tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3649543931621417227Fri, 01 Jun 2012 02:12:14 +0000RobinsonRear Windowcrepesthe universebooksOprahPete Yornbasil-cheese trianglesIssaGo-GurtBen Folds FiveThe RamonesDead Can DanceBob MouldsnailSugarlandsad animalsPressgangeggsDanielleLouvreThe Constant GardenerKanye Westreach for the stars/hit the moonculture benderAn educationSecret Society of Avril Lavigne Fans Far Outside the Target Demographicfunny but truevampire weekendto share or not to sharebirdpostcardsHoosier Writing ProjectThe Big ChillAlmost FamousIndiana State FairPANKcarrotsstorySouth Million WritersBurger KingLouis C.K.Bourne IdentityNUVOlife-affirming literacy dinosaurjukedwireless nest accessMrs. Grossman's stickersYou should be ashamed of yourself for spying but actually aren'tTipton Poetry JournalThis is Your Brain on Music(500) Days of SummerLi-Young LeeSuper 8pre-unitedgraffitiasking the cosmos for signs in the form of plasticine children's entertainmentYou're glib MattFlynnStroutgriefSteve Almondlabor and hunger pains thinly disguised as can-do spiritHampllinks a-poppin'highfalutinMatt DamonSPJOne Junekill authoridearsAnother EarthLevitinI am not a robotBob HicokWhitney HoustonThe BodyguardSong for the DumpedNew York TimesBest American Nonrequired ReadingDorianne LauxDiazPurdueLennonpestoNinth LetterWigleafDeanoOutkastchance of ghostsLost Dissertation OpportunityAaron Michael MoralesRobert IndianaMidwestern GothicDoctorowIMCPL2011LipmanKerchevalBarney T. Haneydon't sit so close to the TV or you'll go crosseyedSlush Pileoh 1974WegmansI've Loved You So LongCajun Man says reject-SHONgot my spine I got my orange crushSoul AsylumNewgenthoroscopesIndianapolis Museum of Artwhere you liveGripzindulgent/patient husbandsVince GillBonomoThe Avett BrothersINXSMFA programsthe USPS rocks my socksyou have some chicken salad on your chin grandpaa motley crew but not Mötley CrüeFeistPixiesButlerMicah LingBand of HorsesTom JonesUnfriendedMeredith Goldsteincakesustained foot-to-head injuryFacebooksquirrelsMr. YukNPRowlssee ya spreadsheetHitchcockKeanecarUSPSOlive KitteridgeVictoria's SecretDiane Rehmnoisily kissing the back of your handlet's forget about our insides for a secRick AstleyPunchnel'sphotographyDavid ShumateSyracuseThe Trouble with HarryGreenPersuasionFoo FightersCerise PressHemonmonon trailLocally Grown GardensGood Poems for Hard TimeslunchDan BardenHumphrey Bogarttrain of thought keep a-movin'/all night longEvery Day is Like Sundaymy baby is interestinganderbo.comLook a wagon wheelDo-Ho SuhIndianapolis MonthlyGargoyleJeeps1979-1985SalingerBich Minh NguyendustWriter's AlmanacMt. FujiSudden Flash YouthConan O'BrienfearWriters' Center of IndianaRoxane GayfictionwritingIndiana Authors AwardKnee-Jerk Magazinepumpkin eaterin which Sarah Layden grapples with the pixelization of humankindhttp://www.sarahlayden.com/noreply@blogger.com (Sarah)Blogger97125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3649543931621417227.post-7165867510909295554Fri, 25 May 2012 03:05:00 +00002012-05-24T23:17:26.069-04:00Super 8Meredith GoldsteinRoxane GayAnother Earthculture benderPressgangDan BardenMy traditional end of semester ritual involves going on a culture bender: catching up on movies, books, and music that I missed out on during the hectic academic term. These are the best benders, and I'm not just saying that because I'm pregnant with baby #2 and not drinking. The hangover from a culture bender isn't physical but mental, and pleasantly so. Instead of headache, there are echoes http://www.sarahlayden.com/2012/05/culture-bender.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Sarah)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3649543931621417227.post-6430616013692382426Fri, 27 Apr 2012 19:26:00 +00002012-04-27T15:26:56.481-04:00I'm teaching a class on blogging at the Franklin Library on Saturday afternoon, sponsored by the Writers' Center of Indiana. A prime reason to update my blog! We are going to talk about all kinds of bloggish things, and write a few preliminary posts while we're at it. It's the end of the semester, which means my brain is pudding, which also means I communicate best in not-so-cryptic musical http://www.sarahlayden.com/2012/04/wanna-blog.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Sarah)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3649543931621417227.post-5108067346733557153Sat, 14 Apr 2012 23:01:00 +00002012-04-14T20:46:44.554-04:00cakeIt's been raining all day, so I decided to bake. Took on a very involved almond cake recipe, well worth it as the house now smells delicious. One stage involved mixing sour cream and baking soda alone. I was like, whatevs, recipe, if you say so. Usually I just kind of freelance, but today I attempted exactness. It foamed like a cool science experiment, which is what baking is. The cake has about http://www.sarahlayden.com/2012/04/almond-cake.