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Ok, so here's my version of the list that was copied from athenawj's blog. I have no idea why the font is coming up so large.
List of the top 110 banned books. Bold the ones you've read. Italicize the ones you've read part of. Read more. Convince others to read some.
#1 The BibleCan you place the states in this little quiz?
This is too cute.
The Plush Cthulhu, for you sci-fi/classic horror fans.
Read the FAQ that comes with it, too.
Curse that bargain book bin, for it will be the death of my budget and frugality!
When this bookstore was in its old location, I swear there was no bargain book bin. Even if there was, I never paid attention to it. But this year, after the bookstore moved to a different location, they've really rearranged their displays cleverly. This semester especially, I can't help but take notice of the book bin there, because you can't avoid it if you're trying to get to any of the aisles for law texts or study guides. Oooh, they're sneaky. And I've been caught looking at that bin more often than not lately, ever since I found that great soup encyclopedia. (Actually, now that I think about it, it all started when I bought my daily lawyer joke desk calendar for 1/2 price.) They don't change the bargain bin selection all that quickly sometimes, if there's more than one copy of a book in the bin, but there's always something new in there. It's not that I'm blowing my loans on those books, though if there's anything to splurge on, books is one of the most easily justifiable distractions there are. I mean, c'mon, they're books! Can book buying actually be a bad thing?!
So, other than that soup book, I've picked up, in order:
- Emperor of Scent, a sort of biography on Luca Turin, who has the uncanny ability to identify all notes in perfumes by their chemical and lay people names. Plays right to my obsession with perfumes.
- Eating in the Dark: America's Experiment With Genetically Engineered Food. I loved Fast Food Nation. Also, after having taken a class on the European Union and read cases about the Europeans' complete abhorrence of genetically-modified foods, I've decided to learn more about them.
- The Word Detective: Solving the Mysteries Behind Those Pesky Words and Phrases, which reminds me a bit of Eats, Shoots and Leaves and is in perfect harmony with my fascination with words, phrases, and language use. This one talks about the origins for some of our everyday words and phrases.
This last one, I'm sorta embarrassed to admit that I picked up, because never in a million years would I have thought I'd one day pick up something like this, or that the pretentiousness in "Sideways" apparently sparked my interest in -
- Guide to Wine. This is a beginner's guide to grapes, picking out wines, tasting, cooking with wine, vineyards, etc. My thought is that even though I don't like alcohol (have a bottle of Luberon in my fridge, bought for cooking - still can't stand the taste of alcohol), might as well know some things about it, since so many other people are into wine. I can at least educate myself a bit. Plus it talks about France, which inevitably invokes a Pavlovian response and I think I have to have it. Also, there may be occasions where I need to act pretentiously in the future.
There you have it. I think all of these books combined cost me less than $25, which is often the cost of a new release! You can't even buy some makeup or perfume with $25! And with all the boring, super expensive textbooks that I never plan on keeping but had to buy, these are so cathartic.
Although I have the tendency to impulse shop from time to time, book buying is probably the only one I can attribute to my genetics. My parents' house is filled with books. Shelves and shelves and shelves of them, in the family room, in the study, in the garage, and at one point even my room because my dad ran out of space, though he has gradually learned the art of getting rid of some of them. My mom likes to tell this as sort of a joke that every time my dad travels to Taiwan, his luggage is always empty because he'll then hit the bookstores to buy books, books, and more books.
See, no one ever said book buying is bad.
Pet peeve of the day: People who say they'll do something in 5 minutes, but it really means 30 minutes. Everyone has miscalculated or run over time before, but I'm talking about what's verging on chronic inability to tell time. It always puzzles me why so many people exaggerate when it comes to time. Case in point: Whenever people ask me how long it takes to walk somewhere, I'll tell them literally how long it will take from the moment I glance at my watch when I leave, and then glance at my watch again when I arrive. But I keep hearing people say, "Oh, it takes 2 minutes," when it really takes 5. Or, "It's just a 10-minute walk" when it's really 20-25. I actually walk pretty quickly most of the time, but I'm always the one giving the longer time estimate. Is it because no one else can tell time?
People who over-estimate their walking abilities, or in the case of time, under-estimate, remind me of my old landlord, who probably failed the time-telling class in pre-school. He's the worst case scenario. "Today" actually means "five days or more," if you're lucky. It often meant "never."
It leads me to conclude that people love to give time based on what they feel like giving, or what they think should be the amount of time to get somewhere, as opposed to checking the actual passage of time. Well, what's the point of asking them or they volunteering the amount of time it takes, if they can't actually get it right?
Funny thing is, it only happens in this country. Could be why we marvel at how punctually the Japanese or the Swiss keep their trains running.
