Books finished in 2008:
18. Delights & Shadows, by Ted Kooser
17. In the Palm of Your Hand, by Steve Kowit
16. Ordering the Storm, by Susan Grimm
15. Writing Poems, by Michhelle Boisseau and Robert Wallace
14. Best Words, Best Order, by Stephen Dobyns
13. Split the Lark, by R. T. Smith
12. A Poem's Heartbeat, by Alfred Corn
11. Brightwood, by R. T. Smith
10. Elephant Rocks, by Kay Ryan
9. Poems New and Collected, by Wislawa Szymborska
8. New and Selected Poems, by Mary Oliver
7. The Messenger, by R. T. Smith
6. A Poetry Handbook, by Mary Oliver
5. The Poetry Home Repair Manual, by Ted Kooser
4. The Sweetest and the Meanest, by Tom Kimmel
3. Working for Yourself, by Stephen Fishman
2. The Hill Bachelors, by William Trevor
1. Eric Meyer on CSS, by Eric Meyer
Saturday, March 29, 2008
Monday, December 31, 2007
101 Things at One Year
It's been one year since I created my 101 things list, and got started. I'm a little disappointed to realize that I've only finished 17 items! (…and only read 22 of the 101 books!) Time to buckle down and get moving!
Friday, November 30, 2007
101 Books in Progress
Here are the books in progress right now. I hope to finish them all!. Part 1 — completed in 2007 — is here.
Anna Karenina, by Leo Trotsky
The Hill Bachelors, by William Trevor
Eric Meyer on CSS, by Eric Meyer
Stumbling on Happiness, by Daniel Gilbert
On Writing, by Eudora Welty
The Elements of Style, by Strunk and White
The Complete Idiot's Guide to Organizing Your Life
Good Calories, Bad Calories, by Gary Taubes
Anna Karenina, by Leo Trotsky
The Hill Bachelors, by William Trevor
Eric Meyer on CSS, by Eric Meyer
Stumbling on Happiness, by Daniel Gilbert
On Writing, by Eudora Welty
The Elements of Style, by Strunk and White
The Complete Idiot's Guide to Organizing Your Life
Good Calories, Bad Calories, by Gary Taubes
Saturday, March 3, 2007
FAWMania!
FAWM is February Album Writing Month, and what an amazing month it's been! The goal was to write 14 songs in 28 days. I only got to 8, and 2 are co-writes, but still, I'm very happy with that. Usually it would take me a year to get a half dozen good new songs, and I did it in a month! Plus, I met some great new people, and got to write with two brilliant writers. The comaraderie and generous spirit of the FAWM community is infectious and inspiring. Already I can't wait for next February!
Friday, January 5, 2007
101 Books in 1001 Days
Here's the final list for 2007. I'm way behind in my attempt to get to 101 in 1000 days. I do have another ten or so in progress though. Maybe I'll finish them all right away and get back on track!
22. The Gum Thief, by Douglas Coupland
21. Sky Burial, by Xinran Xue
20. The Marshall Plan for Novel Writing, by Evan Marshall
19. Plot and Structure, by James Scott Bell
18. Slam, by Nick Hornby
17. The Reluctant Fundamentalist, by Mohsin Hamid
16. You Don't Love Me Yet, by Jonathan Lethem
15. Sex, Drugs, and Cocoa Puffs: A Low Culture Manifesto, by Chuck Klosterman
14. Failing Man, by Don DeLillo
13. Killing Yourself to Live, by Chuck Klosterman — Lots of fun. Gotta read the rest of his stuff.
12. Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, by J.K. Rowling — Excellent!
11. The Master and Margarita, Mikhail Bulgakov — I like this one! Reminds me of Voltaire's Candide for some reason.
10. The Yiddish Policemen's Union, by Michael Chabon — I love his writing!
9. Ten Thousand Things, by Maria Dermout — Quirky and interesting.
8. Running with Scissors, by Augusten Burroughs — Movie was okay; book was slightly better.
7. Thinking Points, by George Lakoff — Excellent "progressive's handbook" describing how the right frames public discourse in such a way as to advance their cause, and what the left can do to reframe the discussion to eliminate that bias.
