Bacon and reviews

Nueske's bacon for breakfast. Good way to start the day, man. And today I'm going to Kramarczuk's in Minneapolis to get some real deal meat. (What is happening to me?)

Are you going to see R.E.M., Lone Reader? I thought about buying tickets, but with the evil Ticketmaster charges, tickets were $90 -- seems a little ridiculous. I am excited about seeing the Breeders with my sis at the end of this month. And I'm SUPER bummed to not get Daily Show tickets. That's right, the Daily Show is coming to St. Paul and I won't be there. Dang, O'Dell. I guess I'll be forced to stalk Jon Stewart from outside the theater.

It's a very low-key weekend here at the Shack deWhack. The kids are w/ the ex and I'm cleaning in the attic, watching movies and thinking about summer. (Not all at the same time.) Last night I watched 'My Kid Could Paint That', a documentary by Amir Bar-Lev about a four-year-old girl who suddenly becomes an artworld darling when her paintings begin to fetch thousands of dollars from collectors around the country. It's a very, very good film, dealing with notions of prodigies, the subjective nature of artistic value and the "reality" of a documentary. It was thought-provoking on so many levels -- I heartily recommend it.

I finished the book 'The Devil in the White City' by Erik Larson. It was captivating, but not the best writing ever. It's about the Chicago World's Fair and it balances the tremendous efforts of the lead architect of the fair's success with the story of a gruesome killer who preyed upon young women in Chicago at the same time. It was, for me, a little forced to have a structure that alternated between the killer's story and the architect. Larson made a compelling case, though, about the many amazing advances that this miraculous exposition provided to the greater US.

What's next on the bedside table? A book called 'Jesus Saves' by Darcey Steinke. The NYT Book Review called it a "disturbingly beautiful piece of writing." Disturbing and beautiful? I'm there, man.

Enjoy the good weather and celebrate the you yet to come!