Control 66: making stuff and telling stories

I've saved and repurposed/reused things for as long as I can remember. There have prob already been posts about it. I learned it from my parents. I've always been attracted to it in art. I love Nara's sketches on envelopes, Ghetti carving in pencil lead, a prisoner unraveling socks to make tiny embroidered pictures, painting on found objects etc. Of course some of it is terrible, really, but I'm inclined to find myself charmed but something humbly handmade. Again, I sadly, regularly hate the product, but I will still probably admire the effort.

In this new life of little $, I find myself using what I have. It feels pretty good. Like making curtains from fabric I have had forever (not done, hopefully future post). So, got flannel sheet set from brother and SIL for Christmas and pulled out those cardboard product cards in those plastic sleeves. They were on the table with a pile for recycling. I took a coffee break. There was a control 66 sticker on the card - I doodled a design around it. Then I drew some stuff that was on the table: pencil case, eraser, book of matches from restaurante in Baltimore, juniper wood coaster. Drawing practice while enjoying coffee. I stuck it back in it's plastic holder. This isn't really a thing made. This is really more of a combination of things that I am trying to combine. I am trying to combine: making things, reusing things, telling stories, collaborating with people I like and documenting. Ah, see, sometimes I'm the last one to know why I do things. I am trying to realize the combining in my upcoming zine. If that's what I'm actually up to and all.

"I don't believe in mistakes" - LB

I was in the middle of cutting out that image, when I stopped to meet a new friend/former co-worker for coffee at the roost. During our conversation she said, "I don't really believe in mistakes. I can learn something from everything I do." I agree.

So back to work and finishing the mailer to Will Schaff. There was a big USPS sticker in the middle to us in Baltimore from Tiny Showcase. I decided to cover it in black, glue the pic on top and then write the address in silver paint pen on the black. Black paper found, glued, ready to write the quick and easy address- silver ink pen was dead. But I knew I had another, lesser silver pen, also dead. WTF and whatevs. Peeled the black off, peeled off the old mailer label and addressed in sharpie, then laminated. Eh, doesn't look great, but it's done. I did want it to look better. I have made envelopes and postcards forever. And Will decorates envelopes (pics on his flickr) of course awesomely and coolly, cuz he's an awesome artist. So now I gots to send him my lame-ish mailer. It would be irresponsible of me to go buy a mailer and start over. Eh, there are no mistakes right? So it gettin' mailed tomorrow, word.

TY postcard for the PILs

Um yeah. I know there's probably a slicker way to lay this out, but I don't have time to figure that out right now. BUT, I do have time to stay late at work to make my lovely parents-in-law this thank you postcard. Yes, the favorite, free and handy cardboard again. Cranes - they mate for life. And the message was based on a conversation we had when they last visited. I hope they remember. I think T will. So this convo. J and I were walking to see art and I says, "hey, I'm gonna tell you the 3 most awesome things about you and the 3 least awesome. Won't that be fun?" Man, what I find fun just ain't what many other people find fun. J humored me. I start with a big one, a beautiful one, "I think you are truely kind." That's some smooth flirting right? Maybe bring a tear to your eye? What do I get for a response, "great, kind is boring." Wa!?! I obnoxiously try to define the word for him (surely he doesn't understand the meaning of the first word I would use to describe the best thing about the human being I have chosen to spend the rest of my life with). Yeah, that part was less flirty. So we get back to our apt. and the P-I-Ls are there and I ask my MIL what 3 adjectives she would use to describe the best things about her son. First word, "Kind." Take that sucka! You's kind. Eat it! I'm callin' it. I think I won that argument. Soooo, I used that conversation as a basis for the TY postcard. My PILs are awesome. Let's see, I said: Kind, True and Fun. The Fun is true, but not really what I first thought of. I wanted to write Human, but that seemed sort of obvious. Or an imperfect way of saying that I love the imperfection of humans. Oh yeah, and then laminated the whole card.

