Dating idiocy
I've resisted writing about dating here, because a lot of dating posts end up unhelpful, and actually hurtful, even if they're not about anyone specific. If you try to give advice to single people, you end up making generalizations that are nearly cruel.
For instance, if you are a guy and you say, "Well, girls don't look for nice guys," it's insulting to the girls who do try to meet nice guys, but have trouble meeting them, or are constantly meeting self-proclaimed "nice guys" who are really not very nice. If you are a girl and say, "Well, guys are all jerks," you are obviously insulting a lot of nice guys who try their best and are continually shot down. (And I do happen to know a lot of nice people who have bad luck dating.)
But getting to my point...one of the modern dating conundrums is, "Why doesn't internet dating work as well as it should?" Obviously it DOES work to a point. We've all known people who met that way. But since people who do internet dating can get more dates, and more quickly, it seems like it should statistically work more often -- especially since you get to read entire checklists about people's personalities.
But this may be exactly the reason it doesn't work, according to an article published this weekend in the New York Observer.
The article interviews people who, when going down a list of women or men, will reject them based on things like what their favorite movie is, or favorite book. One guy says that if they put The Breakfast Club rather than Sixteen Candles, they don't know what they're talking about.
This is a reason that sometimes meeting someone in person works better...because the general sense you get of someone, the interaction and level of compatibility, ends up being more important than what they put down for favorite song. But if you are going through thousands of ads, sometimes you start looking for a way to narrow the field. Unfortunately, sometimes you weed out people by accident because of stereotypical beliefs you hold.
It is good to reject someone if their values and political views are at odds with yours. And yes, there are valid "red flags" and dealbreakers. But rejecting someone over a favorite song? Hmmm.
A few years ago I had dinner with college friends, and all of them were either in a relationship or had recently been in one with someone whom they never would have "met" online, because that type of person who wouldn't have met their checklist. In one case, the guy was dating a woman 15 years older than he was, and he really was happy with her. In the second, a woman had just dated a man 8 years younger than she was.
But they never would have met their lovers on-line. This guy would not have put his age parameters up to 15 years older if he was on-line. Sometimes it has to do with more than just a checklist, although there are some valid things you need in common.
8/14/2006
Movies Seen
Little Miss Sunshine
Recently-released family drama. It was cute and I loved the ending, but I wasn't laughing all the way through it like most of the senior citizens in the audience were. I think it was overrated. Still, I felt happy when I left, because of the ending. I would advise waiting until the DVD, but the critics seem to love it, so maybe you will disagree with me.
V for Vendetta
Just out on DVD. Great movie. I was glued to my seat, or actually, my mattress. Who would think I'd enjoy something set in the future in London, with a weird masked man? Anyway, it's an extrapolation of what would happen in a totalitarian society.
Godspell
My parents had the record of this musical when I was little, and the movie version used to be shown on TV every year. But it had been at least 20 years since I'd seen it, so when I noticed the DVD version at my local library last week, I picked it up.
I didn't really remember anything about the actual show, except for the amazing music. (I played the tape once in my dorm room in college and my roommate asked me what "group" it was.)
My first surprise was that it was shot in 1972 New York, and there was so much that looks similar to today, with a few things different. Right away, that was interesting. It's worth watching for the luscious New York scenery alone. The music was wonderful, of course. It's not very plot-based -- it's sort of a humorous retelling of the Bible, using New York hippies dancing around -- but I can say was that I enjoyed watching it anyway. There's some humor in it; a guy says "Jesus Christ!" and nearly gets slapped. Victor Garber is the star.
At the beginning, it shows the World Trade Center, and then you hear the sound of a plane and it goes to something else. That's kind of weird.
Godspell:
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0070121/
V for Vendetta:
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0434409/
Little Miss Sunshine:
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0449059/
Little Miss Sunshine
Recently-released family drama. It was cute and I loved the ending, but I wasn't laughing all the way through it like most of the senior citizens in the audience were. I think it was overrated. Still, I felt happy when I left, because of the ending. I would advise waiting until the DVD, but the critics seem to love it, so maybe you will disagree with me.
V for Vendetta
Just out on DVD. Great movie. I was glued to my seat, or actually, my mattress. Who would think I'd enjoy something set in the future in London, with a weird masked man? Anyway, it's an extrapolation of what would happen in a totalitarian society.
Godspell
My parents had the record of this musical when I was little, and the movie version used to be shown on TV every year. But it had been at least 20 years since I'd seen it, so when I noticed the DVD version at my local library last week, I picked it up.
I didn't really remember anything about the actual show, except for the amazing music. (I played the tape once in my dorm room in college and my roommate asked me what "group" it was.)
My first surprise was that it was shot in 1972 New York, and there was so much that looks similar to today, with a few things different. Right away, that was interesting. It's worth watching for the luscious New York scenery alone. The music was wonderful, of course. It's not very plot-based -- it's sort of a humorous retelling of the Bible, using New York hippies dancing around -- but I can say was that I enjoyed watching it anyway. There's some humor in it; a guy says "Jesus Christ!" and nearly gets slapped. Victor Garber is the star.
At the beginning, it shows the World Trade Center, and then you hear the sound of a plane and it goes to something else. That's kind of weird.
Godspell:
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0070121/
V for Vendetta:
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0434409/
Little Miss Sunshine:
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0449059/
8/12/2006
8/11/2006
Forum up!!
A forum has been started for discussion of chick lit and the new book, This Is Chick Lit, in which I have a short story.
Cloudscapes and storm on the Barometer Blog.
Barometer blog
Hiss! Meow!
Article in the Huffington Post on the chick litters vs. the anti chick-litters.
A forum has been started for discussion of chick lit and the new book, This Is Chick Lit, in which I have a short story.
Cloudscapes and storm on the Barometer Blog.
Barometer blog
Hiss! Meow!
Article in the Huffington Post on the chick litters vs. the anti chick-litters.
8/10/2006
Court case decided by rock, paper, scissors
Story here (and it's true).
Thanks to Jon the Writer for sending that along.
Other
I was reading some of my entries from the winter, and boy did I sound boring! All the entries were about writing...and yeah, this blog is supposed to be about my writing, but...still, I apologize. I swear that in real life, I have a personality and soul and do other stuff besides writing...maybe.
I kept meaning to link to Chris's disclaimer on his blog, because I like it: "Mission Statement
The goal of the this blog is to help me write, not to hurt my family, friends and co-workers. Please contact me if I have written anything that you believe is inappropriate or offensive."
I told Chris I wanted to link to his blog several months ago, and then kept forgetting to.
Story here (and it's true).
Thanks to Jon the Writer for sending that along.
Other
I was reading some of my entries from the winter, and boy did I sound boring! All the entries were about writing...and yeah, this blog is supposed to be about my writing, but...still, I apologize. I swear that in real life, I have a personality and soul and do other stuff besides writing...maybe.
I kept meaning to link to Chris's disclaimer on his blog, because I like it: "Mission Statement
The goal of the this blog is to help me write, not to hurt my family, friends and co-workers. Please contact me if I have written anything that you believe is inappropriate or offensive."
I told Chris I wanted to link to his blog several months ago, and then kept forgetting to.
8/09/2006
Now I've heard everything
There are bars in Hoboken (and apparently other places) that are having Rock, Paper, Scissors tournaments.
And some people thought having trivia in bars was stretching it.
What's next? Red Rover in Giants Stadium?
There are bars in Hoboken (and apparently other places) that are having Rock, Paper, Scissors tournaments.
And some people thought having trivia in bars was stretching it.
What's next? Red Rover in Giants Stadium?
8/08/2006
Writing update (ho hum)
I have a book that is ready to go to editors. It is not the book I have been talking about on here for years.
It may take months for me to hear back on it, or weeks. I'm just glad that (hopefully) it's about to get out there.
I also have another book proposal nearly done that is to go to a specific editor. It also is not the book I have been talking about revising on here for years.
The book I have talked about revising here for years is about two characters who have a strong emotional connection to each other. It has been hard to get just right. I think I am much, much closer. But it will still take a little tinkering.
The books I care about emotionally are usually the hardest to get right.
I was always working on the other stuff, which is generally a good idea. If you hit writer's block on one thing, you can go to another.
However, I'm not sure that I've ever had "writer's block" -- just a period when I needed to take a break from something. As I've understood it, writer's block is something psychological. There have been times when I've become bored with certain books, taken time off from others, or simply run out of ideas, but I don't see any of that as something psychological.
For instance, right now, I am writing this blog and I just don't see how I could ever sto
I have a book that is ready to go to editors. It is not the book I have been talking about on here for years.
It may take months for me to hear back on it, or weeks. I'm just glad that (hopefully) it's about to get out there.
I also have another book proposal nearly done that is to go to a specific editor. It also is not the book I have been talking about revising on here for years.
The book I have talked about revising here for years is about two characters who have a strong emotional connection to each other. It has been hard to get just right. I think I am much, much closer. But it will still take a little tinkering.
The books I care about emotionally are usually the hardest to get right.
I was always working on the other stuff, which is generally a good idea. If you hit writer's block on one thing, you can go to another.
However, I'm not sure that I've ever had "writer's block" -- just a period when I needed to take a break from something. As I've understood it, writer's block is something psychological. There have been times when I've become bored with certain books, taken time off from others, or simply run out of ideas, but I don't see any of that as something psychological.
For instance, right now, I am writing this blog and I just don't see how I could ever sto
8/07/2006
You're the top
I had a great weekend. Hope you all did.
Nothing pithy to say, but if you're not familiar with the comedic genius of lyricist Cole Porter, here are some lyrics to make you feel good today:
You're the top!
You're the Coliseum.
You're the top!
You're the Lourve Museum.
You're a melody from a symphony by Strauss
You're a Bendel bonnet, A Shakespeare's sonnet, You're Mickey Mouse.
You're the Nile,
You're the Tower of Pisa,
You're the smile on the Mona Lisa
I'm a worthless check, a total wreck, a flop,
But if baby, I'm the bottom, you're the top!
Update:
I already got a very intellectual response to my post today:
"I don't recall all the lyrics, but I once wrote a more sexually suggestive version of the song which ended with "but if baby I'm on bottom, you're on top." Just FYI. -- The Anonymous Blogger
I had a great weekend. Hope you all did.
Nothing pithy to say, but if you're not familiar with the comedic genius of lyricist Cole Porter, here are some lyrics to make you feel good today:
You're the top!
You're the Coliseum.
You're the top!
You're the Lourve Museum.
You're a melody from a symphony by Strauss
You're a Bendel bonnet, A Shakespeare's sonnet, You're Mickey Mouse.
You're the Nile,
You're the Tower of Pisa,
You're the smile on the Mona Lisa
I'm a worthless check, a total wreck, a flop,
But if baby, I'm the bottom, you're the top!
Update:
I already got a very intellectual response to my post today:
"I don't recall all the lyrics, but I once wrote a more sexually suggestive version of the song which ended with "but if baby I'm on bottom, you're on top." Just FYI. -- The Anonymous Blogger
8/04/2006
An ode
It's almost like you can feel it.
The sun is going down just a little sooner at night. Kids are actually reporting to football practice.
Even if it's a hundred degrees out and still plenty of weekends left to enjoy the beach, fall is very very slowly sneaking up on us.
I don't mean to steal summer dreams from anyone. I like summer, too. It's just odd that I'm already seeing hints of that back-to-school time already.
There are stores with crisply folded sweaters and school supplies on sale. Freshly sharpened pencils and evenly lined notebooks. LL Bean catalogues with hues of navy blue, hunter green.
In a little over a month, the coolness will tumble beneath our ears in the morning like a barely perceptible whisper. We'll hear the buses starting and stopping outside, and we'll know nervous freshmen are heading that way.
It's always been the time to start again, to sit behind a desk and hope that each of our new teachers has a sense of humor, hope we're assigned in at least one class to sit next to that cute boy/girl we've been dreaming about for ages. This is the year we finally wise up enough to figure out how to get their attention.
Does this entry seem too wistful? Or is there a way to spin this feeling around and still look at every autumn day as new and colorful as the leaves?
Update:
I forgot that I have three sportswriters reading this blog (believe it or not). The female one writes:
> Kids better not be reporting to official, formal football practice yet. I believe the first day allowed by the NJSIAA is Aug. 21. These are just captains' practices, which "don't count." Except kids who don't show up likely won't be startin' in the fall!
It's almost like you can feel it.
The sun is going down just a little sooner at night. Kids are actually reporting to football practice.
Even if it's a hundred degrees out and still plenty of weekends left to enjoy the beach, fall is very very slowly sneaking up on us.
I don't mean to steal summer dreams from anyone. I like summer, too. It's just odd that I'm already seeing hints of that back-to-school time already.
There are stores with crisply folded sweaters and school supplies on sale. Freshly sharpened pencils and evenly lined notebooks. LL Bean catalogues with hues of navy blue, hunter green.
In a little over a month, the coolness will tumble beneath our ears in the morning like a barely perceptible whisper. We'll hear the buses starting and stopping outside, and we'll know nervous freshmen are heading that way.
It's always been the time to start again, to sit behind a desk and hope that each of our new teachers has a sense of humor, hope we're assigned in at least one class to sit next to that cute boy/girl we've been dreaming about for ages. This is the year we finally wise up enough to figure out how to get their attention.
Does this entry seem too wistful? Or is there a way to spin this feeling around and still look at every autumn day as new and colorful as the leaves?
Update:
I forgot that I have three sportswriters reading this blog (believe it or not). The female one writes:
> Kids better not be reporting to official, formal football practice yet. I believe the first day allowed by the NJSIAA is Aug. 21. These are just captains' practices, which "don't count." Except kids who don't show up likely won't be startin' in the fall!