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Sarah)2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3649543931621417227.post-3215646319065642648Wed, 28 Mar 2012 02:43:00 +00002012-03-27T22:43:27.231-04:00Today as part of a survey I was asked, What do you enjoy doing in your free time? And I easily answered, Oh, yoga and reading and walking and writing, and realized that I haven't been doing any of those things lately unless school-related (downward-facing dog grading papers?), and must remedy this immediately, like right now, hence this line.http://www.sarahlayden.com/2012/03/one-line-in-one-minute.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Sarah)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3649543931621417227.post-6753060698544406779Mon, 05 Mar 2012 18:22:00 +00002012-03-05T13:22:01.472-05:00Maybe you know this already: AWP is the Association of Writers and Writing Programs, and last week/weekend was its annual conference in Chicago. I could spend some time telling you about the panels and readings I went to, but chances are you were one of the 10,000 people there, too. And besides, I still need some time to process. To digest. Which brings me to: while packing, I removed a sweaterhttp://www.sarahlayden.com/2012/03/this-is-not-awp-recap.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Sarah)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3649543931621417227.post-3417409427703137766Wed, 08 Feb 2012 03:16:00 +00002012-02-07T22:16:01.055-05:00Oh, Dear Diary, so much has happened lately that I don't know where to begin! I shook dreamy Jimmy Fallon's hand at a taping of his show in Indy. He was here for the Super Bowl, along with a gazillion other people. I saw Patriots coach Bill Belichick riding on a bus. I saw Shaquille O'Neal in pink bikini bottoms, and Fitz and the Tantrums in nice blazers. I saw lots of other people on screens, http://www.sarahlayden.com/2012/02/dear-diary.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Sarah)1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3649543931621417227.post-1279045230585175323Tue, 03 Jan 2012 15:24:00 +00002012-01-03T10:24:42.465-05:00Punchnel'sMatt DamonBourne Identitypre-unitedPlease join my obsession with the Bourne franchise of films as I pitch prequel ideas at Punchnel's. It is my irrational expectation that one of you, via six degrees of separation, will get this to Matt Damon. Don't make Bourne come after you.http://www.sarahlayden.com/2012/01/pre-united-and-it-feels-so-good.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Sarah)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3649543931621417227.post-4447544393613799861Sat, 31 Dec 2011 20:30:00 +00002011-12-31T15:30:18.250-05:00see ya spreadsheet2011sad animalsbooksIn 2008-2009-2010, I have read 61 books, 70 books, and 40 books, respectively. I tallied my reading habits on nerdalicious spreadsheets, sharing and comparing with my readerly friends. We had some great conversations over those lists, didn't we, friends? Didn't we? Lookit. I wimped out this year. No spreadsheet. No list. Occasionally I updated the column on the right side of this page, the "http://www.sarahlayden.com/2011/12/spreadsheet-no-more-tale-of-liberation.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Sarah)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3649543931621417227.post-8458855175523146487Thu, 15 Dec 2011 04:17:00 +00002011-12-14T23:17:58.339-05:00Victoria's SecreteggsLouis C.K.Kanye West1. When I was in college, we called an automated line to find out our grades in advance of receiving paper copies; you had to listen to a maddeningly slow voice spell out the course and section number and then likely you would hear, "GRADE. NOT YET. SUBMITTED." 2. The message I'd like to send at present: GRADE. NOT YET. SUBMITTED. 3. During the Victoria's Secret Runway Show tonight, with http://www.sarahlayden.com/2011/12/11-lines-in-11-minutes.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Sarah)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3649543931621417227.post-2342760880040251657Mon, 28 Nov 2011 03:49:00 +00002011-11-27T23:07:56.411-05:00Sudden Flash YouthRobert IndianaIndianapolis Museum of ArtDo-Ho SuhSudden Flash Youth, a new collection of young adult flash fiction from Persea Books, is out now. It includes my short piece, "For Good," about Juan and Cece at the Indianapolis Museum of Art. You'll find work from Steve Almond, Richard Bausch, Stuart Dybeck, Dave Eggers, Pia Z. Erhardt, Meg Kearney, Paul Lisicky, Naomi Shihab Nye, Pamela Painter, Robert Shapard, Alice Walker, and many, many http://www.sarahlayden.com/2011/11/its-here-welcome-book.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Sarah)1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3649543931621417227.post-2386947885580834046Thu, 10 Nov 2011 03:55:00 +00002011-11-09T23:07:34.462-05:00Micah LingMFA programsPurdueAaron Michael MoralesBich Minh NguyenIMCPLwritingWriters' Center of IndianaIndiana Authors AwardSo there I am, at the gorgeous Central Library as part of the Indiana Author's Award event. I have two back-to-back sessions during the day, and before the first one starts, I have a minute to duck into the Author's Fair and say hello to Bich Minh Nguyen, one of the finalists for the Emerging Author award (the other finalists were Micah Ling and Aaron Michael Morales.) Bich was kind enough to http://www.sarahlayden.com/2011/11/funny-thing-happened-on-way-to-dinner.