What I Love Now - July Edition

Killing Yourself to Live - Chuck Klosterman: Klosterman's drive across the country in a silver Taurus (called the Tauntaun) was ostensibly for the purpose of visiting places where rock stars died. And he does. Seeking out room 100 at the Chelsea hotel to see where Sid Vicious stabbed Nancy Spungeon, to the Lynryd Skynrd crash site, and the greenhouse where Kurt Cobain shot himself, Klosterman muses about his relationships with three separate women. I was impressed both Klosterman's ability to classify every woman with whom he has been involved as a member of KISS and with the volley of music references, only half to two-thirds which I caught (I am not the Music Maven). A fast and entertainng read, I fell in love a little bit with Klosterman.

Project Runway: A new season of draping and cutting and sniping by talented designers who will, one by one, fall by the wayside as they are auf'd by the beautiful Heidi Klum. Early favorites include a Barbie designer (Robert Best), a disturbingly restrained and elegant architect (Laura), and an Atlanta based hip hop designer (Michael Knight). Early dislikes? A snotty guy with a tattooed neck who barely escaped the chop in the first episode (Jeffry), a man teetering on the edge of madness, if he hasn't already fallen over (Vincent Libretti), and a creepy British guy who looks like the puppet from Saw (Malan). The casting special featured updates with season one and two finalists (Wendy Pepper has continued to drop weight and possibly has had some post-divorce surgery done, she looked great. Maybe she has a hideous portrait in her attic.), Jay McCarroll says his new line is coming out, Chloe Dao continues to live in Houston and run Lot 8, and Austin Scarlett has found his passion in designing wedding dresses.

The Dark Tower Series - Stephen King: after reading the first six books in six weeks, I thought it might be prudent to sit back and wait a bit on the last one, lest I overdose. But the story of Roland, the last gunslinger, and his journey across a multitude of worlds and realities with his ka-tet (we are one from many) of Eddie, a former junkie; Susannah, suffering from MPD (incorrectly defined as schizophrenia) and phantom pregnancy; Jake, a boy he let die once only to reclaim him; and Oy, the faithful billy bumbler who is smarter than they suspect, and his search for the Dark Tower and his hopes of saving not just his world, but all worlds, is compelling. King considers this series his masterpiece, and the more he wrote, the more he discovered that all his characters could, in the end, have a place in Mid-World. And I can't wait to find out how it turns out.

Brunch: No reason. I just really like brunch. Had a wonderful brunch at Harry's Tap Room in Clarendon, and while the eggs benedict were divine, I'm eager to go back and have the pancakes. Mmmmm.....pancakes....

Monty Python: Specifically, Spamalot. Following that fabulous brunch, I saw Spamalot, and man, it was so fun. Silly, profane, well staged, fun set, great music - pretty much everything I'm looking for in a musical. Some complete reproductions of dialog (Arthur's conversation with a sparrow obsessed guard, the taunting of a French night, the anarcho-communist collective, and, of course, the Knights who Say "Ni"), and new plot points to help a play along. Also, a rendition of "Always Look on the Bright Side of Life." The addition of the Lady of the Lake, and numerous songs. add to the complete silliness of the show. And, of course, the unmistakeable voice of John Cleese as God giving Arthur his mission to find the Grail in the first place.

Looking forward to: My Hawaiian vacation, Clerks 2 (I do love Kevin Smith), and my next book club.