The Fattypants Papers

2006-09-21T14:41:00.000-07:00

Packing up my pants

So, I'm moving The Fattypants Papers over to Vox. Vox is kewl.

The new link is: fattypants.vox.com

2006-09-19T20:26:00.000-07:00

Book Review: Bad Girl Creek by Jo-Anne Mapson

This book wasn't especially well-written, but I enjoyed it in spite of the occasionally cringe-worthy word choices.

The story takes turns being told from the viewpoints of four women who, through a variety of unusual circumstances, end up living together on a flower farm. Each is trying to deal with her own difficult past, and they help each other by forming their own little family group. Once you find out everybody's secret (in the first few chapters of the book), everything is fairly predictable. I still was sort of glued to the book, though.

Not everything is totally resolved, so I wasn't surprised to find that it is the first in a trilogy. I'll look forward to reading the other two, but they'll be guilty pleasures.

2006-09-18T16:20:00.000-07:00

Book Review: Four Spirits by Serena Jeter Naslund

The Summer Reading Program is over, but I think I'll continue to review the books I read. I just don't have to include the page-count anymore.

The "Four Spirits" referred to in the title of this book are the four young girls killed in the 16th Street Baptist Church bombing in Birmingham. (Or are they? By the end of the book I was thinking the title could refer to four other "spirits.") Although the bombing is a major event in the book, though, I wouldn't say that this book is "about" that bombing. Rather, it's about what it was like to live in Birmingham during the struggle for civil rights, for black and white citizens, alike. And boy, does it ever accomplish that. I was recently asked what I get out of reading, and a part of my reply was that I think there is a lot to be learned from fiction; so often fiction gives us the chance to know what it is like to experience something entirely outside of our own sphere of experience. That was what this book was like for me. I think I could read a hundred non-fiction books about the civil rights movement and not get the same sense of what it was like to live through it than I did from reading this book. It is so striking to me to think of a time so recent and a place so close to home, really, where violence was a such frequent occurrence.

If this book were a film, it would be referred to as an ensemble piece. (Imagine a period version of Crash.) It follows several characters: black and white. Most of them are engaged in the struggle for integration, but some chapters follow a Klan member and his family. We see what they go through in the name of civil rights--police brutality at protests, beatings, threats, fear. But we also see parts of their daily lives that have nothing to do with civil rights--their love affairs, their relationships with their children. Naslund has created a microcosm of Birmingham in this small cast of characters--lives intersect in ways that are maybe too coincidental to be realistic--and through their growth we can see how attitudes towards integration gradually began to change and progress was made.

2006-09-13T16:45:00.000-07:00

disneylanddisneylanddisneylanddisneyland. DISNEYLAND! (is a good place to overhear kids say cute things)

Here are some gems that we have witnessed over the years:

Kid being sort-of-dragged through the Space Mountain line by his dad, who is telling him he'll like it. "I don't like SPACE and I don't like MOUNTAINS!"

Little Australian girl in the Matterhorn line (you've got to imagine the accent) "Daddy, are you going to get mewtion sickness?"

Little girl with giant lollipop #1: "Do you like to be sticky?"
Little girl with giant lollipop #2: "It's okay."

2006-09-09T05:25:00.000-07:00

disneylanddisneylanddisneylanddisneyland. DISNEYLAND! (has fun things to do even if you don't go on any rides)

Most people think of Disneyland as being all about the rides. For me, the rides are the main attraction, but there are a lot of other ways to have fun at Disneyland.

1. Parades and shows. It can be kind of a pain to sit down early enough to get a good spot for a parade or a show, but if you have enough time to go on all the rides you want to, it is a fun thing to do. (Plus, this is an excellent time to engage in activity number 6, listed below.) Right now, Disneyland is running one parade, the Parade of Dreams, which is a pretty good parade with performance stops along the way, Fantasmic!--an excellent multimedia nighttime show on the Rivers of America, and their 50th Anniversary fireworks, which is a really spectacular show with projections on the castle and Matterhorn. All of these are good--Fantasmic!, especially, is a classic. For all of these, you probably need to sit down at least an hour early to get a good spot.

Below: Trampoline peformers on the Alice in Wonderland float in the Parade of Dreams

California Adventure is running the Block Party Bash, a Pixar themed parade with long, noisy peformance stops during which you might be pulled out of the crowd and forced to dance with a giant green army man. I can skip that one, thanks. But they're also running a short Aladdin. musical, which has really cool special effects, a funny genie who pulls quips from current events, and sometimes audience behavior, and good songs. It takes part in a big, nice, indoor theater, so it's a good place to get in from the heat and sun, and rest your feet, and it doesn't matter where you sit, since every seat has a good view.

You can check the calendar for show and parade times.

2. Non-ride "Attractions:" Animatronic shows and films are a great place to enjoy a seat and some air-conditioning. And some of them are can't-miss classics, like the Enchanted Tiki Room. California Adventure has the Animation Pavillion, where you can learn to draw a character (you should have seen my attempt at Goofy--next time I will follow directions more carefully), record a voice for a scene from a Disney film, or go to the toaotally awesome Turtle Talk with Crush. There's also a nice little movie about the history of California, which always makes me cry and then I'm totally mortified that my emotions are so easy to manipulate. It's Tough to be a Bug and Muppet Vision 3D are part of a new breed of 3-D films that incorporate animatronics and other surprising effects. (Be sure you keep your seat until the very end of It's Tough to be a Bug!) Disneyland also has one of these: Honey, I Shrunk the Audience. There are also some great walk-through attractions, like Tarzan's Tree House, many of the character's houses in Toontown, and Tom Sawyer Island

3. Dining Experiences: I went to Disneyland in college with some friends who wanted to save money by taking sandwiches and snacks into the park. While I totally understand this impulse--the food is expensive sometimes, I think that eating at the parks is part of the Disneyland experience. I've already mentioned how much I love the Blue Bayou,, and that is as much for the atmosphere as the food. Other can't-miss dining experiences include The Gibson Girl Ice Cream Parlor on Main Street and Mickey Mouse shaped snacks (everything from pretzels to ice cream sandwiches to tortilla chips). We recently discovered Pooh's Hunny Spot, right by the Winnie-the-Pooh ride, which is in a fairly quiet corner of the parks and offers a Tigger Tail (marshmallows on a stick dipped in orange coating and drizzled with chocolate), and Rice Crispie treates shaped and decorated to look like Hunny pots.

(This blogger gives a pretty good rundown of some of the best places to eat in the parks and Downtown Disney.)

4. Shopping: I'm not a really big shopper, but there are some shops I really enjoy going to every time I go to Disneyland, particularly the Christmas shop and others in the back alleys of New Orleans Square.

5. Looking around: The Imagineers have put a lot of thought and detail-work into the parks, which you can miss if you are running around from ride-to-ride. Two of my favorite places to just spend some time looking around are Toontown, and New Orleans Square.