Wittgenstein chicken B-day card

I received an invite to celebrate the full moon and a new friend's birthday around a firepit in the secret lower yard. It was pretty cool. We heard some loud, strange animal noises. Sounded like amplified distress to me. Brave, woodsy westernmassers went to explore. They suggested raccoons or foxes in one of those metal tube things that water typically runs through. How clever of these animals to amplify their cries in an echo tunnel. So. I drew and painted and colored this chicken on cardboard. Then I wrote down many original quotes to amuse this friend. J kindly warned me that I could do better. I gave up and was going to use an old stand-by Wittgenstein fav, but thought it sent the wrong message. I searched W quotes to find one that suited a chicken. Then I cut bits of scratchy shaped pieces of paper to form letters, ya know, like the chicken did it. Modge podge on hand, so better layout. Some checkered fabric tape on ends then laminate. Yup, that was her present.

bookmark for B

I have a great friend. Actually, I have a small group of totally awesome friends of which she is one. This was fast and dirty. I had these small cat prints from Maeg Yosef/Edison Rex and enjoyed them in my office, but couldn't decide if I would frame the trio or frame each 2x3 separately. Crafting lead to book talk as it often does. And a book from my free pile fit the bill. Check that! Free pile blog post combining with a making post, right on. Anyway, was bringing the book to craft night and made a bookmark to hide inside. One of the cat prints + handcut vellum letters on paper, laminated. I say dirty, cuz I woulda been fussier about layout, but the modge podge was at home, so had to place the letters on the laminate sheet, add the print and then background paper. Not too bad, but I want to make this friend something amazing because I am lucky to have her in my life.

coloring DPS certs

I doodled a template for the DPS show sold paintings. J helped me in photoshop and put 6 on a page. I printed 7 pages and hand cut each. They were ok. It would serve the purpose. I wasn't thrilled, but I don't always have time for creating thrilling. They were sitting on the table for about a week before the show would come down. While eating lunch I decided to try coloring one in with the colored pencils J had. It was fun. I decided to do them all. No duplicates. That's it. But still waiting on inspiration for the structural and honeycomb patterned thick chunks of cardboard on the table. We'll see what they end up being used for.

laminated homemade mother's day postcards

I'm at work right now, in my cozy little office. It's pretty sweet. Neither J or I wanted to run out to buy mother's day cards, so I decided to make 'em. Made the Buddha one first for J's mom. She could use some peaceful wishes right now. My Mom loves Egyptology (is that a word) I have heard her use it, but I have heard her use many words that aren't really right, what with English being her second language and all. I have no idea about the caption. Was trying to think of something clever to use Mutti (that's what I call her) and Tut in a sentence but nothing. Then just wrote that. I do hope her mother's day is chill though. My brother can explain what it means.

Remembering Embroidering

My first embroidery and applique project since childhood. It's been so long that I had a weird relearning experience. This project took a while and as I went along I kept figuring out things I already knew. Oh yeah, I didn't have to look on the internet for an applique tutorial, I've done this a million times. See the patch on this old pair of jeans I'm wearing, that's pretty much applique. Anyway, I'm working on and planning for more sewing projects both practical and artistic. My SIL is having a baby this month. I'm not really a gushy OMG loves babies kind of gal, but a new person who will be in my life as long as we're both living is interesting. So in honor of this ordinary and momentous occasion, I decided to make my lovely SIL a gift. I blogged already about how crafty and thoughtful she is. Anyway, it came out ok. I'm not thrilled, but what with the hours and hours I spent, she gettin it. I'm including a note about my intentions and letting her know it's all right if she hangs it in the closet. Like the cookies, owls and green and yellow are her theme. Momma owl is purple, SIL's fav color. Baby owl is green. And the tree represents my BIL. I think that's my favorite thing about it. I'm a big fan of my BIL and he is strong and steady. And an E + B in a heart carved into the tree. I hope they don't hate it!

Brown paper packages tied up with string

I have to admit, The Sound of Music and packages had a huge influence on me. I don't know that it was the first movie I saw but it is the first one I remember vividly. Our whole family went to a movie theatre in downtown Holyoke that is no longer there. As a poor immigrant family, this was a special outing. As the daughter of German immigrants this film's story was elevated to something almost religious. I have seen the movie tons of times and can sing all the songs, because of course we had the LP and it was on heavy rotation. Anyway, I just said all that to tie the title to my post and pic. One of the most magical things I remember about my childhood is sending and receiving packages to/from Germany. We received a box from my Tante Helga (mother's sister) every Christmas. The packages were so exotic and exciting. Everything was different from what I knew. The writing on the package and even the numbers of our address (German 1's look more like 7's and 7's need a line through them to clarify). Then of course the wrapping paper, labels, beautiful ribbon and presents I had never seen in a store or TV commercial. I could go on, but want to talk about our packages to Germany. My mother is a Jedi master of packing and spatial relations. She can meticulously get the most amazing amount of things into one box. And to pack every inch with goodness she would buy crazy things and put them in plastic bags (pre styrofoam peanut waste). I would always help because this was a drawn out process. Presents were bought and wrapped and then the padding which consisted of things like bags of Lipton tea, and instant oatmeal packets. I couldn't figure out why we would send those things but I think it's refugee thinking and really, it will get used. That whole process alone was awesome but then the outside was next. My mother would cut up brown grocery store bags and wrap the outside of the box and then tie it with string in this butchery way that blew my mind. Where she learned to loop and pull and tighten and create this grided box for shipping is beyond me. I could not do it today if I tried but I bet she could, even though modern times no longer require this method. Brown paper packages tied up with string - these are a few of my favorite things.

