Monday, April 6, 2009

chewy crunchy words.


As I migrated all over the rainy south last week, various issues worthy of discussion began swarming in el braino.  And we go:

Thoughts about same-side-booth-sitters (SSBSers):
Here's the thing:  I consider myself a very romantic person.  I go bonkers over love stories. Love songs make my arms tingle.  I am highly affectionate.  And yet, and yet.  When it comes to sitting on the same side of a table and/or booth as the handsome guy I'm all gushy over (when it's just the two of us) ... meh.  I don't really see the point. Obviously you want to sit beside someone if there are lots of people.  But what about when it's just a regular date?  When there's no TV you're watching?  When there's really no reason to sit on the same side?  How is that convenient?

Example: I took my Dad to one of my favorite restaurants this weekend, a burger place in Knoxville called Litton's that is a pinnacle of deliciousity. While there, I noticed an adorable (high school) couple at the table behind us.  It was just the two of them.  He pulled out her chair for her (aw :) then moved to sit down across from her.  She said, "No, sit by me." SSBSers. Sometimes that situation becomes too much.  Sometimes I see SSBSers feed each other.  I've never understood why feeding another person is sometimes perceived as romantic.  Just in general same-side-booth-sitting lends itself to problems.  Isn't it a little bit harder to talk when you're sitting side by side?  I guess the perk is that, if you're a messy eater, nobody is going to see ketchup squeeze out of the bun and onto your shirt.  I wanted to put a poll here but I don't know how to make it show up, so you tell me:

In your opinion SSBSers are ... 
A.) adorable and romantic.  "Sit by me sweetie, and I will feed you all the fries on my heart shaped plate."
B.) annoying.  "Back off, Bucko.  I'm trying to eat my burger."


Thoughts about magazines and music:
The new issue of Rolling Stone has a picture of ... (I don't know his name.  Looking ... looking ... looking ... found it!) ... Lil Wayne on the cover.  It would appear that he has tattoos on his eyelids.  ON HIS EYELIDS.  I think tattoos are cool; gorgeous even. But on your eyelids?!  In the book Pretties (or was it Specials?), Tally got a funky tattoo around her eye that spun and swirled.  That was cool.  In one of the Indiana Jones movies, I remember a girl writing "love you" on her eyelids and then batting her lashes at Professor Jones.  That was funny.  In real life, I cannot fathom the pain tattooed eyelids would entail.  Also, I cannot fathom the point of having a tattoo in that location but perhaps I'm just not seeing the big picture. 

That's not what I was going to rant about.  I just get carried away sometimes. 

RS mentions the new Decemberists album, The Hazards of Love, which my brother has been raving about.  RS calls Love a rock opera and Chase says that is accurate.  I really like it when musicians make a story of a whole album.  I listened to a few songs yesterday and they were lovely.  (A note: any cool music I hear is usually because my brother told me to listen to it.  The rest of the time, I google the song I heard playing on Smallville).  In RS, Colin Meloy lists some of the art that has inspired his music over the years (I love it when artists write about the art that inspires them!).  Most are folk CDs (Anne Briggs, Belle and Sebastian, etc.), but he also lists Under the Milk Wood by Dylan Thomas.  Meloy says this: 

"If there is something nonmusical that has influenced me, it's this.  It was a radio play - a play for voices, Thomas called it.  It's part prose, part poetry, telling about a day in the life of a Welsh fishing village.  The musicality of the language is gorgeous - if you read it aloud, you can chew the words." (p.26, April issue)

I like that :)  Well done, Colin!  The last song on your new CD is my favorite.

On things that make me nervous (and booky information :):
I'm doing a couple of interviews for Paperdoll this week plus a few little radio blurbs.  This means  you'll have an opportunity to pipe my twang through your very own speakers in a matter of weeks.   Confetti, etc.  

On a more serious note, this venture is giving me heartburn. :)

Both interviewers are kind, intelligent, sweet people with great ministries. They both liked the book (yay :). I'm floored (and more than a little surprised) they wanted to talk about it on their podcasts.  But, if I have to be honest (and I do because honesty is valued here in the swamp) ... I'm all kinds of jittery nervous.  I'm better at writing than I am when it comes to talking about what I write.* I tend to trip over words a great deal or say something I think is funny that isn't really funny at all.  I'm anticipating many flubs.  Still, I figure everybody gets nervous about something, si? And it's good to occasionally get over yourself and do something you're afraid of.  I'm happy with what the book became and the message made a big impression on me.  It will be fun to have some conversation about it (not scary - FUN - this is what I keep telling myself).  And if I say something stupid, like if I say "fart" instead of "part"** or whatever, we can all laugh about it and still be friends.  