8/03/2006
Too hot to blog
Agh.
I noticed a lot of homeless people just lying on the sidewalks in NYC this evening. I wished I had brought a list of free cooling centers to hand them -- although that may be simplistic. I know many of them aren't with it enough to get up and go, but maybe a few could have used the info. I'm not sure there is an actual list - since http://home.nyc.gov/portal/index.jsp?pageID=nyc_home only allows you to put in your address and find a center nearby.
Anyway, if you happen to live in a big hot steamy city and you see someone who looks like they need it, think about giving them a bottle of water. I'm gonna try it next time I'm downtown in NYC.
Agh.
I noticed a lot of homeless people just lying on the sidewalks in NYC this evening. I wished I had brought a list of free cooling centers to hand them -- although that may be simplistic. I know many of them aren't with it enough to get up and go, but maybe a few could have used the info. I'm not sure there is an actual list - since http://home.nyc.gov/portal/index.jsp?pageID=nyc_home only allows you to put in your address and find a center nearby.
Anyway, if you happen to live in a big hot steamy city and you see someone who looks like they need it, think about giving them a bottle of water. I'm gonna try it next time I'm downtown in NYC.
8/02/2006
In chick-lit news...
The segment on Air America this morning on This Is Chick Lit (scheduled to ship next week!) and This Is Not Chick Lit was pretty good. The astute host said that it seems like there's always a battle between so-called "literary" and commercial fiction, but what is "literary?" One of them said, laughing, something like: "Commericial means it sells."
They both mentioned several times that chick lit is what's selling now. I think both books will get good publicity over this.
Also, I have been informed that this month's Bust Magazine has a review of both books which says: "Like a lot of snotty literary types, I have often sneered at chick lit...I'm here to tell you: I was wrong...These stories, which take chick lit beyond its Bridget Jonesian beginnings, show that it's time to take this maturing genre a little more seriously. In this round of the culture wars, at least, the point goes to the chick-lit girls."
Some other news notes:
Track Tropical Storm Chris. Probably heading for the Gulf.
Because of the insanely high temperatures in NYC, several buildings (like the Empire State Bldg) and bridges (like the Brooklyn Bridge and GWB) will not be all lit up tonight, in order to conserve power.
Recently, the age at which you can join the Army was increased to 42.
Not in the news
I work with a guy in this cover band. I will probably try to catch one of their shows this month.
The segment on Air America this morning on This Is Chick Lit (scheduled to ship next week!) and This Is Not Chick Lit was pretty good. The astute host said that it seems like there's always a battle between so-called "literary" and commercial fiction, but what is "literary?" One of them said, laughing, something like: "Commericial means it sells."
They both mentioned several times that chick lit is what's selling now. I think both books will get good publicity over this.
Also, I have been informed that this month's Bust Magazine has a review of both books which says: "Like a lot of snotty literary types, I have often sneered at chick lit...I'm here to tell you: I was wrong...These stories, which take chick lit beyond its Bridget Jonesian beginnings, show that it's time to take this maturing genre a little more seriously. In this round of the culture wars, at least, the point goes to the chick-lit girls."
Some other news notes:
Track Tropical Storm Chris. Probably heading for the Gulf.
Because of the insanely high temperatures in NYC, several buildings (like the Empire State Bldg) and bridges (like the Brooklyn Bridge and GWB) will not be all lit up tonight, in order to conserve power.
Recently, the age at which you can join the Army was increased to 42.
Not in the news
I work with a guy in this cover band. I will probably try to catch one of their shows this month.
8/01/2006
Random images from my camera
Apparently my town has a welcome wagon:
Park in Jersey City yesterday:
Not long ago, I was in Hell's Kitchen and saw a group of cops and EMTs around a woman who was lying on her back on the sidewalk. The EMTs were doing CPR, pressing on her to restart her heart, as the cops surrounded them to keep people away. When I passed, I saw one of those striped, tattered tote bags that homeless women carry. There was a man guarding it. I also saw that they had her shirt off and she had enormous, beachball-shaped, probably fake breasts. So maybe she was a hooker (why else would she spend all her money on fake breasts?) At first, I worried that she was just a homeless woman who had fainted and had no one to care for her. The fact that she's a hooker didn't make me feel less bad, but...anyway, I was pleased that the cops and EMTs cared enough to bring her back to life.
Which they did. Sometimes we see the worst of society, but I saw some cops and St. Vincent's ambulance workers giving their best.
Only problem was...no one was appointed to clean up afterward. (I happened to pass again on the way home.)
Apparently my town has a welcome wagon:
Park in Jersey City yesterday:
Not long ago, I was in Hell's Kitchen and saw a group of cops and EMTs around a woman who was lying on her back on the sidewalk. The EMTs were doing CPR, pressing on her to restart her heart, as the cops surrounded them to keep people away. When I passed, I saw one of those striped, tattered tote bags that homeless women carry. There was a man guarding it. I also saw that they had her shirt off and she had enormous, beachball-shaped, probably fake breasts. So maybe she was a hooker (why else would she spend all her money on fake breasts?) At first, I worried that she was just a homeless woman who had fainted and had no one to care for her. The fact that she's a hooker didn't make me feel less bad, but...anyway, I was pleased that the cops and EMTs cared enough to bring her back to life.
Which they did. Sometimes we see the worst of society, but I saw some cops and St. Vincent's ambulance workers giving their best.
Only problem was...no one was appointed to clean up afterward. (I happened to pass again on the way home.)
.jpg)
Hey, chicks...
Tomorrow, August 2, Publishers Weekly editor Sara Nelson will be live on Air America Morning Radio at 8:30 am (Eastern). She will remark on the debate regarding women’s literary fiction vs. chick-lit, specifically discussing This is NOT Chick-Lit (Random House, August 2006) and THIS IS CHICK-LIT (BenBella Books, September 2006) respectively.
In NY, NY, Air America is WLIB 1190 AM. To find out your local station, go to www.airamerica.com
I'll be tuning in to hear what she says...
Tomorrow, August 2, Publishers Weekly editor Sara Nelson will be live on Air America Morning Radio at 8:30 am (Eastern). She will remark on the debate regarding women’s literary fiction vs. chick-lit, specifically discussing This is NOT Chick-Lit (Random House, August 2006) and THIS IS CHICK-LIT (BenBella Books, September 2006) respectively.
In NY, NY, Air America is WLIB 1190 AM. To find out your local station, go to www.airamerica.com
I'll be tuning in to hear what she says...
7/31/2006
Nice stuff in the mail today
Fairy tales can come true, it can happen to you...
This girl used to work at my newspaper and wanted to publish a young adult novel. I stayed in touch with her...after many years of her hard work, she just got a two book deal! She announced it on a listserve I'm on:
"Okay, so... I know that most everyone is away at nationals, but I still wanted to share my HAPPY NEWS. My lovely agent, [redacted], has sold my YA novel, [Etc.], and its yet-to-be-written sequel, [Etc.], to [Etc.] at Berkley Jam. I'm over the moon!!It was almost a year ago that I found this group, and since then my writing career has taken off....a BIG THANKS to [Etc.] for helping me perfect the query letter that got me my agent; ...[Etc.] and to C*ren Li**ner for inviting me into my first writer's group and turning me on to this loop. You gals ROCK!!"
Fan letter
just wanted to say I really enjoy your photos (especially the BLOB) and I can tell from your postings that you are very sweet. Keep posting! -- M
Thanks, M! I think the blob made some people sick, but I like the letter! (M is in Canada, and thus safe from our American blobs.)
Fairy tales can come true, it can happen to you...
This girl used to work at my newspaper and wanted to publish a young adult novel. I stayed in touch with her...after many years of her hard work, she just got a two book deal! She announced it on a listserve I'm on:
"Okay, so... I know that most everyone is away at nationals, but I still wanted to share my HAPPY NEWS. My lovely agent, [redacted], has sold my YA novel, [Etc.], and its yet-to-be-written sequel, [Etc.], to [Etc.] at Berkley Jam. I'm over the moon!!It was almost a year ago that I found this group, and since then my writing career has taken off....a BIG THANKS to [Etc.] for helping me perfect the query letter that got me my agent; ...[Etc.] and to C*ren Li**ner for inviting me into my first writer's group and turning me on to this loop. You gals ROCK!!"
Fan letter
just wanted to say I really enjoy your photos (especially the BLOB) and I can tell from your postings that you are very sweet. Keep posting! -- M
Thanks, M! I think the blob made some people sick, but I like the letter! (M is in Canada, and thus safe from our American blobs.)
7/30/2006
The glamorous life
A friend left me a phone message in which she said, "I wanted to see if you 'just happened to be on a yacht'..."
I guess that was a reference to my entry last Friday in which I was at a small gathering on a yacht. I think my life sounds a lot more glamorous than it really is. It was a small yacht, I swear!!
A friend left me a phone message in which she said, "I wanted to see if you 'just happened to be on a yacht'..."
I guess that was a reference to my entry last Friday in which I was at a small gathering on a yacht. I think my life sounds a lot more glamorous than it really is. It was a small yacht, I swear!!
7/29/2006
Clerks II*
It's time for ... my Clerks II review.
Hey, where'd everyone go?
First, I'll say that the heroic boy who took me to see it, who is lovely and cute and smart, is now quite disgusted with my taste in movies. Oh well. In my defense, many intelligent people liked it. A.O. Scott from the New York Times gave it an excellent review.
Now then.
I have to agree, the Boy was right - this one was kinda stupid.
The original Clerks was fresh and funny, with intelligent lightening-fast dialogue about all sorts of topics: The types of customers in a convenience store, movies, sex and relationships, dead-end jobs.
In this one, I was glad to see the lovable characters again: Dante, Randal, Jay and Silent Bob. But most of their lines meant for shock value. Some of it was funny, but most of it was just there to shock. The first movie didn't just scream "cock" in a crowded theater.
I think maybe Kevin Smith used up most of his material in his other five movies and the "Clerks" cartoon show, and these jokes were left in his basement.
I did like the new character, Elias, and his reasons for not being able to have sex with his girlfriend.
But I felt bad for that poor sweet donkey.
All in all, I give it two trolls out of five.
I still think "Jersey Girl" was an excellent movie.
*(Note: I had a snappier version of this review up earlier, and somehow, the file got corrupted and a photo of some guns and some Spanish words became part of the post. I swear. Maybe some Kevin Smith fans got into it. Anyway, I tried to rewrite it from memory.)
It's time for ... my Clerks II review.
Hey, where'd everyone go?
First, I'll say that the heroic boy who took me to see it, who is lovely and cute and smart, is now quite disgusted with my taste in movies. Oh well. In my defense, many intelligent people liked it. A.O. Scott from the New York Times gave it an excellent review.
Now then.
I have to agree, the Boy was right - this one was kinda stupid.
The original Clerks was fresh and funny, with intelligent lightening-fast dialogue about all sorts of topics: The types of customers in a convenience store, movies, sex and relationships, dead-end jobs.
In this one, I was glad to see the lovable characters again: Dante, Randal, Jay and Silent Bob. But most of their lines meant for shock value. Some of it was funny, but most of it was just there to shock. The first movie didn't just scream "cock" in a crowded theater.
I think maybe Kevin Smith used up most of his material in his other five movies and the "Clerks" cartoon show, and these jokes were left in his basement.
I did like the new character, Elias, and his reasons for not being able to have sex with his girlfriend.
But I felt bad for that poor sweet donkey.
All in all, I give it two trolls out of five.
I still think "Jersey Girl" was an excellent movie.
*(Note: I had a snappier version of this review up earlier, and somehow, the file got corrupted and a photo of some guns and some Spanish words became part of the post. I swear. Maybe some Kevin Smith fans got into it. Anyway, I tried to rewrite it from memory.)
7/28/2006
Six degrees of Kevin Smith
Lots of people who come from Central Jersey try to have a Kevin Smith story. Even the PSE&G repairman who saw my "Clerks" poster last year told me some things about going to high school with him.
Anyway, I can proudly state that besides having interviewed Kevin Smith many years ago when he did a screening of "Chasing Amy" in Hoboken, I was two years behind "Clerks" star Brian O'Halloran during high school. O'Halloran wasn't involved in a lot of things, but senior year, he won the lead role in "Snoopy" and gave a performance (and I'm not exaggerating) that you couldn't take your eyes off of.
Every time he whirled on stage in his collar, he pretty much commanded attention. As my drama teacher said, "All of a sudden you have this kid who comes out of nowhere, and he's great..." She said it because two girls in my class were talking about how O'Halloran wasn't sure what to do with his future, and might be going into the Navy or something (hey, it was a long time ago and my memory could be a little off.)
I'm glad he kept acting.
7/27/2006
Weeks We Should Get off Work
Week to catch up on sleep
Week to catch up on random books we think we should have read because people always mention them in conversation
Week to catch up on meaningless pleasure reading that doesn't apply above
Week to catch up on suspenseful cable TV series that everyone else talks about
Week to exercise (should be done while catching up on above, to make it less painless) or quit smoking
Week to write thank-you notes to people who went beyond call of duty, who we meant to thank or repay but never got around to it
Week to take lessons we always wanted to take (foreign language, instrument, or what have you)
Week for domestic travel (note: If living in NYC, may mean setting foot in a different borough)
Week for international travel
Week to clean house, paint stuff, and throw out old junk so that when it's time to move, we don't say, "Geez, it would have been so much more fun living here all these years if I'd fixed it up sooner"
Week to volunteer and donate to charities
Week to tell people in your life how much you appreciate them (note: may involve risk of said people deciding you're clingy)
Week to take care of your body with massages, manicures, etc. (Boys, you can just floss.)