6. All the Names, by José Saramago — Interesting read, but a little infuriating. Why no paragraph breaks, and no quotation marks or breaks around dialogue?
5. CSS Web Site Design, by Eric A. Meyer — This is why it's "101 books," not "101 novels." Gotta learn more about CSS. My Web development skills are getting too outdated.
4. The Kite Runner, by Khaled Hosseini — Very good, satisfying story.
3. The Alchemist, by Paulo Coelho — Good, but not as great as I'd heard.
2. Until I Find You, by John Irving — Maybe I was feeling guilty for choosing such a short first book. Man, this one was long. I loved it! A real return to form.
1. Shopgirl, by Steve Martin — Because, if you're going to read 101 books in 1001 days, you'd best include some short ones! Also because my B&N book group is reading it this month. I could have sworn I read it several years ago, and didn't like it. I remember a certain ironic detachment that rendered the story rather cold and unaffecting. Reading it now, though, it didn't seem familiar, and I really enjoyed it. Martin's writing style is a bit dispassionate, but maybe the irony was all in my mind, remembered from all his stand-up routines and misfit movie characters. The book is actually quite warm, smart, and affecting.
22. The Gum Thief, by Douglas Coupland
21. Sky Burial, by Xinran Xue
20. The Marshall Plan for Novel Writing, by Evan Marshall
19. Plot and Structure, by James Scott Bell
18. Slam, by Nick Hornby
17. The Reluctant Fundamentalist, by Mohsin Hamid
16. You Don't Love Me Yet, by Jonathan Lethem
15. Sex, Drugs, and Cocoa Puffs: A Low Culture Manifesto, by Chuck Klosterman
14. Failing Man, by Don DeLillo
13. Killing Yourself to Live, by Chuck Klosterman — Lots of fun. Gotta read the rest of his stuff.
12. Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, by J.K. Rowling — Excellent!
11. The Master and Margarita, Mikhail Bulgakov — I like this one! Reminds me of Voltaire's Candide for some reason.
10. The Yiddish Policemen's Union, by Michael Chabon — I love his writing!
9. Ten Thousand Things, by Maria Dermout — Quirky and interesting.
8. Running with Scissors, by Augusten Burroughs — Movie was okay; book was slightly better.
7. Thinking Points, by George Lakoff — Excellent "progressive's handbook" describing how the right frames public discourse in such a way as to advance their cause, and what the left can do to reframe the discussion to eliminate that bias.
6. All the Names, by José Saramago — Interesting read, but a little infuriating. Why no paragraph breaks, and no quotation marks or breaks around dialogue?
5. CSS Web Site Design, by Eric A. Meyer — This is why it's "101 books," not "101 novels." Gotta learn more about CSS. My Web development skills are getting too outdated.
4. The Kite Runner, by Khaled Hosseini — Very good, satisfying story.
3. The Alchemist, by Paulo Coelho — Good, but not as great as I'd heard.
2. Until I Find You, by John Irving — Maybe I was feeling guilty for choosing such a short first book. Man, this one was long. I loved it! A real return to form.
1. Shopgirl, by Steve Martin — Because, if you're going to read 101 books in 1001 days, you'd best include some short ones! Also because my B&N book group is reading it this month. I could have sworn I read it several years ago, and didn't like it. I remember a certain ironic detachment that rendered the story rather cold and unaffecting. Reading it now, though, it didn't seem familiar, and I really enjoyed it. Martin's writing style is a bit dispassionate, but maybe the irony was all in my mind, remembered from all his stand-up routines and misfit movie characters. The book is actually quite warm, smart, and affecting.
