Let me start this blog post by saying that I'm not someone who has to be constantly validated in order to feel loved. I don't fall apart if my husband doesn't call me 14 times a day. I don't expect flowers or gifts at every turn. (I'm not going to say "no" to presents, because I'm not completely insane, I just don't expect them.) I don't remember the exact moment that I first laid eyes on my man, and I'm sure that I don't have the date of our first date correct, either. Larry probably remembers those little events better than me. Also, since I'm a bit tactile defensive, I'm not a touchy-feely person, either.
I still have a bit of a romantic streak in me. Oh, it's not a big streak, but it is there. Everyone wants love, no matter how they express it. Here are my five favorites to bring more romance into a relationship. Romance is not about the grand gestures, but the small details, like saving the last donut for your sweetie-pie, instead of scarfing it down yourself. If you have any tips of your own, please put them in the comments!
1. The 'L' Word. Some people use this word all the time. Every five
minutes they're saying that they love you, they love their dog, they
love their mother. Love is a wonderful emotion, indeed, but I have to
wonder about a person who tosses the word around so casually. Why are they saying it so much? To quote a
famous movie, I don't think that it means what they think it means. Love is an important, momentous event in a person's life. It's not ketchup, bought cheap, and applied liberally to cover a culinary flaw. Don't say it if you don't mean it.
2. Think. The brain is the sexiest part of the human body, but it is not used often enough. Think about the object of your affections. Picture them in your life. Use the "we" of a couple, not the "I" of the individual, when speaking of them. Visualize the person you love as they are, warts and all, in your life, and think about all of the reasons that you love them. Do this at least four times every day. Occasionally, you might want to tell your partner some of what you've been thinking, but it's not a 'have to' sort of thing. Fantasize about them a little, too. A little imagination goes a long way toward passing the time at staff meetings.
3. Show Me. One of my favorite lines from a movie is "When you gotta shoot, shoot. Don't talk." It seems that there are people out there who think that all they have to do is talk about love. No. It's not enough to tell a person that you love them, you must show them. The behavior must match the words. If you love a person, then your behavior toward them should reflect that. Telling a person that you adore them while sitting on the couch playing computer games doesn't mean nearly as much as telling them while holding their hand or rubbing their cankles. If you're going to tell a person that you love them, then be prepared to show them.
4. Pay Attention. I listen to my husband when he talks. I watch what he does. I pay attention to his likes and dislikes. If there is a particular food that my husband likes, I will buy it for him. When Larry looks like he needs some "alone" time, I give it to him. If he says that he likes a particular movie, and I know that movie is coming out on blu-ray, then I purchase that movie for him. If it makes him happy, and it is within my means to do something about it, I will. No mind reading necessary, just a little attention. Being considerate of your partner goes a long way toward making life smooth for both of you, even if all that means is remembering to leave the toilet seat down.
5. Little Things Add Up. Little, nagging, annoying things, like forgetting to put the lid on the toothpaste, that don't normally bother us, build up, and they can explode into huge fights. Stress gets us all, and we have to fight back in order to keep our relationships on an even keel. There's a reason that successful couples have Date Nights, where they hire a sitter and spend time together. Making time for your relationship is important, because most parents find themselves in a triangle--You-Me-Baby at some point. Children were never meant to be the center of a marriage. Marriage is a partnership, not a menage', but people get caught up and forget. Date night is a structured way of re-establishing your coupledom. Make time for each other, even if you don't do anything more than watch a movie together after the kids go to sleep. It's 'WE' time! It's about remembering all those little reasons why you fell in love in the first place.
Showing posts with label The A-List. Show all posts
Showing posts with label The A-List. Show all posts
Monday, September 3, 2012
Monday, August 27, 2012
The A-List: Get to know YOU Questions
I've seen a lot of posts out there with "Get to Know Me" kinds of questions, or "30 Days of Truth" stuff that's supposed to be deep and meaningful. That's well and good if you like that sort of thing, never mind that nobody is checking the answers for minimal truthiness. However, I have other questions that I would want answered should we meet. Important questions that truly reveal who you are as a person at a level deeper than deep. Friendship-level deep, with all the gossip and drinking and fun that entails.
These are some of the things that I want to know, if I were interviewing for friends. There aren't really any right or wrong answers, but the answers reveal a great deal. At least I think so. I haven't done any sort of scientific study or anything, because those aren't really any fun at all. (Really. They teach you about this in grad school.) These are questions that I've inconspicuously asked over the years. In some cases, I've savored the answers like a fine wine; in others, I've had to spit out the vinegar.
1. We are eating lunch in a restaurant. George Clooney walks by. Since I am an enormous fangirl, I get up to get his autograph. Do you tell me that I have spinach in my teeth or let me go? I seem to eat items that stick in the crevices of my teeth. I will have entire conversations with people with a green smile, with stalks of broccoli protruding from my mouth...and nobody says a word. That means that either the people I eat with are secretly laughing at me or that they didn't notice. Either way is a bit sad, but I'll live. I promise you, here and now, that if we meet and I notice that you have something in your teeth, I will let you know, just in case George Clooney walks by.
2. We are at a concert, when a man approaches us to ask if we would like to come backstage to meet the band. Do you say yes? Why or why not? This question came into existence because it actually happened to me. It was the Metallica concert in Ft. Worth, and we had just wandered into the building and were looking for our seats. I still get annoyed about the whole thing.
3. Picture in your mind your favorite celebrity(if you are picturing Justin Bieber, you are TOO young to be reading this blog!). He is standing in line in front of us at the movie theater. I deliberately push you, and you end up in his arms, your darkest fantasy. What happens next?
Here I am, helping you out, being a good friend and putting you in a position to at least speak to your celebrity crush. Because if you want it, I want to help you get it! I'm a giver, and I mean that in a not-weird way.
4. You don't want kids, because they are messy and you prefer a clean house with no smeary fingerprints. However, I do have children, and I like to talk about them on occasion. How many cute child stories are acceptable during a five minute conversation? When I did not have a child, hearing someone talk about their children for hours was actually physically painful. I understand that people who don't have children might not want to hear all about my son, however adorable he might be. I try to be considerate, and limit my stories. I also understand that if I talk about Zane, then I must reciprocate and listen to the other person discuss their children. I will even listen to stories about pets without uttering a word of complaint. Knowing how many stories are to be allotted in a specified time frame will be very helpful.
5. We end up arrested and in the pokey for participating in some shenanigans. When they bring you into the interrogation room and start asking questions, do you spill your guts or clam up? If you hang out with me, sometimes things will happen. Hilarious hijinks may be happening, the sort that we will tell around the dinner table at Thanksgiving. But other incidents may take place over the course of our friendship, such as mullets or horrible tattoos, that we do not want getting out. Things that never need to see the light of day, such as that time in Vegas. Especially that time in Vegas. I need to know that you've got my back, that you won't be singing like a canary about my tendency to steal pens in the first grade.
So? Are there any questions that you would ask on a friendship quiz? Do tell in the comments!
These are some of the things that I want to know, if I were interviewing for friends. There aren't really any right or wrong answers, but the answers reveal a great deal. At least I think so. I haven't done any sort of scientific study or anything, because those aren't really any fun at all. (Really. They teach you about this in grad school.) These are questions that I've inconspicuously asked over the years. In some cases, I've savored the answers like a fine wine; in others, I've had to spit out the vinegar.
1. We are eating lunch in a restaurant. George Clooney walks by. Since I am an enormous fangirl, I get up to get his autograph. Do you tell me that I have spinach in my teeth or let me go? I seem to eat items that stick in the crevices of my teeth. I will have entire conversations with people with a green smile, with stalks of broccoli protruding from my mouth...and nobody says a word. That means that either the people I eat with are secretly laughing at me or that they didn't notice. Either way is a bit sad, but I'll live. I promise you, here and now, that if we meet and I notice that you have something in your teeth, I will let you know, just in case George Clooney walks by.
2. We are at a concert, when a man approaches us to ask if we would like to come backstage to meet the band. Do you say yes? Why or why not? This question came into existence because it actually happened to me. It was the Metallica concert in Ft. Worth, and we had just wandered into the building and were looking for our seats. I still get annoyed about the whole thing.
3. Picture in your mind your favorite celebrity(if you are picturing Justin Bieber, you are TOO young to be reading this blog!). He is standing in line in front of us at the movie theater. I deliberately push you, and you end up in his arms, your darkest fantasy. What happens next?
Here I am, helping you out, being a good friend and putting you in a position to at least speak to your celebrity crush. Because if you want it, I want to help you get it! I'm a giver, and I mean that in a not-weird way.
4. You don't want kids, because they are messy and you prefer a clean house with no smeary fingerprints. However, I do have children, and I like to talk about them on occasion. How many cute child stories are acceptable during a five minute conversation? When I did not have a child, hearing someone talk about their children for hours was actually physically painful. I understand that people who don't have children might not want to hear all about my son, however adorable he might be. I try to be considerate, and limit my stories. I also understand that if I talk about Zane, then I must reciprocate and listen to the other person discuss their children. I will even listen to stories about pets without uttering a word of complaint. Knowing how many stories are to be allotted in a specified time frame will be very helpful.
5. We end up arrested and in the pokey for participating in some shenanigans. When they bring you into the interrogation room and start asking questions, do you spill your guts or clam up? If you hang out with me, sometimes things will happen. Hilarious hijinks may be happening, the sort that we will tell around the dinner table at Thanksgiving. But other incidents may take place over the course of our friendship, such as mullets or horrible tattoos, that we do not want getting out. Things that never need to see the light of day, such as that time in Vegas. Especially that time in Vegas. I need to know that you've got my back, that you won't be singing like a canary about my tendency to steal pens in the first grade.
So? Are there any questions that you would ask on a friendship quiz? Do tell in the comments!
Monday, August 20, 2012
The A-List: School Safety
When we registered Zane for this particular school, I immediately noticed that they have cameras everywhere. I'm a bit obsessive about safety, so I notice things like that. In the school office, behind the receptionist, is a bank of monitors which reveal what those cameras see. That bank of cameras got me thinking about emergency planning and school safety, subjects dear to my heart. We leave our children in the hands of others for at least 8 hours a day, five days a week. I want anyone working with my son to have at least a passing acquaintance with school safety. At the very least, they should know where the fire exits are!
There's a lot to think about, when it comes to emergency planning and schools. This sunk in when I started taking some of the free classes offered online at the FEMA website, and hasn't diminished in importance over the years. I am not just thinking of school shootings, but of the more 'mundane' types of emergencies, such as fires, tornadoes, floods, and hazardous spills. Even if nothing ever happens, I feel better knowing that the school has plans in place to keep my child safe in the event of an emergency.
In that spirit, here are some questions every parent needs to ask their child's school, either before school starts, or soon after the first day. The school may label you as one of "those" parents, but that's okay. These are questions that need to be asked, if only for your own peace of mind.
1. What is the procedure for contacting parents in the event of an emergency? I'm not just talking about the sort of emergency where your child fell and cut themselves and now requires stitches. If there is a fire at your child's school, if there is a hazardous chemical spill and the area has to be evacuated, how will the school contact you? Some campuses have an automated system, others are on the Emergency Email Network or something similiar, that sends out a mass text or email to alert people to an event. Whatever is in use, parents should know about it and be able to access it.
2. What is the procedure for releasing a child to someone other than a parent? No parent wants to hear that their child was released to a complete stranger. We also don't want to have to come down to the police station to pick up our mother-in-law because she tried to check Junior out of school early to take him to the dentist. Occasionally, a child's grandmother may have to pick up a child from school, or maybe an aunt or uncle or even a family friend. Every campus should have procedures about who is allowed to pick up students. My son's school requires that the people who might be picking up a student have their names, addresses, phone numbers on file. Students are only released to the people on that list, who are required to show their driver's license in the front office. Other campuses may require fingerprinting, background checks, driver's license numbers, etc.
3. In the event of a "Shelter-In-Place" or a "Lockdown", what is the procedure? If your child's school has no idea what these two terms refer to, I would be concerned. Parents need to know what those terms mean and what those procedures may entail, no matter how farfetched. Knowledge is power in the event of an emergency. Knowing some of the procedures may help a parent feel less anxious about the process, because these situations are scary enough. What parents also need to understand is that it is not always possible to release students to their parents immediately or on demand in these situations. We may want to spirit our child out of the situations, get them to safety, but sometimes it is safer for the kids to stay where they are.
4. How do you monitor visitors to the campus? My son's campus has cameras all over the place, but they also lock the outside doors once school begins. If a visitor arrives, they are required to sign in at the office, get a visitor's pass, and to ring the bell to get into the building. That person must see the visitor's pass before they will open the door. I like this procedure, even if it takes me a little time; it means that this school takes campus security seriously. They want to know who is on campus, so they've taken measures to keep track. That's a good thing.
5. How can I help? It's not just up to the school to think about school safety. Every parent can help keep their child's campus safe. In fact, it is your responsibility as a parent to do so. Knowing the procedures is a good start, but keeping the campus safe means following the rules. That means no parking in the fire lanes because you don't feel like waiting in the pickup line. No propping open doors that are supposed to be locked so you don't have to go to the office and sign in. No speeding through school zones while yakking on a cell phone. Being safe also means reporting those parents who don't follow the rules. It's not tattling; it's keeping everyone safe.
Now that I've scared everyone, I'll offer this: I've worked in schools for over twenty years, and in my experiences, schools are a pretty safe place. While emergencies happen, they are not a daily occurrence. Still, knowing what procedures are in place, and knowing a little bit about emergency planning, helps me feel much better about leaving my child in that classroom all day.