Week to look up stuff in encyclopedia that you always wanted to know (Like, what is the difference between crumpled and crumbled?)
Week to watch and read news
Week for random other self-improvement (Boys, you can just floss.)
Week to find real O.J. killer
Week to finally introduce self to neighbors you've lived next to for forty years
Week to get revenge on all those people who wronged you whom you've been thinking about ...whoops, just kidding. I meant, week to hope for peace and love.
Update: Someone e-mailed me to ask if I'm OK. This post is meant to be lighthearted. Don't worry, I'm fine! Oh, the link to the Bible is also kinda a joke, although I do think I should read it again one of these days because I'm so Biblically ignorant.
7/26/2006
Thanking the driver
On Friday, I was at a small gathering on a yacht with some visitors from New Zealand. The inevitable discussion topic came up about ways people are different in New Zealand than here in New York. One of the Zealanders mentioned that people here are really polite, as evidenced by the fact that they were all thanking the bus driver as they got off.
This happens on every bus I take (to and from New York), and I've thought about it. It's not out of custom. I wasn't taught to say thank you to bus drivers when getting off the bus. I don't think other people do it out of custom or etiquette, either.
For some reason, it just seems like you have to do it as you get off, as you are passing the guy and it almost feels rude not to. We do thank the McDonald's cashier who hands us our fries, and the shoestore guy who puts our Jordans on. We don't thank the garbage men picking up our trash, but we normally aren't parked right next to them for a few minutes.
I think people thank the bus driver mainly because they're passing him and "thank you" feels like the appropriate thing to say. I don't think they're consciously expressing gratitude because he got them there. I could be wrong, but it just feels like politeness more than gratitude, not like something you do because your parents taught you it once.
Another view of New York
Us New York-centric people sometimes forget that the rest of the world doesn't think like us and doesn't live like us.
A reader of mine in Texas forwarded to me a story from the Times about apartment brokers, with the subject head "I don't get it," and this comment:
That article is about apartment brokers – people that help you find an apartment in NYC. I have never heard of such a thing – why can’t people find apartments on their own?
I asked him if I could post this so that New Yorkers can laugh at him.
For those interested in writing and publishing
How much are you willing to give up for your art? A young writer (early 20s I believe) has posted this e-mail exchange with his editor at a small press. Eventually, the editor stopped working with him.
He posted the exchange here on his blog (go down to the e-mail exchange) and he also has linked to some people making fun of him, like here.
My updates
I'm working on a few different novels right now - since last December, I've had an unusual spate of ideas that excited me. In fact, I'm about finished with something I'll call Project F. Hopefully news on that by September.
Meanwhile, the novel I've worked on for four years is STILL being revised by me, and maybe I can get it done this fall.
At what point
At what point do people give up on their dreams?
I've known someone since college, let's call him "M," who is tremendously talented and creative. (No, he doesn't know this blog exists.) These days, he works his job, goes home to his wife, and that's it. Maybe he's happy. But 30 years old is way too young to decide that you're giving up. Maybe you realized you're not going to get drafted by the Red Sox, but then coach Little League!
(And yes, I know that maybe he's happy just relaxing. And I'm all for that. Still, I don't want him to turn 70 and say, hey, what the hell did I do?!)
Clerks II
Yes, I'm ashamed to admit that the yacht party got in the way of my plan to see it opening night and support talented New Jerseyan Kevin Smith. But rumor has it that a heroic boy may be taking me to see it very soon. Review to come (of the movie, of course).
On Friday, I was at a small gathering on a yacht with some visitors from New Zealand. The inevitable discussion topic came up about ways people are different in New Zealand than here in New York. One of the Zealanders mentioned that people here are really polite, as evidenced by the fact that they were all thanking the bus driver as they got off.
This happens on every bus I take (to and from New York), and I've thought about it. It's not out of custom. I wasn't taught to say thank you to bus drivers when getting off the bus. I don't think other people do it out of custom or etiquette, either.
For some reason, it just seems like you have to do it as you get off, as you are passing the guy and it almost feels rude not to. We do thank the McDonald's cashier who hands us our fries, and the shoestore guy who puts our Jordans on. We don't thank the garbage men picking up our trash, but we normally aren't parked right next to them for a few minutes.
I think people thank the bus driver mainly because they're passing him and "thank you" feels like the appropriate thing to say. I don't think they're consciously expressing gratitude because he got them there. I could be wrong, but it just feels like politeness more than gratitude, not like something you do because your parents taught you it once.
Another view of New York
Us New York-centric people sometimes forget that the rest of the world doesn't think like us and doesn't live like us.
A reader of mine in Texas forwarded to me a story from the Times about apartment brokers, with the subject head "I don't get it," and this comment:
That article is about apartment brokers – people that help you find an apartment in NYC. I have never heard of such a thing – why can’t people find apartments on their own?
I asked him if I could post this so that New Yorkers can laugh at him.
For those interested in writing and publishing
How much are you willing to give up for your art? A young writer (early 20s I believe) has posted this e-mail exchange with his editor at a small press. Eventually, the editor stopped working with him.
He posted the exchange here on his blog (go down to the e-mail exchange) and he also has linked to some people making fun of him, like here.
My updates
I'm working on a few different novels right now - since last December, I've had an unusual spate of ideas that excited me. In fact, I'm about finished with something I'll call Project F. Hopefully news on that by September.
Meanwhile, the novel I've worked on for four years is STILL being revised by me, and maybe I can get it done this fall.
At what point
At what point do people give up on their dreams?
I've known someone since college, let's call him "M," who is tremendously talented and creative. (No, he doesn't know this blog exists.) These days, he works his job, goes home to his wife, and that's it. Maybe he's happy. But 30 years old is way too young to decide that you're giving up. Maybe you realized you're not going to get drafted by the Red Sox, but then coach Little League!
(And yes, I know that maybe he's happy just relaxing. And I'm all for that. Still, I don't want him to turn 70 and say, hey, what the hell did I do?!)
Clerks II
Yes, I'm ashamed to admit that the yacht party got in the way of my plan to see it opening night and support talented New Jerseyan Kevin Smith. But rumor has it that a heroic boy may be taking me to see it very soon. Review to come (of the movie, of course).
7/25/2006
7/24/2006
7/21/2006
Chick lit: It's not just for Harvard anymore
Earlier, I noted that chick lit is being taught at Harvard this fall.
Apparently, it's also being taught at the prestigious University of Texas at Austin.
Topic: Chick Rhetoric
Course Description
Everybody knows what a chick flick is-- it's a sappy love story in which everyone cries-and real men don't watch them. Yet the sappy and tragic Titanic was the largest grossing film ever, and not because only women saw it. The term Chick Lit didn't appear in the Oxford English Dictionary until 2002, but it can be argued that Jane Austen was writing the stuff back in the 19th Century....
http://web.austin.utexas.edu/cola/students/courses/coursedetail.cfm?courseID=13479
Earlier, I noted that chick lit is being taught at Harvard this fall.
Apparently, it's also being taught at the prestigious University of Texas at Austin.
Topic: Chick Rhetoric
Course Description
Everybody knows what a chick flick is-- it's a sappy love story in which everyone cries-and real men don't watch them. Yet the sappy and tragic Titanic was the largest grossing film ever, and not because only women saw it. The term Chick Lit didn't appear in the Oxford English Dictionary until 2002, but it can be argued that Jane Austen was writing the stuff back in the 19th Century....
http://web.austin.utexas.edu/cola/students/courses/coursedetail.cfm?courseID=13479
Commemorative edition
Woke up,
put on clothes,
went to work.
A great review of Clerks II in the New York Times today. It opens tonight!
Woke up,
put on clothes,
went to work.
A great review of Clerks II in the New York Times today. It opens tonight!
7/20/2006
Trust
In the last few months, the newspaper chain that I work for has run three articles about people who were paralyzed or killed due to a doctor's mistake that shouldn't have happened. Someone just wasn't paying attention and gave the wrong dosage of something.
It's very hard for all of us to go through life constantly asking questions, protecting everyone, being suspicious. We want to trust experts.
Yet it seems like in dealing with a professional on any important matter, you always have to be on the ball. Even if it means being a pest. I hate that, but it's true.
There have been times when I've been on the phone dealing with a professional from, say, the IRS or Dell computer, when they told me something that didn't seem quite right. I would have been happy to finally get off the phone and do what they said, but I asked a few more questions. And finally something clicked and they realized they needed to give me a better answer. Sometimes asking for someone's supervisor also helped.
I hate having to do that. And why should people have to do that with surgeons and nurses?
I suppose it's because no matter what your individual situation is, a professional is still dealing with hundreds of patients or clients. No one knows your situation better than you.
In a story we wrote in our papers about three weeks ago, a boy who was 12 years old, who played football, got Hodgkin's Disease. It's curable if caught early enough and treated with chemo. Most of his treatments went fine.
On the very last one, they accidentally gave him three times the dose of chemo, just because someone wrote something down wrong.
He immediately felt very sick. He died in agony three weeks later.
The parents just won a multimilliondollar settlement, but they had to watch their son die in pain because of one stupid error that no one caught. He would have been alive today, a survivor, playing high school football and just being a boy.
It's not as if the parents could have been standing there to catch it. It's not as if the kid could have caught it. Or maybe he could have noticed that something wasn't quite right with how much they were giving him, but really, would they have listened to him?
Medical miracles are performed every day, so I'm not dissing doctors, but I guess the point is that unfortunately, we always have to ask questions. I'm still pretty optimistic and harbor a lot of romantic notions, so I hate to have to ask questions all the time. But sometimes you just have to.
In the last few months, the newspaper chain that I work for has run three articles about people who were paralyzed or killed due to a doctor's mistake that shouldn't have happened. Someone just wasn't paying attention and gave the wrong dosage of something.
It's very hard for all of us to go through life constantly asking questions, protecting everyone, being suspicious. We want to trust experts.
Yet it seems like in dealing with a professional on any important matter, you always have to be on the ball. Even if it means being a pest. I hate that, but it's true.
There have been times when I've been on the phone dealing with a professional from, say, the IRS or Dell computer, when they told me something that didn't seem quite right. I would have been happy to finally get off the phone and do what they said, but I asked a few more questions. And finally something clicked and they realized they needed to give me a better answer. Sometimes asking for someone's supervisor also helped.
I hate having to do that. And why should people have to do that with surgeons and nurses?
I suppose it's because no matter what your individual situation is, a professional is still dealing with hundreds of patients or clients. No one knows your situation better than you.
In a story we wrote in our papers about three weeks ago, a boy who was 12 years old, who played football, got Hodgkin's Disease. It's curable if caught early enough and treated with chemo. Most of his treatments went fine.
On the very last one, they accidentally gave him three times the dose of chemo, just because someone wrote something down wrong.
He immediately felt very sick. He died in agony three weeks later.
The parents just won a multimilliondollar settlement, but they had to watch their son die in pain because of one stupid error that no one caught. He would have been alive today, a survivor, playing high school football and just being a boy.
It's not as if the parents could have been standing there to catch it. It's not as if the kid could have caught it. Or maybe he could have noticed that something wasn't quite right with how much they were giving him, but really, would they have listened to him?
Medical miracles are performed every day, so I'm not dissing doctors, but I guess the point is that unfortunately, we always have to ask questions. I'm still pretty optimistic and harbor a lot of romantic notions, so I hate to have to ask questions all the time. But sometimes you just have to.
7/19/2006
Yawn
Nothing much to write today. I did update the barometer blog yesterday.
Vidiot says the Christian Science Monitor has actually done good reporting on the Middle East situation. Since he's so cynical, I believe him. Here's his blog, where he linked to a story a few days ago.
A different friend of mine forwarded a political digest he'd written, and in it, he referred to the Bush followers several times as pigf*ckers.
Needless to say, I was highly offended by this. I let him know it by writing back to him:
that issue was offensive to pigs. pigs are brilliant, clean animals that would not allow themselves to be f-d by members and followers of the bush regime.
please do not insult a majestic and highly cute animal, the pig.
Nothing much to write today. I did update the barometer blog yesterday.
Vidiot says the Christian Science Monitor has actually done good reporting on the Middle East situation. Since he's so cynical, I believe him. Here's his blog, where he linked to a story a few days ago.
A different friend of mine forwarded a political digest he'd written, and in it, he referred to the Bush followers several times as pigf*ckers.
Needless to say, I was highly offended by this. I let him know it by writing back to him:
that issue was offensive to pigs. pigs are brilliant, clean animals that would not allow themselves to be f-d by members and followers of the bush regime.
please do not insult a majestic and highly cute animal, the pig.
7/18/2006
Random links (for breakfast)
Serious stuff
An article that tries to explain what's going on in the Middle East right now (although every article seems to have some sort of slant). The situation can be perplexing, but it's also getting more serious by the minute. If you know of attemptedly user-friendly articles that you think are better, feel free to send.
Less serious stuff
1. Someone forwarded me a new combonym: Kitler. It's a kitten that looks like Hitler. There is an actual website dedicated to kitlers.
2. The other day I was looking in a German dictionary (not in relation to the above) and I saw that the German word for banana tree is...bananenbaum! Really! My friend the bananaman fan
should like that. But he may be too busy getting married soon to read this anymore.
3. I put a response to yesterday's entry at the end of the entry.
4. A quote from David Letterman: "A doctor on the upper west side blew up his townhouse last week. He just blew it up. I haven’t seen anyone wreck a home like this since Angelina Jolie."
afternoon update:
From a news story today, Brad Pitt is like me - he's sick of himself:
"I'm so tired of thinking about myself. I'm kinda sick of myself," said Pitt, who was nominated for an Oscar for his role in 1995's "Twelve Monkeys." His screen credits also include "Mr. & Mrs. Smith" with Jolie, "Legends of the Fall" and the upcoming "The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford."
