Fantasy Football Frenzy

no time to post.... must research.... no idea on who is even still involved in the NFL.... football draft tomorrow.... deadlines looming....must not let girlkind down...am "lone reed" among a crew of boys.... knowledgeable football-minded boys....doing an auction draft this year.... very nervous.... not good with money... not even the "fake" kind....arghhhhhh!

Last Daze of Summer

Tomorrow is the first day of the new routine... school starts and my summer ends. Sigh. And my pilates class will move to 6:00 am. This may be the most jarring thing of all. (Good thing it's only twice a week.) The good news is that I have one more thing to cross off my 101 list. I saw Mamma Mia in Winnipeg on Saturday with my friend Pam. It was a riot. A must see for every ABBA fan. I want to write more about that experience, but I am a little too edgy to sit still long. I guess it can wait. I have my clothes picked out and my school bag by the door. My lunch is in the fridge. I think I am ready. But are they?

This Bond Girl Rocks!

This weekend I watched another James Bond movie... On Her Majesty's Secret Service (one more for my 101 list). While this one is a bit bizarre in that it was the only Bond as played by George Lazenby and 007 demonstrates some rather uncharacteristic Bond behavior, I would say that this film gets the award for the best "style".... Diana Rigg's every ensemble made my mouth water. (click on the photo to see another image)

¡Carumba! ....recommended by Pam, read by me

Today I finished the most bizarre book I've read in ages. !Carumba! by Nina Marie Martinez begs a mention, that is certain. I set out to write a little review but as I flipped through the 363 pages of this book I was stumped. Where to begin.... Then I found this Washington Post review that said it all for me.

From The Washington Post's Book World/washingtonpost.com


At first glance, it would be easy to mistake ¡Caramba!, the debut novel by Nina Marie Martínez, as a product of McSweeney's, the mini-publishing empire founded by the writer and impresario Dave Eggers. With its glossy, retro cover, floral endpapers, maps, drawings, hand-scrawled letters, multicolored pages and other graphic flourishes, the novel has a striking design, imbued with the kinds of visual details that McSweeney's books are known for.

The busy jumble of the book's design reflects the picaresque narrative, which offers a Mexican game of chance as its structural conceit, six protagonists in search of fulfillment and an incongruous mix of highly stylized diction -- all of which gives the impression of a zaniness that seems strained. Even so, ¡Caramba! is so endlessly inventive and full of such oddball humor that it remains compelling throughout.

Martínez lets her characters loose in Lava Landing, a fictional California town on the Mexican border, in which Spanish and English merge into Spanglish, and the boundaries between the fantastic and the real aren't entirely clear either.

The opening seems to set the stage for a "Thelma and Louise"-like adventure, when a young woman named Natalie gets a frantic call from her best friend, Consuelo, saying that she has just killed a man. Natalie takes off in her prized 1963 Cadillac El Dorado convertible to counsel Consuelo, but not without taking a moment to admire her car. "In that day and age as well as any other, a girl needed all the advantages she could get," Martínez writes, "and Natalie was happy to have a car that was on the one hand beautiful and elegant, and on the other, responsive and powerful -- characteristics she strived for in herself." Before heading to Consuelo's house, Natalie takes a pragmatic detour to the gas station, because "Common sense and the movies told her that when two girls go on the lam, a full tank of gas is an essential starting point."

As it turns out, Consuelo didn't exactly kill anyone, but rather inspired an accidental death -- "he got himself runned over because some pervert was busy checkin out my nalgas," she explains. "He was even usin the crosswalk." The crisis ends as quickly as it has begun: "May the good Lord rest that poor man's soul," says Natalie, "but it's Saturday night, and I was just wonderin, ¿what's the plan, chica?" The scene is typical in this episodic novel, in which characters veer from one bizarre melodrama to the next, yet seem fazed by none of them.

