2006-07-26

10 shopping days left!

What are you getting Theric, lieutenant?.

[Editor's note:This post is not an invitation to disregard the information provided in the last post, viz, Theric will still not be regularly posting for a while. If you have not finished that post, you are certainly expected to continue making it last. However, current sabbatical notwithstanding, Theric has spent most of the past year slaving away at keyboard after keyboard for your benefit and we the editors of Thmusings feel it would not be inappropriate to ask his readership to celebrate Coast Guard Day in the same way the Coast Guard does, namely, by giving Theric gifts.

Now, Theric would never ask you to remember him on Christmas. He wouldn't want to take away from your efforts to brighten the holidays for crippled third-world ponies. But come on folks: Coast Guard Day? Don't pretend you had any other plans. August is the most holiday-free month of all and your gift-giving spirit needs an outlet! Set it loose! Let it flow over Theric like honey! Sweet, sticky, delicious honey! Theric likes honey! And he knows how to do his own laundry!

Now is the time to act! So act!

What Therics like best is the media arts. The following are samples of said stuffs that we the editors happen to know he would dig. We know this by having dug these lustful thought from his brain. This is hot stuff, folks. Hot. Stuff. From his brain. Lusty hot. You know what I mean.
]


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Fiction:



Dean HughesPeople ought to read their friends' books. I'm feeling guilty.


Otherwise, I tend to own most of the fiction I'm desiring to read. I suppose I could use some Chuck Palahniuk or A.S. Byatt, and no one can have too much Orson Scott Card or Terry Pratchett, and my collection is shy some alleged classics, but really, I'm doing okay.








Nonfiction:



L. Brent GoatesI must first admit I hatehatehate those stupid emails about children's prayers and miracles. They're manipulatively told and almost certainly false. I hate all such tripe and the market is chocked with it. That's why this book, half of which I've read, was such a surprise. The book is full of miracles Harold B. Lee discreetly documented without ever intending to publish. They were stories quietly told to him by people who trusted him with their sacred experiences. It's a beautiful book that helps remind me what faith is beyond the world of email forwards and other mainstream religious garbage. This world is part of a beautiful creation founded in love and this collection is a powerful reminder of that fact.


Sarah VowellI'm confused by people who claim not to love Sarah Vowell. Why would they lie about something like that?


The Library of America CollectionI think that about covers it....










Poetry:



Ted KooserHis name is Ted. Scott Adams would make a joke about that. I think I'll just read his book.


Billy CollinsBilly Collins saved poetry for me. In return for this huge favor, I should buy his new book. But I haven't yet. See, that's where you come in.


Emily DickinsonEmily has inspired some of my own finer poetic offerings


Thomas LynchLynch is an undertaker in Michigan and I love his prose on his work. My limited experience with his poetry has also been positive. Vote Lynch! Our next Poet Laureate!


Leslie NorrisSpeaking of the dead, I'm pretty disappointed that none of my so-called friends in Utah told me that Leslie Norris died. I had to learn about it from the BYU Humanities newsletter. Thanks a lot, guys.










Comics:



Richard SalaAdmit it: This looks crazy cool.


JasonI like my melancholy with anthropomorphic dogs, thank you very much.


Edward GoreyUnless, of course, that melancholy comes courtesy of the inestimable Edward Gorey, one of the true comic greats of the last century. Do you have the shivers? I have the shivers. Everyone has the shivers. Brrrrrr.


Jeff SmithI tried and tried to find all the volumes in a row at the library, but that's nearly impossible. Now that they're all together in one book, perhaps I will finally find happiness....


Thomas OttGo ahead: scare me.


Neil Gaiman, Andy KubertI feel I need to defend this choice to two camps: those who think the image of superhero comics is dragging the artform down, and those who complain that this offcenter title is the only superhero one here. To both camps I say this: Camping sucks. You smell. / / / Also, When I was a frequent visitor to the library Fob, I learned that the depths and complexities of superhero universes allow for amazing, literary feats unmatched anywhere else. Superhero comics are a viable literary form. But I haven't that much need to build a library like Master Fob's. This is all I really need right now. Thank you.