The Pope likens abortion to the Holocaust.
Once again he is off of his rockers.
"The Pope writes that both abortion and the mass murder of six million Jews came about as a result of people usurping the "law of God" beneath the guise of democracy."
Gee, how about capital punishment? Or the usurption of the government to fight "holy wars" against certain people?
A woman deciding what to do with her body is no comparison with the systematic gassing, experimentation, and elimination of 6 million people because they are different from you. And just who are the counterparts to Hitler and his lieutenants in the world of women's lib? Every woman who ever dared to take control of her body?!
I can't believe this. No wonder so many people have violent reactions and foam at their mouths when Catholicism is mentioned.
Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man. That was the James Joyce novel in my AP Literature class in high school. Didn't get it then, and no desire to re-read it now. Or ever.
If the point of words is communication, what good is it - or, how can it be good - if it doesn't communicate anything that makes sense? If words only have to be there to be considered a great piece of work, then I too can churn out words known as stream of consciousness.
Hell, I do it all the time in my blog. Except mine would make some sense.
All you need is some esoteric critic to say it's great, then everyone else would flock to it like it's the next greatest story ever told.
When the outside is warmer than inside, you know it's time to go outside.
Spur of the moment decision to go and see "Sideways." Was never really itching to see it, but I had other things sorta planned for downtown, and a trip downtown without going to the artsy theatre would just be weird. While I enjoyed the movie, I wouldn't have given it so many awards. There were simply other, better movies that deserve the best picture of the year acclaim, i.e. "Finding Neverland" or "Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind," but I had to see it for myself what it was about.
It was like watching Rob Schneider and Arnold Schwarzenegger taking a road trip to California's wine country because they were having mid-life crises. Oh, sorry, it was Paul Giamatti and Thomas Haden Church. Well, I like my casting better. It might as well be since the latter 2 remind me so much of the other 2. And it was sorta that kind of story. Spoilers ahead. Don't read if you plan to see this movie and don't want to know about it.
Yeah, so it's about 2 men, each having a different crisis of his own, taking a trip from San Diego all the way up to Solvang, deep in CA's wine country. One was a not-so-intelligent, washed-up actor, about to get married but wanted some last minute fucks (yes, it was that kind of movie, with foul mouths and very real, naked people doing it, thick or thin), and the other was depressed, couldn't get over his divorce from 2 years ago, and was a failing writer who couldn't get his novel published. The only thing that brought them together in the first place was because they were freshman roommates in college, since the two men had absolutely nothing in common.
Good points: I hadn't realized it was set entirely in CA, so it was really nice to see the freeways and skylines that I'm so familiar with. The CA wine country is simply beautiful, and some towns up there actually look quite European, full of Tudor-style houses and even windmills. There were certainly laughs, like the pretentiousness of Giamatti's character as he smelled, twirled, and sniffed his Pinots. That he went totally beserk and drunk upon finding out his ex-wife had gotten remarried a month ago sent him even drunker and brought out a very fragile yet human side in many of us. That he most likely found love again in the end is quite touching. And then there's Sandra Oh, who plays the most unusual, non-stereotypical Asian woman character. In fact, it wasn't at all "Asian." For that, I applaud her. We need more Asian actresses like her.
Bad points: Basically Arnold...I mean, Church's character. Self-centered, horny, treating women like sex objects even though he doesn't maliciously do it - that's the worst kind of men IMHO. He wanted to hook up with random women from the get-go while totally ignoring the fact the trip was supposed to be with his buddy, and the aim was to play golf and drink fine wine before getting married. He didn't tell the first woman he seduced that he's getting married, but instead told her that he was in love with her, adored her kid, etc. Thank heavens she kicked his ass and broke his nose. The second woman he seduced because she was the "grateful type" (I'm assuming he meant the type that thanks you for paying attention to her), a chubby, average-looking waitress who recognized him as a former soap opera star. He fucked her knowing that she's married, only to be caught by her husband, and then had to run back stark naked to his motel. That no one told his fiancee/wife about his escapades...well, I felt sorry for her.
I was, interestingly, in an audience full of seniors, probably the youngest person there. Most likely why I couldn't relate to this movie AT ALL - haven't even made it past my prime yet to have some sort of mid-life crisis, then seeing a character being so despicable...I laughed at what he did, but the feminist in me felt rather disgusted by him.
Best to see this on video/DVD, if ever at all.
