The Name of the Wind

The Name of the Wind by Patrick Rothfuss

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


This was my first delve into "fantasy" and I was reluctant. But a friend with trusted taste recommended it so I reserved it through the library, and by the time it came up my turn I had totally forgotten. Why not, I said. I've been on a pleasure-reading hold for a long time. The last few I tried I couldn't get into. I figured this would be the same, and even if I liked it, no way could I finish the almost 700 pages in the 3 weeks I had it from the library. WRONG!

Finished it in 2 weeks and I am a very slow reader. The first 100 pages were especially slow, trying to get my bearings. Trying to figure out what this new world was all about and what would be important for later. But once it gets all set up and takes off it is SO EXCITING. A perfect escape.

It's kind of fun learning about a "new" world, what constitutes magic, what the physical laws are, who can do what, the superstitious/religious traditions, social structure, etc. Similar enough to our own to relate (i.e., money = power), but different enough to tickle the brain and keep me awake. Plus I have come to adore the main character. Excellent, excellent characters, pacing, and just enough twists and turns.

The hold-my-attention-ness of it reminds me of "Outlander" but thankfully without the monumental amounts of graphic sex - take note - it's clean! Good for prudes and youth as well as anyone else. I can't wait in the library queue for the second in this trilogy so I have ordered it and will then trade it on paperbackswap. But the third isn't written yet! I'll just have to savor the second and try to read it extra slowly.



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Movie Giddy

Just got back from Inception. I've got 2 minutes to write my post before feeding the baby. Juno and Leonardo were superb. Smart, mind-bending, perfectly played out. About time for this new (and improved) Matrix-esque thriller. I want to see it again and again. Favorite scene: hotel fight.

Also. Saw a trailer for the new Tron movie. You read that right. Hot, very hot.

The Glass Castle

The Glass Castle by Jeannette Walls

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Fascinating. Revelatory. Nearly unbelievable. Truly stranger than fiction. Kind of horrifying, yet touching and loving. I ripped through this one, could hardly put it down - kept having to find out what happened next.

From my shallow, self-serving point of view, it made me feel fabulous about my own upbringing, which I don't always see that way, and also about my own parenting, which sometimes I need. But it lends perspective on more than that - prejudice, poverty, small towns, families, generations, and more.  (Not to mention addiction and mental illness!) I can only imagine the courage it took Ms. Walls to write her story, and the obvious impact her youth had on her to be able to remember and retell it so well. Bravo!

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The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society

Writing book reviews is mentally taxing, especially when one feels, as I often do, that words fail. How to perfectly capture the tone of someone else's work in your own words while also relaying just-enough-but-not-too-much plot, and, in this case, trying to convince every person I know to read it immediately? Even as I write, I waffle whether to even try, the alternative being to copy the entire back cover into this post, summary and book review quotes in full.

Ever since finishing Jeeves a month ago I've had trouble getting into a book. Tried a few but the timing just wasn't right for me and them to make it happen. One afternoon I finally sat down and gave myself 15 minutes to browse categories, lists, and reviews on Amazon to find a suitable read, one that would fit my mood just right. I wanted easy but not fluffy. I wanted deep but not depressing. I wanted humorous but substantial. Reviews of Guernsey gave me high hopes so I took the leap.

Aaaah, the leap! Could hardly put it down - I wanted to savor but couldn't help rushing through. Charming is too cliche but what says it better?

"Traditional without seeming stale, and romantic without being naive...It's tempting to throw around terms like 'gem' when reading a book like this. It's as charming and timeless as the novels for which its characters profess their love." - San Fransisco Chronicle Book Review

All I usually need are fabulous characters, gifted writing and a great ending - maddeningly hard to find altogether, so when I do I make a big deal about it.

"The characters step from the past radiant with eccentricity and kindly humor. The writing, with its delicately offbeat, self-deprecating stylishness, is exquisitely turned." - The Guardian (UK)

And ok, the obligatory summary, totally copied because it's so well put:

January 1946: Writer Juliet Ashton (love her!) receives a letter from a stranger, a founding member of the Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society. And so begins a remarkable tale of the island of Guernsey during the German Occupation, and of a society as extraordinary as its name.

My only sadness is there is no sequel. What on earth shall I read next? Maybe I should look into Charles Lamb...

Junkie

Crack
Crack with a remote control

Crack laced with heroin in Italy

Heroin crack with adrenaline and a diamond

Crack-heroin-crack layers dipped in caramel and double coated with Jacques Torres chocolate, which also contains crack

And that's all I'm going to say about that...

for now.

