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Archive for January, 2014

Douglas Coupland–All Families Are Psychotic (2001)

Posted in Canadian Content, Cancer as plot device, Diff'rent Strokes, Disease, Douglas Coupland, Fears, Funny (ha ha), Funny (strange), Maria Taylor, Marriage Trouble, NASA, Nostalgia, Outer Space, Parenting, Religion, Surreal, Tiny Desk Concert, Travel, Violence on January 21, 2014| Leave a Comment »

familiesSOUNDTRACK: MARIA TAYLOR-Tiny Desk Concert #19 (June 29, 2009).

mariaI’d never heard of Maria Taylor before this Tiny Desk Concert.  She was part of the duo Azure Ray (who I also don’t know).  Then she went solo and as of this recording has released three albums.

Taylor has a pleasant voice (she reminds me of a number of different Lilith Fair singers, although I can’t pinpoint who specifically), but it’s not especially remarkable.  The first song “Ladyluck” I found to be nice.  The second song “Time Lapse Lifeline” fared better–the guitar melody was a little stronger, and the harmonies really helped.

The final track, “Clean Getaway” is another pretty gentle ballad (the two guitars really help add texture to all of these songs).  Although even the end seemed to just stop without actually ending.

I didn’t find Maria Taylor to be terribly memorable.  However, the Tiny Desk setting seems to be the best way to hear Taylor as her voice is well suited for an intimate location.

[READ: January 17, 2014] All Families Are Psychotic

I saw recently that Douglas Coupland had a new book coming out in 2014.  And I also knew that I had three of his older novels to re-read, so I decided to make this the Winter of Douglas Coupland and read all three of those books before his new one came out.  Then I got to work and saw his new book on top of a pile of newly delivered titles.  Sigh.

Well, there was still no reason I couldn’t read the other three in a row, possibly even before anyone wanted his new book.  So, off I went.  And indeed, I finished this book on our little vacation.  And even though I’m fairly certain I’ve read it before (it came out just before or after 9/11/01, gasp) I didn’t remember a thing about it.

This book has a title that I’m mixed about.  It’s a great sentence, but I’m not sure it’s a great title.  And although someone speaks the title in the book, it doesn’t really explain the book very well.

In fact it’s pretty hard to explain the book quickly. (more…)

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César Aira–The Hare (1991) [translated 1998]

Posted in César Aira, Funny (ha ha), Nick Caistor, Romance, Short Books, Supernatural, Surreal, The Avett Brothers, Tiny Desk Concert, Translation, Travel, Violence, Yuck! on January 20, 2014| Leave a Comment »

hare1SOUNDTRACK: THE AVETT BROTHERS-Tiny Desk Concert #18 (June 22, 2009).

avettI have recently become a fan of The Avett Brothers.  Indeed, my first review of one of their songs was very mixed.  But I have come around.  And this Tiny Desk show is a great example of the power they have in a live setting–especially one as personal as this.

For this set the two brothers (Seth on guitar and Scott on banjo) play a song from their then new album (the beautiful “Laundry Room” complete with amazing harmonies and beautiful cello) I & Love & You.  It builds slowly but after about two minutes, it turns into a big (upright bass is included, too) catchy song.  And in the last minute it becomes a huge stompin’ track (predating those other banjo bands by a few years).

Scott’s voice is really powerful (Bob Boilen asks if he swallowed an amplifier).

The second song is a the time not released yet, “Down With the Shine” (they joke that they’re then going to play a song they haven’t written yet).  It’s full of phenomenal harmonies.  And the commentary afterward about traveling with the brothers is very funny.

The final track goes back to their previous EP and is called “Bella Donna,” a pretty ballad sung by Seth–he seems to do the more mellow tracks.  It’s a pretty ending to this all too short Tiny Desk Concert.

Watch it here.

[READ: January 10, 2014] The Hare

The Hare was the first of Aira’s books to be translated into English (back in 1998 with this simply gawdawful cover).  It has recently been republished by New Directions Press with a far more tasteful cover.  The translator, Nick Caistor, is the same although I noticed in an online excerpt that while the English language is the same, the New Directions version has translated a Spanish newspaper (El Grito) into English (The Crap) when it wasn’t translated in the earlier version.  But aside from that, it all appears to be the same.

I had been putting off reading this book because it is his largest book (most of Aira’s books are barely over 100 pages, while this one is almost 250) and I’d also read some lukewarm reviews of the book, so I saved it for last.  Of course, now he has a newly translated book out, so I decided it was time to read The Hare.

