Wanted: Blogging to Resume

Things are CRAZY....crazy.

In the past two weeks we have attended two graduations in two different states (YEY ALISON AND LESLEY!), traveled to Michigan for the summer and will be attending two weddings this weekend. Not to mention planning our own....

Needless to say, the traveling has put a halt to my blogging. And it isn't that I have nothing to say. Ohhhh, I do. But for the purposes of this morning, I will just spew out some randomness.

OK. Go and buy the Dixie Chicks' new album. DO IT! Right now! Because IT. IS. GREAT. I cannot say enough. Granted, I like country music. And I dislike the war (not sure if you knew that). But there are lots of other reasons to purchase the album--great lyrics, great singing and the whole idea of supporting female artists. I particularly like track one.

My friends from high school Married their high school boyfriends Moved into houses in the same ZIP codes Where their parents live But I, I could never follow No I, I could never follow I hit the highway in a pink RV with stars on the ceiling Lived like a gypsy

I'm not making too much progress on my movie and book list mentioned before but I do have two books to recommend. Bird by Bird by Anne Lamott and American Theocracy by Kevin Phillips. If you are a writer who sometimes gets frustrated by a lack of skill, creativity and inspiration read Lamott. If you are an American who is concerned with the government's entanglement with oil and religion read the second. Orrrr, just read both!

But one thing you can skip--The Family Stone. OH WOW. Bad movie. It had A LOT of promise. Great cast. But everything else stunk. Totally unbelievable premise. Horrible dialogue. Just BOOO. BOO this movie.

Anyway...that pretty much sums it up. Once I am someplace stable I hope to get back to the politicking on this blog. I have a lot to talk about...The Hayden confirmation, the Snow resignation rumors, the fact that we saw Mark Warner and Condi speak.....

Sorry this blog has turned into a movie and book review site.

A different kind of insomnia

You know that feeling of extreme relief? You feel 20 pounds lighter. Your feet are guiding along the floor. The world looks a little crisper.

That feeling? Well....I HAVE IT.

Year one is DONE.

Sometimes when I finish something I've spent an extraordinary amount of time on, I feel empty and useless. I had this feeling after I turned in my master's thesis.

If I wasn't working on my thesis, I wasn't sure what to be working on.

Not. This. Time.

Instead, I have wedding things to do. Honeymoon clothing to purchase. Books to read!

I've already finished two* and they come highly recommended from me to you.

The Tender Bar by J.R. Moehringer

Completely lovely book. Charming storyteller and a few aspects that I was immediately drawn to. The narrator is obsessed with learning new words, reading the New York Times and Yale. I nestled into the academic snobbery that never once sounded presumptuous, pompous or arrogant. Instead he sounded heartfelt, adventurous and lonely. There are moments that the book drags but for the most part the story is a great portrayal of self-discovery. It is a quick read and just fluffy enough that you can read it on the beach or during a commute. Anyone who has looked for and lost both yourself and love will find this story moving.

The Year of Magical Thinking by Joan Didion

As much as I am charmed by academic (un)snobbery, I am charmed by writers even more. I was skeptical of this book. It has received a lot of acclaim and often those books don't resonate with me. However, I tried it given my extreme pleasure in last year's "it" book-- Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close. This book is heartbreaking. It is also honest and uplifting. Yeah, I don't know how it can be all those things either. BUT, I do know that I could not put. it. down. If I wrote letters*, I would write to Ms. Didion and tell her thanks. I loved her portrayal of marriage.

Marriage is memory, marriage is time....

I admire her relationship with her husband.

Did he know I had written it?

He had edited it....

Can you tell I like memoirs? I'm a nosey person. But I also like good writing. I grow bored with most fiction. But I experience memoirs. I grieve. I laugh. I learn.

These books are great. They both kept me up reading and thinking.

This insomnia is so much better than being wide awake worrying about the morning after pill and any other various projects.

*Sorry QuakerDave, I couldn't start with Kite Runner because it was checked out. But I keep checking for its return!

** If I wrote letters, I would have a lot of letters to write

Signs of the Apocalypse

1. Murdoch to host fundraiser for Hillary Clinton

2. Millions tuned in to watch THIS man drown himself

School's out for....

summer.

Ok, summer is so close I can almost taste it. In addition to more blogging, I plan on doing lots of reading and movie watching. I need to catch up. I've been keeping a running list of the movies and books I have missed out on due to school. And, as always, I am open to suggestions!

The tentative list:

Movies
Pride and Prejudice
Memoirs of a Geisha
Family Stone
Match Point
Mrs. Henderson Presents
Nine Lives
Duane Hopwood
Proof
Schultze Gets the Blues

Books
Saturday
Possible Side Effects
The Year of Magical Thinking
The Tender Bar
On Beauty
Kite Runner
Bait and Switch
Still Life With Woodpecker
Dharma Bums
Crashing the Gate
On the Road
Female Chauvinist Pigs
The Corrections
Four Hands
Word Freak

I could just turn off the t.v....

It bothers me when people say "seriously" and "literally" too much....there is a real abuse of those two words.

JUST STOP, PEOPLE. I know you are serious and the chances of you "figuratively" talking about something are rare.

But I'm also going to ask Martha Stewart to stop using the rIIIdiculous phrase "if I can do it, you can do it."

You know what, MARTHA? You can do a lot of things that I can't do. So, no. NO, MARTHA, I cannot make a monkey shaped cake. And I'm going to thank you very much to stop saying that I can.

" A Revolution in Academic Life"

When one is pent up in her condo writing pages and pages of stuff that hardly anyone will read, stories like THIS give me hope.

AND then other stories make me want to

stop.
writing.

and get a 9-5 job that pays better....


This is bad news, folks.

Pretty soon people who have decided to devote themselves to academia will all *have* to sell out. I already have my back up plan....jury consulting HERE I COME.

I try not to use my academic powers for evil BUT soon I may have no choice.