The Sound of Sheep

Tuesday, August 25, 2009

Getting Punched

Can't say it's the funniest thing ever... But it may be close.

Tuesday, July 28, 2009

Confused?

This is less a post on culture, music, books, etc... and more of a question. It is slightly rhetorical, but I mean it all the same.

How, when on a child, does this -

End up coming across like this -

Maggie could be decked out in pink. Pink sandals with flowers, a pink shirt with flowers, and pink stretch pants, and yet someone inevitably makes the comment, "It's a beautiful boy!" or a passing question: "Look at him run, how old is he?" Inwardly I call down all sorts of curses upon them for blaspheming the sex of my firstborn... outwardly I smile and say politely, "She's almost 15 months," or "She's a little girl, and she is certainly beautiful!" I think that we're beyond the stage when one could be befuddled by her lack of hair (She is wearing pink and carrying a dolly called Tana). So, what is this silliness? Why does this happen? If anyone has any tidbit of political correctness or cultural awareness that they'd like to bestow upon an overly indignant father, please do.

Oh, and the new Wilco album is summer. Not like summer or sounds like summer, but IS summer. Enjoy.

Wilco w/ Fiest - You and I

Wednesday, July 1, 2009

Quiet as an Avocado

Out of curiosity I picked up a kids book titled Mr. Gum and the Dancing Bear by Andy Stanton. I hesitated because our library only has book 5 of the Mr. Gum series, which disappointed me (only days later did they add a book-on-CD version of You're a Bad Man, Mr. Gum Book 1). However, with a cover like this, how could you not.

I was skeptical at first as the book seemed to be about a depressed bear who wanders into town and is taken advantage of by the scheming Mr. Gum and his sort-of sidekick Billy William the Third. However, I laughed my head off. Alan Taylor, the town's school's headmaster, is, in fact, a gingerbread man. Jonathan Ripples, the towns fat-man decides to go on a world tour of food in a hot air balloon. Sure, it was all nonsensical, but it made me laugh out loud and read passages to Talia. I can't help but use Mr. Gum's "curse phrase": "Shabba me whiskers!" Fantastic! Oh, did I mention that the character Captain Brazil is nuts... actually Stanton calls him a "crazer." And here's an exerpt from my favorite scene... or one of them... Polly and Padlock the bear are stranded on the ocean and are slowly going a bit nuts:

"Thirst and hunger.

Thirst and hunger.

Polly was starting to lose her mind.

Was Padlock really talking or had she only imagined it?

SWWWSSSSShhhhhhhh.

Hundreds of Crunchy Little Leopards floated by in a postman's hat, laughing and splashing each other for fun.

'Look at me,' said Padlock, taking off his head and playing football with it. 'Ha ha ha, hee hee hee!'"

... and it goes on. Here's another. Mr. Gum and Billy William the Third have just jumped in a boat in pursuit of Polly and Padlock:

"'They ain't gettin' away with this!' screamed Mr. Gum, jumping on to a rundown little fishing boat called The Dirty Oyster. Billy hopped in after him and started up the engine, sending billowing clouds of filthy black smoke into the night air, and off the set in hot pursuit.

But luckily the pursuit wasn't that hot after all, because The Dirty Oyster was absolutely loaded with cans of smuggled beer. In less than ten minutes the villains were completely drunk, completely lost, completely going round in circles, completely shouting at each other and completely and utterly useless. Polly and Padlock had escaped!"

Last note on this book: the similes are fantastic and confusing. "as quiet as an avocado," "his chest thrust out like a vainglorious acorn," "fit as a unicorn and twice as real," or "like the world's furriest gymnastics guy." I have a new category of silly turn of phrase. Hilarious.

Change of Pace

I heard a track off the new Dirty Projectors album a couple weeks ago and couldn't believe it. I have only heard of this band in conjunction with art rock and "best album you wish you could like."

They're a hard band to get into because they create intricate and abrasive and sometimes freakish songs. However, Bitte Orca is being hailed as the most accessible of their albums to date. From my end, it's another album to vie for the top of the year end list. Variated harmonies, slippery guitar lines, morphing time signatures, but under it all is a dedication to song-craft and an almost epic sense of the new. The Dirty Projectors have always been at the forefront of new sounds, but it seems that, here, they have the potential to remind/wake up others to the vast array of sounds out there.

Tuesday, June 30, 2009

Moving is tiring

We just moved and an update is in the works. Until then, go listen to the new Dirty Projectors album, then sip some lemonade and curl up with a good book.

Saturday, June 20, 2009

Fletch = Junk

Just gave up on my mystery book. Anyone know of a good one? One where the characters aren't all hideous... even the "good guy."

Friday, June 19, 2009

The Genre Challenge

I have mentioned before that my challenge to myself this year, literaturally (word?)... bibliophilically?... was to read books from all different genres and to try not to overlap nor to break away from my goal. I have only once with the release of the last book in the Percy Jackson series from Rick Riordan. However, as of this writing I have read through 13 different genres and am in the middle of two more.

