Late To The Party

My Year Of Reading Wirelessly: The Sequel

2012-01-01T19:21:00.001-08:00

Another year of reading wirelessly has come to an end. I just heard a few days ago that the Barnes and Noble at Westside Pavillion is closing and despite the fact that I haven't bought a book there in years, I was sad to hear it. B&N isn't exactly a small bookstore but clearly even giant like them can't compete against Amazon and of course, the ebook. While I absolutely love ebooks and being able to read on my phone has given me the chance to ingest books at an amazing rate, I can't imagine a world without real books and real bookstores. I used to spend hours browsing store shelves for new titles. Now I see how much Sofie loves books already and I dream of the day when we can browse the shelves together.

This time last year I was about halfway through "War and Peace" when I made my list, sadly I never got around to picking it up again, though I would like to at some point. I started on a cyber-punk/sci-fi kick that led me in a whole other direction this year. So without further ado, I present my reading list from 2011. Once again all read entirely on my phone. An asterisk denotes my favorites.

1. "Bossypants" by Tina Fey
2. "Neuromancer" by William Gibson
3. "Zodiac" by Neal Stephenson*
4. "The Leftovers" by Tom Perrotta
5. "A Discovery of Witches" by Deborah Harkness
6. "Snow Crash" by Neal Stephenson*
7. "Jasper Jones" by Craig Silvey*
8. "Cryptonomicon" by Neal Stephenson (200 pages in)

PS.

2011-06-11T21:43:00.001-07:00

Just got an iPad 2 and it rocks!

Pps. Is post-script even relevant in the digital age? I used to love exchanging handwritten letters with friends in school. I wonder if kids these days even write notes in the era of texts and Facebook. Sigh. I feel old.

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad

500 Days Of Not Blogging... Or Something

2011-06-11T20:40:00.001-07:00

Just watched 500 Days of Summer last night finally after having it sitting on the dvr for weeks and for some reason I can't decide if I liked it or not, regardless it got me wanting to to post about, something I haven't done in awhile, not got lack of wanting to but simply for lack if time. Life is just too busy these days.

At any rate, about the movie, it struck me that if the roles had been reversed meaning a girl chasing a guy, it would have been relegated to chick flick status but because it was the reverse it's somehow and art film instead. I was also bothered by the fact that it's first thing I've ever seen with Zooey Deschanel where I didn't absolutely love her, but I guess you can't win em all.

A Year of Reading Wirelessly In Review

2010-12-30T15:40:00.001-08:00

As the year winds down I thought it was about time that I looked back on the challenge I gave myself to spend a year reading "wirelessly", in other words only ebooks and all read entirely on my iPhone. The "year" is actually a year and change as I began keeping track late 2009.

When the ebook format came out I was skeptical, as a lifetime avid reader I love the feel of a book in hand but when I got my Kindle I quickly became a convert and then after having Sofie being able to entertain myself for long stretches in a chair became key and so I turned to the Kindle for iPhone app and never looked back. Of course there will still be books I'll read in print someday, especially since there are many titles not yet available as ebooks, but I can safely say this bookworm is happy to usher in the era of electronic reading with open arms.

Without further ado, I present the books I've read this year (and change) all via Kindle for iPhone (the starred ones were my favorites):

1. The Lost Symbol by Dan Brown
2. Pride And Prejudice by Jane Austen
3. Sense and Sensibility by Jane Austen
4. Mansfield Park by Jane Austen*
5. Prep by Curtis Sittenfeld*
6. Anna Karenina by Leo Tolstoy*
7. Wuthering Heights by Emily Bronte*
8. Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte*
9. Agnes Grey by Anne Bronte
10. Turn Of The Screw by Henry James
11. The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo by Stieg Larsson
12. The Girl Who Played With Fire by Stieg Larsson*
13. The Girl Who Kicked The Hornet's Nest by Stieg Larsson
14. War and Peace by Leo Tolstoy (currently halfway through)*

Saying Goodbye To Little Miss Control Freak

2010-12-27T13:57:00.001-08:00

One of the hardest things about parenthood for me --besides surviving on three hours of sleep-- has been letting go of my control issues. I have been a control freak for a long time but only recently admitedly so, I think because it took me a while to realize that I was one. As much as I would like to be a spontaneous person, I take comfort in and thrive on routine and feel uneasy when that routine is interrupted. Looking back now I realize I was always a control freak, even in school when we were assigned to work in groups on a project I was always the one to take charge and do all the work, not because I was a born leader--far from that-- but because I knew the only way I could control the outcome was simply by doing it all myself.

A baby will throw anyone's life into turmoil but I think it is especially hard for a control freak like myself. Of course I had this idea in my head my whole life of what motherhood and even pregnancy would be like, that I would have a perfect, content baby who would nap or play quietly while I worked on a scrapbook or (gasp!) made dinner for once in my life. I was even collecting recipes I wanted to try and when my husband inquired about it, I replied, "Oh, I'm going to make it when I'm home with the baby, I'll have more time then."

Boy was I wrong.

Having Sofie has been the most amazing and wonderful thing that has ever happened to me and I love her more than words can describe, but raising her is a full-time job plus over-time. Not all babies are the same, some babies sleep through the night at three months and never look back, some like my beautiful bundle of joy still wake up several times a night even at 15 months old. So there is little time or energy available for things like scrapbooks and dinners that require more than three ingredients.

My sense of control --or lack there of rather-- was quite evident to me again over the holidays. Christmas always feels like a magical time but even more so when you have kids and can once again take in the experience through a child's eyes. At 15 months though, Sofie is still too young to grasp what's going on and I'm too busy, chasing her around making sure she doesn't get into mischief, to revel in the glow of a Christmas tree or even have a real conversation with friends and family around the dinner table. I guess the truth is I'm so busy living in the moment that's it sometimes hard to stop and take in the moment. But don't get me wrong I'm not exactly complaining, sure it'll be nice when Sofie is a little older and more independent but for someone who has lived for most of their life under the burden of my own thoughts and tendency towards over-analyzation it is quite refreshing to simply not have time to think so much.

I do look forward to the days when Christmas is a bigger to-do in our house, when I can take a moment to simply sit on the couch and stare at the lights and get all nostalgic and misty-eyed but for now I'm pretty happy to let go of it all and just be a mom.

Gobble, Gobble

2010-11-25T21:32:00.001-08:00

Seriously?! It's Thanksgiving again already! Really? It's pretty hard to believe (and remember) that this time last year Sofie was still just a tiny little bundle I could hold in one arm. The last year has gone by in a flash, ever since becoming a parent time just seems to move faster, with a few exceptions of course like those long, up all nighters, but for the most part it seems like I've stepped into a rapid time vortex since Sofie came into my life. Ever since she's become mobile it's been a go-go-go kind of life and so of course many things have fallen by the wayside, like this blog for example.

More than once in the past year I have begun to compose a blog post in my head but never really had the chance to sit down and actually post it. Even this post has been cobbled together a few minutes here and there. Part of me wishes I still had the freedoms I once took for granted pre-baby, like the kind of time you can just wallow away doing whatever the hell you want, but trying as it can be at times I wouldn't trade a second of my new life away, not even those long, up all night-ers. Even during the rough times I know that in the grand scheme of things this time is fleeting. Each day passes rapidly into the next and Sofie grows and changes every moment, before I know it she won't be so small and needy anymore and I'll have more time to do as I please once again, but I know that what I'll want the most is to have these early days back again.

This year as I stuff my belly with turkey and trim I am thankful for a lot of things. I am thankful for a roof over my head and a beautiful ocean just blocks away, I'm thankful for a wonderful, supportive family, I'm thankful for old friends and new, I'm thankful for the best dog in the world, I'm thankful for a loving husband who works hard so that I get to stay home and play, I'm thankful for a beautiful, smart and funny little girl that I get to love and care for every day and yes, I'm even thankful for those long, up all nighters because I know someday I'll miss them.

Writing, Writing Everywhere But Here

2010-09-04T13:16:00.000-07:00

Been awhile since my last blog post, I know, but what can I say, being a stay at home mom is by far the hardest (and most rewarding) job I've ever had. I love every moment but it leaves little time to do much else. That said I have been doing some writing in the past few months, just not here.

First there are two F4B articles I wrote a little while back, Among The Worst and What's The Deal With Privacy check em out let me know what you think.

Then I recently was accepted as a paid blogger to a social networking/blogger/news hybrid site called Gather yes that's right I'm officially one of those space filling, Internet content writers, but the nice part about Gather is that it is more blog than news so I'm able to put my own spin on stories. Check me out on Gather, let me know what you think.

Have some other various writing projects going on too, doing some freelance screenwriting and a lot of brainstorming for a children's book, but I'm definitely not giving up on this blog, so stay tuned!

Hihowareya?

2010-05-26T18:54:00.000-07:00

Great piece in the New York Times the other day. Reminds me of that Seinfeld episode where Jerry starts saying "you're so good looking" instead of God bless you when people sneeze. I know I've often wondered myself why I always automatically answer "fine, thank you" even when I'm not, but does anyone ever want to know the real answer? I mean maybe close friends do, but I doubt if the neighbor I pass on the sidewalk wants to here that I'm exhausted, haven't showered in three days and all I can think about is when I'm finally going to get to watch the Lost finale.

Don't Mess With Flipper

2010-05-14T21:06:00.000-07:00

Why dolphins are officially the freakin scariest mofos on the planet.

