New resolution?

Sorry readers, we're only nine days into the new year and I'm already slacking on the blog. No great excuse, really, except that I haven't been spending much time on the computer. Maybe I should take the advice of one of my "anonymous" readers and adjust my new year's resolution...

What have I been doing instead, you ask?

-Reading: I'm really gettin' into books, you see. Well, I've always been a reader (albeit a slow one), but never one to plow through a stack of books on my nightstand and take time to read for pleasure. The people at work read a lot, too, so it's been a good influence. I just finished a re-read of To Kill a Mockingbird last night, and I really, really enjoyed it. I forgot what a fabulous character/narrator Scout Finch is. One of my literary favorites, in fact, right up there with Holden Caulfield. It's really a great feeling when you read a book that was writen almost 50 years ago in 2006 and realize how timeless and fresh it still is.

Prior to TKAM (as it was known in my 10th grade English class), I finally wrapped up The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier and Clay, which was lengthy, but also a real winner. Whether or not you're into comic books, Michael Chabon does a great job of developing his characters and really roping you into his story of Josef Kavalier and his cousin Sammy Clay, after Josef escapes Nazi-invaded Prague and begins his new 'American' life in Brooklyn. If you don't want to take my word for it, both TKAM and Kavalier & Clay were Pulitzer Prize winners, so someone more important than I am thinks they're worth a read or re-read, too!

Today I finally started My Friend Leonard, which I'd been eager to receive from bn.com. I'm only about 60 pages into it and I'm already hooked! So far it's as good (if not better) than A Million Little Pieces. Then again, it's probably because once you have the background story it doesn't take much for you to invest in the continuation of James Frey's story. This book, after all, essentially picks up exactly where A Million Little Pieces left off.

-Football: Between last week's memorable Rose Bowl and Saturday's awesome (but one we'll want to forget) Redskins win, it's been a great stretch for football. In case you missed the Rose Bowl, or rather, in case you haven't read Bill Simmons' Page 2 column on it, it's definitely worth a read, if not for the pop culture references he manages to sprinkle in, then for his ability to perfectly articulate just what you're thinking. Having the Redskins in the postseason has made it easier to get through the work week, and it's a pretty unbelievable to think that if they actually pull out a win on Saturday against the Seahawks (they'll probably need more than 120 offensive yards to do it...), they'll be in the NFC Championship. The thought of that almost seems wrong, so rather than even go that far I'll just say it's been a great season and we've fared better than any Skins fan could have imagined.

-Movies: In a nutshell, I loved "King Kong" (yes, first hour should have been condensed into 15 minutes, but when I'm paying $10 anyway I'm not really going to complain), could not get enough of the ape-on-dinosaur battles, and though I was only watching out of one of my eyes for the gross bug scenes, I loved those parts, too. (Does this mean I might actually like "Lord of the Rings"???)

At the other end of the movie spectrum, I also immensely enjoyed "Brokeback Mountain." Without trying to sound like a movie critic, Heath Ledger and Jake Gyllenhaal (moreso Heath-- we all wish we could forget "A Knight's Tale," among others) really gave the performance of their lives. For a movie overshadowed by all the "gay cowboy" talk, this was ultimately a really well-written and beautifully-acted love story. It was touching, and I was moved. And yes, I cried, but then again it doesn't take much (my eyes may have watered for King Kong, I'm not sure).

-Television: The good and bad news is, new TV starts up again this week. As of right now, FOX has my attention, namely for the two day, 4-hour season premiere of 24 next Sunday and Monday. That just has trouble written all over it. On the heels of that, we get to start up a whole new season of entertainment and drama on American Idol on Tuesday and Wednesday. On Thursday, though, FOX may have lost me for the O.C. There may have been questions about it before, but with the return of Marisa's sister as the new bad girl on the block, it's clear they've jumped the shark on this one. Check please!

-Music: I've actually been in one of those "blah" moods lately, overwhelmed by the list of artists in my iPod, needing to take a break and possibly re-discover something or find something new to grab my attention. For now, my attempt at that is with the highly-acclaimed Antony & The Johnsons album from this year, I am a Bird Now. From what I can gather so far, this album seems like it will be a hit or miss with people, mainly because "he sings like a bluesy opera singer and switches timbre from masculine to feminine in the space of a breath. " I'm digging it so far, though, for its romantic but also mournful tone. Below I've posted two tracks from the album, one featuring guest Rufus Wainwright. Talk about some power vocalists on that one. Good stuff.

You are my Sister

What Can I Do? (with Rufus Wainwright)

So there's my wrap-up. As you can see I've been very busy. As always, thanks for understanding.