Thursday, December 31, 2009

So long 2009...

What? 2010 already? It can't be.
It seems like only a year or two ago we were running around Rockwell testing each PC and marking it with either a Green Y2K compliant sticker or a Red Non-Y2k compliant one. (As a side notes it's scary but some of those PCs are still in use on the manufacturing floor 10 years later!)
And then on New Year's Eve 1999 we were watching the massive fireworks from around the world, starting in Sydney, then Tokyo, and so forth to welcome in the new millennium (a year early). I remember rushing home to see the Paris and then the London displays, and the rows of fireworks running up the reflecting pools in Washington DC.

I guess I've been a little lazy about updating here but here's a dozen blog posts I never actually posted but meant to:

1) My Kindle DX review (amazing piece of equipment I love it!)
2) My Kindle Cover from Oberon Design review (even prettier in person!)
3) The Kindle DX screensaver Author Challenge (Try to read at least one book by each author who's picture is part of the screen saver. Of the 15 authors I had read 7 before getting the Kindle, and finished one since - Jane Austin, and started another - Alexander Dumas)

4) my reviews of the 3 free books I got from the Early Reviewers program at LibraryThing:
Dance in a Buffalo Skull
Dragon Forge
Any Given Doomsday

5) NetFlix and how I love discovering new TV shows (Castle, Big Band Theory, Leverage, Doctor Who, Sarah Jane Adventures, Heroes, Chuck) or revisiting old ones (To the Manor Born, The Grand, Flambards, Brideshead Revisited, The Good Life/Good Neighbors, Keen Eddie)

6) Monty Python For the First Time (One of the guys I work with told me he has never seen Monty Python. None of the TV shows or movies! So I took the TV show DVDs in to work and we are watching them at lunch. It's fun watching him encounter the dead parrot, Johann Gambolputty de von Ausfern -schplenden -schlitter -crasscrenbon -fried -digger -dangle -dungle -burstein -von -knacker -thrasher -apple -banger -horowitz -ticolensic -grander -knotty -spelltinkle -grandlich -grumblemeyer -spelterwasser -kürstlich -himbleeisen -bahnwagen -gutenabend -bitte -eine -nürnburger -bratwustle -gerspurten -mit -zweimache -luber -hundsfut -gumberaber -shönendanker -kalbsfleisch -mittler -raucher von Hautkopft of Ulm, the Nudge-Nudge Wink-Wink Guy and the animation of Terry Gilliam for the first time.)

7) Return To Marching Band (I played in the South Milwaukee Heritage Days parade)

8) Return To The DM's chair (I had so much fun running the Free D&D days sponsored by Wizards of the Coast that I started a 4th Edition campaign with 4 of my friends. We're meeting roughly every other Saturday.)
(On another side note today Dec 31st, 2009 is the 32nd Anniversary of the first time I ran D&D. Peter Nelson got the basic set for Christmas 1977 from his uncle and I read and ran it at our family's yearly New Year's Eve get together.)

9) Return of the Owls (they are back in the neighborhood, I heard two of them in the woods hooting at each other while I shoveled snow for the first time this season.)

10) Root Canals Are No Fun (I really don't recommend them)

11) TurkeyCon 2009 (Our annual board game event the day after Thanksgiving, attendance down a little from last year but a good time was had by all)

12) The summer cats - this I feel the worst about, I don't have pictures of all of the foster kittens from this summer and I'm sure I've forgotten some of their names.
Rosamund (who is still with us)
The Great American Composers - Cole, George, Irving, Vivian and Jerome
The UK Counties - Stafford, Claire, Cornwall, Devon and Kent
The Tea Babies - Darjeeling & Jasmine (both adopted Dec 20), Oolong and Rooibos who died before they could be adopted and the two unnamed ones who died before we got them from the barn
Arwen from the same barn who only lasted a week and Brambles who lasted barely 4 hours
Ovaltine (adopted Dec 20th)
Frodo Baggins who was adopted but then returned and we kept him (Michelle scooped me on this story)

Saturday, August 29, 2009

Domo Arigato, Mr. Scott-o

The Office
One of very few TV series that we still watch (on www.nbc.com).