In addition to Natalie and Consuelo, known as Nat and Sway, the cast includes Javier, an evangelical Christian mariachi in love with a convicted drug dealer; Lulabell, his equally lovesick, witchcraft-dabbling mother, who "out of spite for her former Lord Jesus Christ," works only on the Sabbath; True-Dee, the frustrated transsexual owner of a local beauty salon; and Don Pancho, known as DP, Consuelo's dead (but very much present) father, who appears to his daughter again, imploring her to make a pilgrimage to his Mexican hometown. Lava Landing itself, with its dormant volcano, seems to be another central figure in the novel. (And it's a none-too-subtle metaphor for the cycles of eruption and release that the characters experience throughout.)

The scattered nature of the various plot lines clearly has to do with this being "a tale told in turns of the card," based on La Loteria, a traditional bingo-like game of chance. An image of a Loteria-style card featuring a pithy saying -- "Upon Inspecting the Garbage Cans, I Came Across a Treasure," "Shrimp Who Sleep Will Be Swept Away By the Current" -- introduces every chapter in the book and relates in some way to that section. Although this imaginative structure is appealing, the lack of cohesion is frustrating.

Yet ¡Caramba! has no shortage of delightfully unexpected elements of humor; one two-page spread features "Lulabell's Guide to Mexico," a thematically charted map marked by regions like "Men Most Likely to be Homosexual" and "Land of Men Macho and Persistent." And the book is full of funny throwaway lines. Commenting on Javier's sudden religious conversion, Natalie says, "Just amazin what the alleged love of the Lord has done to that boy. He's a far cry from the kid that stuck his hand down my panties on the bus ride home." Beyond cleverness, though, such quirky elements don't add up to much; then again, superficiality is hardly the worst trait a novel could possess.

At times, ¡Caramba! transcends kitschiness and absurdity to evoke something more authentic. Natalie and Consuelo's relationship, for instance, conveys genuine intimacy, particularly in their unique brand of shorthand-speak. Elsewhere, however, there isn't enough going for the characters for the reader to feel invested in them. Martínez describes Javier's impassioned nature as reaching into every aspect of his life, down to his favorite meal: "Javier was crazy about tacos. He loved them the way some men love their women: with a nice, hard, firm shell." When Martínez is funny, she is very, very funny. Her deadpan perspective on faith, romance and the uneasy bonds of family is truly wonderful. Had she infused ¡Caramba! with more depth, this could have been a great novel instead of a merely clever one.

Isn't it the Cat's Pajamas?

In my discovery of Parker's birthday I noticed another author I find rather interesting was born on this day... Ray Bradbury (1920-). His novel, Fahrenheit 451 is taught in schools, and his views on reading and censorship have always been passionate.
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"There is more than one way to burn a book."

"You don't have to burn books to destroy a culture. Just get people to stop reading them."

"...I discovered that, over the years, some cubby-hole editors at Ballantine Books, fearful of contaminating the young, had, bit by bit, censored some 75 separate sections from [Fahrenheit 451]. Students, reading the novel which, after all, deals with censorship and book-burning in the future, wrote to tell me of this exquisite irony." ("Coda" 1979)
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Recently I stumbled upon a new collection of essays by him at Barnes and Noble, Bradbury Speaks: Too Soon from the Cave, Too Far from the Stars and I thought it looked interesting enough to add to my reading list. Last Spring, I learned about the upcoming release (Sept. 2) of a film entitled A Sound of Thunder, based on the short story, of the same name, by Bradbury. (a highly anthologized short story read by today's youth) [Here's a little update.... just read in Entertainment Weekly that they gave this movie an "F" and I am not sure I recall ever seeing a movie get an "F." Not sure --I- even want to see it now.] Because I love short stories and I'm always searching for more, I considered buying his newest book of them, a year ago, (then decided to wait for the library or a used copy...I'm cheap like that!). This book is called The Cat's Pajamas.