Chicks:



Yeah Yeah YeahsIs this album totally awesome? Yeah. Does the lead-singer chick totally have a bizarro hairdo? Yeah. Would it totally make my Coast Guard Day if you dropped it by with ice cream? Yeah.


SundaysSundaysStatic & Silence is not my favorite album, nor is it the greatest album ever recorded, but it is the most beautiful album in humanity's history. And surely you wouldn't disallow a fellow a little more beauty in his life?


Let's see, it's well established that I like chicks, so who else....

Neko CasePoeEddie From OhioAlison Krauss & Union StationNatalie MerchantMaire BrennanJulie MillerK's ChoiceBic Runga
KT Tunstall
Rosanne Cash
Kacy Crowley




And, of course, the grandmammy of them all:

Moonpools & Caterpillars

I've been looking for this album for over ten years. That's a long time.
I still don't have it. That's a long time.










Other music:



The ZombiesName? Check. Daddy? Check. Wealth? Check. Album? What the-- I don't have it!


They Might Be GiantsAs if this set wasn't awesome enough already, you can get it and a tshirt for $35. I think I want the one with Lincoln on it, but feel free to surprise me.


Panic! At The DiscoI've never heard any of the music on this album. I have only the foggiest idea what the band sounds like. But I love the band's name, I love the way they dress, and I love the titles of their songs. What more do I need to know?










Film:



Alfred Hitchcock - The Masterpiece CollectionThe Alfred Hitchcock Signature CollectionThe Complete Thin Man CollectionThe Art of Buster KeatonBox sets are all the rage.










Animation:



Bill Plympton's Mutant AliensBill Plympton's Mutant Aliens. Let me say that again: Bill Plympton's Mutant Aliens.


Shinichirô Watanabe's Cowboy Bebop - The MovieThe only reason not to own this is if your wife has a crush on Spike. But even then it's tempting.


Looney Tunes - Golden CollectionThere are three of these collections out so far. I have none of them. Sort of makes you question the purpose of life, doesn't it?










Television:



Space Ghost Coast to CoastLadies and gentlemen, presenting Space Ghost.











Nematodes:



Beneficial Nematodes, 25 million active unitsC'mon people, say it with me: Nee. Mah. Toads. You know you want some too.











[Editor's note:Remember folks--Coast Guard Day comes but once each year!]

=3,628,800

13 comments:

  1. I just have to question one of your gift choices:

    "The Library of America," featuring...CHOPIN???? A Polish composer who lived in France????

    Gotta wonder about the authenticity of that series--still, not a bad price...tempting...I'm thinking...

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  2. You spent WAY too much time on this.

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  3. .

    It was the middle of the night and I couldn't sleep for coughing.

    What else, was I going to do?

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  4. Cool. I love that Emily Dickinson book. I check it out from the library every so often.

    Also, you get coolness points for the Cowboy Bebop. I've never seen an episode, but I've heard and seen good things about it.

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  5. You do own the actual series of Cowboy Bebop don't you? Owning the movie without the series would be weird. It's the first anime series I was willing to put money toward.

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  6. .

    Yeah, we own it and it's awesome. We actually have a screener VHS of the movie too, but the DVD a) isn't a screener and b) has cool features. The features on the series were all in Japanese, so I didn't get much out of them.

    And Mr Fob, it didn't actually take that long: I copied and pasted code instead of pushing buttons and getting Blogger to upload all those photos.

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  7. Thank you for adding me! :)

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  8. In honor of Coast Guard Day, I wrote you a song.

    The Coast Guard
    Exciting and new
    Coast Guard Day
    We're celebrating you

    The Coast Guard
    Soon will be making another run
    The Coast guard
    Promises something for everyone

    Set a course for adventure
    Your mind on a new romance
    The Coast Guard
    Welcome aboard
    The Coast Guard
    da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da--da-da.

    (in case you couldn't tell, it is sung to the tune of the theme to The Love Boat)

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  9. .

    Now my Coast Guard Day will be complete.

    Thank you, Natgo!

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  10. I didn't know Leslie Norris died. I'm sad now. He was one of my dad's clients (my dad the veterinarian) so I sort of knew him.

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  11. .

    And here I always thought he was human!

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  12. .

    NEver too LaTe for NemaTodes....

    ReplyDelete