books, the universe, and everything

Entertainment QotW: Movie Prices

nobody@vox.com(Emily) — Mon, 30 Jun 2008 20:42:58 -0400

How much does a ticket cost at your usual movie theater? Does the price affect the number of movies you see at the theater?
Submitted by Kristie.

(Yay! This question was recommended by my friend Kristie!)

A movie ticket here is $12. That's a lot, and it does affect the amount of movies we see in theater. On weekends though, all showtimes before noon are $6. So sometimes we'll go in early and see something. This weekend we did that - we went to an 11:15am showing of WALL-E.

They are opening a movie theater in Hoboken though, and I'm very excited for that. It should be cheaper, and so much closer! We'll be able to walk to it. They just started construction, and it's supposed to open next year.

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Shelfari and Twitter

nobody@vox.com(Emily) — Sun, 22 Jun 2008 14:21:01 -0400

Shelfari

I signed up for Shelfari about a year ago, but never really used it much. I rediscovered it a few weeks ago and decided that I really like it. I've logged all the books I've read during the last two years onto my shelves. I'm also trying to begin the process of putting all my "to be read" books into my shelves. My favorite part is the cute little red hearts it puts on the lower right hand corner of your favorite books.

If you'd like to check it out, my shelves are here:
http://www.shelfari.com/chowmeyow/shelf

I'm also using twitter now. I like it. I'm still figuring out how I want to use it, but it's fun. I don't have any real followers, but I have fun using the site and I think the updates will be amusing for me to look back on sometime. I don't expect my twitter updates to be interesting to anyone else, but here's the link regardless: http://twitter.com/chowmeyow

Does anyone else here use Shelfari or Twitter? If so, feel free to connect with me. :)

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Diane Ackerman Quote

nobody@vox.com(Emily) — Wed, 18 Jun 2008 21:53:10 -0400

I don't want to get to the end of my life and find that I lived just the length of it. I want to have lived the width of it as well.
-Diane Ackerman

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Links for 06.13.08

nobody@vox.com(Emily) — Fri, 13 Jun 2008 23:07:38 -0400

Used booksellers share the funny, interesting, and odd things they've found in books. (found on Kimbooktu)

Beautiful and whimsy decorating project on Design*Sponge: using your computer to create printable wallpaper with camo-photos hidden within the design. I wish I had a staircase (besides the four flights of stairs up to our walk up).

Way too expensive, but still fun: Pimp My Billy (IKEA bookcase novelty shelf). (found on Kimbooktu)

Fun human calendar. (thanks Ryan!)

If you click on only one link, I recommend this one: Extremely fun art project alert: a blogger creates real life photographs from pictures kids have drawn. (found on How About Orange)

....and in case you missed this, Stephen Colbert's dance off with Rain.

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Mother Night

nobody@vox.com(Emily) — Fri, 13 Jun 2008 18:01:22 -0400

I finished Mother Night. It's going to take me a while to remove myself far enough from the book to judge fairly where it ranks in my list of favorite Vonneguts. Because if I were to answer right now I'd without hesitation say that it's my favorite, in no uncertain terms. I loved it. It's a fascinating plot that I could not put down, but had to put down sometimes to scribble quotes and passages down in my notebook. Like the other best novels of Vonnegut, it's a shining example of how the issues he writes about are still relevant today.

Here are my favorite lines:

"Since there is no one else to praise me, I will praise myself - will say that I have never tampered with a single tooth in my thought machine, such as it is. There are teeth missing, God knows - some I was born without, teeth that will never grow. And other teeth have been stripped by the clutchless shifts of history--
But never have I willfully destroyed a tooth on a gear of my thinking machine. Never have I said to myself, "This fact I can do without."

"I had taught myself that a human being might as well look for diamond tiaras in the gutters as for rewards and punishments that were fair."

"There are plenty of good reasons for fighting, but no good reason ever to hate without reservation, to imagine that God Almighty Himself hates with you, too. Where's evil? It's that large part of every man that wants to hate without limit, that wants to hate with God on its side. It's that part of every man that finds all kinds of ugliness so attractive."