Monday, August 13, 2012
The A-List: Favorite Candy
I confess that I have a serious sweet tooth. Okay, I have at least thirty sweet teeth. I try not to succumb to the siren's call of the candy aisle on too many occasions, but my feet will travel there, drawn by the various songs of sweetness that emanate from those bags sitting on the shelf. It's like some sort of vortex exists around the candy aisle. Any unsuspecting person who passes too close is instantly sucked in, only to be deposited at the cash register with a cart full of candy before they even know what happened. Or is that just me? Anyway, here's my fab five of deliciousness, at least until I change my mind.
1. Gummi bears. Not just ANY gummi bears. No. Haribo gummi bears. I chew on these, and I'm an eight-year-old kid in Germany again, stuffing my face with all the green bears. Yes, I sort the bears by color for devouring purposes, and the green ones get it first. That may be weird to some of you, but I will say that I am not the only one who separates her gummi bears by color. I love these gummi bears so much that I will NOT share any of my green bears with my four-year-old son. He can have the red ones, but no greens! I will pay for his gummi-bear related therapy later, after I finish my green bears.
2. Almond Joy bars I am the only person in my family who likes coconut. That means that I can purchase a bag of those little Almond Joy bars, safe in the knowledge that not one bar will disappear until I am ready to savor it. The coconut with the milk chocolate tastes the best, and that almond is the nuts on top of the sundae. I like the texture of the coconut mixed with the chocolate on my tongue. I haven't bought any of these in awhile, because I will sit down and eat the entire bag before I even think about it, and each of those little bars has 40,000 calories in it. Well, maybe not that much. Maybe only 20,000.
3. Bit O'Honey I have no idea why I love this stuff, but I do. These are waxy, chewy pieces of goodness, and I don't even care if there's any actual honey in them. They're sort of like eating a Sugar Daddy, which was pure caramel. This candy sticks to your teeth, and every crown and filling in my mouth is at risk every time I eat a piece, but there I am, chewing down the whole bag. Thank goodness the bags are small!
4. Milky Way bars I love me some caramel. It is completely awesome. Milky Ways are full of caramel AND chocolate-y goodness. It's heavenly. Snickers has too many peanuts, and their texture seems to take away from the caramel and chocolate, at least in my opinion. Three Musketeers bars just tease you with fluffy chocolate without delivering any caramel wonders. Milky Way gets the balance right, and I can get my fix. I can even stop after one of those little bites! If that's the only bar available, that is. Again, if someone leaves a bag of those lying about, it's going to disappear.
5. Twizzlers Not the Red Vines, but the Twizzlers. Through some random form of operant conditioning, Twizzlers are something I crave while watching movies. If we are in the theater, I want some of those red licorice-type candy stems. You'd think that I would be economical, and purchase some at another place before I hit the theater. You would be wrong. In my efforts to avoid buying candy, I try to skip buying Twizzlers. And then, when I am in line to buy popcorn, the packages of Twizzlers taunt me, waving their little red tentacles at me until I grab a package. It's shameful, I know.
What sort of candy do you like? Please share, as it will give me a vicarious thrill!
***Mamakat had this as one of her prompts last week, but I had already planned this one for today.
1. Gummi bears. Not just ANY gummi bears. No. Haribo gummi bears. I chew on these, and I'm an eight-year-old kid in Germany again, stuffing my face with all the green bears. Yes, I sort the bears by color for devouring purposes, and the green ones get it first. That may be weird to some of you, but I will say that I am not the only one who separates her gummi bears by color. I love these gummi bears so much that I will NOT share any of my green bears with my four-year-old son. He can have the red ones, but no greens! I will pay for his gummi-bear related therapy later, after I finish my green bears.
2. Almond Joy bars I am the only person in my family who likes coconut. That means that I can purchase a bag of those little Almond Joy bars, safe in the knowledge that not one bar will disappear until I am ready to savor it. The coconut with the milk chocolate tastes the best, and that almond is the nuts on top of the sundae. I like the texture of the coconut mixed with the chocolate on my tongue. I haven't bought any of these in awhile, because I will sit down and eat the entire bag before I even think about it, and each of those little bars has 40,000 calories in it. Well, maybe not that much. Maybe only 20,000.
3. Bit O'Honey I have no idea why I love this stuff, but I do. These are waxy, chewy pieces of goodness, and I don't even care if there's any actual honey in them. They're sort of like eating a Sugar Daddy, which was pure caramel. This candy sticks to your teeth, and every crown and filling in my mouth is at risk every time I eat a piece, but there I am, chewing down the whole bag. Thank goodness the bags are small!
4. Milky Way bars I love me some caramel. It is completely awesome. Milky Ways are full of caramel AND chocolate-y goodness. It's heavenly. Snickers has too many peanuts, and their texture seems to take away from the caramel and chocolate, at least in my opinion. Three Musketeers bars just tease you with fluffy chocolate without delivering any caramel wonders. Milky Way gets the balance right, and I can get my fix. I can even stop after one of those little bites! If that's the only bar available, that is. Again, if someone leaves a bag of those lying about, it's going to disappear.
5. Twizzlers Not the Red Vines, but the Twizzlers. Through some random form of operant conditioning, Twizzlers are something I crave while watching movies. If we are in the theater, I want some of those red licorice-type candy stems. You'd think that I would be economical, and purchase some at another place before I hit the theater. You would be wrong. In my efforts to avoid buying candy, I try to skip buying Twizzlers. And then, when I am in line to buy popcorn, the packages of Twizzlers taunt me, waving their little red tentacles at me until I grab a package. It's shameful, I know.
What sort of candy do you like? Please share, as it will give me a vicarious thrill!
***Mamakat had this as one of her prompts last week, but I had already planned this one for today.
Monday, August 6, 2012
The A-List: Things That Make Me Smile
It's August, and that means that it is time for Happiness Happens month, sponsored by the Secret Society of Happy People. Go check them out and join in the fun.
In the spirit of happiness, I decided to think about what makes me smile. Smiling usually is a sign of happiness, right? Well, mostly. If a shark smiles, that's probably not a sign of happiness. Unless the shark is happy that he's found lunch. I am generally very happy when I have lunch in front of me, so why not a shark? How did I get on the topic of sharks? Back to the topic, which is happiness.
Everyone wants to be happy, but a lot of people are confused about what constitutes happiness. Yes, that feeling that you just won the lottery is happiness, but so is the pleasure you feel when you bite into the perfect peanut butter and jelly sammich. Part of being happy is being in the moment, whether you are onstage receiving the gold medal at the Olympics or sitting in your favorite chair. These are some of the things that can make me smile and bring me out of a dark mood.
1. Children laughing. Having become a parent, I will be the first to tell you that children sometimes make you want to pull out all of your hair one strand at a time. However, there's just something about the unfettered, directly-from-the-belly laughter that all kids exhibit that is just plain infectious. When anyone laughs like that, there's no guile involved, no strings, no conditions. That's just what kids do, and it is beautiful to hear. Their joy in the world at that moment is complete, and that always makes me smile.
2. Cat purrs. I love dogs, but cats are my favorite animal. When a cat purrs, it is one of the most relaxing sounds in the world. It seems to reverberate through your bones into that portion of your brain where the command to relax is hidden, and whacks that button with a big cat paw. Purring is a sign of contentment, but it is also a method cats use to self-soothe. I would love to be able to self-soothe without resorting to eating every piece of chocolate in sight. When cat purrs, all is right with the world, it seems. That makes me smile.
3. Music. I have favorite songs that always make me smile, even if some of them are incredibly inane or politically incorrect. Why not songs that make me smile? Elton John's "This Song Has No Title", is a short song and seems to have been thrown onto the album to take up space--and yet it is one of my favorites and I smile every time I hear it. "I'm All Right", otherwise known as the Caddyshack song, is completely silly--and I smile every time I hear it. Sometimes I even dance, but don't tell! Maybe it's that adorable gopher. I couldn't tell you why, but does it really matter?
4. That first taste. When I get up in the morning, I have to have something with caffeine in it, because I am not a crazy person who wakes up all cheerful and perky. No, I am one of those incoherent Cave Trolls until I have my caffeine. That first sip of coffee? The feel of that bittersweet warmth as it hits my tongue and heads down my throat? Heavenly. That makes me smile. But it's not just the first cup of coffee. It's the first bite of a juicy hamburger, or the first drink of the wine you just opened. Eating is pleasurable for me, and I like to savor when I can, because it makes me happy.
5. Reading. Not everyone can read, and not everyone wants to read. I find that very sad, since reading opens up a completely different world to a person. Escaping into a favorite book reduces stress and lets the mind breathe. No other species has the brain capacity to learn to read. Those neural pathways do not exist in other mammals, which means that being able to read is a gift. When I was a kid, I would sit in my room and read for hours. I have stayed up all night reading a good book. I love to read. It makes me smile. And while I am reading, I am happy.
Now it's your turn! What makes you smile?
In the spirit of happiness, I decided to think about what makes me smile. Smiling usually is a sign of happiness, right? Well, mostly. If a shark smiles, that's probably not a sign of happiness. Unless the shark is happy that he's found lunch. I am generally very happy when I have lunch in front of me, so why not a shark? How did I get on the topic of sharks? Back to the topic, which is happiness.
Everyone wants to be happy, but a lot of people are confused about what constitutes happiness. Yes, that feeling that you just won the lottery is happiness, but so is the pleasure you feel when you bite into the perfect peanut butter and jelly sammich. Part of being happy is being in the moment, whether you are onstage receiving the gold medal at the Olympics or sitting in your favorite chair. These are some of the things that can make me smile and bring me out of a dark mood.
1. Children laughing. Having become a parent, I will be the first to tell you that children sometimes make you want to pull out all of your hair one strand at a time. However, there's just something about the unfettered, directly-from-the-belly laughter that all kids exhibit that is just plain infectious. When anyone laughs like that, there's no guile involved, no strings, no conditions. That's just what kids do, and it is beautiful to hear. Their joy in the world at that moment is complete, and that always makes me smile.
2. Cat purrs. I love dogs, but cats are my favorite animal. When a cat purrs, it is one of the most relaxing sounds in the world. It seems to reverberate through your bones into that portion of your brain where the command to relax is hidden, and whacks that button with a big cat paw. Purring is a sign of contentment, but it is also a method cats use to self-soothe. I would love to be able to self-soothe without resorting to eating every piece of chocolate in sight. When cat purrs, all is right with the world, it seems. That makes me smile.
3. Music. I have favorite songs that always make me smile, even if some of them are incredibly inane or politically incorrect. Why not songs that make me smile? Elton John's "This Song Has No Title", is a short song and seems to have been thrown onto the album to take up space--and yet it is one of my favorites and I smile every time I hear it. "I'm All Right", otherwise known as the Caddyshack song, is completely silly--and I smile every time I hear it. Sometimes I even dance, but don't tell! Maybe it's that adorable gopher. I couldn't tell you why, but does it really matter?
4. That first taste. When I get up in the morning, I have to have something with caffeine in it, because I am not a crazy person who wakes up all cheerful and perky. No, I am one of those incoherent Cave Trolls until I have my caffeine. That first sip of coffee? The feel of that bittersweet warmth as it hits my tongue and heads down my throat? Heavenly. That makes me smile. But it's not just the first cup of coffee. It's the first bite of a juicy hamburger, or the first drink of the wine you just opened. Eating is pleasurable for me, and I like to savor when I can, because it makes me happy.
5. Reading. Not everyone can read, and not everyone wants to read. I find that very sad, since reading opens up a completely different world to a person. Escaping into a favorite book reduces stress and lets the mind breathe. No other species has the brain capacity to learn to read. Those neural pathways do not exist in other mammals, which means that being able to read is a gift. When I was a kid, I would sit in my room and read for hours. I have stayed up all night reading a good book. I love to read. It makes me smile. And while I am reading, I am happy.
Now it's your turn! What makes you smile?
Monday, July 23, 2012
The A-List: Summer Reading, Part Two
The coolest thing about owning a Kindle is that I can order up samples of books for free. This lets me get a "taste" of what the book is about before I plop down the cash. If I don't like what I read, then I can just delete the sample and move along. One way I have been using the samples offered is to help me remember which books that I do want to read, even if I don't have time to read them right now. I used to have good intentions, and would tell myself that I would come back to buy a particular book. Then that promise would completely leave my head the second that I left the bookstore. My Kindle has taken care of that little memory problem for me.
More of what I've read this summer falls below. I am on a mission this summer, to get lost in as many books as I can, so I have something to think about when I'm back at work and "too busy". I know--you're never too busy to read--adding work to the mix seems to limit the free time that I enjoy each summer, especially since Zane will be starting Pre-K at a new school. (Okay, so I'm reading more so I don't have to think about that, too.)
1. Stolen Prey Lucas Davenport is one of the great detectives, in my opinion. He's practical with a little dash of idealism thrown in there. He's smart and was able to get rich writing video game scenarios. He's a hero, except when he's not. I've read all of the "Prey" books, and they never fail to thrill me. These are great beach reads! John Sandford bases most of his tales in Minnesota and the surrounding states; I had no idea that such a sleepy sounding part of the world was such a seething hotbed of intrigue. This particular adventure involves the Mexican drug trade and a mugging. I love the comfortable dialogue that seems to flow between the characters. There always seems to be a witty comeback or a sarcastic remark that fits so well that you can just picture these characters actually having those conversations. Nothing sounds forced or just inserted for a laugh. I admire that in a writer, and I sure do enjoy it.
2. Reading in the Brain I always have to complete some continuing education credits during the summer, and this book is one of my classes. (The other 42 hours have been all about autism, in case you're curious.) The act of reading fascinates me. It is an extremely complex act that many of us end up able to do automatically. In a lot of ways we seem to start learning to read the second we are born! This book is all about the "brainy" side of reading, what parts of the brain are active, and what is actually happening. It's probably not something that is in the least bit exciting to anyone not interested in education, but I would recommend this to anyone who has a child who is struggling with reading. If nothing else, it might offer a bit of perspective.
