the lonely blogger

I just checked the family blog and saw that Casey, the lonely blogger, has been holding down the fort pretty much on her own, with some really sweet updates on the life and times of Freya. Thanks, Casey, for putting in the effort.

Since Christmas I've been going after books that were recommended by family over the holidays. I started out with "About a Boy" by Nick Hornby, recommended by Lyn. It was a great read, funnier and more clever in some ways than the movie, but I was surprised by how completely different the third act was. Maybe if the whole death of Kurt Cobain meant something to me I would have gotten more involved, but it didn't completely work for me. The last act of the movie is schmaltzy and formula, I know, but I prefer it, because it still packs more of an emotional punch for me.

I just went to the Fort Library to look for Neil Gaiman's "American Gods," recommended by Casey, but before I could even look I found three books that just jumped off the shelves at me. You ever have that experience where you just happen to look at just the right spot on just the right shelf, and just the right book is sitting there for you (even if you never knew until that moment that it was just the right book)? The first two were on documentary filmmaking and starting your own magazine, but the third was the best: "The Beast of Bray Road--Tailing Wisconsin's Werewolf," by Linda Godfrey. What a find! Matt was talking about it over Christmas, and Bridget knew exactly what he was talking about, and there it was on the library shelf, waiting for ME! And I just looked at the back cover and saw that one of the blurbs was written by a writer I know in Madison... weirrrrrrrrd.

I have gotten a bonanza of free screener dvds from the studios this year, and I'm getting friends here together for some movie nights. Get this: The Queen; Babel; Flags of our Fathers; Thank You for Smoking; Anatomy of a Scandal; United 93; Little Miss Sunshine; The Departed; World Trade Center; Little Children. All free! Just because they want to buy my vote for a Writers Guild Award! It's almost as much fun as pirating, only legal :)

Keep warm, everybody!

Mark