Below: "Laundry" hung to dry along the Rivers of America

6. Observing other Disneyland guests. Disneyland is pretty much the best place to observe...um... "interesting" behavior, conversations, child rearing techniques, and fashion choices. Seriously, I am almost never bored waiting in a line or sitting on the curb of Main Street waiting for a parade to start. You'd be shocked how many women decide to wear short skirts and less-than-sensible shoes for a day on their feet, climbing in and out of rides.

Other people seem to enjoy pin trading and tracking down characters for autographs and photos. I don't really get the appeal of those activities, but since it keeps those people out of lines for rides I want to go on, they can go ahead and knock themselves out.

2006-09-08T08:07:00.000-07:00

Addendum to yesterday's entry:

I was reminded about the Roger Rabbit ride in Disneyland's Toontown. That is definitely a point in favor of Disneyland, as the Disney World Toontown Faire doesn't have any adult-friendly rides. (My sister and I went on the Barnstormer Roller Coaster once, and the wait in the queue was very stressful for me, as I was really worried we wouldn't fit in the car.)

Roger Rabbit's Car Toon Spin is really fun dark ride, and features the best themed queue I've ever seen (it's too bad the current fastpass arrangement means you often just walk right through it), and one of my favorite effects ("I've got a portable hole!").

Thanks, Kelly, for reminding me!

2006-09-07T13:52:00.000-07:00

disneylanddisneylanddisneylanddisneyland. DISNEYLAND! (is better than Disney World)

To know me is to know how much I love Disneyland. At the end of October, I'll be heading down there to celebrate my 30th birthday. This is causing kind of a dilemma for me, because I want the time to go fast so that I can go, but that means I will also be wanting the last 49 days of my 20's speed by.

It's been pointed out to me that I am fixated on Disneyland. Well, I did know that--I have been like this since 1993. If I don't have a trip to Disneyland planned, I feel empty and desolate inside. If I do, I am counting down the days (48, if you're followng along at home). I recently figured out I've been to Disneyland 16 or 17 times. (Anybody happen to remember whether Karen and I went in the Summer of 1998? Because we don't, and it's driving me crazy.) And I went to Disney World 5 times whe I was living in Florida.

It occured to me...why am I not blogging about Disneyland? I certainly have a lot to say about it.

In order to convince some people that Disneyland is better than Disney World, and they need to give it a try, here is a list of reasons why I think Disneyland is better than Disney World.

1. It's the original. The park was built with Walt Disney's input, and has a richer history, like the apartment over the firehouse, and Club 33.

2. New Orleans Square. What's more fun--the Big Easy, or Colonial Williamsburg. Sure, Disneyworld has Liberty Square--whose biggest attraction is the Hall of Presidents. Big whoop. Disneyland has New Orleans Square, which is one of the prettiest places in any of the parks. So, the land itself is prettier and more fun to walk around in, but then it has stuff that Disney World either doesn't have, or doesn't do as well. They are so important, they get their own spots on the list.

The Disneyland Railroad pulls into New Orleans Square Station

3. Pirates of the Caribbean. At Disney World, you get on a boat, and you go past some animatronic pirates, and it's nice, sure, but if you've ever been on Pirates at Disneyland, you're bound to be disappointed. At Disneyland, you get on your boat, and you drift through a big bayou at night scene, then you come to the arch where the skull warns you "Dead men tell no tales," and you plunge down a real drop (not the dinky little drop they put in at Disney World, which they probably felt they had to do because Disneyland has a drop), and you're in these caverns full of pirate skeletons, ship debris, and booty. Then you come out in the world of the "fleshy" animatronic pirates. There's much more of a story to it--like you were just taking a little bayou cruise and accidentally fell into the caves with the skeletons, and were transported magically back in time. Apparently, Pirates at Disneyland now has a Jack Sparrow figure, but I haven't seen it yet, so I don't have a comment (but will report back after our trip).

4. The Blue Bayou. While you're on Pirates, as you're winding through the bayou-at-night scene, you pass an "outdoor" restaurant lit with pastel lanterns. This might just be my favorite place to eat lunch in the whole world. It is so nice to come in from a hot, sunny day to this "night time" setting, all dark and cool. They have great food, too. A lot of people are smitten with the Monte Cristo, but I like the pork loin with apples. Apparently they've made some changes; check out this review which includes pictures. Pirate dessert! I think the cookie boat is the cutest, but I'm a sucker for a creme brulee trio. Only at Disneyland.

5. The Haunted Mansion. The ride at Disneyland is about the same as Disney World, but the house is much prettier:

And, from early October to early January, they do the Haunted Mansion Holiday: a Nightmare Before Christmas take on the ride. It's awesome.

6. The Matterhorn. Sure it's not the most thrilling roller coaster ever, but it's a fun ride, and a park landmark, and it's only at Disneyland. And you get to listen to yodeling while you wait.

7. it's a small world. Like the Haunted Mansion, the ride is about the same at both parks, but Disneyland's small world has its own, pretty building and outdoor boarding area, with a big cuckoo-type clock.

8. Mr Toad's Wild Ride. It's a classic, and they closed the one at Disney World to put in Winnie-the-Pooh.

9. Alice in Wonderland dark ride. This dark ride is second only to Peter Pan for me. It's so cute. The loading area has big leaves and flowers, and you get to wind around on a caterpillar. Also, the teacups at Disneyland are cuter--no cover, and nice colored lanterns.

10. Storybook Canal/Casey Junior Circus Train. There's a whole land of buldings and plants "magically shrunk by Tinkerbell" depicting scenes from Disney films. The Storybook Canal boats are a guided tour past Geppetto's toys shop, Alice's rabbit hole, Snow White's cottage, and other sentimental favorites. On the Casey Junior Circus Train, you can take a faster ride around the same landscape.

11. Toontown. Disney World has "Mickey's Toontown Fair," which is cute because it features the "vacation homes" of some of the Disney characters, but Toontown is bigger, better, cuter, and more thoughtfully planned. The bathrooms are in the gas station for crying out loud.

12. Space Mountain. It's just a better ride at Disneyland.

13. Autopia. Cuter at Disneyland.

14. Scale. A lot of people like Disney World better because it's bigger and there are more parks. While I can see this as a plus in Disney World's favor, I love that at Disneyland, both parks, all the hotels, and Downtown Disney are within easy walking distance of each other. It makes such a difference that you really can hop out of the park for lunch in Downtown Disney without having to take a bus or a boat there.

15. Indiana Jones Adventure. Disney World has (or used to have--I'm not sure if it's been replaced) a stunt show, but Disneyland has a really good ride. Who wouldn't rather go on a ride than just sit and watch a show.

That's about all I can think of right now, although the main thing for me, is probably just that I went to Disneyland first, every few years since I was about 5, and I didn't go to Disney World until I was 26. So there's probably some nostalgia invovled.