Guess what, Brad. We're sick of you, too.
Serious stuff
An article that tries to explain what's going on in the Middle East right now (although every article seems to have some sort of slant). The situation can be perplexing, but it's also getting more serious by the minute. If you know of attemptedly user-friendly articles that you think are better, feel free to send.
Less serious stuff
1. Someone forwarded me a new combonym: Kitler. It's a kitten that looks like Hitler. There is an actual website dedicated to kitlers.
2. The other day I was looking in a German dictionary (not in relation to the above) and I saw that the German word for banana tree is...bananenbaum! Really! My friend the bananaman fan
should like that. But he may be too busy getting married soon to read this anymore.
3. I put a response to yesterday's entry at the end of the entry.
4. A quote from David Letterman: "A doctor on the upper west side blew up his townhouse last week. He just blew it up. I haven’t seen anyone wreck a home like this since Angelina Jolie."
afternoon update:
From a news story today, Brad Pitt is like me - he's sick of himself:
"I'm so tired of thinking about myself. I'm kinda sick of myself," said Pitt, who was nominated for an Oscar for his role in 1995's "Twelve Monkeys." His screen credits also include "Mr. & Mrs. Smith" with Jolie, "Legends of the Fall" and the upcoming "The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford."
Guess what, Brad. We're sick of you, too.
7/17/2006
Popular
My family moved four times between kindergarten and high school, so the kids I knew are always stuck in my mind at the ages they were when I left. And I always wonder what became of the more interesting kids. For instance, I wonder what happened to the girl with the beautiful voice who everyone said would be a Broadway star someday. She sang "Tomorrow" at one of our elementary school assemblies. Is she a singer and actress now, or did she completely turn away from that career path some time during junior high and is now a stockbroker?
From third to seventh grade, I lived in a town where there were two very clear-cut popular people. The most popular girl was (well, I'll change the name) "Amy," and the most popular boy was "Mike."
They were popular for the three main reasons a person could be popular back then:
1. Good at soccer and/or kickball
2. Good hair
3. Very funny; always knew the right thing to say
They could also, of course, be mean, and I was quite far out of their circle. Amy was so popular that when she had a birthday party, she had to invite at least forty people. (I was never one of them, and that was lucky for me, as I would have just spent the whole time with butterflies in my stomach worrying that someone would pick on me and I wouldn't know what to say back.)
An aside: One time, two girls came up to me in art class in fifth grade and said, "Amy hates your guts." Apparently there had been some sort of sleepover party the previous Friday evening when she declared that. Since I was shy and never knew what to say, I sometimes said stupid things as a result. When the two girls said that to me, I just said quietly, "Oh...." and then a few seconds later, when I thought of something, I added: "How can Amy hate my guts? She's never even SEEN my guts!!!" They both smiled, but my brilliant rejoinder did not change my status one bit.
Anyway...once I moved out of a town, I pretty much never heard about those kids again. There was no e-mail then, and maybe I'd exchange phone calls or letters with a best friend for a few months, but eventually they correspondence would trickle off. Usually we only moved about twenty minutes away, to some other grassy New Jersey town, but that was still too far for a play date with an old friend (not that anyone said "play date" then). People's parents just didn't drive twenty miles after school to let their kids play for a few hours.
So when Google searches finally became available over the last eight or nine years, I from time to time would look up the kids from my old elementary schools. I barely found anything about Amy or Mike. Nothing too special happened to them. Amy did some acting with a theater group after college, and she was in a play about domestic violence. In an interview, she said that when she was about 25, she was in an abusive relationship. It's hard for me to believe that Amy had to answer to anyone; she was the queen of popularity when she was ten. No one dared cross her.
Mike does not show up in Google at all except that he played on a recreation golf team at Chelsea Piers and is listed on two team lists. But back in third through seventh grade, when he played soccer and traded witty comebacks in school, many, many girls wanted to "go out with" him (to the extent that 8-year-olds were "going out.") Even some of the unpopular girls he picked on still like-liked him. (I personally never understood that logic, but it was true.)
A few years ago, I reconnected with an old friend from elementary school and found out that Amy and Mike were not the most popular people in high school. They didn't run the student council or captain a sports team. They probably did just fine, but they weren't the king and queen of the school.
They basically have normal lives now, like me. I wonder if they miss the power they had at 10 -- or if that's just how it is in my own mind, because I was always on the outside wondering what that was like.
Comment from a reader:
Your blog post really struck a chord with me today. I thought I was the only one who ever did that--Googled people I went to school with like 10, 15 years ago. I was just like you in school--usually on the outside of things. I wonder where people I went to school with are now in their lives--how similar they are to the kids they were so long ago. (As for me, I usually think I'm pretty similar to my grade school self.) A lot of times I wonder why they hated me so much when I was a kid--if they had a concrete reason, or if it was just decided that one kid had to be picked on back then, and I was unanomously chosen. I think kids who are smarter, or different than the rest in some way usually get picked on. (In my case I was from a lower income family than everyone else and not interested in the designer clothes-makeup-boys stuff all the other girls were into.) Children have trouble befriending kids who differ than them. I think it has something to do with the way they form their fragile self-esteem and identity--they must think their way of looking/being is the only way because if they don't, they'll lose self-esteem, or something like that.
The loveliest surprise I ever got was to learn that a girl I went to public school with, went on to become a major actress. Her name was (is) Dagmara Domincyk. It's funny because when I knew her in school she was soooo shy.
Editor's note: This is Dagmara. Hard to believe she was shy!
My family moved four times between kindergarten and high school, so the kids I knew are always stuck in my mind at the ages they were when I left. And I always wonder what became of the more interesting kids. For instance, I wonder what happened to the girl with the beautiful voice who everyone said would be a Broadway star someday. She sang "Tomorrow" at one of our elementary school assemblies. Is she a singer and actress now, or did she completely turn away from that career path some time during junior high and is now a stockbroker?
From third to seventh grade, I lived in a town where there were two very clear-cut popular people. The most popular girl was (well, I'll change the name) "Amy," and the most popular boy was "Mike."
They were popular for the three main reasons a person could be popular back then:
1. Good at soccer and/or kickball
2. Good hair
3. Very funny; always knew the right thing to say
They could also, of course, be mean, and I was quite far out of their circle. Amy was so popular that when she had a birthday party, she had to invite at least forty people. (I was never one of them, and that was lucky for me, as I would have just spent the whole time with butterflies in my stomach worrying that someone would pick on me and I wouldn't know what to say back.)
An aside: One time, two girls came up to me in art class in fifth grade and said, "Amy hates your guts." Apparently there had been some sort of sleepover party the previous Friday evening when she declared that. Since I was shy and never knew what to say, I sometimes said stupid things as a result. When the two girls said that to me, I just said quietly, "Oh...." and then a few seconds later, when I thought of something, I added: "How can Amy hate my guts? She's never even SEEN my guts!!!" They both smiled, but my brilliant rejoinder did not change my status one bit.
Anyway...once I moved out of a town, I pretty much never heard about those kids again. There was no e-mail then, and maybe I'd exchange phone calls or letters with a best friend for a few months, but eventually they correspondence would trickle off. Usually we only moved about twenty minutes away, to some other grassy New Jersey town, but that was still too far for a play date with an old friend (not that anyone said "play date" then). People's parents just didn't drive twenty miles after school to let their kids play for a few hours.
So when Google searches finally became available over the last eight or nine years, I from time to time would look up the kids from my old elementary schools. I barely found anything about Amy or Mike. Nothing too special happened to them. Amy did some acting with a theater group after college, and she was in a play about domestic violence. In an interview, she said that when she was about 25, she was in an abusive relationship. It's hard for me to believe that Amy had to answer to anyone; she was the queen of popularity when she was ten. No one dared cross her.
Mike does not show up in Google at all except that he played on a recreation golf team at Chelsea Piers and is listed on two team lists. But back in third through seventh grade, when he played soccer and traded witty comebacks in school, many, many girls wanted to "go out with" him (to the extent that 8-year-olds were "going out.") Even some of the unpopular girls he picked on still like-liked him. (I personally never understood that logic, but it was true.)
A few years ago, I reconnected with an old friend from elementary school and found out that Amy and Mike were not the most popular people in high school. They didn't run the student council or captain a sports team. They probably did just fine, but they weren't the king and queen of the school.
They basically have normal lives now, like me. I wonder if they miss the power they had at 10 -- or if that's just how it is in my own mind, because I was always on the outside wondering what that was like.
Comment from a reader:
Your blog post really struck a chord with me today. I thought I was the only one who ever did that--Googled people I went to school with like 10, 15 years ago. I was just like you in school--usually on the outside of things. I wonder where people I went to school with are now in their lives--how similar they are to the kids they were so long ago. (As for me, I usually think I'm pretty similar to my grade school self.) A lot of times I wonder why they hated me so much when I was a kid--if they had a concrete reason, or if it was just decided that one kid had to be picked on back then, and I was unanomously chosen. I think kids who are smarter, or different than the rest in some way usually get picked on. (In my case I was from a lower income family than everyone else and not interested in the designer clothes-makeup-boys stuff all the other girls were into.) Children have trouble befriending kids who differ than them. I think it has something to do with the way they form their fragile self-esteem and identity--they must think their way of looking/being is the only way because if they don't, they'll lose self-esteem, or something like that.
The loveliest surprise I ever got was to learn that a girl I went to public school with, went on to become a major actress. Her name was (is) Dagmara Domincyk. It's funny because when I knew her in school she was soooo shy.
Editor's note: This is Dagmara. Hard to believe she was shy!
7/15/2006
Ho hum.
No post this weekend. I'm sick of myself.
Oh, Clerks II opens next weekend. I have to make sure I see it. It's been more than ten years since the first one!
Update
Okay, I had to update this. I just saw a guy wearing a t-shirt that said:
I GAVE MY WORD
TO STOP AT THIRD
Teen Abstinence Day 1987
Suffolk County Public Schools
I knew it had to be a fake for many reasons, the least of which was that it looked like a new t-shirt and 1987 was, I hate to admit it, a number of years ago. And no one was having teen abstinence days in the 1980s. Plus, no one wants teens to get to third.
So I Googled it and it comes up on collegehumor.com as a funny t-shirt. Maybe if it said 2004 I would have been more confounded.
No post this weekend. I'm sick of myself.
Oh, Clerks II opens next weekend. I have to make sure I see it. It's been more than ten years since the first one!
Update
Okay, I had to update this. I just saw a guy wearing a t-shirt that said:
I GAVE MY WORD
TO STOP AT THIRD
Teen Abstinence Day 1987
Suffolk County Public Schools
I knew it had to be a fake for many reasons, the least of which was that it looked like a new t-shirt and 1987 was, I hate to admit it, a number of years ago. And no one was having teen abstinence days in the 1980s. Plus, no one wants teens to get to third.
So I Googled it and it comes up on collegehumor.com as a funny t-shirt. Maybe if it said 2004 I would have been more confounded.
7/14/2006
Sharp
My e-mail is acting weird today, so if you didn't hear back from me, I'm not ignoring you.
Now, the big story: My beloved pencil.
Yesterday morning I needed a pencil from the receptionist to write something down. I gazed into a big pencil holder and saw a little tiny stubby pencil at the bottom and pulled it out.
"I didn't even know it was there," the receptionist said. "You can keep it, if you want."
Needless to say, I was overjoyed. I'd had a small "lucky pencil" in fourth grade, and this one was just as endearing. I instantly felt the urge to love it and protect it from further sharpening.
My e-mail is acting weird today, so if you didn't hear back from me, I'm not ignoring you.
Now, the big story: My beloved pencil.
Yesterday morning I needed a pencil from the receptionist to write something down. I gazed into a big pencil holder and saw a little tiny stubby pencil at the bottom and pulled it out.
"I didn't even know it was there," the receptionist said. "You can keep it, if you want."
Needless to say, I was overjoyed. I'd had a small "lucky pencil" in fourth grade, and this one was just as endearing. I instantly felt the urge to love it and protect it from further sharpening.
For the rest of the day, it hung out with my eraser.
Do not worry, wee pencil. I will take care of you.
7/13/2006
Guilty
I was thinking about how frivolous my posts have been. So I wanted to use the bully pulpit to bully you into thinking really seriously before you buy a pet for a friend (or yourself) unless you believe your friend (or yourself) is really able to care for that animal for all fifteen years of its life. It's a big responsibility. Also, before you buy, consider that there are lots of sweet animals in shelters waiting to be adopted. If you're not ready for a pet who runs all over the place, breaking stuff and chewing your wires, maybe don't buy your kid a puppy -- get a sweet older dog from a shelter. The downside is, pets just don't live long enough. They will break our hearts. But if you are going to get one, make sure it's one you can take care of. Here's a link to Petfinder for some info on adoptable pets.
I was thinking about how frivolous my posts have been. So I wanted to use the bully pulpit to bully you into thinking really seriously before you buy a pet for a friend (or yourself) unless you believe your friend (or yourself) is really able to care for that animal for all fifteen years of its life. It's a big responsibility. Also, before you buy, consider that there are lots of sweet animals in shelters waiting to be adopted. If you're not ready for a pet who runs all over the place, breaking stuff and chewing your wires, maybe don't buy your kid a puppy -- get a sweet older dog from a shelter. The downside is, pets just don't live long enough. They will break our hearts. But if you are going to get one, make sure it's one you can take care of. Here's a link to Petfinder for some info on adoptable pets.