Same Kind of Different as Me

Denver Moore grew up an uneducated, orphaned and illiterate practically-slave sharecropper in Louisiana who one day hopped a train to Texas and lived homeless on the streets for 30 years. Ron Hall grew up in lower middle-class Texas, went on to become a banker and eventually a high-rolling international art dealer. Deborah was the beautiful, intelligent, deeply spiritual woman he could never get; then he lucked out when she agreed to marry him. From there the paths of these three people slowly inch closer, eventually merging and then bonding as their tale is told in Same Kind of Different as Me.

The chapters flip back and forth, telling Denver's true story, then Ron and Deborah's, moving forward in time until they overlap, and then telling the same story from their different perspectives. It's an inspiring tale of friendship, which moved me to tears for most of the last half. But more than anything it's a story of faith - Deborah's unwavering, Ron's struggling, and Denver's transforming. I walk away from this book reminded of the true power of faith to work miracles in the world and in the heart, and inspired and encouraged to be a more vocal, valiant and unapologetic Christian.

Not bad for $14.99 and 235 pages.

These is My Words

It has been a long time - probably since Outlander - that I have been so totally and completely sucked into a book. I found it by browsing around reviews on Amazon - it sounded good so I put it on my wishlist. Mom already had it so she gave it to me, along with the sequel, Sarah's Quilt, for Christmas. I had just finished Three Bags Full, and was ready for a new book so I started it the next day when we went out to the cabin. And I finished it last night.

Might not mean much to all you whip-through-'em speed readers but it took me two months to finish my last book, which was shorter. My housekeeping has gone to crap this last week (no real change there) and I have stayed up past midnight most nights, simply unable to put it down.

Quick summary (you can read more on Amazon): A journal-style novel of a frontier woman, Sarah Prine, that follows her from her teens to 30's, and all the hardship, fear, joy and success that a fiesty and complex woman could experience at that time. It's a time and place of extremes, and the perfect setting for a very personal, very exciting and very moving tale. I feel very close to, and at the same time, totally in awe of Sarah. Her story is based on the journal of the author's great-grandmother.

These is My Words has been compared to Lonesome Dove, which Ed read a year or two ago (I watched the miniseries with him), and I remember he was similarly lost in reading it, and similarly affected by it, as if living a double life on the range. In fact, I've felt for the last week that my life is the dream, and the 1890's Arizona Territory is reality. It has made things around here seem ridiculously easy and trivial, and I'm kind of embarrassed to be sitting at the computer instead of whitewashing my house or digging a well.

No one likes long book reviews, so I leave you with a high recommendation and a warning. If you pick up this book, make sure you've got your spurs on and a handkerchief handy. You're in for a wild and wonderful ride.

This book receives 4.5 disco balls:

VGP Summary

I'm pretty sure I've just made a major contribution to keeping butter, egg and parchment paper producers in business. Actually, I really lucked out on the eggs since Safeway has had a buy one get one free deal all month on cartons of 18. We've gone through lots and lots of eggs around here.

I cooked up this idea of the Virtual Goody Plate in the summer, and thought it would be no problem to get 31 goodies baked and written up in time, so I started making some old favorites and finding a few recipes in books and online. I was way ahead in the fall!

But I didn't account for all the holiday cookie magazines that would start showing up on the racks in November and December. Each one I looked at had at least 5 to 10 I wanted to try, and the math was overwhelming. So I made a list and checked it twice, and reprioritized, and went back and forth on a few. For the last 6 weeks or so I have been making 3 to 4 different cookies a week. Some good ones didn't make the cut, mostly for variety's sake, and some were so good I made them more than once. I don't know what I'll do with all my spare time now. Maybe I'll actually get back to losing weight!

Ed and Mom and I tried all of them and came up with our Top 5 lists. I found it amazing that we had no overlap - just goes to show how good all the cookies were!

Kari's Top 5
Chocolate Marshmallow Meltaways
Chocolate Peanut Blow-Out Cookies
Chocolate Turtle Cookies
Chocolate Chewies
Turtle Candies

Ed's Top 5
Black and Brown Chocolate Chip Cookies
Hazelnut Chewies
Cranberry-Orange Pinwheels
Perfect Chocolate Chip Cookies
Kari-Can't-Stop-Eating-This Bark (and now neither can Ed)

Mom's Top 5
Peppermint Bonbon Cookies
Lemony Bonbons
Buried Cherry Cookies
Brownie Waffle Cookies
Citrus-Drizzled Cranberry Oatmeal Cookies
Bonus ('cuz she can't pick just 5): Raspberry Almond Cookies

So, OK, the month is over, the year is over, the VGP is over. But I figured I've got all these recipes with all my notes and all the pictures - why not make a book so they're all in one place next time I want to make them? Plus I could toss in the other few that were really good but didn't get a VGP appearance, like Cocoa Fudge Cookies and Maple Walnut Spice Cookies. Dave even flattered me by saying he would give it as gifts to friends. So I checked out a couple cookbook-making sites and found Blurb had the best quality and lowest price. I've already ordered my copy of Disco Mom Takes on Christmas Cookies, and now you can, too. I don't make a profit because then I'd have to get copyright permission and everything, but if you want to order it at cost click here. It is $24.95 for softcover, $35.95 for hardcover with dust jacket, and $37.95 for hardcover image wrap. It is 78 pages with 36 recipes and pictures. And I'm just a little proud of it.

