Rad Things of November

Vacation Club 7"
I saw Vacation Club a couple years ago and thought they were jangly and raucous, but wasn't sure if they were the kind of band I could dig on recording. After seeing them again recently, I realized I was completely wrong and this 7" proves it, completely. These three songs are jangly and raucous, but they radiate in a way that you can tell they are honest. So impressed by how the songs engulf me, make me want to shake and shake, and holler.

Vouched Books tabling with Christopher Newgent
In the past 8 months, I've been helping Newgent with more than the blog, but also the table at readings and First Fridays in Indy. This has become a reliable and wonderful part of my life, always fun, meaningful, and boozy. Because of these events, I've been able to become great pals with Christopher, meet some awesome people interested in books, rave about my favorite books, and just be immersed in an environment I need.

This kid reciting Billy Collins

After seeing this, Sara looked at me and said, "IMPREGNATE ME RIGHT NOW." That's about right.

New Belgium's Winter Ale Snow Day
Darker and with a more bold chocolate/carmel flavor than I normally dig, I was pleasantly surprised by this beer. I'm thinking New Belgium is my favorite brewery. One of the first beers I remember slowing down and thinking about (and discussing with best pal and beer enthusiast Clark) the texture, flavor, and ingredients.

My new workouts
For awhile, I've been treating my lift sessions as a puzzle, each session choosing exercises/sets that would work specific muscle groups to get me to a feeling I was looking for. Problem is, though I like the spontaneous nature of this style, it often left me uncertain of the long-term effects and unable to recover in between workouts properly. So, I found this workout that challenges me in a similar way, but is focused. My new cardio punching bag workout (#2), combined with jumprope, jumping jacks, and stretching, gives me a workout between lifts that allows me to recover but still improve my agility and endurance.

War Elephant by Deer Tick
I know I know, Divine Providence is the new one and a good album and totally rockin', but I can't stop listening to War Elephant. These are perfect shaving songs. These are songs that fit perfectly with how I've been feeling this past year. These are songs I think my dad would like if he were 25 again. These are songs that know when to be loud and when to be beautiful and when to be both, a character trait that is lovely but rare.



Deepstep Come Shining by C.D. Wright
Finished this book today, so not total November, but whatever. I'm not sure why I haven't read C.D. Wright before. She has books on one of my favorite presses (Copper Canyon) and writes with language that is as beautiful as it is gut-punching. Here's a great excerpt to get an idea of what this book is all about.

Summer Teen
My friend Erik Fox, of Hoosiers Doing Something, along with a some other pals, has started this rad e-zine, hoping to explore an endless summer. It spawned from a blog from a few years ago and this incarnation promises to be funny and honest. Like Dave talking about Bruce Springsteen songs. Or Erik's sure-to-be-wonderful series of Bandcamp searches. CHECK IT OUT