That title actually reminds me of what I spent much of my weekend doing. I was holed up all day Saturday poised over my scanner as I was fed photo after photo from a photo album that belonged to my Great Aunt Ida. My mother and her sister enlisted my services in creating digital copies of these for all the siblings. It was pretty fun to see all the old pictures and to learn about one branch on my family tree or would it be a root? Well, the story goes... My Grandpa and Grandma were in a community play (a rather non-pc dramatic production....check out the "Norwegian Indians") back in 1955, and my aunt remembers this whole event rather clearly because it was out of character for Grandpa. I guess he had only one line and he was very worried he'd screw it up. He was supposed to say "Isn't it the berries? Isn't it the cat's meow?" Well, sure enough, his fears were realized when he slipped up and said, "Isn't it the cat's berries?" (It's a bit like "the dog's danglies" as they are wont to say Down Under!) I thought that was just a riot. Now I realize I've departed from my earlier post topic, but I thought that story was worth it. I like to think of my grandparents in their little community play. I wonder what it was called.

If you don't have anything nice to say, come sit by me... -- Dorothy Parker

"An American critic, satirical poet, and short-story writer, Dorothy Rothschild Parker (1893-1967) is remembered as much for her flashing verbal exchanges and malicious wit as for the disenchanted stories and sketches in which she revealed her underlying pessimism. Starting her career as Vanity Fair's drama critic (1917-20) and continuing as the New Yorker's theater and book reviewer (1927-33), Parker enhanced her legend in the 1920s and early 1930s through membership in the Algonquin Hotel's celebrated Round Table." (quote taken from here)

Today is Dorothy Parker Day. (as in, it's her birthday. This explains the timing of my tribute) I have to admit I wouldn't mind being described as a woman capable of "flashing verbal exchanges" and one who possesses a "malicious wit." There is something endearing about a woman who defied conventions in her words and in her life. This is not to say that I have anything against "conventions," but let's face it, those who refer to them usually expect others to adhere to them. It is with that notion that I disagree. I was looking for new quotations to post on my wall at school and I stumbled on this list of goodies. None of them are really "school appropriate" in the "conventional--I'd like to keep my job--sense" but they are great fun.

• I like to have a martini, Two at the very most. After three I'm under the table, after four I'm under my host.

• I'd rather have a bottle in front of me, than a frontal lobotomy.

• It serves me right for keeping all my eggs in one bastard.

• You can lead a horticulture, but you can't make her think.

• This wasn't just plain terrible, this was fancy terrible. This was terrible with raisins in it.

• If all the girls who attended the Yale prom were laid end to end -- I wouldn't be a bit surprised.

• The first thing I do in the morning is brush my teeth and sharpen my tongue.

• Love is like quicksilver in the hand. Leave the fingers open and it stays. Clutch it, and it darts away.

• There's a helluva distance between wisecracking and wit. Wit has truth in it; wisecracking is simply calisthenics with words.

• Ms. Parker's response to her editor's complaints over a late piece: "Too fucking busy, and vice versa."

• I had been fed, in my youth, a lot of old wives' tales about the way men would instantly forsake a beautiful woman to flock around a brilliant one. It is but fair to say that, after getting out in the world, I had never seen this happen.

Cute as a Cupcake...Yoda...great tasting, he is...

The Minnesota Bluegrass Festival

Previously mentioned in my road trip post, my trip to St. Cloud was to attend a music festival, but I had three additional treats that day.


1st I got to spend time with a friend who I rarely see, Rebekah..... 2nd I got to meet the famous Beatles-loving, hat-wearing, cooler than cool, Phyllis: a woman I have heard much about but never had a face to a name. Rebekah had spent Friday with her and we met up at her place. I got to see her music studio, admire her wall of music cds, and listen to her darling little boy stroll around the living room singing along with the film on the TV, A Hard Day's Night..... 3rd I spent the night at a quaint bed and breakfast called Edelbrock House. We stayed in the green room in sweet little twin beds and were treated to a plate of sugar cookies and the makings for tea in our room. We didn't spend nearly enough time there but we did have a delicious breakfast Sunday morning: cold peach soup, vegetarian quiche, warm caramel rolls, and bread pudding. Plus coffee and OJ. I haven't eaten that much for breakfast since I don't remember when.

