2006-09-06T18:42:00.000-07:00

We Like Corn on the Cob

So, the other weekend, we had it for lunch. Not even for dinner. Lunch.

Karen offered to husk it and I took her up on it, since I was trying to finish an SRP book. So, several minutes later, it occurs to me that it seems to be taking an awful long time for three ears of corn. I go into the kitchen to find her carefully peeling the husks off the corn, one leaf at a time, and gently depositing each leaf in the garbage. One at a time.

::facepalm::

This post will be the first in the series of why the Kane girls would have made really, really bad pioneers.

2006-09-05T21:22:00.000-07:00

I like to not have giant blackheads.

So I use a face mask once a week or so to clean out my pores and try to curtail any breakouts. I used to get a Desert Clay mask at Garden Botanika that I loved. After it was dry, I could see all the oil it had blotted out of my pores right there in little polka dots on my nose and cheeks.

Tonight, I tried a new one--Queen Helene's Mint Julep Mask. It's got great word-of-mouth, so I thought I'd give it a try, since it cost $3.29 instead of the $15-$20 I usually pay. It was nice and tingly, which I like, because that makes me feel like it is working. The minty smell was very pleasant--Harley thought so, too, and it was kind of hard to keep him from rubbing up against my face while I was waiting for it to dry. My pores look nice and clean, and it wasn't too hard to rinse off.

Here are some others I've tried since I used up the last of my Garden Botanika stockpile:

Bath and Body Works' Pumpkin mask. I can't find it on the website, so maybe they don't make it anymore. It has the appearance, smell, and consistency of canned pumpkin pie filling. It's a too little mild for me and it takes for-freaking-ever to dry.

Jaqua Pumpkin Papaya Pure Enzyme Face Mask I really liked this one. It smelled great--pumpkiny and spicy, and worked well. Not tingly, but it made my skin feel nice and soft in addition to clearer. Also takes a long time to dry, but smells so good I don't really care.

Body Shop Natural Oceanic Clay Ionic Mask Okay, this worked fine, but imagine putting dark green tempera paint all over your face, and then trying to wash it off in your bathroom sink. I can't believe I spent $18 to stain a bunch of my washcloths and have to clean my sink out every time I used this.

Freeman Peel-off Cucumber Mask Peel off masks sound like a lot more fun than they actually are. I was always picking cucumber scented mask boogers out of my hairline.

2006-08-31T22:13:00.000-07:00

Disgustingly Delicious, with no calories!

The following are the entertianment equivalents of Cheetos:

1. E! It's basically televised Star! Magazine. Sure, I'm an avid reader, but sometimes, I just find the 100 Greatest Celebrity Freak-outs completely riveting.

2. VH1 Celebreality. Like E!, with the added delciousness of B-list celebrities doing stuff like trying to lose weight, or my favorite...co-habitating.

3. Kelly Clarkson. I've never even watched American Idol. I don't really like pop. But if I'm tired on my wallk, all I have to do is steer my ipod to Since U Been Gone.

4. One Tree Hill. It makes Dawson's Creek look Emmy-worthy. In a cast of 10 regulars, I count 3 who have not been directly involved in a teen pregnancy and/or pregnancy scare at some point during the run or history of the show. It features a teen vixen who looks like she's at least 29, and an awesomly eeeevil, mustache twirling villian. Oh! And one of the characters is a singer, whose performances are featured on the show and on the soundtrack. How very Kids from Fame. Thank goodness it wasn't cancelled in the WB/UPN merger!

5. Movies with dancing. Oh, I'm not talking about Fred Astaire/Ginger Rogers classics. No. (Those are good, too.) No, the kind that are delicously disgusting are the ones made after 1980, involving teens, usually one from a strict family and one from the wrong side of the tracks. Excellent examples of this genre include Center Stage, and Footloose. An awesome variation resulted in the awesome The Cutting Edge. I haven't seen Step Up yet, because I'm too embarassed to go to the theater, but you can bet it's in my Netflix queue.

2006-08-31T20:13:00.000-07:00

30th and final SRP Book Review

Island of the Blue Dolphins by Scott O'Dell

186 pages

Do you remember in Elementary School, how the teacher would read a chapter book aloud to the class, after lunch, or after recess? I don't even remember which teacher read this to us, but I think it was third grade. I was totally wrapped up in the world of Island of the Blue Dolphins.

I bought a copy a few years ago, but I decided I didn't really want to keep it, and am going to pass it on to my cousin's daughters, who are getting to be the right age. But I wanted to read it first.

It was as good as I remembered. Left behind after her tribe leaves the small island they live on, Karana survives for years. It's really striking how brave and resourceful she is, not only learning to survive, but also taming some of the animals who live on the island for companionship.

I had no idea that it was a true story, but according to the author's note, the book is based on a woman who lived alone on the island for 18 years.

This book brought my total books from June-August to 30, and my total pages to 9416.

2006-08-31T15:27:00.000-07:00

SRP Book Review #29

Full House by Janet Evanovich

334 pages

Written before the Stephanie Plum series started, this is really a typical romance novel that shows a few hints of the humor and mystery that make the Plum books so good.

I really don't have anything else to say. Oh, except three of the main characters are named Billie, Joel, and Christie, and I'm sure it was written when Billy Joel and Christie Brinkley were still married. It took me most of the book to notice this.

2006-08-30T19:33:00.000-07:00

That's disgusting! Yum!

There are some things that are so bad for you, and so very gross. They're over-processed, and cheap, and trailer park-y. And delicous! You can't eat them often, nor would you want to, but every once in awhile, I MUST HAVE THEM. I've never been a fan of Twinkies (actually, I don't remember ever having one), but if I liked Twinkies, they would fall into this category. Here are a few things that are disgusting...yum!

1. Chicken in a Biskit. It's a chicken flavored cracker. How wrong is that? In addition to being on crack conceptually speaking, they are loaded with sodium and trans fats. And scrumptiousness.

2. Cheetos. Because I was shocked that my vegan friend wouldn't eat them, because they actually do contain real cheese. Fortunately, the Baked Cheetos are actually really good.

3. McDonald's Cheeseburgers. Hey, I read Fast Food Nation. It scared the hell out of me and really grossed me out, too. But it's been a couple of years and there's something about the perfect combination of fake cheese, warm pickles, and onion bits.

4. Bacon. I'm not that attached to eating meat in the first place, and I especially don't like the gross fatty parts of meat. Then why do I love bacon so much?

5. Cheez Whiz. Actually, I don't really like it, except in my favorite so-gross-it's-delicious recipe, Trailer Park dip. (Combine 1 can chili, 8 oz cream cheese, and 8 oz Cheez Whiz.)