Man-friendly entry
Because yesterday's entry was considered too girly, I decided to write a man-friendly entry today.
Today's entry is going to be about the NFL.
Football season is now just two months away. So big question on everyone's mind is: Which team has the prettiest helmet? From this writer's standpoint, there are two teams with clashing colors, which is a definite no-no in fashion as well as sports. Those teams are the Minnesota Vikings and the Miami Dolphins. Yellow and purple clash, but so do orange and blue. Those colors should not be together in any forum or fabric, and not on a sports helmet.
Prettiest helmet? Well, I wouldn't call it pretty, but definitely black and gray is always a wonderful color combination both in fashion and in art, and so it goes in sports as well. Black is known to be very slimming, and as everyone knows, either one or two years ago, gray was the new black. Thus, the Raiders have the nicest, albeit most fearsome, colors.
Now, on to other matters: Who is Tom Brady dating right now? I would speculate, but all of this sports talk is making me crave a sour apple Cosmo. Plus, Oprah is coming on in a few hours, right after General Hospital. Sports fans, thank you for reading.
Update: I have been informed (by a boy, of course) that the Raiders' colors are actually silver and black. Well, silver and black are pretty, too.
Because yesterday's entry was considered too girly, I decided to write a man-friendly entry today.
Today's entry is going to be about the NFL.
Football season is now just two months away. So big question on everyone's mind is: Which team has the prettiest helmet? From this writer's standpoint, there are two teams with clashing colors, which is a definite no-no in fashion as well as sports. Those teams are the Minnesota Vikings and the Miami Dolphins. Yellow and purple clash, but so do orange and blue. Those colors should not be together in any forum or fabric, and not on a sports helmet.
Prettiest helmet? Well, I wouldn't call it pretty, but definitely black and gray is always a wonderful color combination both in fashion and in art, and so it goes in sports as well. Black is known to be very slimming, and as everyone knows, either one or two years ago, gray was the new black. Thus, the Raiders have the nicest, albeit most fearsome, colors.
Now, on to other matters: Who is Tom Brady dating right now? I would speculate, but all of this sports talk is making me crave a sour apple Cosmo. Plus, Oprah is coming on in a few hours, right after General Hospital. Sports fans, thank you for reading.
Update: I have been informed (by a boy, of course) that the Raiders' colors are actually silver and black. Well, silver and black are pretty, too.
7/12/2006
Sex and the City
I've been re-watching old episodes of this show, and it amazes me how people who haven't seen it have such a wrong idea of it.
The truth: It's a show about four women who are absolutely miserable.
People who don't watch it tend to believe that fans idolize the women and want to become them. Silly, the women in the Hamptons who wear pricey shoes and outfits were already like the women on the show. The rest of us watch it because it's really funny, and because it makes us feel better about our own lives.
The women on the show are never happy. The only time they smile is when they're drinking Cosmopolitans together and laughing at each other's dating misfortunes. The rest of the time, they are pursuing some 6-foot-tall rich guy who turns out to have a horrible problem. (Just pick one.) It's nice stress relief to see four successful women who can't get it together to have a decent personal life.
So if you haven't ever seen the show and want to feel better about yourself, watch it. Even if you haven't been on a date in thirty years, you will still feel better off than the women on the show.
The other amazing thing is how dated the show already is. I mean, look at the size of this phone!
I've been re-watching old episodes of this show, and it amazes me how people who haven't seen it have such a wrong idea of it.
The truth: It's a show about four women who are absolutely miserable.
People who don't watch it tend to believe that fans idolize the women and want to become them. Silly, the women in the Hamptons who wear pricey shoes and outfits were already like the women on the show. The rest of us watch it because it's really funny, and because it makes us feel better about our own lives.
The women on the show are never happy. The only time they smile is when they're drinking Cosmopolitans together and laughing at each other's dating misfortunes. The rest of the time, they are pursuing some 6-foot-tall rich guy who turns out to have a horrible problem. (Just pick one.) It's nice stress relief to see four successful women who can't get it together to have a decent personal life.
So if you haven't ever seen the show and want to feel better about yourself, watch it. Even if you haven't been on a date in thirty years, you will still feel better off than the women on the show.
The other amazing thing is how dated the show already is. I mean, look at the size of this phone!
Update from a member of the male species:
"so i guess you had nothing to blog about. ferris bueller's wife and her tv friends don't count."
Au contraire, mon frere!
Update from a member of the female species:
Loved your Sex and the City post. I can’t remember where I read it (and of course I can’t find it online now), but I think it was mystery author Laura Lippman who wrote something about how that phone and answering machine was dated before the show even started and that it was just a device the show’s writers used so we could hear Carrie’s answering machine messages. The reason I remember this is that I have that exact same phone and answering machine. It is still in operation and still works (I keep waiting for it to die so we can get voice mail, but it hasn’t yet) – my husband gave it to me our first Christmas together in 1994 (it’s actually the best-working and sturdiest cordless phone in the house). I also remember that Paul & Jamie had the same model on “Mad About You,” >further dating SATC. > A-ha! I found it - >http://www.journalscape.com/LauraLippman/2006-03-14-11:31
Take care, Andrea http://reallivewoman.blogspot.com/
Update from a member of the male species:
I’ve often thought that, in spite of the name of the show, each was looking for love in the city, though Samantha would be loathe to admit it. I think in one episode she said she never let a guy stay the night so she wouldn’t let herself get suckered into believing the lies he would tell her the next morning. If not, it sounds like her anyway.
Charlotte is more upfront about her desire for traditional happiness. Miranda and Carrie fall somewhere in between the 2 extremes.
7/11/2006
Chick lit to be taught at Harvard this fall!
Since the popularity of Helen Fielding's Bridget Jones's Diary (1998) and Melissa Bank's The Girls' Guide to Hunting and Fishing (1999), a debate has raged over whether the ensuing slew of "chick lit" novels -- novels about modern women trying to find their place in the world (both in relationships and at work) -- were serious literature, fluff/froth, both, neither, and whether the term itself was derogatory.
When Curtis Sittenfeld wrote a New York Times review of Melissa Bank's latest novel The Wonder Spot last year, and concluded that it was chick-lit, and that it should have been a little better, many female authors decided that Sittenfeld's review was unfair and snobbish.
Bank herself said she considered the term "chick lit" denigrating, and also said she would never read reviews again because of the Sittenfeld piece.
Meanwhile, women continued to enjoy reading about the struggles of characters like them. The books were studied in a literary way as well, traced back to Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice. Stephanie Hartewski at the U. of Penn (a delightful and kind person) wrote her dissertation on the subject. (I was one of the authors she interviewed in the interview section about their chick lit books.)
And according to the Harvard Crimson, is a little more evidence of the swath chick lit has cut through literature in the last eight or so years: it's going to be taught at Harvard!
Excerpted, the article says:
Studies of Women, Gender, and Sexuality 1122. “The Romance: From Jane Austen to Chick Lit.” If last spring’s Kaavyagate was any indication that Chick Lit is in, then the Women, Gender, and Sexuality department has certainly taken notice. “The Romance: From Jane Austen to Chick Lit” will compare classic Austen novels to modern revisions such as Bridget Jones’s Diary.
Here's the article.
The course is going to be in the Women, Gender, and Sexuality department.
So how about that, gals?
Chick lit: It isn't just for beaches* anymore. ;)
*Who you callin' a beach?
Since the popularity of Helen Fielding's Bridget Jones's Diary (1998) and Melissa Bank's The Girls' Guide to Hunting and Fishing (1999), a debate has raged over whether the ensuing slew of "chick lit" novels -- novels about modern women trying to find their place in the world (both in relationships and at work) -- were serious literature, fluff/froth, both, neither, and whether the term itself was derogatory.
When Curtis Sittenfeld wrote a New York Times review of Melissa Bank's latest novel The Wonder Spot last year, and concluded that it was chick-lit, and that it should have been a little better, many female authors decided that Sittenfeld's review was unfair and snobbish.
Bank herself said she considered the term "chick lit" denigrating, and also said she would never read reviews again because of the Sittenfeld piece.
Meanwhile, women continued to enjoy reading about the struggles of characters like them. The books were studied in a literary way as well, traced back to Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice. Stephanie Hartewski at the U. of Penn (a delightful and kind person) wrote her dissertation on the subject. (I was one of the authors she interviewed in the interview section about their chick lit books.)
And according to the Harvard Crimson, is a little more evidence of the swath chick lit has cut through literature in the last eight or so years: it's going to be taught at Harvard!
Excerpted, the article says:
Studies of Women, Gender, and Sexuality 1122. “The Romance: From Jane Austen to Chick Lit.” If last spring’s Kaavyagate was any indication that Chick Lit is in, then the Women, Gender, and Sexuality department has certainly taken notice. “The Romance: From Jane Austen to Chick Lit” will compare classic Austen novels to modern revisions such as Bridget Jones’s Diary.
Here's the article.
The course is going to be in the Women, Gender, and Sexuality department.
So how about that, gals?
Chick lit: It isn't just for beaches* anymore. ;)
*Who you callin' a beach?
7/10/2006
Random updates
By unpopular demand
By unpopular demand
Please allow for a moment of silence for The Blob. Note the impression he left, not just on the sidewalk above, but on all of us.
Taken yesterday. I am constantly amazed by the beauty of the open road.
I don't love when people sneak up on me in my office on a hot day and take a random bad photo of me when I'm not paying attention. Scoundrels! Oh well.
7/06/2006
Today on my way to work, I saw this...this...mess on the sidewalk. Since there were no injured pigeons around to worry about this time, I was left to just stare and wonder what it was.
My commute gets more dangerous every day!
Do you think you know what this stuff is?
Take a guess. Think about it.
Don't scroll down yet...a major clue
is
just
below....
I knew there was a lot of dough in this town.
7/05/2006
7/04/2006
Happy Independence Day
With reference to yesterday's entry, you may be surprised to know that pirates actually still do exist. (Not just the Johnny Depp variety). Here's a BBC story about two attacks in one week. Really strange, isn't it?
Brief update on writing
It occurred to me that since it's now July, it's only about a month until this collection of short stories by women comes out, in which I have a story.
Next summer, the New Jersey memoir book comes out, including my piece about sleeping in my car while I worked at an amusement park. If you are a very close friend, I might have told you the story already.
Anyway, sleep in a comfortable bed tonight. Night!
With reference to yesterday's entry, you may be surprised to know that pirates actually still do exist. (Not just the Johnny Depp variety). Here's a BBC story about two attacks in one week. Really strange, isn't it?
Brief update on writing
It occurred to me that since it's now July, it's only about a month until this collection of short stories by women comes out, in which I have a story.
Next summer, the New Jersey memoir book comes out, including my piece about sleeping in my car while I worked at an amusement park. If you are a very close friend, I might have told you the story already.
Anyway, sleep in a comfortable bed tonight. Night!
7/03/2006
7/02/2006
Pre-Independence Day
You may have heard that New Jersey gov't is temporarily shut down. We try to do this once a year -- two years ago, McGreevey did it for a few minutes by announcing something shocking on TV. It was less costly that way.
Lovely weekend
Hope you all had a lovely weekend. A roundup of mine will be posted tomorrow. I enjoyed a boat trip, which was a new experience for me.
Followup to Friday's posts
Thanks to all the people who responded to the question about iPods. I called Apple and surprisingly, they do not allow you to download songs from your iPod and put them back on your computer!
So while you can download songs from a computer to an iPod, you can't do the reverse. That means if your music library gets wiped out on your computer, you cannot use your iPod to put those songs back on.
Thus, if you want to put your songs on a friend's iPod as well as yours, you can do it from your computer to their iPod (I think), but not from your iPod to their computer.
But there WAS a solution...I am allowed to do a one-time re-downloading of any songs I purchased on iTunes, back onto my computer. So that's good news.
Also, several people e-mailed me with links to computer enthusiasts who have figured out ways to do it. Also useful. Thank you!
Someone also wrote to me to praise Kevin Smith's "Jersey Girl," and someone else to bury it. Since it's my blog I'm going to break the tie. Verdict: "Jersey Girl" was an excellent movie. Move to adjourn.
You may have heard that New Jersey gov't is temporarily shut down. We try to do this once a year -- two years ago, McGreevey did it for a few minutes by announcing something shocking on TV. It was less costly that way.
Lovely weekend
Hope you all had a lovely weekend. A roundup of mine will be posted tomorrow. I enjoyed a boat trip, which was a new experience for me.
Followup to Friday's posts
Thanks to all the people who responded to the question about iPods. I called Apple and surprisingly, they do not allow you to download songs from your iPod and put them back on your computer!
So while you can download songs from a computer to an iPod, you can't do the reverse. That means if your music library gets wiped out on your computer, you cannot use your iPod to put those songs back on.
Thus, if you want to put your songs on a friend's iPod as well as yours, you can do it from your computer to their iPod (I think), but not from your iPod to their computer.
But there WAS a solution...I am allowed to do a one-time re-downloading of any songs I purchased on iTunes, back onto my computer. So that's good news.
Also, several people e-mailed me with links to computer enthusiasts who have figured out ways to do it. Also useful. Thank you!
Someone also wrote to me to praise Kevin Smith's "Jersey Girl," and someone else to bury it. Since it's my blog I'm going to break the tie. Verdict: "Jersey Girl" was an excellent movie. Move to adjourn.
6/30/2006
iPod help
My music library got wiped out on my regular computer. I still have all the songs on my ipod, though. Anyone know how to put them back onto my computer? E-mail me.