* * *
Alright, so for about 2 hours I was actually inside (didn't expect the movie to be 2+ hours long), but I did get some nice strolls outside. I also broke one of my cosmetics rules today, of which I blogged about a few days ago. I shelled out $13.50 for a tube of concealer at the M.A.C. counter. Always known that I have these unsightly dark circles under my eyes, no matter how much sleep I get. Having tried many concealer sticks and foundations in the past - ever since junior high, in fact - I finally decided this week that I need to consult some experts and find something that would actually work, even if it means spending more than usual.
You'd think that hanging out at MUA means I'd know all about colorings and whatnot, but I don't. I'm glad the SA at the counter was quite nice and didn't look at me like I was some alien when I told her I was looking for something but didn't know my "color." She asked me what kind of coverage I was looking for, then immediately picked out a color that seems completely natural on me - I couldn't believe it. I've never found the right shade of foundation/concealer. But when she tried some on me, it looked like I was wearing nothing, but my skin wasn't as shiny, and it just looked better. She didn't even have to give any pitches and I was already sold.
Another thing that makes me feel good is knowing that M.A.C. never tests on animals and is environmentally conscientious. You can bring back a certain number of used lipstick containers (from them though) and get a brand new lipstick for free for your recycling efforts.
As an aside: After I made my purchase at M.A.C., I walked around the cosmetics department at the store, and sniffed all these perfumes that I've read about but have never sniffed. I don't know if sales people are now taught not to approach customers until customers approach them, but no one asked me if I needed any help as I was looking at the bottles. One look around and I see all these white, tanned women with fancy purses and jewelry, and I obviously stuck out like a sore thumb. Had to wonder if I wasn't approached because I didn't look the "type" who would shell out money to buy expensive perfumes. If that was the case, they were certainly wrong. Even if they had helped me, I'd simply smell the perfumes, jot down notes in my head, then order them at a big discount online. But still.
Went grocery shopping today. Also went to the drug store to stock up on more Claritin. They had a buy one get one free so I'm set for 2 months. While I'm glad the drugs help, I'm feeling like a total druggie. In college I never had to take anything because I had no allergies then. Nowadays, I have to rely on one of those weekly pill boxes that separate your daily drug/vitamin dosages into little compartments. Claritin and several vitamins by day, BC pill and Benadryl at night. The good news is, I can pretty much stop taking any of them any time I want to. But with the allergy pills, it's closer to a dependency. That makes me sad.
Anyway. So, they had all these V-day items at 75% clearance discount. My impulse shopping urge kicked in. The moment I saw a lady with a huge ceramic mug in her basket I knew I had to get one for myself. It has lots of hearts on it and a pink poodle (stuffed, not real) sitting inside it. I'm a little embarassed to say I actually bought something like that, but I really only wanted the mug because it's so large, and my mind was filled with all these thoughts of drinking a giant mug of tea or hot chocolate, and because it was only $1.49. If I'm just sitting at home anyway, no one has to see this mug.
And what a lovely mug it is. Just made myself close to 24 oz. of Wild Berry Zinger tea, slowly sipped away while I watched "Judge Judy." I love it when I find bargains, and I love my guilty pleasures.
When I was young, I always played with my mom's make-up. On my poor dolls. Anyway, when I got old enough to own my own make-up, I'd stick with very traditional notions on what colors are to be worn, what tools are to be used, etc. For example, blue eye shadows for brown eyes are a big no-no, and eye shadows are always applied with the sponge applicators included in the little cases - why else are they included, right?
Wrong. Some shades of blue actually flatter brown eyes. But, the biggest surprise came in brushes. Previously, I never understood how women could go crazy for all types of fancy brushes and brush sets, or what differences there were between the dinky $1.99 brush and the $30 brush. Well, I ain't going so far as to spend $30 on a brush (not even comfortable with spending more than $10 on any make-up item, though perfumes are a whole different story), but I did shell out $4.99 for a nice, soft eye shadow brush recently, and I'm in love. How could I have ever thought those little sponge things were adequate? You mean more expensive brushes actually work and feel better? They turn out to be easier to handle, softer on the eyes, less wasteful of the shadows than the sponge applicators, easier to wash, and last longer.
With that comes the joy of discovering powdered eye shadows. Dip, tap, and brush. Can't be any more fun than that. But that's another topic.
Though I'm not convinced of the idea that department store brands are necessarily better, I'm totally sold on nice eye shadow brushes and am never looking back.
Damn allergies. I don't know why it had to come back TODAY but I'm not the only one affected by it - tons of people sneezing and coughing in class. I knew something wasn't right when my eyes were dry and itchy this morning and I had a hard time putting in the contacts. I've been itching again, too, and even the daily regimen of Claritin & Benadryl seems to be wearing off.
It isn't even spring yet!
Oh my goodness. This had me cracking up!
Internet icons at a new level