Also in the way of booky news:  even though the release date isn't technically until May, Paperdoll is already in stock over on Amazon (click the book in the side to get there if you're procrastinating).  Wah!  It will be in stock over on CBD.com pretty soon too (and it's cheaper over there :)  And get a load of this: 

*electronic drumkit roll*

It's on a shelf!










I went to dinner with my two best friends on Friday night.  Before meeting up with Sarah, Melanie and I ran in a bookstore to see if it was there, and had minor-nervous breakdowns when we found it.  I didn't even have to plant one there for pictorial purposes.  Not that I had considered that, of course.  We did do a bit of modification though.  Paperdoll was pretty and pink and all alone on the shelf so we pushed some books over beside it.  :)  Friends who help you manipulate coolness are keepers.  

About comments:
I hear from various sources that leaving comments on here is sometimes difficult.  Blog is a cranky monster.  My apologies. :)  First of all, you don't have to have a blogger or wordpress or anything like that to comment.  You can click the Name/URL category (and you don't even have to leave a URL) and use that to leave a comment.  Friends with Firefox seem to be able to leave comments easier.  If you use Explorer, you might have to click it twice or click for a preview and then click "post".  Let me know if Blog is still being feisty and I'll get my technology wizards (ie: my awesome friends) to check it out again.  

Happy Monday! :) 

* This is a bit different with fiction.  Why is it harder to talk about something real?
** Actually happened.  Back when I was a youth intern, I was talking about a passage in Corinthians and I said "a fart" instead of "a part".  Lovely.

Love (and eye tattoos),
Natalie

11 comments:

  1. SSBSers always puzzled me too. I was actually thinking about it this weekend when me and a bunch of friends went out to dinner. There was this couple sitting next to each other but they were facing our table so if I looked up I would be staring right at them. Five minutes later I looked and they had switched sides of the table, but still sitting next to each other. Hm. I don't quite understand.

    And that is so exciting to see your book on a shelf! I want to read it!

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  3. The Decemberists...fantastic! So are The Weepies!

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  4. SSBSers have my opinion of them in their name - BS. Gross.

    Also, your part/fart slip up throws me back to Salute Your Shorts. Now get it right or pay the price!

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  5. Lots to comment on!

    B. (though its possible I have been an ssbser once or twice, it's not preferred)

    Shara Worden (of My Brightest Diamond {asthmatic Kitty band} and backup vocals for Sufjan) sings the part of Forest Queen on the Decemberists CD... You will LOVE MBD/Shara if you aren't familiar with her. http://www.myspace.com/mybrightestdiamond

    Awesome/hilarious that your book has, in a way, leaked! You should do the John Green thing and go write secret messages and sign copies in the bookstores!

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  6. Hey Natalie. I just wanted to let you know that I will be praying for you about the radio shows, and somehow I dont think you will "mess" anything up. You always have a a way of saying the right thing at the right time, even if you werent meaning to say it. About the whole saying fart when you meant to say part, remind me to tell you this joke sometime. Its a guatanteed laugh :). And about the SSBSers, I totally agree. Its a bit too much. Love you girlie.

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  7. So excited you saw your book on the shelf!!! YAY!!! That is a total thrill for you, I'm sure. And side sitters? NO WAY. Would you sit right next to your spouse at the dinner table if it were just the two of you? Shoulder to shoulder? No. You'd feel like an idiot. And I don't like someone talking to my ear.

    So thrilled for ya, Natalie!!!

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  8. - Ashley, I. Love. Salute Your Shorts. I know you already know that, but I wanted to reiterate my feelngs. I love Ug, and Camp Awana, and Zeke the Plumber. They are like my other family. Actually, I would live with the Huxtables first, then I would live at Camp Awana.

    - Ruth, glad you agree with me. :) Great minds ... you know.

    - J, Shara Worden is rocking my world. Thanks for that link. I'm glad you confessed to being an SSBSer. Admitting is the first step to something. I don't remember what.

    - Katie, thanks for the sweet note! I will most definitely remind you to tell me the joke. Fart jokes make me laugh. Fart sounds make me convulse with laughter. Can't wait to hang out with you!

    - Jenny, I'm so with you. When I eat, I don't want sweet nothings whispered in my ear either. I focus on the task at hand. I cannot WAIT to read So Not Happening. I keep looking to see if my bookstore is going to put it out early but alas! :) I wish we could have a double party.

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