These are the Daves I know…

May 30, 2006


Well, I guess I’d better get to welcoming the new kid on the block — an old friend and former FuncoLand manager, Dave. No, not that Dave… a different Dave. Thanks to him, I’ve been reintroduced to hip hop, and thanks to him I’ve found last.fm.

Here’s his new blog — it’s about indie rock, hip hop, television, etc. — you know, that media type stuff: When I Look At the World.

And, from now on, if you want to see what the iTunes on my computer has been playing, you can go here: What Corey’s Been Listening To. Keep up to date with my music, and feed the need for more Steinbeck On Random, straight from the source. It’ll always be there on the right side. Have fun.

And if it doesn’t work, check back later — it’s always updating, and often it’s backed up. Oh well, eh? Thanks last.fm.

Tags: Friends, Music |

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Cabin fever

May 30, 2006


Please – someone tell me I’m not the only person who, at the age of 27, is thinking seriously ahead about what they want to do once they retire and decide to sell the family home.

It’s truly been on my mind. Not in any seriousness, granted, as I know I’m still 35 years from finishing my career and settling down with my Mac Uberchip and writing the memoirs of my long illustrious life, but the thought’s been sitting there, slowly gaining a calcium crust and creating a niche for itself in my head. With all of my luck, something will dislodge this thought and sent it hurtling down towards my bladder. And I don’t want to pass this one.

Here’s the story. Kerrie and I spent all of Memorial Day weekend sitting around at Lake Herman, our favorite South Dakota campground. We braved the choppy water of Lake Herman in our two-person kayak. We lounged in chairs and read half a book a piece. We drove into Madison twice to buy beers and ice because, after three summers of camping, we still can’t manage to gauge how much alcohol we’ll drink over a three-day weekend. We enjoyed ourselves beyond belief, and with a heavy heart managed to pack up and return home in time to do laundry and get ourselves prepared for another week of work.

Over the weekend I came to the realization, along with Kerrie, that I could easily get used to the camping life. I could see the two of us, with children or dogs or whatever sort of hangers-on we develop over the years, camping for the rest of our lives, wasting away every weekend at some state park. We’ll be pulling RV’s before too long. And we’ll be buying a lake cabin as soon as we can afford it.

Yes. That’s it. My dream in life is to retire, sell our house, and move to a lake cabin. The parents of one of a close friend just did that. I’m jealous to say the least. Imagine that: every weekend, you’re going to the beach. During the summer, you’ve got water and boats and fun and sun, and during the winter, you’ve got a sheet of ice and a pack of frozen rabbits.

I’m late to the game with this. I’d never really experienced cabin life until the past couple of years. But I was pleasantly surprised at how quickly I latched on; how little time it took me to gain sea legs and feel content sitting and floating in some larger body of water and then getting out only to sit on a lawn chair in front of a roaring fire. Camping is great. And it would be better if it included a small house to retire to when it rained – a shower, a stove, the basic luxuries of home life that makes sitting around a fire and grilling and boating and playing Frisbee golf and lazing around with no agenda whatsoever so appealing.

Yeah, I know. My dream in life is to be lazy at a cabin on a lake. It’s not original. But it’s a goal, and for now, it’s mine.

That is, until next week, when I’ll be working towards that London flat with a porch overlooking Hyde Park.

Tags: Outdoors, Vilhauer |

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The Believer, part two

May 29, 2006


I forgot to post this earlier, so it’s going onto auto post.

I want to make a slight retraction – the people at McSweeney’s are sending back our check and seem truly sorry about what happened. They asked if I wanted my subscription, and I begrudgingly said no. So they’re sending the money to my mother, and they’re sending a best of The Believer gift for our troubles.

I’m happy with that, for now. I’m still a little wary to get any sort of subscription from them, but as I said in a return e-mail, “time heals all wounds.” Give me a year – I’ll probably have forgotten all about this and will end up getting the subscription as a gift or on my own. I can’t imagine this would happen twice.

McSweeney’s – messed up subscription, followed up with decent customer service and positive PR. I can’t keep Eggers’ company down for too long, regardless of what everyone else thinks of him.

Tags: Annoyances, Books, Literature |

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Gone camping

May 27, 2006


We’ve sat through the dropping of leaves, through the shoveling, the plowing, the cold wind that comes from living in South Dakota. We’ve watched the coming of spring with anticipation, longing for the day we can leave the yard behind and join the masses at a state sponsored campground, grouping together with other like minded fools as we sit around a fire ring and prophesize about our futures over an opened beer can.

We’ve prepared our car, picked up new equipment, and chosen our meals wisely. We’ve justified ditching out on a cabin weekend on the lake with a good friend. We’ve filled Steinbeck with camping friendly tunes.

So when you read this, you’ll know where we are: Lake Herman, South Dakota, at our favorite site (nestled back in the trees on it’s own short road, packaged in solitude and blocked from the view of a park full of RVs). We’re prepared for, well, nothing. As in, we’re going to go camping, and we’re going to do nothing. I will relax. I will boat. I will read books, eat camp food, and start drinking at four in the afternoon. I’ll bask in the solitude that comes from getting away from life. I’ll realize the true meaning of a vacation.