Who Still Cares About Carrie?!

2010-05-08T08:56:00.000-07:00

Yesterday I caught a snippet of the Today Show where they were discussing the upcoming Sex and the City sequel and I almost choked on my coffee. First of all I really loved this series, while it wasn't my favorite HBO show by a long shot I really enjoyed it and especially admired the uniqueness of such a powerful female driven show, which has since spawned a million lousy imitations. One of the lousiest of these imitations being the Sex and the City film itself. It is very rare that a movie is so bad that I feel compelled to stop watching halfway through, especially if I've paid to see it, the SATC film was one of these precious gems. Of course I wasn't surprised that it did well in spite of being so bad, this series has a massive cult following after all, but when I heard they were going to make a second film I think I may have thrown up a little in my mouth.

But that ill feeling was nothing compared to how my stomach turned yesterday when they reported that they had actually filmed entire, elaborate decoy scenes that were never intended for the film. Excuse me, what?! What the hell do they think this is, a freaking Star Wars movie?! I didn't realize Lucas was directing couture-clad ladies now. Of all the unecessary ways to ballon an, I'm sure already astronomical, film budget. Sheesh. And we wonder why the film industry is not profitable these days.

Doormen On Strike

2010-04-19T07:55:00.001-07:00

I'm sorry, am I missing something here: http://nyti.ms/9T6nMN I mean seriously, how hard is it to open a door and press an elevator button?

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

The "Swede" Life

2010-03-29T09:21:00.000-07:00

My 74 year old mother finally learned how to use a computer about five years ago and ever since she's been forwarding me random email forwards; everything from extolling the virtues of bananas to pictures of funny toilets. Last week she sent me this article on the lives of Swedish women. I should also mention that my mother is, in fact, Swedish and is always relating how sweet it is to be a Swede. Well, as it turns out she's right, according to the article Swedish women are living the good life. The amazing public services in Sweden allow women to juggle careers and family without actually seeming like a circus act, basically they're having their cake and eating it too. Can't help but wonder when we American women are going to wake up and realize the grass can be greener and actually do something about it, I guess the problem is we're all too busy trying to keep our balls in the air.

New Fem Post

2010-03-23T20:45:00.000-07:00

Check out my latest Fems For Better Men blog post, and yes I realize I've been blogging and article writing for Fems more than here, c'est la vie!

F4BMag Issue 2

2010-03-03T12:28:00.001-08:00

Check out my latest article, The Veil Affair, in the new issue of Fems For Better Magazine!

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

There's Something About Dogs and Babies

2010-02-02T12:13:00.001-08:00

It amazes me how friendly people can be when you appear to share a common bond, especially when that bond is babies and dogs. I encountered this phenomenon when we first got Charlie and we started walking him around the neighborhood. He was a damn cute puppy (still cute now, just huge) and so of course it didn't surprise me that people wanted to stop and pet him, but what I found really interesting was the willingness of strangers, mostly other dog owners, to jump immediately into conversation simply for the fact that we had a four-legged furball walking alongside of us. I've always been something of an introvert so perhaps that's why I find it more surprising, but still I can't help but wonder everytime I meet a new dog owner if they would have even nodded hello to me if it wasn't for the leash and poop bag dangling in my hand.

Now that I have a baby the phenomenon has of course widened from dog owners to other parents. We take walks in the neighborhood everyday and starting back when I was pregnant I noticed a change even then, it was as if my baby bump was a calling card for other parents or soon-to-be parents. I may as well have been wearing a giant sandwich board advertising my impending motherhood and sudden inception into the "parent club" as each outing seemed to produce more new aquaintances.

Just the other day I was out for a midday walk in the neighborhood with Sofie and Charlie, when a young mom just coming out of her car stopped to greet me hello as if we were old friends. She was friendly and not completely crazy so I didn't really mind much that she chatted me up for a good fifteen minutes before I finally managed to drag Charlie away from the small child she had with her, that he so anxiously wanted to play with. Now don't get me wrong, I'm not some weirdo hermit who avoids all human contact, in fact I always go out of my way to smile and say hello to people that I pass on the street (a nicety I wish more people partook in), but usually when it comes to strangers that's about as far as the communication goes. I mean, let's be real, we live in a scary world where even seemingly nice people can turn out to be axe murderers, so why does having a dog or baby make you so much more approachable?

I mean, to be honest, we have met a few nice people and it does feel pretty pleasant and small town-ish to be able to greet people by name in the neighborhood, but I'm not sure it will ever stop surprising me each time we make a new aquaintance. I guess I will just have to try to get used to my new membership in the parent's club, I just wish they would hurry up and send me my secret decoder ring.

My Year Of Reading Wirelessly

2010-02-02T09:06:00.001-08:00

As I have mentioned previously I spend a great deal of time rocking Sofie and am able to read books via the Kindle app on my iPhone while I do so. I've already made my way through, the recent Dan Brown, three Jane Austen titles, Prep, Wuthering Heights and my crowing achievement, the 800-plus page Anna Karenina. I'm currently making my way through the Bronte sisters, having just finished Wuthering Heights, I've now begun Jane Eyre.

I've probably read more books for pleasure in the last four months than I have in the last four years altogether and I'm obsessed. I actually find the reading to be fast and easy on the phone, I think I even prefer it reading on the Kindle itself. My goal is to read as many books as possible using only my iPhone and I'll see what the tally is at the end of the year. If you hadn't already sensed a theme, I have been reading mostly classics. At first this was purely a financial choice, as all the digital books in the public domain are either free or just .99 cents to download from Amazon, but now I'm hooked and intent on reading as many classics as I can. I may even consider tackling War and Peace, I wonder if I'll be the first person to ever read the entire tome on a phone?

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

F4BM Mag Issue One

2010-02-01T09:52:00.000-08:00

Check out my article, "Year of the Cheater" in the very first issue of Fems For Better Men Magazine!

Dear NBC: You suck.

2010-01-12T16:07:00.000-08:00

Good for Conan for standing up to the schmucks at NBC. Why don't they just get rid of Leno and be done with it once and for all, does anyone really think that man is remotely funny?! I sincerely hope they get their heads out of their asses and fix this fast.

Rupert, Rob and Coach, oh my!

2010-01-07T10:28:00.000-08:00

Cannot wait for Survivor: Heroes vs. Villians! Seriously looking forward to a Coach vs. Rob smackdown. Yes, I'm a geek, that's already been well-established.

New Year, New Rules Take 2

2010-01-01T16:00:00.001-08:00

Last year at this time I took a moment to stop and reflect on the year that had passed and to ponder the new year ahead. I set some goals for myself, some were achieved and some weren't and now I'm standing at the brink of another new year doing it all over again. This past year has been amazing, having my daughter has brought me more joy than words can possibly express. I have grown and learned a great deal about myself in a very short period of time and I look forward to more growth as I know each day as a parent brings something new to learn.

My goals are simple and almost the same as last year, finish a novel and get back to pre-pregnancy shape. However, I have one addition and its not a goal so much as a promise to appreciate every precious moment of life. These last four months with Sofie have flown by and since I can't slow down time the only thing I can do is promise to live in every moment and appreciate even the trying or mundane because this is the stuff that life is really made of. I wish all my friends, family and readers a healthy and happy new year and I wish you all the same pure joy my baby has brought me in whatever form it may come to you.

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

New Year, New Blog

2010-01-01T15:29:00.000-08:00

Check out our new family blog experiment, a new picture every day, 365 days.

Fem Blog

2009-12-27T21:39:00.000-08:00

Check out my first contribution to the Fems For Better Men blog!

My favorite _______ of 2009

2009-12-27T14:27:00.000-08:00

A few of my favorite things from this past year:

-New TV Series: a tie between Modern Family and Hung

-Returning Series: True Blood

-Guilty Pleasure: The View

-Read: Prep by Curtis Sittenfeld, not published this year but this is when I read it so it counts

-Pregnancy Food Craving: Trader Joes Dark Chocolate Covered Pretzels

-Movie: just like last year I haven't seen many current movies, but from what I saw Up was far and away my favorite, it is truly a beautiful film

-New Restaurant: Tacos Por Favor, it's been around for years but I finally got around to trying it and all I can say is YUM

-New Gadget: Its tie between the Kindle for iPhone app and the Blogpress app

-Parenting Product: rocking chair, because it makes my job easier and more comfy

-Personal Moment: Seeing Sofie for the very first time

A Year In Facebook

2009-12-23T14:22:00.001-08:00

Fun Facebook activity, a year in the life of Status Updates.

Prep: or how I learned I've officially become a grown-up

2009-12-17T10:23:00.000-08:00

Just finished reading Curtis Sittenfeld's debut book, Prep, a book I've been wanting to read for quite some time but have never gotten around to. In fact I'm pretty sure I have a hardcover copy somewhere that I bought and never read and so I have now paid twice to read this book since I had to download it for the Kindle app. Luckily it was a good book so I don't feel too bad about it (although I'm sure my husband is reading this thinking "you paid twice?!", sorry babe). I really did enjoy the book though, Sittenfeld is a great writer, in fact so good I may be tempted to read her other book which was apparently loosely based on Laura Bush. I actually thought her main character was like a modern, female Holden Caufield. At any rate I loved the book but more importantly it taught me something about myself in a very unexpected way.