We fell in love with the British version when it was broadcast on BBC America and think the US version is one of the few who has successfully made the transfer over, unlike Coupling or Fawlty Towers.

Season 5 comes out on DVD Sept 8th and Season 6 starts on September 17th!

To hold you over here's a tribute video to the old Styx song:

Thursday, July 30, 2009

Crayola Doesn't Make A Color For Your Eyes

So I was listening to A Prarie Home Companion last week and this song totally got stuck in my head!
The singer plays patty-cake as a percussion line while she is singing.

Crayola Doesn't Make A Color For Your Eyes by Kristin Andreassen & Megan Downes



Crayola Doesn't Make A Color For Your Eyes, with Danny Knicely on a spectacular whistle solo!
Sunspot Concert Series at the Lyceum in Alexandria, VA, 06Jan07.



This is the version from A Prarie Home Companion that someone put behind a still picture of the singer, it's a little easier to understand the words on this video.

Wednesday, July 15, 2009

American Overture for Band

Here's another video from the Shorewood Concert Band's 2009 Fourth of July Concert.

Joseph Willcox Jenkins began composing short pieces while in elementary school. American Overture for Band was composed in 1955 while Jenkins served on the arranging staff of the United States Army Field Band and he dedicated the work to their conductor, Colonel Chester E. Whiting. Reminiscing about the piece, his first for band, Jenkins states, “I wanted to write something for our magnificent horn section, because I was tired of them having to play off-beats. That was the inspiration for the piece. I have to admit that I was also inspired somewhat by the last movement of the Bartók Concerto for Orchestra. I heard it on a Boston Symphony Orchestra broadcast as a teenager and it really impressed me. Some of the themes in American Overture remind me of that piece.”

Tuesday, July 14, 2009

SCB Goes To The Circus!

The fourth and final concert of the Shorewood Concert Band's 2009 season is coming this Thursday July 16th at 7 pm in Atwater Park.

Our salute to the Great American Circus will be filled with the sounds of circus bands and music about the circus including:

Entry of the Gladiators - Julius Fucik
The Billboard - John N. Klohr
William Tell Overture (Finale) - G. Rossini
Circus Bee - Henry Fillmore
Send in the Clowns - Stephen Sondheim
E Pluribus Unum - Fred Jewell
Lassus Trombone - Henry Fillmore
The Show Boy - Will Huff
The Walking Frog - Karl L. King
Bravura - C.E. Duble
The Big Circus March - Robert E. Foster
Barnum & Bailey’s Favorite Karl L. King

In honor of Lincoln's 200th birthday and the 100th Anniversary of the Lincoln Penny we are holding a penny drive to support the Shorewood Band Parents organization so please dig deep into the cushions of your couches, clean out your car’s coin holder and bring them to the concert!

Here's a number from our Fourth of July concert, Herman "Dodo" Hupfeld's 1931 novelty hit "When Yuba Plays the Rumba on the Tuba"

Friday, July 3, 2009

Stars & Stripes

The third concert of the 2009 Season is coming tomorrow July 4th at 6:30 pm at Atwater Park.

National Emblem - EE Bagley
You're A Grand Old Flag - George M Cohan
American Overture for Band - Joseph Willcox Jenkins
Music from Les Miserables - Alain Bouil and Claude-Michel Schonberg
When Yuba Plays the Rumba On The Tuba - Herman Hupfeld
Theme from Star Trek: The Motion Picture - Jerry Goldsmith
Summon The Heroes - John Williams
Bucky Badger - arranged by Wayne Becker
Armed Forces - The Pride of America! - arranged by Larry Clark and Greg Gilpin
America the Beautiful - Katharine Lee Bates and Samuel A. Ward
This Land Is Your Land - Woody Guthrie
I Am The Guard - Arthyr Fields
Highlights from Oklahoma - Richard Rodgers and Oscar Hammerstein
The Star and Stripes Forever - John Philip Sousa

Our last concert of the year will be Thursday July 16th at 7 pm.

Here's a couple of videos from the second concert:

Instant Concert by Harold L. Walters


The 2009 version of Beer Barrel Polka now with 4 Tubas!