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Sarah)3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3649543931621417227.post-6744507912553502688Wed, 26 Oct 2011 02:34:00 +00002011-10-25T22:37:31.390-04:00crepesGargoyleIndianapolis MonthlyPANKIMCPLMidwestern GothicWriters' Center of IndianaIndiana Authors AwardIndianapolis Monthly has just made me swoon, via "The Dish," with mention of banana and Nutella crepes. It is too late to get some, hour-wise. Must distract self. And perhaps you! Me, in words: A headline poem, "Monkeys Ponder What Could Have Been," in Gargoyle 57 An interview with PANK Magazine, at their blog Short fiction, "Arrested Development," in Midwestern Gothic Me, in events: http://www.sarahlayden.com/2011/10/indianapolis-monthly-has-just-made-me.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Sarah)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3649543931621417227.post-871470949878062858Tue, 18 Oct 2011 16:53:00 +00002011-10-18T12:53:56.641-04:00Whitney HoustonUSPSThe BodyguardhoroscopesToday's horoscope: "Aquarius (Jan. 20-Feb. 18): The answers you need may be lost in the mail or floating in cyberspace. You and your can-do attitude will prevail." That's a nice little uplift at the end. Still. THE ANSWERS I NEED MAY BE FLOATING IN CYBERSPACE? Super. I'll just get started tracking them down. Because cyberspace is small, easily managed, and it shouldn't take me, oh, more than anhttp://www.sarahlayden.com/2011/10/uh-oh.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Sarah)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3649543931621417227.post-4219943263248854099Wed, 12 Oct 2011 02:31:00 +00002011-10-11T22:31:08.168-04:001. Life observed from the car window is removed times two, yet feels sped up. 2. The dancing Cash for Gold man usually wears a gold lame suit and plays cardboard guitar, though lately he has taken to wearing a vampire costume for Halloween (presumably.) 3. Once I watched a special on TV about a man who claimed, from jail, not to have killed a woman he seemed guilty of killing; during the http://www.sarahlayden.com/2011/10/ten-lines-in-ten-minutes.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Sarah)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3649543931621417227.post-6210199868174016630Sun, 09 Oct 2011 00:21:00 +00002011-10-08T20:44:09.895-04:00Lost Dissertation OpportunityBurger Kingoh 1974Degree Candidate: Sarah A. Layden Degree Sought: PhD in Popular Culture and Fast-Food Studies Working Title: Color Me with Condiments: Representations of Race and Class in Burger King's 1974 "Have it Your Way" Campaign Research questions: What is the cringey to sassy ratio? Is that Jon Voigt asking for four Coca-Cola? Why not colas? http://www.sarahlayden.com/2011/10/lost-dissertation-opportunity-267.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Sarah)7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3649543931621417227.post-6619044209941189017Thu, 15 Sep 2011 03:00:00 +00002011-09-14T23:00:51.447-04:001.) The deadline forces the mind to mind. 2.) I am writing about personal things, potentially exposing things, which feels hazardous and risky; but I'm telling the story as best I can, which means being honest, which can be incredibly difficult. 3.) There are many, many jobs that are more difficult than writing, chief among them police officer. 4.) The IMPD officers wear bulletproof vests http://www.sarahlayden.com/2011/09/15-lines-in-15-minutes.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Sarah)1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3649543931621417227.post-5376982303157337911Mon, 29 Aug 2011 03:11:00 +00002011-08-28T23:22:14.326-04:00An educationEvery Day is Like Sundayto share or not to shareSometimes it seems there are too many ways to express the self, including this mode, le blogger, and we have to choose which method for which situation, which place in time, which people will see which thing, how those people might react in their particular places and times, the fallout or repercussions of those reactions or potentially the lack thereof, a silence that speaks to being ignored or http://www.sarahlayden.com/2011/08/click-publish.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Sarah)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3649543931621417227.post-8810188567072540997Fri, 19 Aug 2011 13:32:00 +00002011-08-19T09:48:03.693-04:00Foo Fightersa motley crew but not Mötley CrüeDead Can DanceBand of HorsesSoul AsylumRick AstleyBob MouldFeistI have spent the last two weeks talking, teaching many classes. I used to think I was an introvert, and Myers-Briggs even said it was so. But teaching has turned me extroverted. Truthily. The last M-B personality test I took placed me squarely in the "E" category. Who knew? Hectic as summer programs are, I had a blast. But boy am I sick of the sound of my own voice. Let's listen to other http://www.sarahlayden.com/2011/08/dissonance.