I've always been a fan of coming-of-age stories which certainly adds to the reason why I liked Prep. I like them because they make me feel nostalgic and because they are always in some way relatable to my own childhood, this book more than most. This time something was different though because now I am a parent, and although as I read I still found myself harkening back to my own high school days, I found an entirely new batch of thoughts crossing my mind as well: someday this will be Sofie.

It's mind boggling to think about her being that age, but when the thought crossed my mind it was like a flash of clarity as I was again reminded of how it's not really about me anymore and I realized that having a child is almost like a second coming of age. I've never really seen myself as a real adult because I've never really felt a marked difference between my youth and adulthood other than a gradual maturity and wisdom that naturally comes with age, but I never really felt a definitive change. In reading this book, however, and finding myself relating the experience to the future of my child rather than my own past I learned that I am a grown-up now and the nice part is I don't really mind it.

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

Addicted to Austen

2009-12-07T12:23:00.000-08:00

Just finished my third Jane Austen novel in as many weeks and, to use the parlance of Miss Austen, found them quite agreeable. I'm sure you're wondering how a new mom can have so much time for reading but as I sometimes spend hours on end rocking Sofie it actually affords a good deal of time for it, made possible only by the Kindle for iPhone app (love it!). After finishing the Dan Brown I struggled to find a new book, the only downside to the kindle being that a lot of books are not availble for it. Everything I wanted to read was unavailable and nothing else seemed worthy of the nine dollar price tag and then I stumbled upon the fact that the Kindle store has several classic books available for free. Now I've never really been into the classics, although to be fair the only ones I've really read are a handful of Dickens I was forced to read in AP English and hated, so I've always tended towards modern fiction, but I figured they were free so there was no harm in checking them out at least.

I started with Pride and Prejudice, which I found slow to get going but once the plot really began to unfold I was hooked. My only major complaint was that the ending felt slightly rushed and anti-climactic, I would have liked the final coming together of Eliza and Darcy to be a little more dramatic. Next I dove into Sense and Sensibility which I also enjoyed though not as much as Pride and finally I read Mansfield Park which was by far my favorite of the three and which I think can partially be accounted to the fact that Austen's writing matured and became exponentially better as her writing career progressed.

I am definitely in awe of her as a writer. She has clearly influenced a great deal of modern material from Gilmore Girls to Twilight and so much more. It's no wonder her books have been adapted into films so many times over because although the books are old the themes are still so relevant today. I guess that's why they call them classics.

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

Giving Thanks

2009-11-26T10:49:00.001-08:00

Every year at this time I generally have one thing on my mind: turkey, turkey, turkey. I didn't grow up in a very traditional American family and somehow giving thought to the meaning of thanksgiving usually escapes me. This year however, maybe because I have a lot to be thankful for, I am more aware and so I thought I would share some things for which I give thanks.

I am thankful for:

-my sweet baby girl and everything she has already taught me

-my loving supportive husband without whom I would probably starve

-my mom, because I never understood the full magnitude of what she did for me until now

-my loyal pup who keeps me warm at night even though it means giving up half my bed space

-coffee, warm, cold I don't care as long as it's caffienated

-sweatpants

-the few hours of sleep I get

-my iPhone because it keeps me plugged into the "outside"

-mouthwash for being more efficient than a toothbrush

-cameras because these last two months have been a blur

-the miracle of life

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

What a bunch of boobs

2009-11-24T09:54:00.000-08:00

While the government and news media continues to go to battle over the Obama healthcare plan, the health of the women in the US has suddenly been flung back into the dark ages. First the US Preventative Services Task Force (whatever the hell that is) changed the suggested age for mammograms from age 40 to 50, then the American College for Obstetrics and Gynecology has suggested that pap smears need not be given more often than every two years. While I don't have personal experience with mammograms and breast cancer I certainly know of women who have been diagnosed with breast cancer at a much younger age than 50, not to mention that fact that it is repeated time and time again that the main reason that breast cancer death rates have declined is due to early diagnosis. To the pap smears I can speak from a more personal place as I personally was a hair away from cervical cancer, and had I not had my annual pap smear it may not have been caught in time. I guess what I don't understand is why? Why discourage women from getting preventative care? To what, shave a minute or two off of the nanoseconds spent with each patient? To spare a minimal amount of discomfort? To somehow save money? I don't care what the reason is, it's not important enough to risk my life and so to the task force and to the college all I can say is you can take your suggestions and shove em.

"Communism is just a red herring!"

2009-11-16T12:14:00.001-08:00

I just finished reading my first book read entirely on my iphone using the Kindle app, read while rocking baby (I love this phone! It seems there's almost nothing it can't do). I decided on the new Dan Brown because I figured it would be a light, easy read and like everyone else I read the Da Vinci Code and enjoyed it. The DaVinci Code was so succesful that it led to a zillion copycats and it seems even Dan Brown stole it's formula and simply plugged new characters and mysteries for his latest endeavor The Lost Symbol.

If you don't recognize it, the quote in my post title is from the movie Clue. Like Clue, Lost Symbol is a wild goose chase in search of an answer, the red herring in this being the lost secrets of the Freemasons. I don't want to give anything away but I'll just say the reveal is not nearly as interesting or controversial as that of the DaVinci Code.

Although I found his latest work somewhat disappointing, it does irk me that Brown gets so heavily criticized by so called literary authors and critics. Of course his writing isn't going to win any national book awards but it's not trying to in the first place. It's purpose like many other succesful books is simply to entertain and what exactly is so wrong with that? Not every book has to be the great American novel to serve a purpose. In fact I would argue that an author like Brown is more aware of his audience than most because he is writing more for them than for himself. His critics should be happy for the fact that he is getting people to buy and read books and basically single-handedly keeping the publishing business afloat. For every Dan Brown a publisher has there are twenty critically acclaimed authors who get to be published even though they aren't bestsellers. It's no different than the film industry, the only way a studio can pay for those Oscar pics is by rolling out a handful of Transformers sequels.

-- Posted from my iPhone

09.09.09

2009-11-03T10:27:00.000-08:00

Been lacking blog posts in quite some time but for good reason, I've been pretty tied up since the date titling this post as that was the day my daughter was born and my life pretty much changed forever. I hate to sound so dramatic and to be honest before becoming a parent myself I couldn't stand people with kids who would harp on how different life was with children and that you couldn't possibly understand until you have one, but damn it they were right. Life has changed in numerous ways. Its almost difficult to even explain it. At times it is trying but mostly it's amazing. I have never felt so much joy and love and the feeling only grows each day.

I mean don't get me wrong, certainly I didn't expect life to go on as it had before, but what I didn't expect was how much it would change me as a person. I've always admired moms because they all seem to have a similar air of confidence and now that I am one I finally understand where that confidence comes from, it's simply not caring. The minute you become responsible for such a helpless and ridiculously adorable human being everything else just suddenly seems to matter less. Would I rather not walk around unshowered and covered in spit up? Sure, but at the end of the day none of that stuff really matters when compared to her happiness and well-being. For the last 29 years it's been a me-world and suddenly I've been thrust into new world view, one in which the planets no longer revolve around myself, and quite frankly- for someone who generally is quite self-concious- it's a very liberating feeling.

All that said I haven't forgotten there's a whole world of life still going on everyday, in fact the only thing that keeps me sane some days is having five minutes to plop down on the couch and watch the Today show or the View (yes I watch the View and I'm not ashamed to admit it!) just to be reminded of what I now refer to as the "real world". I have missed blogging and there's been so much I've wanted to discuss but I simply haven't had the time. Everything from turning 29- fairly uneventful- to Starbucks new instant coffee Via- suprisingly good. And then of course there was the new fall tv line-up: Modern Family- hilarious, Cougar Town- awfully unhilarious, Community- meh. And for those of you still tuning into Survivor like I am, there's Russell- possibly my most favorite player ever, not saying the guy's likable but man does he know how to play the game.

I spend a lot of my day sitting in a rocking chair, iPhone in hand to entertain me (what did moms do before this amazing invention I will never know, nor do I want to), while Sofie sleeps blissfully in my arms. Thanks to the discovery of this blogger iPhone app I should be able to blog occassionally, although it took me a week of typing one handed while holding and rocking baby just to write this post so don't hold your breath.

Is this thing on?

2009-11-02T10:56:00.001-08:00

Testing out the blogger iPhone app, more to come!

-- Posted from my iPhone

OMG, Future of Writing = More Than Just LMAO ;-)

2009-09-05T09:36:00.000-07:00

An interesting piece in the new Wired magazine offers a positive spin on the future of literacy and writing.

"Before the Internet came along, most Americans never wrote anything, ever, that wasn't a school assignment. Unless they got a job that required producing text (like in law, advertising, or media), they'd leave school and virtually never construct a paragraph again."

Although the study suggests that this "explosion of prose" is in fact good writing, I still can't help but question the fact that as it gets easier to share your thoughts with the world via blogs, Twitter, self-publishing, etc. we will eventually start drowning in a sea of mediocre to terrible writing.

"The fact that students today almost always write for an audience (something virtually no one in my generation did) gives them a different sense of what constitutes good writing. In interviews, they defined good prose as something that had an effect on the world. For them, writing is about persuading and organizing and debating, even if it's over something as quotidian as what movie to go see."

Knowing your audience is certainly important to better writing, so long as your thoughts don't become tailored simply to impress your readers. Generally speaking, though, it's nice to know that writing isn't going the way of the dodo anytime soon, and of course it's a plus that smiley faces and texting-speak haven't entirely replaced real writing.