Monday, June 22, 2009

Bandology

The second concert of the 2009 Season is coming this Thursday June 25th at 7pm at Atwater Park.

Bandology - Eric Osterling
Instant Concert - Harold L. Walters
Bombasto - O.R. Farrar
The Theme from Mannix - Lalo Schfrin
Feels So Good - Chuck Mangione
The Rail Splitter - F.C. Menges
Ceremonial Prelude - John Cacavas
The Cowboys - John Williams
Chicago Tribune March - W. Paris Chambers
Beer Barrel Polka - L. Brown, W.A. Timm, V. Zeman and J Vejvoda
British Masters Suite - Gustav Holst, Edward Elgar and Ralph Vaughan Williams
The Washington Post March - John Phillip Sousa

In honor of Lincoln's 200th birthday and the 100th Anniversary of the Lincoln Penny we are holding a penny drive to support the Shorewood Band Parents organization so please dig deep into the cushions of your couches, clean out your car’s coin holder and bring them to the concert.

The March of the Belgian Paratroopers from the June 13th, 2009 concert:

Monday, June 8, 2009

Hands Across The Sea

The first concert of the Shorewood Concert Band season is always the most interesting for me.
So many questions awaiting answers!
Will we have any Saxophones?
Can we play another season without Percussion?
Can we dodge another weather bullet? So far no concerts of Dr. Pat's tenure have been rained out although last year's opener was a close call!

Here is our tentative play list:


The Shorewood Concert Band Presents:
Hands Across The Sea

March of the Belgian Paratroopers
British Master's Suite
Scottish Ballads
Pirates of the Caribbean
Sousa's Hands Across the Sea
Fiddler on the Roof
Osterling's Thundercrest
Star Trek
At the Summit
Vaugh William's Rhosymedre
Holst's First Suite for Military Band


Hope to see you there!

Wednesday, June 3, 2009

Shorewood Concert Band 2009

It's June so once again it's time for the Shorewood Concert Band!

This all-volunteer band plays a series of four concerts in June and July in Atwater Park in Shorewood, Wisconsin.

I've been playing in the group since the early 1980s and have been the announcer for four years.

This year's concerts:
Saturday June 13th 4:30 pm - Hands Across the Sea
Thursday June 25th 7:00 pm - 100th Year of the Lincoln Penny
Saturday July 4th 6:30 pm - Stars and Stripes
Thursday July 16th 7:00 pm - SCB Goes to the Circus

If you would like to join the band please email me - capnfrank [AT] sbcglobal.net.
We have 4 practices, June 11, June 18, June 30 and July 9 from 7pm to 9pm in one of the school district's band room.

Here are some pictures from summer 2007:

The Left Side

The Right Side

Da Tubas!

What can one say about John Philip Sousa...

And here's a video of last year's encore "Skoda Lasky" aka "The Beer Barrel Polka"

Tuesday, June 2, 2009

My Kindle DX is coming!

So I have been waiting for *years* for a decent ebook reader.
Back around 1992 I bought an Apple PowerBook 100 as my first notebook.
I purchased several electronic books in HyperCard format including Sara Paretsky's Indemity Only and Douglas Adams' Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy.
At a little over 5 pounds in weight it was not very comfortable reading in bed, etc.

I have tried several PDAs over the years including the Apple Newton, the HP Jornada and the Dell Axim but the screens were all too small for easy reading. The main problem has been my rate of reading is faster than I could change screens.

I almost bought a Sony 505 Reader in December 2007 after seeing a first-generation Kindle which I thought was just ugly. At that time I heard from someone who knew someone that Apple was coming out with their own version. Since then Amazon has released their Kindle 2 which looks much better physically and Sony has released their new 700BC which has a touch screen with a slight loss in letter clarity, but no official word from Apple.

Last month Amazon released the specs for their Kindle DX and I was hooked. This version is the size of a hardcover, rotates the screen automatically when you turn it and has native pdf support so I can read my RPG documents and anything else I create. I just got word today that it is being officially released on June 10th and mine should ship the 15th!
Go watch the video on Amazon's site, it's amazing!