6. Fritos. Especially Chili Cheese. Or the Scoops, dipped in #6.

7. Oreos. Let's face it, the middle is basically Crisco and sugar.

2006-08-30T18:08:00.000-07:00

SRP Book Review #28

The King of Torts by John Grisham

376 pages

So, most of the other John Grisham books I've read have a plucky, ethical hero(/ine), usually a young attorney, who uses his or her legal expertise to bring down some sort of bad guy. Here, Clay Carter, a young attorney, has a couple of lucrative class action lawsuits sort of handed to him. Clay is introduced to us as someone with a code of ethics, he's a public defender and is particularly interested in saving historic Virginia battlefields from his soon-to-be-ex-girlfriend's developer father. With his newly made millions, Clay buys a jet and a home in the Caribbean, takes up with a model he doesn't particularly like (and crashes the aforementioned ex-girlfriend's wedding), and takes on several other class action suits of dubious legal merit. He seems to feel bad about settling his trusting clients' bad drug lawsuits for a low number, and refusing a reasonable settlement with a small-ish company, causing them to go bankrupt. But not bad enough to do anything especially heroic about it.

I guess I just didn't really get the point of this book. It could have been an interesting take on the other side of a typical Grisham story, but Clay was too bland and wishy washy to make a particularly good villain. He continues to pine for his ex-girlfriend, but there really was no indication to me that they even loved each other all that much. I did learn some things about tort litigation, but I could have learned the same stuff in a much more entertaining book if Grisham had cast it with more interesting and/or sympathetic characters.

2006-08-29T21:20:00.000-07:00

Fall is coming!

Fall is in the air. I love Fall, and I'm so excited! I have every right to be, since I haven't gotten to experience a real Autumn since 2002. Sure, the leaves are pretty, but here are some other things I love about Fall:

1. No more hot weather. Sure, Summer's nice, but you can't tell me you didn't get tired of those nights when it was so hot nobody could sleep. Cold, crisp weather is my favorite, and we get the most of that in the Fall here.

2. TV. New shows to watch, and old favorites coming back. I've been waiting all summer to see what will happen next on Gilmore girls, House and Lost. I think I'll have more to say about TV later.

3. Sweaters. I'm tired of t-shirts and shorts. I want to wear cozy sweaters.

4. Back-to-school. As someone who grocery shops and does other errands during the day, I am really looking forward to classes being in session again.

5. It's a change. I think the change from Summer to Fall is the most dramatic season change. Fall kind of deteriorates gradually into Winter, Winter mellows out into Spring, and Spring just sort of blends into Summer (usually sometime around July 1), but it seems like the air all of a sudden gets a crispness to it around Labor Day, and there's Fall.

6. Soup. It's fun to make soup, and pot roast, and other things that simmer on the stove.

2006-08-29T21:02:00.000-07:00

Two of my favorite things, combined!

Foofie bath products and breakfast food. Yay!

Recently sniffed at Sephora The latest Philosophy set is breakfast! There's Belgian Waffle, Blackberry Sauce, and Fresh Cream. Surprisingly, I like the Fresh Cream the best...it smells just like whipped cream would smell, if it had a smell.

I was very good, and remembered how full my extras closet is, so I didn't get it.

(Clearly, I don't need any more bath supplies.)

2006-08-28T19:48:00.000-07:00

SRP Book Review #27

Violets are Blue by James Patterson

393 pages

James Patterson is a great plotter, but not such a great writer. This book took me less than 24 hours to finish, which is typical of his books, and if they took any longer, I wouldn't bother.

This was one of his Alex Cross books. The mystery Alex is trying to solve this time is a string of murders all across the country that appear to be committed by vampires. Everything unfolds about how you'd expect, especially if you've watched enough episodes of CSI and The X-Files.

The vampire murders are wrapped up about 80 pages before the end of the book, and then there's some business with a subplot involving someone who's been stalking Alex, which really wasn't very interesting, nor was the identity of the stalker particularly surprising, considering the "subtle" hints throughout the rest of the book.

2006-08-28T19:37:00.000-07:00

SRP Book Review #26

City of the Beasts by Isabel Allende

405 pages

Did you know that Isabel Allende writes YA literature? This book is a pick for my book club. I was expecting it to be like Alice Hoffman's young adult literature, which is like Alice Hoffman's other books, but without the sex and other adult themes. Instead, seemed more to me like more of a conventional young adult adventure story.

I thought it was a great YA book, though--if I worked with teens, I would definitely recommend it, because it seems like it would appeal to a wide variety of ages, and to boys as well as girls--most of it is told from the viewpoint of a 15 year old boy. It's an adventure story, but there are also a lot of more complex themes to think about, like environmentalism and spirituality.

2006-08-24T17:27:00.000-07:00

SRP Book Review #25

Cracks by Sheila Kohler

165 pages

Cracks is the story of a murder at a South African girls' boarding school. One of the 13 girls on the swim team disappears, and the rest of them come back for a reunion several years later. The story switches back and forth between present day and when they were students. The book is written in the first person, but there isn't a singular pronoun in the entire narration, so we never know which of the girls is telling the story, if it is even one of them in particular.

Sometimes it seemed a little overstylized and pretentious to me. It reminded me a little bit of Picnic at Hanging Rock, a movie that I hated, although I did ultimately like the book in the end.

Most importantly, and not a given in an arty, literary story about a murder, is that we actually get to find out what happened. I wasn't too worried, because the book came highly recommended from someone who hates artsily ambiguous mystery resolutions, but still.

2006-08-23T12:40:00.000-07:00

My kitty is a little scary

He's always been a bit of a biter, but I thought that it was because he hadn't learned healthy ways of expressing his affection. Now I'm afraid he might plotting to strangle me in my sleep with his fleece ribbon.

He looks like he could play The Joker in an all-animal version of Batman. Note the evil glint in the eyes and the crazed grin.

2006-08-22T18:03:00.000-07:00

SRP Book Review #24:

Forever Amber by Kathleen Winsor

972 pages

Written in 1944, Forever Amber seemed to me a kind of cross between Gone with the Wind and Moll Flanders . In her characterization of Amber, Kathleen Winsor is seems like she might have been trying to capitalize on some of the success Margaret Mitchell had creating a scandalous, strong-willed heroine to drive her historical epic.

I did learn a lot about the Restoration, a time period I wasn't very familiar with before. According to the forward, Winsor became interested in the Restoration while her husband was researching the time period for his thesis. She read the same book she was reading, and her research shows in her descriptions of manners, fashion, and events such as the plague outbreak and The London Fire.

Usually, I don't enjoy books if I don't like the main character, but in spite of really disliking Amber (she's intensely unsympathetic), I found myself wanting to keep reading to see what she would do next. In fact, there was really only one character I liked in the whole book, but everyone was so outrageous that I was always entertained by what they were doing.

