cat nap

i've been watching this clip over and over for the past week.  

It's kind of like Penelope and me napping, but more fuzzy and less stripey. 

ten thousand saints

We are divided and united by battles: both publically and internally.  Eleanor Henderson’s bold, debut novel, Ten Thousand Saints illustrates just that.  In this empathetic coming of age story, reminiscent of Bank’s Rule of the Bone and Lethem’s The Fortress of Solitude, we’re introduced to Jude.  Adopted as an infant by hippies in the 70s he’s one of the restless youth found marginalized in lush, idyllic Vermont.  Jude’s usual comfort and calm, found in getting high with his best friend, Teddy, is suddenly upended when Teddy dies of an overdose.  Jude’s relationship with family and drugs dramatically shifts.  He’s moved to pre-Giuliani New York City with his pot-dealing dad and stumbles upon hardcore music through Sunday matinees at CB's.  Searching for comfort, forgiveness, and an explanation for Teddy's death, Jude becomes deeply involved in the Straight Edge scene and Krishna's teachings.

Ten Thousand Saints is told through a series of struggles, which fray and bring a handful of  well-developed characters together in the most natural, yet random ways.  Through death and a new, unexpected life, a group of people become family.   The struggles, failings and good intentions that clearly and heartachingly manifest within each character and generation solidifies a foundation that will define Henderson as a master storyteller. 

oh, the humanity...

Admit it, you judge a book by it's cover.  You even judge a book by it's publisher, the font used throughout, the paper.  It's okay... we all do. And really, is there anything wrong with that?  Part of the reading experience is enjoying the aesthetic of what you're holding... the smell of it, the look, the weight.  You curl up with it... you spend time in the most intimate places in your home, in varying degrees of dress with it.  You should love the way it looks and feels as well as what it says.  In my house, between my husband and I, we have four copies of Ulysses.  Four.  Have either of us read it in it's entirety?  No.  But the covers are lovely!  The smell of the foxing in the original Modern Library edition is heavenly.  And the sheer heft, layout and typography of the first facsimile, (we each had a copy before we were a couple) ,well... shows that we may have a problem, but that's another story.

Now, Ulysses has become public domain in America.  What does that mean?  It means anyone can churn out a cheap copy with any hideous cover they like.  And they are.  Below are four of the most horrible book covers i've ever seen... and for Ulysses?  It's confounding.  On the upside, Ulysses may attract a different set of readers now.  Or, let's be real... a new set of people who will buy it keep it on their shelf for the sheer heft of it.

watching a bubble freeze

the crow paradox

by Ryan of Berkley Illustration

why isn't the crow more beloved by humans?  crows can modify tools and recognize individual human faces.  they hang out and chat.  they recognize us, but can we recognize them?

 voila: the crow paradox.

what fills the void on a day like today?

a cup of gold blend barry's tea

cadbury mini eggs

a favorite collection of short stories

something warm to cuddle with (photo of ella bear: doug rice)

rolling in the deep

WARNING: Blanket statement to follow:
Adele saves the children simply by existing.