I'm going to be able to download for free any of the thousands of public domain books from Project Gutenberg and many other places around the web.

Now the question is what to read first?
PG Wodehouse? ER Burroughs? Book: The Sequel?

Monday, June 1, 2009

I'm a published author!

My submission was accepted and will be included in Book: The Sequel!

You can get more info here at their website!

Or check out the widget on the right ----->>>

Wednesday, May 27, 2009

Pictures from a Caledonian Garden

So the new kittens haven't sat still long enough to get their pictures taken yet so here are some of my flowers.

The first fall after we put in the grass and flower beds I planted about 400-500 bulbs - daffodils, hyacinths, crocuses and tulips. I love bulbs - just plant and forget! Sadly, the voles also love my bulbs and most of the tulips have been eaten. Here's a couple that haven't.





Our Irises have done pretty well. Most have not bloomed yet, here's an early one.


This is a new plant for us this year. My parents bought us some bulbs for our anniversary last summer and the Allium made it. I tried planting some 5 years ago or so and they never came up.


This is not a flower. This is Sunshine "Miss Frecklenose" Laycock watching out the back door to make sure Daddy refills the bird feeder. We call this "Paying The Cable Bill" because our cats love to watch the Nature Channel!

Sunday, May 24, 2009

Book: The Sequel

My sister sent me a link to very interesting website called Book: The Sequel where people are invited to write a short one sentence sequel to a famous book.

They have a couple of examples like:
HappyMeals are all alike; each unhappy meal is unhappy in its own way.
—From Anna McKarenina (sequel to Anna Karenina by Leo Tolstoy)
Bob Marley was dead, to begin with.
—From Kwanzaa Tunes (sequel to A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens)

Anyone can submit one and this one popped into my head almost immediately:
73X7 m3h 15HM3al — From m08Y d1CK 11 (The L33T edition)
(sequel to Moby Dick by Herman Melville) Submitted by Frank Laycock

L33T or Leet is a way of writing on the internet that use symbols and number to stand for letters. More info can be found on Wikipedia.
My line translates as "Text me Ishmeal" - From Moby Dick II.

Submitted versions scroll up along the right hand side of the site and Mary emailed me this evening to let me know she saw mine!
Now I just need to wait until the end of the month to find out if mine makes it into the compilation book!

Saturday, May 23, 2009

The Great American Songbook (as sung by cats)

Kittens?
Did somebody mention kittens in a last post? :)

It's spring so once again we have kittens that we are fostering for Kindred Kitties.

Our first cat of the year is Rosamund.

She is about a year old. Her family lost their home to foreclosure and when they moved into an apartment they kept their dog but turned their female cat (who they were calling Buster) over to Kindred. Rosamund was *very* unhappy about living with us and since we had just watched the BBC adaption of George Eliot's Middlemarch we named her after the young blond troublemaker in that story. Since we have gotten her fixed she has settled down a lot and can now be annoyingly nice, sitting on my book while I am trying to read.
She does not travel well or get along with other kitties so she is with us until the population drops at the Kindred storefront in downtown Kenosha.

Our first set of kittens for the year were also victims of a foreclosure. A family lost their house and gave their cat and 5 newborn kittens to their neighbor. After a week they called Kindred and we got the 8 week old kittens while the mom went stright to get fixed and then adopted.
We decided to name them after great 20th century American composers.
These five kittens went up for adoption on May 9th and were all taken by May 13th!
One family took two of them.

Cole Porter

Cole is now known as "Tigger" and was adopted right out of carrier as soon as he arrived at PetCo, not even getting into one of the display cages. He is living with 4 other cats and 3 children.

George Gershwin


Irving Berlin


Vivian Kubrick


Jerome Kern

Jerome was the last one adopted and could have been adopted twice, a family who adopted one of the others came back to get him too but he had already left with a family an hour before.

Action shot!

In the litter pan back to front are Irving, Jerome and George. Vivian is about to exit the Kitty Kondo and Cole is eating.


We now have another set of kittens but that's a subject for another post.

Test

This is a test, it is only a test.

Here is a wafflehead ->

So if I get 6 people to "follow" this blog on Facebook it will start automatically loading my new posts to my Facebook wall.