Burning Skies and $3 Gas

2009-09-03T20:27:00.000-07:00

Signs of the apocalypse? Nope, just another day in Los Angeles. It's a little early for fire season and Santa Anas, but nonetheless here they are (thank you global warming) and I can't help but be reminded of one of my favorite quotes:

“October is the bad month for the wind, the month when breathing is difficult and the hills blaze up spontaneously. There has been no rain since April. Every voice seems a scream. It is the season of suicide and divorce and prickly dread, wherever the wind blows.”

--Joan Didion “Slouching Towards Bethlehem”

What's Your Damage?

2009-08-27T20:21:00.000-07:00

Sony TV to remake 'Heathers'.

Dear Studio Executives:

Please stop ruining my childhood with your remakes and come up with an original idea for once.

Sincerely,

BPA Free since... never?!

2009-08-22T09:07:00.000-07:00

Unbelievable, just caught this story about SIGG bottles which, as it turns out, do contain BPA in the liners. I have been proudly toting around my stylish, red SIGG bottle for almost two years now completely oblivious, after having abandoned my less stylish but cheaper and more practical Nalgene bottle when the BPA freak-out first set in. Although the liner does in fact contain BPA, according to the article government testing has proven that it does not in fact "leach" BPA, still the fact remains they lied about it. I guess the only guaranteed safe method of drinking water is to just shove your head under the tap and swallow, unless of course you live in Los Angeles where your tap water is most likely recycled toilet water, then you're just plain screwed.

Save Count Chocula!!

2009-08-13T14:04:00.000-07:00

Major food corporations are reporting a possible sugar shortage.

"The firms – including Kraft Foods Inc., General Mills Inc., Hershey Co. and Mars Inc. – indicated that if they couldn't tap supply markets like Brazil, they'd run out of sugar to make candy bars, cookies, cereal and a host of other products."

For the love of pregnant women and candy bar connoisseurs everywhere, save the sugar!!

Family Guy- Abortion Episode

2009-08-13T11:26:00.000-07:00

Here's a table read of the controversial Family Guy abortion episode Fox refuses to air. Good stuff if you ask me.

Mecca lecca hi, mecca hiney ho!

2009-08-11T16:18:00.000-07:00

Did somebody say wish? I must see this!

Mad About Mad Men

2009-08-10T12:03:00.000-07:00

Mad as in pissed, although to be clear, it's not Mad Men I am angry with, it's DirecTV. Last year I was pumped to watch Season 2 of Mad Men when it premiered on AMC, I had just finished watching the first season on DVD and was hooked. Set up the Tivo for a season pass, got comfy on the couch and whisky glass in hand, pressed play. About five minutes into the first episode I realized I would not be watching the rest, at least not for a while. Anyone who has an HDTV will understand what I mean when I say that watching non-HD programming on an HDTV is like watching crap flung on a wall. The picture is fuzzy and the colors are not true and with a beautifully shot show like Mad Men it makes you feel like you might as well be watching a blind mime doing an interpretive re-enactment of the episode because it would probably look better.

Realizing that AMC did not yet broadcast in HD was a bummer, but the hubby and I decided we would simply wait for the DVD release and get caught up in time to watch season 3 live and in HD, because certainly by a years time that would indeed be a possibility. As it turns out, it is, only not for customers of DirecTV who as of now have not yet picked up the AMC HD channel. Knowing I would again be relegated to waiting to watch the new season on DVD, I wasn't in a mad rush (pun intended) to get caught up on season two, so we finally picked up the Blu-Ray this weekend and watched the first episode yesterday and, yes, it was worth the wait.

Facebook: more than just superpoking?

2009-08-01T13:54:00.000-07:00

Cleaning out some old magazines this weekend and found this interesting article about Facebook in the July 09 issue of Wired magazine. In a nutshell it describes how Facebook is essentially poised to take over the internet and revolutionize how we use it, in particular how we use search engines and the apparently soon-to-be-left-in-the-dust Google.

"Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg envisions a more personalized, humanized Web, where our network of friends, colleagues, peers, and family is our primary source of information, just as it is offline. In Zuckerberg's vision, users will query this "social graph" to find a doctor, the best camera, or someone to hire—rather than tapping the cold mathematics of a Google search. It is a complete rethinking of how we navigate the online world, one that places Facebook right at the center. In other words, right where Google is now."

And here I thought Facebook was just another fun time-suck merely good for reading hilarious status updates, checking out vacation pictures and playing the occasional round of killing and robbing on Mafia Wars.

Ending of LOST revealed?!

2009-07-26T11:28:00.000-07:00

Funny stuff ... if you're a geek like me.

Summertime and the TV Watchin's Easy

2009-07-21T14:00:00.000-07:00

Historically summertime television has generally been made up of the bottom of the barrel dredges of reality programming, leftovers of cancelled shows and reruns, which is why I am pleasantly surprised and pleased that my DVR has been spoon-feeding me some of the best television of the year this summer all thanks to a couple little cable networks called HBO and Showtime.

Between the sizzling hot returning series' True Blood and Weeds and the quirky newcomers Hung and Nurse Jackie, I am up to my eyeballs in great characters, excellent writing and just plain old fashioned escapist entertainment. While the networks are busy pumping out gems like Who Wants To Marry A Complete Stranger On National Television and Make A Jackass Out Of Yourself On An International Gameshow, HBO and Showtime are busy proving once again that they are the homes of the best television on television. I loved Nurse Jackie from the first episode and was immediately hooked, Hung is a slow starter as some HBO series tend to be but I'm enjoying the premise and particularly love the two female characters Tanya and Lenore. True Blood picked up right where it left off and shot full steam into new but equally intriguing plots and some great new characters. Weeds is off to somewhat of a shaky start after last season's fantastic run which highlighted the amazingly talented and hysterical Justin Kirk as Andy (he was clearly robbed of an Emmy nod), but at it's heart it's still the show I know and love and I'm hoping for a three-peat in the widow department for Nancy Botwin to send them running back to safety and absurdity of suburbia.

Booze-bucks

2009-07-17T12:06:00.000-07:00

Interesting experiment, coffee-by-day, bar-by-night. I think it would have been a better served if it was kept a secret that these coffeehouse/bars are actually run by Starbucks, but I'm actually kind of curious to see how this works out. The question is, if it actually turns out to be successful will Starbucks expand their plan to the mass market and in doing so, won't it be to the detriment of the very idea of indie-style eclectic coffeebars in the first place?

What's next? Scorsese directs "Pet Rock: The Film"?

2009-07-07T10:39:00.000-07:00

Another movie based on an inanimate object. I really have nothing I can say about this, this idea is so illogical I am just speechless.

An Offer She Can't Refuse?

2009-07-06T12:17:00.000-07:00

I know, I know I can't stop posting about Sarah Palin, but in my defense I think it's a little like watching a train wreck, you don't really want the image burned into your retinas, but somehow you can't tear your eyes away. Clearly I hate the woman and yeah I am one of those liberals who thinks she's a moron, but I don't think she would just up and quit without a real reason, I mean who quits their job in the middle of a recession, unless you've already got something lined up, the question is what and how much more annoying will it make her... perhaps as Variety reports, someone made her an offer she couldn't refuse.

Just A Little Nutty

2009-06-30T17:23:00.000-07:00

Thanks Brooke!

The Case Against Scandinavian Naivete

2009-06-29T15:36:00.000-07:00

I have been reading bits and piece about the Salinger copyright lawsuit in the last few weeks, but it wasn't until I sat down to read this piece in Publisher's Weekly just now that I got the full gist of it. As the article explains Salinger is suing Swedish author Fredrik Colting for trying to publish an "unauthorized sequel" to The Catcher In The Rye. Colting claims it is not a sequel but instead a "stand-alone story that serves as a critique of Salinger and his work." Of course it is impossible to determine who is right in this argument without having read the actual work in question, and even if having read it, it seems deciding a case like this could be based on some rather subjective opinions of literature. As the article's author points out, more importantly than the legal matters at the heart of this trial, the really question everyone is waiting to hear answered is whether the notoriously reclusive Salinger will actually make a public appearance in order to defend the honor of his most prized creation:

"If Salinger refuses to answer the defense's questions, LiCalsi notes, the court can impose sanctions and even dismiss the case. Thus, filing suit against Colting may have put Salinger's desire for privacy on a collision course with his desire to protect Holden Caulfield."

Regardless of the outcome, my interest is certainly piqued in Colting's story and based on the short description, were it to be published I would certainly be interested in giving it a read. Not to mention, he seems genuinely wary of the media attention this has caused.

"Given Salinger's history, it seems almost unfathomable that any author would take on his work without at least spoiling for some kind of fight. Colting, however, is rather apologetic for possibly upsetting Salinger, and wary of the media attention his book has generated. “I guess I knew there would be interest,” he conceded. “But I can't say I knew or suspected any of this was going to happen. I'm from Sweden. People don't go around suing each other here. Maybe I was a little naïve.” "

Anyone who uses "I'm from Sweden" as their main defense tactic has certainly got my support.

I don't get it.