Not the best attitude for a book an it definitely impacted my early reading of the story.  And I’ll sum up that impact as saying I thought that the book itself was strangely flat but that the ending was fantastic.  Had I been more open t0 the absurdity I think I would have enjoyed the whole thing a lot more. (more…)

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Maxwell Eaton III–The Flying Beaver Brothers and The Mud-Slinging Moles (2013)

Posted in Children's Books, Funny (ha ha), Graphic Novel, Maxwell Eaton III, Recess Monkey, Short Books on January 19, 2014| Leave a Comment »

flyingSOUNDTRACK:RECESS MONKEY-“Fish Sticks” (2013).

fishsticksOne of the best names for a kids band ever, Recess Monkey is three teachers who write funny songs that actually educate you.  Although this song doesn’t really have much educational value.

Rather, this is about a fish drummer (named “fish sticks” of course).  The guitar is cool and the bass is fun, but this song is all about the drums.  It’s a slight little ditty, but I love the way they meld all kinds of genres into the middle of the song.

I have to admit that the fish head drummer is a little creepy, but you don’t have to watch the video, right?

And, I do wish I had used this song for a different Flying Beaver Brothers book (the one that is all about Fish Stix, but oh well).

[READ: January 13, 2014] The Flying Beaver Brothers and The Mud Slinging Moles

Here’s another Flying Beaver Brothers book.  Although I enjoyed the premise of this book, I found it less satisfying to read to the kids, possibly because it had more visual jokes than wordplay.

Of course, one of the funniest things in the series is the blank looks that Bub and Ace give to the other characters when they do or say something foolish.  And those abound in this book.  Of course, it’s hard to convey that when reading aloud (although a good Huh?! often works), but it makes me laugh every time, and I’m not sure exactly why–I guess Eaton is excellent at blank looks.

So Bub wakes up to find that all kinds of things on Beaver Island are sinking–trees, rocks, even their house.  They naturally assume that Bob and Bob the evil penguins are behind it, so they go to see them.  There’s a very funny ladder joke that occurs just before the penguin house sinks. They are clearly not responsible either. (more…)

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Lemony Snicket–“Who Could That Be at This Hour?” : All the Wrong Questions #1(2012)

Posted in Adventure, Children's Books, Funny (ha ha), Funny (strange), Heywood Banks, Huh?, Lemony Snicket, Mystery, Seth, Word usage on January 18, 2014| Leave a Comment »

snicketSOUNDTRACK: HEYWOOD BANKS-“Toast” (1995).

toastI found this song when I was reading an article about Chris Christie.  Someone said he’s toast after his recent scandal.  And someone else posted this video.  Evidently it is taken from a morning radio show (ew), but the song is funny despite the morning nimrods laughing along.

I prefer the audio quality of the radio version, but I like this live version better (the dark toast intolerant joke is very funny (it’s new to this version)–as is the punchline to the Eifel Tower verse).

The excitement that he brings to this nonsense is wonderful.

[READ: September 20, 2013] Who Could That Be at This Hour?

I have a few books lingering around from last year that I have yet to write about.  This is one of them.  I’m not sure how a book gets neglected in my writing.  Usually I feel like I need to devote some time to it and I feel like I don’t have enough time at the moment.  And then it gets pushed back and back until months have gone by and then I wind up writing a half-assed review anyhow.

Alas.

So this begins a new series from Lemony Snicket.  It is a prequel to A Series of Unfortunate Events, but it is a very early prequel.  The main character is a thirteen year old Lemony Snicket who has just finished school and is on his way to a certain destination when all of his plans are thwarted.  And the way the opening is written is confusing and funny at the same time.  Like, “You’ll see her soon enough in any case, I thought, incorrectly.”  Or that he is given a note from a stranger which says to go out the bathroom window.  When he gets into the bathroom he finds a small package: “It was a folding ladder.  I knew it was there.  I’d put it there myself.”  Young Snicket is sitting with his parents–they insist he drink his tea while he waits for the train.  But while he is waiting, a woman breezes into the station and drops a note in his lap.

