Ashley Marty Blog Party

Book Books and More books

Jun 10, 2008
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Sooo... I lied and I haven't truly updated in a severely long time. That being the case, here' s my books update.

Since I last truly posted, I've read (and note, I'm still on my exclamation point grading system):

Drown, Junot Diaz: !!!!
The Road, Cormac McCarthy: !!!!!
In Defense of Food, Michael Pollen:!!!

The Yiddish Policemen's Union, Michael Chabon: !!!!
The Safety of Objects, AM Homes:!!!
The Polysyllabic Spree, Nick Hornby: !!!!
High Fidelity, Nick Hornby (re-read):!!!!!
A Long Way Down, Nick Hornby:!!!
Snuff, Chuck Palahniuk:!!!
Netherland, Joseph O'Neill (half-way through):!!!!

So, I kind of went on a Hornby binge. I also just bought About a Boy so my guess I'll finish it next week. I just freaking love Nick Hornby. I picked up The Polysyllabic Spree, which is a collection of lists and book reviews he wrote for the Believer magazine. It was awesome to read about another person's reading experience. I'm going to hopefully find a copy of Fever Pitch online- I love the original British film adaptation and have been meaning to read it for a while.

Also, I had NEVER read Chuck Palahniuk (Paul-uh-nik) and Snuff was... meh. It's told from the perspective of three porny guys waiting to be part of the 600-man gang bang of an old pornstar. It was OK, but I also bought choke and am hoping it's a little better.Palahniuk made a bunch of "film" previews for snuff that are definitely worth checking out though.

Ok, I'm kind of strapped for time so that's it for now. Hopefully I'll write more later.

Test update from phone

Jun 2, 2008
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Test update from phone

I've been such a slacker

May 27, 2008
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Dear anyone who reads my blog,

Sorry I've been a slacker.

I'll have plenty o time tonight for some updates so look out for them.

But, to hold you over,

I added some random pics to my flickr account and you should check them out.

Here's a teaser!

multicolored candy

Keeping Track

Apr 22, 2008
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I had great intentions when I joined Vox's 50 in 52 group- the goal is to read 50 books in the 52 weeks that constitute a year. However, that's a whole lot of books to read. So, in order to pump myself up to keep making progress (since Ive been feeling like there is no way for me to accomplish this goal) I've decided to make a list and rating system of what I have read (you know, acknowledging the progress I have made) and I'm going to do it here.

I'm going to use an exclamation point system:

! = mleh, I don't even know how I got through this lame book
!!= at least the author TRIED, right?
!!!= decent book, not overwhelmingly bad or good
!!!!= now, we're talking.
!!!!!= I probably read this book non-stop for a day or two and shirked other responsibilities to do so because it was so so so so awesome

Here's my list so far (note: I'm not going to list individual short stories of little books from my Penguin 70 collection):

Glamorama, Bret Easton Ellis: !!!!
A Circus in Winter, Cathy Day: !!!!
The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier and Clay, Michael Chabon: !!!!!
The Book of Other People, Edited by Zadie Smith: !!!!
A Thousand Splendid Suns, Khaled Hosseini: !!!
The Interpreter of Maladies, Jumpa Lahiri: !!!
The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao, Junot Diaz: !!!!!
The Farming of Bones, Edwidge Danticat: !!!!
The World is Flat, Thomas L. Friedman (in progress): !!!! so far
I'm Just Here for the Food: Food x Mixing + Heat=Baking, Alton Brown: !!!!

Spring has Sprung

Apr 18, 2008
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Anyone else ever notice how on the first truly beautiful days of spring literally everyone is in a good mood? It's awesome!

I'm going to try to take some pics around Columbia on my lunch break today and hopefully get them up on flickr soon.

Running, walking and ending women's cancers...?

Apr 11, 2008
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Last year, my friends and i participated in Avon's Run/Walk to raise money to support the fight against women's cancers. I'm proud to say that we raised over $1,500 in total- so we're doing it again. On May 3, we're doing it again! I've been a little busy do I obviously haven't been able to be as on top of this as I was last year, but if you'd like to join Team What's Up New York (#3066) or donate to us, please go to this site.

It really is a worthwhile cause!

Readingz!

Apr 1, 2008
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Now that I'm taking public transportation to work everyday, I've had time to read read read.

Last week I read Michael Chabon's The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier and Clay finally and it was FABULOUS! I hadn't read such truly likable characters in a while. And I think for teachers out there, this would be a great supplement to any Holocaust lesson plans. It's the story of two cousins, one a Jewish refugee from Czechoslovakia and the other a Jewish Brooklyn boy, who create a famous comic book together and struggle with their respective pasts as they grow up throughout and after World War II. I think Chabon not only did a great job showing the reader what Americans felt like before we jumped into WWII, but also told a great story along with it.

I'd definitely recommend it!

In the past two days I've also just read Khaled Hosseini's A Thousand Splendid Suns. While I thought this was definitely a good book, for some reason I didn't get as attached to it as I did The Kite Runner. I think it was almost too quick of a read for me- so I didn't get completely pulled in to it. I'd still recommend this novel, but definitely check out The Kite Runner first if you haven't already.

