Countdown

Well, in about a day and a half, we'll be off to the West. We've got a loose itinerary for our free day, including the Getty Museum, crazies in Venice Beach and sunset and dinner in Santa Monica. Of course, depending on how our scheduled event goes Wednesday, we can probably do the sunset and dinner that night so we're not as pressed Thursday. We're both getting excited about the trip, though not the numerous hours in planes. There aren't more of these ice storms in the forecast, are there?

And I'm not nervous about Wednesday's planned event -- yet. Just pray for fast reflexes, fast recall and favorable topics!

Did I like that?

I finally watched "The Last Kiss" last night after it had languished on top of my entertainment center for a week and a half. I think I really liked it. I could obviously relate to a story about 29-year-olds trying to figure out if their lives were heading in the right direction. And I liked it visually, all the use of neutral colors. I even thought the acting was good; Jacinda Barrett has come a long way from "The Real World."

But I'm conflicted about Zach Braff's character. Now, I like him as an actor, really liked "Garden State" and dig his taste in music (he loves Jump, what else is there to say?). But I wanted to claw his character's heart out last night. Eviscerate him. Castrate him. I won't necessarily say why in case anyone is planning to see the movie, but GRRRRRRRRRR, you don't DO that to a pregnant woman!!!!! I could forgive and even empathize with the character up to that one act, but now I'm not even sure I'm okay with the ending!

Can I thoroughly despise a character and not be 100 percent about the ending of a movie and still highly recommend it?

Answer: 480 out of 25,000

Question: What is the number of people chosen as Jeopardy! contestants each year out of the thousands that audition?

That's your factoid of the day. I haven't posted in a while, have little to say and am valiantly resisting Jenny's meme, so this is what I came up with. Yes, I did get sucked into a few minutes of a Jeopardy! behind-the-scenes show on TV Guide channel last week, and the number above was an interesting tidbit, so I thought I'd share.

By the way, in a totally unrelated comment, 12 days till we go to L.A.

Pilotless drone

I know I've got at least a couple of copy editors checking in here, as well as several word buffs, so here's a good laugh for you. First, go to this clip from the San Francisco Chronicle to get appropriately ticked off. The Chronicle has begun podcasting audio letters to the editor, and this guy is out of control. As a former copy editor, I just want to smack him and scream, "You have no idea what we do every night!!!"

Now, go here and laugh your ass off! That's my kind of dance music!

Thoughts from last night

I couldn't get to the computer last night, so I "blogged" old-school in a notebook. Le voila:

I just finished watching "Elizabethtown," which was a really good movie. Not great because it dragged a bit, but really good. In watching it, three things occurred to me:

1.) In 2000, I had scheduled an interview with the paper in Elizabethtown, which I cancelled after I took the job here. Who on earth would I have become if I'd wound up in Kentucky?

2.) I have always wanted to be a marvellously quirky girl like the character Claire. I wanted to wear odd vintage clothing and hats, know all kinds of indie music, and say incredible things to men at the drop of a hat. Yet I'm me.

3.) I really, really have to take a cross-country road trip. Maybe it stems from growing up near Route 66, but I have always wanted to have that quintessentially American experience. I want to see the bizarre roadside attractions out west, get stuck at stoplights in small towns, eat at diners, and lose myself in the loneliness of the plains. I'm just not sure when I'll do it or with whom.

Woo-hoo, winter!!!

In the words of Bing, Danny, Rosemary and the other girl: "Snow ... Snow ... Snow ... Snow ... Snow!!!"


Yes, we got 4 inches yesterday! Lovely fluffy stuff, great for packing. I took Abigail out for two half-hour snow sessions, the first at 7:45 a.m. -- I wasn't too sure how long it would last! The first time, the snow was coming down in huge, beautiful flakes, the kind that muffle all other sound and land with a plop on your shoulder. Abigail was delighted. The only other snow she's experience was the dumping back in 2004 of more than a foot, but she was only 18 months old. So this was her first real snowfall, her first snow angel, her first snowman, her first snowball fight (which was more like just smushing snow onto mommy's coat). The second time we went out, the snow was starting to get quite wet and what was falling was more like slushballs, but it was still good fun. Even I plopped down for a snow angel -- which are really darn big when you're grown up!