2006-08-08T17:23:00.000-07:00

SRP Book Review #23

Twelve Times Blessed by Jacquelyn Mitchard

532 pages

This is not about a May/December romance, really, but I'd call it June/October, with our protagonist, a woman named True, as the older party. True is a successful businesswoman in Cape Cod who meets and marries Hank, a southern restauranteur in his early 30's, on her 43rd birthday. They get married within a matter of weeks.

I don't mean to be a party pooper, but I really thought getting married so fast was a stupid move on both of their parts, and jerky, considering that they didn't even tell True's 10 year old son until after the fact. I think if you want to be dumb and get married on a whim if you don't have a kid, fine, but you should be a lot more careful if you do.

But, I guess if they weren't so impetuous, there wouldn't be a story to take up the rest of the book. Because True and Hank really get to know each other after their wedding, all kinds of difficulties develop which might have ended the relationship if they had been dating rather than married. Hank and Guy, True's son, really develop a bond that turns out to be stronger than Hank's bond with True.

Mitchard seems to specialize in and is very good at writing about unconventional families. She does that here, not only with Hank, True, and Guy, but with True's circle of friends and coworkers, as well.

2006-08-07T17:30:00.000-07:00

Just got a new camera, so I thought I'd post some pictures of the cutest things I could find.

2006-08-05T00:19:00.000-07:00

Omigod! Celebrity sighting!

Shut UP! I just saw a Tony Award Winner (tm) commit a minor misdemeanor!

We just saw Norbert Leo Butz (aka, the voice of Fiyero on your Wicked CD) in Dirty Rotten Scoundrels, (the part he won the Tony for). He was really funny and good.

And then we walked past the stage door because that is how we needed to go to get to the car! And he totally walked past us while we were waiting to cross the street! (But I didn't say anything 'cause I'm shy and also don't like to bother people.) And then my sister was looking for him back towards the stage door! And I'm all, dude, he just passed us!

And then one girl stopped him to get an autograph! But we didn't bug him! And then he jaywalked! And we saw him go into his hotel!

I like to think he saw me notice him not say anything, and appreciated it.

2006-08-02T18:24:00.000-07:00

SRP Book Review #22

The Dogs of Babel by Carolyn Parkhurst

261 pages

This book is about a man named Paul whose wife, Lexy, dies after a fall from a backyard tree, witnessed only by their Rhodesian Ridgeback, Lorelei. Paul's grief drives him to call upon his knowledge as a linguist to try to teach Lorelei to speak so that she can tell him what happened. Frustrated with his research, he becomes involved with a group of men who also are trying to teach dogs to speech, often resorting to mutilating the dogs to make speech more possible.

Let me just say that at one point, I was so worried about Lorelei that it was interfering with my enjoyment of the book, so I had to look to the end to see how she ended up. One thing I enjoyed about the book was the way Paul addresses the reader--I wish he could've taken a minute to tell me how worried I should be about what's going to happen to Lorelei.

What the book is really about is Paul's grief. He becomes absorbed in his project with Lorelei as a way of simultaneously escaping what has happened to Lexy and staying close to her.

2006-07-27T22:19:00.000-07:00

SRP Book Review #21

Son of a Witch by Gregory Maguire

329 pages

Not as good as Wicked, but I enjoyed going back to Maguire's Oz. It takes a little getting used to how adult his books are, and it's remarkable that he can pull it off with characters that we all have such preconceived notions and images of. Not so much in this book, since not many familiar Wizard of Oz characters appear.

I think the primary difference between Son of a Witch and Wicked (and Mirror Mirror and presumably Confessions of an Ugly Stepsister) is that since it's an extension of Maguire's own re-imagining of a well known tale, not based on a well known tale, it is somewhat less predictable. Not that the others were predictable, but you at least know enough to that in Wicked, when Dorothy shows up, Elphaba's on borrowed time.

A lot was left open at the end, somewhat frustratingly, but it really seemed like he was setting up for another book. If this is the end of Gregory Maguire's Oz saga, I'll be very disappointed, but I really doubt that it is.

2006-07-25T14:30:00.000-07:00

SRP Book Reviews #19 and #20

Joy School 208 pages

True to Form 214 pages

Both by Elizabeth Berg

In these novels, Berg brings back Katie, the adolescent army brat from Durable Goods .

As Joy School opens, Katie is just getting settled in in Missouri, where she was headed at the end of Durable Goods. Katie makes a couple of new friends, and develops a serious crush on the manager of the gas station near her house. Cherylanne, her friend from Texas, makes an appearance on a holiday visit, and in a series of hilarious letters including life and beauty advice.

True to Form follows Katie over the next summer, through a recurring babysitting job, and a job helping an elderly neighbor with his invalid wife. She is admitted, with a scholarship, to a swanky private girls' school, and is temporarily seduced by the idea of fitting in with this new set of glamorous, popular girls. Cherylanne is present in this book, too, in person and through letters.

Katie's books are written in the first person, and I just love her voice. She is funny, and I can tell that Elizabeth Berg remembers so well what it is like to be 13. Although I could see Katie's mistakes coming and wanted to warn her, I could totally understand why she did everything she did.

2006-07-21T17:59:00.000-07:00

SRP Book Review #18

Quite a Year for Plums by Bailey White

220 pages

This was just a nice little book. There is a large cast of eccentric characters, and it reads more like short stories than a cohesive narrative. It takes place in South Georgia, so I recognized some of the wildlife and geography, especially since there are a few visits to Florida. I did have some trouble keeping the characters straight, and I think if it was a longer book, I might have lost patience with the way the story kind of meanders around, not really being about any one person (or even two or three people) in particular, but it was nice and refreshing for a quick read.

2006-07-18T16:12:00.000-07:00

SRP Book Review #17

Deception Point by Dan Brown

558 pages

Written before Angels & Demons and The DaVinci Code, this is a fairly non-remarkable thriller. Dealing with a politically charged NASA discovery, I could tell that Brown did his research regarding the scientific aspects of the plot. The characters weren't very original, but a book like this is all about a fast plot, anyway, and there were quite a few unexpected twists and turns here, including one that I didn't see coming until just a page before it happened.

2006-07-17T17:22:00.000-07:00

Project Kookyway

Oh my gosh, is there any better place to find crazy people to put on TV than the world of fashion design? It's fantastic!

My favorite this season is Crazy Vincent. Crazy Vincent had a line in the 80's, but apparently cracked under the pressure. My theory is that he snapped and set fire to a big pile of turqoise and magenta rayon pouf skirts, and is ever so slightly brain damaged from the fumes. (How else to explain his insistance that a basket, apparently embellished with paper clip chains, would make a good hat. And then that giant sunglasses would be a good accessory to add. He has silly glasses and sillier hair, and was very proud of his sewing room's chalk board in the casting special. He's on crack. I love him. I hope he stops making ridiculous hats so that he'll stay around longer, because this man is good TV.

Oh, and according to his bio, he "enjoys truth." Kook!