Saturday, December 30, 2006
101 Things — The Final List
Here's my final 101 Things list. I'm really excited about getting started! [Crossed out items are completed.]
Guitar & Songwriting
1. Finish recording 1st CD
2. Get CD mixed and mastered
3. Design CD sleeve
4. Get CD photographs taken
5. Get CD duplicated at Oasis
6. Plan a CD release party
7. Play at least six full gigs
8. Play at least 12 open mics
9. Sell at least 100 CDs
10. Program at least one drum track with keyboard/Reason
11. Finalize songs for 2nd CD
12. Write 15 new songs for 3rd CD [7]
13. Write a song in a different tuning (2/28/07)
14. Visit a Hudson Valley open mic
15. Attend a new songwriting camp
16. Attend NERFA
17. Get guitar professionally set up
18. Work through my set of voice lesson CDs
19. Build a proper personal Web site
Work
20. Update portfolio and get new case
21. Sort design samples in file cabinet
22. Find new job 2/19/08
23. Decorate new office
24. Buy a proper work wardrobe
25. Learn enough Flash to use in Web site
26. Get to work on time for two consecutive weeks
Fitness/Wellness
27. Visit YMCA at least 35 times in 3 months
28. Do weight-training 3x/wk. for 8 weeks straight
29. Lose at least 30 lbs. (started 1/1/07)
30. Keep the weight off for 6 months
31. Lose another 30 lbs.
32. Keep the weight off for 6 months
33. Run a 5K
34. Run a 10K
35. Get a comprehensive physical (1/26/07)
36. Take another yoga class
37. Try a spinning class
38. Get to bed by 11, up by 6:30, 14 straight days
39. Quit caffeine completely for 3 months
40. Floss every day for 14 days
41. No TV at all for a week
Family
42. Call Jim in California 3 times
43. Take Matt somewhere fun (NYC?)
44. Complete a recording of one of Matt’s songs
45. Do something special for Mom
Love & Friendship
46. Try speed dating
47. Join online dating site
48. Try Contemporary Singles (1/17/07)
49. Speak with Y
50. Find a girlfriend
51. Try Number 5
52. Have G&D over to my house
53. Have K&J over to my house
54. Host a songwriters’ get-together
55. Exchange visits w/RB, BW, JR
Home
56. Buy living room furniture
57. Fix (or get fixed) bathroom
58. Organize bedroom closet
59. Clean out kitchen cupboards/fridge
60. Sort and discard/sell old magazines
61. Get and use safe deposit box
62. Replace entertainment center/TV
63. Shampoo carpets
64. Repair and clean window treatments
65. Clean garage
66. Repair/reseal driveway
67. Trim hedges and mulch bushes
68. Remove flower garden
69. Fix and clean gutters
70. Touch-up paint front door
71. Get deck painted
72. Clean dryer vent
73. Sell, donate, or throw away 101 items [10]
74. Decorate the house for Christmas
Reading & Writing
75. Edit novel so I can show it to people
76. Find someone to read it
77. Write another NaNoNovel
78. Take a college writing class
79. Write three new short stories
80. Submit stories (or novel) to three publications
81. Find a good list of classic novels
82. Read 10 novels from that list
83. Read 101 books
84. Organize bookshelves
Finances
85. Reallocate 401k
86. Refinance or move
87. Go 14 straight days without eating out
88. Photograph my stuff for insurance purposes
Other
89. Go on vacation outside the Northeast
90. Walk Max for 20 minutes, 14 straight days
91. Take Max to a dog park
92. Take Max on a vacation
93. See a NY Jets football game
94. Spend a day visiting NYC museums
95. Buy a car
96. Volunteer for something
Computer
97. Organize iTunes completely
98. Overhaul backup system
99. Archive backups in safe deposit box
100. Keep track of progress on this list
101. Make a new list when this one ends
Guitar & Songwriting
6. Plan a CD release party
7. Play at least six full gigs
8. Play at least 12 open mics
9. Sell at least 100 CDs
10. Program at least one drum track with keyboard/Reason
12. Write 15 new songs for 3rd CD [7]