Making favors: owl cookies

So my lovely SIL (sisterinlaw) who gifted me the wedding announcement cards from the last post, is having a baby. She is a very thoughtful and crafty person. She knit me an awesome scarf and bag and regularly saves things that she knows I would like. She's right on with that. So when I offered to make favors for her baby shower I wanted to do a super good thoughtful job. She deserves it! First I tested an America's Test Kitchen butter cookie recipe because I had been meaning to learn anyway. The cookies were great and I then had to make a couple more batches for the favors after the test batch. That was mornings of dough making and nights of cookie cutting, rolling and baking and then a final night for royal icing piping and flooding. That sh*t is a lot of work. No regrets! I was in for it, but my neck was killing me. So yellow and green owls because those are the colors and critters she wanted. I then handmade little labels because she always compliments me on my penmanship. Yarn was used to tie the packets up because she's a knitter. And 3 cookies cuz 3 is a magic number (school house rock) and of course they will soon be a family of 3. Yup, I think that's everything. I imbued it with as much meaning as I could. She was very appreciative.

Making: yeah, that's what I am writing about today

Our wedding was low-key and non-traditional. For those who know us, that's no surprise. We received a gift from S-I-L of printed cards and envelopes announcing our wedding after the fact. Seemed like a well-intentioned attempt to school me in etiquette. I didn't care a bit, but dutifully mailed out the announcements to my husband's large extended family. I wanted to make sure I did what I was supposed to do. But even after doing that I still had a ton left. I felt bad just recycling them and tucked them in the back of the closet. I just found a use for some of them. I put a FOE sticker over the print and stamped them with a rubber stamp my husband made me for a Christmas present in Baltimore. Then I customized them with the names of people who bought art at our first opening. That's some sweet repurposing right? Made me feel good to put them to use.

Things 50 & 51: books

J's contribution, again. The War of the Worlds and The Sky Above Hell. Sounds foreboding. So, the pile and free thing doesn't hold as much interest to me as it used to. It really was just a way to keep blogging and a thing to blog around. I am on the verge of blogging for real, like out in the open, for our store. I feel like my energy and creativity will go to that, as it should. But, I have heard and read that the more creative you are, the more creative you are. And that sometimes, when you are doing the right things for you, you manage to get so much more done. So who knows, maybe once I start the store blog, on top of everything else we are doing as brand new entrepreneurs I will come up with an awesome use for my personal blog. Or maybe I will just be tired. I'll letcha know. I have been thinking about it a little and here are a few ideas: post pics of everything I make and talk about it, post about what I am reading, or maybe how our life has changed. Ah, maybe just anything but whatever is interesting me at the time, which is a lot. It's a very fertile time for me. Ok, gotta go, work to do.

Thing 49: micro-fiction

An old friend sent me this book for my birthday -thank you CB. AM/PM - that's the name. It looks cute, even sideways, right? cats crawling out of a babyben style alarm clock. cute! And this slim, white paperwork has that sweet inked illustratory design on front and back. THEN when you open it, each left side page is labeled with a time like this 7:00 AM and all the right-hand pages have a time and PM. The times are not in order. Each page is a very short vignette of a few sentences up to maybe a half page. Doesn't it sound like it would be awesome? My friend is smooth. I am impressed with his choice, or maybe he just got lucky. Either way, when I held it and opened it, I was charmed. I was ready ready ready to fall in love with this book and micro-fiction. Ok, so that was my frame of mind. I mean really I think it would have been almost impossible to disappoint me. I mighta given it all kinds of leeway. But I sadly report, I didn't really like it. Probably some flaw of mine. I just took it from the pile and gave it to a writerly literary friend. Maybe I am a little thick or lazy. Maybe I was supposed to work harder for the rewards, like in college lit classes, which did require me to work harder and honestly, I was regularly rewarded for it. Or maybe it just ain't my thing. I will see what my friend thinks. I'm honestly curious. Maybe she will love it and I'll want to re-read it. That would be cool too. Sometimes yer just not in the frame of mind for certain things or for some reason you're annoyed and it spoils it. I have definitely not liked a movie and then saw it again and liked it. We'll see. And this friend has her PhD in Lit so I'm sure she will have something interesting to report.