On another note, I'm looking to form an online book club. I think the plan would be that we'd agree on one book a month and then we'd set up a once-a-month chat room and discuss for a couple of hours. I'd prepare some leading questions, but we could just take it as we go. If you're interested, e-mail me at ashley.marty@gmail.com.

Let's clear something up about King Henry VIII

Mar 28, 2008
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Picture of him from Wikipedia:

262px-Henry-VIII-kingofengland_1491-1547

Picture of Jonathan Rhys Meyers playing him in The Tudors:

Tudors_still

Same hottie? Me thinks not.

Murakami Round 2!

Mar 26, 2008
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04_7271

Photo taken from http://english.kaikaikiki.co.jp/

The Murakami Exhibit (I'm assuming it's going to be the same pieces or mostly the same pieces) is going to be at the Brooklyn Museum starting next Saturday, April 5. YAHOO

This also coincides with Brooklyn Museum's Target First Saturdays in which

thousands of visitors enjoy free programs of art and entertainment each month from 5–11 p.m. All evening long, the Museum Café serves a wide selection of sandwiches, salads, and beverages, and a cash bar offers wine and beer. Parking is a flat rate of $4 starting at 5 p.m. All other Saturdays, the Museum closes at 6 p.m.

Check out the First Saturday Line-up For April 5:

April 5, 2008

Japanimated! Arts and Cultures of Japan

5:00 p.m.–10:30 p.m. Cosplay Photo Contest
Rubin Lobby and Hall of the Americas, 1st Floor
Come dressed as your favorite anime or manga character, and get your picture taken for a chance to win a © MURAKAMI catalogue!

5:00 p.m.–7:00 p.m. Music
Hall of the Americas, 1st Floor
Taiko drumming group Taikoza performs traditional Japanese music and dance.

6:00 p.m.–7:00 p.m. Poetry
Elizabeth A. Sackler Center for Feminist Art, Forum, 4th Floor
Kimiko Hahn reads from her book The Narrow Road to the Interior. A Q & A follows. Free tickets (30) are available at the Visitor Center at 5 p.m.

6:00 p.m. Film
Iris and B. Gerald Cantor Auditorium, 3rd Floor
See the anime classic Kiki's Delivery Service (Hayao Miyazaki, 1989, 103 min., G) about a young witch in training. Free tickets (330) are available at the Visitor Center at 5 p.m.

6:30 p.m.–8:30 p.m. Hands-On Art
Education Division, 1st Floor
Draw a cartoon alter ego. Free timed tickets (380) are available at the Visitor Center at 5:30 p.m.

7:00 p.m. Curator Talk
Meet at the entrance to Utagawa, 1st Floor
Join Curator Laura Mueller as she gives a gallery talk in Utagawa: Masters of the Japanese Print, 1770â€“1900. The talk is Sign Language–interpreted. Free tickets (30) are available at the Visitor Center at 5 p.m.

8:00 p.m. Young Voices Gallery Talk
Meet at the entrance to Utagawa, 1st Floor
Student Guides Kimberly Macron and Judith Barnes discuss the prints of the Utagawa school and popular culture.

8:00 p.m. Film
Elizabeth A. Sackler Center for Feminist Art, Forum, 4th Floor
The documentary Smoke and Mirrors: A Geisha Story (Artemis Willis, 2004, 63 min., NR) chronicles the relationship between an elderly ex-geisha and a young Brooklyn filmmaker. Free tickets (30) are available at the Visitor Center at 7 p.m.

8:30 p.m. Film
Iris and B. Gerald Cantor Auditorium, 3rd Floor
Journey into outer space with the classic anime film Space Battleship Yamato: The New Voyage (Toshio Masuda and Takeshi Shirado, 1979, 95 min., NR) ) from the series that inspired Takashi Murakami. Free tickets are available (330) at the Visitor Center at 7 p.m.

9:00 p.m.–11:00 p.m. Music
Hall of the Americas, 1st Floor
The Brooklyn-based Japanese bands Love Etc. and Sakura Madams perform their blend of pop and rock music.
9:00 p.m.–11:00 p.m. Dance Party
Martha A. and Robert S. Rubin Pavilion, 1st Floor
Japan's top DJ, Muro aka King of Diggin', spins his legendary mix of hip-hop, funk, and soul.

HOORAY!

Los Campesinos!

Mar 24, 2008
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File this under New Fun Music that I downloaded in the middle of the night, alongside Vampire Weekend.

I'm a subscriber to eMusic, a subscription (duh) service in which I pay $9.99 a month and get 30 downloads of any songs on the site. Sometimes I consider cancelling when I can't find anything I want to download, but usually it's a great site for me to download music I've never heard before.

Today, I downloaded the first full album by British alternative/pop/punk/whatever the hell the kids are calling it these days band Los Campesinos! (exclamation included) and was happily surprised.

They're super fun and I'm pretty sure they'll help me bring in springtime properly. Also, they're playing a show on May 15 at the Music Hall of Williamsburg that I'm totally going to try to make.

Check out the video below for their song "Death to Los Campesinos!"