But alas, this is South Carolina, and to my husband's delight and my daughter's dismay, the snow is almost gone this morning. Snow melts, one of those harsh lessons Abigail must learn. I just don't want to deal with her reaction to the current state of Frosty:

What to see out West

So I'll be going to Los Angeles at the end of February. I'm very excited, though I'm not supposed to blog about why I'm going, but I've never particularly wanted to go to Southern California. Central Coast, sure. Wine Country, oh hell yeah. San Fransisco, of course. But L.A., nope. And I'm not in any particular awe of famous entertainers. So what should I do out there? I'll have a couple of evenings and probably one day. I've heard that L.A. is infamous for bad public transit, so I also don't want to pay a ton in cab fares toodling around the city. Right now, I'm thinking the tar pits. Where else can you see tar pits? And maybe a museum and the Chinese Theater since it looks so cool. But really, I'm clueless and would love suggestions!

And if you know of any good trivia books or Web sites, that would be appreciated, too :)

Rock on

We are slowly exposing Abigail to the wonderful world of the computer. This is of course good, since she'll be using it starting next year in school, though it now complicates my e-mail checking time since she thinks it must be game time. She and Brad were on the PBS Kids site last night playing Curious George games. Now, my kid is brilliant and can do all kinds of math games that we thought were way above her, and she was amazing at Count Your Chickens. When the child gets the right answer, George makes some monkey noises of approval and the Man in the Yellow Hat says something encouraging. Like, "You rock." Call me crazy, but that's not something I ever envisioned him saying -- and it's nothing like his character on the show, either, he's a pretty uptight unspecified academic. (We watch George A LOT, probably two episodes a day, which is four stories) Anyway, Abigail was told repeatedly that she rocks, and she finally looked up at her daddy, beaming at getting the game right, and said, "I rock!"

Now we just need her to learn how to make devil horns and head bang at the same time.

In all Earnestness

A friend not too terribly long ago posted a funny snippet from "The Importance of Being Earnest" (I was going to link, but damned if I can find the post. It was funny, about muffins.), and I quickly added it to my Netflix. After my recent amusement at Edwardian literature, I bumped it to the top of the queue. And thus it became my naptime entertainment for the day (I told you I adapt whatever manner of speaking I hear -- and I can't seem to stop myself!).

Anyway, it was really, really funny! I may have to watch it again before I return it, just to catch all the tricks with words. Why is Colin Firth so appealing? I don't think he's all that attractive, don't get why some people get all gushy about him, but he's a great comic actor! As was Rupert Everett. And all the funny flashes of daydreams and tattoo parlors were great! Hmmm, maybe I should actually read the play and see if they're in there ...

Strictly scientific purposes

Discovery Place, the Charlotte science museum, has a new exhibit opening this weekend that I must see. Normally, I'm not much of a science museum person, even if hands on, but geez, this one is Candy Unwrapped, an interactive look at sweetness. Mmmmmm, science.

Ahhh

I've just come off a reading binge. No huge tomes, of course, but the entire "Griffin and Sabine" series by Nick Bantock. I received the first three books in a boxed set as my reward for winning an essay contest in college (though I really, really doubt my "Frankenstein" essay was all that good. I think I was the only entrant.), and Bantock has since written three more books based on the characters and their uncanny yin-yang abilities.

They are some of the most beautiful fiction books you'll ever see, loaded with Bantock's collages on slick art-book paper. The stories are told through postcards and letters -- which you get to take out of the envelope to read -- and begin with the saga of Griffin, a British graphic artist, and Sabine, a South Pacific islander who can telepathically see what Griffin draws. From there, we follow the soul mates through self-realization journeys and being chased by someone out to stop them from coming together. The three new books, "The Gryphon," "Alexandria" and "The Morning Star," bring back Griffin and Sabine, who contact Matthew and Isabella, lovers separated by distance who also have supernatural abilities. The new lovers are also pursued, and if they come together, will somehow unleash some amazing knowledge of balance and harmony that has been lacking from humanity for centuries. Maybe sounds a bit hokey, and the first three were better, but all the books are just an absolute delight to read and caress and marvel over.

Let there be light

Abigail loves to turn out the lights to make the "power go out." Often there is an imaginary storm involved. But tonight, she was actually encouraged to turn out the lights. Her Little Mermaid flashing magic wand broke, and she had discovered that it could still work as a makeshift flashlight. So Brad wanted her to show him. And she did, several times, until he finally asked her to turn the big lights back on so he could finish reading the paper. And she replied, "Oh, Daddy, don't worry. Don't be afraid, Jesus will come and give you light."