Fun in the sun
A sudden downpour in the metro area yesterday evening during rush hour caught a lot of people by surprise, but was a nice break from the stifling heat. Here's one of the local bus stations.
Hope y'all have a good weekend and good weather. (In the case of yesterday, the rain kind of was good weather! But not for the dude in the photo.)
I will put some more photos of poor soaked commuters on the weather blog if I get a chance at some point. That blog could use an update, no?
Agreeing to disagree
A friend of mine wrote me angrily saying that she doesn't understand how I could have liked "Jersey Girl." Well, I thought it was a good movie. We'll have to agree to disagree.
Someone else complained that I don't post my political opinions here. Maybe someday, but do you really need to hear what I think of the flag burning amendment when 60,000 other bloggers are spouting off about it? Go read dailykos.
My music library got wiped out on my regular computer. I still have all the songs on my ipod, though. Anyone know how to put them back onto my computer? E-mail me.
Fun in the sun
A sudden downpour in the metro area yesterday evening during rush hour caught a lot of people by surprise, but was a nice break from the stifling heat. Here's one of the local bus stations.
Hope y'all have a good weekend and good weather. (In the case of yesterday, the rain kind of was good weather! But not for the dude in the photo.)
I will put some more photos of poor soaked commuters on the weather blog if I get a chance at some point. That blog could use an update, no?
Agreeing to disagree
A friend of mine wrote me angrily saying that she doesn't understand how I could have liked "Jersey Girl." Well, I thought it was a good movie. We'll have to agree to disagree.
Someone else complained that I don't post my political opinions here. Maybe someday, but do you really need to hear what I think of the flag burning amendment when 60,000 other bloggers are spouting off about it? Go read dailykos.
6/29/2006
Interesting
What would you do if you were in a foreign country and didn't speak the language, and someone stole all your money and ID? It just happened to Dutch blogger Jan in France, and he posts about it.
What would you do if you were in a foreign country and didn't speak the language, and someone stole all your money and ID? It just happened to Dutch blogger Jan in France, and he posts about it.
Three things of interest to probably nobody except media types
1. I only just learned that thirtysomething fiction writer Curtis Sittenfeld and thirtysomething nonfiction writer Seth Mnookin are cousins. Who knew? Well, maybe lots of people, but I didn't.
2. Dawn Eden gets into a wee-weeing match with Gawker in her post today.
3. A lot of public relations people have been phoning me at work lately and starting with the question, "Do you have a quick second?" Is a 'quick second' faster than a regular second? How slow is a slow second?
Disclaimer: PR people are just doing their job, and some of them are sometimes useful
1. I only just learned that thirtysomething fiction writer Curtis Sittenfeld and thirtysomething nonfiction writer Seth Mnookin are cousins. Who knew? Well, maybe lots of people, but I didn't.
2. Dawn Eden gets into a wee-weeing match with Gawker in her post today.
3. A lot of public relations people have been phoning me at work lately and starting with the question, "Do you have a quick second?" Is a 'quick second' faster than a regular second? How slow is a slow second?
Disclaimer: PR people are just doing their job, and some of them are sometimes useful
6/28/2006
6/27/2006
View askew
Pretty good article about Kevin Smith & "Clerks II" in the Sunday NY Times. Although I disagree that Dogma was a good movie, and Jersey Girl a bad one. JG is underrated.
Pretty good article about Kevin Smith & "Clerks II" in the Sunday NY Times. Although I disagree that Dogma was a good movie, and Jersey Girl a bad one. JG is underrated.
Construction near my office
I'm always a bit worried about construction projects that leave doors to nowhere.
This reminds me of the classic poem recited by Ed Norton on "The Honeymooners":
As he stepped out into
the cold night air
little did he realize
the fire escape
was not there
I like the wall across from it better.
Something there is that doesn't love a wall,
That sends the frozen-ground-swell under it,
And spills the upper boulders in the sun,
And makes gaps even two can pass abreast.
Robert Frost
Combonym of the day
Gawkward - What some of us have been since about when we hit puberty.
Trivia tonight
Extra prizes to be had: Tickets and merchandise related to the Putnam County spelling bee musical. Yay!
I'm always a bit worried about construction projects that leave doors to nowhere.
This reminds me of the classic poem recited by Ed Norton on "The Honeymooners":
As he stepped out into
the cold night air
little did he realize
the fire escape
was not there
I like the wall across from it better.
Something there is that doesn't love a wall,
That sends the frozen-ground-swell under it,
And spills the upper boulders in the sun,
And makes gaps even two can pass abreast.
Robert Frost
Combonym of the day
Gawkward - What some of us have been since about when we hit puberty.
Trivia tonight
Extra prizes to be had: Tickets and merchandise related to the Putnam County spelling bee musical. Yay!
6/26/2006
6/23/2006
A hot night in the life of a chick-lit author
Last night, I visited a celebration for Sarah Mlynowski's new young-adult book.
Last night, I visited a celebration for Sarah Mlynowski's new young-adult book.
That's Sarah, signing said book.
At the reception, I traded info with writer friends.
Then I hiked uptown to meet a college friend. The sun was setting.
. I saw my college friend, whose reflexes are apparently still whip-fast.
Then I headed home on the subway. Th' end.
6/21/2006
Are you ready for the summer?
Are you ready for the summer?
Are you ready for the good times?
Are you ready for the birds and bees,
the apple trees,
and a whole lot of foolin' around?
I think that song's from the movie "Meatballs," which everyone in my first grade class saw except for me. Luckily, it was shown on cable 8,888 times.
Anyway, summer starts today at 12:26 p.m. You've made it! Congratulations!
It's already very hot, which will mean air conditioner overuse and blackouts. Yeah, I know they fixed the problem, but thousands of simultaneous air conditioners can't be good.
Today's date is significant for another reason. "Clerks II" premieres in exactly a month. I love writer/director Kevin Smith's dialogue and sense of humor, so I am quite looking forward to it.
Are you ready for the summer?
Are you ready for the good times?
Are you ready for the birds and bees,
the apple trees,
and a whole lot of foolin' around?
I think that song's from the movie "Meatballs," which everyone in my first grade class saw except for me. Luckily, it was shown on cable 8,888 times.
Anyway, summer starts today at 12:26 p.m. You've made it! Congratulations!
It's already very hot, which will mean air conditioner overuse and blackouts. Yeah, I know they fixed the problem, but thousands of simultaneous air conditioners can't be good.
Today's date is significant for another reason. "Clerks II" premieres in exactly a month. I love writer/director Kevin Smith's dialogue and sense of humor, so I am quite looking forward to it.
Non-secret project
A while ago, I said I had a secret project that I would reveal on May 1. Well, I never really had time to work on it, and probably won't have time for a long time. Too much else to attend to.
But here it is. At least it's a place for my photos.
Check out the "towns" link. NewJerseyIsBeautiful.com.
'Chick lit is here to stay'
...says U.S.A. Today in the article below. Good! Cuz I've got a book ready...
http://www.usatoday.com/life/books/news/2006-06-20-chick-lit_x.htm
A while ago, I said I had a secret project that I would reveal on May 1. Well, I never really had time to work on it, and probably won't have time for a long time. Too much else to attend to.
But here it is. At least it's a place for my photos.
Check out the "towns" link. NewJerseyIsBeautiful.com.
'Chick lit is here to stay'
...says U.S.A. Today in the article below. Good! Cuz I've got a book ready...
http://www.usatoday.com/life/books/news/2006-06-20-chick-lit_x.htm
6/20/2006
Ah, summer
I re-discovered this link to my pix of a short road trip to Upstate NY. Summer mornings can be lovely.
I re-discovered this link to my pix of a short road trip to Upstate NY. Summer mornings can be lovely.
6/19/2006
Trivia
I will be hosting trivia with a friend (I'm not sure if I can reveal her name here; I have to ask her first) next Tuesday, June 27, at 7:30 p.m. Come play if you can!
But you can also play tonight, Tuesday, June 20. Neil and Jon B are hosting.
Here's the linkage, if you are unfamiliar with team trivia at the Baggott Inn in the West Village: http://www.dempseyspub.com/trivia.html
Note Bene: There will be no trivia on July 4.
Everyone loves a wiener
Recently, I went to a baseball game. The company was excellent. Unfortunately, said "company" did not find his hot dog equally excellent. He promptly lobbed 11.5 inches of his disgusting foot-long hot dog to the ground. I thought hot dogs were supposed to taste better at a baseball game?
I always enjoy the electricity and atmosphere of America's pastime, the green of the field, the shine of the lights. And my pretzel was excellent. Much better, apparently, than the wilted wiener.
I will be hosting trivia with a friend (I'm not sure if I can reveal her name here; I have to ask her first) next Tuesday, June 27, at 7:30 p.m. Come play if you can!
But you can also play tonight, Tuesday, June 20. Neil and Jon B are hosting.
Here's the linkage, if you are unfamiliar with team trivia at the Baggott Inn in the West Village: http://www.dempseyspub.com/trivia.html
Note Bene: There will be no trivia on July 4.
Everyone loves a wiener
Recently, I went to a baseball game. The company was excellent. Unfortunately, said "company" did not find his hot dog equally excellent. He promptly lobbed 11.5 inches of his disgusting foot-long hot dog to the ground. I thought hot dogs were supposed to taste better at a baseball game?
I always enjoy the electricity and atmosphere of America's pastime, the green of the field, the shine of the lights. And my pretzel was excellent. Much better, apparently, than the wilted wiener.
6/18/2006
Scam artists
When I was at the Book Expo a few weeks ago, I picked up a card for a company and it said, "I don't want people to die with a book still inside of them."
Ow, that would hurt. But really, there are several companies around to take advantage of writers' dreams: Including scam publishers and scam agents. I can't even imagine the thought process: "Hey, let's find people out there who have a dream, and rip them off by falsely leading them to believe we can make their dreams come true."
One popular bait-and-switch goes like this: An agent will advertise that he or she is looking for new writers. (Real agents do NOT need to place display ads desperately seeking writers.) Then they send you a letter back saying they love your book, and for $1,000 they will send it out to editors. Or even better, they say that if you use such-and-such editing company to get your book in shape, for a pretty penny of course, they will represent it. They are in partnership with the editing company.
Recently, a list has been going around of the "20 worst agents." One agent got so incensed that she's on it that she successfully shut down a website mentioning her. Someone else wrote about it on a blog:
Remember Barbara Bauer, that horrible old harridan and scam agent who tried to get me fired because I reproduced the Twenty Worst Agents list and she was on it?
Apparently Barbara Bauer made a screaming, abusive phone call to one Stephanie, the person who owned the web host. Bauer claimed that having AW's scamhunters post her email address at AW was illegal under the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA)...
For more discussion:
http://nielsenhayden.com/makinglight/archives/007577.html
Note: I do not believe that the company that had the "book inside them" quote was itself a scam publisher; it seems like it just offers tips. I thought their sloga was cute. But there are scam artists out there.
Agents should not charge you for representation. The way they make money is: They love your book, they sell your book, and THEN they get 15 percent of the profits. You don't pay them up front. That's why they're picky about what they take on.
When I was at the Book Expo a few weeks ago, I picked up a card for a company and it said, "I don't want people to die with a book still inside of them."
Ow, that would hurt. But really, there are several companies around to take advantage of writers' dreams: Including scam publishers and scam agents. I can't even imagine the thought process: "Hey, let's find people out there who have a dream, and rip them off by falsely leading them to believe we can make their dreams come true."
One popular bait-and-switch goes like this: An agent will advertise that he or she is looking for new writers. (Real agents do NOT need to place display ads desperately seeking writers.) Then they send you a letter back saying they love your book, and for $1,000 they will send it out to editors. Or even better, they say that if you use such-and-such editing company to get your book in shape, for a pretty penny of course, they will represent it. They are in partnership with the editing company.
Recently, a list has been going around of the "20 worst agents." One agent got so incensed that she's on it that she successfully shut down a website mentioning her. Someone else wrote about it on a blog:
Remember Barbara Bauer, that horrible old harridan and scam agent who tried to get me fired because I reproduced the Twenty Worst Agents list and she was on it?
Apparently Barbara Bauer made a screaming, abusive phone call to one Stephanie, the person who owned the web host. Bauer claimed that having AW's scamhunters post her email address at AW was illegal under the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA)...
For more discussion:
http://nielsenhayden.com/makinglight/archives/007577.html
Note: I do not believe that the company that had the "book inside them" quote was itself a scam publisher; it seems like it just offers tips. I thought their sloga was cute. But there are scam artists out there.
Agents should not charge you for representation. The way they make money is: They love your book, they sell your book, and THEN they get 15 percent of the profits. You don't pay them up front. That's why they're picky about what they take on.
6/17/2006
6/16/2006
Books
Ned Vizzini's new novel is being reviewed Sunday in the Times Book Review. That's swell!
It looks like it will be a beautiful weekend. The sun has come out to kiss you all with his big yellow cheeks. Enjoy!
Ned Vizzini's new novel is being reviewed Sunday in the Times Book Review. That's swell!
It looks like it will be a beautiful weekend. The sun has come out to kiss you all with his big yellow cheeks. Enjoy!
6/15/2006
Am I on candid camera?
My young adult novel is tentatively called "Paper and Fire." So anyway, just now I went to my office mailbox and there was a package in it. I opened it and in it was a published novel called...Paper and Fire!
It's just a coincidence. But, ergh. It's not similar at all (this one's about Iraq), and titles aren't copyrighted, and the title is generic enough that it can be used a few times. Still, it had me goin' there for a second. It was like I just wrote a book, and here's a copy of it in my box...
Pigthkin
One of the trivia team names at Wed trivia last night was "Ben Toothlessberger."
