Day 53

What a difference a post makes.

So a little self-indulgent pity party seems to have done wonders for my self-esteem and overall outlook on life. Either that, or I am just having a better twenty-four hours on day 53 than I did on the 50(very)-odd days that came before.

To celebrate, a list for Ruthie Simmons. These are a few of the items I suggest she check out to be able to carry a conversation with me (and to continue to kick ass at Wednesday night trivia).

1. The Mayor of Casterbridge, by Thomas Hardy - it was my favorite assigned book in high school.
2. The Parker Posey collection: Party Girl, The House of Yes, Clockwatchers and Kicking & Screaming.
3. Which bleeds into the Christopher Guest movies: Waiting for Guffman, Best in Show, and For Your Consideration.
4. Stephen King - I suggest everything he's published, in chronological order. I'm up to The Drawing of the Three. My favorites so far: 'Salem's Lot, The Dead Zone and Cujo (which he has no memory of writing - his memoir, On Writing, explains this a bit, but it doesn't come for a while in the bibliographical timeline).
5. The Thin Blue Line, Crazy/Love, Tabloid, talhotblond and Grey Gardens - all of my favorite documentaries.
6. She's Come Undone and I Know This Much is True, two books by Wally Lamb that really blew my mind.
7. The Amityville Horror, by Jay Anson. I don't know if it's true. I don't care if it's true. I know you don't believe in ghosts, but this really scared the crap out of me.
8. Helter Skelter, the story of the Manson murders written by prosecuting attorney Vincent T. Bugliosi. The only thing scarier than what happened is all the other things they were planning to do.
9. The Books of Blood, by Clive Barker. His work is very dense, but these stories will blow you away.
10. Boogie Nights and Magnolia, films of Paul Thomas Anderson.
11. Dallas - I'm up to season 11.
12. Dynasty - pure camp and total escapist delight. It's trash, but it's my favorite junk food for the brain. I can officially say that I've seen every episode.
13. Knots Landing - I officially saw all 344 episodes in high school. Still the best of the 80s prime time soaps.
14. Albums: Tapesty (Carole King), Abbey Road (The Beatles), The Saturday Night Fever soundtrack, Beethoven's 7th Symphony, Rio (Duran Duran), Synchronicity (The Police), and The Cure: The Singles.
15. Kitchen, a book by Banana Yashimoto. It's something I typically recommend for anyone dealing with grief, but it's beautifully written no matter when you read it.
16. Absolutely Fabulous - the whole series, the specials and the movie.
17. Valley of the Dolls - just read it.
18. Valley of the Dolls - then watch the movie.
19. Beyond the Valley of the Dolls - because it's my happening and it freaks me out.
20. The work of Bret Easton Ellis: Less Than Zero, The Rules of Attraction, American Psycho, The Informers, Glamorama, Lunar Park and Imperial Bedrooms.
21. Stories from the 318, but I hear they're hard to find.

I'll stop at 21 for now, but I'll fill in a few other suggestions when I'm not feeling quite so tired.