At Home He's a Tourist

He fills his head with culture/ He gives himself an ulcer.

Tuesday, January 31, 2006

In the past few weeks of inactivity I've picked up a few RSS subscribers, which means it's about time to chase 'em off with a typically uninteresting post. Courtesy of the ever-hospitable Pablo, I got to spend a four-day weekend in Ft. Worth catching up on my Asian food consumption and used book shopping. I also played D&D for the first time in 20 years. In the interim the rules have become a little more sophisticated, as have the refreshments; in high school we gorged on pizza and Pepsi, but the treats this time included Belgian ale and dried peas coated in wasabi.

On the way back to the Panhandle I stopped by Booked Up, Larry McMurtry's massive antiquarian book shop occupying four buildings on the town square of his dusty little hometown. I didn't find much in my budget except for a Western Rite liturgy printed by the Antiochan Orthodox Church of America--basically a modified Anglican Prayer Book service. If you want an antique leather-bound tome with little reading value--say, an eighteenth-century French legal code--and are willing to pay through the nose for it, then Booked Up is the place for you. For me, it's not really worth the detour, although I was pleasantly surprised at how scenic the landscape around US-82 was, rather like a poor man's New Mexico. (And the first American edition of Venus in Furs was an interesting curio, though I wouldn't have paid the thirty bucks for it.)

Consumed in January

Films:Bringing Up Baby (1938); 2046 (2004); Love Me Tonight (1932); A Good Marriage (1982); Bill and Ted's Excellent Adventure (1989); Top Hat (1935); The Sorrow and the Pity (1969); (1998)--

  • Underworld: Evolution (2005); Good Night and Good Luck (2005).Books: Evelyn Waugh, The Loved One; Evelyn Waugh, Scoop; The Life of Saint Teresa of Avila By Herself. Booze: Bodega Norton Cabernet Sauvignon 2003; Bodegas Castejon Vina Rey "70 Barricas" Tempranillo 2003; Blackstone Merlot; Oak Grove Cabernet Sauvignon 2003; Chateau Grand Caillou 2000.

  • 4 Comments:

    Blogger Felix said...

    Sounds like a fun weekend. Did you play one of Pablo's characters in the D&D game, or did you take over an NPC or a short-term character of some kind?

    Also: was that your first encounter with the two dudes from Wyld Stallyns?

    8:12 PM  
    Blogger Carlos said...

    I took over the character of a player who was out of town that weekend. The character was down to 7 HP, so I played conservatively and managed to keep him alive.

    I've seen Bill and Ted's Excellent Adventure more often than I care to admit.

    7:41 AM  
    Blogger Norma said...

    Welcome back. I thought you'd blogged out.

    That book store sounds wonderful

    2:33 PM  
    Blogger Carlos said...

    I'm hanging in there, but just barely...

    12:42 PM  

    Post a Comment

    Subscribe to Post Comments [Atom]

    << Home