopefully there will be more to come, but for now I give you volume 1 of Richard Scarry's BEST SOUTHWEST PILOT NAMES EVER!!!


Lex Brockington
(your local high school all american quarterback)

Bobby Schock
(your local Saturday morning cartoon kid superhero)

"Ghost" Cheatham
(he answers the phone "this is Ghost" and I always feel like I accidentally
called a fictitious undercover special ops assassin.)

JD Kettlestrings
(chicken in the breadpan, pickin' out dough)

Kevin Keninitz
(any name with 3 N's, 3 I's, 2 K's and a Z for good measure has to be fun to say)

Glyn Macpherson "Hux" Huxter
(I can't add anything to that.)

Walt "Gator" Grace
(Gator Grace? there's money in that if I could just figure out how)

Todd Pancake and Terrance Wafful
(yes, they have been known to fly together)


and my two personal favorites -

"Super" Johnny Zitnik and "Turbo" Johnny Zayas


by special request of my wife, we also include the Southwest Employee Shuttle Drivers, Stanley and Lafayette, two of the friendliest black gentlemen you could meet

Homework Gets In Your Eyes; or, Attack of the Crazy Nnoyings-- a Short Cinematic Experience

hi ho hi ho

Alright. I need to focus. (So you ask, why am I blogging? Good question.)

See, my days have a very different rhythm than ever before this semester, because I have no morning classes and probably won't have to go to school at all most Thursdays (which, in case you hadn't noticed, is today, and as per the above I am home all day). So whereas before I've done school in the morning and early afternoon and then had late afternoon to do housework and errands and such, now I have to reverse it and do housework in the morning. It's really dumb how hard a time I'm having of making the switch. I catch myself wandering around the house not getting anything done sometimes because it feels like I should be at school.

So. As I said. Time to focus. Which for me means a List.

Which brings me, at long last, to the point of this epistle. My head, I know, is a silly place, but I wanted to know if anyone else here (and I know that there are many inveterate list-makers on both sides of the family) shares this particular quirk: I have to make my lists in very strong black ink or I don't follow through. It's as if a list in pencil, or in a skritchy pen that's not writing smoothly, or (horrors!) colored ink just doesn't have as much authority. It's more like a suggestion-- "ahem, ah, miss? yes, you. well, I was just. . . yes, just going to suggest that if you, well, if you happen to find the time, you might-- and i'm not saying you absolutely have to, but you might consider cleaning out the refrigerator. . . but don't let me order you around."

For today's list I'm bringing in the Pilot V-5's. There's a pen that means what it says. I think a To-Do List written by a Pilot V-5 ought to be extremely convincing. The difference between being told to do something by Jimmy Stewart and being told to do it by Gary Cooper, if you see what I mean. You probably love Jimmy more, and will probably get around to doing the thing just to please him, but Gary makes you feel it Must Be Done.

So as I was saying-- does anyone else feel this way?

(probably not. I'm probably just being a silly.)

(ok. back to work.)

Happy New Year from The Little Yellow House!

We think 2010 is going to be RICHARD SCARY'S BEST YEAR EVER!!!

(that is our silly way of saying that this year will be fancy, fabulous, fantastic, fun, flirtatious, felicitous-- in short, packed with all manner of cleverly alliterative virtues)

Welcome, 2010!

moo

Over the next few days I'll be posting some pictorial highlights of 2009 that never got posted at the time. And how better to begin this project than with an earnest 'Moo!'

These pictures are from Dress Like A Cow And Get A Free Entree Day at Chik-fil-a, in early June. I believe our costumes to be exemplary.

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