The Catcher in the Rye

I forgot something in that last post. And instead of editing it in, I'm giving it its own...I'm about 1/2 way through The Catcher in the Rye and I'm not really getting what all the fuss is about. Maybe it just isn't my thing. Part of my dislike is that I don't appreciate all of the swearing and blaspheming, even though I can understand how using that language tells you about the character and informs the atmosphere of the story.

Anyway, one of my friends mentioned that she had compiled a list of books (I believe it was 100) to read. (I think there was a caveat here, like 100 books to read in the next year, or some such thing, but I don't remember...) She said just compiling the list was challenging and fun; she tried to include books that she was "supposed to have read" in school and classics and popular new novels and nonfiction (I think on that last one.) Oh, and I realize that made it sound like she didn't read what she was supposed to in school, but I think she actually meant books that her schools didn't read that other people's had them read. Anyway, the point of this second paragraph is that The Catcher in the Rye would have been on that list because I feel like this coming of age story would best be read while actually coming of age instead of after you realize how stupid you used to be :)

Negligence pt 2

The negligence continues...life has been busy. And yet, it is one of those things that when people ask me "with what?" I struggle to answer. Bizarre. I guess the short answer is I have a lot of little things to do which fill all the time without being interesting to anyone other than me. Plus I am looking for a condo; although that has been more mental effort than physical effort recently. It sure is stressful. Oh, and work has been busy...

Anyway, new stuff...
I watched Thirteen, Whale Rider, and Spiderman 3 in the last few weeks. Unfortunately, I had to piecemeal the first two. They were both really good movies, albeit Thirteen was hard to watch, especially for someone who wasn't tempted by those vices in junior high, high school, college...or ever. But it was definitely worthwhile to open my eyes to what others go through. Whale Rider was culturally interesting and made me think about gender roles. Spiderman 3 was about what I expected...which wasn't much...and, yes, I did fall asleep and have to rewind.

TV
Lost. Loved the finale. Others were disappointed by the white light and wanted another scene. I thought it was perfect. My favorite part: Rose and Bernard. The writers look at what people want and then give it to them in their own special way. Fabulous.
The rest of my TV watching is pretty much on hold now for the summer. I don't really watch reality TV on a regular basis...

Music
I've been on a crazy music binge recently. (This means I need to stop letting myself go shopping; see above mention of my spending tens of thousands of dollars in the near future...) Top two: Eric Hutchinson and Mat Kearney. I'm very much a mood listener though, so some of the others may pop up to the top in the near future.

Paintings
I painted this for my friends Kate and Rob for their wedding (I hope they like it!) Kate, and now Rob, like to swing dance...


New Things
Trying new things is one of my favorite ways to be entertained (even if I never do it again.) This past weekend, I had the opportunity to play paintball with some friends of mine (and a few people I barely know.) It was very, very fun. And exhausting. And a little painful. Jon or Joel mentioned that the really direct hits aren't quite as painful as getting punched, but pretty close...well, I've never been punched, but now I think I have a good idea of what it feels like. :) I don't think I will feel the need to play very often, but I hope to play again someday. Related note: Nathan, one of the guys I played with, sent this link today:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/magazine/8067908.stm
Read it. It's funny and thought provoking...and the comments that I read were pretty high caliber, which is not always the case...

So, while I haven't been posting much, I have been busy finding entertaining things to share. Doesn't that make it all better?