2006-07-17T13:25:00.000-07:00

SRP Book Reviews #11-#16

The Griffin and Sabine books by Nick Bantock

Griffin and Sabine: An Extraordinary Correspondence 39 pages

Sabine's Notebook: In Which the Extraordinary Correspondence of Griffin and Sabine Continues 44 pages

The Golden Mean: In Which the Extraordinariy Correspondence of Griffin and Sabine Concludes 40 pages

The first three books of the trilogy introduce, but never really resolve the mystery of how Griffin and Sabine are connected. Sabine can see Griffin's art, but they don't seem to be able to exist in the same geographic location. The art is beautiful, and the books are a fun format. A complicating force is introduced in the last book, in the form of a third correspondent.

The Gryphon: In Which the Extraordinary Correspondence of Griffin and Sabine is Rediscovered 50 pages

Alexandria: In Which the Extraordianry Correspondence of Griffin and Sabine Unfolds 51 pages

The next two books introduce new characters, who are somehow connected to Griffin and Sabine, as well as each other. Things get more complicated, and it appears that Egyptian mythology and artifacts are involved.

The Morning Star: In Which the Extraordinary Correspondence of Griffin and Sabine is Illuminated 46 pages

"Illuminated?" Oh really? I guess I would have been happier with this book if I hadn't been expecting some sort of explanation or solution. The book is very pretty, but on crack. I think it all has something to do with Jungian psychology and the collective subconscious, and if I knew more about Egyptian symbolism I might have a better idea, but really, it's just too confusing.

2006-07-14T21:34:00.000-07:00

SRP Book Review #10

The Time Traveler's Wife by Audrey Niffenegger

536 pages

I had been meaning to read this book for awhile, but never got around to buying it until several people with similar tastes listed it as one of their favorites of all time. It was much different, and better, than I was expecting it to be. The back cover blurb doesn't do it justice. And also, I think I wasn't expecting the main characters to be, well, cool. I was misled by their shoes in the cover photo.

I just finished it minutes ago, so I may need to do some processing and revise my review later, but I found it impossibly bittersweet and romantic, and was actually sobbing during the final chapters, which I don't usually do, even with very sad books.

How much do you love that Henry is a young, cool male librarian who's into punk music? Audrey Niffenegger must be friends with some librarians...I've read a few books with librarian characters, and she's the only one who seems to get us--to think it's cool. Even Alice Hoffman fell victim to some stereotypes.

It's almost as if the publishers were especially conscious of Henry's librarian status and Clare's paper art, because the edition I had was an especially nice book for a trade paperback. It feels a lot heavier than most books its size, and the paper it is printed in is particularly smooth and non-newsprinty. Nice touch.

2006-07-11T07:11:00.000-07:00

SRP Book Review #9

Twelve Sharp by Janet Evanovich

306 pages

Typical of the series, although there's not much mystery this time because we know who the bad guy is and what his motives are pretty early on. Lula, Grandma Mazur, and Sally Sweet team up to form a band, and Ranger's daughter is in danger.

My favorite part of the series is reading what Stephanie feeds Rex the Hamster. This time: Cheerios, a bite of pizza, and, surprisingly, a carrot and actual hamster food.

2006-07-10T17:39:00.000-07:00

Three Things:

1. Stepping on a slug barefoot is yucky.

2. Just becuase you are having blood drawn at a lab where all they do, all day long, is draw blood, doesn't mean that they will do a good job.

3. More things need to come in a size 7 1/2, because 7 is too small and 8 is too big. Specifically, Lands End water sneakers and Jockey french cut breifs.

2006-07-10T17:27:00.000-07:00

SRP Book Review #8

Prep by Curtis Sittenfeld

406 pages

Prep chronicles the four year career of Lee Fiora, a scholarship student from the Midwest at an Ault School, an exclusive, expensive East Coast boarding school. As an outsider, Lee educates us the nature of such schools; the way money is never discussed but it's obvious who has it and who doesn't, the cliques, the difficulty of the academics. It's also a character study of Lee, who both desperately wants to fit in and actively takes steps to remain an outsider.

I didn't go to boarding school, but I did go to a very small college, and there were a lot of things I recognized here; the way everyone knew who everybody else was, even if they weren't friends or didn't hang out, how everyone was exceptionally smart and Lee, who was at the top of her class at home, struggled, and the descriptions of dorm living.

2006-07-09T20:19:00.000-07:00

SRP Book Review #7

Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte

433 pages

Well, I'm not going to review Jane Eyre. That would be silly. I do understand the Jasper Fforde books better now.

Also, isn't Rochester supposed to be some literary hero that women love, like Mr. Darcy? I thought just about everything he did was pretty assy, myself. Sorry.

2006-07-03T14:57:00.000-07:00

SRP Book Review #6

The Passion of Artemisia by Susan Vreeland

288 pages

(At left, Judith Slaying Holofernes, Artemisia Gentileschi, circa 1620)

Susan Vreeland is carving out a niche for herself with novels about artists--I enjoyed The Girl in Hyacinth Blue , and since I'd studied Artemesia Gentileschi in a couple of art history classes, I was pretty sure I'd enjoy this book.

One of my college professors was sort of obsessed with female artists who'd led difficult, remarkable lives. Artemisia Gentileschi was part of a triumverate of his favorites (along with Hildegaard von Binghen and Frida Kahlo). I was familiar with the story of Artemisia's rape by Agostino Tassi, a colleague of her father (also a painter) and subsequent trail (in which she was tortured to ensure that she was telling the truth. There was a french film made in 1997 that told the story of the events leading up to her rape, through the trail, which depicted the event as consentual. I guess it is really not possible to tell what actually happened, so this is a valid interpretation, but it kind of rubbed me the wrong way. Because of this, I was curious to see how her story would be treated here.

Vreeland made an interesting and effective choice by choosing to open the book during the trial. The first few chapters deal with the trial, but the rest of the book handles Artemisia's subsequent marriage, career as an artist in Florence, and relationship with her daughter. There isn't any ambiguity here about whether her relationship with Tassi was consentual, and it was interesting to see how the rape affects her art, personal relationships, and psyche over the next 30 or so years. The damage to her relationship with her father is examined in particular.

If you read the book, you are going to want to look at some of Artemisia's paintings. Here are some that are mentioned in the book. My professor was particularly fond of putting her Judith Slaying Holofernes next to Caravaggio's as an example of the differences between male and female attitudes towards the story and the representation of women in paintings.

Caravaggio's Judith Beheading Holofernes
Artemisia's Judith Slaying Holofernes, circa 1613
Susanna and the Elders
Allegory of Inclination
The Penitent Magdalen
Lucretia
Portrait of a Gonfaloniere
Judith and her Maidservant with the Head of Holofernes
Self Portrait as Allegory of Painting

2006-06-27T16:28:00.000-07:00

SRP Book Review #5

The Devil Wears Prada by Lauren Weisberger

360 pages

I started this book thinking I'd better read it before the movie comes out, but then I realized I will probably not see the movie for several months, after I can Netflix it. It was a nice summer read, anyway. It's been so hot that I haven't felt like doing much but read.