Kerrie, Becket, and I will get back to you later. We’re too busy enjoying ourselves. Sorry.

Tags: Outdoors |

2 Comments

#31 vs. NYC

May 26, 2006


In honor of these wonderful NBA Playoffs — three semi-final series going to seven games, the Mavs and Suns fighting for the Western Conference Championship and guaranteeing me a team to root for until the Finals are over, and the Pistons already losing a game at home — I bring you the best moment in my short lived Pacers fandom: the domination of Reggie Miller and the meltdown of the New York Knicks.

Of course, the comments for this movie on YouTube say a lot about Knicks fans: it was a clear foul call, apparently. Well, from this video, it looks like the guy slips, not that he was pushed. Of course, I’m the wrong person to say anything — Reggie could have decked John Starks and I would have considered it a ticky tack foul call.

Anyway, enjoy that. I’ll be camping — expect an auto-post sometime this weekend.

Tags: Basketball, Indiana Pacers, Random YouTube, Sports |

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We’re Number One!

May 24, 2006


Just so I don’t go crazy, I want to make some sense out of the new claim that Sioux Falls is the safest driving city in the nation.

It’s true:

Study: Sioux Falls is safest driving city
By DIRK LAMMERS, Associated Press Writer
Wed May 24, 4:34 AM ET

SIOUX FALLS, S.D. - Motorists in Sioux Falls — where the streets are laid out sensibly and the traffic enforcement is strong — are the nation’s safest and Midwest cities account for half of those in the top 10, an insurance study shows.

Researchers with Allstate Insurance Co. found that each motorist in this growing city in southeast South Dakota has on average one accident every 14.3 years — 30 percent better than the national rate of one every 10 years.

That’s fine – the reasoning is sound and I’m proud to know that I’ve helped this number by having zero accidents in 27.5 years. But here’s what’s getting me confused.

Growing up, I was always told the opposite. I was told that Sioux Falls had the worst drivers in the nation. And I always believed this claim: every time I was nearly hit on my bike, or in a car, or while crossing the street, or while mowing the lawn… you get the idea.

Seriously – I see more stupid drivers per capita in Sioux Falls than anywhere else I’ve ever been. But I couldn’t manage to find anything to this effect. So was I making this up my whole life? Did I mishear a report and since then I’ve lived with this misconception in my head?

If anyone has information, or a study, or an old copy of some magazine that can back up this old claim, please email me or post a reply. This is bugging me a lot – I KNOW we were the worst… and now we are the best.

Hooray, I guess?

Tags: Random, Sioux Falls |

6 Comments

Still waiting…

May 21, 2006


How does a well-intended gift turn into a headache of massive proportions? I don’t know – ask McSweeney’s.

This Christmas, when prompted by my mother for gift ideas, I mentioned that what I wanted most of all in the entire world was a subscription to The Believer magazine. The Believer, for those of you that don’t know, is a monthly literary publication put out by McSweeney’s – the publishing company started by known jerk (but great author) David Eggers.

My mother, as she always does, obliged. This would mark the second time I’d received a subscription as a gift – my 2004 birthday brought Sports Illustrated to my house every week – and I was very excited to start getting the magazine.

The Believer is the home of Nick Hornby’s “What I’ve Been Reading,” the monthly column I ripped off heavily in doing my own monthly book column of the same name. (Yes, I know. I wasn’t even cool enough to come up with an original name.) Amy Sedaris also has a “question and answer” article, and other very good and very famous authors drop in from time to time with short stories and essays.

My first literary magazine – what a thrill.

That is, if I ever would have received one.

It’s currently May. I haven’t received a single issue yet. But don’t think we haven’t tried. In early February, I tried e-mailing them. No answer. I e-mailed again in March. Still nothing. My mother (who paid for the subscription) e-mailed countless times. No answer to any of them. But when she went to see if the check was lost, she found it wasn’t – it was cashed.

By McSweeney’s.

This, understandably, threw my mother into a tizzy regarding the publisher. I thought getting the family lawyer (pro bono, I hope) and contacting the District Attorney’s office was a little much, but at the same time, what other option did we have? We’d tried to contact the place numerous times, to no avail. They had no phone number.

So my mom mailed a threat and some paperwork to them. A few days alter – upon receipt of the legal paperwork I presume, I received this e-mail:

was she charged for the sub. We have no record of it! I am so sorry about the confusion!

To which I responded:

Yes. As I said, the check was CASHED.

We haven’t received any response from you until now (this was the second time I’d tried, and my mother tried who knows how many times) and I fear she’s taken legal steps. If you want to contact her… etc.

I think it’s at the end, now. My mother called and asked whether I wanted to just get the refund or get the magazine, and while I really want this subscription, I can’t really accept what they did. It’s pretty crappy business.

What’s most depressing about this is that I really thought McSweeney’s was a pretty cool company. I liked all of the past The Believer magazines I thumbed through, and they have a handful of books out, all of which I’d like to read someday. I had high hopes from a little independent literary publisher.

Unfortunately, indie values usually include great customer service. Something didn’t necessarily line up with McSweeney’s. It’s too bad, really – I was really looking forward to that subscription (and free book!)

Oh well – I guess there’s always Sports Illustrated.

Tags: Annoyances, Literature |

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