The mysterious letter writer turns out to be S. Theodora Markson.  She is to be Snicket’s chaperone.  Snicket uses the “a word which here means…” trick from the Unfortunate books but there’s a funny twist

“I’m contrite, I said, a word which here means–”
“You already said you were sorry,” S. Theodora Markson said.  “Don’t repeat yourself.  It’s not only repetitive, it’s redundant and people have heard it before.” (more…)

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Ed Ruscha–“Pure Bleach” (New Yorker, October 14, 2013)

Posted in Ed Ruscha, Essays, Francisco Tarrega, Jason Vieaux, Johann Sebastian Bach, Maximo Diego Pujol, New Yorker, Tiny Desk Concert, Work on January 17, 2014| Leave a Comment »

CV1_TNY_10_14_13McCall.inddSOUNDTRACK: JASON VIEAUX-Tiny Desk Concert #17 (June 15, 2009).

viaeuxJason Vieaux is the first to break the mold of folk singers playing the Tiny Desk.  Vieaux is a classical guitarist.  I don’t know a lot about classical guitar, but when it’s good I know it’s gorgeous.  And man, is this gorgeous.

I don’t know anything about Vieaux, but in the little blurb, they say that in 2002 they invited him to spend a week as a young-artist-in-residence on their classical-music program Performance Today.

I would have been grossed out by his long fingernail if they hadn’t pointed out that he glues a slice of a ping-pong ball to the underside of his right thumbnail as a kind of extended, “press-on nail” guitar pick.

He plays 3 songs and they are all simply stunning.

Bach: Prelude (from Prelude, Fugue and Allegro, BWV 998)

Maximo Diego Pujol: Candombe en Mi

Francisco Tarrega: Capricho Arabe

You can visit the NPR site to hear about the ping pong ball thing, and you can watch the video below.

[READ: January 7, 2014] “Pure Bleach”

This New Yorker has several small essays about work.  They are primarily from people who I wasn’t familiar with–only Amy Poehler saved the five from being unread.  When after reading all of them I enjoyed them enough to include them all here.

The pieces are labelled under “Work for Hire” and each talks about a humiliating job.

This final installment was the shortest.  Ruscha is an artist, whose name sounds familiar to me–he worked in pop art. His lame job was working in a laundromat “mixing bleach and water together in brown glass bottles for the customers to use”  If you didn’t know better you would say, that sounds like an old job, and you’d be right–that job existed in 1951.  Geez.  He made 50 cents an hour. (more…)

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Filigree for My Turtle: Happy Tenth Anniversary, Sarah

Posted in Biography, Cake, Nostalgia, Paul Debraski on January 17, 2014| 1 Comment »

filigreecoverSOUNDTRACK: FRANKIE VALLI AND THE FOUR SEASONS-“Can’t Take My Eyes Off of You” (1967).

20140115_093859This was our wedding song.  Sarah and I took ballroom dance classes and we choreographed a dance to this song using the moves that we knew.  And that is one of the things people still talk about our wedding.  It was a fun and feisty dance.

But it was also sneaky because it starts out slow (we heard someone comment “swaying” as the song started out.

And then the horns kick in and we pulled out all of our best moves.  It was a huge hit.

We did not video our wedding, and our one regret is that we kept our big dance a secret so no one filmed it.  It now just lives on in memory.

[MARRIED: January 17, 2004] Paul Debraski & Sarah Cornish

Ten years ago today Sarah and I were married.

It was a glorious day, a little cold (but who could feel it?).  We had a brief but wonderful ceremony and then an amazing party afterwards full of friends and relatives.  The food was great, the company was great, even the cake was great (ask anyone who was there).  It even snowed that night.

filigree2Six months before that I proposed using this book.  I can’t remember what the actual book was that I cut up and modified–it would be interesting to see if I ever wanted to read it.

filigree1I drew my own cover (full of personal secrets), made an inside cover with our photos and even put some blurbs on the back.  And then I glued the pages together and cut out an opening for the engagement ring.  (There’s also a page of personal stuff that you aren’t allowed to see).

And here it is ten years later.  It’s hard to imagine how much has changed in ten year.  We’ve got two wonderful kids, a bunch of chickens, other small animals and jobs that are completely different than they were a decade ago.

Happy anniversary, my love, and here’s to ten more.

And, yes, since this post is a surprise for Sarah, i hope to update the pictures when we get back from our anniversary vacation.filigreeback

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Norman Rush–“Labors” (New Yorker, October 14, 2013)

Posted in Essays, Great Lake Swimmers, New Yorker, Norman Rush, Tiny Desk Concert, Work on January 16, 2014| Leave a Comment »

CV1_TNY_10_14_13McCall.inddSOUNDTRACK: GREAT LAKE SWIMMERS-Tiny Desk Concert #16 (June 8, 2009).

swimmI knew of the Great Lake Swimmers from NPR, but only a song or two.  I found them to be pretty but a little too mellow for my liking.  In this Tiny Desk Concert, Great Lake Swimmer’s vocalist Tony Dekker stops by for a solo acoustic set.  His voice is delicate sounding and yet is powerful in its own way.

