Used To Be New; Now It's Less So

Can't find what you're looking for? Try the 2001 Used To Be New archive.

New for September 24:

Journal entry: Choices

READING: Book seven of The History by Herodotus.
LISTENING TO: Nothing.

New for September 23:

Journal entry: The Emmys

READING: Book seven of The History by Herodotus.
LISTENING TO: "There Shall A Star Come Out of Jacob" by Felix Mendelssohn.

New for September 11:

Journal entry: Requiem aeternam

READING: Book six of The History by Herodotus.
LISTENING TO: "A Thousand Years," performed by Little Big Town.

New for September 10:

Journal entry: Lazy Bums

READING: Book six of The History by Herodotus. Carl Reiner writes good, but he also writes short.
LISTENING TO: The hum of the microwave. In my head, I'm hearing And I Heard a New Heaven by Edgar Bainton, which song I'll be singing at a memorial service tomorrow morning.

New for September 9:

Journal entry: Not For the Reviews

READING: I'm between books right now. Since finishing Hollywood vs. America, I've read the second volume of Robert Jordan's Wheel of Time series, The Great Hunt, and two additional chapters of The History. Next up: "How Paul Robeson Saved My Life" and Other Mostly Happy Stories by Carl Reiner.
LISTENING TO: Technically nothing, but in my head I'm listening to "Life's a Show" from the Buffy musical.

New for August 22:

Journal entry: Follow-ups

READING: Hollywood vs. America by Michael Medved. You know, he makes some good points, but he goes to far. More on this later.
LISTENING TO: "Deja Q," a Star Trek: The Next Generation episode.

New for August 20:

Journal entry: Alles Guten, Alles Bösen

READING: The new plan is working great. I wrapped up book three of The History last night, so I'm now reading Hollywood vs. America, Michael Medved's screed against the immoral acts of the entertainment industry.
LISTENING TO: My coworkers.

New for August 19:

Journal entry: Photoshop Phun

READING: I finished The Golden Compass, so I'm back to The History.
LISTENING TO: "Donna and Blitzen," by Badly Drawn Boy.

New for August 16:

Journal entry: Elvis vs. JAH

READING: The Golden Compass by Phillip Pullman. No, I didn't finish The History. See the weblog for an explanation.
LISTENING TO: "Two of Us," recorded by Aimee Mann and Michael Penn. Fittingly (given today's journal entry), this is a Beatles cover.

New for August 15:

Journal entry: The Big Pictures

READING: The History by Herodotus. Which I actually read none of today. Sleepy.
LISTENING TO: Star Trek: The Next Generation. I believe this episode is called "The Price."

New for August 14:

Journal entry: I Brought My Pencil

READING: The History by Herodotus. Seems like I've been reading this for years! It's kind of dense, and the writing style is, as one might expect of a book written 2000 years ago, a little archaic.
LISTENING TO: Nothing.

New for August 8:

Journal entry: Stalking the Slayer

READING: The History by Herodotus.
LISTENING TO: "Magic In the Air" by Badly Drawn Boy.

New for August 6:

Journal entry: My New Comics

READING: The History by Herodotus.
LISTENING TO: The Front Page on Bravo.

New for August 5:

Journal entry: Random Observations About California

READING: The History by Herodotus.
LISTENING TO: Morning Edition on WAMU.

New for July 25:

Journal entry: Away I Go

READING: The History by Herodotus.
LISTENING TO: Daria on "The N".

New for July 18:

Journal entry: The Greatest Injustice in the History of the Universe.

READING: Gospel by Wilton Barnhardt. See the weblog for an explanation of why I've deviated from the queue to read a book I just read a few months ago.
LISTENING TO: A commercial on VH-1 Classic.

New for July 15:

Journal entry: Sing Us One Of the Songs Of Zion. Particularly observant readers will notice something different about today's journal entry.

READING: I finished The Godless Constitution last week, and just this evening finished Galatea 2.2 by Richard Powers. Look for mini-review of both in the weblog soon. Next on the shelf should be The Histories by Herodotus.
LISTENING TO: "Lips Like Sugar" by Echo and the Bunnymen.

New for July 10:

Journal entry: Skipping Rehearsal To Rehearse. Short entry today because I spent most of my time today working on a new design for the site. Look for it later this week!

READING: The Godless Constitution by Isaac Kramnick and R. Laurence Moore.
LISTENING TO: "Somewhere Far Away" by Little Big Town.

New for July 9:

Journal entry: The Dead Zone. Also, I posted some thoughts on The Eye of the World in the weblog.

READING: The Godless Constitution by Isaac Kramnick and R. Laurence Moore.
LISTENING TO: "Revive Us Again" by Ashley Cleveland.

New for July 5:

Journal entry: Happy Fourth of July (Belated). Also, I wrote a little review of A Force Upon the Plain in the weblog, but Blogger is having a service outage. Bah! Look for it later this weekend, probably.

