My week has been very busy with various sorts of shopping. The primary sort is for books...but this time I actually got them! My last cocky deal-related post was premature, as it turns out, because only one of those four deals actually came through. I was beginning to develop a complex. But this week I bought 3 books, two of which are quirky little originals I thought I wouldn't be allowed to bid on.
One of them is set on a ranch in eastern Washington, and opens when a riderless horse appears out of a snowstorm on the heroine's land. She saddles up and goes to look for the fallen rider, who turns out to be an Mexican ranch hand on the run from immigration. The two of them start up an unlikely friendship that blossoms into romance--and there's tons of horsey stuff to keep me happy.
The other is a novel set in Brooklyn, and is about a single mom who discovers an ATM that gives her extra cash, with the onscreen admonition to "Use It Well." How she spends it, and what that does to her life, is surprising...particularly when she has to figure out what to do with a $10,000 bill.
The last was the easiest deal, because it's the third book from an Irish author whose first book, PACK UP THE MOON, has just come out in the U.S. It's doing very well already, especially at Target. Of course I'm happy when any of my books do well, but it's always a plus when you love the book, and this one is special. I recommend it wholeheartedly.
The other shopping was for Gordon's birthday, and was slightly less successful. He asked me for a car converter for his iPod, but he wanted a very particular kind...which they don't make any more. So I got the slightly different kind, and will have to exchange it if it doesn't work. But I think I've been to every Best Buy in the city--all of them are equidistant from my office, it seems, and I have time to hit only one in a lunch hour, so it was taking forever. Amusingly, at Thursday's Best Buy, they clearly used to carry the item but had sold out. The sales clerk helping me told me there were still some in the Chelsea store, and to help me, he ripped the plastic tag with the SKU number off the wall! It's in my purse now, and I'm sure I'll forget all about it until I replace this bag and think, "Did I steal something from Best Buy?"
OK, I'm off to complete my glamorous week by cleaning my disgusting house. I've crossed "cat box" and "sweeping" off the list, but have been utterly unable to face "laundry," "wash kitchen floor," or "work room." Where's a fairy godmother or a magic broom when you need one?
We always had crazy birthday cakes when I was growing up. My mother appears to have graduated to cupcakes. Here are the sleeping kid cupcakes she made for the kids for whom she's babysitting tonight. Where's mine?
Hakuho and Koto'oshu won to stay undefeated. Toyonoshima lost to Takamisakari, leaving them the only leaders.
Asashoryu and Kisenosato won to stay one back, and Kisenosato faces Koto'oshu tomorrow.
Kotomitsuki and Kaio won, but Chiyotaikai lost.
6-0: Hakuho, Koto'oshu
5-1: Asashoryu, Kisenosato
4-2: Kotomitsuki, Ama, Goeido, Roho
3-3: Kaio, Chiyotaikai, Kotoshogiku, Asasekiryu, Futeno, Takamisakari, Homasho
0-6: Baruto, Tochiozan
Match of the day tomorrow: Koto'oshu vs. Kisenosato
I just got back from seeing Iron Man, a good but not great action movie which begs the question "how big of an ego do you need to have to put yourself into the movie you're directing -- as a bodyguard w/ 3 lines? Did Jon Favreau feel like no actor would 'get' the bodyguard character like he could?" (OK, I'm just mad at Favreau for putting a 20-second extra scene at the very end, after sitting through 5 tedious minutes of credits. Though, admittedly, Sam Jackson looked very cool as Nick Fury. But I guess technically it was Nick Fury who looked cool as Sam Jackson.)
But I digress. What I wanted to talk about was the domination of the box office by my alma mater, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.
First there was 21, the hit movie about MIT students using their super math genius to bring down the casinos in Las Vegas.
Now comes Iron Man, the biggest movie of the year so far, also about MIT alumni kicking ass with their super genius. It turns out Tony Stark (played by Robert Downey Jr.), the man who becomes Iron Man, is an MIT alum, as is his friend and liaison in the military, Rhodey (played by Terence Howard). The highlight of the movie was the outstanding cameo by the distinctive MIT school ring, the Brass Rat, as seen on Terence Howard in clip #6 on this page.
The first third of the tournament is over, and Hakuho hasn't been in danger for a second. He beat Kotoshogiku today with an easy throw.
He's not running away with it yet, though. Koto'oshu is having his best tournament as an Ozeki, going 5-0 for the first time, and he's looked very strong. He dominated Asasekiryu today and pushed him out.
One more mid-ranked wrestler, Toyonoshima, is also 5-0.
Asashoryu is also only 1 step behind, having won his 4th in a row after his Day 1 loss. Today he finally looked like himself, winning a 1-sided match against Miyabiyama (although, who doesn't win a 1-sided match against Miyabiyama? He stinks.)
Also at 4-1 is Kisenosato, a 21-year old Japanese Komusubi (4th highest rank). He beat Ozeki Kotomitsuki today with a show of serious strength at the ring's edge. He's also beaten Asashoryu, Kaio and Ama in this tournament, setting himself up for a great tournament once he gets to the lower-ranked competition.
Futeno and Tochinoshin have both lost 2 in a row after 3-0 starts.
Baruto is the big disappointment of the tournament so far, going winless in his first 5 against the highest ranks. Maybe he wasn't ready to move up, after all.
5-0: Hakuho, Koto'oshu, Toyonoshima
4-1: Asashoryu, Kisenosato, Toyohibiki
3-2: Kotomitsuki, Chiyotaikai, Ama, Asasekiryu, Futeno, Goeido, Homasho, Tochinoshin
2-3: Kaio, Takamisakari
0-5: Baruto
It is hard to believe, but it is true. After something like a year since the last post, I have finally written something new for my SaysMe blog (the value of a 12 hour plane flight back from Europe). Here's a snippet:
Even if the Prague audience had not read the program, they should have known to return. The First Law of Symphonic Programming requires an inverse relationship between the putrescence of the first half of the program and the beauty of the second. The more putrid the first, the more beautiful the second. If the first half of the concert is Schoenberg, after the intermission you can count on Mozart. If the first piece of the concert is Webern, look for a Bach concerto to follow. And never the other way around. The tripe must always come before the trifle. Otherwise, honestly, who would stick around for the second half? Masochists and neophytes. Everyone else would know to promptly run away before the memories of a truly fabulous piece of music had been erased with cacophony and dissonance.
For the rest, click here.