My young adult novel is tentatively called "Paper and Fire." So anyway, just now I went to my office mailbox and there was a package in it. I opened it and in it was a published novel called...Paper and Fire!
It's just a coincidence. But, ergh. It's not similar at all (this one's about Iraq), and titles aren't copyrighted, and the title is generic enough that it can be used a few times. Still, it had me goin' there for a second. It was like I just wrote a book, and here's a copy of it in my box...
Pigthkin
One of the trivia team names at Wed trivia last night was "Ben Toothlessberger."
6/14/2006
EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE
This is a test of the Emergency Broadcast System.
The broadcasters of your area in voluntary cooperation with the federal, state and local authorities have developed this system to keep you informed in the event of an emergency.
If this had been an actual emergency, the Attention Signal you just heard would have been followed by official information, news or instructions.
This blog serves the tri-state area.
This concludes this test of the Emergency Broadcast System.
This is a test of the Emergency Broadcast System.
The broadcasters of your area in voluntary cooperation with the federal, state and local authorities have developed this system to keep you informed in the event of an emergency.
If this had been an actual emergency, the Attention Signal you just heard would have been followed by official information, news or instructions.
This blog serves the tri-state area.
This concludes this test of the Emergency Broadcast System.
6/13/2006
Data dump
Okay, I got a new card reader. Here are some street scenes from the last two weeks, that I was finally able to download this evening. Starting with:
OLD FRIENDS - I saw these two women together and thought they looked cute, so I took a picture...
When I turned on the camera to take it, I saw this scene through my viewfinder and though it looked neat, so I snapped it too:
Meanwhile, a few months ago, the nice couple that owned the dry cleaners up the street sold their building (for a pretty penny) and high-tailed it to Florida.
They took their quiet old Labrador, Baby, who used to put his paws on the counter when I came in and say hello. One time I said to him, "Have you had breakfast? Go eat your kibble." And he actually got down and went to his huge bag of dog food. I don't really think he understood, but it was a little weird.
Anyway, once the sign was removed, it unearthed that before the dry cleaners, there was...another cleaners!!
This woman knew how to protect herself on a windy day. I liked the pink and green here.
This photo is actually in Brooklyn Heights. I enjoy finding old signs, especially ones that look like they say "TOILET FLATS," because I have the sense of humor of a five-year-old.
That concludes the boring slide show for today. Who will turn up next in my evil viewfinder? Beware - it might be YOU!
Okay, I got a new card reader. Here are some street scenes from the last two weeks, that I was finally able to download this evening. Starting with:
OLD FRIENDS - I saw these two women together and thought they looked cute, so I took a picture...
When I turned on the camera to take it, I saw this scene through my viewfinder and though it looked neat, so I snapped it too:
Meanwhile, a few months ago, the nice couple that owned the dry cleaners up the street sold their building (for a pretty penny) and high-tailed it to Florida.
They took their quiet old Labrador, Baby, who used to put his paws on the counter when I came in and say hello. One time I said to him, "Have you had breakfast? Go eat your kibble." And he actually got down and went to his huge bag of dog food. I don't really think he understood, but it was a little weird.
Anyway, once the sign was removed, it unearthed that before the dry cleaners, there was...another cleaners!!
This woman knew how to protect herself on a windy day. I liked the pink and green here.
This photo is actually in Brooklyn Heights. I enjoy finding old signs, especially ones that look like they say "TOILET FLATS," because I have the sense of humor of a five-year-old.
That concludes the boring slide show for today. Who will turn up next in my evil viewfinder? Beware - it might be YOU!
6/12/2006
Update: No data dump
I brought my camera yesterday to J&R Camera World and asked which card reader would work with that camera. The guy specifically showed me the one. And today, I went to use it and it doesn't fit at all. Now I have to trudge all the way back to the WTC area to return it and trade it. Hopefully they'll have the right one. I want to put new pix up. How irksome.
Book 'em
Remember that book I've been working on for three years? I put it aside three months ago to finish up some others. But I had the urge to work on it recently, so I did so this morning. I was able to look at it with a fresh eye, and it was more obvious what I needed to cut in the beginning. I'm glad about that.
Data dump
I bought a digital card reader for my camera, because I haven't been able to download anything for three weeks due to some sort of power cord problem. So tomorrow I'll post some random outdoorsy pix that I haven't gotten to post in the past few weeks.
Random poem of the day*
Shake and shake
The ketchup bottle
None'll come and
Then a lot'll
*(I have to Google the author's name later and put it here, because I can't think of it now. And no, it's not me.)
I brought my camera yesterday to J&R Camera World and asked which card reader would work with that camera. The guy specifically showed me the one. And today, I went to use it and it doesn't fit at all. Now I have to trudge all the way back to the WTC area to return it and trade it. Hopefully they'll have the right one. I want to put new pix up. How irksome.
Book 'em
Remember that book I've been working on for three years? I put it aside three months ago to finish up some others. But I had the urge to work on it recently, so I did so this morning. I was able to look at it with a fresh eye, and it was more obvious what I needed to cut in the beginning. I'm glad about that.
Data dump
I bought a digital card reader for my camera, because I haven't been able to download anything for three weeks due to some sort of power cord problem. So tomorrow I'll post some random outdoorsy pix that I haven't gotten to post in the past few weeks.
Random poem of the day*
Shake and shake
The ketchup bottle
None'll come and
Then a lot'll
*(I have to Google the author's name later and put it here, because I can't think of it now. And no, it's not me.)
6/11/2006
Why, thank you
Yesterday, as I was stepping off the PATH train, I noticed that a girl was writing in her journal. I read the top line, and it said, "There are a lot of cute people on the train."
Shucks.
"Keeping up with the Steins" is a really good movie. There are some sweet, evocative moments that are nuanced enough to not be overdone. I think it's hard to do a family film these days without resorting to cliches, and they really did a good job. I don't know how much longer it'll be in theaters. If you go, see it with a sensitive guy (or gal, if that is your preference).
My friend Jane said that after reading a recent entry of mine, she backed up the documents that were on her portable hard drive. So yes, please back up your stuff.
Yesterday, as I was stepping off the PATH train, I noticed that a girl was writing in her journal. I read the top line, and it said, "There are a lot of cute people on the train."
Shucks.
"Keeping up with the Steins" is a really good movie. There are some sweet, evocative moments that are nuanced enough to not be overdone. I think it's hard to do a family film these days without resorting to cliches, and they really did a good job. I don't know how much longer it'll be in theaters. If you go, see it with a sensitive guy (or gal, if that is your preference).
My friend Jane said that after reading a recent entry of mine, she backed up the documents that were on her portable hard drive. So yes, please back up your stuff.
Take on the Garden State
I'm revising my essay today that will go in this anthology of New Jersey memoirs, to be published next June by Touchstone/Simon & Schuster. It's nice enough that I have this vehicle for my writing, and just an extra bonus that I'm getting a check for it this September too.
I'm revising my essay today that will go in this anthology of New Jersey memoirs, to be published next June by Touchstone/Simon & Schuster. It's nice enough that I have this vehicle for my writing, and just an extra bonus that I'm getting a check for it this September too.
6/09/2006
Wanna hook up? (No, that's not what it means)
Since I'm writing a young-adult novels, I'm on a listserv (that's a newsgroup, to you usenet veterans) for young-adult writers. Sometimes, we authors post questions about teen lingo.
I wanted to know about teen dating terms, because my main character has a boy she really has the hots for (he's a poet and a loner, naturally...)
So I posted this to the group:
Hi. I'm wondering about teen terms for dating. I know that kids say "hooking up" these days, and that can mean anything from kissing to sex (I think). But do they still use "going out" for dating, or "making out" for kissing etc? Any other terms I should know?
Here are some responses:
Subject: Re: teen terms
According to my 17 yo teen, kids "go out" or are "going out," but she neveruses the terms "going WITH" or "steady" even if they are steady dating for along time. They're always just "going out." She also never uses the term"dating." :-)
Subject: Re: teen terms
Ditto in Florida in the world of 11 to 13 year olds. "Going out" is what I used to think of as "going steady" and, at least with the 11-year-olds, doesn't seem to involve actually "going" anywhere.-- Phyllis.
Subject: Re: Hooking up
Teens still say "making out," but the term "parking" is archaic. Then there's the silly slang like "tongue tango" and "swapping spit."
Subject: Re: Hooking up
"Going with someone" is dating with commitment.
And "talking" is the stage right before you commit, when you are actually dating, kissing, and doing everything that is still considered "slightly innocent."
I think the term "talking" is a bit more urban. But it'll be used like, "Oh, yeah, we hung out Friday night, but we're just talking."
Subject: Re: Hooking up
Last weekend we had a party and my mom was saying how they went to some place and got "High." But when she says it she means drinking alcohol. So I said, "Ma, you have to stop using that in mixed company because it means drugs to most people." And she said all of her friends know what it means.
So see there, two different generations, two different phrases, two people who won't let go of their phraseology. LOL
Just thought you folks would find that interesting.
No bull
A guy wrote to me the other day saying he likes hearing about New York life from my blog. So here's another slice:
I went to Nobu Wednesday evening. It's the swanky NYC restaurant that I often joke about with a certain friend of mine because it's where wealthy Wall Street dudes bring their dates. There was an article in NEW YORK Magazine a few years ago about how the recession was hurting guys who couldn't afford to take women to Nobu. That just broke my heart. Also, in the movie "Kissing Jessica Stein" (which I love; it's quite funny), Jessica gets a message from her mom on her answering machine: "Honey, your dad got us reservations at Nobu, and not at 5:30 this time!" I remember a bunch of people in the theater laughed, but one guy in my row said to his wife, "I don't get it."
Well, normally I don't get it either. But hey, thanks to the generosity of a good friend and her momma, we went. (And no, the friend is not a Wall Street fella, although I'm sure a few of them are nice.)
So, the food was delicious and interesting. They brought lots of small fish-based dishes for us to try, one at a time. I also had a fig martini.
Highly recommended.
6/07/2006
Snowball's chance
Today I was wondering what happened to Snowball. Last year, during Hurricane Katrina, CBS showed footage of a police officer taking a little dog away from a boy as his family got on the bus to leave the Louisiana Superdome. The boy cried, "Snowball, snowball!" and threw up. People across the country saw this and were outraged.
It was reported a few days later that the dog had been captured and was safe and sound. But then another report said the first one wasn't true.
To this day, no one knows where the boy is, or the dog. Even though thousands of dollars in reward money have been put up by animal lovers for returning the dog to his boy. Even though you'd think the cop would have brough the dog SOMEWHERE. Even though the House of Representatives just passed the Federal Pet Evacuation and Transportation Law, spurred by the images of Snowball.
There is also an organization called Snowball's Chance that helps to reunite pets with their owners. Sadly, their message boards are currently frozen out of respect for one of their volunteers, a beautiful 36-year-old woman who apparently killed herself last week. (It says it vaguely and you have to read between the lines.)
When a creature gives you so much love and doesn't understand what is happening, to lose that animal is heartbreaking. I am glad that lawmakers are seeing fit to make sure animals are taken care of in times of crisis.
Someone mentioned in a newspaper column that the officials were right to reject pets during the hurricane, as 15,000 people could have meant 7,500 pets. Maybe, but they shouldn't have all been left to drown or turn into wild animals. People are still put first - but some of those people love their pets.
Passing on
I saw an obit in the paper today of someone whom I think it would have been neat to know:
Jean Keenan, 83
Mrs. Keenan was a writer for the Silver Burdett Co. in Morristown for many years before retiring. Earlier, she was an English teacher at Hillside High School and worked in the advertising department for Hahne's department store in Newark. She was also a copy editor in Chicago.
...Mrs. Keenan was a member of the Short Hills Ski Club, the Hunterdon Hiking Club, the Bicycle Touring Club of North Jersey and the Union County Hiking Club. She was also a member of the Morristown Free Wheelers and the Frost Valley Trail Walkers.
First off, she was 83 and involved in all of those organizations. Even if she was only involved in her 70s - wow. Also, it seems like she was a smart working girl back before it was common for women to work in corporations. I'd have loved to hear what it was like to advertise a Nylon sale at Hahne's, or copyedit at some big buliding in Chicago, as the only woman on the 20th floor.
She also was born in Detroit and was working on a Ph.D at Rutgers.
I think she really would have had some cool stories to tell.
Today I was wondering what happened to Snowball. Last year, during Hurricane Katrina, CBS showed footage of a police officer taking a little dog away from a boy as his family got on the bus to leave the Louisiana Superdome. The boy cried, "Snowball, snowball!" and threw up. People across the country saw this and were outraged.
It was reported a few days later that the dog had been captured and was safe and sound. But then another report said the first one wasn't true.
To this day, no one knows where the boy is, or the dog. Even though thousands of dollars in reward money have been put up by animal lovers for returning the dog to his boy. Even though you'd think the cop would have brough the dog SOMEWHERE. Even though the House of Representatives just passed the Federal Pet Evacuation and Transportation Law, spurred by the images of Snowball.
There is also an organization called Snowball's Chance that helps to reunite pets with their owners. Sadly, their message boards are currently frozen out of respect for one of their volunteers, a beautiful 36-year-old woman who apparently killed herself last week. (It says it vaguely and you have to read between the lines.)
When a creature gives you so much love and doesn't understand what is happening, to lose that animal is heartbreaking. I am glad that lawmakers are seeing fit to make sure animals are taken care of in times of crisis.
Someone mentioned in a newspaper column that the officials were right to reject pets during the hurricane, as 15,000 people could have meant 7,500 pets. Maybe, but they shouldn't have all been left to drown or turn into wild animals. People are still put first - but some of those people love their pets.
