What I'm Reading Now -- Snow Flower and the Secret Fan

Snow Flower and the Secret Fan is one of those books that was really popular when it came out, especially with book clubs, yet somehow I really have no idea what the story is.  All I know is that it's set in China.  But Mom sent me the audio version of it, so here I go!

The Song I'm Loving Today

Paradise (Coldplay)

I've listened through Coldplay's latest album, Mylo Xyloto, a couple of times.  Honestly though, I haven't given it the attention I should have.  Then, a couple of weeks ago, E championed "Paradise" as the cutest music video on the internet.  Turns out: she's right.  It's so adorable I couldn't stop laughing, but it's also surprisingly touching!



When she was just a girl,
She expected the world.
But it flew away from her reach,
So she ran away in her sleep,
To the para, para, paradise,
Para, para, paradise,
Para, para, paradise,
Every time she closed her eyes.

When she was just a girl,
She expected the world.
But it flew away from her reach,
And the bullets catch in her teeth.
Life goes on, it gets so heavy;
The wheel breaks the butterfly.
Every tear a waterfall,
In the night, the stormy night,
She closed her eyes.
In the night, the stormy night,
Away she flies.

And dream of para, para, paradise,
Para, para, paradise,
Para, para, paradise,
Oh oh oh oh oh-oh-oh-oh.
She dreamed of para, para, paradise,
Para, para, paradise,
Para, para, paradise,
Oh oh oh oh oh-oh-oh-oh.

La la la la la la la la la la
La la la la la la la la la la

And so lying underneath the stormy skies,
She'd say "oh, oh-oh-oh-oh, I know the sun must set to rise."

This could be para, para, paradise,
Para, para, paradise,
Could be para, para, paradise,
Oh oh oh oh oh-oh-oh-oh.

This could be para, para, paradise,
Para, para, paradise,
Could be para, para, paradise,
Oh oh oh oh oh-oh-oh-oh.

This could be para, para, paradise,
Para, para, paradise,
Could be para, para, paradise,
Oh oh oh oh oh-oh-oh-oh.

52 Weeks of Dresses -- Week 37

Otherwise titled: brunch at the Provinces

This past Sunday, T and I went to brunch at the Provinces Restaurant, which is one of the restaurants at the Hilton in Frontenac.  They had delicious mimosas made with strawberry-orange juice.  (Hmm...it appears that I have a thing about mimosas!)

The brunch was buffet-style, and they had quite a spread of food, though most of it fairly typical brunch stuff.  And it was typically decent.  Not great, but good.  They did have a blackberry tart for dessert which was delish, though!

Circus Flora ~ and ~ What I Watched -- One Lucky Elephant

I've been meaning to watch One Lucky Elephant for some time.  I had it DVR'd at my old house, but lost all that stuff when I moved.

I also had been meaning to go to Circus Flora for a couple of weeks, but had been quite busy with life and hadn't gotten around to it.

These two objects of my procrastination came together when I realized that the circus's last weekend of the year was upon me!  I got the movie and watched it.  It's the story of a man named David and his elephant, Flora.  Yes, that Flora.

Flora had been captured in Africa when she was quite young and brought to the US, where David acquired her for his circus.  She served the circus for many years, seemingly happily.  Eventually, David [Balding, still Circus Flora's producer and artistic director] decided that the circus was no longer the best home for Flora.  The film chronicles his attempts to find her a happy place to live.

The circus no longer has an elephant, but it does still have horses, ponies, dogs, high wire walkers, clowns, tumblers, and all manner of tricksters.  I went with the three L's - two of them were there for the first time!  (True, one of them is three months old.  Still.)  I was a little sad there were no trapeze artists this year, but otherwise things were great, as usual!

Alice in Wonderland

Last week, E treated me to a night at the opera!  What a lovely surprise, since I already had my night with Grandpa and was not expecting another one!  This time it was Alice in Wonderland, so we did the only acceptable thing: had a Mad Hatter tea party!