14. Visit a Hudson Valley open mic
18. Work through my set of voice lesson CDs
19. Build a proper personal Web site
Work
20. Update portfolio and get new case
21. Sort design samples in file cabinet
23. Decorate new office
24. Buy a proper work wardrobe
25. Learn enough Flash to use in Web site
26. Get to work on time for two consecutive weeks
Fitness/Wellness
27. Visit YMCA at least 35 times in 3 months
28. Do weight-training 3x/wk. for 8 weeks straight
29. Lose at least 30 lbs. (started 1/1/07)
30. Keep the weight off for 6 months
31. Lose another 30 lbs.
32. Keep the weight off for 6 months
33. Run a 5K
34. Run a 10K
36. Take another yoga class
37. Try a spinning class
38. Get to bed by 11, up by 6:30, 14 straight days
39. Quit caffeine completely for 3 months
40. Floss every day for 14 days
41. No TV at all for a week
Family
42. Call Jim in California 3 times
43. Take Matt somewhere fun (NYC?)
44. Complete a recording of one of Matt’s songs
45. Do something special for Mom
Love & Friendship
46. Try speed dating
47. Join online dating site
50. Find a girlfriend
51. Try Number 5
52. Have G&D over to my house
53. Have K&J over to my house
54. Host a songwriters’ get-together
55. Exchange visits w/RB, BW, JR
Home
57. Fix (or get fixed) bathroom
58. Organize bedroom closet
59. Clean out kitchen cupboards/fridge
60. Sort and discard/sell old magazines
61. Get and use safe deposit box
62. Replace entertainment center/TV
64. Repair and clean window treatments
65. Clean garage
66. Repair/reseal driveway
67. Trim hedges and mulch bushes
68. Remove flower garden
69. Fix and clean gutters
70. Touch-up paint front door
73. Sell, donate, or throw away 101 items [10]
Reading & Writing
75. Edit novel so I can show it to people
76. Find someone to read it
77. Write another NaNoNovel
78. Take a college writing class
79. Write three new short stories
80. Submit stories (or novel) to three publications
81. Find a good list of classic novels
82. Read 10 novels from that list
83. Read 101 books
84. Organize bookshelves
Finances
85. Reallocate 401k
86. Refinance or move
87. Go 14 straight days without eating out
88. Photograph my stuff for insurance purposes
Other
89. Go on vacation outside the Northeast
90. Walk Max for 20 minutes, 14 straight days
91. Take Max to a dog park
92. Take Max on a vacation
93. See a NY Jets football game
94. Spend a day visiting NYC museums
95. Buy a car
96. Volunteer for something
Computer
98. Overhaul backup system
99. Archive backups in safe deposit box
100. Keep track of progress on this list
101. Make a new list when this one ends
Prepping for 101
Just two days left in the year — two days to finish off all the high-calorie food in the house! Tomorrow I'll shop for healthy groceries, and try to make plans for the new fitness regime. That's priority one, and I'll probably be at the YMCA all next week, along with everyone else.
I need to get back into the CD project. I'd hoped to do it this week while on vacation, but have been putting it off, waiting for…what?…a day when I'm feeling confident and ambitious? Like that's ever going to happen! I need to put together a drum track for the title song. That's been frustrating me for months, and I think I finally have a set of loops that will work.
Happy New Year to all my friends and fellow 101ers!
I need to get back into the CD project. I'd hoped to do it this week while on vacation, but have been putting it off, waiting for…what?…a day when I'm feeling confident and ambitious? Like that's ever going to happen! I need to put together a drum track for the title song. That's been frustrating me for months, and I think I finally have a set of loops that will work.
Happy New Year to all my friends and fellow 101ers!
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