Thursday, May 21, 2009

Argh!

So I got a Wii for my birthday in August of 2007 and a Wii Fit for my birthday in August of 2008.
I have been checking my weight and BMI every day since then.
*Every Day*
For 282 days.
Including the days I hurt my back in December and could barely stand.
Including the six days in April when I lost 8.4 pounds because I had the flu and couldn't eat or keep anything down.
Including one day in October or so when I woke up at 11:50 pm out of a sound sleep and went into the living room and "Wii'd" myself.
And then yesterday morning I got on the Wii Fit and the little animated Wii Fit board said "So I guess you were too busy to exercise yesterday, Cap'n Frank?"

Some how I missed Tuesday!
Still not sure how.

I blame the kittens.......

Sunday, February 15, 2009

A Night in Olde Madrid

So last night for St. Valentine's Day we went out to eat at a restaurant called Olde Madrid here in Racine that we had never been to before.

It is a Spanish restaurant featuring Tapas and Paella.

Michelle had a glass of Abrazo Garnacha while I had Sprite.

To start with we were served a basket of small breads with a orangey spread which turned out to be a mild red pepper hummus.
Our first Tapas to arrive was Baked Goat Cheese in a homemade tomato basil sauce served with toasted baguettes.
The second course was Totilla Espanola, a Spanish style quiche with bacon, potatoes and onions.
Our final Tapas was Almond Crusted Cod, tender cod filets rolled in slivered almonds and herbs, served with a dill sauce.

Paella is a traditional Spanish dish containing an assortment of vegetables and saffron rice plus whatever extra ingredients you would like. This is mixed and then needs to simmer over a low heat for 25 minutes. We figure the restaurant must have 12-18 burners in the back to handle to amount of pans we saw come out.
We tried the Salmon Paella which includes fresh grilled salmon and shrimp, tossed with a white wine and Spanish Seasonings.

To finish the evening off Michelle had the Triple Chocolate Mousse Cake and I had Plantana al Carmaleo, a sauteed banana with caramel sauce and ice cream. It even had thin slices of grapes on the banana!

Discussing the meal today we can't decide which Tapas was best so have determined that a follow-up visit will be necessary, especially because they did not have any Gazpacho and we need to try the Seville Crab Cakes and Spanish Meatballs and Pork Scallopini and Serrano Ham Wrapped Potatoes and the Empanada's and at *least* two other kinds of the Paella.

Sunday, February 8, 2009

Kitten Update 02-08-2009

It's very quiet around here tonight.

Two weekends ago Fermi went to Petco again on Saturday. He does not like to travel and was being a big butt-head to the other kittens there, hissing and swatting them. He even reached out and smacked a teenegaer on the cheek while she was holding him. Carolyn took him home and got him fixed on the following Tuesday and since then he has been living in the Kindred Kitties storefront in downtown Kenosha.

Last weekend the NY Boys represented Kindred at the Great Lakes Pet Expo. You can see pictures here, but none of our booth.
Sunday they went to Petco but nobody got adopted.
Yesterday I drove them down to Petco again and within the first 15 minutes a family with four kids had decided to adopt Bronx! They also have a 13 year old cat.
By the end of the day a boy who decided he wanted a grey cat for his 18th birthday present took home Brooklyn!
Today I drove the remaining two back again.
A nice couple adopted Manhatten and the family with the four kids came back and said the Bronx seemed lonely so they adopted Yonkers!

We are down to just our four tonight - Gitana, Wooster, Jeeves and Sunshine. I just realized that I have not posted and pictures of Sunshine yet. She is our oldest cat, being 10 years old who we got just after we moved into our house. You can see her Catster profile here. Our first cat Stormy also has a page there.

Tuesday, January 20, 2009

Are you lookin' at Me?

Yonkers

Manhattan

Brooklyn

Bronx

Thursday, January 8, 2009

I Heart NY

The boys are doing better, they are meowing at us and purr when we pet them.
They still smell like a barn so Fermi is hissing, but they seem interested in him as a potential wrestling partner.

We gave them names! (drum roll.....)