The 26th annual Minnesota Bluegrass & Old-Time Music Festival was held on August 11th through 14th at El Rancho Manana Campground near St. Cloud. Throughout the festival there were twenty professional touring groups on the Main Stage, plus specialty shows and nightly dances in the Showcase Tent, over thirty workshops in the Workshop Tent, children's shows and activities in The Family Area, jam sessions in The Gathering Place--this was one of my favorite parts. This pavilion is meant to be a meeting place where people can get to know one another but mostly to gather and play music. Coffee is served and the impromtu music is a real treat.

















My friend, Rebekah and I attended the Saturday events and we watched nearly all the main stage shows, saw one of the showcase tent events, ate mini donuts and cheese curds and corn dogs even though we brought a cooler full of treats from home to avoid the festival food... who can resist, really? We also sat in on the Gathering Place for awhile and even looked in on the dance at the end of the evening, but we were too worn out to participate.

















The mainstage acts were all new to me. Rebekah knows her bluegrass more than I do, for certain. We watched The Dick Kimmel & Co., Tim O'Brien Band (pictured in the field--I liked the guitarist, John Doyle, quite a bit), Jawbone, Jack Norton and the Mullet River Boys, Uncle Earl, Rarely Herd and Pine Mountain Railroad. My favorites were definitely Jack Norton and the MRB and Uncle Earl.


















Each of these bands has a website with great bio information and some even have links to hear their songs. All of them were fun to listen to. If nothing else, I found myself wondering between every song what instrument the various musicians were going to pull out next.














Jack Norton and the Mullet River Boys is a Minnesota group that certainly won me over with their performance style. They had a ragtime, 1920's, vaudeville feel to them. Not sure if I'll invest in the cd, but I wouldn't miss a live performance. You can listen to several of their songs on their website. Two I liked were "Are You Ready for a Miracle" and "Everybody Loves My Baby."














Uncle Earl is an all girl group. Each of these five women has a solo career and how they ever got together as a group amazes me since they are from all different parts of the country. You can view some pictures of them here. During their shows it is clear that there isn't a single talent with a back up band but a meshing of talents and abilities and each song showcases different girls and instruments and vocals and even some clogging. I simply loved every song they did. Wonderful. Amazing. Talented. A pure delight.

More Sushi Stuff

Taken from the Not Martha site. Fun craft ideas are available there. I've been reading her stuff off and on for a few years. These are edible, but not in the typical sushi style. Check out how to make them here.


















These are simply toys. (much like the magnets I found before) Not sure why anyone would need to own these. Still, you can pick this up here for only $18.00 plus shipping.

On the Road Again

During the past two weekends I've had the opportunity to partake in one of my favorite activities.... the road trip. First, I was in Sioux Falls visiting friends from college--a mini reunion of sorts--and this past weekend I was in St. Cloud and the Twin Cities. Perhaps those don't qualify for true "road trip" status, but I figure anything that takes an entire tank of gas going and coming deserves to be considered a fricking vacation since the price of gas has just risen once more to an unprecedented high of $2.60 per gallon. I swear I'm turning into my father more every time I drive past a gas station and the price has made another fifteen cent jump... my blood pressure rises proportionately! Buying sunflower seeds and finding an audiobook at the library also suggest preparation for long drives, as both are to ward off sleepy driver syndrome.

Some people think that a long drive all alone is a sad thing, but I actually like it and might even prefer the solitude. I love the fact that I can control when I stop for bathroom breaks (never--or only when the gas runs out) and I can control the radio/cd selection and volume (loud). Something I find funny is how I cannot get into a car without the comfort of a handful of cds at my disposal. It's like a security blanket of sorts. Even riding with others, I feel better knowing there's good music handy. In each road trip opportunity I loaded up with approximately 15-20 of my current favs (and that was me trying to be reasonable).