Thing 47 & 48: Glamour Deliverance

J says Deliverance is trying to define what it means to be a man. And Glamour's always trying to figure guys out (see purple circle). That's it. I'm not trying to say anything. Those are just the 2 new free things I added to the pile. HA, tricked you, or spared you.

Thing 46: 20000

Ah yeah, that's right, J's book. I think he bought it because of the octopus on the cover; he doesn't remember. I'm bettin' he didn't decide he needed to read 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea any time recently. Written in 1870, translated from French. I think I recall a ride based on this book at Disney World? I was young. I do remember the long road trip, in the stationwagon, German adults up front and me and my brother sweating in the back. Me trying to pretend I was on some exciting adventure alone. My brother refusing to be ignored and finding creative ways to be annoying.

Things 44 +45: Palahniuk + Smithsonian mag and

We had the book "Haunted" by Chuck Palahniuk. We think one of J's parents left it after reading it. J just read it. He said it tried to be as gross, creepy or disgusting as possible, hence, I am not reading it.
From my family, my Pop had a free Smithsonian magazine subscription to give away. I guess this has happened previously. This time it's my turn. Very sweet. Maybe he wanted to send me a reminder of my time in the Balt-DC area. Lynx are awesome.

This is how I always wanted life to be II.

Met my oldest best friend and her husband in Springfield at the Fort for lunch. It was my idea to set them up many years ago. Now they've been married like 13+ years and have 2 kids. German sausage lunch and beer at a place I went with my parents when I was a kid, cool. And so cool I could be lunching with my friend on her 40th Bday. And on my way to meet this friend, had some extra time so stopped at an even older friend's place of biz, a local paper. He was at Mass, but saw his mother for the first time in maybe 15+ years. This friend's parents were the coolest. They let us hang out on the porch, they didn't stop us from smoking, they joined our conversations about music, art, philosophy, literature and when their son started a band, he was allowed to turn his bedroom into a practice space. Yeah, it was awesome.
Then decided to stop at a thrift store I used to frequent. Been wanting a ski vest, but didn't really want to spend any money on one. Spied this red one (pic) and when I tried it on and put my hands in the pocket - found $12 and change. The vest paid for itself and gave me left over $ to get the Eastern Birds field guide my husband had just wished he had this am.

Things 41 - 43: dvds and book

More contributions from J. Thank you husband. Couple dvds and re-read used book. Yup, there ya have it. Nothing has been removed from the free pile, but I haven't really been promoting it in any way. What with no one reading the blog and not forcing friends who visit the shop to peruse it. I do have a new idea, but don't know if it will result in a shrinking pile. We have a collab with a cute, energetic, young photographer. I'm very optimistic about it, though it's still early. She will get needed experience, resume building, photos on up-and-coming website and we get much, much, much better pics of merch. Feels like it could be a great thing. And maybe she wants something from the free pile. We'll see.

Thing 40: Two Bad Ants

We still have boxes of art, art supplies, a few boxes labeled "customs" and one "vinyl scraps" in the back room of the shop. J saves lots of stuff. I do too, but I'm neater about it. That's no brag. Just a fact. And it ain't better, just who I am. This is something I used to be pretty embarrassed by. I always envied those chaotic, messy, wild, creative types. It intimidated me sure, but I still wanted to take an HST type fear and loathing road trip or tour with the Butthole Surfers (when they was crazy). So back when I was embarrassed by this, this is the sort of thing that would embarrass me. I came home one day to find my housemate in my bedroom with a friend opening the drawers of my bureau. The housemate wasn't embarrassed, she simply explained she was showing her friends my organized drawers because she is in awe of them. Huh, maybe I didn't have to hide my "tidy little secret". Same very clever housemate once replied to boys at the bar asking us what our hobbies were, "she cleans and organizes". Again, the kind of thing that would have embarrassed me, or felt like someone was teasing me, but this housemate helped me get over the embarrassment. I be neat.

