View Askew 2

2003-01-26T13:02:00.000-05:00

Books Q & A >Q: What are you reading now? Circle of Friends by Maeve Binchy, Black and Blue by Ian Rankin, Lost in a Good Book by Jasper Fforde and, on audio, Jazz: A History of America's Music by Geoffrey C. Ward and Ken Burns. >Q: What are your favorite books? This is a difficult question for me because I read so many books I don't take much time to reflect on them. And I haven't

2003-01-23T09:50:00.000-05:00

What I've been enjoying lately in... Books I finished The Quiet Game by Greg Iles in 3 days - great thriller. I also loved his book 24 Hours which was adapted into the movie Trapped. I'm currently halfway through Circle of Friends by Maeve Binchy, which is... nice. I was wondering what happened to the American character and then I realised Chris O'Donnell was supposed to be playing an Irish

2003-01-18T11:42:00.000-05:00

Finished listening to Chuck Palahniuk read his book 'Choke.' Wow, definitely my coolest download yet from audible.com. A hilarious book about pathetic people. Recommended! Having made room on my 'audible otis' player, I decided to download some music to it. What a concept! Anyway, it turned out to be a good idea. Loving the songs again made me love the albums again, and it's all a big

2003-01-13T22:55:00.000-05:00

Finished 1984 by George Orwell and Bridget Jones The Edge of Reason by Helen Fielding, both of which were brilliant but in very different ways. Started Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man by James Joyce and Lost in a Good Book by Jasper Fforde which I believe I shall consider likewise. Listening to Billie Holiday, Damien Rice, Kate Rusby and mix tapes of genius! Watched Blood Work which was

2003-01-09T09:51:00.000-05:00

Because of a hectic week at work and just wanting to crash when I get home, I haven't read much this week. I did receive some cds ordered before Christmas, the most exciting fo which are John Coltrane's A Love Supreme and Diana Krall's All For You. Not much to write about except... I've been suffering withdrawal symtoms from Vic. Vic Mackey. I watched 13 episodes of The Shield in one week, and

2003-01-05T18:36:00.000-05:00

Last night I rewatched This is the Sea. Watch out for this movie - it's played on cable channel WE in the past, and is available on video. It's one of my favorite Irish movies for many reasons. Samantha Morton's breakout performance. The acting talent of some of Ireland's greatest - Richard Harris, Gabriel Byrne, John Lynch, James Nesbitt. An excellent soundtrack featuring The Waterboys and

2003-01-03T02:07:00.000-05:00

A Strange little survey... > 1. What was the first record you owned? An Elvis 'Best Of' tape. > 2. Is there a song that reminds you most of your childhood?< Maybe - Thom Pace (theme from Grizzly Adams) > 3. If you could spend a night with five musical artists (three for their minds and two for their bodies) who would they be?< Minds of Miles Davis, Craig Armstrong and Damien Rice. Bodies

2002-12-28T17:51:00.000-05:00

This is what I believe to be my final batch of mix tape track listings for quite a while: A Religious Experience A If God Will Send his Angels -U2 One of Us -Joan Osborne Friend of the Devil -Jerry Garcia God Give me Strength -Elvis Costello Sympathy for the Devil -Guns ‘n’ Roses Jesus Loves You -Jewel Hell is Around the Corner -Tricky Jesus Says -Ash The Universal -Blur God

2002-12-26T01:46:00.000-05:00

Okay, so here's what's been happening lately in... Books I finished the wonderfully entertaining exploits of The Fuck Up. Arthur Nersesian has fashioned a tale of 80's New York, of a young man who is and does as the title suggests. Highly recommended. This novel is part of the MTV books collection, as were the novels of Louisa Luna. So far, this is a damn fine collection. I also finished the

2002-12-25T03:06:00.000-05:00

'A Sort of Homecoming' by Robert Cremins is so good I may have to re-read it every Christmas. I first read this book in June of 2001 on the drive to and from Pittsburgh for my INS interview. I loved it but had to return it to the library. Then, during our visit to Ireland in March of this year I found the book at Chapters and had to have it. And last week I decided to indulge. I now at last have

2002-12-12T13:58:00.000-05:00

This week I 'ave been mostly reading. The 'this week I 'ave been mostly' was a sort of catchphrase on 'The Fast Show' which was for some reason renamed 'Brilliant' for the American audience. Anywho, funny stuff. I also loved the 'very very drunk' guy and of course, the sexual tension between Ted and Ralph . Ah, sometimes I miss British comedy. Anyway, back to reading. I finished the following

2002-12-05T09:24:00.000-05:00

So now I'm definitely up to date with Harlan Coben, having finished the final in the Myron Bolitar series. Now I'm waiting for the paperback of Gone for Good. The Church of Dead Girls (by Stephen Dobyns) is great. I was expecting a typical gross thriller, but it's brilliantly written, sad and suspenseful without resorting to blood and gore. The two Irish books I'm currently reading are excellent

