Author: Gil

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What It Is: 11/1/10

What I’m reading: The Odyssey. Also, after reading this great Frank Santoro post, I reread Chester Brown’s Helder and Showing Helder. And I was feeling nostalgic for feeling nostalgic for superheroes, so I reread Grant Morrison & Frank Quietly’s Flex Mentallo mini-series. The ’90s sure were a funny time.

What I’m listening to: A bunch of Anthony Hamilton records. Whoa, nelly.

What I’m watching: Outside of American Splendor (on Halloween, because we didn’t get around to watching it on Harvey Pekar’s birthday earlier in October) not much of anything, besides some World Series games.

What I’m drinking: Fifty Pounds gin & Q-Tonic.

What I’m eating: A peach and blueberry pie. It’s the last one of Farmers’ Market season, which saddens me. It was my Saturday tradition (formerly our Saturday tradition, but Little Ms. Gluten-Free Diet can’t participate anymore), picking up a 5″ fruit pie from the Concklin Orchards stand for weekend devourification. The dogs will be sad/confused, too, since they somehow figured out the 7-day schedule and knew that Saturday mornings were when they get to promenade around the market and get love and affection from unsuspecting locals.

What Rufus & Otis are up to: They enjoyed some longish mid-week walks, courtesy of some unseasonably lovely weather. And when things started to cool down again, they still managed to get in another 5-mile grey-hike! Pix here! Spex here! And then, they got dressed up for Halloween . . .

Where I’m going: Back to Ithaca, even if I didn’t think too much of this essay.

What I’m happy about: Getting that first podcast out of the way. Also, discovering that Tyler Brule of Monocle has many of the same poor mannerisms that I do when conducting interviews/conversations: too many “um”s and “you know”s and a tendency to speak in full — and multiple — paragraphs.

What I’m sad about: That he’s much more successful than I’ll ever be. Also, that whole peach and blueberry pie thing.

What I’m worried about: Writing two articles in the next two days to wrap up my Nov/Dec issue. So, um, don’t call, okay?

What I’m pondering: Whether to consider the Odyssey in terms of a whole with the Iliad, or whether to contemplate the Iliad on its own, without considering Odysseus as an alternative to Achilles as Best of the Achaians.

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Late to the Pod-Party

Welcome to the inaugural Virtual Memories podcast! You can download it here: mp3 or AAC/m4a

I bought a UBS microphone in June 2006, so it’s clear that I intended to start a podcast more than four years ago. I’m just getting around to it now because I’m lazy. I’m pretty sure that boat had already sailed on this form back then, so now maybe it’s retro-hip or something.

Anyway, this installment is really just a proof-of-concept: some intro music, then a little literary reading from a wonderful book, followed by an explanation/apology. I just wanted to figure out how to edit and assemble audio clips in Garage Band. Next time out, I’ll work on mastering my voice-recording better. Also, I’ll work on sounding less wraith-like.

Once the technical stuff is ironed out, I hope to put together some good content for you, in the form of interviews/conversations, readings from favorite books, essays and/or poems, and maybe an accordion performance or two, once I learn how to play that instrument.

So enjoy Virtual Memories Radio! Now in MP3 or AAC!

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

Subscribe: Spotify | TuneIn | RSS | More

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2010-2011 NBA Preview

For the second straight year, no team-by-team breakdown or NBA preview for you! I just don’t give enough of a crap about pro hoops anymore. Last year’s explanation holds up pretty well, especially when you add the silliness of the “Super Best Friends” gang assembling in Miami. I’m sure I’ll catch some games when there’s nothing else going on, but eh. Check back during the playoffs.

These are my only observations:

  1. Paul Westphal is a head coach?
  2. Chris Bosh was the “franchise player” on a Toronto team that averaged a 37-45 record during his career.
  3. I would actually root for the Celtics over the Heat in a playoff series.

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What It Is: 10/25/10

What I’m reading: Finished Never Let Me Go, read Charles Burns’ X’ed Out, and began Joe Sacco’s Footnotes in Gaza.

What I’m listening to: Barking, Walking Wounded, and a new Mad Mix I’m working on.

What I’m watching: Leaves of Grass, plus some football, some baseball, and Bored To Death and Eastbound & Down.

What I’m drinking: I’m outta limes, so I went with Amy’s gluten-free alternative: Bard’s sorghum malt beer.

What Rufus & Otis are up to: Taking a nice, energetic hike on Sunday, (pix here and spex here) and getting overstuffed on treats at Rusty’s on the way home.

Where I’m going: Nowhere! Why? You got somewhere you think I should go?

What I’m happy about: The autumn sensorium is just so beautiful. You can check out the first couple of pix from the hike to get an idea of the visuals.

What I’m sad about: The Yankees getting knocked out of the playoffs. On the other hand, I’m also happy about this because it means I won’t be staying up late watching World Series games. So it’s a wash.

What I’m worried about: Eating too much candy on Halloween.

What I’m pondering: Blowing off another NBA preview. The season starts tomorrow, so I’m guessing that’s less of a ponderment and more of a certainty.

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What It Is: 10/18/10

What I’m reading: I started The Odyssey, but decided to take a short break with Never Let Me Go.

What I’m listening to: Fox Confessor Brings The Flood and Sir Lucious Left Foot

What I’m watching: Bear Nation (some of my best friends are bears) and Withnail & I

What I’m drinking: Dry Fly & Q-Tonic

What Rufus & Otis are up to: Not a lot. I was sick, so no Sunday grey-hike.

Where I’m going: Nowhere in particular, but I’m hoping to get a Herriman hike in on Saturday with a pal, provided my headcold’s all gone.

What I’m happy about: Getting into NYC on Saturday to meet up with Mark F., a good pal of mine. We had a nice brunch at the Double Crown, during which the ex-girlfriend I mentioned last week dropped off the accordion I’d bought from her. After eating, Mark accompanied me to the Billy Reid store on Bond St., and then we walked up to Astoria Wine & Spirits, St. Mark’s Comics and Porto Rico Importing Co. (for a bottle of Bols Genever, Marvel’s Strange Tales II, and a pound of Kona, respectively) before the farmers’ market at Union Square and Mark’s departure back to the Bronx. We had a good, meandering conversation. Between that and the previous weekend’s catch-up with my old high school pal Jen, I’m reminded of how much I need to stay in touch with old friends.

What I’m sad about: This lousy headcold. Grr.

What I’m worried about: Well, Mark’s response to our conversation about wearing nicer clothes (a prelude to visiting the Billy Reid store, which was a blast, btw) was, “Are you belatedly becoming a metrosexual?” I told him that if I started wearing man-scara, he could disown me, but once I began lugging the old-time suitcase containing the accordion down the street, he withdrew the question. As it turns out, carrying that accessory into the store seemed to grant me some weird street cred with the staff at the BR store. It seems that “Can you check my accordion for me, please?” isn’t said often enough nowadays.

What I’m pondering: How long it’s going to take me to learn to play that accordion, considering I have no musical training. Also, what else Never Let Me Go is a mix of. So far, I’ve got Such, Such Were the Joys and Camp Concentration (which you really should read). And whether I’ll ever buy anything from Billy Reid (I was sorely tempted).