Bronx
Brooklyn
Manhattan
Yonkers

Wednesday, January 7, 2009

4 new boys!

Just a quick post - 4 new boy kittens arrived at our house last night.
The still to be named boys are former barn cats about 9-11 weeks old.
They have had all of their shots and are old enough to be adopted but are still a little skittish around people.
They have been sent to the Caledonia Cat Academy for 3 to 4 weeks of Charm School and Finishing.
School Pictures will be posted on Sunday

Thursday, January 1, 2009

2008 - A Year's Worth of Reading

So last Jan 1st I decided to keep track of all the books I read or listened to using my LibraryThing profile.

Here is what I read:
The Forge of War
The Grand History of the Realms
The Doom of Camelot
Skreyn's Register: The Bonds of Magic
Wizards Presents: Worlds and Monsters
The Savage Sword of Conan, Vol. 1
Jonathon Strange & Mr. Norrell
Heirs of Ash Book 2: Flight of the Dying Sun
House of M Complete Collectors Edition
Black Wind
Showcase Presents: The Brave and the Bold - The Batman Team-Ups, Vol. 1
Showcase Presents: Metamorpho, Vol. 1
The Twilight War Book 1: Shadowbred
Erevis Cale Book 1: Twilight Falling
Erevis Cale Book 2: The Dawn of Night
Erevis Cale Book 3: Midnight's Mask
Showcase Presents: Green Lantern Volume 1
Drawing the Line: Tales of Maps and Cartocontroversy [library]
Heirs of Ash Book 3: Rise of the Seventh Moon
The Twilight War Book 2: Shadowstorm
The Blade of the Flame Book 2: Forge of the Mind Slayers
Tales from the War of Souls Book 1: The Search for Magic
The Yellow-Lighted Bookshop [library]
The Blade of the Flame Book 3: Sea of Death
The Pythons: An Autobiography by the Pythons [library]
The Haunted Lands Book 2: Undead
Fables: 1001 Nights of Snowfall
The Order of the Stick Volume 0: On the Origin of PCs
The Legion Companion
Legion of Super-Heroes Archives, Vol. 1
The Order Of The Stick Volume 1: Dungeon Crawlin' Fools
The Order of the Stick Volume 2: No Cure for the Paladin Blues
Dork Tower Volume 1: Dork Covenant
Secrets of Xen'drik
Earth (A New Perspective)
The Barrytown Trilogy Book 1: The Commitments
Legion of Super-Heroes Archives, Vol. 2
Stardust (Gaimen/Vess)
The Best of the Legion Outpost
Legion of Super-Heroes Archives, Vol. 3
Legion of Super-Heroes Archives, Vol. 4
Legion of Super-Heroes Archives, Vol. 5
Legion of Super-Heroes Archives, Vol. 6
Legion of Super-Heroes Archives, Vol. 7
Legion of Super-Heroes Archives, Vol. 8
Pathfinder Player's Guide: Curse Of The Crimson Throne
Pathfinder 07 Curse of the Crimson Throne: Edge of Anarchy
The Barrytown Trilogy Book 2: The Snapper
Pathfinder 08 Curse of the Crimson Throne: Seven Days to the Grave
The Barrytown Trilogy Book 3: The Van
Pathfinder 09 Curse of the Crimson Throne: Escape From Old Korvosa
Dance in a Buffalo Skull
The Draconic Prophecies Book 1:Storm Dragon
Ptolus: Secrets of the Delver's Guild
The Knights of Myth Drannor Book 2: Swords of Dragonfire
The Citadels Book 2: Obsidian Ridge
Pathfinder 10 Curse Of The Crimson Throne: A History Of Ashes
Dungeons & Dragons Dungeon Master's Guide: Roleplaying Game Core Rules, 4th Edition
Dungeon Master's Guide II (3.5 Edition)
Dork Tower Volume 03: Heart of Dorkness
Dungeons & Dragons Monster Manual: Roleplaying Game Core Rules, 4th Edition
Dork Tower Volume 06: 1D6 Degrees of Separation
Dork Tower Volume 07: Dork Side of the Goon
Castle Waiting
Dungeons & Dragons Player's Handbook: Roleplaying Game Core Rules, 4th Edition
The Savage Sword of Conan, Vol. 3
City of Stormreach
Showcase Presents: Teen Titans, Vol. 1
Bathroom Book of Wisconsin Trivia: Weird, Wacky and Wild
Dungeons and Dragons 4th Edition For Dummies
Confessions of a Part-time Sorceress: A Girl's Guide to the D&D Game
Dungeon Survival Guide
Storm of the Century: The Labor Day Hurricane of 1935
Pathfinder 11 Curse Of The Crimson Throne: Skeletons Of Scarwall
Dragons of Faerun
A Practical Guide To Dragon Riding
Denizens of Freeport
Pathfinder 12 Curse Of The Crimson Throne: Crown Of Fangs
The Inquisitives Book 4: The Darkwood Mask
Forgotten Realms Player's Guide
Red Hand of Doom
The Savage Sword of Conan, Vol. 4
Races of the Dragon
The Savage Sword of Conan, Vol. 2
The Citadels Book 3: The Shield of Weeping Ghosts
Sandstorm: Mastering the Perils of Fire and Sand
Forgotten Realms Campaign Guide, 4th Edition
Cocktail Time
Manual of the Planes, 4th Edition - finished Dec 31st!