2002-11-27T00:14:00.000-05:00

Slammerkin was amazing. I'm not ashamed to admit I cried at the end. It was such a tragic story, so well told. I also finsihed White Jazz by James Ellroy. He has such a strange style of writing, and his books are almost addictive. The writing style is basicaly short sentences, bursts of prose, like gunshots somehow. Anyway, the plot in this one was not quite as brilliant as in his other books,

2002-11-21T22:06:00.000-05:00

Track listings for several mix tapes I've made recently: Songs For Lovers Song for the Lovers - Richard Ashcroft The Tender Trap - James Nesbitt I know My Love - The Corrs & The Chieftains The Captain - Kasey Chambers Elephant Love Medley - Ewan McGregor & Nicole Kidman Put Your Arms Around Me - Texas Sunshine - Gabrielle You Belong to Me - Bob Dylan Would You? - Touch & Go

2002-11-16T23:08:00.000-05:00

I am excited about jazz. I know what I've written so far on the subject has been vague. I don't know much but I know I love it?! Some of the cds I've been listening to include: Coltrane For Lovers Straight, No Chaser (Thelonious Monk) Mingus and Friends in concert Basie's Best The Legendary Sidney Bechet The Rough Guide to Classic Jazz I've gotten many of the ken Burns jazz cds from the library

2002-11-16T08:50:00.000-05:00

I finished Artemis Fowl by Eoin Colfer this week. It's been compared to Harry Potter, and while I don't think it's that good, it certainly was interesting. It's basically about a 12 year old evil genius wo tries to swindle some fairies out of their gold. Nicely drawn characters, good pacing, and ocassionally very funny, it would be a good book for those eagerly awaiting the next in the Harry

2002-11-14T16:44:00.000-05:00

What I've been enjoying in... -Music Sheryl Crow's C'mon C'mon from the library - it's a grower. Also, more jazz - mp3s by Chet Baker and Ben Webster, the soundtrack to The Bridges of Madison County, the compilation Pure Cool, and cds by Charles Mingus, Count Basie and Sidney Bechet. Plus Coldplay, Elbow, and my latest mix tapes. -Movies La Pianiste - disturbing, compulsive, entertaining

2002-11-11T19:07:00.000-05:00

Reading Jonathan Carroll's 'The Land of Laughs' is like making love to a beautiful woman. I didn't want to stop, but I was enjoying it so much I wanted to extend the joy of it. Today, work was even worse than usual, but I felt better because I had this incredible book to delve into between calls. I don't remember feeling this strongly about a book since reading Enid Blyton as a kid. Thanks to

2002-11-10T22:34:00.000-05:00

Finished L.A. Requiem by Robert Crais, which was great. I do like mystery novels. Looking forward to getting the latest by Harlan Coben - Gone for Good. Listening to Count Basie, Charles Mingus, Miles Davis and um, Sheryl Crow! Hey, I still listen to regular music too! And today we saw Bloody Sunday, which was a very good movie. The events of a tragic day in Irish history are presented here in

2002-11-07T14:56:00.000-05:00

-Music Continuing my jazz education/obsession: Ben Webster, Django reinhardt, Thelonious Monk, John Coltrane, and the soundtracks 'Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil' and 'That Old Feeling.' Also mix tapes I made of morning music and movie music. I'll post the track listing for the latter below just to prove I kick ass. -Movies The Rules of Attraction - hated it. The Good Girl - liked

2002-11-03T18:42:00.000-05:00

The Damien Rice live set is currently available on KCRW. You can find the link 2 entries down. Vic and I really enjoyed it, laughed at the the Irish phrases that slipped out like 'giving out.' The music is great too - very different without the major production of the album versions. But good. Damien Rice is now my favoriite singer. I even wrote a review of his cd at Amazon. I started L.A.

2002-10-31T10:29:00.000-05:00

While browsing KCRW, I found Sounds Eclectic. This is an excellent site featuring hours of a wonderful mix of music, including artists like Ryan Adams, Badly Drawn Boy, Aimee Mann, Doves, Damien Rice, Hem, Coldplay, The Flaming Lips, Zero 7, Gary Jules, Beth Orton, Ron Sexsmith, Eels, Spiritualized, Neil Finn, Norah Jones, Morcheeba, Jack Johnston, Craug Armstrong, Mercury Rev, Starsailor, Ed

2002-10-31T09:34:00.000-05:00

Damien Rice and Lisa Hannigan (her beautiful voice can be heard on several tracks on his cd) will appear on KCRW tomorrow (Friday, November 1st). The performances will be webcast in RealAudio and RealVideo, beginning 11:15am. Don't miss it!

2002-10-31T09:05:00.000-05:00

Recently finished 'Everything in This Country Must' - a novella and two stories by Colum McCann. It was very well written, thought provoking, and perhaps educational for those interested in the troubles of Northern Ireland.

2002-10-31T08:54:00.000-05:00

Watched Igby Goes Down this week - very good, with an amazing cast and a great script. It deserved a wider release than it got. Recommended!