He plays three songs, the first two “Everything Is Moving So Fast” and “Pulling on a Line” both come from Great Lake Swimmers’ then recent album, Lost Channels.  Both Bob and Robin compliment his voice, which is really something (he says he grew comfortable with it about a year ago).   And there’s something about the way he sings that really draws you in here.

He is one of the first performers who talks about working in an office in Toronto. (He liked it and says people brought in guitars from time to time).

Then Bob mentions the “yelp machine”–the harmonica stand that Tony pulls out.  Bob says when a guitarist takes it out it makes fans go crazy, but Tony says that he finds it the banjo that makes people go nuts.  The final song, “Various Stages” features the harmonica, which although he says is easy for anyone to play, sure sounds good here.

[READ: January 7, 2014] “Labors”

This New Yorker has several small essays about work.  They are primarily from people who I wasn’t familiar with–only Amy Poehler saved the five from being unread.  When after reading all of them I enjoyed them enough to include them all here.

The pieces are labelled under “Work for Hire” and each talks about a humiliating job.

Rush is an author.  He has the longest article in this series (four whole columns!)  Rush talks about a number of jobs that he had over the years.  But mostly he says he chose jobs that would offer him free time enough to write.  Like picking cherries (?). (more…)

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Amy Poehler–“Take Your Licks” (New Yorker, October 14, 2013)

Posted in Amy Poehler, Andrew Bird, Benjy Ferree, Essays, Ice Cream, New Yorker, Summer, Tiny Desk Concert, Work, Yuck! on January 15, 2014| Leave a Comment »

CV1_TNY_10_14_13McCall.inddSOUNDTRACK: BENJY FERREE-Tiny Desk Concert #15 (May 29, 2009).

benjyI had never heard of Benjy Feree before this Tiny Desk Concert, and I have still never heard of him.  I don’t know a thing about him, and I kind of like that.  Where did they find him?  They seem to know him very well.  (He grew up locally to D.C., so I guess that’s it).

He plays four songs and he is very funny.

“I Get No Love” opens with Benjy whistling and playing a guitar in a Spanish style (not fingerpicking but that fast strumming style).  But when the song proper begins, it’s a bouncy acoustic song.  Benjy has a nice voice.  He also encourages everyone to get out their pens a make a beat.  The whistling is truly amazing. It’s strong and powerful and very catchy.

In the second song, “Fear,” Benjy pulls out a great falsetto—it’s a wonderful combination of his regular powerful voice and some cool high notes too.  Then he tells the story of working in an office.  He says his boss looked like Clarence Clemmons.  It’s a very funny story.

Then he starts talking to the “chat room.”  He messes up the tuning of his third song, “When You’re 16.”  But he pulls through with a very solid acoustic song with more good whistling.  After the song he says he’d like to take lessons from Andrew Bird in whistling.  And then he curses which leads to a lengthy and funny story about going to school at a Baptist Church.

“The Grips” is the final song, it’s a slower, very nice song, which really shows his range.

He is a charming and very funny and the end (the David Letterman joke) is especially amusing.  And I have to say that I thought his hair looked totally fake and then I read that it was a wig.  Ha.

[READ: January 7, 2014] “Take Your Licks”

This New Yorker has several small essays about work.  They are primarily from people who I wasn’t familiar with–only Amy Poehler saved the five from being unread.  When after reading all of them I enjoyed them enough to include them all here.

The pieces are labelled under “Work for Hire” and each talks about a humiliating job.