Passing on
I saw an obit in the paper today of someone whom I think it would have been neat to know:
Jean Keenan, 83
Mrs. Keenan was a writer for the Silver Burdett Co. in Morristown for many years before retiring. Earlier, she was an English teacher at Hillside High School and worked in the advertising department for Hahne's department store in Newark. She was also a copy editor in Chicago.
...Mrs. Keenan was a member of the Short Hills Ski Club, the Hunterdon Hiking Club, the Bicycle Touring Club of North Jersey and the Union County Hiking Club. She was also a member of the Morristown Free Wheelers and the Frost Valley Trail Walkers.
First off, she was 83 and involved in all of those organizations. Even if she was only involved in her 70s - wow. Also, it seems like she was a smart working girl back before it was common for women to work in corporations. I'd have loved to hear what it was like to advertise a Nylon sale at Hahne's, or copyedit at some big buliding in Chicago, as the only woman on the 20th floor.
She also was born in Detroit and was working on a Ph.D at Rutgers.
I think she really would have had some cool stories to tell.
6/06/2006
Book 'em
Something I read today: An inmate held in the Essex County Jail says that there is a plot by the Bloods gang to assassinate incoming Newark Mayor Cory Booker. Is Newark so messed up that they can't have an orderly transition of mayors without gang threats? There are bigger cities that seem to elect a mayor without these problems.
Booker says "My hope is that in a year or two, every resident feels as safe and secure as I do." GOOD. Newark is a $1.50 PATH ride away from Manhattan. It could be beautiful someday.
Something I read today: An inmate held in the Essex County Jail says that there is a plot by the Bloods gang to assassinate incoming Newark Mayor Cory Booker. Is Newark so messed up that they can't have an orderly transition of mayors without gang threats? There are bigger cities that seem to elect a mayor without these problems.
Booker says "My hope is that in a year or two, every resident feels as safe and secure as I do." GOOD. Newark is a $1.50 PATH ride away from Manhattan. It could be beautiful someday.
Today
Today is 06/06/06. Watch out for true evil!
Too much time
I am going to cut down on the time I spend on the internet. Usually, my main purpose is just to e-mail whatever writing project I'm working on to myself, so it doesn't get lost if my hard drive crashes.
But then I have to check e-mail, and then I start checking blogs, and links...I'm going to cut down, at least, at night.
Records
Ever since I finally got a record player a few weeks ago, I've developed a temporary tradition of playing records on Sunday mornings. I'm not sure why I enjoy it so much, but I think it's because it's something done for pure pleasure. Often, I end up mixing pleasurable things with work; I eat at my desk, or I watch a movie in my room while I'm filing papers. I tend to do two things at once. But it's nice to gingerly lift a vinyl record, especially one I remember from the '80s, and place it on the platter, listening to the scratchy notes ring out. Last week I listened to a Steely Dan song, Kid Charlemagne, that I grew to really like when I first discovered classic rock stations in high school. I taped the song back then, of course, and then listened to it dozens of times before I learned that it was about a drug dealer in San Francisco. I kind of miss the discovery of music and what it meant, now that it's so easy to just download it or look the lyrics up. But teenage years are a time for discovering so many things - music, love, new interests, and of course, yourself. For a few years, all of those discoveries rushed at me, and I wouldn't trade the feeling for anything.
Today is 06/06/06. Watch out for true evil!
Too much time
I am going to cut down on the time I spend on the internet. Usually, my main purpose is just to e-mail whatever writing project I'm working on to myself, so it doesn't get lost if my hard drive crashes.
But then I have to check e-mail, and then I start checking blogs, and links...I'm going to cut down, at least, at night.
Records
Ever since I finally got a record player a few weeks ago, I've developed a temporary tradition of playing records on Sunday mornings. I'm not sure why I enjoy it so much, but I think it's because it's something done for pure pleasure. Often, I end up mixing pleasurable things with work; I eat at my desk, or I watch a movie in my room while I'm filing papers. I tend to do two things at once. But it's nice to gingerly lift a vinyl record, especially one I remember from the '80s, and place it on the platter, listening to the scratchy notes ring out. Last week I listened to a Steely Dan song, Kid Charlemagne, that I grew to really like when I first discovered classic rock stations in high school. I taped the song back then, of course, and then listened to it dozens of times before I learned that it was about a drug dealer in San Francisco. I kind of miss the discovery of music and what it meant, now that it's so easy to just download it or look the lyrics up. But teenage years are a time for discovering so many things - music, love, new interests, and of course, yourself. For a few years, all of those discoveries rushed at me, and I wouldn't trade the feeling for anything.
6/05/2006
You know what's weird?
Do you? Well, what's weird is when they use one type of food to describe another type of food.
For instance, I've eaten cheese that is described as having a "nutty" taste. But there aren't any nuts in cheese.
I bought some Cerignola olives from FreshDirect that were described as having a "fruitier" taste than most. Is there fruit in the olives?
And...how can a tomato be meaty? Or more specifically, beefsteak?
Also, is Sprite really CRISP and clean? And how can air be crisp?
The truth is, there just aren't enough adjectives for food, so you have to kind of manipulate the ones you have for certain foods. If you've done occasional food reviewin' like I have, you've found that there are only so many times you can say "succulent," "savory," and "tasty" before someone hits you.
By the way, I just had a really meaty salad with some crisp, cool club soda. The tomatoes were beefy and the cheese was both nutty and fruity.
Floppy disk drive you up a wall
Today I had to find an old essay I wrote in college in order to include it as part of a book proposal. I went through about 20 of my old Macintosh disks from the '90s to find which one it was on. I had to go down the street to the print shop that has one Macintosh with a floppy disk drive. I would insert each disk, listening to it humming (or clicking if it was broken), and see what showed up. Some of the old disks wouldn't even show up on a new Mac. Some of my disks were named after things in the news at the time that I named the disk (there's one called "Clinton").
Eventually I found the essay. When I was putting all the disks back in the box, I realized that at some point, I had printed out a list of what was on each disk. So I could have just checked the lists. D'oh!
But anyway, I had a truly lovely weekend. Hope y'all did too.
Do you? Well, what's weird is when they use one type of food to describe another type of food.
For instance, I've eaten cheese that is described as having a "nutty" taste. But there aren't any nuts in cheese.
I bought some Cerignola olives from FreshDirect that were described as having a "fruitier" taste than most. Is there fruit in the olives?
And...how can a tomato be meaty? Or more specifically, beefsteak?
Also, is Sprite really CRISP and clean? And how can air be crisp?
The truth is, there just aren't enough adjectives for food, so you have to kind of manipulate the ones you have for certain foods. If you've done occasional food reviewin' like I have, you've found that there are only so many times you can say "succulent," "savory," and "tasty" before someone hits you.
By the way, I just had a really meaty salad with some crisp, cool club soda. The tomatoes were beefy and the cheese was both nutty and fruity.
Floppy disk drive you up a wall
Today I had to find an old essay I wrote in college in order to include it as part of a book proposal. I went through about 20 of my old Macintosh disks from the '90s to find which one it was on. I had to go down the street to the print shop that has one Macintosh with a floppy disk drive. I would insert each disk, listening to it humming (or clicking if it was broken), and see what showed up. Some of the old disks wouldn't even show up on a new Mac. Some of my disks were named after things in the news at the time that I named the disk (there's one called "Clinton").
Eventually I found the essay. When I was putting all the disks back in the box, I realized that at some point, I had printed out a list of what was on each disk. So I could have just checked the lists. D'oh!
But anyway, I had a truly lovely weekend. Hope y'all did too.
6/04/2006
'What gives fandom a bad name'
Okay, I am down to 47 e-mails now. Some of them were just me e-mailing my novel to myself so there was a copy in cyberspace in case something got lost (highly recommended, but I also back things up on another drive. Do it, people...back up, back up, back up).
There are still some links to music etc. that people have sent me, and I have to follow the links.
One thing I had e-mailed myself was this message on the "Greatest American Hero" listserv. I was a big fan of that show in the '80s, but usually I don't have time to read the messages. But I read this one and found it an amusing example of how seriously some fans take things:
P[Name of girl redacted by me] I'm sick and tired of the bashing you've given me and my site for years. You either stir up trouble with members, complain constantly about the site because it doesn't please you, or attack me personally for not selling you a cape, or something else from my collection. For years I stood by and have taken your abuse, I constantly interact with fans ("Do you know what PP says about you?") that inform me of the bashing I get from you in personal e mails to them. Once again you were banned for impersonating William Katt with a post on the new board, your ISP was traced and matched. Those kind of activites will not be tolerated. Your love/hate relationship with this show and everything in general IS WHAT GIVES ALL FANDOM A BAD NAME. It's childish and pathetic. Now since I've asked over and over to stop mentioning me or my site in a negative manner and you will not stop, you will be hearing from my attorneys.
Okay, I am down to 47 e-mails now. Some of them were just me e-mailing my novel to myself so there was a copy in cyberspace in case something got lost (highly recommended, but I also back things up on another drive. Do it, people...back up, back up, back up).
There are still some links to music etc. that people have sent me, and I have to follow the links.
One thing I had e-mailed myself was this message on the "Greatest American Hero" listserv. I was a big fan of that show in the '80s, but usually I don't have time to read the messages. But I read this one and found it an amusing example of how seriously some fans take things:
P[Name of girl redacted by me] I'm sick and tired of the bashing you've given me and my site for years. You either stir up trouble with members, complain constantly about the site because it doesn't please you, or attack me personally for not selling you a cape, or something else from my collection. For years I stood by and have taken your abuse, I constantly interact with fans ("Do you know what PP says about you?") that inform me of the bashing I get from you in personal e mails to them. Once again you were banned for impersonating William Katt with a post on the new board, your ISP was traced and matched. Those kind of activites will not be tolerated. Your love/hate relationship with this show and everything in general IS WHAT GIVES ALL FANDOM A BAD NAME. It's childish and pathetic. Now since I've asked over and over to stop mentioning me or my site in a negative manner and you will not stop, you will be hearing from my attorneys.
6/03/2006
176...it's a magic number
I have 176 e-mails in my box. They have been collecting over the last few weeks of writing/revising mayhem. I think I have at least responded to all of them with at least a short message and a "more later", but if for some reason something fell through the cracks, I apologize.
I will try to catch up on some e-mails soon rather than spending the time making lame Pitt jokes on this blog. Someone sent me a good one that ends in Jolie-Pitt but now I forgot which of the 176 saved e-mails it is.
[Update: It's "Peanutbutter Ann Jolie-Pitt," submitted by Sam from Hawaii. Thank you, Sam. You know, I like that name, Peanutbutter Ann. If I ever have a little girl, maybe I will name her that.]
My writing group meets this week. I'll have to bring the beginning of one of my new attempted novels so they can all trash it to bits.
I have 176 e-mails in my box. They have been collecting over the last few weeks of writing/revising mayhem. I think I have at least responded to all of them with at least a short message and a "more later", but if for some reason something fell through the cracks, I apologize.
I will try to catch up on some e-mails soon rather than spending the time making lame Pitt jokes on this blog. Someone sent me a good one that ends in Jolie-Pitt but now I forgot which of the 176 saved e-mails it is.
[Update: It's "Peanutbutter Ann Jolie-Pitt," submitted by Sam from Hawaii. Thank you, Sam. You know, I like that name, Peanutbutter Ann. If I ever have a little girl, maybe I will name her that.]
My writing group meets this week. I'll have to bring the beginning of one of my new attempted novels so they can all trash it to bits.
6/02/2006
Second-class phones, they're making second-class phones
My dial tone is missing. I guess the storm soaked the phone lines at home. This happened once before and it came back on once it dried out. Meanwhile, I called the phone company, and they have scheduled a technician to come look at the problem some time between later and forever.
Thanks to the two people who send me "Mosh Pitt" as a final name for the young lad.
My dial tone is missing. I guess the storm soaked the phone lines at home. This happened once before and it came back on once it dried out. Meanwhile, I called the phone company, and they have scheduled a technician to come look at the problem some time between later and forever.
Thanks to the two people who send me "Mosh Pitt" as a final name for the young lad.
6/01/2006
They just can't stop Pitt
I can't get into my personal e-mail from work today, for some frustrating reason, so if you sent me something breathelessly fabulous, sorry I haven't responded yet.
And if you called me mean names, I just haven't seen them yet. So I'm telling you in advance: Nyah nyah back to you.
I'm sure there are a bunch of Pitt names we are missing. How about Pum Pitt? Vom Pitt? Well, that's stretching it (stretching Pitt)... Inspector Gadge Pitt?
How about, Watch Where Yousssss Pitt?
His favorite song will be: Q. Pitt, throw back your bow...and let your arrow go.
He is likely to attend college at U. Pitt.
This blog has sunk to a new low. And that's not easy!
Oh well. I really just can't....
I really just can't Hel Pitt.
I can't get into my personal e-mail from work today, for some frustrating reason, so if you sent me something breathelessly fabulous, sorry I haven't responded yet.
And if you called me mean names, I just haven't seen them yet. So I'm telling you in advance: Nyah nyah back to you.
I'm sure there are a bunch of Pitt names we are missing. How about Pum Pitt? Vom Pitt? Well, that's stretching it (stretching Pitt)... Inspector Gadge Pitt?
How about, Watch Where Yousssss Pitt?
His favorite song will be: Q. Pitt, throw back your bow...and let your arrow go.
He is likely to attend college at U. Pitt.
This blog has sunk to a new low. And that's not easy!
Oh well. I really just can't....
I really just can't Hel Pitt.