2009-06-25T11:30:00.001-07:00

Am I missing something here? David Fincher in consideration to direct the Facebook movie. How is this a movie? Last week they announced a "Where's Waldo?" film and then five minutes later a flick based on "Stretch Armstrong", followed by a pitch based on a Facebook status update. Has Hollywood collectively gone mad? Since when is making movies as simple as greenlighting the latest brand name or toy from the 80's? I mean sure I get it from a business standpoint, you don't have to be an idiot to see that brands equate to dollars, just look at yesterdays Transformers 2 opening. What I don't get is when quality filmmakers start jumping on the bandwagon. How is a movie about a website cinematic in any way, shape or form?

Are you freakin kidding me?!

2009-06-18T16:23:00.000-07:00

If this sells I will eat my arm.

I've got some gems in my Facebook status updates, maybe I should pitch them around town, in fact I'll make it a bargain, I'll sell the whole lot of em for the price of one.

I mean, honestly, what the hell?!

Really Sarah Palin?! Really?!

2009-06-16T11:19:00.000-07:00

Letterman sincerely apologized and Palin "accepts" his apology.

"Letterman certainly has the right to 'joke'about whatever he wants to, and thankfully we have the right to express our reaction. And this is all thanks to our U.S. military women and men putting their lives on the line for us to secure America's right to free speech - in this case, may that right be used to promote equality and respect."

Was it really necessary to bring the military into this? I highly doubt military men and women are putting their lives on the line in the name of crappy latenight jokes and douchebag grandstanding by airhead governors. Sheesh. Come on lady, enough already.

Lady Friends

2009-06-15T13:59:00.000-07:00

Just in case you thought I was suddenly gettin all serious with my last post:

Reproductive Matters

2009-06-15T11:47:00.000-07:00

Really interesting piece in Broadsheet today about a woman's right to control her own fertility decisions.

"The controversy is over women controlling their own fertility. It's about whether we have the right to decide for ourselves if and when to have children, whether we're autonomous human beings with full rights or if our primary purpose on earth is to birth and nurture the next generation."

We all know the great abortion debate has long been a subject of public scrutiny, but as this article points out it seems that it's in fact all issues of the womb that seem to be up for public debate. Whether we chose to procreate or not, how many children we chose to have, whether we seek assistance in the form of medical treatment in order to make childbearing possible and as with the example of Tarrah Seymour our ability to choose our own methods of birth control. The list seems endless and I don't really want to weigh in my own personal opinion on each and every item, but I do think the overall question of how much control a woman has over her own reproductive functions is an important one. Why do we so closely monitor and debate these issues and yet pay little or no attention to the subject as it adheres to men? I certainly don't hear any public outcry over men who donate their sperm to sperm banks or those who chose to get vasectomies, why then is it that women should be held under such a strong microscope when it comes to such personal and private matters?

Regardless of where you stand on the topics of abortion, infertility, birth control, etc., I think it's about time we stop hiding behind the notion that this is a debate about morals and ethics and admit that it's really about a woman's basic rights to control the reproductive functions of her own body. As Kate Harding so poignantly puts it:

"As long as we keep pretending that the debate is only about "killing babies" and not about whether women should have the basic right to control our own fertility, that common ground will remain elusive."

Why won't she just go away?

2009-06-12T13:53:00.000-07:00

Is Letterman a sexist pig? Or is Palin making too much of all this? Salon can't seem to decide.

I think the real question we should be asking is why the hell is this woman still whoring herself out to the media every other day and why are we letting her?!

Twilight

2009-06-09T10:07:00.000-07:00

Finally got around to watching Twilight this weekend and boy what a stinker. About ten minutes in, the hubby looked at me and said "This is kind of like The Lost Boys, but bad." And I had to agree, yet we carried on watching as one cringe worthy line was spoken after another. I kept hoping that Pattinson's deer-in-headlights look was just a fluke moment the first time and yet every other scene there it was again. All that coupled with ridiculously unnecessary voiceover, really, really poor casting and a director who clearly thought she was shooting a bad 80s music video and not a movie, made for a huge disappointment in my book.

The problem is I don't think the bad filmmaking was entirely at fault, and I hate to admit this, but I think some of the blame resets on the book itself. For example, much of the voiceover and cheesy dialogue was straight out of the book and while it may have worked on paper, it simply didn't translate well on screen. Rather than feeling nostalgic about the book as I watched, I was merely left wondering, wow was the book really this bad? I think this is a prime example of why sometimes a literal adaptation just doesn't work. With Harry Potter the books are action oriented and incredibly visual and so you can "see" the film as you are reading. A book like Twilight is so much more internal and thought driven that it really requires some effort to make it work, effort that sadly was not put forth in this attempt. My final verdict: if you haven't yet read or seen, skip the flick, stick with the book.

A baby by any other name...

2009-06-03T16:27:00.000-07:00

As a writer names have always been something I have had difficulty with. I can never start writing until I name my characters, but it inevitably takes me forever to decide on the perfect name, so it comes as no real surprise that I am having such a hard time with this whole baby-naming business. Having grown up with a difficult name myself, the importance of naming my baby with the perfect name is naturally something of an obsession. For those of you who don't know me, my full name is Shahrzad. As an adult I have come to enjoy the uniqueness of my name and of course as a writer I appreciate the meaning behind it (i.e. the storyteller from the Arabian Nights), but as a kid growing up it was a whole different ball of wax. I couldn't understand for the life of me why my parents would want to stick me with such an obviously awkward, difficult-to-pronounce name. I even went through a phase where I thought I might try going by my middle name, Maria, but that never really became a reality outside of my own hopeful imaginings.

Now that it comes down to naming my own child and I have the wisdom of my own experience, I want to find a name that is both unique and simple, something easy to spell and pronounce, but different enough that it doesn't automatically have to be coupled with the first initial of her last name so as to recognize the difference between her and the four other girls in her class with the same name. On top of all this it just has to sound right, roll off the tongue well, fit with our last name and feel natural. In other words it has to be perfect. And so far nothing fits the bill. We have a short list --not all agreed upon between my husband and myself-- but a list nonetheless of names we really like, and yet I still don't feel like I've found that perfect one. Maybe I'm making too much of this, maybe a name is just a name. All I know is the baby isn't even born yet and parenting is already difficult.

UP

2009-06-02T13:57:00.000-07:00

This weekend was the first time I'd been to a movie in over 6 months, probably longer, I can't even remember what the last film was to be honest. While I do still enjoy the movie-going experience on some levels, for the most part I much prefer to see a flick from the comfort of my own couch. There have been films I've wanted to see, and there is a long list of summer flicks I tell myself I will attempt to go see in the theater but the truth of the matter is I will probably be lucky if I see even one or two more before the baby comes.

All that said, I was definitely not disappointed by my movie selection for the first theater excursion in so many months. UP was yet another beautifully written and amazingly executed film from Pixar, I mean seriously, can they do no wrong? I laughed, I cried, I was thoroughly entertained and inspired, but I was also quite surprised by the incredibly risky choice of a main protagonist in a family film. From a purely business-of-filmmaking standpoint having a 70 something year-old man as the main character of a film targeted towards children and families is quite unusual. To date I think this is Pixar's most adult film both character-wise and thematically, although I don't necessarily consider that a criticism, obviously it works --the theater was packed and adults and children alike seemed to enjoy the film on many levels-- in fact I think if anything its a testament to what great filmmakers and innovators Pixar has, that they could make a film about a lonely old man seem interesting to an 8 year-old.

Can I Get A Napkin Please?

2009-05-28T12:58:00.000-07:00

I was just browsing the Publisher's Weekly daily newsletter when I came across a bit about a new book out called "Causing A Scene: Extraordinary Pranks in Ordinary Places", which prompted me to check out the Improv Everywhere blog. Basically this group organizes large scale improvised pranks in public places with some pretty hilarious results. Haven't had a chance to check out all the pranks which they detail on the blog, but my favorite so far is Food Court Musical.

My new girl crush.

2009-05-26T11:58:00.000-07:00

Just watched Yes Man over the weekend. Thought it was cute and funny, mostly I was just reminded how much I love Zooey Deschanel. Although this was actually a toned down role for her, I can't help but think she really brings something to every project she's in, I mean she even managed to give Failure to Launch a few funny moments. My favorite role is still her stint on Weeds Season 2, if you haven't seen her on this or watched this fantastic show for that matter, I highly recommend checking it out.

Only one way to explain this.

2009-05-21T11:57:00.000-07:00

Kids, Mommy's a slut.

What the ?!

2009-05-19T13:45:00.000-07:00

Chocolate for the sexually repressed.

"Naughty, but not that naughty." Riiight.

LOST Finale

2009-05-18T13:18:00.000-07:00

Man oh man. So much happened I don't even know where to begin all I know is the last time a LOST episode ended in a blinding white flash, effectively destroying the Swan station, no one was really affected with the exception of Desmond who could suddenly see the future, somehow I think this outcome might be a little different. My favorite moment of the of the Swan destruction scene was when Miles so wittingly pointed out, that by detonating the bomb they may actually be causing the very reaction they were trying to stop, which leads me to the suspicion and hope that no one, except maybe Juliet actually died.

As for the Jacob storyline,when I first saw Jacob and the Man in Black sitting on the beach I was reminded instantly of the first season when Locke was teaching Walt to play backgammon and also of the two skeletons and the pouch containing a black rock and a white rock, which the castaways discovered near their first camp. Is this really so simple as black and white? Good versus evil? It is an age old story, but somehow I imagined the mechanics of LOST to be less simple than that. And I think the more important question is, if we are dealing with good and evil, which one is which? Jacob of course seems the obvious good guy, but is he in fact really the charismatic devil? I also couldn't help but think of the Smoke Monster when it was revealed that Locke resurrected was actually the Man in Black, is the MIB actually the physical manifestation of the Smoke Monster? I think it's possible that at the very least the two are connected.