Her own little version of Luke and John.

Granted, she was talking literally about her flashlight and we had just read the little epiphany booklet she got in Sunday school, but hey, not bad for early doctrine!

Drooooool

I know I've mentioned Paris Breakfasts before, and you may notice it in my link list (so I can check it every day), but oh dear, I am about to die from the following photo. If I ever went to this shop, I think I would just melt into a puddle of gluttonous desire.



That is PB's author's photo, by the way. And if anyone is ever in doubt of what they could get me for a gift, one of her watercolors would do quite, quite nicely.

Swedish delights

The most thrilling news in ages came across NPR today: Charlotte is getting an IKEA!!! I'm so excited! I know some of you live near one already, but it's been years for me. I fondly recall my first visit to an IKEA back in Chicago as a preteen, though I was probably feeding a lot off my sister's excitement. Sigh, inexpensive design, how delightful. And a., you lucky thing, it's going in at City Boulevard and I-85!

Quite a View

Well, that was quick! I started "A Room with a View" last night and finished it just moments ago. What a great book! Thank you, sister dear, and I'm sorry I didn't appreciate it when I was 12. I didn't have the background for it, and was frankly probably too young. But now I am well steeped in Victorianism, have a mature understanding of love, and have seen "Manor House" and "1900 House". Seriously, those shows made me really able to picture what was going on :) So thank you, though I still don't see much "Anne."

This was a truly amusing read (I'm sorry if I use silly words, I mimic what I've been reading. Last night I called Brad "peevish."). The story is a straightforward narrative, but every once in a while Forster pops in to make sure you're reading everything properly. Big chunks of story, a rambly paragraph of philosophy, more story, a quick first person aside to clear up something he was trying to do with words, more story ... . I thought he characterized Lucy really well, brought her out with great dialog and thoughts and description without just telling you. And it was great fun reading an Edwardian picking on Victorians, while as Brad pointed out "There's nothing different about them except for a monarch."

Interestingly, the only other Forster I've read was "A Passage to India," which is not at all light or funny. "View" was published in 1908, "India" in the 20s; modernism definitely separates them.

So very, very good. Shana, you'd probably like it. Maybe a., too. Even Smitty.

And thus ends my 2006 reading. What's in store for 2007? I think I'll decide tomorrow.

My secret identity

Was a great show. I though Jerry O'Connell was hot.

Anyway. For the past month or so, I've been writing another blog. Nothing major, just a once-a-week deal for Charlotte Parent magazine. Naturally, I don't get paid, though it was hinted that maybe, possibly, someday this could happen -- when the pigs are all done flying. But it's got me writing more, which is a good thing, and it lets me air out my mommy thoughts without burdening the non-parents I know. Sadly, it's not in real blog format, which is why I was so hesitant to share and may not be able to use it professionally later, but for now, it's interesting.

Reading rewind

Ages ago, my sister gave me "A Room with a View" by E.M. Forster. Perhaps because she called it a more grown up Anne of Green Gables, which I didn't see, I didn't really get into it at the time. I was probably 16. When I went to college, I really enjoyed "A Passage to India," so I got to thinking the first Forster deserved another chance. So that's what's up next, probably once the holiday insanity slows down.

I must say, I'm looking forward to it, if for no other reason than the chapter titles. I don't recall Forster being particularly zany, but the table on contents is great! Chapter 3 is "Music, Violets, and the Letter 'S'" while chapter four is brilliantly "Fourth Chapter." But chapter 6 has them all beat: "The Reverend Arthur Beebe, the Reverend Cuthbert Eager, Mr. Emerson, Mr. George Emerson, Miss Eleanor Lavish, Miss Charlotte Bartlett, and Miss Lucy Honeychurch Drive Out in Carriages to See a View; Italians Drive Them." That's GREAT! And then comes chapter 7, simply "They Return." This should be good.