It's my final goody...from me to you. Happy New Year!

Gettin' Festive - Music

Or, in other words: Christmas, the Soundtrack.

It's hard work finding good new music. It's a little easier to find good new Christmas music because it all comes out at the same time and is usually all in the same section of iTunes or stores. But still a lot of work. After several days of such work my library has grown by 2 cd's and about 10 other songs, all worthwhile.

Christmas Songs - Jars of Clay

I've spent some time trying to find the right description for the hypnotically dreamy sound of this album. My current best is "Echo & the Bunnymen host an informal candlelit dinner for Moby and Enya, and New Order drops by." Just get the album, maybe you'll understand. I like the original songs OK but I really, really dig the fresh, modern but still reverent renditions of O Little Town of Bethlehem, I Heard the Bells on Christmas Day and God Rest Ye, Merry Gentlemen. Perfect for laying on the couch staring at the lights on the tree.

Christmas Offerings - Third Day
For the first time in iTunes I ventured into the Christian rock realm, and I don't know why I didn't think of it before, but they have some awesome Christmas music over there. My favorite was this album with a "neo-Southern rock" sound - I was impressed with the balance they found between keeping it classic but keeping it new. Highly recommended.

Sing: A Christmas EP - Josh Wilson
This is a great little 3-song mini album on iTunes for $2.49. He's got a nice original song, Sing, a fun & peppy Angels We Have Heard on High and an astounding guitar instrumental The First Noel. Get it. I checked out Josh's MySpace page and he names his influences as the Beatles, Ben Folds, David Brandon, Switchfoot, Death Cab for Cutie, Jars of Clay (hmm...see a pattern here?), John Mayer, and Jump Little Children. I like all of those that I've heard of. Josh just might have himself a new fan - I'm definitely going to look into more of his music.

Other than those I got a couple of singles, most of which I included on "Kari's So-Good-I-Amaze-Even-Myself Christmas Mix 2008":

1- Jingle Bell Jamboree -Keb' Mo'

2- Christmastime in the City - Mary Chapin Carpenter

3- Mary Did You Know - Christine Evans

4- Christmas/Sarajevo 12/24 - TransSiberian Orchestra

5- Little Drummer Boy - Josh Groban

6- Joy to the World - Voice Male

7- O, Little Town of Bethlehem - Jars of Clay

8- In the Bleak Mid-Winter - Shawn Colvin

9- Who Comes This Night - James Taylor
10- Song for a Winter's Night - Sarah McLachlan

11- One Toy Soldier - Enya

12- Angels We Have Heard on High - Josh Wilson

13- Oh Holy Night - Relient k

14- Born in Bethlehem - Third Day
15- Silent Night - Aly & AJ

16- I Heard the Bells on Christmas Day - MercyMe

17- Oh Come All Ye Faithful - Twisted Sister (That's right! LOVE the little "We're Not Gonna Take It" guitar riff in the middle, just for those of us who would notice...)

And, as usually happens, as soon as I burned a couple copies of the disc I had so many changes I wanted to make that I actually started a new playlist - Christmas 2009. Not that it's not good - trust me, it's good - but there are so many other good songs, too!

The perfect Christmas mix eternally eludes, but it's so fun to try to capture it!

The Good Stuff - October / November

I missed October completely and November almost slipped through my fingers as well. But here's a quickie update on a few recent good stuffs.

Grown-up Good Stuff

Super Glove - Oven mitts do the trick most of the time, but in some cases, like cookie sheets that need to be grabbed on the very edge, or pulling the bread machine pan out by a little handle, you need the option of less bulk and better dexterity. These Super Gloves are the best addition to my kitchen this month.

dafont.com - I've been working on a little project and needed some new font options. Cousine Katy hooked me up with this, my new favorite free font site. Love the category choices, rather than all fonts just alphabetical. Also love the Mormon advertisement running at the top when I last checked.

Amazon Universal Wish List Button - We really use Amazon.com wish lists in our family, especially around this time of year. Amazon does sell a ton of stuff but it doesn't always have the exact thing you want. Enter the new Universal Wish List button. It's a button you can add to your browser so that you can add anything from any website to your Amazon wish list. Let the possibilities begin!

