I was born, so now I suffer

Books I read recently:

Two Lives by Janet Malcolm (ruined by one horrible precious sentence describing a small child, shame.)
Speedboat by Renata Adler (great, gonna read Pitch Dark next. Should I revisit Didion in light of the comparisons between her and Adler? I hated her so much when I read her a few years ago.)
The Archival Turn in Feminism: Outrage in Order by Kate Eichhorn (professional prodding. Get out there and get a fucking career Shiv.)
A Brief History of Neoliberalism by David Harvey (great)
No Regrets: Three Discussions edited by Dayna Tortorici (great though insular interrogation of identity formation through reading. The greatest idea I got from this was the one that left me feeling the most out of the loop. I want a secret canon with my friends! My record buds and I have one, but though I feel so strongly that I am a reader I so rarely discuss books with my friends and I don't feel like we are united by a canon at all. I tried to have a conversation with a coworker about books the other day and the way she shirked away from naming titles made me so sad because I do it too. No more of this.)

Books I am in the middle of:

Dissident Gardens by Jonathan Lethem (making no progress, since this book isn't very good. Lethem was a teenage favorite of mine but he is so vicious to his characters. Why?)
Wanderlust by Rebecca Solnit (put it down and completely forgot about it, feeling like picking it up again after it was mentioned in the aforementioned No Regrets.)
Heroines by Kate Zambreno (almost done, I hate the way she writes about herself and her partner in this book so much, and I hate her obsession with class and geography in this book, but there is good stuff too. I think I need to think and write about this more in the coming weeks.)

New records I bought and enjoyed:

Irreparables - Demo 2011 LP
Household - Elaines LP (I cannot recommend this enough, I love them. First record got so many spins, this is getting so many spins. "Panorama" and "A New Leaf" are standouts.)
La Misma - s/t 7"

Punk fashion icon now and forever:

The woman from Livin' Sacrifice with the homemade Ramones shirt and Johnny haircut

BYE

Best of 2013

Top Fives of 2013 (why the hell not?)

Shows
5/10/2013 UV Race/Gun Outfit in FARGO, ND!
6/17/2013 Big Eyes in Minneapolis, MN
8/6/2013 Criaturas in Minneapolis, MN
9/7/2013 Gas Rag/Condominium/Kontrasekt in Minneapolis, MN
12/28/2013 Varix/Wild Forest/Fucker SS/Zero/Systema Inmundo in Minneapolis, MN
(honorable mention to Total Trash and Teenage Moods for being the best local bands I've never seen, also shout out to Take Offense and San Diego hc, sickest crossover laughing intro)

7"s
Good Throb - Culture Vulture 7" (Muscle Horse) (best English punk band since Crass)
Total Trash - s/t 7" (self-released)
Replica - s/t 7" (Prank)
Gas Rag - Human Rights 7" (Beach Impediment)
Varix - I Can't Get Out 7" (Fashionable Idiots)

LPs
Radioactivity - s/t LP (Dirtnap)
Cremalleras - s/t LP (Cintas Pepe)
Culo - My Life Sucks... LP (Deranged)
Vixens - s/t LP (La Vida es Un Mus)
Tony Molina - Dissed and Dismissed LP (Melters)

Reissues/Archival (new to vinyl/new to me stuff only)
Neo Boys - Sooner or Later 2xLP (K/Mississippi)
Androids of Mu - Blood Robots LP (Water Wing)
Sado Nation - Disrupted Patterns LP (Gummopunx)
Altercation - s/t 7" (Lush Life)
The High and the Mighty - Crunch On Demo 7" (Radio Raheem) (more Drew Stone music video masterworks in 2014 please)

TC Bonzer Champ
Yours truly
4 other people  

Best Supernatural Encounter
Seeing a skeleton move on its own in a forest in Winnipeg

Best Record Store
Extreme Noise Records, Minneapolis, Minnesota, United States of America, god bless
(honorable mention to Hymie's and Treehouse (thx 4 the bonzers) and Standards!)

Life Lessons for 2014
Just cuz you can eat all the food on your plate at a restaurant doesn't mean you should
Don't ever leave the Midwest it's heaven on earth
Life goes on long after the thrill of living is gone

Vids n stuff