3. The Darkest Seduction So sue me, I'm a bit of a romantic. This book is part of the Lords of the Underworld Series by Gena Showalter. The premise is that when Pandora's Box was opened by soldiers of Zeus who were jealous of Pandora, Zeus punished them by placing one of the demons imprisoned in the box into each soldier. Each book is the story of a different man and his demon. This current story has Paris, the Keeper of Promiscuity, and his attempts to reunite with his True Love, who just so happens to have been stuck with the demon Wrath. The paranormal parts of the book do not detract in the least from the love story. I like that the heroines in Showalter's books are not fragile flowers who are helpless until the hero rescues them. These women are downright feisty. Good beach read.
4. Lover Reborn J.R.Ward's series involves vampires. Not the sparkly kind. The Warrior kind, with the big burly chests and lots of leather. Lots and lots of leather. These vampires are a separate race from humans. They don't like to feed off of humans, either, although they will if they have to. There's an entire aristocracy in the vampire world, and they are guarded by the Black Dagger Brotherhood, which are the big burly guys who wear the leather. The vamps in this universe mate for life, when they find the One. Except that the protagonist of Lover Reborn is recovering from the death of his "One". He doesn't want to let his dead wife go, and clings to her memory so fiercely that he is preventing her from entering heaven. It's up to an angel to help him let go and move on to a new life, and new love. It's a love story from a little different angle, I think. Still a love story!
5. It's Not You, It's the Dishes I am in the middle of this book now. I picked this up because of my undying hatred of doing the dishes. I do most of the cooking in our house, and in my mind, that means that my husband should be taking care of the clean up. Except that he doesn't. It's not that he thinks that cleaning is women's work. He probably just gets distracted by something and forgets about it. He's not really different from most guys, who likely don't think about doing dishes until the last fork is pulled from the drawer or all the coffee cups are dirty. I find myself getting resentful about it, however. The people who wrote this book decided to look at marriage from a different angle--economics. Which intrigued me. If I look at my marriage from the point of view of an economist on such concepts as a 50/50 division of labor, then I'm less likely to feel emotional about any issues that crop up. I'm learning something new, and I'm getting a new perspective on marriage.
Okay, got any other books I should be reading?
More of what I've read this summer falls below. I am on a mission this summer, to get lost in as many books as I can, so I have something to think about when I'm back at work and "too busy". I know--you're never too busy to read--adding work to the mix seems to limit the free time that I enjoy each summer, especially since Zane will be starting Pre-K at a new school. (Okay, so I'm reading more so I don't have to think about that, too.)
1. Stolen Prey Lucas Davenport is one of the great detectives, in my opinion. He's practical with a little dash of idealism thrown in there. He's smart and was able to get rich writing video game scenarios. He's a hero, except when he's not. I've read all of the "Prey" books, and they never fail to thrill me. These are great beach reads! John Sandford bases most of his tales in Minnesota and the surrounding states; I had no idea that such a sleepy sounding part of the world was such a seething hotbed of intrigue. This particular adventure involves the Mexican drug trade and a mugging. I love the comfortable dialogue that seems to flow between the characters. There always seems to be a witty comeback or a sarcastic remark that fits so well that you can just picture these characters actually having those conversations. Nothing sounds forced or just inserted for a laugh. I admire that in a writer, and I sure do enjoy it.
2. Reading in the Brain I always have to complete some continuing education credits during the summer, and this book is one of my classes. (The other 42 hours have been all about autism, in case you're curious.) The act of reading fascinates me. It is an extremely complex act that many of us end up able to do automatically. In a lot of ways we seem to start learning to read the second we are born! This book is all about the "brainy" side of reading, what parts of the brain are active, and what is actually happening. It's probably not something that is in the least bit exciting to anyone not interested in education, but I would recommend this to anyone who has a child who is struggling with reading. If nothing else, it might offer a bit of perspective.
3. The Darkest Seduction So sue me, I'm a bit of a romantic. This book is part of the Lords of the Underworld Series by Gena Showalter. The premise is that when Pandora's Box was opened by soldiers of Zeus who were jealous of Pandora, Zeus punished them by placing one of the demons imprisoned in the box into each soldier. Each book is the story of a different man and his demon. This current story has Paris, the Keeper of Promiscuity, and his attempts to reunite with his True Love, who just so happens to have been stuck with the demon Wrath. The paranormal parts of the book do not detract in the least from the love story. I like that the heroines in Showalter's books are not fragile flowers who are helpless until the hero rescues them. These women are downright feisty. Good beach read.
4. Lover Reborn J.R.Ward's series involves vampires. Not the sparkly kind. The Warrior kind, with the big burly chests and lots of leather. Lots and lots of leather. These vampires are a separate race from humans. They don't like to feed off of humans, either, although they will if they have to. There's an entire aristocracy in the vampire world, and they are guarded by the Black Dagger Brotherhood, which are the big burly guys who wear the leather. The vamps in this universe mate for life, when they find the One. Except that the protagonist of Lover Reborn is recovering from the death of his "One". He doesn't want to let his dead wife go, and clings to her memory so fiercely that he is preventing her from entering heaven. It's up to an angel to help him let go and move on to a new life, and new love. It's a love story from a little different angle, I think. Still a love story!
5. It's Not You, It's the Dishes I am in the middle of this book now. I picked this up because of my undying hatred of doing the dishes. I do most of the cooking in our house, and in my mind, that means that my husband should be taking care of the clean up. Except that he doesn't. It's not that he thinks that cleaning is women's work. He probably just gets distracted by something and forgets about it. He's not really different from most guys, who likely don't think about doing dishes until the last fork is pulled from the drawer or all the coffee cups are dirty. I find myself getting resentful about it, however. The people who wrote this book decided to look at marriage from a different angle--economics. Which intrigued me. If I look at my marriage from the point of view of an economist on such concepts as a 50/50 division of labor, then I'm less likely to feel emotional about any issues that crop up. I'm learning something new, and I'm getting a new perspective on marriage.
Okay, got any other books I should be reading?
Monday, July 16, 2012
The A-List: Summer Reading List, Part One
I love to read. I carry books with me on my kindle. I specifically buy larger purses just so I carry hardcover and paperbacks if I need to. While I've had some time off, I've been a book fool, staying up late and reading until I can't see straight. Besides the occasional headache, I'm loving it. Here are some of the books I've read this summer. Take them as a recommendation, if you're looking for a book to read poolside.
1. Wolf Hall/Bring Up The Bodies Okay, so there's two books here. But they're sequential, and I read them one after the other, so they probably should count as one. Hilary Mantel, the author, took a time period that I've read quite a bit about and did something different, and she did it in an entertaining way. Henry VIII was larger than life, even in his own times, but he's been done to death. There really isn't anything new to write about, from Henry's point of view. But the main character of these two books isn't Henry, or even Anne Boleyn. No, the main character is Thomas Cromwell, a commoner, who rose in the ranks to become indispensable to Henry. I loved the pace of these books, even though I knew how everything was going to turn out. Plus, I learned a little more about history, which was also a bonus.
2. Feed My friend Evil Laura recommended this book to me. (She's not really evil. She's more of a curmudgeon, but "Curmudgeon Laura" doesn't have the same lovely ring to it.) This is sort of a book about zombies. But it's also sort of not a book about zombies. It's more of a book about what happens after the zombies show up, after they become just another part of reality for the world. Since the zombies are the result of a virus, how the world interacts has changed dramatically, and things that we take for granted, like travel, are very different. Bloggers are the number one news source for the world in the 2040s, and Georgia Mason and her brother Shaun are invited to ride along on a presidential campaign. The first few chapters were kind of slow, but things started moving along pretty quickly once the two got on the road. Some of the chapters were very intense, but the zombies ultimately were the back story in this suspenseful tale.
3. World War Z I've heard that this book is going to be a movie starring Brad Pitt. Yeah, I am not sure how they will do that. The story is all about the zombie apocalypse, how it gets started in China, how it spreads, and ultimately, how the people left behind start fighting to get their country back. Each chapter is from a different part of the world, with a different narrator telling their story. Some of the chapters are a little disconcerting, especially when they talk about some of the difficult choices people had to make. Ultimately, the story is about the triumph of humanity against itself. Which is uplifting, even if there are zombies in the mix.
4. Let's Pretend This Never Happened What, you think that a blogger who lives nearby(in Texas, any place within a 200 mile radius is "nearby") who writes a book and I'm not going to read it? Lawson, aka the Bloggess, talks about her childhood in an extremely small town, how she met her husband, her extreme anxiety, how she got to be a mom, and her blogging. There are some pretty good laugh out loud moments, I have to say. The few times I've ventured into the outbacks of Texas, I've felt distinctly alien. That was East Texas, however. West Texas is probably completely different. Rural Texas, in all its glory, can be difficult, especially if you're in the middle of it, and the Bloggess was right there. Lawson's book is written in a very similar manner to her blog, which makes the reader feel right at home. If home involves scorpions and turkey buzzards.
5. Deadlocked This was the latest Sookie Stackhouse novel by Charlaine Harris. I've been reading the books since they came out, and I've been watching True Blood on HBO. This last book disappointed me. There wasn't really much to it. It was sort of like a snack, and it left me wondering about what's in the fridge. A large portion of the book was just Sookie going about town visiting and running errands. And the love story between Sookie and Eric, which has been very intense in the past, is almost nonexistent in this book. The two of them don't even act like they like each other. Sookie is supposed to be all passionate about Eric, and she doesn't even have the energy to get worked up. The fairies are more prominent in this book than they have been, but I've never been really happy about the portrayal of all the supernatural creatures. We've got shape shifters, vamps and were-animals--what do we need with elves, and brownies, and pixies? After reading this, I'm not really sure that I'm going to be reading any more of this series. I'll still watch True Blood, though. At least those guys know how to keep a plot interesting!
That's part of my reading list. What's on yours? Throw me some ideas!
1. Wolf Hall/Bring Up The Bodies Okay, so there's two books here. But they're sequential, and I read them one after the other, so they probably should count as one. Hilary Mantel, the author, took a time period that I've read quite a bit about and did something different, and she did it in an entertaining way. Henry VIII was larger than life, even in his own times, but he's been done to death. There really isn't anything new to write about, from Henry's point of view. But the main character of these two books isn't Henry, or even Anne Boleyn. No, the main character is Thomas Cromwell, a commoner, who rose in the ranks to become indispensable to Henry. I loved the pace of these books, even though I knew how everything was going to turn out. Plus, I learned a little more about history, which was also a bonus.
2. Feed My friend Evil Laura recommended this book to me. (She's not really evil. She's more of a curmudgeon, but "Curmudgeon Laura" doesn't have the same lovely ring to it.) This is sort of a book about zombies. But it's also sort of not a book about zombies. It's more of a book about what happens after the zombies show up, after they become just another part of reality for the world. Since the zombies are the result of a virus, how the world interacts has changed dramatically, and things that we take for granted, like travel, are very different. Bloggers are the number one news source for the world in the 2040s, and Georgia Mason and her brother Shaun are invited to ride along on a presidential campaign. The first few chapters were kind of slow, but things started moving along pretty quickly once the two got on the road. Some of the chapters were very intense, but the zombies ultimately were the back story in this suspenseful tale.
3. World War Z I've heard that this book is going to be a movie starring Brad Pitt. Yeah, I am not sure how they will do that. The story is all about the zombie apocalypse, how it gets started in China, how it spreads, and ultimately, how the people left behind start fighting to get their country back. Each chapter is from a different part of the world, with a different narrator telling their story. Some of the chapters are a little disconcerting, especially when they talk about some of the difficult choices people had to make. Ultimately, the story is about the triumph of humanity against itself. Which is uplifting, even if there are zombies in the mix.
4. Let's Pretend This Never Happened What, you think that a blogger who lives nearby(in Texas, any place within a 200 mile radius is "nearby") who writes a book and I'm not going to read it? Lawson, aka the Bloggess, talks about her childhood in an extremely small town, how she met her husband, her extreme anxiety, how she got to be a mom, and her blogging. There are some pretty good laugh out loud moments, I have to say. The few times I've ventured into the outbacks of Texas, I've felt distinctly alien. That was East Texas, however. West Texas is probably completely different. Rural Texas, in all its glory, can be difficult, especially if you're in the middle of it, and the Bloggess was right there. Lawson's book is written in a very similar manner to her blog, which makes the reader feel right at home. If home involves scorpions and turkey buzzards.
5. Deadlocked This was the latest Sookie Stackhouse novel by Charlaine Harris. I've been reading the books since they came out, and I've been watching True Blood on HBO. This last book disappointed me. There wasn't really much to it. It was sort of like a snack, and it left me wondering about what's in the fridge. A large portion of the book was just Sookie going about town visiting and running errands. And the love story between Sookie and Eric, which has been very intense in the past, is almost nonexistent in this book. The two of them don't even act like they like each other. Sookie is supposed to be all passionate about Eric, and she doesn't even have the energy to get worked up. The fairies are more prominent in this book than they have been, but I've never been really happy about the portrayal of all the supernatural creatures. We've got shape shifters, vamps and were-animals--what do we need with elves, and brownies, and pixies? After reading this, I'm not really sure that I'm going to be reading any more of this series. I'll still watch True Blood, though. At least those guys know how to keep a plot interesting!
That's part of my reading list. What's on yours? Throw me some ideas!