READING: The Eye of the World by Robert Jordan.
LISTENING TO: "There Goes My Baby" by Ashley Cleveland.

New for July 3:

Journal entry: Less Than A Month

READING: I finished A Force Upon the Plain, a brief review of which will be posted later in the weblog. Ha, bet you thought I'd forgotten I had one those, didn't you? Anyway, now I'm reading The Eye of the World by Robert Jordan.
LISTENING TO: "A Peak You Reach" by Badly Drawn Boy, from the excellent About A Boy soundtrack.

New for June 27:

Journal entry: I Am

READING: I finished Ender's Game last night, and now I'm reading A force Upon the Plain by Kenneth S. Stern.
LISTENING TO: Um, I'm not sure. It's by Swag.

New for June 26:

Journal entry: Four Years

READING: Ender's Game by Orson Scott Card.
LISTENING TO: "I'll Get By," performed by Swag.

New for June 25:

Journal entry: Let's Go, Divas

READING: Ender's Game by Orson Scott Card. Which is excellent.
LISTENING TO: not a thing.

New for June 24:

Journal entry: Good Sports

READING: I finished Find Me, which was every bit as wierd as Lori promised, and moved on to Ender's Game by Orson Scott Card.
LISTENING TO: "Time For You," by the Tories. Perhaps better known as the theme to the late, unlamented TV show Jesse.

New for June 21:

Journal entry: The Logos Strike Back

READING: Find Me by Rosie O'Donnell. Celebrity autobiographies usually aren't my cup of tea, but Lori assures me that this one is wierd enough to be worthwhile.
LISTENING TO: "The Pop Singer's Fear of the Pollen Count," by the Divine Comedy. Good song, wierd name.

New for June 19:

Journal entry: The Reader Betrayed

READING: Double Buckeyes by "Congressman Bud Shuster." It's really terrible. Luckily, it's also short.
LISTENING TO: "Dujour Around the World," by Dujour. Djour is a parody of boy bands featured in the movie Josie and the Pussycats. This song isn't as good as "Backdoor Lover" though.

New for June 18:

Journal entry: Let This Cup Pass

READING: I finished Disney: The Mouse Betrayed by Peter and Rochelle Schweizer, and boy did it suck. More on this anon.
LISTENING TO: "The Modern Age," by the Strokes. I don't really like the Strokes.

New for June 17:

Journal entry: The Sporting News

READING: Disney: The Mouse Betrayed by Peter and Rochelle Schweizer. Which is really starting to piss me off.
LISTENING TO: "Big Town," by Ashley Cleveland.

New for June 14:

Journal entry: Design of the Times

READING: I finished Divided We Stand by Roger Simon last night. This morning I started Captain Kate by Carolyn Reeder. Captain Kate is a children's book about a 12 year old girl who along with her stepbrother pilots her family's canal boat down the Chesapeake and Ohio Canal from Cumberland, Maryland to Georgetown. I live rather close to the C&O Canal, so I thought it might be an interesting read. And it's pretty good, except Kate is kind of a whiny tool. I imagine she'll be less so by the end, but still. Anyway, I should finish it off over the weekend.
LISTENING TO: "Still," by Little Big Town. I heard an interview with and a song by this band during my trip to South Carolina, and liked both. Then I downloaded MP3s of several of their other songs last week, then finally bought the album last weekend when I found it on sale for $9.99 at Borders. Good stuff.

New for June 13:

Journal entry: Work Stuff

READING: Well, let's see. I finished Chancellorsville 1863 by Ernest B. Furgurson on Tuesday, and that same day started and finished (it's short) Tom Baker's The Boy Who Kicked Pigs, which was very funny in a horrifying sort of way. And yes, I mean that Tom Baker. And now I've moved on to Divided We Stand, Roger Simon's analysis of the 2000 US Presidential election. I will probably finish it tonight. Oh, and over the weekend I read Quiver by Kevin Smith, Phil Hester and Ande Parks.
LISTENING TO: "Life on a Chain," by Peter Yorn.

New for June 5:

Journal entry: Carolina Breakdown, part four. The final chapter!

READING: Chancellorsville 1863 by Ernest B. Furgurson.
LISTENING TO: "Hocus Pocus," by Focus.

Heh heh heh, that rhymes!

New for June 4:

Journal entry: Carolina Breakdown, part three

READING: Chancellorsville 1863 by Ernest B. Furgurson.
LISTENING TO: Fittingly enough, "Carolina Breakdown," performed by Raymond Fairchild. And it wasn't rigged, I swear! It came up randomly from among the 200 songs I have queued in Winamp!