Amish Friendship Bread - My friend Julia gave me a starter a few weeks ago, then on Saturday I made it into chocolate cinnamon "bread" (really more like delicious delectable cake!) Then I had a couple starters left and decided to keep them through at least one more cycle after finding all these variations and other things you can make with the starter. I think next go-round I'll make cinnamon rolls and cherry pistachio bread. YUM!

List of Top 100 Mystery books of all time - According to Mystery Writers of America, who probably know their stuff. Mysteries are my favorite "fun reading" so I was excited to find this list for some new recommendations. Of course I am spending less time reading these days than ever before, but that's not for a lack of lots and lots of books that look good!

Kid Good Stuff

Kids Craft Weekly - WOW. Thanks to the ineffably omni-talented Kat for getting me hooked on this website and *FREE* monthly e-newsletter. Awesome, easy, fun and totally crafty ideas! Unfortunately most are a little too messy or difficult for 25 nursery kids each Sunday, but perfect for me and my own. Now that Hazel rarely naps, she and I sometimes do afternoon crafts, like plastic-lid print-making or contact paper stained glass, both inspired by KCW. The current issue features Christmas cards and Advent activities. Plus she has a 20-page mini book all on Christmas crafts you can download for a mere $5 - so worth it!

Little Pea by Amy Krause Rosenthal - This is my (our) new favorite book. It's about Little Pea and his parents Mama Pea and Papa Pea. They do regular Pea things but Little Pea hates candy, and candy is what you have to eat for dinner when you're a Pea. He strikes a 5-bite deal with his parents, forces his 5 bites down and earns his favorite dessert - spinach! Simple, clean, adorable illustrations and the girls always laugh when I imitate the sounds and faces Little Pea makes when he forces his candy down. I read it to the nursery kids, too, and they thought it was hilarious. I see the same author/illustrator team has another book, Little Hoot, in which a young owl just wants to go to bed at a reasonable time like his friends, but nooooo, his parents make him stay up all night having fun. I love it.

Pop Fly by Justin Roberts - I seriously love this guy. This is our second CD by him and we listen to it all the time in the car, and of course the girls have their favorites: Pop Fly (about a kid in the outfield not paying attention to the game and panicking when a pop fly comes his way), Henrietta's Hair (about a girl who hated getting her hair combed so her mom gave up and all kinds of creepy crawlies moved in and lived in harmony), and Stay-at-Home Dad. I like the slower, more sentimental tunes like From Scratch (about Grandma's kitchen of course) and Fruit Jar (which I can't remember what it's about but I reall y like it.) Justin has got fans for life in this family, and hopefully we can catch his show here in January.

Bedbug Bible Gang - It's a Thursday afternoon in November. The girls are asking to watch a show, and I can't think of a single one I can stand to listen to right now. So I turn to the rarely-used *On-Demand cable feature to see what kind of free kids' shows there are besides Dora and Miss Spider. Perhaps something we've never seen before? Bingo! In a section called Inspiration On Demand is a show called The Bedbug Bible Gang. No idea what it is but let's give it a try. It's a cute little show with voices same as Veggie Tales, with a couple of bed bugs named Buzzer and Sparky that like to tell each other about Bible stories in rhyme, then do little comprehension activities or funny songs at a preschool level. It is an unbelievable hit around here. We only have 2 episodes on demand, and we all have them memorized by now, but I'm not annoyed yet. I mean, they're learning Bible stories! Hazel loves the story of Elijah and the widow who gave him her last meal. And the story of Zechariah being told by an angel they would have a son. In fact, the song that goes with it is impossible to shake. Sing along, please. To the tune of John Jacob Jingleheimer Schmidt:

John will be Zechariah's son,

That angel said his name,

But Zech was full of doubt,

And so he could not shout,

Til the day that the newborn baby came:

JOHN! JOHN! JOHN! JOHN! JOHN! JOHN! JOHN!

(and repeat several times quieter, always shouting the last line.)

They have a bunch of DVD's out so I put one on the girls' wish list. We'll take any inspiration we can get around here.

The Daughter of Time

I chatted very briefly once with a woman at church about books, and I mentioned that I love mysteries. The next week she brought me two of her favorites, and luckily they were both pretty short so I had a shot at finishing them.

The first was The Daughter of Time by Josephine Tey. I make no claim to be especially well-read or a great knower of authors but I admit I was taken aback when, in his glowing introduction, Robert Barnard (a fellow mystery writer) proclaimed Ms. Tey to be one of the greatest mystery writers of all time. Not only that, but several singular and collective sources point to The Daughter of Time as one of the best mysteries of all time. I'd never heard of either of them. So I was obviously anxious to jump in.