Monday, June 25, 2012
The A-List: Things That I Can Cook
I have deficient cooking skills. My mother did all the cooking in our house, until I was sixteen. I was not allowed to cook in her kitchen without supervision, because I got everything messy and I never put stuff back where my mother wanted it. (Perhaps I did that on purpose, mom!) Since I became an adult, I've had to do my own cooking. It's been difficult, mostly because a lot of cooking involves...*gasp*...math. Who knew? But I am able to follow a recipe, as long as I have my glasses on and double check that I didn't read "tsp" as tablespoon. I have learned to cook a few items consistently well over the years.
1. Lasagna The first time I made lasagna, in college, I did it the hard way. I boiled the noodles and hung them up, layered everything, and all that fancy stuff. It took me two hours and I had two large pans of lasagna at the end of it. Unfortunately, I also had invited a friend of mine who was a football player, and he brought three of his football playing buddies. My first attempt at lasagna was gone in less than twenty minutes! I did manage to save myself a couple of bites, and nobody got food poisoning. Since then, I've streamlined the recipe a bit. For instance, I use spaghetti sauce with basil and oregano already in it, so I don't have to add the spices. I use the oven ready noodles, too. My husband salivates just talking about my lasagna, and if he will eat it, I'll keep cooking it.
2. Eggs It is fairly difficult to mess up eggs, I know. I usually end up scrambling them, because I'm the only person in the house who likes them over easy. When the eggs are almost done, I throw in chunks of ham and lots of melty cheddar cheese. That's it. If it is just me, I'll add some tomatoes, onions, and bell peppers. (If I am feeling really racy, I'll substitute gorgonzola cheese for the cheddar!) That is our meal--breakfast, lunch or dinner. Larry adds toast or tortillas, but I am okay without the extra carbs.
3. Spaghetti. It's not the spaghetti noodles, it's the sauce! I'll add extra veggies to the sauce, large chunks of tomatoes and onions. I'll throw in some extra garlic. Meatballs are nice, if you have time, but just browning some hamburger is fine. I'll get some of that Morning Star Farms vegetarian crumble stuff that looks like hamburger and mix that in, just for a switch up. Instead of the usual cheese on top of the mountain, I like to go for a mix of mozzarella, parm, and asiago, because I'm just that crazy.
4. Tacos In order to live in Texas, you are required to be able to cook at least one dish from the local cuisine. It's pretty difficult to ruin a taco, therefore it is safe for me to try to cook it. I do not like lettuce on my tacos. But that is the great thing about tacos--after the meat is on there, one is free to indulge in an assortment of choices regarding what else goes on the taco. I prefer more tomatoes, and avocados, on my tacos, and therefore I can have them. We even have soft tacos where the meat and the cheese is covered with barbeque sauce.
5. Grilled cheese sammiches Real people eat sammiches. Sammiches don't have to look pretty, they just have to get the job done. Grilled cheese sandwiches are pretty simple--two pieces of bread, buttered, with cheese in the middle. Why stop with just one kind of cheese? Why stop with just cheese? This stuff is made for experimentation! I'll throw in sharp cheddar and some bacon to go with the American slice. Sometimes I'll throw bits of ham in there. Unless you burn the bread, every grilled cheese sammich tastes great!
I have honorable mentions today!
Fudge. I found a recipe for microwave fudge that is beyond easy, and of course it is delicious.
Chocolate cake. I add more chocolate to the batter before it goes into the oven. I drizzle chocolate syrup over the batter, and I throw in chunks of chocolate as well. With all that, you don't need any icing! I would like to try this with a butter cake--sprinkle melted butter over the batter and drop frozen butter pats into the batter--but I am a chicken.
Those are things that I can consistently 'whip up' in my secret labora--kitchen. What are your tried and true recipes?
1. Lasagna The first time I made lasagna, in college, I did it the hard way. I boiled the noodles and hung them up, layered everything, and all that fancy stuff. It took me two hours and I had two large pans of lasagna at the end of it. Unfortunately, I also had invited a friend of mine who was a football player, and he brought three of his football playing buddies. My first attempt at lasagna was gone in less than twenty minutes! I did manage to save myself a couple of bites, and nobody got food poisoning. Since then, I've streamlined the recipe a bit. For instance, I use spaghetti sauce with basil and oregano already in it, so I don't have to add the spices. I use the oven ready noodles, too. My husband salivates just talking about my lasagna, and if he will eat it, I'll keep cooking it.
2. Eggs It is fairly difficult to mess up eggs, I know. I usually end up scrambling them, because I'm the only person in the house who likes them over easy. When the eggs are almost done, I throw in chunks of ham and lots of melty cheddar cheese. That's it. If it is just me, I'll add some tomatoes, onions, and bell peppers. (If I am feeling really racy, I'll substitute gorgonzola cheese for the cheddar!) That is our meal--breakfast, lunch or dinner. Larry adds toast or tortillas, but I am okay without the extra carbs.
3. Spaghetti. It's not the spaghetti noodles, it's the sauce! I'll add extra veggies to the sauce, large chunks of tomatoes and onions. I'll throw in some extra garlic. Meatballs are nice, if you have time, but just browning some hamburger is fine. I'll get some of that Morning Star Farms vegetarian crumble stuff that looks like hamburger and mix that in, just for a switch up. Instead of the usual cheese on top of the mountain, I like to go for a mix of mozzarella, parm, and asiago, because I'm just that crazy.
4. Tacos In order to live in Texas, you are required to be able to cook at least one dish from the local cuisine. It's pretty difficult to ruin a taco, therefore it is safe for me to try to cook it. I do not like lettuce on my tacos. But that is the great thing about tacos--after the meat is on there, one is free to indulge in an assortment of choices regarding what else goes on the taco. I prefer more tomatoes, and avocados, on my tacos, and therefore I can have them. We even have soft tacos where the meat and the cheese is covered with barbeque sauce.
5. Grilled cheese sammiches Real people eat sammiches. Sammiches don't have to look pretty, they just have to get the job done. Grilled cheese sandwiches are pretty simple--two pieces of bread, buttered, with cheese in the middle. Why stop with just one kind of cheese? Why stop with just cheese? This stuff is made for experimentation! I'll throw in sharp cheddar and some bacon to go with the American slice. Sometimes I'll throw bits of ham in there. Unless you burn the bread, every grilled cheese sammich tastes great!
I have honorable mentions today!
Fudge. I found a recipe for microwave fudge that is beyond easy, and of course it is delicious.
Chocolate cake. I add more chocolate to the batter before it goes into the oven. I drizzle chocolate syrup over the batter, and I throw in chunks of chocolate as well. With all that, you don't need any icing! I would like to try this with a butter cake--sprinkle melted butter over the batter and drop frozen butter pats into the batter--but I am a chicken.
Those are things that I can consistently 'whip up' in my secret labora--kitchen. What are your tried and true recipes?
Monday, June 18, 2012
The A-List: People Who Annoy Me
I am not known for my social skills. (Or my cooking, but that's another blog post.) But I try to be polite. I make eye contact on most days, and since no one has punched me in the face, I am probably not saying anything too horrible to tolerate. But just because I am nodding politely or smiling doesn't mean that I don't get irritated or annoyed at some people. Most of the time I hide my annoyance well, or at least I think I do. Anyway, here are the five people guaranteed to irritate me. I've given them nicknames because I watched too much Seinfeld. Sorry. Feel free to add your annoying people to the list in the comments.
1. One-Uppers I guess that these sorts of people are competitive or something, but whatever story that you are telling, they must go one better. You ran a marathon? They run four a year. You climbed Mt. Everest? They've done it twice. No matter what triumph or trial you've experienced, they've experienced it more. Usually when a sentence starts with "Oh, that's nothing..." you know you are in the hands of a one-upper. I do okay when it is just me being one-upped; I am not the least bit competitive about stuff like that. But when these people can't even allow me to discuss my child without jumping in with a one-up, I get annoyed. It especially bothers me when I hear a parent of a special needs child talk about a glorious milestone, and the one-uppers can't even allow THAT. If the discussion is ADHD, for example, then THEIR child has the worst-est case ever. I think that we can all agree that this is annoying. I just haven't figured out how to handle it, other than kicking the offender in the shins.
2. Jokesters I don't mind the occasional joke. Even if it is not that funny, I will still politely laugh. That's what you're supposed to do. Jokesters take that little polite laugh and run with it. Then everything is a joke. Except that I have usually moved on to the heart of the conversation, and I don't have a clue that you're still in jokester mode. I don't always pick up on the nonverbal cues that indicate that a person is joking, so whatever you're saying? I'm taking it seriously. That means that if you start faking a heart attack to get a laugh, I will be hooking you up to the AED. I may or may not stop the AED from shocking you, just because I'm annoyed. Okay, I won't actually shock you. But I'll certainly think about it.
3. Won't Shut-Ups I really shouldn't mind these people. After all, they do all the talking, for themselves and for me. If I wanted, I could mentally be doing other things, like balancing my checkbook or creating menus for the month or curing cancer. If I am on the phone with this person, I could put it on speaker phone and get my laundry sorted and the litter box cleaned out. The WSUs wouldn't even notice, because they are too busy talking. That is all they do--talk. Except that I've chosen to talk to this person for a reason, and I can't get a word in! Conversations require reciprocity, right? You talk, then you let me talk. Rinse and repeat. There's a saying that you hear at those motivational seminars: You have two ears and one mouth, and that means that you are supposed to do twice as much listening. The WSUs didn't get that memo.
4. TMIs Hey, I just met you and this is crazy, but let me tell you about my colonoscopy and show you the pictures of my polyps! Or let me tell you about my recent divorce. Or my erectile dysfunction and how it ruined my date last night. And yes, I have had these conversations with complete strangers. I have even had to sit and listen to a person tell me about their vaginal dryness. There's some emotional scarring, some form of PTSD that those sorts of topics inflict on a person who is not prepared. The mind immediately forms a picture, and what has been seen, cannot be unseen. And I have to wonder: where did these people get the idea that these were acceptable topics of conversation? Has no one ever sat them down and told them that complete strangers don't want to hear these intimate details? Hell, I don't think that even a person's friends want to hear about vaginal dryness, but icky conversations are part of that reciprocity required in friendships.
5. Mysteriosos Some people live for that drama, and they want everyone hanging on their every word. They want attention, so they create it. They drop hints about things that have happened to them, using phrases such as "...after what I've been through", so you will ask them about what they've been through. They'll call you and leave a rushed message asking you to call them, instead of telling you why they called. They'll email you suddenly about a meeting, but when you ask, they won't tell you what the meeting is about. They want you to stew, or they want to stir the pot. It drives me nuts, the drama. Just tell me. Rip that band-aid right off. Communication is all about plain speaking, and we need more of that, not less.
1. One-Uppers I guess that these sorts of people are competitive or something, but whatever story that you are telling, they must go one better. You ran a marathon? They run four a year. You climbed Mt. Everest? They've done it twice. No matter what triumph or trial you've experienced, they've experienced it more. Usually when a sentence starts with "Oh, that's nothing..." you know you are in the hands of a one-upper. I do okay when it is just me being one-upped; I am not the least bit competitive about stuff like that. But when these people can't even allow me to discuss my child without jumping in with a one-up, I get annoyed. It especially bothers me when I hear a parent of a special needs child talk about a glorious milestone, and the one-uppers can't even allow THAT. If the discussion is ADHD, for example, then THEIR child has the worst-est case ever. I think that we can all agree that this is annoying. I just haven't figured out how to handle it, other than kicking the offender in the shins.
2. Jokesters I don't mind the occasional joke. Even if it is not that funny, I will still politely laugh. That's what you're supposed to do. Jokesters take that little polite laugh and run with it. Then everything is a joke. Except that I have usually moved on to the heart of the conversation, and I don't have a clue that you're still in jokester mode. I don't always pick up on the nonverbal cues that indicate that a person is joking, so whatever you're saying? I'm taking it seriously. That means that if you start faking a heart attack to get a laugh, I will be hooking you up to the AED. I may or may not stop the AED from shocking you, just because I'm annoyed. Okay, I won't actually shock you. But I'll certainly think about it.
3. Won't Shut-Ups I really shouldn't mind these people. After all, they do all the talking, for themselves and for me. If I wanted, I could mentally be doing other things, like balancing my checkbook or creating menus for the month or curing cancer. If I am on the phone with this person, I could put it on speaker phone and get my laundry sorted and the litter box cleaned out. The WSUs wouldn't even notice, because they are too busy talking. That is all they do--talk. Except that I've chosen to talk to this person for a reason, and I can't get a word in! Conversations require reciprocity, right? You talk, then you let me talk. Rinse and repeat. There's a saying that you hear at those motivational seminars: You have two ears and one mouth, and that means that you are supposed to do twice as much listening. The WSUs didn't get that memo.
4. TMIs Hey, I just met you and this is crazy, but let me tell you about my colonoscopy and show you the pictures of my polyps! Or let me tell you about my recent divorce. Or my erectile dysfunction and how it ruined my date last night. And yes, I have had these conversations with complete strangers. I have even had to sit and listen to a person tell me about their vaginal dryness. There's some emotional scarring, some form of PTSD that those sorts of topics inflict on a person who is not prepared. The mind immediately forms a picture, and what has been seen, cannot be unseen. And I have to wonder: where did these people get the idea that these were acceptable topics of conversation? Has no one ever sat them down and told them that complete strangers don't want to hear these intimate details? Hell, I don't think that even a person's friends want to hear about vaginal dryness, but icky conversations are part of that reciprocity required in friendships.
5. Mysteriosos Some people live for that drama, and they want everyone hanging on their every word. They want attention, so they create it. They drop hints about things that have happened to them, using phrases such as "...after what I've been through", so you will ask them about what they've been through. They'll call you and leave a rushed message asking you to call them, instead of telling you why they called. They'll email you suddenly about a meeting, but when you ask, they won't tell you what the meeting is about. They want you to stew, or they want to stir the pot. It drives me nuts, the drama. Just tell me. Rip that band-aid right off. Communication is all about plain speaking, and we need more of that, not less.