On the drive TO Sioux Falls, I listened to only one CD--a compilation disc of Eva Cassidy songs. I spent most of that drive on the phone catching up with friends. The drive home was a different story. I didn't leave until far too late and I was too tired to notice what I listened to when it came to music, so I put on David Sedaris's Me Talk Pretty One Day and I made it through about 2.5 hours before I was definitely nodding off. I pulled off the interstate at a small town about halfway home and parked my car between two cars outside a hotel... reclined my seat, snuggled up to my Northwest Airlines you-aren't-really-supposed-to-take-those-home blanket and slept like a rock for about an hour. I woke up refreshed and only had to repeat this action one more time for about 40 more minutes of sleep an hour further down the road. Yikes. My 4.5 hour trip took closer to 6 hours. That was a drag. (but completely my own fault so I'm not complaining one bit)

There was a time when I thought I'd make a good truck driver. I used to say that I might like to do that for a living. This was mostly because I liked to drive around and listen to music all the time. I guess I thought that's what truck drivers do. Then someone pointed out that I could just be a DJ and get to play all sorts of music, but I guess I'd also have to talk to people and I'm not sure I'm real excited about that. Frequent road trips fulfill this need and I have plans to change careers anytime soon.

My trip to St. Cloud was an early morning drive with a nice long talk with a friend from Ohio and then a steady dose of Graham Parker's Howling Wind and Heat Treatment. The point of this journey was to meet my friend Rebekah and attend the MN Bluegrass Festival. So I was surrounded by music all day. It was delightful. (I think I'll dedicate a post to this topic later). Patsy Cline and Connie Smith, inspired by the old country flavor of the previous day, were the artists whose songs I was belting out as I drove down I-94 heading into the Twin Cities. There I visited several friends and did fun things which included seeing the location for Leah's cool new condo (great view), eating yummy Greek food, buying a new purse, enjoying a Jamba Juice smoothie, investing in a harmonica/instruction book watching The Wedding Date (don't bother) and spending the night at Katie's (the queen of Hollywood Video) place.

All day Monday I leisurely shopped for books at Half Price Books and music at Cheapo Discs (turns out they are open until MIDNIGHT!). I hate to admit I bought more than I should. The most anticipated read of the bunch is Nick Hornby's A Long Way Down.

Once again, I left later than I should have Monday night but this time my audiobook, another Nick Hornby book How to Be Good wasn't played at all. Instead I eagerly played my new acquisition: RENT The Original Broadway Cast Recording double disc set. Loved it. I cruised home last night and once that mental musical was all played out I threw on Who's Next by The Who and then Grace by Jeff Buckley. I only had to resort to sunflower seeds a little, because the music kept me moving.

Part of the allure of the open road rests in the fact that for a short while I am sitting still and really listening to music I love. I rarely take that opportunity in my own home and if I have music playing it's typically background to something else. Like now, for instance, this rambling is to the tunes of O Sister The women's bluegrass collections 1 & 2 (I burned my own cd of the songs --I-- like!).

A Sweet Treat

This is not the first time I have watched Johnny Depp and craved chocolate. His role as a gypsy in the film Chocolat, also starring Juliet Binoche and Judi Dench, made my mouth water. "I'll come 'round sometime and get that squeak out of your door." Just those words sent shivers down my spine. But it was Binoche's chocolate concoctions that made me long for the Ferrero Rocher chocolates stashed in my purse when I saw this movie on the big screen. I was prepared, having already read the book by Joanne Harris, a slightly darker, more mystical version of the story.

Willy Wonka, Johnny Depp's character, in Charlie and the Chocolate Factory is much less sexy yet, somewhat endearing and darned if he doesn't make the best candy ever. This film is a brave effort undertaken by the creative genius, Tim Burton. I loved the original 1971 version of the film entitled Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory and adored the book by Roald Dahl. Dahl remains one of my favorite authors. It doesn't matter if he's writing wicked short stories like "The Landlady" or "Lamb to the Slaughter" or any of the others featured in his book Skin or if he's writing wonderful children's books like Matilda, James and the Giant Peach (another done by Tim Burton--and is it just me or does Freddie Highmore, the actor playing Charlie, look an awful lot like James?) or this wonderful tale about a poor boy named Charlie.