New for June 3:

Journal entry: Carolina Breakdown, part two

READING: I finished Shelley's Heart by Charles McCarry. And I started Chancellorsville 1863 by Ernest B. Furgurson on Saturday. But today I left it at home and I've been reading Entertainment Weekly instead.
LISTENING TO: "Life Has Been Good To Me," which was written by Randy Newman, but this recording to which I'm listening was recorded by someone else. Don't know who, though.

New for May 30:

Journal entry: Carolina Breakdown, part one

READING: Shelley's Heart by Charles McCarry.
LISTENING TO: "Lucy," by the Divine Comedy, who I will see in concert on June 12.

New for May 29:

Journal entry: I'd Have Called Them "Chazzwazzers"

Alert readers will notice that the title of today's journal entry is a quote from the same Simpsons episode ("Bart vs. Australia") that inspired yesterday's title.

READING: Shelley's Heart by Charles McCarry. Having just finished The Better Angels, of which Shelley's Heart is a sequel, I've noticed several discrepancies. For example, in The Better Angels, President Lockwood called his aide Julian by the nickname "Jolly," whereas in Shelley's Heart he uses the nickname "Enrico." And Shelley's Heart picks up only two months after The Better Angels, so it's hard to believe that he came up with a new nickname in that short amount of time.
LISTENING TO: Nothing at all.

New for May 28:

Journal entry: I Know Those Numbers, But That Address Makes No Sense

READING: I finished Celtic Britain on Monday. I started my next book, The Better Angels by Charles McCarry, on Sunday, and finished it this evening. So next on the list is Chancellorsville 1863: The Souls of the Brave by Ernest B. Furgurson. I may instead choose to re-read Shelley's Heart, which is the sequel to The Better Angels.
LISTENING TO: A Buffy episode, "I Only Have Eyes For You."

New for May 24:

Journal entry: Return of the Logos

Hey, I wrote something every day this week! First time that's happened in a while. But no new entry on Monday, probably.

READING: Celtic Britain by N. K. Chadwick. And earlier today, I actually read some of it.
LISTENING TO: Nothing but background chatter from nearby offices.

New for May 23:

Journal entry: No Cable and No External Antenna Make John Something Something.

READING: Celtic Britain by N. K. Chadwick is still the book of record, but today I read four days of the Washington Post, the last two issues of Roll Call, The Hill, and the Washington City Paper.
LISTENING TO: Fargo is on the TV, but it's a part where there's no dialogue or music or foley, so I'm not really listening to anything.

New for May 22:

Journal entry: Tekel. See Daniel 5 if you need the title explained.

READING: Celtic Britain by N. K. Chadwick.
LISTENING TO: Orb and Scepter Coronation March by William Walton

New for May 21:

Journal entry: My Best Friend's Wedding: Part Three. The epic concludes!

READING: Celtic Britain by N. K. Chadwick.
LISTENING TO: "Idumea," performed by the Word of Mouth Chorus. Coincidentally, this is the same track that was playing the last time I was listen to this CD and updating this page.

New for May 20:

Journal entry: My Best Friend's Wedding: Part Two

READING: Celtic Britain by N. K. Chadwick.
LISTENING TO: "The Fisherman," performed by Leo Kottke.

New for May 17:

Journal entry: My Best Friend's Wedding: Intermission

READING: Celtic Britain by N. K. Chadwick. Which I actually read some of today.
LISTENING TO: "Idumea," performed by the Word of Mouth Chorus.

New for May 16:

Journal entry: My Best Friend's Wedding, Part One

READING: I suppose I'm still reading Celtic Britain by N. K. Chadwick, though in fact I haven't opened it in a week. I've been really tired most mornings, so I've tended to sleep instead of read.
LISTENING TO: Late NIght with Conan O'Brien. But not just any episode: an episode from 1997. Yes, I'm watching a videotape of a five year old episode of Conan O'Brien. I'm a sad, sad man.

New for May 13:

Journal entry: King of the Road

READING: Celtic Britain by N. K. Chadwick.
LISTENING TO: "Sailing For Glory," performed by the Bluegrass Cardinals.

New for May 10:

Journal entry: World's Worst Terrorist

READING: I finished Endless Shadow on Wednesday evening and immediately dove into Celtic Britain by N. K. Chadwick. But I also have three newpapers and two magazines to finish. Maybe on the plane.
LISTENING TO: A commerical for GMC Sierra pickup trucks.

New for May 8:

Journal entry: Election Daze

READING: Endless Shadow by John Brunner.
LISTENING TO: Nothing right now.

New for May 6:

Journal entry: Plans For the Summer

READING: I left Endless Shadow in my other bag, so it's on hiatus until tomorrow. So I'm reading the Sunday Washington Post
LISTENING TO: "Alabama Gals," performed by Sidna Myers, on Hober.

New for May 3:

Journal entry: Are You Ready For Some Football? that's two sports-related entries in as many days. Wierd.

READING: Endless Shadow by John Brunner.
LISTENING TO: "Good Morning Blues," performed by the Rik Palieri, on Hober.