We had curried egg sandwiches, cucumber sandwiches with dill and scallion cream cheese, crackers with horseradish cheese spread (made with real horseradish!), pomegranate scones, lemon cookies, linzer cookies, Jordan almonds, fruit gummies, and other delicious and most colorful treats!  Oh, and of course drinks: wine, pink or yellow lemonade, iced tea, and candy-striped straws through which to drink!

Our table, which doesn't show remotely all of our goodies - certainly not the petit fours, which we saved for dessert after the show!

Now, on to the show itself.  Alice, in its U.S. premiere, was good - certainly enjoyable - but I did not think it measured up to the wonder that was Sweeney Todd.   Of course, that would be hard to do.

It was surely amusing; I laughed out loud several times.  The caterpillar was particularly fun, as was the Duchess.  There was great variety in the characters' attitude and costumes, not to mention their pieces of music.  But since I did mention them, they ranged from rap to much more classical aria.  In truth, I found it to be a bit more like watching a musical play than an opera, however.  The scoring is quite modern and felt like it could use a bit more refinement, though it did play well to different characters' traits and story.

The set pieces were limited: four or five large cabinets as well as a few smaller props.  It was amazing everything that was done with them though.  It felt like I was following Alice on her adventures, even though I was always looking at the same stage.

Goal #26

Goal #26: Lists, lists, lists.

I have previously shared my joyous love for Evernote with everyone.  One of the reasons I love it is that it's cross-platform compatible - web-based, tablet app, mobile app.  So anywhere I am that I need to jot something down to remember later, there it is!

However, the problem is that my lists are getting a little out of control (much like my e-mail inboxes a couple of weeks ago).  This week I'm going to spend a little time cleaning them up, actually doing the things on my to-do list, etc.

Recap of Goal #25: massive success!  All books relocated.  Soon I'll have to start digging through them, but that's for another week.

What I Watched -- Moonrise Kingdom

Is it possible that I forgot to post about this?  I saw it a few weeks ago, but I guess I've been so busy that it just slipped my mind.

Anyway, Moonrise Kingdom is the new Wes Anderson movie, very much in the vein of The Royal Tenenbaums.  He uses the same quirky cinematography in both film, colors that at once seem dull and bright, and actors who take their otherwise comedic roles and scenes very seriously.  Both movies would be considered comedies, if only they had been played for laughs.

The story of Moonrise Kingdom is simple: two kids decide to run away together, and people go searching for them.  Serious hilarity ensues.

Bottom line: oddly entertaining.

MWF Seeking BFF -- Take 2

Now that I've read the whole of MWF Seeking BFF, I can say the following things: Rachel seems like a cool girl, but probably one I could only handle in moderated doses.  But that's true of most people I think.  How many times have you taken a week-and-a-half-long road trip with someone and not wanted to kill them at least once?  But drinks?  Movie?  Maybe even improv class?  You bet!

I did learn some interesting things though, which I will share for your friendly edification.  Comments follow, in more ways than one:

- "When British anthropologist Robin Dunbar was studying the behaviors of primates in 1993, he noticed their social groups were generally limited in size. . . . '[M]ean group size is directly related to relative neocortical volume.' . . . The exact number Dunbar proposed [for humans] was 148.4, but the Dunbar Number, as it has come to be known, is 150."  Hmm.  Once I subtract out immediate and relatively close family as well as the people I already count as friends, that leaves me with...hmm, math...lots of space for new friends.

- "Teenagers spend nearly 33 percent of their time with friends, but that number drops to less than 10 percent for adults.  When we do have time for friends, most people would rather spend it with already-established BFFs than having to be 'on' with a possible new one."  Guilty as charged, but I'm trying!  I can totally see why this happens, but it is kinda sad.

- "I was flattered and excited by the response [to an essay posted on her blog about her search], but also kind of disheartened.  There are so many women on this same quest--maybe not as overtly as I am but certainly internally--and no one talks about it.  Popular culture has made it okay to yell 'I want a man!' from the rooftops, so why are we still embarrassed to say, 'I want a best friend'?

When you tell someone 'I'm looking for new friends' what they hear is, 'I have no friends.' They're drastically different statements, but in today's world, you don't go seeking out new best friends unless you have none.  Why would someone waste the time? Letting on that you could use a new BFF implies loneliness, and if you say you're lonely you might as well say you're a shut-in."

