Friday, December 28, 2007

My favorite reads for 2007

I maintain a separate log of all the books that I read and in honor of cracking 100 books this year (thank you Big Blue Bus), I decided to go back over the list and note my favorite reads for 2007, so here they are, in alphabetical order by title.

  • Before the Dawn by Nicholas Wade
    An interesting look at what genetic research can tell us about human history.
  • Bel Canto by Ann Patchett
    A beautifully written book from an author who's become one of my new favorites.
  • A Burnt-Out Case by Graham Greene
    I've been re-reading all of Greene's works and I've found this book, which Greene had intended to be his final novel, to be even better on re-reading.
  • A Concise Chinese-English Dictionary for Lovers by Xiaolu Guo
    A wonderful voice in a novel, Guo manages to make broken English something truly exquisite. "I don't like plural because they no stable. I don't like nouns too, as they change all the time like verbs. I like only adjectives and adverbs. They don't change. If I can, I will speak only adjectives and adverbs."
  • The First Five Pages: A Writer's Guide to Staying Out of the Rejection Pile by Noah Lukeman
    A very well written book on writing, written by a literary agent, so he knows what sort of mistakes come in the mail and is able to provide informed advice on how to fix them.
  • Graham Greene: The Novelist by J. P. Kulshrestha
    A book which renewed my faith in literary criticism.
  • Head First Design Patterns by Eric Freeman and Elisabeth Freeman with Kathy Sierra and Bert Bates
    A great book for people who want to develop solid object-oriented design and programming skills.


NP: Michael Feldman's Whad'Ya Know? for December 22, 2007
WC: 60, ECD: 4 Dec 2009.

Tuesday, December 11, 2007

I feel so dirty

I don't normally post from or about work, but this deserves some comment: The top five searches with the word "minivan":

  1. minivan
  2. honda minivan
  3. minivan nude women
  4. toyota minivan
  5. minivan moms nude

NP: "Dr David Elkind," Writers on Writing podcast

Monday, December 10, 2007

Old picture day

Not up to writing today, so I'll just share a picture of the pickets outside Fox from last week. Apparently it was bring your dog to strike day.


NP: "NPR Reporter Starts Afghan Cooperative," NPR: Fresh Air

Sunday, December 9, 2007

This week at the Beverly Hills Farmer's Market

It's pony ride and petting zoo week, which means lots of people not buying produce.


Entertainment from a jazz trio:


Interesting produce of the week: Eggplant.


NP: "Let Me Borrow That Top," Kelly, Shoes

Thursday, December 6, 2007

Offerings to the library gods?

I spotted the artist putting the finishing touches on this on Tuesday in front of the Santa Monica library.

Apparently dispirited by its overnight disappearance, the next day's offering was much more modest:


NP: "That Look In Your Eyes," Ali Campbell, FM 101.9 New Music Sampler: Sketchbook

Wednesday, December 5, 2007

Three Legged Legs

I saw this on the back of a stop sign in my neighborhood.

I'd assumed that they were a band, but the website says that they're "creative warriors" who've created "a new breed of directorial studio."

I just love the whole what-the-fuck approach to marketing, putting a sticker with the name barely visible on the back of a stop sign. Yeah, they're definitely way cooler than me.

NP: "Sleigh Ride," Los Straitjackets, 13 Rockin' Christmas Instrumentals

Tuesday, December 4, 2007

Pictures of food

My mother-in-law and aunt-in-law were in town over the weekend so I made dinner last night.

Stripy salad

Chicken saltimboca and green beans almondine


NP: "Lost Children," West Indian Girl, 4th & Wall