the books

thebooks (1)
Originally uploaded by leni2250.

I saw the books last night in Utrecht. They played along to recordings of their electronic parts and samples on acoustic guitar, cello and bass. They were synced up to some video collage pieces. I was somewhat dissappointed that they only played the video to one of my favorite songs 'Tokyo' as they took a short break. But they redeemed themselves many times over including a cover of Nick Drake's 'Cello Song'. They are about to start the US leg of their tour so if get a chance check them out. www.thebooksmusic.com

I really should be reading and not fooling around on the internet. I'm only taking three courses but there is a lot to read. I'm in one course we read a Broadway play then watch the Hollywood film, a course on the Beat writers, and a contemporary British fiction course. This week: Kazuo Ishiguro's The Remains of the Day and Eugene O'Neill's Long Day's Journey into Night. As there titles suggest they share similar themes, most notably decay, and both works were made into successful films with incredible performances. Katharine Hepburn as Mary Tyrone, a character based on O'Neill's morphine addicted mother, might be the best acting performance I've ever seen on film. It helps of course that O'Neill wrote such great descriptions of the characters. My favorite:

Mary's face gives no sign she has heard, but her hands jerk and the fingers automatically play for a moment on the air. She frowns and shakes her head mechanically as if a fly had walked across her mind. She suddenly loses all the girlish quality and is an aging, cynically sad, embittered woman.

Next week: Paul Bowles (The Sheltering Sky), Tennessee Williams (A Streetcar Named Desire), and Martin Amis (Money). God Bless the Liberal Arts!

swafflestkas

swafflestkas
Originally uploaded by leni2250.

Have we entered an age where off-color jokes (such as this) are primarily off-color and not JOKES? I guess so, if a political cartoon in Denmark can make people in the Middle East burn the Danish flag and attack its embassy then the world must be pretty tense. If only we could get the world to laugh at its self that would loosen things up. Or maybe not.

food

albert heijn
Originally uploaded by leni2250.

This is the new Albert Heijn XL between home and university. Its a fully decked out supermarket it even has a toy train travels through the store whistling. I've been trying to make my diet a little more creative and diverse. I really love to cook. Anyone have any good recipes to swap?