I Just Read About That…

SOUNDTRACK: THE FLAMING LIPS-Waitin’ for a Superman [US maxi single] (1999).

This single contains the official stereo mixes of two Zaireeka tracks: “Riding to Work in the Year 2025 (Your Invisible Now)” & “Thirty Thousand Feet of Despair.”  Unlike the downloadable homemade mixdowns, these were  created by the band.  The tracks are modified somewhat from the originals.

On the album, “Riding to Work in the Year 2025 (Your Invisible Now)” is 7:02, and on the mixdown, it’s only 5:54.  While “Thirty Thousand Feet of Despair” is the same length: 4:59.

Because they are mixed down properly, they do not present the glorious insanity (out of synch items etc.) like the online versions, but they sound really good and allow you to appreciate the songs.

[READ: February 3, 2009] Diary of a Wimpy Kid: The Last Straw

Boy I love this series.

This is the 3rd book in the Wimpy Kid series.  I was very excited that it came out, and I plowed through the book in a couple of hours.  Although I can’t be certain, I think that this book may be even funnier than the first two.

Not a lot has changed for wimpy kid Greg Heffley.  He’s still in middle school, he’s still friends with Rowley, and he’s still a smart-ass.  The two primary concerns for Greg in this book are: making a play for the girl of his dreams (Holly Hills) and trying to make his dad think that he’s not a wimp who needs to go to military school to toughen up.

Löded Diper (Greg’s brother’s band) makes a brief appearance, but sadly, they are not picked for the birthday party they audition for.  And Greg’s mom is now an exerciser (complete with spandex pants and headband) guaranteeing further embarrassment.

There’s a new family, The Snellas, who add to poor Greg’s squeamishness.  For Seth Snellas’ half birthday everyone must go over to their house and try to make this baby laugh (which the Snellas videotape and no doubt send to America’s Funniest Home Videos).

And, of course, there’s Holly Hills (the nicest and 4th prettiest girl in school).  He tries to woo her in some rather inappropriate ways (at church, for instance).  And he is only slightly mortified when, after all of his hard work, she asks if his name is Fregley  (the absolute nerdiest kid in their class).

The funniest bits to me were when Greg’s uncle gave him a “basketball hoop laundry basket” which Greg points out, basically means he received a chore for Christmas. I also loved Greg’s little brother Manny’s insult “Ploopey” which becomes such an offense that his mother bans the word from their house.  (It is especially funny when Rodrick stretches it out to 3 days!)

Shel Silverstein

And the Shel Silverstein threat is absolutely hilarious, and very very true.

The ending of the story was a little over the top (which is absurd to say in the context of this book) but it was a great way to tie everything together, and to get his dad off his case.

As with the other books, the diary is written in a perfectly toned middle schooler’s wisdom and naivete.  The font is a children’s handwriting style complete with lined pages and everything.   There’s also one or two pictures on every page.  The pictures are minimalistic virtual stick figures but they are all hilarious and add so much to the story.

It doesn’t matter which book you start with in the series, although, since they follow his life chronologically, it does make sense to start from the beginning.  You simply can’t go wrong with this series.  And you can see the diary online here.