Tuesday, February 17, 2009

War and Peace

Seriously. War and Peace.

A couple of years after working through the Volokhonsky/Pevear Anna Karenina (which didn't hold up quite as well as I expected it would, given how much I loved the novel when I read it (via Constance Garnett) 13 or 14 years ago, I decided to re-read War and Peace, this time (like AK) in the Volkhonsky/Pevear translation.

Given that I first read the book while backpacking alone on the Pacific Crest Trail as a 22-year-old -- the same summer that I read The Adventures of Augie March, Henderson the Rain King, Narcissus and Goldmund, and re-read The Brothers Karamazov, I'm probably setting myself up for disappointment.

But, I made it through the first 75 pages of "remind me again of why I should care about these impossibly wealthy mofos," and am now firmly entrenched in the second seventh of the book, so, I guess, all is well.

For the sake of trying to get a solid handle on the thing, I'm going to try to write about it when I can. We'll see how it goes.

Wednesday, February 4, 2009

Kalamazoo Brewing

Bell's HopSlam has arrived, folks.

It's probably gone by now, too, for that matter, but it's still worth looking if you haven't yet done so.

The HopSlam. How do they get so much grapefruit goodness into the thing? That big ol' citrus face sitting on top of a bit of warming mojo? My sensibilities cannot compute; my metaphors get mixed.

Harper's Band

Harper -- to be four in April -- has a band.

I'm in favor of that.

(And I'm fully aware of the dangers of And Then My Kid stories, but will that stop me? No, it will not).

Its name is Mex Fluoride. Its members are as follows:

Vocals: Beef
Guitar: Buller
Drums: Flyer
Keyboards: I'm The Tallest Mouse

Harper typically takes the role of Beef.

Mex Fluoride is most well-known for its songs "Texas Texas (Won't You Go Away)" and "Put Your Hand Down," but those who see the band frequently may have heard "Drop the Cheerio" or perhaps a cover of "Suffragette City" or "Run to the Hills."

I have no idea where this comes from. I mean, I know where the Bowie and Iron Maiden covers come from, but the rest of it? Do I know its origin? No, I do not. It's like when he opened his own restaurant over the summer and named himself, as cook and owner, Greasy Sanders.

Regardless, I'm proud of the kid.