Monday, June 11, 2012
The A-List: Rock Songs That Everyone Should Know By Now
Music is a very subjective experience, both personal and collectively. It sometimes inspires, but mainly we listen because we just like the sound of a song. Most of us grew up listening to the radio, and the radio told us what we were supposed to like by playing what they liked. I would love to be able to say otherwise, that the DJs played an expansive list of new and old music so that their listeners would have a well-rounded musical experience, but that would be a lie. Radio stations have always played whatever they think we will buy. If we liked the song, they played it more.
As a consequence of this, some songs got played over and over, eleventy-billion times. Even if we did not want to, even if we did not particularly like the song, we often found ourselves humming along. By sheer repetition, those songs crept into our consciousness, and have resisted removal, despite our current Disney-fied ways. By virtue of repetition, then, there are some songs that everyone who listens to the radio, watches television, or hits the movie theater should have heard by now.
These songs have been submerged into our culture just because we've heard them so many times. I would bet good money that most of us could identify these songs pretty quickly, if we were playing Name That Tune. These are not necessarily songs that I love or hate. I am certainly not so pretentious as to think I have the ultimate list, and there's a good probability that I will change my mind by next week. Feel free to add yours in the comments. Except for "Sweet Child O' Mine", because I do hate that song with the passion of a thousand white-hot suns. It is an ear-worm of plague proportions, and all copies of that song should be destroyed.
1. Bohemian Rhapsody--Queen I love Queen. Freddy Mercury was just a phenomenal vocalist, without the aid of Auto-tune. This song has been featured in movies, and on Glee, and it is still in heavy rotation on radio stations world-wide. I don't think that it is the very best Queen song ever, but it is still very clever.
2. You Shook Me All Night Long--AC/DC There are a few AC/DC songs out there that are pretty popular, and many of them are easily recognized, like the intro to Highway to Hell(featured on Glee, of all places), Back in Black, For Those About To Rock, etc. You Shook Me All Night Long is a perennial party favorite, and I've not only heard it played on radio stations, but also at weddings, country bars, and street parties. People still seem to want to dance when they hear it, at least in these parts.
3. Layla Eric Clapton(Derek and the Dominoes) Eric Clapton is probably the best guitar player living today, and no, I do not want to argue about how Hendrix was better. This song has not only been played on the radio every day since it was released, it's also been featured in movies like Goodfellas. My husband feels that Sunshine of Your Love is a better representation of Clapton's genius, but unfortunately, this isn't a list about genius.
4. Iron Man--Black Sabbath When I was growing up, Black Sabbath was considered devil music. Which was just plain ignorant and silly, now that I am an adult and have listened to Taylor Swift(I kid!). A song about a man made out of iron is devil music? Pfft. Hmmm...a man made out of iron...say, isn't there a movie about that?
5. Stairway to Heaven--Led Zeppelin There is a reason that the movie Wayne's World discussed the "No Stairway to Heaven" rule in the guitar shop scene. While this is certainly not Led Zeppelin's best work, it seemed to explode in popularity for some reason. I don't even think that the record execs expected it to be so popular. But the intro to this song should be as familiar to everyone as the names of their children.
As a consequence of this, some songs got played over and over, eleventy-billion times. Even if we did not want to, even if we did not particularly like the song, we often found ourselves humming along. By sheer repetition, those songs crept into our consciousness, and have resisted removal, despite our current Disney-fied ways. By virtue of repetition, then, there are some songs that everyone who listens to the radio, watches television, or hits the movie theater should have heard by now.
These songs have been submerged into our culture just because we've heard them so many times. I would bet good money that most of us could identify these songs pretty quickly, if we were playing Name That Tune. These are not necessarily songs that I love or hate. I am certainly not so pretentious as to think I have the ultimate list, and there's a good probability that I will change my mind by next week. Feel free to add yours in the comments. Except for "Sweet Child O' Mine", because I do hate that song with the passion of a thousand white-hot suns. It is an ear-worm of plague proportions, and all copies of that song should be destroyed.
1. Bohemian Rhapsody--Queen I love Queen. Freddy Mercury was just a phenomenal vocalist, without the aid of Auto-tune. This song has been featured in movies, and on Glee, and it is still in heavy rotation on radio stations world-wide. I don't think that it is the very best Queen song ever, but it is still very clever.
2. You Shook Me All Night Long--AC/DC There are a few AC/DC songs out there that are pretty popular, and many of them are easily recognized, like the intro to Highway to Hell(featured on Glee, of all places), Back in Black, For Those About To Rock, etc. You Shook Me All Night Long is a perennial party favorite, and I've not only heard it played on radio stations, but also at weddings, country bars, and street parties. People still seem to want to dance when they hear it, at least in these parts.
3. Layla Eric Clapton(Derek and the Dominoes) Eric Clapton is probably the best guitar player living today, and no, I do not want to argue about how Hendrix was better. This song has not only been played on the radio every day since it was released, it's also been featured in movies like Goodfellas. My husband feels that Sunshine of Your Love is a better representation of Clapton's genius, but unfortunately, this isn't a list about genius.
4. Iron Man--Black Sabbath When I was growing up, Black Sabbath was considered devil music. Which was just plain ignorant and silly, now that I am an adult and have listened to Taylor Swift(I kid!). A song about a man made out of iron is devil music? Pfft. Hmmm...a man made out of iron...say, isn't there a movie about that?
5. Stairway to Heaven--Led Zeppelin There is a reason that the movie Wayne's World discussed the "No Stairway to Heaven" rule in the guitar shop scene. While this is certainly not Led Zeppelin's best work, it seemed to explode in popularity for some reason. I don't even think that the record execs expected it to be so popular. But the intro to this song should be as familiar to everyone as the names of their children.
Monday, June 4, 2012
The A-List: People You Meet On the River
New Braunfels, Texas was blessed with not one, but TWO rivers. There's the Comal River, which is relatively calm and is the shortest navigable river in the state of Texas. The entire Comal River exists within the city limits of New Braunfels, as a matter of fact. The second river is the Guadalupe River, which starts far upstream and ends up in the Gulf of Mexico.
Now that it is summer, everyone flocks to the rivers. I love to people watch. It's a perfect match. Most river visitors are tourists, and many are there to tube down the river. (Tubing involves sitting in an inner tube and floating down the river.) Over the years, I have noticed some trends in the kinds of people who show up on the river frequently.
1. Outdoor enthusiasts. Fishermen, nature lovers, etc., flock to the rivers because they can indulge in their favorite outdoor activity. Colorful kayaks and canoes dot the riverscape. Bird watchers look for woodpeckers in the large trees beside the rivers. Fishermen compete with turtles for the catch of the day. It's fun to watch.
2. Families. The river is a great place to bring kids and life vests, and tubing is a great activity for the whole family. Mom and Dad can connect their tubes with their offspring, or let them float off on their own, depending on their age. While most kids do not want to sit still for five minutes to watch a movie, there's just enough action on an inner tube floating along to keep them occupied. Just tell them that there are snakes in the river; that way, they won't stray too far.
3. Large people in spandex. I know, the very idea is horrible to contemplate, but we are a nation of fatties, and we need to get used to that. I myself am rather potato-shaped. However, being large is no excuse for putting on a swimsuit that you last wore when you were six sizes smaller. Nobody wants to see that. On second thought, keep wearing the spandex. People will lose their appetites and slim down as a result. Obesity problem solved!
4. Girls who are looking for any excuse to remove their tops. No matter how much time has passed since my giddy college years, I remain amazed at the number of 'drunk' women who remove their bathing suit tops while floating. I say 'drunk', because I've become cynical and am pretty sure that most of these women aren't the least bit intoxicated. There can't possibly be that many women out there with such horrible self-esteem issues that they must flash what they consider to be their best attributes, while excusing it as alcohol-related behavior. That would destroy my faith in humanity.
5. Boys dying to see a drunk girl remove her top. I have decided that this must be some sort of annual rite of passage, this need to see a half-naked girl on an inner tube. Remember that scene in the movie Sixteen Candles, where all the 'geeks' were shown Molly Ringwald's underpants? All these young men gathering on the river reminds me of that. When a girl removes her top, it is as if all male eyes rivet toward her, even if she is around the bend of the river. If Osama had been dressed as a young co-ed and took off his top, we'd have found him a whole lot sooner! Do you have a river near you? If so, what sort of people do you see?
Now that it is summer, everyone flocks to the rivers. I love to people watch. It's a perfect match. Most river visitors are tourists, and many are there to tube down the river. (Tubing involves sitting in an inner tube and floating down the river.) Over the years, I have noticed some trends in the kinds of people who show up on the river frequently.
1. Outdoor enthusiasts. Fishermen, nature lovers, etc., flock to the rivers because they can indulge in their favorite outdoor activity. Colorful kayaks and canoes dot the riverscape. Bird watchers look for woodpeckers in the large trees beside the rivers. Fishermen compete with turtles for the catch of the day. It's fun to watch.
2. Families. The river is a great place to bring kids and life vests, and tubing is a great activity for the whole family. Mom and Dad can connect their tubes with their offspring, or let them float off on their own, depending on their age. While most kids do not want to sit still for five minutes to watch a movie, there's just enough action on an inner tube floating along to keep them occupied. Just tell them that there are snakes in the river; that way, they won't stray too far.
3. Large people in spandex. I know, the very idea is horrible to contemplate, but we are a nation of fatties, and we need to get used to that. I myself am rather potato-shaped. However, being large is no excuse for putting on a swimsuit that you last wore when you were six sizes smaller. Nobody wants to see that. On second thought, keep wearing the spandex. People will lose their appetites and slim down as a result. Obesity problem solved!
4. Girls who are looking for any excuse to remove their tops. No matter how much time has passed since my giddy college years, I remain amazed at the number of 'drunk' women who remove their bathing suit tops while floating. I say 'drunk', because I've become cynical and am pretty sure that most of these women aren't the least bit intoxicated. There can't possibly be that many women out there with such horrible self-esteem issues that they must flash what they consider to be their best attributes, while excusing it as alcohol-related behavior. That would destroy my faith in humanity.
5. Boys dying to see a drunk girl remove her top. I have decided that this must be some sort of annual rite of passage, this need to see a half-naked girl on an inner tube. Remember that scene in the movie Sixteen Candles, where all the 'geeks' were shown Molly Ringwald's underpants? All these young men gathering on the river reminds me of that. When a girl removes her top, it is as if all male eyes rivet toward her, even if she is around the bend of the river. If Osama had been dressed as a young co-ed and took off his top, we'd have found him a whole lot sooner! Do you have a river near you? If so, what sort of people do you see?
Monday, May 14, 2012
The A-List: Ways to Build a Better Brain
The more I read about the human brain, the more amazed I am. I know that people often compare brains to computers, and there are some similarities. But the brain is so much more complex than that! We have been studying it for centuries, and we still don't know all of the secrets that it has to offer. One thing that we DO know, however, is that the brain that goes unused tends to deteriorate. I saw this with my father-in-law; once he stopped working, he went downhill very fast into Alzheimers. I also have seen this in children brought in for special education testing. If a child has been stuck at home(as in never leaves the house) without anyone to talk to them or read to them, we certainly can't expect them to talk or read as well as those kids who have had that in their homes, but those kids are at a disadvantage from the beginning of their school careers.
I am not a neurologist, and I do not have a PhD. I do not spend hours in a lab with electrode-embedded rats. So this is not, nor should it be considered to be, medical advice. These are MY ways of keeping my own electrodes firing on most cylinders. I am just sharing, because that is what I do. This is what works for me.
Nutrition Good nutrition makes for good brain, we all know this. Unfortunately, it is the rare child or adult who will bypass a deep fat fried chicken nugget for a hunk of broccoli. We are all programmed to go for the tasty stuff, but that isn't always the healthiest. I've seen those books out there who advocate 'sneaking' veggies into the food via purees and such, but I am way too ridiculously lazy to do that, and I think it is a bit unethical to lie to your children about food. But the nutrition has to come in there somewhere. So taking a multivitamin is a good idea, preferably one that has DHA or Omegas in it for extra brain support. The pediatricians in most places can recommend a few to try.
Outside People need to be outside at least an hour a day. They need to be playing or working, but they need to be outdoors, and so do you. We all need Vitamin D and we can get that via sunlight. Staying indoors all the time isn't good for anyone. Exercise of any kind gets the blood circulating everywhere, and that includes the brain. The more blood circulating, the better the brain works. Being outdoors means breathing fresh air instead of air conditioned air, which is a good thing. Being outdoors means flowers and sunshine and earth. It means walking in the cool grass with bare feet or hunting for lightning bugs. It means kicking a soccer ball, or flying a kite, or just sitting, if you can't do anything else. If you are allergic to something, take your epipen along or your inhaler. The benefits of being outdoors outweigh the possibility of a bee landing on you.
Language The very best way for a child to learn language is to hear it, yet there are a lot of parents who never speak to their babies because they think it is silly. It is not silly. The more words a child is exposed to early, the better they speak. The better they speak, the better they read. They've done studies...lots and lots of studies. It's all connected, in the brain as well as out in the world. Where I live, I am as gringa as they come, but I still keep trying to pick up Spanish. Because when you're an adult and worried about the brain deteriorating, what is the best way to help yourself? Learning a new language. Even if you feel that you are hopeless with learning a new language, a word-a-day calendar can work wonders. When you look at a new word, think about how that word connects with words that you already know; that will help with remembering it.