New for May 2:

Journal entry: Sports Beat

READING: Endless Shadow by John Brunner.
LISTENING TO: "Cowper," performed by the Word of Mouth Chorus.

New for May 1:

Journal entry: Do the Right Thing?

READING: Endless Shadow by John Brunner. I've figured out why this novel was paired with The Arsenal of Miracles: they both involve teleportation.
LISTENING TO: Jay Leno.

New for April 30:

Journal entry: My New Swag

READING: I finished The Arsenal of Miracles ... and then I flipped the book over and started Endless Shadow by John Brunner. It's two, two, two books in one!
LISTENING TO: A Mitsubishi commercial.

New for April 29:

Journal entry: Back From Boston

READING: Technically still The Arsenal of Miracles by Gardner F. Fox, though in fact I've not read any of that since last Thursday because I forgot to bring it with me on my trip. But I read the novelization of the new Spider-Man movie over the weekend. Not bad!
LISTENING TO: An interview with Ben Folds Five.

New for April 25:

Journal entry: Current Events

READING: I forgot to mention yesterday that I had started The Arsenal of Miracles by Gardner F. Fox. It's entertaining in an old fashioned pulpy way.
LISTENING TO: Entertainment Tonight.

New for April 24:

Journal entry: Excuses, Excuses

READING: I finished Breakup: The Coming End of Canada and the Stakes for America by Lansing Lamont. Pretty interesting, though a little dated, in that he projected Quebec's secession from Canada would happen by June 2000. Whoops.
LISTENING TO: "Queen of the Rails," performed by Utah Phillips, on Hober.

New for April 15:

Journal entry: Tax Day

READING: Breakup: The Coming End of Canada and the Stakes for America by Lansing Lamont. I was startled on Sunday as I was reading this when it suddenly switched from a historical analysis of conditions in Canada to a speculative history of Quebec's secession from Canada. Odd.
LISTENING TO: "Memories of East Texas," performed by Michelle Shocked, on Hober.

New for April 12:

Journal entry: Excitement and Dread

READING: Breakup: The Coming End of Canada and the Stakes for America by Lansing Lamont. Although since yesterday I've only read about two pages.
LISTENING TO: "Bujdosodal," performed by Marta Sebestyen and Muzsikas, on Hober.

New for April 9:

Journal entry: Books

READING: Breakup: The Coming End of Canada and the Stakes for America by Lansing Lamont.
LISTENING TO: The Simpsons.

New for April 8:

Journal entry: Llamas Are Bigger Than Frogs

READING: Breakup: The Coming End of Canada and the Stakes for America by Lansing Lamont. I finished Spike & Dru: Pretty Maids All in a Row on Saturday; I was disappointed that it turned out to be so thoroughly non-canonical. Of course, novels like this aren't necessarily meant to be canonical (the Star Wars books being a notable exception) but most of them could plausibly be inserted into the show's continuity. But PMAIAR directly contradicted certain information seen on the show, which is irritating.
LISTENING TO: "Never Tire of the Road," performed by Andy Irvine, on Hober.

New for April 5:

Journal entry: Hey! You Kids!

READING: Spike & Dru: Pretty Maids All in a Row by Christopher Golden.
LISTENING TO: "There But For Fortune," performed by Peter, Paul and Mary, on Hober.

New for April 4:

Journal entry: Family and Friends

This obviously is not what I originally wrote in this space on the 4th, but whatever I wrote then seems seems to have vanished from the New Thing page. How the hell did that happen?

New for April 3:

Journal entry: 21st Century Digital Boy

READING: I finished The Cross and the Switchblade on Monday night. Took me about three hours. All these Christian inspirational books are the same -- a call from God here, a miracle there, and so on -- so they don't take long to read. But it was OK. Anyway, now I'm reading Spike & Dru: Pretty Maids All in a Row by Christopher Golden. Ooh, highbrow.
LISTENING TO: "You Gotta Change Your Mind," performed by Scott Baldwin, on Hober.

New for April 1:

Journal entry: Countdown

READING: Spike & Dru: Pretty Maids All in a Row by Christopher Golden.
LISTENING TO: I forget.

New for March 28:

Journal entry: Pretty Pictures

READING: The Story of Scotland by Nigel Tranter. This book has inspired me to consider going to Scotland next year.
LISTENING TO: "Big City," performed by Shirley Horn, on Hober.

New for March 26:

Journal entry: Babies

READING: The Story of Scotland by Nigel Tranter
LISTENING TO: "Oh That I Was" by Clishmaclaver, on Hober.

New for March 25:

Journal entry: Oscar Wrap-Up

READING: The Story of Scotland by Nigel Tranter
LISTENING TO: Belshazzar's Feast by William Walton. Which is one of the pieces the CCS is doing at its May concert.

