Top 6 Most Played Songs on My iPod

1. "Save it for Later," English Beat (28)
2. "Beat Surrender," the Jam (27) - My kids love this song. I'm afraid the "bullshit is bullshit, it just goes by different names" line is going to be a problem soon.
   
3. "Someday I Suppose," the Mighty, Mighty Bosstones (27)
4. "Come on Eileen," Dexy's Midnight Runners (26)
   
5. "I Confess," English Beat (25)
6. "Last Nite," the Strokes (23)

Not exactly a 2008 list since some of these songs have been on the 'pod since I got it a couple years ago.

6 Movies I Watched From Beginning to End This Year

Because I didn't see enough to make a Best Of List. In no particular order:

1. Iron Man
2. Indiana Jones 4
3. The Incredible Hulk
4. Doubt
5. The Forbidden Kingdom
6. W.

If I get to see 6 more 2008 movies in 2009, they'll be:

1. Pineapple Express
2. Burn After Reading
   
3. Quantum of Solace
4. Slumdog Millionaire
5. Harold & Kumar 2

I think I read enough this year to make a slightly decent Best of the Books I Read 2008 list. "The Chicago Way" will not be on it. "The Secret History" might make it if I finish it tonight.

Rattle Off Another Meme: 20 Fave Actresses

via Tom the Dog

• Helen Mirren -- Prime Suspect
• Jewel Staite -- Firefly
• Kim Dickens -- Zero Effect
• Robin Weigert -- Deadwood
• Michelle Yeoh -- Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon
• Hilary Swank -- Boys Don't Cry
• Minnie Driver -- Grosse Pointe Blank
• Mary Astor -- The Maltese Falcon
  
• Jodie Foster -- The Silence of the Lambs
  
• Gillian Anderson -- X-Files
• Elisabeth Sladen -- Doctor Who
• Freema Agyeman -- Doctor Who
• Billie Piper -- Doctor Who
• Myrna Loy -- The Thin Man
• Angela Bassett -- Strange Days
• Julianne Moore -- The Big Lebowski
• Allison Janney -- The West Wing
• Sigourney Weaver -- Alien
• Emma Thompson -- Howard's End
• Kate Winslet -- Sense & Sensibility
  

Turkey Day

Hope everyone had a pleasant Thanksgiving. It's been a blast here in the c-dog household. Even though it was just us this year, we did the whole turkey-potatoes-stuffing-yams-cranberry relish spread ... first time either the missus or I had attempted it instead of just fixing a side dish to bring to a relative's. Came out great, if I do say. The turkey was moist and flavorful and, thanks to my America's Test Kitchen cookbook, I made the best mashed potatoes I've ever eaten.

With some time off I've been able to catch up on watching my Dr. Who commentaries. Fun stuff. Listening to the actors cop to their acting mistakes, tease one another, point out when poor Matthew (Adric) Waterhouse was hungover and puking off-camera, etc. is great fun. (Learned just now via the wikipedia link that Mr. Waterhouse has lived in Connecticut since 1998. Bit of local flavor there. Couldn't verify with whitepages.com though, the one Matthew Waterhouse in CT is 35-39 yrs old, so too young to be our Adric.)

Book/Reading Meme

via It Doesn't Have To Be Right...

Hardback or trade paperback or mass market paperback?
For Kim Stanley Robinson, it's Hardback & first available paperback. For all others, it's whatever the library has or I can get on bookmooch.

Bookmark or dog-ear?
Bookmark! Dog-earing is vandalism.

Alphabetize by author or alphabetize by title or random?
Well, I used to alpha by author, then chronological within author. Now, I'm lucky to keep authors together.

Keep, throw away or sell?
Depends, mostly keep. Doing lots of bookmooching though.

Keep dust jacket or toss it?
Keep. But I took the dj off "Quicksilver" while reading it, lost it for a while, found it, then lost it again during the move, and found it in the car after the move - trashed. I'm starting to wish I didn't care about djs. I like the plain, no dj, look. And they're a pain when you're reading.

Last book you bought?
Wow. I can't remember. It may be a couple years since I bought a book? I'm a library guy. Oh wait, "Sixty Days and Counting" was a 2007 book, that was the last one I bought.

Last book someone bought for you?
Would've been last Christmas ... so Quicksilver from my mother-in-law.

What are some of the books on your to-buy list?


Collection (short stories, same author) or anthology (short stories, different authors)?
Collection, I suppose.

Harry Potter, Lemony Snicket, or the velvety embrace of Death?
Potter.

Morning reading, afternoon reading, or nighttime reading?
Nighttime.

The books you need to go with other books on your shelves?
I'm still missing a few Lucius Shepards.

Do you read anywhere and anytime you can or do you have a set reading time and/or place?
Whenever and wherever I can. Which is not often. I've got an office/library in the new house though, so that's nice.

Do you have seasonal reading habits?
No.

Do you read one book at a time or do you have two or more books going at once?
I'd prefer one at a time but I'm all over the place lately. Audiobooks in the car. Picking up graphic novels before I've finished other books I've started. Keeping one book in the living room and another in the office. A mess.

What are your pet peeves about the way people treat books?
Seriously, don't me started. Books are not coasters. Bookmarks are a must. Don't lick your finger before turning the page of my book, you sick f*ck, that's just gross.

Name one book you surprised yourself by liking.
"Atonement."

How often do you read a book and not review it on your blog? What are your reasons for not blogging about a book?
I don't think I ever put book reviews on TC. I review books on LibraryThing when I have the energy. So, not that often.