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4. The Lies of Locke Lamora by Scott Lynch

Easily the best fantasy novel I read all year, though to be fair I've stopped reading sci-fi/fantasy for the most part. There was a sample chapter of this at Mysterious Galaxy as a free giveaway, and I picked it up with no real expectation. The first two pages hooked me, and I had to buy it immediately. It's like Oliver Twist, set in a sort of fantasy Venice, with more con-artistry than a presidential election. The sequel should be out in July, but if you're looking for a very entertaining read, pick this up.




3. Believer Magazine

No magazine has better captured everything that's been in my head than this one. In fact, I have sometimes felt that my brain waves were being scanned in order to generate articles, so I have taken to wearing a tin-foil hat in order to foil these thieves. I get asked about it in public sometimes (the magazine, not the hat) because it's not a magazine everyone has heard of, and the covers are so, well, cartoon-design-chic.

I don't know how to quite describe it; usually I mumble something about a West-coast Harpers or Partisan Review crossed with Adbusters and um...yeah. There is fiction, although the main bulk of the issues seems to be creative nonfiction and interviews. The issue you see here, which also graces the top of my commode, has an article about Indian undercover journalism, Jack London and a man who makes a living impersonating him, a woman who wrote an amazing column in the Village Voice that I would like to take over, and literary manifestations of rats in books, among other things. They are the brainchild of McSweeney's, a San Francisco based purveyor of books and pirate gear.








2. Who Dat? Who Dat? The New Orleans Saints!

Nobody saw this one coming. A team that was 3-13 last year with no stadium, no city, and no hopes to a playoff-bound #2 NFC seed that is more than capable of going all the way. I'm not saying they will, because I've seen enough Saints seasons self destruct, but the athletic ability, discipline, playcalling, and sheer firepower of this team have been breathtaking. They are 10-6, and thanks to some great scheduling I've been able to see nearly every single game this season. Seriously, thanks Fox, for putting their games on west coast TV. From the Superdome opener against the Falcons



to the total routing of the Giants, they have played superbly in almost every game. There have been some bad moments, but overall stuff like this



gives me hope for the playoffs, and hope for the franchise. To be fair, the city of New Orleans is not at all back to normal, although you wouldn't know it from watching the games on TV. There's still a lot of work to be done, and there are a lot of people being royally screwed right now, but hopefully the city will catch up to the team.

1.

Well of course! It's Hannah! She is indisputably the best thing that's happened to me, pretty much ever. I was pretty much convinced I would never find someone who I got along with this well, who has everything I look for in a friend and a girlfriend. Well, she does, and I'm pretty happy about it. While it stinks royally that we are going to apart for her birthday, Valentine's Day, and possibly my birthday, we will be ditching this town sometime in 2007, and getting on with our lives.



So here's to 2006 - a damn fine year! May 2007 be good to us all.

Posted by Aaron on Wednesday, January 03, 2007 at 11:38 AM | Permalink