I Just Read About That…

SOUNDTRACK: Big Bad Love [Soundtrack] (2002).

Somehow, I came upon a free copy of this CD. I hadn’t really listened to it at all, save for the Tom Waits songs (which turned up on Orphans anyhow). But I listened to it the other day and it’s a really good collection of unorthodox/noisy blues. I’m not a huge fan of the blues, but I can get into short bursts of it. The R.L. Burnside songs are lots of fun, as is the Junior Kimbrough piece. And, there’s a great piece by T-Model Ford called “She Asked Me So I Told Her” which seems to consist entirely of the lyrics, “So she asked me, so I told her, why I’m here” over a very raucous blues riff. There’s also some nice instrumentals by Tom Verlaine & Kronos Quartet.

It’s not the kind of thing I’d listen to a lot, and I’ve no idea what the movie is about, but I think it fills a niche in my collection.

[READ: October 22, 2007] How to Dress for Every Occasion by the Pope.

This is a silly book, as you might gather from the title. The illustrations are quite amusing (and seem to be of Pope Benedict, rather that John Paul II–unless they’re actually Dick Cheney–that sneer is pretty hard to decipher.)

The premise, as you might gather, is that you, yes you, dress poorly, at least compared to the Pope. The key, of course, is gilded robes, a big hat and rings, lots of rings! The book is only about 20 pages long, and half are illustrations. It was odd that the book kind of wore out its welcome by the end (how many times can you re-emphasize rings, hats and robes?) But as a novelty it was certainly fun. Definitely worth a read. I would especially suggest reading it on public transportation as a good conversation starter. Recommended for Catholics and non-Catholics alike.