The book is a roman à clef, and it wasn't too hard to recognize the things that are uh, roman à cleffy about it. It is still a complete mystery how Andrea ever got the job at Runway in the first place. (Based on the description of the oufit she wears to the interview alone. I mean, I am a librarian and I would talk smack about an interview candidate who wore a mismatched suit.) It's sort of implied that Miranda is so difficult to work for that they are desperate to find anyone they can, but then Andy's told over and over how lucky she is to have the job. It sort of left me thinking that Lauren still has no idea how she got the Vogue job.

I enjoyed the story as a larger scale, more outrageous version of a fairly typical first-job-after-college experience. Everybody knows what it's like to be micromanaged, have a hard time balancing work and personal life, and feeling the pressure to compete in terms of looks/weight/fashion with other women in the workplace.

Over all, I thought the book was engaging and funny. I liked Andrea as a more real, flawed version of the typical chic-lit heroine. (Some of the protagoniststs in the genre are getting to be a little too cookie-cutter quirky-cute. Sure, they might have flaws, too, but most of them aren't any more severe than a penchant for eating cookie dough right out the tube.) I wasn't sure, though, if Weisberger was doing a bit of an unreliable narrator thing on purpose, or if it would have been a good idea for her to do some more exploration of her motives before writing the book. Among other things, it seemed slightly ridiculous to me that Andy would endure almost a year of a job she hated--to the detriment of her relationships with other people and her own integrity--without some sort of confirmation that she'd get a good recommendation at the end of it.

2006-06-25T16:20:00.000-07:00

SRP Book Review #4

Anybody Out There? by Marian Keyes

456 pages

This is the latest book by Keyes about one of the Walsh sisters. Anna is the second youngest, and as the book opens she's temporarily living with the family back in Dublin after A Very Bad Thing has happened to her in New York. I can't say what The Very Bad Thing is, because you don't find out until at least 100 pages in. Since the entire book is pretty much about events leading up to TVBT and the aftermath of TVBT, I can't really say much else about the book. Even though it deals (well) with a pretty serious subject, I did quite a bit of laughing out loud, especially at the e-mail correspondence between Anna and her mother (pay special attention to Mammy Walsh's fondness for putting things in quotes), and Anna and the youngest sister, Helen.

I saw Marian Keyes do a reading from this book about a month ago, so it was fun to read again the parts she read, and be able to hear them in her voice. She was very funny at the reading, and thanked us for coming on the night of the Lost and American Idol finales. She's tiny, much smaller than she looks in photos, and her husband is kinda foxy. She calls him "himself."

2006-06-18T18:16:00.000-07:00

Dear Trader Joe,

You know how I love you...how I missed you when I was away. You've even changed for the better, with wonderful new products like Almost Whole Wheat Pizza Dough. Since I have a birthday cake to make soon, I was thrilled to discover "Decadent Chocolate Frosting" down one of your aisles.

But...

The front of the frosting label prominently announces that it is "Ready to Use" while on the back, there is practically a dissertation about why you really, really think I should whip it before frosting my cake. In my opinion, frosting that needs to be whipped is not ready to use; there's scooping it out of the jar into the mixer, doing the actualy whipping, and finally, cleaning the mixer bowl and beater. Sure, it won't take long, but it'll be a sticky, messy task. I will inevitably wind up with frosting in my hair. And since you gave me about 15 reasons why it should be whipped, now I really will feel bad if I use it right out of the jar.

I really don't like these mixed messages.

I'm sure it will be much better than Betty Crocker, so I probably still would have bought it if I knew about the whipping. But, maybe the label should say "just whip and spread" or something, instead of "Ready to Use."

Love,
Someone who can't stay mad at you as long as you keep making Triple Ginger Snaps.

2006-06-16T22:39:00.000-07:00

SRP Book Review #3

Three Junes by Julia Glass

353 pages

Three Junes tells the story of members and acquaintances of a Scotch (Or is it Scottish for people, Scotch for things? Anyway, they're from Scotland.) family by giving us snippets from their lives in June of 1989, 1996, and 1999. The time structure of the book is its gimmick, and because of this gimmick, we should only be getting small glimpses into the characters' lives. However, Glass has done an incredible job drawing vivid, complex, interesting characters and I felt like I had actually been taken through 10 years of their lives. It helps that each section is narrated by a different person, so, for example, in the first section we get a description of a character through his father, the next is narrated by him, and in the last we get the viewpoint of someone who has just met him. The plot is a little hard to describe. My first impulse is to say that nothing much happens, it's mostly character sketches, but then I realize that it's more that so many things happen, just as you would expect in a book that spans 10 years in the lives of at least 10 major characters.

For some reason, I was expecting a much lighter read, and I'm not quite sure why. (Maybe, because of the title, I was thinking it would be more of a summer read. And yes, I did read it in June on purpose. I am nerdy that way.) This book is really more of a "literary" book. I think it took me quite a bit longer than it would normally take me to read a book of this length because I got caught up in the language. I don't want to say that it's dense writing, because that would give entirely the wrong impression, but that was the first word that sprang to mind.

2006-06-16T10:53:00.000-07:00

Dear CINTAS Truck Driver,

Well, excuse me, but I am in the habit of going slowly and checking my rearview mirror for pedestrians when I back out of a parking space. So when the car that zipped out of its parking spot almost hit me this morning, I felt I was perfectly justified in saying "Woah," and sort of waving my arms at the driver. Your scolding me that I needed to look where I was going was totally unjustified--especially since that car was still in its parking spot when I stepped off the curb. In fact, you were so out of line that I didn't even realize you were directing your statement at me until I was inside Starbucks. I would totally have told you all this to your face, but you weren't in your truck anymore when I came out.

Unless you're going to yell at the person who actually did something wrong, why don't you mind your own business? Ass!

Love,
A person who thinks a commercial driver should be more familiar with the "yield to pedestrians" rule.

2006-06-14T06:22:00.000-07:00

Dear Harley,

I know you were picked up wandering along the Dixie Hwy, leading the
life of a roaming kitty hobo, but you're an indoor kitty now. Yes,
you are, too. I am too neurotic and have had too many bad things happen to cats to be able to handle having you go outside. You love me, I can tell from the purring and the biting, so please do this for me.

I think it's wonderful that you are still able to remove the window
screen in spite of the cardboard I had wedged in it to prevent you
from doing so. And I know the vet just told you you're too chubby, so
it must have been a real self-esteem boost that you were able to shove
your fat orange ass through the couple of inches the window was open.