New for March 23:

Journal entry: Pix Picks

READING: The Story of Scotland by Nigel Tranter, and the latest Entertainment Weekly
LISTENING TO: Justice League, on the Cartoon Network.

New for March 22:

Today's journal entry is taking longer than I thought. Look for an entry tomorrow.

New for March 21:

Journal entry: Wierd Crap In My Desk

READING: The Story of Scotland by Nigel Tranter.
LISTENING TO: "A Dollar Ain't A Dollar Anymore," performed by Oscar Brand, on Hober.

New for March 20:

Journal entry: Shorts Stories

READING: The Story of Scotland by Nigel Tranter.
LISTENING TO: "Polka Mazurka & Paddle Your Own Canoe," performed by Ned Pearson, on Hober.

New for March 19:

Journal entry: My Next Project

READING: The Story of Scotland by Nigel Tranter.
LISTENING TO: One of my officemates talking to her contracting officer. Gab gab gab.

New for March 18:

Journal entry: Time Is Running Out

READING: The Summons by John Grisham.
LISTENING TO: "So It Goes," performed by Tom Waits, on Hober. Man, this guy makes Dylan sound like Enrico Caruso.

New for March 15:

Journal entry: ab asino verbi

READING: Gospel by Wilton Barnhardt.
LISTENING TO: "Sweet Sunny South," performed by the Tommy Jarrell, on Hober.

New for March 14:

Journal entry: Things I Neglected To Mention Earlier

READING: Gospel by Wilton Barnhardt.
LISTENING TO: "Rabbit in a Log," performed by the Sauceman Brothers, on Hober.

New for March 13:

Journal entry: Reflected Glory

READING: Gospel by Wilton Barnhardt.
LISTENING TO: "Der Yidisher Soldat in di Trenches," performed by the Metropolitan Klezmer, on Hober. I got a note from the head dude at Hober yesterday, thanking me for displaying the Hober button on all my pages. Happy to do it, Gregor!

New for March 12:

The title of the entry is a line from the chorus "Thanks Be To God," from Elijah.

Journal entry: Lifting Their Voices

READING: Gospel by Wilton Barnhardt.
LISTENING TO: Something obscure by Crosby, Stills and Nash on WFUV. Unlike Hober, which scrupulously and constantly updates its playlist, so I always know what song is playing, WFUV is more like a traditional radio station, in that the DJ never announces the names of the songs. Fie on them!

New for March 11:

Journal entry: Unfair Competitions

READING: Gospel by Wilton Barnhardt. Have I mentioned how much I love this book?
LISTENING TO: "Lost In the Wilderness," from the soundtrack to Stephen Schwartz's underappreciated musical Children of Eden. I love Stephen Schwartz.

New for March 8:

Journal entry: Con Game

READING: Gospel by Wilton Barnhardt.
LISTENING TO: Psalm 47. I wish I had a recording of the CCS performance of this.

New for March 7:

Journal entry: My Plan Is Crumbling

READING: Gospel by Wilton Barnhardt.
LISTENING TO: "Any Major Dude Will Tell You," performed by Wilco, from the Me, Myself, and Irene soundtrack.

New for March 6:

I like to imagine that people are disappointed when I don't update for a few days. I have no evidence that anyone is, but it's a pleasant fantasy.

Journal entry: O Wallet, Where Art Thou?

READING: I finished The Fencing Master by Arturo Pérez-Reverte during my hiatus, so I'm ready to embark on my project of reading books I bought but never got around to reading. As soon as I finish Gospel by Wilton Barnhardt, which I've read at least a half-dozen times in as many years. Hey, get off my back!
LISTENING TO: "Isle In the Water," performed by the Kingston Trio, from their album Back In Town. It was written by Rod McKuen!

New for February 28:

Journal entry: O Grammy, Where Art Thou?

READING: I'm between books right now, because I finally finished Christ: A Crisis In the Life of God. next on the list: The Fencing Master by Arturo Pérez-Reverte.
LISTENING TO: "Zar," performed by Libana, on Hober. It's wierd.

New for February 27:

Journal entry: Deaths You May Have Missed

READING: I have about five pages left to go in Christ: A Crisis In the Life of God, by Jack Miles. Woo!
LISTENING TO: Voices in the hallway.

New for February 26:

Journal entry: Elijah Is Coming

READING: Christ: A Crisis In the Life of God, by Jack Miles. Which, by the way, I expect to finish *gasp* tonight. Hard to believe.
LISTENING TO: "Yamantaka," performed by the Gyuto Monks, on Hober.

New for February 25:

For the first time since last August, I've added photos to my online photo gallery at Geocities. Check it out!

Journal entry: Olympic Wrap-Up

READING: Entertainment Weekly.
LISTENING TO: "I Am A Man of Constant Sorrow," performed by "the Soggy Bottom Boys" (a.k.a. Dan Tyminski), from the O Brother, Where Art Thou? soundtrack.