No, despite the oddity of Wonka's character, an almost man-child rather different from the Wilder version of Wonka, I think Burton got it right. He is one of the few I'd have trusted to do the job and yet, there is another.... Robert Sabuda, the pop-up book master. He's created works of art out of the stories of The Wizard of Oz and Alice's Adventures in Wonderland and I think he could do likewise with this story by Roald Dahl.

The magic in the Burton film exists in the details. I loved Charlie's decrepit, sagging slanting house, his model of the chocolate factory made from defective toothpaste caps brought home by his father at the toothpaste factory. I marveled at the vivid colors and the vintage/retro/ modern feel for the entire film. The added flashbacks were fun and the Oompa Loompa songs were straight out of the book. I loved our first glimpse of Wonka as he is gleefully watching his Willy Wonka number go up in flames. It promised all sorts of weird adventures and didn't disappoint. Gene Wilder delivered all sorts of slightly sane wackiness in '71 and Johnny Depp takes that to a new level not in imitation but in a continuation.

While I can't begin to say which film version was better. I will say there are elements in each I prefer, and in each film there are elements of the book... at times, lines lifted straight from the pages. In some ways I think the two film versions are misnamed. The film from 1971, Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory seems to be a bit more about Charlie considering the additional scenes added with him on his paper route and in school, and the 2005 version, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, is definitely the Willy Wonka story as an entire back story is revealed about Wonka's sad childhood and his angst and struggle with the notion of parents.

I think each version stands alone and yet they can all work together as well. The 1971 version takes from the novel and invents too. It adds to the drama and creates more tension in the ending... Charlie isn't quite perfect in this film. Then the 2005 version remembers bits of the book forgotten in '71 and it also takes from the previous film as well. The character of Willy Wonka takes Wilder's efforts to a whole new level of wacky and then it invents a deeper look into the chocolate madman and candycoated genius. I loved it all. And I'm sure you will too. Be sure to have some candy on hand; it's hard to watch either of these without a sweet treat nearby.

Friends and Seinfeld and Muppets, Oh My!

I am sooooo excited. I just discovered the release of The Muppet Show Season One for sale on DVD. Why do I have this urge to purchase favorite TV shows on DVD for future viewing? I am guessing it's a little like the sentiment expressed in the Lemonheads song "The Outdoor Type" when they defend their reason for not being the "outdoor type," they sing "What if something's on TV and it's never shown again." I am aware that several DVDs have existed with compilations of the "Best of the Muppets" but this is the real deal. The whole shebang. It seems that I ought to be able to stop this TV series purchasing once I own all the Friends and Seinfeld seasons, and now all The Muppet Show seasons... Though, perhaps in this case, I'll be satisfied with only one season. Still, it looks as if the episode with Debbie Harry is not on there and I really loved that one. When I was watching that VH1 special on the 70's they had a small bit on Kermit the Frog and The Muppet Movie. They interviewed Kermit and he talked about how that was the movie that captures how they all met and got their start. Then they asked him about his famous song, "The Rainbow Connection" and showed a clip. He had a few words to say but admitted that "it's hard to sing when it's a fake rainbow behind you." You gotta love it!

Graduation Celebration!

This weekend marked the university graduation of two friends which was celebrated with an open house and outdoor feast. I missed much of the BBQ portion because I was still busy with my culinary training... but I still got plenty of tasty treats and a chance to hang out with friends. The boys dragged the pool table out of the garage and it was totally worth it, just to watch them look for a level area to play... truly an impossible feat! We were entertained by Pacey the pug's antics and later the gang headed downtown for a drink or two to finish out the evening. At Bonzers, we drank our schooner-sized teas, tossed our peanut shells on the floor, played a little NTN trivia and some more pool. Here are a few of us strolling home.

Japanese Cooking 101

Friday afternoon, I was met with a rare opportunity to learn how to make several Japanese dishes from my friend Anna. I realize, a little too late now, I should have invited my anime/manga/Japan-obsessed younger sister along. Oh well. We made two kinds of sushi rolls, California roll, and Inari sushi (tofu pouches). Not only was the preparation a new thing for me, I had never tried the tofu things before, never used much wasabi in the past, and the pickeled ginger in the center of the plate packed a punch to the taste buds.