It wasn't quite what I expected. It was neither thrilling nor suspenseful. But it was admittedly enjoyable and sometimes gripping. Basically a police detective, hospital bedridden with a broken leg and bored senseless, becomes intrigued by a painting of Richard III his friend brings him. A student of faces, he decides the face in the painting does not match the legend associated with Richard, which is that he was a monster and murdered his two young nephews. He orders books and eventually acquires a research assistant to run back and forth to the British Museum, and through historical facts and deductive conversations they conclude a new truth about Richard and his nephews. The title comes from an old proverb:

"Truth is the daughter of time."

True, it was remarkably well-written and a fun piece of deductive detection to follow - good for keeping your brain tuned - but just not very exciting. Especially when you don't know - or care - anything about British history whatsoever, which is what the whole book is about. You're lucky to remember where your keys are. So yes, I'd say it was good. But it's #4 on the Mystery Writers of America Top 100 Mysteries of All Time, so it must be really good if you're a mystery writer, and really really good if you're a Richard III supporter.

PR Dish - And Then There Were Three (or so we thought)

Okay. Now we are getting somewhere. Bryant Park to be exact. Almost.

The Challenge: Design an evening gown inspired by nature (from the NY Botanical Garden.)

The Winner: Jerrell

The Loser: No one. All four get to go home and create collections, letting thier hope build up, then come back and compete for the three Bryant Park spaces. I think that's just too cruel, but I am looking forward to seeing the collections.

The Dish (written while watching):

• It's ridiculous for Kenley to blame Leanne for her screwed up hip hop outfit last time. Yes, Leanne's walk was goofy but that is NOT what put it in the bottom. What a brat.
• What a fabulous challenge - it reminds me of the final four challenge last year, taking inspiration from art in the museum. I can't wait to see what they create.
• When Kenley was walking around the garden talking about bright colors I'm just waiting to see what kind of obnoxious 80's print fabric she picks out. She did choose a great photo - they all did, really - and she especially lucked out with the fabrics she found.
• I love everyone's color palette. How can you go wrong with a challenge inspired by flowers? Well, perhaps I speak too soon...
• I'm actually very, very sick of Leanne's plaid shirts!!! Oh, great, and then the next day Kenley wears one. I read somewhere plaid is in this season but it's not in for me.
• That makeup guy is amazing. When are we having him over for a girls' makeover night?
• OK, I guess it's only fair Kenley gets her tulle.
• Did this season go waaaaaay faster than the others?
• Geez, it's nice to see Heidi in pants for once. And when is Michael Kors going to wear that hot pink t-shirt I know he's hiding in his closet?
• Though heinous in other ways, Kenley's dress did fit like a glove.
• I didn't think Korto's dress was as bad as the judges did. I thought the sillouette was kind of pretty.
• I didn't have a favorite this time. I didn't really love any of them.

Next week: Tim visits the designers at their homes. They return to New York to show the judges their collections and somebody gets kicked out before Bryant Park.

The Alchemist

Dude, I don't know.

I read The Alchemist because it showed up on two Top 5 lists of people I know when I polled my playgroup moms in New York for book recommendations. I'd never heard of it, but if two people loved it, it must be worthwhile. So I started it and it wasn't quite what I was expecting, but I continued. Kat told me she knows people who hate it and love it so let her know which I am. Being basically easy to please, I fully expected to love it.

But I just couldn't. Good heavens, I got more and more annoyed every time I read it. I have been known to not finish books when they're really bad - I'm such a slow reader I hate to waste too much time. But The Alchemist is so short I decided to stick it out no matter how amazingly lame it got. And it got pretty bad. I thought to blame it partially on the translation, but it wasn't just the language; it was the whole story and telling of it. Minimal character development. Maximal new agey spiritual quasi-philosphical conversations full of capitalized terms like Personal Legend, Soul of the World, Master Work, and Language of the World. Plus a couple of biblical references thrown in for good measure - Urim and Thummim and Melchezidek, and plenty of omens, universal forces, and voices. Oh, and don't forget "listen to your heart."

I read the words but much of the time I couldn't understand what in the world they were trying to get at, and worse, didn't care to. It's the story of a boy's journey to find his destiny, so it had plenty of potential to be touching, uplifting and adventurous, but it was too weird. I kept thinking a story told this way must be trying to be an analogy, and I suppose it was. It certainly supported some good, if cliche, life lessons, like "Life is a journey, not a destination" and "Your treasure is where your heart is." I even admit to being surprisingly pleased with the twist at the end, but only because at that point I was near hating the book.

I don't know, read it if you want to and enlighten me, but I can't recommend it.

And I'm not alone - out of 1,267 reviewers on Amazon, it received an average of 4 stars, and the rating shook out like this:

5 stars - 735

4 stars - 215

3 stars - 94
2 stars - 93
1 star - 130

Me, I'm near the bottom. This book receives a scant 2 disco balls from me, and I'm moving on to my next book without a moment's more reflection. It was definitely no Three Cups of Tea, which I read earlier this summer and which affected me so deeply I'm still trying to find the words to explain how wonderful it is.