Overall, we are still left with more questions than answers, is everyone really dead? What's the real story behind Jacob and the Man in Black? Is Ben as humbled and broken as he seems or is this all still part of his master plan? Who is Ilana and what exactly is a candidate? As usual Doc Jensen sums it all up quite nicely, but we shall have to wait until 2010 to get our final answers.

Top Five Things I Can't Wait To Eat the Minute I Give Birth

2009-05-05T10:17:00.000-07:00

In no particular order:

-sushi

-pepperoni pizza

-espresso

-bacon

-red wine

Are pregnant women smug?

2009-04-27T18:08:00.000-07:00

Funny clip I just caught on Salon making fun of preggos for being smug. I gotta say I can't really relate, while I always imagined that being pregnant would mean walking on air and wearing a happy, knowing glow for nine months, I can honestly say that I have never been more miserable and uncomfortable in my entire life, not to mention my self-image is hanging about as low as a pair of bra-less, granny boobs right about now, and I can't wait to pop this baby out so I can drink a bottle Zin and throw down some sushi again. Smug I am not.

The real reason I watch TV?

2009-04-27T17:36:00.001-07:00

New study suggests TV makes you feel less lonely. While I can't say the reason I watch television is for the company, I will admit that when at home I almost always have the TV on and like a pair of fuzzy slippers or a nice bowl of mac and cheese, it does bring me a great level of comfort. That said, I don't watch Survivor because I think Jeff Probst is my new best friend, I tune in because it's entertaining to watch disheveled grown-ups squabble like a bunch of second graders at recess.

Ready For Seconds?

2009-04-17T11:48:00.000-07:00

So excited for TrueBlood season 2! Can you spot the double image in the just released poster?

The reason I did not want to move East of the 405.

2009-04-10T15:50:00.000-07:00

Last Friday at work we made a big office move from our cozy eclectic digs above Renee's Bar in Santa Monica, to a new, but somewhat similar space in Westwood. Initially I was against the move simply for the fact that everyone in my office, myself included, resides in Santa Monica and so logically it just makes sense to stay put where we can all reach the office in a five minute drive. After being in our new space a week, I have to admit that I do like the new location, our office is nicer overall, I have more room and most importantly the food options in this neighborhood are astronomically better than around our old office. The only downside to the move is why I feared it to begin with: the commute.

Now I realize I may have gotten a little spoiled in the last few years, but trust me I have had my fair share of lengthy commutes all my life and I counted myself lucky when my husband and I moved to Santa Monica a few years ago where we both worked and were so close to our jobs that we only needed one car. So not only did this office move require at least a 20 minute commute each way, but we also had to buy a second car.

All this week I had been trying out different routes to get to work in the morning, suddenly obsessed with my drive time and hoping to shave off a minute here or a minute there. After one attempt on the freeway I decided I don't need that kind of stress in my life and the streets, which ended up being about the same amount of time, would be better for my mental health. However, on Wednesday I had a dentist appointment at 4pm in Westchester, so I figured if I left the office at 3pm and hopped on the 405 I would be there in 20 or 3o minutes tops. After all, how much traffic could there be at 3 in the afternoon on Wednesday? Oh, how wrong I was. I sat in bumper to bumper traffic for an hour. It was crawling so slowly I was even able to pull out my iPhone and snap the above picture without getting in a wreck, simply because I had nothing better to do. Sigh.

A long hiatus and a new adventure

2009-04-05T10:46:00.000-07:00

It's been over two months since my last post and a lot has happened since. My lack of blogging was not for loss of interest but rather because I simply have not had the energy for it the past few weeks. The good news is that I realized one of my three goals for 2009 and am happy to announce that I am pregnant and my husband and I will be having a baby in September. For a good six or seven weeks I was extremely tired and had severe morning sickness (whoever coined the phrase morning sickness must have been a man because anybody who has had it knows it goes on all day and night) and so I pretty much wanted to do nothing all day besides sleep. I am finally feeling better, however, having reached the "fun" part of pregnancy otherwise known as the 2nd trimester, my energy is up, I dream of all things chocolate and I am ready to blog once more.

I don't want this to turn into a "pregnancy" blog, god knows the blogosphere is already filled with those, but I imagine it will be a major subject in the coming months as my belly gets bigger and my life becomes a baby, baby, baby world. I can't be sure of the frequency of my posting, because although I feel better I imagine life will get more and more hectic as the big day approaches, but I have missed blogging and am happy to be back to it.

In Mourning

2009-01-28T16:32:00.001-08:00

It was with a big sigh that I read the final words of "Breaking Dawn", the fourth and last book of the Twilight series. It's hard to believe it was just a couple short months ago that I first started down the path of the Bella and Edward saga and now it's over. I always feel sad after finishing a good book, especially a series, which I have invested so much time in that I actually feel I am losing a friend when it ends. I also for some reason find it difficult to go back to "serious reading", so to speak, after being so entrenched in what I consider a guilty pleasure... perhaps I will have to feed my vampire thirst with the Sookie Stackhouse series next.

As to the controversy surrounding the fourth book itself, I can't say I agree, I thought it was a fitting end, not at all what I expected (I figured it would be a disappointment with all the hubbub), but I enjoyed it. To those who claim it wraps up too neatly I can only guess you are either not a true fan or you are lying, because I can't imagine anyone making it through this entire series and not wishing Bella a truly happy ending.

Say Cheese!

2009-01-28T10:04:00.000-08:00

I'm happy to see that not everything old and seemingly without purpose has to fall by the wayside. Polaroid will no longer be going the way of the dodo thanks to one Australian artist/patron saint of instant exposure.

Dear 80s, I miss you

2009-01-27T10:20:00.000-08:00

Was discussing the 80s with my co-worker this morning and I realized how nostalgic I have become for that era. It used to be that I believed the 80s were just down right awful, awful music, awful movies, awful hair, awful clothes, but now every time I come across an 80s movie on cable or a song on the radio I can't help but eat it up.

This morning my dear pal Brooke reminded me of one of my absolute favorite products of the 80s and so I thought I would share it here for your viewing pleasure:

Lost is back, let the crazy begin!

2009-01-23T10:40:00.000-08:00

I'm not even sure where to begin in deciphering all that went down in this week's two hour season premiere, but as usual Doc Jensen finds a way to make sense of the lunacy. Of course as usual the episode left me with more questions than answers: Is John Locke really dead? Why did Alpert disappear in the time flashes? What's the deal with the Dharma dude? Why is Hurley seeing dead people? Will Sawyer ever find himself a shirt? Man I love this show.

Enough Already!

2009-01-13T09:50:00.000-08:00

I'm not really surprised GW is demanding 15 more minutes of infamy, he has held more televised press conferences than any President in history, but enough is enough.

"Americans cannot do without sex."

2009-01-07T20:15:00.000-08:00

Porn industry seeks federal bailout. Now we know we're in real trouble.

Is there a more annoying person on the planet?

2009-01-07T09:15:00.000-08:00

I almost vomited when I came in the house this morning from my early morning walk and found Anne Coulter's face on my television. The woman (I shudder to call her that because it reminds me that we are the same species) is insane, I mean I really think someone ought to lock her up and throw away the key for her own safety and for the safety of others. The woman is a verifiable nutjob... oh, and also an enormous douchebag. Bless you Matt Lauer for keeping yourself so composed when you really just wanted to smack the crap out of her.

Does anybody actually take this woman (shudder) seriously?! I'd like to meet just one person who has bought and read one of her books and ask them for the love of god, why? Can't you see right through her ridiculously transparent Oh-look-at-me-I'm-so-controversial schtick to see what she really is, a narcissistic psychopath who just wants to shill books with her way-too-old-for-a-miniskirt wearing, too-much eyeliner face on the cover.

I may be small and have no muscles to speak of but if I ever see you on the street Anne Coulter I would seriously think about running the other way if I were you.

The Good, The Bad and The Ugly

2009-01-06T08:56:00.000-08:00

We've been watching a lot of movies over the holiday break thanks to Blockbuster-by-mail, some good, some great, some downright terrible. Here's my thoughts on a few:

Wallstreet- Great film, and also very timely considering everything that's going on right now with the economy. I am becoming more and more impressed with Oliver Stone lately.

Stepbrothers- Surprisingly funny, granted I was hungover on New Years Day watching this, but I really enjoyed it, especially compared to the piece of crap Talladega Nights. Definitely worth a watch, I guarantee at least a few laughs.

Hancock- Crap. Pure crap. I really can't believe how bad this was. I really didn't think Will Smith could do a bad movie till now.

X-Files: I Want To Believe- Made Hancock look like Citizen Cane. I just don't know why they bothered. It was terrible, it was like one of those weird X-Files episodes that had nothing to do with the greater mystery, an irrelevant one-off and a bad one at that.

Wall-E- I saved the best for last. This is a truly beautiful film that everyone should see. I think I will have to bump Dark Knight down a notch on my favorites of 08 list, for Wall-E.

We've also been rewatching Band of Brothers since the Bluray just came out. I am not typically a fan of war stuff, but this is a must-see and well-worth buying.