Adventures My parents used to haul my brother and I all over the place on trips to different countries, different museums, different parks. I might not have liked these trips at the time, but when I found out that some people have never even left the town they live in, I thanked my parents for their foresight. Having adventures builds up the brain by building new connections to prior learning. Actually going to the Capitol is not the same as studying it at school. Seeing an elephant is not the same as reading about it or watching one on television. We all could do with a little more adventuring in our lives! Go exploring a local park that you've never been to. Take a drive to a part of your state that you've never seen before. Being in new places, having new experiences, meeting new people...these are all good for the brain, even if it doesn't seem that way at the time. Just ask my friend Red, who is on a quest to explore Australia, one town at a time. She is quite the adventuress!
Problem-solving Some of my favorite games when I was growing up were puzzle games like Memory or Clue. I was not big on Monopoly, and not just because my brother usually won. I also enjoyed mystery novels as a kid. I had no idea that I was building a better brain by indulging in my natural tendency to 'puzzle' things out, but that is what I was doing. The thrill for me was figuring these things out on my own, without any help. Puzzle or Mystery games offered that. Puzzles of all kinds are the key. Rubik's Cube works on problem-solving AND visual spatial skills. Soduku puzzles work on math skills as well as problem-solving. Mystery games(except for that Mystery Date game--lame!) or mystery stories work on deduction skills. Look and find books are also a great idea--finding Waldo requires attention to details to solve the problem, which is also another vital brain skill. I loved it when I knew that Miss Scarlet had beaned Professor Green in the head with that lead pipe; I felt incredibly smart for at least an hour!
Did I miss any?
I am not a neurologist, and I do not have a PhD. I do not spend hours in a lab with electrode-embedded rats. So this is not, nor should it be considered to be, medical advice. These are MY ways of keeping my own electrodes firing on most cylinders. I am just sharing, because that is what I do. This is what works for me.
Nutrition Good nutrition makes for good brain, we all know this. Unfortunately, it is the rare child or adult who will bypass a deep fat fried chicken nugget for a hunk of broccoli. We are all programmed to go for the tasty stuff, but that isn't always the healthiest. I've seen those books out there who advocate 'sneaking' veggies into the food via purees and such, but I am way too ridiculously lazy to do that, and I think it is a bit unethical to lie to your children about food. But the nutrition has to come in there somewhere. So taking a multivitamin is a good idea, preferably one that has DHA or Omegas in it for extra brain support. The pediatricians in most places can recommend a few to try.
Outside People need to be outside at least an hour a day. They need to be playing or working, but they need to be outdoors, and so do you. We all need Vitamin D and we can get that via sunlight. Staying indoors all the time isn't good for anyone. Exercise of any kind gets the blood circulating everywhere, and that includes the brain. The more blood circulating, the better the brain works. Being outdoors means breathing fresh air instead of air conditioned air, which is a good thing. Being outdoors means flowers and sunshine and earth. It means walking in the cool grass with bare feet or hunting for lightning bugs. It means kicking a soccer ball, or flying a kite, or just sitting, if you can't do anything else. If you are allergic to something, take your epipen along or your inhaler. The benefits of being outdoors outweigh the possibility of a bee landing on you.
Language The very best way for a child to learn language is to hear it, yet there are a lot of parents who never speak to their babies because they think it is silly. It is not silly. The more words a child is exposed to early, the better they speak. The better they speak, the better they read. They've done studies...lots and lots of studies. It's all connected, in the brain as well as out in the world. Where I live, I am as gringa as they come, but I still keep trying to pick up Spanish. Because when you're an adult and worried about the brain deteriorating, what is the best way to help yourself? Learning a new language. Even if you feel that you are hopeless with learning a new language, a word-a-day calendar can work wonders. When you look at a new word, think about how that word connects with words that you already know; that will help with remembering it.
Adventures My parents used to haul my brother and I all over the place on trips to different countries, different museums, different parks. I might not have liked these trips at the time, but when I found out that some people have never even left the town they live in, I thanked my parents for their foresight. Having adventures builds up the brain by building new connections to prior learning. Actually going to the Capitol is not the same as studying it at school. Seeing an elephant is not the same as reading about it or watching one on television. We all could do with a little more adventuring in our lives! Go exploring a local park that you've never been to. Take a drive to a part of your state that you've never seen before. Being in new places, having new experiences, meeting new people...these are all good for the brain, even if it doesn't seem that way at the time. Just ask my friend Red, who is on a quest to explore Australia, one town at a time. She is quite the adventuress!
Problem-solving Some of my favorite games when I was growing up were puzzle games like Memory or Clue. I was not big on Monopoly, and not just because my brother usually won. I also enjoyed mystery novels as a kid. I had no idea that I was building a better brain by indulging in my natural tendency to 'puzzle' things out, but that is what I was doing. The thrill for me was figuring these things out on my own, without any help. Puzzle or Mystery games offered that. Puzzles of all kinds are the key. Rubik's Cube works on problem-solving AND visual spatial skills. Soduku puzzles work on math skills as well as problem-solving. Mystery games(except for that Mystery Date game--lame!) or mystery stories work on deduction skills. Look and find books are also a great idea--finding Waldo requires attention to details to solve the problem, which is also another vital brain skill. I loved it when I knew that Miss Scarlet had beaned Professor Green in the head with that lead pipe; I felt incredibly smart for at least an hour!
Did I miss any?
Monday, May 7, 2012
The A-List: Why I Go To The Movies
I used to watch a lot of movies. We would hit the theater near our house at least once a week when we lived in Germany, and when Beta-Max hit, my entire family was spending their weekends in front of the television, watching movies. As I've grown older, however, my theater going days have been significantly reduced by the dollar signs. At ten or eleven bucks a ticket and throwing in eight dollar popcorn and and four dollar drinks, it isn't worth the cost. Even if we don't get the popcorn or drink, if the movie sucks, I feel like I've been cheated.
We cheerfully paid the money, however, to see The Avengers this weekend. We did not have to stand in line for tickets(thank you, Fandango!). We did have to arrive at the theater earlier than normal, keep a restless 4 year old busy during that time, and wait forEVER in line for popcorn and a small drink. While I was standing in line and reconsidering my footwear, I thought about why I was there on a beautiful Saturday morning. I was there with my family, paying to see a movie about comic book superheroes. Wow. That thought, of course, led me to consider what sorts of movies I am willing to pay to see in a theater these days.
1. Pure escapist fare. I don't go to the movies to see Oscar-worthy films anymore, unless there's something else about the film that catches my attention, such as The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo. Nor do I enjoy sitting in a theater bawling my head off watching chick flicks. I prefer to view those movies at home, sometimes with a giant box of tissues. Maybe I am an oddball, but when I plop down the exorbitant prices they charge at the theater these days, I want fun. I want to escape reality for a small window of time. I want stuff exploding. I want car chases, the more ridiculous the better. I want my hero/heroine decisive and clever. And I want to look at the pretty actors who work out forty times a day to have the rock hard abs and nice biceps and a butt that you can bounce a quarter off of. None of those things have anything to do with real life.
2. Bring me the funny. When Old Yeller died, I cried. When ET died, I cried. When Spock died, I cried. I hate crying in public; my face gets all blotchy, and there are never enough tissues. And why would I pay money to cry and be depressed? Real life does that to me on occasion for free. I want to giggle. I want to guffaw. I want to belly-laugh so hard that I am crying, because those types of tears are wonderful. Laughter is cathartic and it is healthy, and I don't have nearly enough of it in my life, so I will pay to see a movie that will make me laugh.
3. Samuel L. Jackson. I will pay to see just about any movie that has Samuel L. Jackson appearing in it. I will also pay to see Daniel Craig, Robert Downey, Jr., Tim Roth, and Christian Bale. These people have credibility with me, because what I have seen of their work has been consistently good. I don't limit myself to actors. If Joss Whedon is involved in a movie, I am there, as I am with Quentin Tarantino, Robert Rodriguez, Guillermo Del Toro. Sometimes I am disappointed, of course (*cough* Snakes on a Plane). Mostly, I am just transfixed.
4. Good stories. I read books for the stories they tell me. I watch television shows for the very same reason. Movies are no different. I don't have to be told a great story, but I want to be told a good story. If a movie tells me a good story, I can ignore bad acting and poor CGI. A good story makes even a poor director look decent, which is why so many movies panned by critics become cult classics.
5. Connections. If I read a good book, I talk about it. If I see a good movie, I talk about it. Movies give us a cultural point of reference, a form of language that isn't necessarily verbal. If I am on the streets in a foreign country, and I say "Hulk smash", at least one person in the crowd will lift his eyebrows and nod to show that he gets it. There are very few places out there where people don't know what "Yippy-kai-ay, Mother-F*****" is from. Even if we are complete strangers and have no other way to communicate, the movies give us a common language to use to communicate with others. That is pretty awesome.
That's my list. What do you think? What gets you to pay to see a movie in the theater these days?
We cheerfully paid the money, however, to see The Avengers this weekend. We did not have to stand in line for tickets(thank you, Fandango!). We did have to arrive at the theater earlier than normal, keep a restless 4 year old busy during that time, and wait forEVER in line for popcorn and a small drink. While I was standing in line and reconsidering my footwear, I thought about why I was there on a beautiful Saturday morning. I was there with my family, paying to see a movie about comic book superheroes. Wow. That thought, of course, led me to consider what sorts of movies I am willing to pay to see in a theater these days.
1. Pure escapist fare. I don't go to the movies to see Oscar-worthy films anymore, unless there's something else about the film that catches my attention, such as The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo. Nor do I enjoy sitting in a theater bawling my head off watching chick flicks. I prefer to view those movies at home, sometimes with a giant box of tissues. Maybe I am an oddball, but when I plop down the exorbitant prices they charge at the theater these days, I want fun. I want to escape reality for a small window of time. I want stuff exploding. I want car chases, the more ridiculous the better. I want my hero/heroine decisive and clever. And I want to look at the pretty actors who work out forty times a day to have the rock hard abs and nice biceps and a butt that you can bounce a quarter off of. None of those things have anything to do with real life.
2. Bring me the funny. When Old Yeller died, I cried. When ET died, I cried. When Spock died, I cried. I hate crying in public; my face gets all blotchy, and there are never enough tissues. And why would I pay money to cry and be depressed? Real life does that to me on occasion for free. I want to giggle. I want to guffaw. I want to belly-laugh so hard that I am crying, because those types of tears are wonderful. Laughter is cathartic and it is healthy, and I don't have nearly enough of it in my life, so I will pay to see a movie that will make me laugh.
3. Samuel L. Jackson. I will pay to see just about any movie that has Samuel L. Jackson appearing in it. I will also pay to see Daniel Craig, Robert Downey, Jr., Tim Roth, and Christian Bale. These people have credibility with me, because what I have seen of their work has been consistently good. I don't limit myself to actors. If Joss Whedon is involved in a movie, I am there, as I am with Quentin Tarantino, Robert Rodriguez, Guillermo Del Toro. Sometimes I am disappointed, of course (*cough* Snakes on a Plane). Mostly, I am just transfixed.
4. Good stories. I read books for the stories they tell me. I watch television shows for the very same reason. Movies are no different. I don't have to be told a great story, but I want to be told a good story. If a movie tells me a good story, I can ignore bad acting and poor CGI. A good story makes even a poor director look decent, which is why so many movies panned by critics become cult classics.
5. Connections. If I read a good book, I talk about it. If I see a good movie, I talk about it. Movies give us a cultural point of reference, a form of language that isn't necessarily verbal. If I am on the streets in a foreign country, and I say "Hulk smash", at least one person in the crowd will lift his eyebrows and nod to show that he gets it. There are very few places out there where people don't know what "Yippy-kai-ay, Mother-F*****" is from. Even if we are complete strangers and have no other way to communicate, the movies give us a common language to use to communicate with others. That is pretty awesome.
That's my list. What do you think? What gets you to pay to see a movie in the theater these days?
Monday, March 19, 2012
The A-List: The World's Greatest Detectives
I love to read mysteries. I especially love trying to figure out what is going on before I get to the end of the book. If I can figure it out, I feel especially brilliant that day, and all is right with the world. If I can't solve the mystery, I cry. Not really, but I do consider it to be a learning experience. I've had my fun over the years, reading my mysteries. I've developed a fondness for a few detectives as well. There were some on television, like Scully and Mulder, Frank Pembleton, Jimmy McNulty, and Grissom. But the printed word adds a layer of complexity that you usually don't get with the visual medium. Plus, I just like having a character that I can carry around in my purse.
1. Hardy Boys These guys make my list because, well, they were my first. Yeah, I know that I'm a girl, and I wasn't supposed to read the Hardy Boys. I was supposed to read Nancy Drew. Call me a rebel, but Frank and Joe were just a heck of a lot more fun. My parents would buy me a Hardy Boys mystery, and two hours later I would be asking for another one. When the television show aired, I was in seventh heaven, even though the tv detectives looked nothing like those in the books.
2.Jack Reacher I can't exactly put my finger on why I like this character. He'd probably annoy the crap out of me if he actually existed, but as an imaginary character, he is just fine. Jack Reacher is a problem solver. He's an out of work, ex-military cop who just rides the trails like people used to do during the Depression. Reacher shows up in a town, there's a problem that looks interesting to him, and then he solves it. He doesn't sit around moping about it, either. He gets up and actually goes to the problem. Then he smacks the problem around for a few pages, which is actually quite satisfying. Reacher sometimes talks the problem out to himself, and then you can see where the smarts come from. The guy drinks a truckload of coffee, however. I fully expect his heart to explode at the end of one of Lee Child's books one day.