And later: "Much has changed during this year of friending, but one thing has not.  In the eyes of the 20- and 30-somethings, a proclamation of friendlessness still equals loneliness, while admitting you want a lover just makes you a modern woman."  Sad but true.  Why is it so okay to look for a man but not for a friend?

- But this is why it's so important to look for friends: "Americans are the most mobile people in the world, moving on an average every five years.  And while fewer of us are relocating these days--the total number of families who changed residences in 2008 was the lowest since the 1940s, probably due to the recession--those who do move are largely in their twenties and thirties." Well.  I could have told you that.  But it's good to know I'm not crazy for thinking it.

- "Facebook has basically made high school reunions obsolete."  In fact, I did already tell you this little fact.

- "Plenty of research has found that geography is one of the most influential factors in whether two people will become friends.  Having similar addresses has been shown to matter more than having similar values or interests."  Hm.  Need to do some work on that.

- A useful but sad reminder, and also more Facebook-bashing (not my me this time!):  "The average friendship doesn't last a lifetime.  In her book Best Friends Forever: Surviving a Breakup with Your Best Friend, psychologist Irene Levine writes, 'A friendship, like a romantic relationship, is founded on two different personalities, both of whom grow and change, for better or for worse, over the course of time.  There is no guarantee that two individuals, however close they once were, will grow in the same direction or remain compatible.  Even when friendship is built on a solid foundation, the odds are overwhelmingly high that it will eventually fracture for one reason or another . . . Most friendships, even best or close ones, are fragile rather than permanent.' . . .

"The evening [with an old friend] makes me think Facebook is a blessing and a curse.  Sure, it helps us keep track of people with whom we otherwise would have fallen out of touch.  But sometimes relationships fade for a reason.  They're better left a memory."

Well, that certainly is a gloomy note to end on, isn't it?  Thankfully, the book doesn't end there.  By the end of her year of searching, Rachel has made a number of friends.  They're not the besties she was hoping for, but that takes time.  There's at least potential that a couple of them will turn into besties eventually.

As for my own little self, I've had similar experiences vis a vis people's responses.  If you happen to be talking to someone who feels similarly lonely (and they certainly are out there), they're quick to wholeheartedly support the search and have the same laments regarding mobility, which seems to be my biggest hinderance in the arena of maintaining friendships.  But people who are satisfied that they've reached their Dunbar capacity look at you with some mix of pity and concern that you've become an alien.  Not fun to be on the receiving end of that.

As an added bonus, my friends who are in town/know about this whole process have been very supportive.  And, to be clear, it's not that they aren't wonderful people and friends!  It's just that everyone's busy these days; it would be nice to have a handful of people to call for a girl date.  Maybe most of them will already have something on the books, but hopefully at least one is free for the occasion.  That's why it's good that the Dunbar Number is 150 and not 15!

Random Links

The Good Person Construct.  Or, are you a cheater?

Are we living in sensory overload or sensory poverty?

Our very own (okay, not really - but kinda) Nik Wallenda crossed Niagara Falls on a high wire!

Saving the whales, one nylon fishing net at a time.

And ISS-eye view of the globe, including the Northern Lights.

I'm definitely an order muppet.  You?

52 Weeks of Dresses -- Week 36

Otherwise titled: Happy Grandpa's Day!

(Or is it "Happy Grandpas's Day"?  The same question holds true: "Happy Father's Day" or "Happy Fathers' Day"? A dilemma I still haven't solved.)

In any case, G&G joined T and I for brunch at Jimmy's, where I haven't been in some time.  I had the Spinach Artichoke Benedict, which was delicious!  I wasn't quite sure what to expect when I ordered it, but it didn't disappoint.  And of course I also got the mimosa flight (raspberry, pomegranate, and pineapple), which somehow they managed to leave off the menu when they redesigned it!  What?!?

T had the tenderloin Benedict, Grandma had French toast, and Grandpa - the only one of us to opt for lunch - had the burger.  Everyone left happy.

Also it appears that I like to wear pink dresses to Jimmy's:
Exhibit A: here
Exhibit B:

Goal #25

Goal #25: massive book relocation.

