Random Musings At Midnight

I wonder if twenty years from now people will develop a severe form of arthritis in their hands from holding iPhones for too long.

Also rerun of Seinfeld reminded me of how we actually used to call moviephone to look up show times. Sigh. Nostalgia.

Speaking of Seinfeld, Hello Ladies is hands down the best comedy on television right now. If you're not watching you're missing out. 

This random musing was brought to you by an espresso at 4pm.

Lena Dunham's Buttcheek

I can't get the image of Lena Dunham's buttcheek out of my head. Keep in mind that as I write this I am laying in bed with a 102 degree fever. So don't blame me if this sounds delirious. Blame the Internet propaganda that forced me to believe getting a flu shot would paralyze me or make me talk backwards like that odd scene in Twin Peaks that everyone knows, even if they've never watched it. Clearly I've never watched it.

Anyway, back to Lena and her cheeky issues. When I first watched Girls last year I hated it, with a capital H. But then, as the episodes piled up on my DVR, I decided to give it one last chance. The episode where Hannah goes home to visit her parents had me hooked immediately. I continued to watch gleefully this season, until this week. The episode in which Hannah must remove a giant splinter from her ass had me so ridiculously uncomfortable I had to close my eyes. Don't get me wrong, like so many detractors it's not her body that made cringe, I don't mind her constant nudity. What I did mind was having to watch, as she painfully removed the splinter and then subsequently decided to lance her eardrum with a Q-tip. And don't even get me started on the Adam and his new gal pal sex scene. We all knew the other shoe had to drop, but Jebus.

The entire episode made me wonder, as I have in the past with some really heinous Curb Your Enthusiasm episodes, is discomfort really a valid form of entertainment? Obviously the bit worked. Ms. Dunham and her giant splinter made me feel as uncomfortable as Hannah must have been feeling. But is there a point to making your audience uncomfortable?

At first I thought, no, and I was about ready to write-off this show again. But then in my flu induced fog I had an epiphany. I was not watching Modern Family. This is HBO after all. The channel that made me weep for Nate Fisher and get a little queasy over any of a thousand Game of Thrones beheadings. And still I loved those shows. Even Curb remains one of my favorites, because no matter the emotion these shows leave you with, they leave you with something. And they make you think. Food for thought is just as important as a laugh.

So the answer, my friends, is ...blowing in the wind... Damn you fever! No, but seriously, just want to say thanks to Lena Dunham and her envelope pushing ass.



Ps. Yes, I realize I haven't posted in months and suddenly this, that's what a fever does for you.

Year of Reading Wirelessly 3

Another year gone by, it's hard to remember reading the books I read at the start of the year. Finishing Cryptonomicon was a huge undertaking and one of those reads that was hard to let go of since it was such a long journey. So of course I followed it up with the Hunger Games trilogy, one of the fastest reads ever. I could hardly stop and stayed up many late nights.

My reading has slowed lately though, less time and energy I guess. So despite the fact that I beat last year's number of books read with eleven in total read in 2012, I am scaling back my goal for 2013. I hope to squeeze in at least 10 books this year but I am adding one caveat, at least one of those ten has to be non-fiction. I've never really been drawn to the genre until now and am excited to try something new.

Here is my complete list of reads for 2012. Once again all read "wirelessly" on my Kindle for iPhone app:

1. Cryptonomicon by Neal Stephenson
2. The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins
3. Catching Fire by Suzanne Collins
4. Mockingjay by Suzanne Collins
5. American Gods by Neil Gaiman
6. Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn
7. The Age of Miracles by Karen Thompson Walker
8. Wool by Hugh Howey
9. Wool 2:Proper Gauge by Hugh Howey
10. Wool 3: Casting Off by Hugh Howey
11. Wool 4: The Unraveling by Hugh Howey

A Year's Worth of Blogging

It goes without saying that another year has gone by without much activity on this blog. There have been so many occasions that I've wanted to post but just haven't had the time.

Time. If I could have just one wish it would be for more time. There just don't seem to be enough waking hours of the day, or sleeping for that matter. Lately I feel like I'm drowning in all the thoughts and running lists I have in my head. Things I want to write, projects I want to accomplish, books I want to read and so much more. It's impossible to do it all but one of my goals for the coming year is to be more organized and to organize my time better.

What a crazy year it's been. So many stories between the election, the economy, women's rights and of course the shootings. I've had so many thoughts I wish I had time to write about, but one of the unifying themes I keep coming back to on all of these events is religion and God. I do not practice any religion and am increasingly angered by how much it seems to encroach on our lives as Americans. I've always believed in some higher being or power, but lately I find myself questioning those beliefs. I know it's definitely something I will be mulling over for years to come.

I guess this is starting to get a bit rambling, but that's what happens when a years worth of thoughts never gets written. For the year ahead I hope to write more. I hope to make better use of the little free time I have. I hope to live in the moment more. I hope to be less tired. I hope to be more patient.

My Year Of Reading Wirelessly: The Sequel

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.

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

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

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

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

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

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?

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

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

Who Still Cares About Carrie?!

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

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?


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The "Swede" Life

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

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

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




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There's Something About Dogs and Babies

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

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?


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F4BM Mag Issue One

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

Dear NBC: You suck.

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!

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

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

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

Fem Blog

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

My favorite _______ of 2009

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

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

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

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.

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Addicted to Austen

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.


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Giving Thanks

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



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What a bunch of boobs

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!"

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

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?

Testing out the blogger iPhone app, more to come!


-- Posted from my iPhone

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

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

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?

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,

Me

BPA Free since... never?!

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!!

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!!