3. Lucas Davenport This is the main character of John Sandford's 'Prey' novels, and his books are on my Kindle the day of release. Davenport is a cop in Minnesota. That sounds completely boring, doesn't it? What sort of crimes could possibly happen in Minnesota that would warrant their inclusion in a novel? That is exactly what I said. Sandford is a master of witty dialogue; his conversations are extremely believable, and funny. He solves the crimes with old fashioned police work. Feet on the ground, talking to people, knocking on doors. Asking the right questions also helps, and Davenport seems to know exactly what to ask to keep the plot rolling.
4. Batman He is the World's Greatest Detective, and with good reason. He always seems to be one step ahead of everybody else. He plans his movements precisely. He always looks into the Dark Heart of man. He sees the shadows, and what they become. He's also in the Bat Cave, throwing fibers and other pieces of evidence into a computer for analysis. He has the equipment to perform some forensic activities, such as toxicology or fingerprint identification. He never believes what he sees unless he's analyzed it. I always felt that his detective skills were Batman's superpower.
5. Sherlock Holmes Robert Downey, Jr.'s portrayal aside, Sherlock Holmes is awesome. I doubt that Arthur Conan Doyle had any idea what an icon he was creating with the formation of this eagle eye detective. Some have speculated that Holmes had Aspbergers; I won't go that far, but the man was obsessive about details, had amassed an encyclopedic memory of knowledge. He could tell where you were from based on the mud on your shoes! That's pretty good detecting! He worked hard at being an eccentric, but Doyle made it work.
Your turn! What are you favorite literary characters, and why? I may like to pick up a few books for beach time reading!
1. Hardy Boys These guys make my list because, well, they were my first. Yeah, I know that I'm a girl, and I wasn't supposed to read the Hardy Boys. I was supposed to read Nancy Drew. Call me a rebel, but Frank and Joe were just a heck of a lot more fun. My parents would buy me a Hardy Boys mystery, and two hours later I would be asking for another one. When the television show aired, I was in seventh heaven, even though the tv detectives looked nothing like those in the books.
2.Jack Reacher I can't exactly put my finger on why I like this character. He'd probably annoy the crap out of me if he actually existed, but as an imaginary character, he is just fine. Jack Reacher is a problem solver. He's an out of work, ex-military cop who just rides the trails like people used to do during the Depression. Reacher shows up in a town, there's a problem that looks interesting to him, and then he solves it. He doesn't sit around moping about it, either. He gets up and actually goes to the problem. Then he smacks the problem around for a few pages, which is actually quite satisfying. Reacher sometimes talks the problem out to himself, and then you can see where the smarts come from. The guy drinks a truckload of coffee, however. I fully expect his heart to explode at the end of one of Lee Child's books one day.
3. Lucas Davenport This is the main character of John Sandford's 'Prey' novels, and his books are on my Kindle the day of release. Davenport is a cop in Minnesota. That sounds completely boring, doesn't it? What sort of crimes could possibly happen in Minnesota that would warrant their inclusion in a novel? That is exactly what I said. Sandford is a master of witty dialogue; his conversations are extremely believable, and funny. He solves the crimes with old fashioned police work. Feet on the ground, talking to people, knocking on doors. Asking the right questions also helps, and Davenport seems to know exactly what to ask to keep the plot rolling.
4. Batman He is the World's Greatest Detective, and with good reason. He always seems to be one step ahead of everybody else. He plans his movements precisely. He always looks into the Dark Heart of man. He sees the shadows, and what they become. He's also in the Bat Cave, throwing fibers and other pieces of evidence into a computer for analysis. He has the equipment to perform some forensic activities, such as toxicology or fingerprint identification. He never believes what he sees unless he's analyzed it. I always felt that his detective skills were Batman's superpower.
5. Sherlock Holmes Robert Downey, Jr.'s portrayal aside, Sherlock Holmes is awesome. I doubt that Arthur Conan Doyle had any idea what an icon he was creating with the formation of this eagle eye detective. Some have speculated that Holmes had Aspbergers; I won't go that far, but the man was obsessive about details, had amassed an encyclopedic memory of knowledge. He could tell where you were from based on the mud on your shoes! That's pretty good detecting! He worked hard at being an eccentric, but Doyle made it work.
Your turn! What are you favorite literary characters, and why? I may like to pick up a few books for beach time reading!
Monday, March 12, 2012
The A-List: Reasons to Blog A to Z
I am joining in the fun of the A to Z Blog Challenge for this April. What the heck is that, you say? Elementary! You blog the alphabet! The legendary Arlee Bird from Tossing It Out, the A to Z Challenge creator, says more:
"Using this premise, you would start beginning April First with a topic themed on something with the letter A, then on April second another topic with the letter B as the theme, and so on until you finish on April thirtieth with the theme based on the letter Z. It doesn't even have to be a word--it can be a proper noun, the letter used as a symbol, or the letter itself. The theme of the day is the letter scheduled for that day."
Pretty cool, huh? I think that everyone should participate, of course. Why? Five reasons:
1. It is fun. Really! I had a great time writing my own blog posts, and an even better time reading some of the outstanding writing on the other blogs.
2. It is a creative challenge. Sure, it's easy to come up with a blog using the letter B. It's a different story when you get to the letter Q or X. It was an even bigger challenge for me to keep up with the writing prompts from Write on Edge while participating in the A to Z challenge. Some people write poetry using the letters. Last year, I started my blog post with the letter of the day. This year, I may try something different.
3. Fascinating bloggers are out there! By checking out some of the other participating bloggers, you will get to expand your horizons and find writers from all over the world. Different styles, different vocabularies, etc. The International House of Bloggers, if you will, although IHOB doesn't sound nearly as nifty as IHOP.
4. It is a race with a clear finish line. I don't know about anyone else, but I am not motivated by endless work. It is important for me to know that there is some cheese at the end of my maze! There's only 26 letters in the alphabet, last I checked, and the challenge allows us to have Sundays off.
5. Satisfaction. This isn't the equivalent of running a marathon, of course. When you finish the blog challenge at the end of April, however, there's a sense
of satisfaction for a job well done, a river crossed. No running involved!
I hope that you will consider joining me April 1st!
Monday, March 5, 2012
The A List: Classroom Survival Strategies
It has been said that it is important to view subjects in their natural habitat. All the Wild Kingdom I watched as a kid said that, anyway. I have sat in a lot of classrooms over the past twenty years as a result. I'm not there to judge anyone, or grade anyone. I am just an observer in this concrete jungle, and I certainly don't
have any agenda. I'm the Jane Goodall of the classroom habitat, you
could say. Except I have no intention of ever naming anyone Frodo. The second I walk into the room, however, every single head turns toward me and every single head has the same thought: "She's here for me."
So I sit in the back and I observe. I have to write stuff down, lest I forget something noteworthy, but mostly I just look around. It really is fascinating. The very first lesson kids learn in school is how to respond when the teacher calls on them for an answer. Most kids will not have the answer, either because they didn't do the assignment or they momentarily forgot in the face of overwhelming fear that a teacher might call on them. Over the years I've realized that there are certain strategies that kids have learned to compensate for this brief amnesia. Here are a few that I've recently observed.
1. Play Possum. Sit extremely still, very quiet, respiration minimal. Maybe the teacher won't notice. Most of the time they don't, because they are dealing with the loud kids, the chatty kids, etc. If a teacher wants quiet, and you're being quiet, she is going to pass you by to get to the loud kids. This is usually a very successful strategy, if not overused.
2. Nod & Smile. Teachers love it when their students are enthusiastic about what they are learning. They love to look out at the crowd to a sea of smiling, nodding faces. Kids know this. The "Nod & Smile" strategy involves distracting the teacher with blatant adoration. It's ingenious. The teacher doesn't want to ruin the magic by asking a question that might be answered incorrectly, so they stop asking questions at all. If all goes well, nobody will be called on in class that day.
3. Look Around. There are usually 400,000 things to look at in a classroom. Posters, art displays, books, lessons, etc. Planted on walls, hanging from the ceilings, taped across desks, are a number of answers to many questions that a teacher might ask. No harm in checking them out. Some of those posters may jar a memory or be the exact answer you're looking for.
4. Blank stare. Nature abhors a vacuum. If a teacher sees a child with a completely blank stare, she will be concerned that this child is not "getting it". Her concern will drive her to action. The action will be to give the child the answer so that the flow of instruction is not impeded. Kids know that all they have to do is sit and wait, using a blank stare, and someone will tell them what they need to know.
5. Follow the nonverbals. Teachers are generally lousy poker players with all their tells. They tend to be very expressive and demonstrative and emphatic. All a kid has to do is learn to recognize the tells a particular teacher exhibits, and then capitalize on them. Watch faces when they ask the question. Sometimes there will be a eye flick toward the vicinity of the answer, if it is on the wall.
I've lately realized that all of these strategies could come in handy in other areas, such as staff meetings. So what strategies do you use?
So I sit in the back and I observe. I have to write stuff down, lest I forget something noteworthy, but mostly I just look around. It really is fascinating. The very first lesson kids learn in school is how to respond when the teacher calls on them for an answer. Most kids will not have the answer, either because they didn't do the assignment or they momentarily forgot in the face of overwhelming fear that a teacher might call on them. Over the years I've realized that there are certain strategies that kids have learned to compensate for this brief amnesia. Here are a few that I've recently observed.
1. Play Possum. Sit extremely still, very quiet, respiration minimal. Maybe the teacher won't notice. Most of the time they don't, because they are dealing with the loud kids, the chatty kids, etc. If a teacher wants quiet, and you're being quiet, she is going to pass you by to get to the loud kids. This is usually a very successful strategy, if not overused.
2. Nod & Smile. Teachers love it when their students are enthusiastic about what they are learning. They love to look out at the crowd to a sea of smiling, nodding faces. Kids know this. The "Nod & Smile" strategy involves distracting the teacher with blatant adoration. It's ingenious. The teacher doesn't want to ruin the magic by asking a question that might be answered incorrectly, so they stop asking questions at all. If all goes well, nobody will be called on in class that day.
3. Look Around. There are usually 400,000 things to look at in a classroom. Posters, art displays, books, lessons, etc. Planted on walls, hanging from the ceilings, taped across desks, are a number of answers to many questions that a teacher might ask. No harm in checking them out. Some of those posters may jar a memory or be the exact answer you're looking for.
4. Blank stare. Nature abhors a vacuum. If a teacher sees a child with a completely blank stare, she will be concerned that this child is not "getting it". Her concern will drive her to action. The action will be to give the child the answer so that the flow of instruction is not impeded. Kids know that all they have to do is sit and wait, using a blank stare, and someone will tell them what they need to know.
5. Follow the nonverbals. Teachers are generally lousy poker players with all their tells. They tend to be very expressive and demonstrative and emphatic. All a kid has to do is learn to recognize the tells a particular teacher exhibits, and then capitalize on them. Watch faces when they ask the question. Sometimes there will be a eye flick toward the vicinity of the answer, if it is on the wall.
I've lately realized that all of these strategies could come in handy in other areas, such as staff meetings. So what strategies do you use?
Monday, February 20, 2012
The A-List: Five Things Every Dream House Should Have
Most everyone I know has a picture in their heads. Their dream house. It's the perfect size. It's the perfect color. It's just plain perfect. Most of all, it is extremely cheap. Free is pretty cheap, right? We can have it all in the corridors of our imagination, and it doesn't cost us a dime. And daydreaming is healthy for brain function, I read somewhere.
I have a dream house in my head, just like everyone else. It is usually painted a cool white on the outside; something that I would never do in real life in this Texas sun. It sits high up on a hill, overlooking fields of green grass. Never mind that I would die of boredom out in the middle of nowhere--it's a dream house!
Over the years, I've decided that there are things that all dream houses should have. Non-negotiables. Things that I don't currently have. The lack of these particular things is irritating enough that I notice their absence. If I were Empress of the Universe, I would decree that all houses had to have these things. Since that will never happen, I am just going to share today and leave it at that.
1. Walk-in shower with a bench We have a nice walk-in shower. It has good hot water with enough pressure to do what a shower was made to do. I love it most of the time. I do not love it when I am trying to shave my legs. I have to essentially hold my leg at a certain angle that defies my general gravitational field in order to do what I need to do. If I had a built-in bench of some sort in the shower, I could just put my foot on that bench, and shaving my legs would not involve complex yoga poses.
2. A porch Every house should have a porch. It's a place to play on rainy days. It's a place for telling ghost stories. It's a place to sit with your sweetie and hold hands. It's a place to watch the world pass by on summer evenings. A wrap around porch, or a porch that extends to the side of a house, allows for some privacy when a person wants to curl up with a book or take a nap.
3. Built-in bookcases/shelves I don't know why builders don't do this. As far as I know, setting shelves into the walls does not significantly add to the cost of the house, and it increases storage space. While I have enough books for a small town library, other people might choose to use their shelves for other things. A collection of Lego mini-figures, maybe.
4. Large picture window with a window seat I envy people who have these. The best window seats are those that are sort of recessed, with a curtain to hide behind. They are perfect, when cushioned, for curling with a book or other quiet activity. Or just for daydreaming. We adults don't do enough daydreaming, I think. We've fallen out of practice. Maybe if we had this spot in our houses, we would be reminded.
5. Garden room/Play room/Rumpus Room I want to have a patio that is enclosed in some way with glass. That way the sunlight can come in, but not the bugs. I would fill up this room with plants that I cannot kill, and I would probably have exercise equipment in there. I am not sure, but I have lots of fun thinking about it. While I would like a garden room, other people might want to create a space for their own amusement. Way back, such a place was called a Rumpus room. I am not exactly sure what 'rumpus' is, but maybe the equivalent would be what is called a "Man Cave" these days?
If in the dream world, houses represent our personalities, perhaps the dream houses we build in our head represent what we would like our personality to be. Although I am not really sure what having a Rumpus Room says about an individual's personality.