This darling case is a Hello Kitty item meant for this very purpose... transporting a small amount of sushi for lunch or later... the top of the case has a space for your chopsticks!

Apple Trees, Honey Bees and Snow White Turtle Doves

In my life I've had limited television exposure for two reasons, I guess. When I was a child we had an antenna which allowed us to see four channels... none of them at the same time. That doesn't mean I don't remember watching plenty of after school programing which included such shows as Happy Days, Laverne and Shirley, and Get Smart. I recall sitcoms like Love Sidney and Three's Company. I was properly warped by Days of Our Lives and Knots Landing. The best of the best included China Beach and Moonlighting.

So, don't get me wrong. I watched TV, I just didn't have much control over the programs. In the past decade I've had cable and have honored the Thursday night must see TV tradition as I watched shows like Friends and Seinfeld and when I couldn't be there, my VCR could. I had a Survivor kick that lasted a couple seasons, but reality TV has all but killed my interest. One thing I haven't watched in years is a commercial. They really have to sneak their way into my life. I mute the TV, turn the channel, fastforward... generally avoid them except during the Super Bowl which really exists to showcase the commercials.

Recently, people have referred to ads that I hadn't seen until I saw them at the movie theatre. Oddly enough, Brawny paper towels is worried you aren't seeing their ad at home and so they've brought it to the big screen. I love previews at theatres but I am not so sure about commercials for products unrelated to film. That said, there are some memorable ads--ads that I love. I think my adoration exists mainly for Gap ads and various soft drink ads.

There is something about the Gap advertising that works for me.Gap ads are clean, colorful and they typically have good music--like the "Crazy Stripes ad" which used the song "Love Train." Or maybe it's Will Kemp. "Keep it Loose" ad remains my favorite and can still be viewed here.

The younger me smiled when I saw those Sprite commercials that sang "I like the Sprite in You" and the Dr. Pepper commercials "I'm a pepper, you're a pepper... And I actually found a very old journal entry of mine claiming to love the lyrics to a Cherry Coke commercial:

"Life is just a bowl of cherries. Don't take it serious. You work, you save, you worry so, but you thirst for the good life. Drink it in; Let it flow. Life is just a bowl of cherries so live and laugh at it all."

I didn't need to look that up. I remember those lyrics in the same uncanny way I can recall all the words to Sylvia's "Nobody" or Young MC's "Bust a Move." (pretty sure that's nothing to be proud of).

Another memorable ad for me was the "Hilltop Coca Cola ad" which has recently been redone as "Chilltop." The remake (another commercial viewed by me in the movie theatre) has received a lot of bad reviews but I will say, I actually had a warm fuzzy feeling at the mere suggestion of the old, probably equally sickening, commercial (if truth be told). People with taste may not like this new advertising effort for a lot of good reasons, but my first impression was favorable: recognition of the remake, surprise at the memory of the first one, then a longing to hear it again.

Reading, Watching, Listening -- July in Review

I hate the thought of forgetting my "trends" in music, the shows I watch, the books I read. Each time I move on I simply replace the one before (in the sidebars) and the record is gone... So this post begins my monthly reviews.

Read in July
In the last half of July I read Their Eyes Were Watching God by Zora Neale Hurston, Stalking the Divine by Kristin Ohlson, and Secret Gardens The Golden Age of Children's Literature by Humphrey Carpenter. Those were the ones I noted in my sidebar. However I did also read two young adult books--Prom by Laurie Halse Anderson and I am the Messenger by Markus Zusak.



Watched in July
I really didn't plan to watch all 70's themed things. In fact, I didn't even realize it until I started writing this review. That 70's Show was mainly watched in reruns but I also rented the first two seasons. Woodstock was a single event which spanned several days, (just as the actual event did) because it is 220 minutes or so. VH1 - I Love the 70s was also a single evening in which I caught 1978 and 1979. The best part was that I could remember so many of their featured topics. I brought me right back to my childhood. That show BJ and the Bear. I used to have slime. I loved pop rocks. Those were not the only things I spent time watching in July. I also devoted a fair amount of time to Will and Grace reruns and Two Guys and a Girl. And of course I watched many movies which I've mentioned in my posts.