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Reading Update

nobody@vox.com(Emily) — Thu, 12 Jun 2008 20:35:15 -0400

Mother Night

Kurt Vonnegut

I'm only 71 pages into Mother Night so far, but I'm already getting an inkling that it might be my favorite Vonnegut yet, which is no small compliment.

I'm also still churning along in Mansfield Park. It's getting much more interesting, but I still have over 100 pages to go.

I started Anne of Green Gables on the way home from the Strand yesterday, but I think I'll put it aside until these two are done.

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Vox Hunt: Favorite Font

nobody@vox.com(Emily) — Thu, 12 Jun 2008 08:33:04 -0400

Show us your favorite font.
Submitted by [this is connie].

Garamond

Futura

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Flickr Photo Meme

nobody@vox.com(Emily) — Mon, 09 Jun 2008 08:13:25 -0400

This is one of the most fun memes I've seen in a while. Thanks to all the neighbors who posted it!

The Instructions:

a. Type your answer to each of the questions below into flickr search
b. Using only the first page, pick an image.
c. Copy and paste each of the URLs for the images into fd's mosaic maker.

The Questions:

1. What is your first name?
2. What is your favorite food?
3. What high school did you go to?
4. What is your favorite color?
5. Who is your celebrity crush?
6. Favorite drink?
7. Dream vacation?
8. Favorite dessert?
9. What you want to be when you grow up?
10. What do you love most in life?
11. One word to describe you.
12. Your flickr name.

(The only thing that came up when I searched for my flickr name was a different mosaic. That was kind of cool, but it looked goofy. So I just searched for half of my flickr name.)

Flickr Meme

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QotD: Homes Sweet Homes

nobody@vox.com(Emily) — Sat, 07 Jun 2008 23:38:38 -0400

How many houses have you lived in? How is where you live now different from where you grew up?

I have lived in two houses. One I do not remember, we moved before I was one year old. The second I lived in for 17ish years.

Since then, I have lived in:

-Brody Hall, Michigan State University

-Apartment above Blockbuster, East Lansing, MI

-Mason Hall, Michigan State University

-Apartment above Blockbuster, East Lansing, MI

-Mason Hall, Michigan State University

-Apartment in Rome

-731 Burcham Apartments, East Lansing, MI

-Apartment in Hoboken

That's eight different places in 6 years! I've been in Hoboken for just over 2 years, so it was also eight different places in 4 years.

The main difference of where I live now verses where I grew up is that our square mile block at home has maybe 100 people, and Hoboken is about a square mile and has 40,000+.

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Polysyllabic Spree May 2008

nobody@vox.com(Emily) — Sun, 01 Jun 2008 14:48:04 -0400

Books Purchased May 2008

Books Purchased:

A Natural History of the Senses by Diane Ackerman

The Russian Debutante's Handbook by Gary Shteyngart

Snobbery by Joseph Epstein

Night by Elie Wiesel

Motherless Brooklyn by Jonathan Lethem

Letters of the Century edited by Lisa Grunwald and Stephen J. Adler

Snuff by Chuck Palahniuk

Books Read May 2008

Books Read:

The Monsters of Templeton by Lauren Groff (library)

Night by Elie Wiesel

Well, as you can see from the sad "stack" in the lower photo, it was not a good month for reading, for me. For the last two weeks I've been really busy at work, and literally did not read anything. I finished Monsters of Templeton before the madness started, as well as half of A Natural History of the Senses and Mansfield Park. The major work on our project ended friday night, and yesterday I did some major relaxing, and also read all of Night.

I got a lot of great deals on books this month. I got A Natural History of the Senses, Night, The Russian Debutante's Handbook, and Snobbery for $3 each. I found Motherless Brooklyn on clearance at Urban Outfitters for $1.

Well, I hope there's more time for reading in June.

Link to my complete Polysyllabic Spree lists.

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