New for February 22:

Sorry, no time to do an entry yesterday. Sue me.

Journal entry: Olympic Fever

READING: Christ: A Crisis In the Life of God, by Jack Miles.
LISTENING TO: "Down To the River To Pray," performed by Alison Krauss, from the O Brother, Where Art Thou? soundtrack.

New for February 20:

Journal entry: The Rest of the Trip

READING: Christ: A Crisis In the Life of God, by Jack Miles. I know it seems as though I've been reading this for months now, but I'm better than half done now.
LISTENING TO: Wild Wild West. This movie would fit right in at the next Boston Science Fiction Film Festival, because it, you know, sucks.

New for February 19:

I'm back! I have no particularly good excuse for not having updated since last Wednesday. On Thursday I was sick all day, so I didn't write an entry. Then on Friday, I started an entry. I was composing it online, and when I tried to save it I screwed something up and lost everything I'd written. At that point it was late, and I didn't feel like recreating the entry, so I said "screw it" and went to bed. Then of course I was en route from Boston yesterday. So sorry about that. Just remember: if you don't like it, you can lump it.

Journal entry: 24

READING: I still have not finished Christ: A Crisis In the Life of God, by Jack Miles, and I made no progress on it this weekend. I re-read Harry Potter and the Sorceror's Stone, though.
LISTENING TO: A Wendy's commercial. Man, it's lame. Dave Thomas, why did you leave us?

New for February 13:

Journal entry: Off To Boston

READING: Christ: A Crisis In the Life of God, by Jack Miles.
LISTENING TO: "Close To Home," from the Children of Eden soundtrack.

New for February 12:

Journal entry: Oscar Fan

READING: Christ: A Crisis In the Life of God, by Jack Miles. If I were the type of person to describe something as blasphemous, it would be this book. But I'm not. More on this later.
LISTENING TO: Olympic figure skating coverage on NBC. I just saw Todd Eldredge fall down. If I understand how figure skating is judged, that means he's going to win the gold!

New for February 11:

Journal entry: It's the Cat's Meow!

READING: Christ: A Crisis In the Life of God, by Jack Miles. Word of the day: toledot, which is a Hebrew word that refers to a geneological line or generative history. Good to know, I guess, though I'm hard pressed to think of a circumstance whereby I would ever need to use that word.
LISTENING TO: "You Are My Sunshine," performed by Norman Blake, from the O Brother, Where Art Thou? soundtrack.

New for February 8:

Journal entry: Poetry

READING: Christ: A Crisis In the Life of God, by Jack Miles.
LISTENING TO: "Blue In Green," performed by Miles Davis, on Hober.

New for February 7:

Journal entry: New Books For Free!

READING: Christ: A Crisis In the Life of God, by Jack Miles.
LISTENING TO: ER.

New for February 6:

New feature! Well, an old feature reintroduced. When I started this journal, you could send me e-mail using a handy form. Then I took the handy form away, because I read that there was a security hole in the CGI script that powered the handy form. But recently I saw that a new version of the script had corrected that flaw, so I have reinstated the handy form. So ahead, try it out! It's secure. And handy!

Journal entry: Where Do You Get Your Ideas?

READING: Christ: A Crisis In the Life of God, by Jack Miles. Words of the day: apotropaic, "intended to ward off evil;" and parturition, "the act or process of giving birth."
LISTENING TO: "Pat Do This," performed by Jeff Warner & Jeff Davis, on Hober.

New for February 5:

Journal entry: Headlines

READING: Christ: A Crisis In the Life of God, by Jack Miles.
LISTENING TO: "Lost and Found Blues," performed by Liz Masterson & Sean Blackburn, on Hober.

New for February 4:

Journal entry: Reviews

READING: I finished A Cry For Character by Dary Matera on Friday, and yesterday I finished Blue Christmas, a collection of short stories by Max Allan Collins. Right now I'm in the middle of my new Entertainment Weekly, and once I'm done with it I'll start on Christ: A Crisis In the Life of God, which I'm reading because I read in Slate that Katha Pollit hated it.
LISTENING TO: "E-Bayo," performed by Hot Soup!, on Hober.

New for February 1:

Journal entry: A Couple Of Things

READING: A Cry For Character by Dary Matera.
LISTENING TO: "All Blues," performed by Miles Davis, on Hober.

New for January 31:

I've passed the fever and chills stage of my cold; now I'm in the stuffy nose and raspy throat phase. Whee!

Journal entry: John Explains It All

READING: A Cry For Character by Dary Matera. It's about a high school in Illinois that at the student's request put a "character education" into the required curriculum.
LISTENING TO: "The Times They Are A-Changin'," performed by Bob Dylan, on Hober. Boy, he's a bad singer.