Played in July
This is trickier. I listened to a lot of different music this month. What I featured was The Smiths, in particular The Queen is Dead album. Jefferson Airplane, inspired by the viewing of Woodstock. They were just so cool. I'd forgotent how much I liked them. Lastly I listed the Rolling Stones. I have to admit I haven't listened to them all the much. I threw on the 40 Licks album and fell in love all over again. These three represent the emphasis of my musical tastes these past few weeks, but I've also listened to Jack Johnson, Ben Harper, The Clash, Graham Parker, and Magnolia Electric Company.

Smoosh

Recently I stumbled upon a music interview by Steve Almond in The Believer's online magazine. Familiar with the author because of his book Candyfreak, I started reading. He interviews a Seattle based band comprised of two sisters: Asya, age 13 and Chloe, age 11. They are considering adding their sister, Maya as a bass player. She's 8. I was waiting to write this post because I was hoping to hear enough of their music to know whether or not I agreed with the rave reviews I've read wherever Smoosh has been reviewed. As I write this I haven't decided if it's love at first listen. Though one of their singles is playing as I type and I find it is rather infectious, in a good way.

If you'd like to know more, read the interview or check out this site. There you can find links to an interview with KEXP Radio from January of 2004 (but I am guessing year and a half makes a big difference when the band members are so young) and November 2004 article on NPR.

Or you could just listen to their song "Massive Cure" here.

Must Love "Dogs"

If you are planning to see this film, you'll have to (love dogs) because it is a real Woofer. Not pretty. I suspected as much when I casually glanced at the ratings in the reviews. Hmmm. I typically don't bother with C+ rated films, but this one held one thing I am powerless to resist.... John Cusack. But now I am left to wonder WHY he was in this film. There was a great cast of actors which gave me hope but the characters were not believable, the story weak, superficial, predictable... The biggest laugh in the theatre was when a man in the back snorted in his sleep. Even the snippets in the credits were When Harry Met Sally done badly.... Nothing about this movie felt fresh or real. Though, I did like the variety of Ramones shirts donned by Cusack and I have to admit feeling periodic surges of desire for him, but that really has nothing to do with the film and more to do with his role as MY future husband!

I saw this film on a reduced movie ticket, and seeing John Cusack on the big screen was worth the $5.50, but the real bonus of tonight's viewing was seeing six previews for upcoming films. I think I would pay just to see those trailers on the big screen. I'd be intersted in seeing all but the last of these and if you go to their websites you can view the trailers without spending a penny:

Rumor Has It (Rob Reiner film, starring Jennifer Aniston, that looks like The Graduate part II.... good thing I just watched that film for the first time)
Elizabethtown (Orlando Bloom goes to Kentucky... Hmmm. I do like Kirsten Dunst and it's a Cameron Crowe film)
Corpse Bride (A Tim Burton film in the tradition of The Nightmare Before Christmas. I've actually eagerly been awaiting that one)
In Her Shoes (film based on a chick lit book- I read a different book by this author and wasn't too impressed, but this actually looks like it might be alright... I generally like films with Toni Collette)
Rent (didn't realize a movie was being made of this--I'm so excited..."Five hundred, twenty-five thousand, six hundred minutes ...how do you measure, measure a year.")
Just like Heaven (have never liked angel/ghost type movies...especially the love stories... however I really liked A Life Less Ordinary and that had the whole angel thing going on... of course it was with Holly Hunter, one of my faves)

What occurs to me now as I am ready to post this entry is I have not changed much from my pre-teen self. I used to write out lists of movies I wanted to see, based on previews and reviews, and then tape them to my bedroom door. A to-do list for film viewing. I guess it's not bad to have remained consistent in this aspect of life... and now my lists are more sophisticated.... at least in their style of presentation.