Genres are an interesting thing too. As I've researched lists of genres to build my reading plan, I've noticed that people are completely subjective in their classifications. One person calls genres as fiction, non-fiction... which seems more like broad classification. Another goes on for pages listing everything from political horror to "food and history"... these seem more like subgenres and nitpicking. However, in an attempt to vary my reading, I've had to call upon subgenres to fill out my list and allow me to read more fiction. Also, one of the books I'm reading now I have classified, willfully, completely wrong. It is a history book involving animals, but because I have another history book on my list, it has been labeled as my "animal" book.

The list of what Jake's reading on the sidebar will be updated to reflect genre very soon. But below is a list of what I've read so far and what category, genre, subgenre I've put it in. Comments? Suggestions? I hope so.

Graphic Novel - The Watchmen - by Alan Moore (Gave up on this one and flipped through to get the basic storyline. Visual reading is disturbing because I can't edit what I want to, mentally. Plus it's a downer. I might try another graphic novel later, but with more discernment.)

Juvenile Fairy Tales - The Tales of Beedle the Bard - J.K. Rowling (I know this isn't true fairy tale, but I was interested in reading it and would rather read a few light morality tales about wizards and stuff than dabble in Aesop. At least this go around)

Autobiography - My Boyhood and Youth - John Muir (Brilliant outdoorsman, on par with John J. Audoban)

Greek Myth - Random House Book of Greek Myths - by Vinge and Sherman (They're just too fun. Rick Riordan got me all interested with them and goodness, they're great stories. I need to find out more about the titans though. Interesting bunch.)

Sports - Moneyball - Michael Lewis (One of the best books I've read so far this year. Oakland A's, stats, and a new form of baseball)

Money - The Treasure Principle - Randy Alcorn (Read this one for a church study. A little too Christianese for me, but good "principles." God's money, not mine.)

Classic - Treasure Island - R.L. Stevenson (Never read it before. I'd only seen the Disney movie and the Muppets version. The book is much more dark and disturbing. The Cap'n is brilliant, evil, and so much more devious than Tim Curry ever could have made him. But when your co-stars are puppets, how evil can you get?)

Food - How to Pick a Peach - Russ Parsons (It walks you through the seasons. Not only do you get a partial list of seasonal fruits and veggies, but also some history and recipes. It was a timely read, since we've joined a CSA for the first time this year.)

Christian Fantasy - On the Edge of the Dark Sea of Darkness - Andrew Peterson (I know... one of my favorite Christian musicians wrote a book. It's silly and wants to be like a mix between Tolkien, Lewis, and some of the slapstick humor of Douglas Adams. Part of a series that will be continued with North! Or Be Eaten. Can't wait.)

Music - Songbook - by Nick Hornby (Talented writer opining on his own taste in music. Some of it funny, some slightly touching, some wrong (my own opining), and some brilliant.)

Juvenile Adventure - The Maze of Bones - Rick Riordan (Part of the series "The 39 Clues." You can't go wrong with an international mystery surrounding all of the famous families of history, 39 clues, a race, and 2 kids who have to outwit all the others to win.)

Christian Living - Enter the Worship Circle - by Ben Pasley (I forgot how much I loved this book. It's a little on the mystical side, but a telling reminder of the breadth of worship and how vital it is for spiritual development.)

Microfiction - Microfiction: An Anthology of Really Short Stories - edited by Jerome Stern (I wasn't so sure about this one when my brother handed it to me. It seems plausible, but perhaps not possible to write 250 words or less and accomplish a legitimate story. I was wrong.)

READING:
Animals - The Zookeeper's Wife - by Diane Ackerman (Here's the controversial category. I want to read Guns, Germs, and Steel as my history book and Ackerman's book does have animals in it, so why not call it the animal book. I don't want to subdivide even further and call it WWII history. It's a brilliant read so far and fascinating. Terrible... but fascinating.)

Mystery - Fletch - Gregory McDonald (I only can place Chevy Chase on the movie poster for this book. I assumed Chevy Chase would be all about comedy and so the book must be a funny little caper. So far, the main character is a jerk, it's all dialogue and very little setting, and about a man who wants to be murdered and a reporter who agrees to do it. Weird)

TO READ NEXT:
Conspiracy - The Men Who Stare At Goats - by Jon Ronson (One of my favorite contributors from This American Life)

Nonfiction Adventure - The Lost City of Z - by David Grann (If he really inspired Indiana Jones, why would I not read about him?)

If you want to suggest something leave a post, but make sure to classify your suggestion and leave the author's name.

Saturday, May 30, 2009

2009 2nd Quarter: Best in Music

I hate the formatting junk that is Blogger. It just makes me mad. I work all hard and this is what I get... You'll just have to use your brains to attach the right song with the right album art. Ddddddang!

Alright everyone. Here is the much sought after 2nd Quarter list of best music. I've been working on this one a lot more thoroughly than the last and am really digging each of these tracks and bands. I hope you enjoy. All or most can be found on Hype Machine as free/legal downloads. I can't vouch for each album, but if the rest of the album is this good you should buy all 23. I have only 4 so far, but my wishlist is growing. I'm going to compile a .zip folder with each track in it and if you are so inclined... let me know and I'll send one over to you via yousendit.com or somesuch thing. Sorry the layout's all funkdified... it's not my fault. Blame the codewriters at Blogger.