December 2009
45 posts
Vic Chesnutt (RIP) - Supernatural
Come on! Let’s Boogey to the Elf Dance! - Sufjan Stevens
(based on total enjoyment received)
10. - Flight: A Novel by Sherman Alexie
9. - Eating the Dinosaur by Chuck Klosterman
8. - Zeitoun by Dave Eggers
7. - Naive. Super by Erlend Loe
6. - Killing Yourself to Live: 85% of a True Story by Chuck Klosterman
5. - Hardboiled Wonderland and the End of the World by Haruki Murakami
4. - The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao by Junot Díaz
3. - The Elegance of the Hedgehog by Muriel Barbery
2. - Netherland by Joseph O’Neill
1. - Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close by Jonathan Safran Foer
NOTE: I read these books in 2009. They were not all written in 2009.
(based on total enjoyment received)
10. - St. Vincent
9. - Fleet Foxes
8. - Conor Oberst
7. - Animal Collective
6. - Santigold
5. - Grizzly Bear
4. - Bloc Party
3. - Dan Deacon
2. - GWAR
1. - Andrew Bird
Jen,
I think there’s some good stuff here. It’s too bad that it’s buried under a pile of holiday clichés and trite generalizations. You’ve been a “good girl?” What is the reader supposed to gather from that? Is that the author’s subjective opinion about her behavior over the past twelve months, or rather a more objective assessment based on society’s standards of what qualifies as a “good girl?” A little clarification would go a long way and most likely garner better results for what the author is trying to get, which, at the most superficial of levels, is apparently a Teddy Ruxpin doll.
With love,
Mom
PS. All your “J’s” are backwards.
Via McSweeneys.com
Animal Collective - My Girls (no. 1 track on Pitchfork.com’s top 100 tracks of 2009)
Some good (and bad) branding work on here. The winner might surprise you.
via BrandNew.com
(based on total enjoyment received)
10. The Avett Brothers - I And Love And You
9. Phoenix - Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix
8. Yeah Yeah Yeahs - It’s Blitz!
7. Dan Deacon - Bromst
6. Dirty Projectors - Bitte Orca
5. St. Vincent - Actor
4. Wilco - Wilco
3. Andrew Bird - Nobel Beast
2. Grizzly Bear - Veckatimest
1. Animal Collective - Merriweather Post Pavilion
These are the reader questions that Slate felt either ill-equipped or unwilling to answer in 2009…
- How would the law punish Siamese twins if one of the twins committed murder without the other being involved? For instance, if the twins were walking down the street and one pulled out a knife and stabbed someone. It seems to me that you couldn’t punish one without the other suffering the same punishment.
- In our culture when dealing with babies and little kids it’s always funny to put something on your head as a pretend hat. Is this the case in every culture? What about where they always wear turbans?
- It’s 30 minutes till my bedtime and I want ice cream. I had a big dinner and a big glass of water and I’m not hungry. I thought to myself that it might be a waste to eat it now if I’m full. Then I wondered How about if I put some in my mouth, swirled it around to taste it, then spit it out? Then I will get to taste it but I won’t get uncomfortably full. But I instantly knew that would never work. I wouldn’t enjoy it at all if I couldn’t swallow it. Is that just me? Do you have to swallow food to enjoy it?
via Slate.com
hat-tip to Justin…