So Poehler’s essay is all about working at an ice cream shoppe as a young girl–a typical summer job.  I’ve often seen young girls working in ice cream shoppes for summer jobs and I always imagined that they would get the hugest arm muscles from scooping out in those awkwardly deep freezers.  But Poehler focuses more on the cleaning–every night anything that wasn’t nailed down got cleaned.  Ugh. (more…)

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Nicole Holofcenter–“Caught Napping” (New Yorker, October 14, 2013)

Posted in Books about writers, Boredom, Enough Said, Essays, Horse Feathers, James Gandolfini, Jeremy Denk, New Yorker, Nicole Holofcenter, Tiny Desk Concert, Walking and Talking, Work on January 14, 2014| Leave a Comment »

CV1_TNY_10_14_13McCall.inddSOUNDTRACK: HORSE FEATHERS-Tiny Desk Concert #14 (May 8, 2009).

horseI’d never heard of Horse Feathers before this Tiny Desk Concert.  Justin Ringle is the lead singer and guitarist of the band (which in this incarnation includes a violin and cello).  Ringle’s voice is soft and kind of high-pitched.  They seem very well suited to the Tiny Desk, (and are in stark contrast to Tom Jones!).

They play three songs, “Working Poor,” and “Curs in the Weeds” are beautiful with the wonderful strings accenting his voice and guitar.

In their interview they talk a little about their instruments (all of which are very old!).  Indeed the guitar is old, but the violin (one of only 4 made) is even older and the cello is nearly 100 years old.  Very impressive.

For the final song, “Heathen’s Kiss, ” the violinist busts out singing saw.  It’s awesome.

I really enjoyed this simple and beautiful set.

[READ: January 7, 2014] “Caught Napping”

This New Yorker has several small essays about work.  They are primarily from people who I wasn’t familiar with–only Amy Poehler saved the five from being unread.  When after reading all of them I enjoyed them enough to include them all here.

The pieces are labelled under “Work for Hire” and each talks about a humiliating job.

Nicole Holofcenter is a filmmaker.  She has directed a number of films that I have liked (including Walking and Talking) and most recently James Gandolfini’s last movie (which I haven’t seen), Enough Said.

In this essay she talks about a job working for “Mr. Stone” (which I’m not sure if we’re supposed to assume is Oliver Stone or not).  At any rate the job paid a fortune at the time ($500/wk) and all she had to do was answer the phone. (more…)

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Jeremy Denk–“Piano Man” (New Yorker, October 14, 2013)

Posted in Essays, Jeremy Denk, New Yorker, Tiny Desk Concert, Tom Jones, Work on January 13, 2014| Leave a Comment »

CV1_TNY_10_14_13McCall.inddSOUNDTRACK: TOM JONES-Tiny Desk Concert #13 (March 2, 2009).

tomjI never gave a thought about Tom Jones until I worked a warehouse job in Cambridge, MA. My boss used to play Tom Jones all the time and all of us young’uns (I was 22) would get into it.  And soon I was singing Tom Jones songs to myself.  I have his Greatest Hits and it certainly scratches an unexpected itch.

It’s also funny to think of Tom Jones at at Tiny Desk Concert since his voice is so big.  And also because I think of shows as being spectacles.  But here he is, with just a guy on guitar and no microphone to hold on to or anything else.  He stands there sweating and just belting out these songs.

His voice sounds incredible—he can hold those notes like nobody else I know. Although I have to wonder if he has a bit of a cold (he still sounds amazing, but he’s coughing a bit).  The first and third songs, “If He Should Ever Leave You,” and “We Got Love” are from his then new album 24 Hours, so I didn’t know them.  But with the simple electric guitar accompaniment the songs sound clean and energetic (I imagine that with a  full band they’re much bigger, and there must be a horn section, right?).

“Green Green Grass of Home” is wonderful older song that I know from his Greatest Hits.  It sounds wonderful here–it’s all about his voice.  And the final song is a Jerry Lee Lewis song called “The End of the Road.”  I didn’t imagine him fitting this style but he jumps in perfectly and totally manhandles the song.  It’s great.

It never occurred to me to want to see him live (women throwing their underpants and all) but I’ll bet he puts on a great show.  It’s also amazing to see how crowded the offices are for him (they even turned down the lights for extra ambiance).

[READ: January 7, 2014] “Piano Man”

This New Yorker has several small essays about work.  They are primarily from people who I wasn’t familiar with–only Amy Poehler saved the five from being unread.  When after reading all of them I enjoyed them enough to include them all here.

The pieces are labelled under “Work for Hire” and each talks about a humiliating job.

Jeremy Denk is a well-regarded pianist (he won a McArthur Genius Grant).  He talks about his initial success very casually.  He says he had about $4,500 of debt when he won a piano contest in London.  I admit I didn’t know who he was when I read this and I wondered how it was that some guy randomly won a piano contest–are there many piano contests in London?  That cleared away his debt (and apparently must have covered the cost to fly to London, since he is from the Midwest). (more…)

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