Super John

The hubby on Halloween, circa 1975ish. This year he's dressing as a super dad, albeit with less hair.

Mixtape Memory: October

When my college boyfriend and I broke up, I took all the things that reminded me of him and put them into a cigar box: a plastic Sangre de Toro bull, an Elvis TCB lighter, a voodoo doll from New Orleans, his band's CD, and a mixtape he made me. The box remained closed for years until I remembered the mix inside. Listening to it, all the little inside jokes and shared obsessions of our relationship came back to me. But mostly it reminded me of who I was at 20. Nicely done, Jon.

Side One

October :: U2
Girl, You'll Be a Woman Soon :: Urge Overkill
Sweet :: The Sixteen
Letter to Memphis :: Pixies
Main Street Eyes :: Iggy Pop
Whip Smart :: Liz Phair
I'm Only Sleeping :: The Beatles
Gold Soundz :: Pavement
One Nation Under a Groove :: Funkadelic
Spank Thru :: Nirvana
God Bless The Child :: Billie Holiday


Side Two

Don't Let No One Get You Down :: War
March of the Pigs :: Nine Inch Nails
Bonzo Goes to Bitburg :: The Ramones
Beth :: Kiss
Wildflower :: The Cult
Bottle of Fur :: Urge Overkill
Hard Luck Woman :: Garth Brooks
Shuffle It All :: Izzy Stradlin & the Ju Ju Hounds
Stay (Faraway, So Close!) :: U2

Find The River :: R.E.M.

Treasures

Drew Barrymore, Phil Collins, Helena Bonham-Carter and Viggo Mortensen, all from these galleries. (Thanks, Loretta.)

Running Up That Hankie

Kate Bush embroidered on a handkerchief? Why thank you, Allison Manch.

Kojak pops, baby!

Oh, man, how did I not know about these?

Silence

A young Clarice, as imagined by Ana Bagayan.

Take Tea

Here's a little mix in honor of autumn and drinking hot tea (just to spite the Indian summer outside). You can play it below.

Sharp Cards

Nothing makes Monday better than getting a care package from my fairy godmother Nannette. This one included Crazy Eights and Animal Rummy!

Competition

I held out against Facebook about as long as I could. Something about its Harvard roots, its competitive friendmaking (as illustrated by Samantha Simpson-Morgan, above) chafed my stubborn egalitarianism. Watching The Social Network last night made me realize that the truth of its roots, or at least the creation myth the film presents, might be a little more complicated. Jesse Eisenberg plays the outsider as asshole with such precision that it's hard to believe he is the same mench from Adventureland and Zomblieland. And I love nothing more than when David Fincher focuses his moody hyperrealism on an obsessive protagonist (see: Zodiac). I hope he finally gets his Oscar for this one.