PR Dish - Queen Me

The Challenge: Create an over-the-top drag queen outfit that suits your client's persona.

The Winner: Joe

The Loser: Daniel
Disco Mom's Pick: Korto

The Dish:

• Well it's about time to say buh-bye to Daniel. He really was whiney, full of excuses and delusional. I'm tired of his pushed-up jacket sleeves and sweaty hair. But beyond all my reality-show-watcher snarkiness, he was also super clueless! He missed the mark on a couple of challenges by a long shot and he never took criticism, almost a sure indicator of being sent home sooner than later.
• I thought Jerrell's dress was just ok, but thought Blayne, with his saggy pterodactyl wings, deserved to be in the bottom three more.
• I liked Joe's OK, though Korto's seemed more drag, more difficult and more dramatic. But I was really happy for Joe when he won. He's like the only normal guy on there so I'm kind of rooting for him.
  
• It's amazing how versatile Stella and Blayne's unversatility are proving to be. So far they have managed to work black-leather-grommets and neon-LA-beach looks, respectively, into every challenge, and not gotten in too much trouble for it. I find that amazing. We're obviously still in the weeding-out process.
• I haven't heard Blayne complain about tanning in two episodes. Have the editors just cut it out or did he get to tan, what do you think?
• The challenges are starting to get more interesting, more challenging. It's excellent to see good designers thrown way out of their comfort zones and pull off something amazing. Harder to watch them bomb but still good TV.
• What am I missing? What did you all think of the episode?
  

Next Week: Making clothes out of car parts? Rachel Zoe, whoever that is, guest judges.

PR Dish - Ohno He Dih-ent!

The Challenge: Create an outfit for the U.S. Olympic Team to wear at the summer games opening ceremonies.

The Winner: Korto
The Loser: Jennifer

Disco Mom's Pick: Terri

The Dish:

• Not much dish this week. What can I say? The people who seemed to have strong love for the Olympics and/or the U.S. (as presented by the editors) were the ones who came out on top.
• I agreed wholly with the judges' top 3, only Terri was my favorite this time; Korto a close second.
• I was hoping Daniel and Jennifer would both be sent home and save everyone a whole episode of wasted time eliminating the other. Alas,....
• A few words about the middle picks: Stella - space age same darn leather zipper belly button vest, enough! Blayne - FYI the U.S. colors aren't pink, white and baby blue.
• Everyone else - get a clue what "sportswear" means, what athletes' bodies are like, and what year it is. I love a good retro design as much as anyone, but this just wasn't the challenge for it.
• There were just too, too many good quotes this week so let's play a little guessing game - can you remember who said each of the quotes below?

The Quotes:

1. "Jerell's dress is a bit Titanic - his heart will go on."
2. "Well if her sport is drinking, it's a good dress."
3. "A sistah gotta keep one eye open."
4. "There's too much drama because there's too many queens around."
5. "A lot of bikers watch the Olympics."
6. "I'm just a little confused by it all."
7. "I'm getting paler and paler and weaker and weaker."
8. "As you can see we're back to high school, and I just want to get to college."
9. "Oh, God - youth!" (in reference to Blayne not knowing what Sergeant Pepper refers to)
10. "It's totally wackadoodle."
11. "Blayne's becoming tanorexic."


Next Week: Designing for the high-power career woman. Brooke Shields guest judges. Michael Kors accuses someone of being slutty!

Review Haiku

The X-Files: I Want to Believe

#1
No green men this time
Mulder and Scully in love
Scully might believe

#2
Mulder still believes
Psychic powers - real or fake?
Skinner cameos

#3
Creepy Russian stalks
Experimental transplants
Avoid public pools

Review Haiku

Putting that education to use! (Per Gabe's request...)

Vantage Point

Too much back and forth
Lacking depth but not action
Dennis ages well

PR Dish - The Worst Review is No Review

The Challenge: Create a night-out look inspired by New York City.

The Winner: Kenley

The Loser: Emily

The Dish:

• Stella is an idiot and so is Blayne (aka Tango)
• Kieth with his no-no bandana and toilet paper shift should have been auf'd decades before Emily's Carmen Miranda or anybody else's anything
• Emily's downfall - Nina had "no comment"
• I probably liked Leanne's best but can hardly argue with any of the judges' top 3
• Terri is emerging as a force to be reckoned with
• Sandra B was surprisingly tame in her judgments
• Is is just me or are a lot of the models kind of ugly this season?
  
