that's so Weezer*

[lunabee34]

1. Dylan has been accepted into grad school with a tuition waiver and stipend! We are so happy for them. They graduate with an undergraduate degree in anthropology on May 1.

2. I took Fiona to get her ears pierced. She is enormously proud of herself. It's pretty fricking adorable.

*Apparently one of her classes at school has a playlist of music they listen to while doing group work, and the teacher has put lots of music from the 90s on it, so Fiona has started to develop an interest in alternative music from that decade. She asked me if she could listen to a couple of Weezer songs she had looked up that weren't on the playlist, and after that, I played "Undone (The Sweater Song)" for her, and she looked at me with all the gravitas of an NPR music critic and said, "That's so Weezer." LOL

3. For anyone following along, I have reversed my opinion on the Living Proof Full Volume and Texture Spray. My hair is just too thin for it and because I have to rewet my hair pretty copiously to refresh at all, it just turns into a sticky mess. I think it would work really well for people with thicker, curlier hair than mine. I have gone back to thinking the Bumble and Bumble counterpart product is superior.

4.

Fan Fiction by Brent Spiner

My rating: 5 of 5 stars


This is excellent. It's RPF written by the celebrity about himself, and it's very, very funny.

It also contains some very emotionally moving passages about the deaths of Spiner's close friend and of Gene Roddenberry as well as what playing Data has meant to him over the years.

It's a love letter to Hollywood, acting, and films. It's also a love letter to fandom, and Spiner is the biggest fan in the book.

Highly recommend.



View all my reviews

Around Theaters 1898 1903 by Max Beerbohm

My rating: 5 of 5 stars


This is a collection of Beerbohm's theater reviews for The Saturday Review beginning in 1898 when he took over the column from George Bernard Shaw through 1910.

Beerbohm's reviews are racist and misogynistic at times, but they are at all times revealing of the culture in which he lives and his own personal, aesthetic taste. I find his opinions about theater fascinating in the way that they presage ideas about what makes good writing/acting for the screen and also fascinating in the way that they illuminate ideas and concerns about writing/acting that are no longer relevant in modern theater and modern cinema/TV.

Beerbohm was a wit, and this book is often funny even when it is cruelly cutting, perhaps especially so.

An obvious must-read for Beerbohm scholars, 19th-century/early 20th-century drama scholars, Shaw scholars, and scholars of a variety of other playwrights and actors.



View all my reviews

The House of Broken Angels by Luis Alberto Urrea

My rating: 5 of 5 stars


This book made me laugh out loud multiple times and cry multiple times, often moving from one to the other in rapid succession. Is there higher praise for a story? Not for me, I don't think.

It's told through not-quite stream-of-consciousness narration that shifts quickly from character POV to character POV of the many members of a sprawling family. This book is about so many of the important issues of the day--immigration, drugs, intractable community violence--but it is also about the issues that transcend the day--what it means to live and die well, courage, love.

Absolutely beautiful.





View all my reviews


I also reread Ouida's Syrlin, which I'm contemplating nominating for Yuletide this year.

Comments

[ursula]

Congrats to Dylan!

[lunabee34]

Thank you. So so proud.

[executrix]

Well done Dylan! Long may they wave! Are they going to be studying anthropology in grad school too?

[lunabee34]

Thank you. I'm so proud and happy for them.

Yes, they'll be doing anthropology.

[gloss]

Congrats, Dylan! I love that the family acanerdery continues into the next generation. <333

Also, I love Fiona-anecdotes. What a great kid.

(I googled Syrlin, got this excerpt as the top result - A famous artist, Syrlin, falls in love with her and changes her life forever - thought, THAT'S SO OUIDA, then clicked through and saw that was your GR review, lol.)

[lunabee34]

Thank you! I'm so proud of them both. :)

Ha! That's so funny.

I think you would really like this book, gloss; whether you want to participate in Yuletide or not, you should read it so we can talk about it! It's not as much of a chonker as Moths either.

[thistleingrey]

Congrats to Dylan and to Fiona!

[lunabee34]

Thank you so much. They are both growing up so much.

[anagrrl]

re: 1 - Congratulations! This is great news :)

[lunabee34]

Thank you!

I'm so proud.

[corvidology]

Congratulations to Dylan! \o/ It's what nephew #3 read at uni and he seems to be enjoying the outcome.

Also, I remember being dead proud when I finally wore my mother down on the ear piercing business so I totally get it!

[lunabee34]

Thank you! Dylan isn't sure what they'll do with the degree, but they have some time to figure it out.

Fiona is building an Etsy wish list for earrings. LOL

[minoanmiss]

cheers muchly

[lunabee34]

Thank you! I am super proud of them both.

[princessofgeeks]

Fantastic news all around. Thanks for the update. Will Dylan be at the same school for the graduate work?

[lunabee34]

Thank you!

Yes, they're staying at GSU. They really like being in Atlanta, and they like the department.

[cathexys]

Wow, congrats to Dylan (and both of you!!! :)

Y'all did good!!!! <3

[lunabee34]

Awww, blushes.

Thank you so much. It's just so emotional watching them grow up. I can't believe it's happening so fast.

[troisoiseaux]

Congrats to Dylan!!! (And also to Fiona, for the earrings!)

[lunabee34]

Thank you! I'm so proud of them both.

[china_shop]

and she looked at me with all the gravitas of an NPR music critic and said, "That's so Weezer."

HEE!

Much congrats to Dylan, woohoo!

*hugs*

[lunabee34]

That's my little tastemaker. LOL

I'm so so proud of Dylan! Thank you.

[archersangel]

congrats to dylan! it seems like they started college just last week.

[lunabee34]

INORITE? It has flown by.

Thank you!

[lyr]

Go, Dylan! That is wonderful news!

[lunabee34]

I am so so proud!

[timespirt]

Snoopy dance for Dylan.

[lunabee34]

Thank you!! I am super proud.

[torachan]

Wow, graduation already!?

(And I guess I missed if you posted about the name change. It took me a minute to figure out, partly because I was thinking they just started college recently lol.)

[lunabee34]

I think I only posted about it one time awhile ago, so it was very easy to miss.

The time has flown by so quickly! They did finish in three years instead of four because between dual enrollment and AP credit, they had a full year of college already when they started.

[torachan]

Oh wow, I feel like everyone usually takes longer than four years (I did) not less. That's impressive.

[lunabee34]

Thank you! We're really proud of them for that; if they finish in the two years the program is designed to be, they'll have a master's in 5 years from high school graduation. Not too shabby. :)

[spikedluv]

Huge congrats to Dylan! What an amazing accomplishment.

That's great for Fiona. I remember getting my ears pierced. It felt like a rite of passage.

I feel like 'that's so Weezer' should be something we all say, about anything, because it just sounds profound. *g*

[lunabee34]

Thank you so much. I am so proud of Dylan and happy for Fi. They are both thriving.

We should make That's So Weezer T-shirts. LOL

[amejisuto]

Oo-we-oo I look just like Buddy Holley. Uh-oh, and you're Mary Tyler Moore!


Hee! I loved Weezer back in the day. I even dropped in on their version of Toto's Africa with Weird Al that was put out not too long ago. Good times.

[lunabee34]

Oh me too. They had such fun and silly songs. It's cracking me up watching Fiona get into music from my adolescence.

[umadoshi]

Congratulations to Dylan! ^_^ That's fantastic!

[lunabee34]

Thank you so much!!

[independence1776]

Congrats to Dylan!

[lunabee34]

Thank you!