Anything anyone wants to add to the list?
I have a dream house in my head, just like everyone else. It is usually painted a cool white on the outside; something that I would never do in real life in this Texas sun. It sits high up on a hill, overlooking fields of green grass. Never mind that I would die of boredom out in the middle of nowhere--it's a dream house!
Over the years, I've decided that there are things that all dream houses should have. Non-negotiables. Things that I don't currently have. The lack of these particular things is irritating enough that I notice their absence. If I were Empress of the Universe, I would decree that all houses had to have these things. Since that will never happen, I am just going to share today and leave it at that.
1. Walk-in shower with a bench We have a nice walk-in shower. It has good hot water with enough pressure to do what a shower was made to do. I love it most of the time. I do not love it when I am trying to shave my legs. I have to essentially hold my leg at a certain angle that defies my general gravitational field in order to do what I need to do. If I had a built-in bench of some sort in the shower, I could just put my foot on that bench, and shaving my legs would not involve complex yoga poses.
2. A porch Every house should have a porch. It's a place to play on rainy days. It's a place for telling ghost stories. It's a place to sit with your sweetie and hold hands. It's a place to watch the world pass by on summer evenings. A wrap around porch, or a porch that extends to the side of a house, allows for some privacy when a person wants to curl up with a book or take a nap.
3. Built-in bookcases/shelves I don't know why builders don't do this. As far as I know, setting shelves into the walls does not significantly add to the cost of the house, and it increases storage space. While I have enough books for a small town library, other people might choose to use their shelves for other things. A collection of Lego mini-figures, maybe.
4. Large picture window with a window seat I envy people who have these. The best window seats are those that are sort of recessed, with a curtain to hide behind. They are perfect, when cushioned, for curling with a book or other quiet activity. Or just for daydreaming. We adults don't do enough daydreaming, I think. We've fallen out of practice. Maybe if we had this spot in our houses, we would be reminded.
5. Garden room/Play room/Rumpus Room I want to have a patio that is enclosed in some way with glass. That way the sunlight can come in, but not the bugs. I would fill up this room with plants that I cannot kill, and I would probably have exercise equipment in there. I am not sure, but I have lots of fun thinking about it. While I would like a garden room, other people might want to create a space for their own amusement. Way back, such a place was called a Rumpus room. I am not exactly sure what 'rumpus' is, but maybe the equivalent would be what is called a "Man Cave" these days?
If in the dream world, houses represent our personalities, perhaps the dream houses we build in our head represent what we would like our personality to be. Although I am not really sure what having a Rumpus Room says about an individual's personality.
Anything anyone wants to add to the list?
Monday, November 28, 2011
The A-List: Current Literary Faves
I read. If I could, I would read most of every day. My entire house would be one big pile of books. Books are really my only vice, after drinking. As I read, I tend to fall in love with the characters; they become old friends to me. I especially enjoy when an author devotes several books to a particular character. I see it as an opportunity to visit an old friend. This is one of the reasons that I loved the Hardy Boys so much when I was a kid. My A-List today, therefore, lists some of my favorite characters from the books I've read recently.
Jack Reacher(Lee Child) I like Jack Reacher for the same reason that I loved Jack Bauer from 24; he gets things done. This character is decisive; a man of action. If he says he will do it, it gets done. Those kind of men don't exist anymore, not in this litigation-happy world, so to find one in a book is a treat. Reacher wanders about, living out of hotels, after he leaves the military. He uses his military training sort of as a mercenary investigator, except that he doesn't look for work. He doesn't look for trouble, but trouble certainly finds him. And when trouble does find Jack Reacher, he is more than happy to smack that trouble silly.
Augustus McCrae(Larry McMurtry) Who wouldn't love Gus? Philosopher, cowboy, lawman, smooth talker, romantic...hard to beat that. Lonesome Dove is such a great story that I've read that book more than any other. The reason is Gus. His relationship with Woodrow Call was certainly an odd pairing, but there was never any doubt that the two were fierce in their friendship. That kind of loyalty is rare these days, but it is admirable.
Stephanie Plum(Janet Evanovich) I actually DO laugh out loud while I am reading about Stephanie; sometimes I am laughing so hard that my husband thinks that I am having a seizure. Stephanie is not a detective. She is a bail bondsman. A bad one. Stephanie only has a job because of her cousin, she has trouble making ends meet, and her cars are continually destroyed. I am not sure if it would be safe to hang around with Stephanie Plum, but I know that it would be hilarious.
Eric Northman(Charlaine Harris) I really don't care for Sookie Stackhouse. She's too whiny and passive for my tastes. However, Eric Northman is another matter. He's smart, devious, decisive, and ruthless. He knows what he wants and he makes every effort to get his way. Yet Eric can be thoughtful and loving, too. He never shies away from a fight or a challenge, but meets it head on. I like that in my novel characters. So while I'm not too keen on Sookie, I read the books for Eric.
Tyrion Lannister (George R.R. Martin) This character is a dwarf. He's a dwarf in a horribly dysfunctional family. He was not supposed to live. Yet Tyrion is a survivor. He is intelligent, he is insightful, and he is witty. He can think on his feet, quickly, even if he's too small to lift a sword. Tyrion manages to keep all the various threads of palace intrigue straight, and he is smart enough to keep his mouth shut.
That's my A-list. Are there any literary characters that catch your fancy? Do tell!
Jack Reacher(Lee Child) I like Jack Reacher for the same reason that I loved Jack Bauer from 24; he gets things done. This character is decisive; a man of action. If he says he will do it, it gets done. Those kind of men don't exist anymore, not in this litigation-happy world, so to find one in a book is a treat. Reacher wanders about, living out of hotels, after he leaves the military. He uses his military training sort of as a mercenary investigator, except that he doesn't look for work. He doesn't look for trouble, but trouble certainly finds him. And when trouble does find Jack Reacher, he is more than happy to smack that trouble silly.
Augustus McCrae(Larry McMurtry) Who wouldn't love Gus? Philosopher, cowboy, lawman, smooth talker, romantic...hard to beat that. Lonesome Dove is such a great story that I've read that book more than any other. The reason is Gus. His relationship with Woodrow Call was certainly an odd pairing, but there was never any doubt that the two were fierce in their friendship. That kind of loyalty is rare these days, but it is admirable.
Stephanie Plum(Janet Evanovich) I actually DO laugh out loud while I am reading about Stephanie; sometimes I am laughing so hard that my husband thinks that I am having a seizure. Stephanie is not a detective. She is a bail bondsman. A bad one. Stephanie only has a job because of her cousin, she has trouble making ends meet, and her cars are continually destroyed. I am not sure if it would be safe to hang around with Stephanie Plum, but I know that it would be hilarious.
Eric Northman(Charlaine Harris) I really don't care for Sookie Stackhouse. She's too whiny and passive for my tastes. However, Eric Northman is another matter. He's smart, devious, decisive, and ruthless. He knows what he wants and he makes every effort to get his way. Yet Eric can be thoughtful and loving, too. He never shies away from a fight or a challenge, but meets it head on. I like that in my novel characters. So while I'm not too keen on Sookie, I read the books for Eric.
Tyrion Lannister (George R.R. Martin) This character is a dwarf. He's a dwarf in a horribly dysfunctional family. He was not supposed to live. Yet Tyrion is a survivor. He is intelligent, he is insightful, and he is witty. He can think on his feet, quickly, even if he's too small to lift a sword. Tyrion manages to keep all the various threads of palace intrigue straight, and he is smart enough to keep his mouth shut.
That's my A-list. Are there any literary characters that catch your fancy? Do tell!
Monday, November 21, 2011
The A-List: The Smack-worthy
Last Monday I wrote about five famous guys with whom I would like to converse. I really enjoyed that list; it put me in my happy place for a few hours.
Today, however, I am in a crappy mood because I've had the ear worm from hell(Winter Wonderland!) for the last 24 hours. So this Monday I am going to discuss people whom I feel deserve a smack upside the head, because their brains need rebooting. Remember the scene in Moonstruck where Cher smacks Nicolas Cage and tells him to "snap out of it!"? That's what I mean by a smack. I often picture the hand of God dropping down from the heavens to give a smack to people who need it. (including myself sometimes, if I'm being honest) That visualization usually helps me get over my fit of pique. If I actually knew any of these people, I would be a good friend and tell them that they were being ridiculous/annoying/stupid. But this blog post will have to do.
Congress, as a group, makes the list. I am so fracking sick of hearing about how these idiots can't agree on anything. All of them seem to be so entrenched in their childishness and general obstreperousness that not a darn thing is getting done, even though our country is teetering on the edge of financial ruin. I am tired of the whiny-titty-baby routine, and they need to knock it off. The heart of democracy is not demanding that everyone do what YOU want. That is dictatorship. That is tyranny. The heart of democracy is compromise, everyone working TOGETHER. It's going to be hard enough to teach my child to cooperate with others when the idiots in Congress are all over the news having temper tantrums.
Adam Sandler made the list. Just because of his most recent movie,Jack and Jill. Since the movie Some Like It Hot, it has been the lazy screenwriter's habit to have either a guy dress up as a girl or a girl dress up and pretend to be a guy. It has to stop. Plus, it's like Adam Sandler is just phoning it in these days. It's as if he can't be bothered with actual scripts and just makes it up as he goes. I get insulted just thinking about it.
Kim Kardashian needs a smack. Like Paris Hilton, Kim is famous for being famous. That's it. She hasn't done a thing to deserve to be famous except be a circus side show. That's right. I went there. She hasn't invented a cure for cancer, or brokered world peace, or even saved a cat from a burning building. Just like people back in the day would pay good money to see Jo Jo the Dog-Faced Boy, people will pay to see 'famous' people act like idiots. But at least Jo Jo was interesting.
People who sue over stupid stuff deserve a huge smack. Just because the dry cleaners lost a pair of pants is no reason to sue anyone, for example. If they were your only pair of pants and you lost your job as a result of being pants-less, maybe. Why don't these whiners take a little responsibility for their own actions? I realize that this would mean that they would have to admit that they did something dumb, but the first step is to admit that you have a problem, right? A double smack to the lawyers who take these cases. They are taking advantage of the less than smart people who come to them for guidance in order to make a profit.
My husband asked that I put the entire NBA on the list. While players and owners squabble over who gets how many millions of dollars, nobody is paying the people who rely on basketball in order to live. All the ticket takers, the concession stand workers, the waitresses at the sports bars, the guy selling t-shirts, etc., are all out of work. If they haven't found another job, they can't make their rent, feed their children, or anything else. I don't see any lawyers on TV fighting for THOSE people to make money, and they actually need it.
I am already in a better mood, having gotten all that out. Is there anyone out there that you think is smack-worthy? Add them here!
Today, however, I am in a crappy mood because I've had the ear worm from hell(Winter Wonderland!) for the last 24 hours. So this Monday I am going to discuss people whom I feel deserve a smack upside the head, because their brains need rebooting. Remember the scene in Moonstruck where Cher smacks Nicolas Cage and tells him to "snap out of it!"? That's what I mean by a smack. I often picture the hand of God dropping down from the heavens to give a smack to people who need it. (including myself sometimes, if I'm being honest) That visualization usually helps me get over my fit of pique. If I actually knew any of these people, I would be a good friend and tell them that they were being ridiculous/annoying/stupid. But this blog post will have to do.
Congress, as a group, makes the list. I am so fracking sick of hearing about how these idiots can't agree on anything. All of them seem to be so entrenched in their childishness and general obstreperousness that not a darn thing is getting done, even though our country is teetering on the edge of financial ruin. I am tired of the whiny-titty-baby routine, and they need to knock it off. The heart of democracy is not demanding that everyone do what YOU want. That is dictatorship. That is tyranny. The heart of democracy is compromise, everyone working TOGETHER. It's going to be hard enough to teach my child to cooperate with others when the idiots in Congress are all over the news having temper tantrums.
Adam Sandler made the list. Just because of his most recent movie,Jack and Jill. Since the movie Some Like It Hot, it has been the lazy screenwriter's habit to have either a guy dress up as a girl or a girl dress up and pretend to be a guy. It has to stop. Plus, it's like Adam Sandler is just phoning it in these days. It's as if he can't be bothered with actual scripts and just makes it up as he goes. I get insulted just thinking about it.
Kim Kardashian needs a smack. Like Paris Hilton, Kim is famous for being famous. That's it. She hasn't done a thing to deserve to be famous except be a circus side show. That's right. I went there. She hasn't invented a cure for cancer, or brokered world peace, or even saved a cat from a burning building. Just like people back in the day would pay good money to see Jo Jo the Dog-Faced Boy, people will pay to see 'famous' people act like idiots. But at least Jo Jo was interesting.
People who sue over stupid stuff deserve a huge smack. Just because the dry cleaners lost a pair of pants is no reason to sue anyone, for example. If they were your only pair of pants and you lost your job as a result of being pants-less, maybe. Why don't these whiners take a little responsibility for their own actions? I realize that this would mean that they would have to admit that they did something dumb, but the first step is to admit that you have a problem, right? A double smack to the lawyers who take these cases. They are taking advantage of the less than smart people who come to them for guidance in order to make a profit.
My husband asked that I put the entire NBA on the list. While players and owners squabble over who gets how many millions of dollars, nobody is paying the people who rely on basketball in order to live. All the ticket takers, the concession stand workers, the waitresses at the sports bars, the guy selling t-shirts, etc., are all out of work. If they haven't found another job, they can't make their rent, feed their children, or anything else. I don't see any lawyers on TV fighting for THOSE people to make money, and they actually need it.
I am already in a better mood, having gotten all that out. Is there anyone out there that you think is smack-worthy? Add them here!
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