New Year, New "Rules"

2008-12-31T15:25:00.000-08:00

I have never been big on New Year's resolutions, they never stick, I don't even like the word "resolution" it sounds so dire, so serious, like a rule more than a hope for change. However, as 2008 winds down, I can't help but feel a need to reflect on the past year and look ahead to the coming one. I had quite a lot of goals for myself last year, the most important of which I did not accomplish, so my hope is that this year will be different.

I did start a blog this year, something I was initially against, but now can't imagine not doing. Every so often I like to read through old posts just to see what I was thinking and writing about and to see how my writing has progressed. This time next year, I will be looking back and reading this post and I hope that by then I will have accomplished three big goals: get healthy/in shape (I'm not talking about a major transformation here, I just want to feel healthier and better about myself), finish a novel (any novel), get pregnant.

This is sure to be a year of great change for the world at large, some bad and some good, but I have hope, for the first time in a long time, about the future of our country. Things look bleak now, but as they say, it is always the darkest before dawn. Wishing my readers (all two of you), friends, family and strangers a happy, healthy and hopeful New Year.

My favorite _________ of 2008.

2008-12-28T18:13:00.000-08:00

A few of my favorite things from '08:

-New TV series: True Blood

-Sports moment: winning my office March Madness bracket

-New Food: Panera egg, bacon and cheese breakfast sandwich

-Album: this one is a threeway tie between Coldplay "Viva La Vida"; TV On The Radio "Dear Science" and Kings of Leon "Because of the Times"

-Family Guy episode: "Surfin Bird"... have you heard?

-Specialty coffee drink: Starbucks Peppermint Mocha Twist

-Pop Culture Moment: the Election results

-Guilty pleasure: the Twilight Books series

- Read: "Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close" by Jonathan Safran Foer (I realized this was published a few years back, but this is the year I read it and it's my list so I can do what I want)

-Concert: Coldplay at the Forum

-Movie: this one is tough because I actually haven't seen a lot of new films this year, but I am going to have to go with The Dark Knight, Tropic Thunder is a close second

-New Gadget: another tie between my iPhone and Kindle

-Personal Moment: Bringing Charlie home from the shelter

Merry Christmas!

2008-12-25T14:03:00.000-08:00

Wishing everyone a warm and happy holiday!

Books, books, books

2008-12-21T13:56:00.000-08:00

It’s been a weekend of books in Newton, Kansas where we are visiting the in-laws for an early Christmas celebration. We don’t have wi-fi here so I am typing all my blog posts in Word to be posted online when we get back home and I suddenly feel kind of like Doogie Howser. Polished off Twilight last night with a big sigh, wishing it didn’t have to end, but before I had a chance to start mourning I hopped on the Kindle Store and had New Moon downloaded onto the Kindle (man I frickin love this thing) faster than you can say “vampires and werewolves, oh my”. I am now half way through New Moon and anxiously awaiting what I hope is the inevitable return of Edward.

Yesterday we trekked out to Wallyworld, otherwise known as Walmart to the uninitiated, to do some last minute shopping. I was hoping to pick up a few paperbacks to stuff under the tree for my mother-in-law but was shocked and appalled to find that their book selection consisted of half of one aisle filled with Inspirational Religious fiction, Harlequin Romances and a handful of Nora Roberts titles. It’s no wonder Steve Jobs said no one reads in America anymore, how could they with a selection like that in a store that is nearly two football fields wide.

I was ready to give up on the literary future of the heartland when we stumbled onto Pages Books located on Main Street in Newton. A warm little shop tucked in between a close cousin of the former Wild Oats and a cute home furnishings store. There wasn’t an exact rhyme or reason to the book selection and it was small, only one copy of almost all the titles they carried, but oh the titles. It might as well have been a bookcase from my office, from Franz Kafka to Haruki Murakami and everything in between. I picked out two titles for my mother-in-law and felt reassured that there was hope yet.

House

2008-12-19T17:52:00.000-08:00

We are usually subjected to about ten hours of various Food Network programming, peppered with the occasional Weather Channel report while visiting the in-laws, but tonight we broke away from Paula Deen’s drawl long enough to watch a rerun of "House" and I was surprised to find that it’s really not a bad show. I also get why it's so popular, its the perfect marriage of the procedural and emergency room dramas, two of the most successful genres on television. That combined with surprisingly decent acting, it's no wonder it's a hit. I may have to add it to my now almost barren DVR list.

Are You There God, It’s Me Sher and I’m Ready For Takeoff

2008-12-19T17:51:00.000-08:00

I’m not a religious person. Period. I was baptized as a baby, but I haven’t set foot in a church, except as a tourist and on my wedding day, in at least ten years. I understand and appreciate that religion and God are an important part of a lot of people’s lives, but organized religion is not something I personally find any use for. I do believe in a higher being of sorts, although with each passing year I can’t help but question what that even means.

And yet there are occasions that, for whatever reason, I feel the need to pray to God. I was reminded of this as I sat on an airplane today, taxing towards the runway and was compelled to repeat a ritualized mantra asking God for safe passage through the skies. I have done this every time I’ve gotten on an airplane for as long as I can remember. My father is a pilot, I have grown up around airplanes and been flying probably since before I could even walk so I don’t fear planes or travel and yet every time I board one I go against everything I believe in and say a little prayer.

Why do I do this, when I otherwise find no place for religion in my life? What compels me to mumble incoherently under my breath as I watch the runway disappear and shrink beneath us? If not out of fear and not out of true belief, then what? Perhaps I just find comfort in the ritual, or maybe I'm more of a believer than I think.

W.

2008-12-15T10:01:00.000-08:00

I watched W. yesterday (yay for screeners) and was shocked and appalled that the film left me kind of feeling sorry for old Junior. The film was a decent Oliver Stone version of a biopic, brilliant acting by Josh Brolin and Elizabeth Banks, a few questionable performances (the woman playing Condi was ridiculously charicatured) and some weird dream sequences. Of course it's hard to know how much that goes on in the film is imagined versus based in fact (considering it's Stone, more likely the former), and yet I couldn't help but sympathize with the character of GW just a little bit.

Then to add insult to injury, this morning I turned on the tube to find GW being pummeled by flying shoes and I just flat out felt sorry for the guy. I can't explain it, ordinarily I think I might have had some smug satisfaction in seeing him insulted and embarrassed, I mean I still hate him, but suddenly I find it hard not to pity him too.

Bail Out ...the Writers?

2008-12-12T14:30:00.001-08:00

A witty piece in this weekend's NY Times arguing for a government bailout of writers.

Vampire Madness

2008-12-12T13:46:00.000-08:00

After much curiosity and some pestering from friends that are avid fans I finally broke down and picked up a copy of Twilight (or rather I clicked a button and had it zapped to my Kindle, man I love this thing, but more on that later).

I am only one chapter in but already I'm hooked. It has every element that attracted me to this kind of book when I was of the age appropriate for reading it: lonely, new-to-town protagonist; small, coastal town location, mysterious hot boy. What more could a fourteen year old girl want out of a good read? Just as with Harry Potter, had this book been around when I was a wee lass, man would it have been good and dog-eared by now.

I can't help but wonder though, what it is about vampires that makes them so irresistibly fascinating even though this is the thousandth incarnation of the bloodsuckers to cross my path in my lifetime, let alone the second this year. I can't even begin to fully list all of the vampire lore I've obsessed over, most recently True Blood, then there was The Historian, (which if you haven't read and are even remotely a fan of vampires you should drop everything and pickup a copy right now) and of course who could forget Anne Rice's epic series. What is it about these night-walking, bloodsucking undead we find so fascinating that they continue to permeate every facet of media year after year?

My Kindle is beckoning me, but more on this when I finish.

Recession= Return of the Bush

2008-12-11T16:28:00.000-08:00

No not that one. This one.

When is a drunken breast grope just a drunken breast grope?

2008-12-10T11:41:00.000-08:00

Obama's speechwriter caught groping Hillary's cardboard "breast."

Yes maybe the guy should show a little better judgement now that he is under the scrutiny of such a public position, but isn't it ever okay to just file this under what it really is: a stupid drunken moment and not have to analyze each square inch of this photo-op for the sexist symbolism contained within.

Besides this is probably the most action Hillary --cardboard or otherwise-- has seen in years.

15 years without sex is 15 years too long.

2008-12-10T10:44:00.000-08:00

Came across this piece on Salon by a woman who has not had sex in a decade and a half and found it quite sad. Not so much for the fact that she literally has not had sex in a decade and a half (which is just plain depressing) but more so because she seems to justify her choice with the comfort of such ridiculous cliches as never having the toilet seat left up or remote relinquished.

It would be one thing if she simply had no want of male companionship, some women don't, but clearly as her therapist points out, the yearning is there. She tries so hard to separate sex from intimacy but as Broadsheet points out in response to this piece, "sex isn't just the ends, it's also the means." I'm not saying single women should go out and sleep with every man with a penis in hopes feeling a semblance of intimacy, but to cut yourself off entirely from the possibility of sex simply for fear of feeling vulnerable is just plain sad.

Hello, my name is Sher and I am a cyberchondriac.

2008-12-09T13:47:00.000-08:00

Cyberchondriac n. --Someone who needlessly fears the worst after using the Internet to self-diagnose an ailment. usage: "Health information online is breeding a generation of cyberchondriacs."