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Sarah)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3649543931621417227.post-7695732948821808601Mon, 15 Aug 2011 02:44:00 +00002011-10-11T22:35:44.843-04:00Indiana State FairSugarlandgrief The Indiana State Fairgrounds are a mile-and-a-half from our house. We can walk there, or run past on the Monon Trail. Saturday night, we were at home, not at the fair. We were on the couch, enjoying Mexican takeout and a drink and the Colts game interspersed with The Dark Knight, enjoying the fact that the baby was sleeping so we could do all of the above. We were not at the fair. We were nothttp://www.sarahlayden.com/2011/08/close-to-home.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Sarah)2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3649543931621417227.post-2852825128968746085Fri, 29 Jul 2011 02:27:00 +00002011-10-11T22:39:05.505-04:00Lost Dissertation OpportunityLook a wagon wheellet's forget about our insides for a secDanielle1979-1985Mr. Yukdon't sit so close to the TV or you'll go crosseyedI can't believe I found this. My search terms were "egg commercial wagon wheel." Can't really pinpoint why I was looking for it -- maybe I want some cheese? -- but it instantly brought me back to my youth, watching TV, and these wonderfully bizarre PSAs on behalf of whatever food needed promoting that month. (Such as the Incredible Edible Egg. Brilliant. Though just came across some 1980s http://www.sarahlayden.com/2011/07/sometimes-you-search-internet-sometimes.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Sarah)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3649543931621417227.post-5554242475477166444Fri, 22 Jul 2011 02:33:00 +00002011-07-22T11:58:39.988-04:00People. It is hot. It is the kind of hot that bakes our brains, and the only thing we can say to each other, all day long, is: "It is hot. It is HOT." And our wilted companions try to nod, but their sweaty hair weighs down their head and neck and they look a little Muppety. (No offense.) "Hot," they agree, weak but emphatic. So we head indoors. Yesterday the newspaper's front-page story was abouthttp://www.sarahlayden.com/2011/07/cool-it-now.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Sarah)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3649543931621417227.post-7034495075459612903Fri, 24 Jun 2011 13:50:00 +00002011-06-24T10:33:51.886-04:00BOOK TRAILERS, of course! Books I'm reading/want to read. What other trailers are out there? Please do share. Enquiring minds, etc. etc. I can't think of any movies out now that I'm really excited about seeing. This is mainly because I've been living in a cave, but also because there's an awful lot of dreck out now, therefore I stop paying attention. I see two-and-a-half stars from my trusty http://www.sarahlayden.com/2011/06/special-summer-blockbuster-trailers.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Sarah)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3649543931621417227.post-7188695286643399330Tue, 14 Jun 2011 17:47:00 +00002011-06-14T14:09:00.097-04:00Dorianne LauxidearsGood Poems for Hard TimesdustWriter's AlmanacDavid ShumateLi-Young LeeYesterday I came across an old "ideas" file on the computer, a place I'd intended to jot and stash images and material for stories, poems and the like. I'd forgotten the file and hadn't opened it in ages, since I usually turn to notebooks and scrap paper. There were only a half-dozen items on my list, which is actually titled "idears," because that seems a little amusing and vaguely British and http://www.sarahlayden.com/2011/06/notebook-detritus.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Sarah)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3649543931621417227.post-8751962736740145260Sat, 11 Jun 2011 19:53:00 +00002011-06-11T15:58:12.141-04:00funny but truereach for the stars/hit the moonyou have some chicken salad on your chin grandpa"Stay away from writers and artists. They only make money after they're dead."http://www.sarahlayden.com/2011/06/piece-of-advice-overheard-in-restaurant.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Sarah)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3649543931621417227.post-3760253570324908230Fri, 27 May 2011 12:24:00 +00002011-05-27T08:40:43.501-04:00Song for the DumpedFacebookUnfriendedCajun Man says reject-SHONBen Folds Fivemy baby is interestingWriters get rejected a lot. As far as I can tell, it's simply a fact you learn to get used to, and then you move on. Submit somewhere else. Write something new. Take up ice dancing or handicrafts, for the love of Pete, if only for the diversion. You'd think that all that rejection would prepare a person for the tricky-to-navigate world of Facebook unfriending, but no. Yours vicariously recently http://www.sarahlayden.com/2011/05/putting-end-in-friend.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Sarah)4