New for January 30:

I feel much better today. A good night's sleep helped, and the 800 mg of ibuprofen I took to reduce the fever and ease the muscle ache didn't hurt either. Thanks Lori!

Only one more day to take John Quiz! The answers will be posted tomorrow.

Journal entry: State of the SAG Awards

READING: I finished From the Dust Returned by Ray Bradbury on the train last night. Woo! It was an interesting book. Bradbury has the capacity for writing great short stories, and there are several in this anthology/novel. But he often gets carried away with his attempts to be "literary", which interupts the narrative flow. I'll start a new book tomorrow, probably A Cry For Character by Dary Matera.
LISTENING TO: "I Shall Not Be Moved," performed by Mississippi John Hurt, on Hober. Not to be confused with the actor England John Hurt, of course.

New for January 29:

Time is running out! The John Quiz closes on Thursday! Go now!

Journal entry: Sick and Tired

READING: I will definitely finish From the Dust Returned by Ray Bradbury on the train this evening. I would have finished it already had I not been so tired.
LISTENING TO: "Sammy's Song," performed by David Bromberg, on Hober. He played with The Band, you know.

New for January 28:

Just three more days to take the John Quiz! Don't miss your chance!

I've started updating my weblog again. Please check it out.

Journal entry: Basket Case

READING: A made a lot of progress on From the Dust Returned by Ray Bradbury over the weekend. I think I'll finish it tomorrow.
LISTENING TO: "Dido, Bendigo" by Big Blow and the Bushwackers, on Hober.

New for January 25:

Dont forget to take the John Quiz!

Journal entry: Membership Has Its Privileges

READING: Technically, still From the Dust Returned by Ray Bradbury. But I slept on the bus this morning and didn't read any. And last night I read City Paper. So I'm reading it in the sense of not having read it in the last 24 hours.
LISTENING TO: Nada.

New for January 24:

Journal entry: Take the John Quiz

READING: From the Dust Returned by Ray Bradbury. Man, he writes some really long sentences.
LISTENING TO: "Jack Haggerty", performed by Touchstone, on Hober.

New for January 23:

Journal entry: Indirect Deposit

READING: I started From the Dust Returned by Ray Bradbury last night, but instead of continuing with it this morning on the bus this morning I read the most issue Entertainment Weekly.
LISTENING TO: "Bright Angel Creek", performed by Bernice Lewis, on Hober.

New for January 22:

Journal entry: The Golden Globes

READING: I finished My Journey by Robert H. Schuller on the bus this morning. Next up: From the Dust Returned by Ray Bradbury.
LISTENING TO: "Bob Dylan's Blues" by Bob Dylan, and "Palms of Victory" by Nashville Grass and Betty Kean Robinson, on Hober.

New for January 21:

Journal entry: Happy Holidays

READING: My Journey by Robert H. Schuller. I don't really care for Schuller's writing style, but it's a pretty interesting story nevertheless.
LISTENING TO: I don't know the name, but it's either a obscure Dire Straits track or a Mark Knopfler solo work. I'm listening to WFUV, because you need RealPlayer to listen to Hober, and it's not installed on this computer. (Five minutes later) THIS JUST IN! It was "On Every Street" by Dire Straits. God bless DJs who report the names of the songs they play.

New for January 18:

Well, nothing to speak of. I didn't care to write a journal entry today. But I didn't want the day to pass without wishing my brother a happy birthday! He's old! See him in his (slightly) younger days on the index page.

New for January 17:

Journal entry: The Glamorous Life

READING: My Journey by Robert H. Schuller. I'm only on page 21, so I don't really have a strong opinion formed about it yet. But the front flap of the dust jacket contains an intriguing sentence: "[Schuller] discovered a message of joy and hope in (of all places) the works of John Calvin." Now, I'm a Presbyterian, which has its roots in Calvinism. But everything I've ever read about Calvin makes me think he was nuts. To be fair, I haven't read any of Calvin's actual writings, but nevertheless I'm looking forward to section in which he explains what he found to be so inspiring.
LISTENING TO: "Rarest Rose," performed by Lui Collins, on Hober. Heh. "Lui" is a funny name.

New for January 16:

It's my niece's birthday! She's one. To celebrate, I put a new picture of her on the index page.

Journal entry: The Wheels on the Bus Go Round and Round

READING: Joe College by Tom Perrotta. Remember the movie Election? Tom Perrotta wrote the novel on which it was based. Tracy Flick is a bit more sympathetic in the book; she and Mr. M both are presented as somewhat tragic figures. Anyway, Joe College is good so far, if not quite up to the standard set by Election.
LISTENING TO: "North to Southeast," performed by Keith Greeninger, on Hober.