So, here is why I can be in awe of the messy. My husband made a back drop for a little movie he was making for a class. He had some dayglo yellow cardstock and was cutting out little diamond shaped stars to paste to the black bristol board night. Teeny tiny bits of dayglo yellow paper covered the basement coffee table. I absentmindedly sweep them into my hand while we're talking - ya know, to clean up. Husband says, don't throw those away, I might use them. Use them? Was he kidding? He was not. He is so sweetly sincere. Sure enough, he glued said scraps to cardboard in a swirling pattern. Damnit, he saved scraps and then actually used those scraps. I will never question what he saves or disposes of again. Seems chaos and clutter inspire J. One day all the clutter looks different and an idea comes to him. I mean, we're inspired by tons of stuff, but I confess, I find myself inspired by order and neatness.

Two Bad Ants was in an art box. J said I could add it to the pile. He saved it because he liked the illustration. He still does, but he can part with the book. Things have their time.

Thing 39 and This is how I always wanted life to be

Jim donated a book; he's read it.

This is how I always wanted life to be.

I left the shop to walk to the post office. I had to get rid of a monkey on my back and commit to a decision I made quickly but that I knew was right. I'm not trying to be mysterious, the details are boring and tedious to explain and I am trying to get to the point more. Everyone has mail like the mail I sent. It was a good thing.

Feeling lighter and happier after the post office I decided to stop at the antique store to inquire about their framing services. It's been on my mind to do, but this is when I decided to do it. I opened the door to a bucket in front of me on the stairs and water dripping into it from the ceiling. We've had lots of snow. And beyond the dripping, two older woman kneeling on the floor, bent over, focused on a task. The closer woman looks up at me with a cigarette in her mouth, "I'm not smoking. It's not lit" she says. I say something like, "yeah, whatever, I don't care" and start to walk up the steps and into the store. As I pass the woman she asks, "Wait, why don't you care about the cigarette?" I answer something like "You must be a smoker and it looks like you are enjoying the anticipation of the cigarette you're about to smoke" She starts talking about rights and where's it gonna go, small things that limit our freedom and people mindlessly jumping on board because cigarettes are bad and what's this country going to be like in 20 years. I sit down in the chair next to the women and take off my gloves. We talk about cigarette prices, airlines harassing a woman with too many cartons of cigarettes from North Carolina where they are cheaper, bus fumes, Jim's smoking, diminishing freedoms and pleasures.

The women on the floor are untangling a big clump of jewelry as we chat. I explain I stopped in to ask about framing. The other women on the floor is the framer. The smoking owner explains how good she is and affordable, compared to Michael's, even with a coupon. The framer has framed all the art in the shop; I have noticed it and liked it and say so. I explain I want someone to have an opinion and help me find the frame that will enhance my Hank Williams woodcut stamped print. We discuss options. I was feeling very happy and confident that this framer would know the right frame for Hank. I get up to ready to leave when this happens.

The framer says "ah, look, I just got this ring out of the tangle." The smoking owner responds, "nice, let's see it, it's so tiny, this isn't going to fit anyone." The framer agrees, "it is tiny, maybe it's a child's ring". I say, "let me see it, my fingers are pretty thin, I bet it will fit." The framer doubtfully hands me the ring. I slide it on my pinky, perfect fit. The two women look at each other and say, "That's it. The ring is yours. You can have it." I'm saying, "nah, that's ok, I didn't mean for you to give it to me, are you sure?" They are and I can tell and I thank them for the gift.

They explain the smoking owner only works one day a week. The previous week the smoking owner and the framer were helping a women looking at old coins. They ask her what year she married and they gave her a coin from that year. She also asked if they were sure and they were and she took the coin. The two women reminisced about how much they laughed and how good they felt after giving her the coin. They decided then that once a week, when they work together, they will give something to someone. They tried to decide how they would know, and then agreed and believed an opportunity would present itself. They wanted to do it because it made them so happy the first time. On this day, it was a slow day. There's been a lot of snow - the bucket on the stairs. Hardly anyone walked through the doors the whole day. They were beginning to think they wouldn't have an opportunity to give something to someone. Then I walked in. And sat down. And the ring fit. I'm going to go clean it with toothpaste now like the framer suggested. She hates the liquid jewelry cleaners, they work too fast.