The chirping birds woke me up. I guess you heard them too, that's why
you wanted out so badly? Maybe you could just stick to watching them
from inside. Imagine my alarm when, hearing footsteps on the roof,
I went to the window to look for the little black and white cat who
sometimes visits, only to find you gone and the screen askew.

I don't mean to freak you out, but you could TOTALLY have been EATEN UP by a COYOTE.

It's a good thing you like those dehydrated chicken treats so much. I
promise to give you one every day, diet or no diet, if you'll just
stay inside.

Well, at least you got some good exercise! It must have been quite a
workout to manage your escape, then do all that gallivanting around on
the roof. I won't let Maggie chase you today.

Love,

Your Squishy Lady who rescued you from the PetSmart adoption display,
feeds you, runs your laser pointer, loves you, and doesn't want you to
get lost/a disease/beat up by another cat/run over by a car and/or
fall off the roof. Okay?

PS: I'm sorry you threw up your chicken treat. I guess it was all the excitement. I'll give you another one later.

PPS: Where did you get a single blade of grass, anyway?

2006-06-14T05:59:00.000-07:00

Nature? Bah.

I don't really want to be the kind of grumpy misanthrope (misornithrope?) who hates birds, but honestly, whose bright idea was it to call the noise they make singing? I've been waking up lately at about 4 am, and if I don't go back to sleep quick before the cacophony begins, I'm pretty much up for the day.

This is one way (maybe the only one) in which I preferred Florida. Muscovy ducks are the fugliest of the fug, annoying, and I was always a little scared of them, but at least they are quiet. The most bird noise I ever heard in Miami was a little polite cooing from the doves.

Maybe it is because of the air conditioning--I kept my window shut almost all of the time--or maybe because, in Florida, it doesn't start getting light at 3:45 in the morning, but I never had this problem there.

Note to self: the neighbors probably already think you're weird. Going outside at dawn to throw shoes at the trees, however tempting, is a bad idea.

2006-06-12T20:25:00.000-07:00

File under: So Wrong, It's Right. (I hope)

Guess what I just heard? They are making a STAGE MUSICAL out of XANADU!

I was four when the movie came out, but I clearly remember going to see it with my family, one rainy day during our annual summer vacation at Hood Canal. I thought it was just about the coolest thing ever, and spent a good part of the next few years dancing around our rec room to the record and tucking the skirt of my unicorn dress up into my underpants on the sides in order to look more like Kira. (Unfortunately, the latter behavior wasn't limited to our rec room. Nope, I did that at school, too. I might as well have been a paste eater.) My sister and even my brother were similarly afflicted, although they mostly roller skated to the record, and, (as far as I know) didn't resort to any inappropriate makeshift clothing modifications.

A few years ago, my sister bought the video, and I was so excited to see it again. Boy, was I embarrassed for my younger self. And for poor Gene Kelly. The dialogue is unintentionally hilarious. Michael Beck's acting is bad, bad, bad, and his shorts are teeny weeny. (No pun intended.)

After the moderate (though slightly dubious) success of movie-based stage shows like Footloose and Saturday Night Fever (and disco-riffic success of Mamma Mia!), I guess it's not surprising that someone thought this would be a good idea.

According to this Playbill.com article, Alan Tudyk has been cast as Sonny. I lurve him, and I trust him not to do Bad Acting. Hopefully, the shorts will not be miniscule, but if they are, I guess he has some practice from 28 Days. Richard Kind is taking on the Gene Kelly role, and Kira will be played by the actress who originated the role of Penny in Hairspray. No word yet whether the actors will roller skate on stage, but we can only hope.

I don't know about this. I want to be excited. I have the feeling it could be sort of like the musical equivalent of Chicken in a Biskit crackers: Kind of disgusting, junky, conceived by someone who was obviously on crack, and totally irresistible. I hope so. Or, it could be a total train wreck. Either way, I must see it! It's scheduled to hit off-Broadway about this time next year. (below: "Yee Haw!")

2006-06-12T10:07:00.000-07:00

Cat Trees Bear

Funny, yes, but I hope he doesn't run into a bear who isn't afraid of him! I think if I lived in an area where bears might come into my yard, my cat would be an indoor cat.

2006-06-10T10:27:00.000-07:00

SRP Book Review #2

The Falls by Joyce Carol Oates

481 pages

This book tells the story of a woman named Ariah, her two husbands, and her children. Through them, it also tells the story of Niagara Falls--the town, and the natural wonder. Oates paints a portrait of The Falls as a mecca for honeymooners and suicides, enclave of upstate New York's wealthy, industrial center, and environmental disaster area over approximately 30 years, starting in 1950.

Since the plot is not predictable, I don't want to give away too much of what happens to Ariah and her family. I enjoyed the first two thirds of the novel, but thought it fell apart a little at the end, as the focus turned to Ariah's children. The chronology is sloppy, and while I realize that she is probably telling the story in a nonlinear way for narrative effect, it didn't do it for me. Also, there is at least one mistake--Chandler, the oldest son, is said at one point to be in eighth grade at a pivotal event, later, he is said to be 11 during something that definitely happens quite some time after this event. Yeah, he's smart, but there's not mention of him being a freaky grade-skipping genius.

I am pretty sure I had heard of Love Canal before, probably in a high school social studies class, but this was a nice review, and I enjoyed reading about it from a fictional perspective, which I always think provides better insight as to how things like this effect real people. (Which is kind of twisted, I know.)

I enjoyed the book, but expected more, especially since it got great reviews. If you are looking to read a historical novel about Niagara Falls, I'd recommend City of Light by Lauren Belfer instead.

2006-06-10T08:17:00.000-07:00

SRP Book Review #1

The Undomestic Goddess by Sophie Kinsella

371 pages

This book was literary popcorn. Lighter than air, not very substantial, but I couldn't put it down until it was all gone.

Others have told me that they didn't like Kinsella's Shopaholic series because the heroine is simply too stupid to be believable. (I like them, but I suppose I am just more willing to believe in others' stupidity.) I think that Samantha, the protagonist of this book, is a bit more savvy, which makes the legal intrigue plotline fairly exciting. I figured it out before she did, but if it had been real life and that had happened to me, I would have been fooled, too.

However, there is little danger of a book featuring a Birken bag stuffed with cooking and cleaning implements on its cover being mistaken for a legal thriller. The hook is to see Samantha, competent career woman, flounder hilariously in domestic situations (she's posing as a housekeeper) and hook up with a hot guy she never would have considered in her fast-paced city life. The hilarity is definitely delivered, especially in the form of Samantha's nouveau-riche employers, and her attempt to make hummus by melting dried garbanzo beans in the oven. The guy, eh, is all right, but I thought he could have been a bit less of a cliche, and the plot device that keeps Samantha from telling him the truth about herself is the least believable thing about the whole book.

The ending? As predictably satisfying as can be expected from any book in this genre, and straight out of a Hanks/Ryan romantic comedy.