New for January 15:

Journal entry: Two-Minute Drill

READING: I finished Fast Food Nation this morning. Now I know that every single thing that is wrong in the entire world is the fault of the American fast food industry. I also learned a new word: oligopsony, which is a market situation in which a small number of buyers exert a disproportionate influence on the market.
LISTENING TO: "Hard Travellin'," performed by Ramblin Jack Elliot, and "Blow November Wind / Sea of Change," performed by Oliver Schroer, both on Hober.

New for January 14:

Journal entry: School Daze

READING: Fast Food Nation by Eric Schlosser. I just finished a chapter this morning about the working conditions in slaughterhouses. Which, it must be said, suck. Schlosser's point -- which is that the increased demand for beef by fast food companies contributes to the poor working conditions -- has some validity, but that's hardly the main cause of the problems. Most slaughterhouses are owned by one of three huge publicly-traded corporations, and like all publicly-traded corporations, they are slaves to the bottom line. The meat-packing industry has a very narrow profit margin, so they cut corners wherever they can: they hire migrant labor, pay them as little as possible, and give them minimal training; they skimp on workplace safety; and they ruthlessly work to keep unions out of the plants, which would give the workers the power to improve working conditions. To blame all of this on the fast-food industry is disingenuous.
LISTENING TO: "Walking Blues," performed by Bonnie Raitt, on New York public radio station WFUV 90.7 FM, via wfuv.org. One of the journals I read mentioned it the other day, so I thought I'd give it a try. It's a good station: folk, blues, roots rock, and the like. I think the sound quality is better on Hober, but this is a fair second choice.

New for January 11:

Journal entry: Commuting Options

READING: Fast Food Nation by Eric Schlosser. Right now, Schlosser is complaining about how fast food chains, McDonald's particularly, market toward children. Which everyone already knows. I'm hoping that in subsequent chapters he'll delve into topics that are not common knowledge.
LISTENING TO: "Greenfields" performed by the Brothers Four. I occurs to me that groups like the Brothers Four and the Kingston Trio were the late 50s equivalents of boy bands like *NSYNC. But that concept disturbs me.

New for January 10:

Journal entry: Two Unrelated Anecdoes Linked By a Flimsy Transition

READING: As predicted, I finished Bad Bet on the Bayou last night on the way home. So now I'm reading Fast Food Nation by Eric Schlosser.
LISTENING TO: "A Moose In A Treehouse" performed by Brent Holmes and Marty the Moose. I hear Marty is the brains of the group.

New for January 9:

Aw, Dave Thomas died. In many ways, he was a typical CEO, more concerned about the bottom line than the welfare of his employees -- he lobbied strenuously to exempt fast food workers from the minimum wage -- but he looked so cuddly in those commercials that I had to like him. So he earns a spot on the front page.

Journal entry: Fun With the Referrer Log

READING: Bad Bet on the Bayou, which I may finish on the way home this evening. Woo!
LISTENING TO: "I Wished on the Moon," performed by Billie Holliday,and "Mysterious Mose," performed by R. Crumb and His Cheap Suit Serenaders. I listed two because the song changed while I was typing this. 

New for January 8:

Journal entry: Cheated

READING: Bad Bet on the Bayou: The Rise of Gambling in Louisiana and the Fall of Governor Edwin Edwards by Tyler Bridges. It's about the legalization of gambling in Louisiana and how it contributed to the end of Edwin Edward's political career. Unlike, say, The Death of Satan, Bad Bet on the Bayou is engagingly written and fun to read.
LISTENING TO: a television commercial for Final Fantasy X.

New for January 7:

Journal entry: Award to the Wise

READING: The Death of Satan is still my "main" book, but I've been reading Bad Bet on the Bayou: The Rise of Gambling in Louisiana and the Fall of Governor Edwin Edwards by Tyler Bridges too.
LISTENING TO: "Hazy Shade of Winter" by the Bangles. One of a small number of covers I like better than the original.

New for January 4:

Journal entry: BlueCross Blues

READING: Guess.
LISTENING TO: Earlier I was planning to listen to a few songs by the Strokes that I had downloaded, but when I started WinAmp, my PC froze. I think I mayneed to reinstall it; I installed the new RealOne player yesterday and I suspect that may have fouled things up somehow. Anyway, the point is that after I rebooted I didn't try WinAmp again, and I didn't think to put on anything else, like Hober. So right now I'm listening to nothing.

New for January 3:

Journal entry: Perusing the Post

READING: I resumed The Death of Satan this morning. Woo hoo!
LISTENING TO: "Roustabout" by Hubie King and Diane Jones. Jones is the vocalist, King plays the banjo. I think.

New for January 2:

Journal entry: The Year in John

READING: I forgot to put The Death of Satan in my briefcase this morning, so while I'm technically still reading it, I haven't read it today. I read the newspaper though.
LISTENING TO: "I Love to Sing-A" by Al Jolson and Cab Calloway. I wonder how many modern back entertainers would be willing to record a song with someone whose main claim to fame was performing in blackface?

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