• I am waiting for Michael Kors to show up in a hot pink t-shirt one of these days, waiting patiently
• Lessons to be learned from this episode: 1) the judges like to be (pleasantly) surprised (Kenley), 2) the judges notice and like it when you take their advice (Leanne), 3) it's a fine, fine line between simple and boring (Emily & Jennifer)
  
• Kari's highlight moment: When Blayne bonked his head on a low-hanging light - gave me a good chuckle
• Kari's lament: Why oh why must we be tormented with so many annoying phrases? Leave Tim and his own charming language alone!

What did everyone else think?

Next Week: Something about the Olympics?

And for those of you more obsessed than me, see blogginprojectrunway.

He's Still Got It

I'd been Waiting for That Day for a long time, as you well know. Tuesday was a Hard Day to get through but in the evening my Mother's Pride and Father Figure came over to watch the girls, and we had the Freedom to go to the George Michael concert!

After we'd been Waiting 45 minutes, the dark stadium lit with sparks floating dreamily down the digital screen. A soaring rendition of Waiting (reprise), being sung from back stage, froze me in my seat until at the end and climax, when a door opened in the middle of the screen, and George himself walked through just in time for the final line: "HERE I AM!" (If you are unfamiliar with this song, listen on the sidebar to get a feel for what it was like.)

Screams, applause, lit cell phone screens being waved in lieu of lighters (it's been a loooong time since I went to a concert.) The slightly aged and much gay audience gave the sexy superstar a resounding welcome, letting him know, "You Have Been Loved," for 25 years. He asked To Be Forgiven for taking 20 years to return to Washington, but promised that by the end of Tonight he'd make it up to us. I'd say he did.

An eclectic set of disco, soul, pop and ballads filled the evening. I was up and dancing Freestyle as much As I was comfortable doing until about song 5 or 6 when he broke into a seriously booty-shaking Everything She Wants, complete with diamond-studded disco balls on the big screens and lots of audience singing - "SOMEBODY TELL ME, WHY I WORK SO HARD FOR YOU!" (To give you money, woo, to give you money...) That's when I, and much of the rest of the crowd save Ed and the other husband/boyfriend I was sitting by that had obviously been drug there by his female, let loose in a serious way.

George, his 6 black-clad back-up singers, and huge band stacked vertically on platforms, played for an hour, took a 20-minute break, during which Ed was so hot in his work clothes he had to go Outside, then played another hour. Our seats were decent, though not close enough for a good camera phone picture. However, we'd dug out and brought Ed's elk hunting nocs so I was able to sit on George's lap for some of the songs. A couple of his dance songs were a little Too Funky (and a little too gay) for my taste but I love his voice so much I'm not complaining. Perhaps the highlight of the evening for me was a gorgeous version of The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face, sung simply from a stool on stage in purple and white spotlights.

I knew it could hardly get any better when he came out dancing in a police uniform, complete with aviator shades and fingerless leather gloves, so I was hardly surprised when he bid us goodnight after that number. More screaming, more lit cell phone screens being waved for an encore, just One More Try. He came out and sang Careless Whisper for us. More screaming, more cell phones. Waiting. Waiting. Finally he returned to grant us A Last Request. He asked, "If you could have your pick of any song you want to hear, what would it be?" Thousands of voices answered in unison: FREEDOM! Obviously every American crowd had said the same thing and he was well-prepared. What an Amazing song to round out the concert! Most of our row had left so I had 10 seats to make my moves in, with Ed conservatively clapping the beat nearby. Animated rainbows dancing all over the screens. Happy, energized, beer-buzzed people dancing like crazy. It was a night to remember. He Healed the Pain, he Knew I Was Waiting for Him, and I was glad he spent A Moment with Me.

After the final finale we had to hustle home, Praying for Time to get our car out of the garage in Rosslyn before it closed at midnight. The night can be summed up by a comment I overheard a twenty-something tell her friend as we walked out of the stadium: "He is so hot...and he's old."

Ladies and gents, he's still got it. And so have I.

The Good Stuff - July

Holy crap, it's already the end of July? Ginger had croup last week so I was out of commission all week and suddenly the month is over! (And I'm off to see George Michael tonight!) This month's good stuff is admittedly unbalanced; I guess I haven't been shopping for the kids much. But here are a couple of fun things for your perusal. Sit back and have a Good Stuff moment.

Grown-up Good Stuff

World Wide Fred - I don't even know how to describe or sum up this ultra funky quirky Rhode Island home products company. Neither do they. It all started when I saw Chopstick Kids in the Old Forge Hardware Store; I didn't buy any then but made a note of the company to look up later; it looked like stuff I could get into. And sure enough it's like Pandora's Box of cool stuff I don't need but want to buy for other people as awesome gifts. I don't even know what to highlight, there are so many interesting things. Some are kind of gross and immature like Stuck Up wad-of-gum-looking magnets while others are just fun and useful like the Equal Measure measuring cup. I also like the How Tie, the Tooth, Borrow My Pen, Batterfinger, and the To-Do Tattoo, just to name a few. Let me know what you like on here. This is definitely the place to go next time you don't know what to get someone!