A lot of fantasy, D&D books, graphic novels and a little science and history.
I read Dungeon, Dragon, Budget Travel and AAA Living magazines every month, the Milwaukee Journal/Sentinel every Sunday and probably close to a literal ton of comic book and manga.
I also read PG Wodehouse's "Cocktail Time" a novel of his I had not read yet. It's getting harder to track down his last 15 books or so that I don't have of the 96+ he wrote.

In late 2007 and early 2008 when I was driving to Munster Indiana every week for work I got even more hooked on audio books than I was previously. In late 2007 I finished listening to all 11 of Robert Jordan's Wheel of Time series so I needed something new. My library system has an online service where you can check out books and burn them to CD to listen to in the car.
Here is the list from 2008:
The Sword of Truth Book 01: Wizard's First Rule
The Sword of Truth Book 02: Stone of Tears
Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone
The Sword of Truth Book 03: Blood of the Fold
Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets
Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban
The Sword of Truth Book 04: Temple of the Winds
Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire
Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix
Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows
David Attenborough - The Early Years: Zoo Quest For A Dragon
Eva March Tappan - When Knights Were Bold
The Sword of Truth Book 05: Soul of the Fire
Penny Arcade / PvP D&D 4E preview
Magic Kingdom of Landover Book 01: Magic Kingdom For Sale - Sold!
The Sword of Truth Book 06: Faith of the Fallen
Penny Arcade / PvP D&D 4E preview (repeat listen)
Al Franken - The Truth (with jokes)
The Sword of Truth Book 07: The Pillars of Creation
Magic Kingdom of Landover Book 2: The Black Unicorn
The Sword of Truth Book 08: Naked Empire
Magic Kingdom of Landover Book 3: Wizard at Large
Magic Kingdom of Landover Book 4: The Tangle Box
Magic Kingdom of Landover Book 5: Witches' Brew
The Sword of Truth Book 09: Chainfire - finished Dec 31st!

So that's all of Harry Potter, the whole Magic Kingdom of Landover series, and 9 of the 11 books in the Sword of Truth series, plus a little science, history and politics.
I also listened to "This American Life" from Chicago Public Radio almost every week. You can download the current episode for free from iTunes.

So what's in store for 2009?
On the audio front I have the last two Sword of Truth novels, then I might start getting the Kinsey Millhone Alphabet Mysteries by Sue Grafton (A is for Alibi, B is for Burglar, etc.) or maybe the Amelia Peabody series by Elizabeth Peters. I'm getting a little over loaded on fantasy mega-series.
On the book front I have a whole shelf in the computer room of unread books, several boxes of unread in the basement and a pile of 10 or so by the bed in various levels of doneness. A couple of Clive Cusslers, JK Rowling's new book Beedle the Bard, etc. etc. etc.
I also need to read and review the 3 books I got as an Early Reviewer from LibraryThing - I guess I am a Late Reviewer by this point :)