And this morning, I got to thinking about other things I should add to my to-read list, and for some reason I'm now convinced I need to read "The Inferno." Ah, nothing like a little Dante for some light escapism! And of course, after that I must do "Paradise Lost," which I managed to essentially escape as an undergrad. I had a modern poetry class just after the Milton class, and the scribble on the chalkboard always made me so very glad I wasn't in the Milton class. But I feel it's something I should read, especially since the majority of our ideas about heaven and hell and all that come from these two works and not the actual Bible. What fun.

Eye on society

Well, after all the excitement about the big society wedding this past weekend, I sadly must announce I did not get to do quite as much people-watching as I'd hoped.

For one, I could barely see. Those who know me well may not be surprised by this, but I managed to inflict bodily harm upon myself the morning of the wedding -- specifically, I jammed my mascara brush into my eye and scratched it. I've never done that before, and it HURTS! I couldn't look to the right and, as my loving husband put it, I looked like I had pink eye. Or perhaps like I'd been slugged, once it all started swelling up from rubbing it. I was all right as long as I kept drops in it and remembered to turn my head to look at something rather than just my eyes, but that's hard to do. So mainly, I had really good conversations with whoever was on my left.

But of course, it was still a lovely affair. It was held in a beautiful 18th century church, which was all done up for Christmas, and we were lucky enough to be seated near the front. My friend, The Groom, looked very happy, complete with his trademark bouncy walk, and The Bride was adorably excited. There were lots of Scottish touches throughout, including a piper leading her down the aisle.

The reception was most interesting. At first I was surprised it wasn't a sit-down -- until I realized, you know, you really can't prepare seating for 500 and keep them in the same building! All seven layers of the wedding cake disappeared. The reception was set up as a mingling event, which sadly I was not exactly in the mood for, but the food and drinks were great -- I missed the pomegranate martinis, but I did get a fried green tomato and some fabulous sweet potatoes -- and Brad valiantly did his part mingling, meeting some really interesting, well-connected people. A top state politician's husband, a college president, other people who could obviously bank roll us 100 times over. And he found them all very approachable and genuinely nice to talk to. I just stayed with my college friends, so I wouldn't have to explain my eye, though they still asked me how I was doing every 15 minutes. I really wanted to talk about something else! -- but all I could think about was not looking to the right. But I did manage to meet and like the newest girlfriend in the group and generally catch up with with folks, who look surprisingly nice all cleaned up! :)

So no major shoulder-rubbing and no stunning pictures of Ayzair in her cocktail dress, but a nice time was had by all.

And my eye is now fine, or at least just slightly puffy and blood-shot.

Jesus is full of hot air!

I wonder how much crazy hate mail I'll get from that title ...

Of course, I do not mean that literally. Or rather, I intend it literally about the alarming inflatable, illuminated nativity that popped up on one lawn here in town. Now, I find the whole inflatable trend pretty idiotic -- geez, and we complain about energy prices?!?! -- but a three-times larger than life glowing holy family? Come on, people! Thankfully, baby Jesus wasn't in a snow globe, but I still find it incredibly tacky and just a wee bit too irreverent.

Although it provided much humor on an extremely windy evening last week as the whole stable whipped about in a frenzy, nearly crashing into the nearby inflatable snowman and Santa.

But seriously, people. Leave the all-out stuff to official town decorations. I plan to take Abigail to McAdenville, and that will be loads of wonderful tackiness, but we don't need it on your average residential street!

Of course, I've always been biased toward white lights of the non-blinking variety. And I'm not totally against manger scenes in the front yard; someone in my mom's neighborhood had a lovely white, cut-out silhouette of the inspiring scene, gently lit and only about 3 feet tall. There are better ways to spread the spirit of the season!

I need an empire waist dress

How on earth can I not like this one? Thanks, Shana! Though I do have to dig out my Austen to remember exactly who Jane was ...

(Later: Damn, this is annoying! I've read the book, I loved the book. Who the hell was Jane?! I think I'm all confused with "Sense and Sensibility" ...)

You scored as Jane Bennet. As someone who would rather see the good in people, Jane is a true pacifist and caregiver. At times, her shy temperament and naive outlook of people can land her in a compliant position, but those who know her love her for her positive spirit and cheerful view of what surrounds her. Jane Bennet 59% Elinor Dashwood 50% Elizabeth Bennet 41% Emma Woodhouse 41% Marianne Dashwood 31% Charlotte Lucas 19% Lady Catherine 9% Which Jane Austen Character are You? (For Females) Long Quiz!!! created with QuizFarm.com