GasBuddy.com - You go to the website, type in your zip code, and it tells you where the cheapest gas is near you. Must be working, too, because I typed in my zip code and found that the two cheapest stations nearby ($3.83 and $3.93) sold out of regular last night.

Woman's Day Month of Menus - At our family reunion in June Tona's cabin had a stack of old magazines on an end table that I found myself flipping through a couple of times. Two of the magazines - a Woman's Day and a Good Housekeeping - had so many good recipes I wanted to try that I brought them home for further inspection. Nothing against them, but I've never spent much time going through magazines like that before, though of course I find that I am now the target audience. There were some great articles and tips (I skipped Dr. Phil's secrets of a great marriage on principle, though it was probably good too), but the recipes really hooked me. I especially loved that Woman's Day had a calendar page with literally a month of menus - a quick meal description on each day that could be whipped up without a long recipe. For example, "Chicken drumsticks brushed with orange marmalade and sprinkled with chili powder, baked until done. Serve with steamed broccoli and squeezed lemon." Easy but I might not have thought of it on my own. Every Sunday meal is big with the intention of using leftovers later in the week, and every Monday is meatless. They do it every month, factor in seasonal ingredients and the best part is you can get them online without buying the magazine. As always I'm trying to expand my cooking repertoire but it's too tiring to try long new recipes every night. I am printing off and checking these Months of Menus for quick and easy family-friendly ideas to mix in with our regulars.

Jungle Speed - Dave brought this to the reunion. I was hesitant because my reflexes are shot in general and even worse late at night when we play games. But one night all 4 siblings and 4 spouses found ourselves around Maren's kitchen table ready to play a game. Dave whipped it out and I admit it was awesome fun, especially with so many players. An abbreviated game description: Jungle Speed requires a steady hand - which can be hard to maintain during the many fits of maniacal laughter. The wooden Totem sits in the middle of the table, waiting for the player with the fastest reflexes to snatch it up and win the game. Each turn, all of the players reveal one of their cards. If two cards are identical, those players must make a grab for the Totem. The faster player then gives their cards to their unfortunate adversary. To add to the difficulty, certain cards are almost identical, which can trick a hapless player into grabbing the Totem by mistake - a grave error. Other cards force all players to make a grab at once, change the method of play, or otherwise add to the difficulty.

Archer Farms Multigrain Cereal - Archer Farms strikes again! This time they drew me in with their sleek new packaging. I used to buy their Blueberry & Flaxseed Granola all the time - it's delicious - but this time I was checking for something lower in fat and high in fiber. Simply named Multigrain Cereal has 190 calories, 2.5 grams of fat, 10 grams of protein and 8 grams of fiber per 1 cup serving (none of this 1/2-cup serving size you find on some cereals). That's only 3 Weight Watchers points for those of you wondering. Plus it's totally yummy - puffed wheat, kamut, millet, brown rice & oats so it's kind of granola-ish but lightly sweetened with honey and molasses and lacking the weight and fat of typical granola.

Kid Good Stuff

Grandpa's Dollhouse - In the late 1970's my Grandpa Younce built this gorgeous, solid dollhouse for me and my sisters, then loaded it into his car and drove it from Oregon to Virginia. For years and years we played with it, then as we got older my parents carefully stored it. About 6 or 7 years ago they moved it up to Tona's house in Massachusetts for my niece Halle. And now it has been passed to us. Mom and Dad brought it over last week, with a bag full of furniture, and one or both girls sit and play with it at least once a day. Of course Ginger likes to climb on it but also watches Hazel arrange furniture and interact the dolls, and is beginning to imitate her. There seems nothing more natural for children to do than play with a doll house, practicing and playing out the things they are experiencing in their own lives. It warms my heart to see my girls playing with the same one that captured my imagination 30 years ago.

Fine Art for Kids from Oopsy Daisy - Parent conceived and owned, this collection of over 60o pieces by more than 50 artists is full of creative, whimsical, modern and unusual art for children. I have been totally focused on home decor and design this month, trying to set ourselves up, and carefully considering options for the blank walls in Hazel's room and other places around the house. Naturally the art is not cheap but it's ok because as I save up I need the time to decide what to get. Hazel is interested in maps and they have several to choose from. Plus a portion of profits go to charities that assist children. Here are a few, but not all, of my favorites:

Pop Garden by Andrea Cobb

Exploring the World from A to Z by Jenny Kostecki
Oh Say Can You See by Jill McDonald

Kite Day by Libby Ellis
For the girls this month it's been all about the new back yard! Favorites are:

Stone Temples...
...and planting flowers!