It's bad and getting worse, my addiction to WebMD that is. Thinking about starting C.A.: cyberchondriacs anonymous. I used to think it was great to have so much information at the click of a button, but when I end up spending more time online "researching" than say, I dunno, working, then I've got a problem. At first it was just a useful tool to look to when I got the occasional cough or pain in my knee, but since my husband and I set off on the bumpy road called trying to conceive it's become a lot more than that.

The fact is, as a relatively educated person, I realize that online medical information must be taken with a HUGE grain of salt and that the majority of it is just plain wrong or better yet, too vague to actually tell me anything, but for some reason I can't stop myself from reading every message board in hopes of finding answers and explanations to every ridiculous question and symptom that crosses my mind. I guess regardless of whether or not the information is helpful, I find some level of comfort in knowing that the information is out there because I am not the only one going through this and while I may not be able to properly diagnose anything, I can at least self-medicate through the shared experience.

Blogging from the couch

2008-12-06T07:59:00.000-08:00

We got a brand new MacBook Pro this week, but today is the first day I've had a chance to really mess with it and so far I love it. I use an older model MacBook at work but at home we have been a desktop family since my neon orange clam shell Mac crashed several years ago. I am loving the freedom of being able to surf the net from anywhere in the house, although now our office is seeming more and more like a storage space/dumping ground.

On a separate note, I watched Tropic Thunder last night which I thought was great. Although I can see why they had a hard time marketing it. I would basically categorize it as an intelligent spoof. The premise was great, but what really made it were the fantastic performances from all involved, the standouts being Robert Downey Jr. and of course Tom Cruise. Speaking of which, I just watched Risky Business for the first time last week, not what I expected but also a great film. Tom maybe a little nutty (okay a lot nutty) but between those two flicks the guy has got some sweet dance moves.

Stay the hell out of my womb W

2008-12-03T10:38:00.000-08:00

Just when I was getting comfortable with the lame duck status of George W, his administration rolls out plans to enact a "right of conscience" rule which could significantly affect women's access not only to birth control and abortion but also to sperm donation and artificial insemination. Why the hell won't he just go quietly into the night like everybody wants?

What makes a book young adult?

2008-12-02T11:54:00.000-08:00

After a lively debate at the office this morning about what makes a book fall into the category of Young Adult, I Googled the topic and found this interesting NY Times article which I had actually read before. The question posed in our debate, however, was, beyond the marketing choices of the publisher, what criteria specifically makes a book more suited towards kids than adults? My boss suggested that it was the simplicity of the prose that made a book Y.A., but there are many youth-geared books that are written in a more sophisticated style. I argued that it simply required a youth protagonist and to have been written specifically for a youth audience, style not being a criteria. However, there are a lot of titles that fall into a grey area of being universally read by both youth and adults. Harry Potter, for the most obvious example is marketed as Y.A. but more adults I know than kids have read and loved it. And then there is the even more undefinable coming-of-age fiction, which often times portrays youth but is geared towards adults (think Catcher in the Rye). So what really makes a book Y.A.? I'm not sure there is an answer beyond being shelved in the kids section at Barnes and Noble.

The Big Reunion

2008-12-01T11:04:00.000-08:00

This past weekend was the big 10 year high school reunion. I'm not sure what I had expected really, but it wasn't quite as I imagined. I had been to my husband's a few years ago, in his small hometown in Kansas where they had taken polls on things like who had traveled the furthest to be there (us) who had the oldest kids (an 11-year old at a 10 year reunion), who had the most tattoos (the only two single girls attending). They played music of the era and everyone kind of mingled evenly throughout the evening. Mine on the other hand was a little more casual, no fun polls and nostalgic tunes and as the evening progressed I couldn't help but notice that the old high school cliques had reformed as if we had just graduated yesterday. It was stunning really to see that nothing much had changed in that sense. I made a point of saying hello to a girl who I knew in school, but had always seemed to dislike me for some reason, and was pretty much given the brush off. I guess I expected a little more maturity. Maybe in another 10 years.

There were some plusses however, I reconnected with one of my best friends that I hadn't seen in, well, 10 years, as we had grown apart towards the end, and am hoping we will now stay in closer contact. There were a handful of people it was nice to catch up with but, all in all, it was a surreal experience just being in a room full of so many familiar faces yet feeling as if I had nothing to say to them beyond "and what do you do?"

Nano Update

2008-12-01T10:32:00.001-08:00

Once again Nanowrimo has come to a close and once again I have failed to reach the 50,000 word count. Not even close. And no I didn't manage my lesser goal of 30,000 either, I didn't even manage to beat last years best count, barely squeaking out 7,000 words. Sigh. I was really hoping this year would be the year, mostly because this means I will now have to attempt it again next year. I do, however, like what I started so I have made a new goal of finishing a first draft by the end of the year. Fingers are crossed.

Vampire Weekend

2008-11-24T11:46:00.000-08:00

I'm not talking about the band, although they are awesome. And no I'm not talking about Twilight either, but rather the less-discussed vampire fare of the weekend: the season finale of True Blood. From the opening credits to the last scream (of which there were many) I thought it was a fantastic end to a so far great new series. HBO has finally got some fresh blood in their line up --pun intended. I loved the way the season's mystery was tied up and the loose ends that were left hanging have me excited for the new season, which much to my surprise is less than a year away, shocking considering how few and far between HBO's seasons tend to be. I am grappling with the thought of diving in and reading the first Sookie Stackhouse book while I wait, my only fear is that it will either be better than the series --or worse-- or that it may reveal things that have not yet happened on the show. If you haven't checked out this great series I highly recommend catching up when the DVD is released, well-worth the watch.

What "type" of blog am I?

2008-11-20T16:07:00.001-08:00

Interesting site that analyzes your personality based on inputing your blog address. The result is almost instantaneous so I'm not sure exactly how it works, but here was my result:

"The Performers:

The entertaining and friendly type. They are especially attuned to pleasure and beauty and like to fill their surroundings with soft fabrics, bright colors and sweet smells. They live in the present moment and don't like to plan ahead - they are always in risk of exhausting themselves.

They enjoy work that makes them able to help other people in a concrete and visible way. They tend to avoid conflicts and rarely initiate confrontation - qualities that can make it hard for them in management positions."

It then goes on to show a brain activity chart that indicates that I am a "Feeler" versus a "Thinker".

All in all I wouldn't say the analysis is very accurate, I mean the second paragraph is pretty on the nose but the first bit about living in the present moment couldn't be further from the truth. I wonder though if this means my blog does not reflect my true personality or if this blog analyzer is just a load crap. Most likely the latter, but I can't help but wonder what my blog says about the kind of person I am.

Being Realistic

2008-11-18T12:28:00.000-08:00

So I'm officially done with the false hope that I will make it to 50,000 words on my Nano novel. Barring a miracle or at the very least the next two weeks off of work coupled with about 100 gallons of coffee I just don't see how it will be possible to make it from my puny word count (so small I am embarrassed to even admit it) to the finish line by the 30th. This damn cold I got back on Election Day has really been the bane of my existence all month and made it nearly impossible to focus on anything productive. I refuse to give up entirely, however, and instead have decided to go for a more attainable goal of 30,000 words by the 30th. I figure it will still be my personal best so far and I can always try again next year and it's better than giving up entirely which I am feeling pretty close to doing at this rate. Blogging will be at a minimum till the 30th as I must use every spare minute adding to the word tally.

No communion for you!

2008-11-13T15:43:00.000-08:00

Procrastinating for a moment online and just saw this story:

"A South Carolina Roman Catholic priest has told his parishioners that they should refrain from receiving Holy Communion if they voted for Barack Obama because the Democratic president-elect supports abortion, and supporting him 'constitutes material cooperation with intrinsic evil.'"

Really? REALLY?!

This is why religion scares the crap out of me.

Nano Update

2008-11-13T10:51:00.000-08:00

Off to an incredibly slow start on my Nanowrimo novel, and I mean slooooow. I should be at about 20,000 on Saturday, but at this point I'm closer to 20,000 minus a zero. Started off the month on the wrong foot with a bad cold, which I still can't seem to entirely shake, and which really threw me off, pretty much didn't write a single word the entire first week. I have just about two weeks left to write about 47,000 words, but I'm not giving up hope yet. Last year I was off to a tremendous start the first week and then petered out, only managing 11,000 words for the month, so I am hoping this year will be the opposite, slow start, fast finish. We shall see. Before I waste my daily word ration on this blog I better get back to it.

I would prefer National Bacon and Sex Day

2008-11-07T09:35:00.000-08:00

According to Broadsheet yesterday was National Men Make Dinner Day. Lucky for me, that's pretty much everyday in my house. I would've suggested taking the chef duties for the evening had I known, but we ordered takeout anyway so I figure that covers it.

A sad State of affairs

2008-11-05T11:43:00.000-08:00

While I continue to feel overjoyed and proud over Obama's victory, I am saddened and quite frankly disgusted by what looks to be a victory on Prop 8 (although apparently Gloria Allred is getting ready to file suit citing the prop as unconstitutional, my fingers are crossed) not to mention the similar propositions in Arizona and Arkansas.

To those of you intolerant, self-righteous assholes who voted yes on 8, all I can say is you should be ashamed of your completely unChristian actions. You claim the moral high road, yet I don't think you even know what true morals are. You act in the name of religion and yet your actions reflect a complete and total misunderstanding of the fundamentals your religions are based on. When you finally reach those pearly gates you seem to think you have won entry through, you'd better hope Peter doesn't ask you if you ever passed judgement on your fellow man. I wish you all bitter divorces.