(my new ring is in the pic)

Things 36 - 38 Glamourous

Durr, I was keeping a 2nd free pile at work. One free pile. So easy. Now, I don't feel like I have to explain, really, I don't, but I will. Domino magazine folded (boo hoo) and my subscription was replaced by Glamour. Whatcha gonna do? When Glamour starts arriving in your mail, you start thinking about hair and make-up. I will spare you a rant about my insane hair, but you can laugh at this. Just got a haircut that resulted in a crazy, frizzy, 70's Peter Frampton haircut. No Glamour tips for this fiasco. My remedy, bobbie pins pulling what's left of my hair into a sort of twisty messy bun. From the front, looks a little Caroline Ingalls from LHoTP. That connection is thanks to my LHoTP obsessed friend in Baltimore. She kept that crazy shit front and center. Mary you are a Westfield original and one of my fav people in the world!

Things 32-35: Horrors!

Horror, Horror, Horror on VHS, horrors! Jim contributed these. We actually do still have a VCR and likely some other tapes in a box somewhere. Not sure what's going to happen with that stuff yet. We'll see. Maybe it will be on here in a few months? Maybe we will use the VCR? Stay tuned for the exciting conclusion, or maybe be left hanging. I make no promises.
Called this my house scarf. That meant it was the least fav, but soft, comfortable and easy to care for scarf I owned. It was cold in my house in Baltimore, that's how the house scarf got designated. I could cook with it, eat with it and if it was ruined it would have died a happy scarf death, knowing it was used daily and served its purpose honorably, if not stylishly. New life apartment is much warmer and a house scarf is not necessary. You will warm someone else eventually.

Things 27 - 31 : small things

What can I say? There isn't much. Dancy ladybugs, yo-yo, mini Picasso Chicago, plastic skull with snakes and Death were in a box of stuff we packed. Sometimes ya gotta just pack and not think.

Thing 23 - 26: Travel

Hello Kitty change purse, a yeah, I have so many cute little things to contain things. This is old. I think it was used when backpacking Europe pre-Euro to organize all my currencies. I dumped out the random obsolete coins and put them in a cute little box. Now really, I could probably get rid of the coins too, but I would have wanted to look at them first, and what the heck, the cute box was out on the bookcase and empty. AirBerlin plane travel freebie - from our trip to Germany 2008. Awesome trip and great that Jim got to see where I spent Summers, meet relatives, hear me speak German and sausage and beer. Old German deck of playing cards - I have had these since a child, but the cards go from 7 to Ace for some game I don't know how to play. They are very pretty detailed cards, but having never never used them, I am giving them up. I think I thought I would invent a new game - time's up. But, I did take out the small cartoon that I must have put in there some childhood trip to Oma and Opa. A boy is talking to a bird in a cage and says something like "Du kannst auch Sprechen?" and the bird replies "Na klar, and Du, kannst du auch fliegen?" Hil-arious. Nah, I think I was just impressed I could read and understand a random cartoon in the newspaper at 6 or something. And bag from Turkish AFS Ozgur who got sent home early for being intense? I'm not really totally sure, he was intense, maybe undiagnosed ADHD? I guess it was non-adjustment, immaturity issues in the end. I was in the unusual position of being able to appoint a chaperone. How dreamy. I wish I had been sitting at home with no where to be and got that call from me. I called this man named Duke who lived in a trailer that was half buried in a dirt hill in the woods (I'm told) and he has a dentist chair in his living room where he could sorta literally hold his audience captive. Misbehaving AFS boys were sometimes sent to Duke because he could handle it and to scare them straight a bit I think. Duke got to chaperone Ozgur back to Turkey - what a sweet deal. Free flight and AFS Turkey showing you around for a few days. I'm glad I could repay Duke for taking all those intense boys off my hands every now and then.

Things 16 - 22: Books

Julius Cesar and Othello, mine? Jim's? college definitely. They were found padding a box of CDs. Ryu Murakami's In the Miso Soup - Jim donated. He said I didn't need to read it. I trust him. He knows what I like. He bought this book after reading Audition by the same author. Audition the book was not as good as Audition the movie (according to Jim). Audition the movie is awesome and made us watch a lot of Takashi Miike. Augusten Burrough's A Wolf at the Table was left by Jim's dad. Jim read Running With Scissors and didn't like it that much. I have read nothing by him but have heard from people I trust, that eh, probably gonna annoy me. I've been warned. Neither one of us wanted to read this book, so into the pile it goes. B is for Beer was probably a gift to Jim from his parents. He read it, but no need to keep it. Wittgenstein - I have loved some quotes I've read and Wittgenstein and Steve Martin are part of a dreamy wintery experience I had one morning many years ago, so, the intro book. I read it, was fine, but will read actual Wittgenstein, or not, going forward. And MLA Style Manual, why did I keep you? I'm thinking I won't be referencing you again.