This I think might be my first goal that requires cooperation of others - and the catch is that none of them know it yet.

For now, all of my books are in L&L's basement.  I'm hoping to move them closer to home so I might actually get a chance to go through them at some point, which was a project that started shortly before my short-notice move, and one which I'd like to continue.  But the goal for the week is just to move all the boxes.  I think that will be enough for now.

Recap of Goal #24: boxes are gone!  In fairness though, I made a mess of a few other things in the process, so now I have to put all those away.  But that's progress, any way you slice it!

What I'm Reading Now -- The Thirteenth Tale

When it came out several years ago, The Thirteenth Tale got lots of great reviews.  However, I was in law school at the time and in no condition to read books for fun.  In fact, even a couple of days ago when I started on it, I had no idea what it was about.  But no matter - so far I'm enjoying it anyway!

The Night Circus -- Take 2

What a delightful tale!  To be clear, The Night Circus certainly will not be for everyone.  It's about the circus, after all - a circus with real magic.  But if you can, for a few hundred pages (or 11 CDs) suspend your disbelief about those minor details, it is an easy, fun story with a surprisingly dark turn.

I do, however, stand by my previous statement that sometimes the flowery description can run overly long.  Also in reference to the first post, the second person was a good choice in this context; it works.

One thing I cannot let go without comment: there is a character in the book whom the narrator refers to as "the man in the grey suit," which I just could not get past without thinking of that Bruce Hornsby song, The Way It Is: "the man in a silk suit hurries by, as he catches a poor old lady's eye, just for fun he says, 'get a job.'"

Othello

Every year, Shakespeare  Festival St. Louis puts on one of the Bard's productions at Shakespeare Glen in Forest Park, free to the public!

This year's selection is Othello, and last Monday, K, T, and I went with G&G to see it.  I definitely enjoyed this year's show, although it wasn't the best they've done (that award would probably go to Hamlet - at least of the ones I've seen).  I found that this show dragged a little bit in the beginning of the second half, but otherwise was great - Othello and Desdemona especially.  I may even go back this weekend!

Sweeney Todd

Sweeney Todd was fabulous!  Music was great, performances were great, costumes were great, staging was great.  And on top of it all, it was both funny and seriously dark.

I loved it, E loved it, Grandpa said it might be the best opera he's ever seen at OTSL, and he's been going for 30 years.  Sondheim, by his assessment, is as good a composer as any of the classic ones.

If that's not enough praise and reason to go see this while you still can, I don't know what is.

Happy Birthday, K!

Enjoy your non-birthday dinner!

Goal #24

Goal #24: put/give/throw away the last of the miscellany.  (AKA: Isn't it time you finally finished unpacking?)

You know how, when you move, you always a couple of boxes of, just, stuff?   Just those random things that don't have anywhere else to go?

Well, due to my disorganized packing, I have several of those.  Some are in storage, some are currently in my living room.  T did a wonderful job this weekend cleaning and organizing the living room, so now I have to actually do something with those boxes.  Wish me luck!

Recap of Goal #23: progress!  Still not perfect, but my inboxes (at least the three that I use with any regularity) are about back to where we were last time I did this, and that's good enough for me.

Notes on Lunch

I made a delicious sandwich for lunch recently!  It had been a while since I'd been to the grocery store, so I was rifling through the fridge looking for mid-day meal candidates, and this is what I came up with:

On a bagel, start with a layer of cream cheese on the bottom.  Then a generous serving of roast beef, followed by horseradish (not too much - it's strong!).  Then I layered lots of fresh baby spinach over that.  On the top half of the bagel, I put a layer of Durkee's and then some English cheddar, and popped the top half in the oven for a couple of minutes to get the cheese all melty.  Smoosh it together, and there you go!  It was surprisingly and delightfully delicious.

On a different note, I've recently begun taking my lunch into our conference room and eating there, away from my computer.  What a nice change!  It's quiet, which I generally appreciate, but it's also free from distractions.  A little me time in the middle of the day.  Know what I'm doing with it?  Reading a book!  A real book with paper pages! (Yes, the old-fashioned kind.)  And I'm making actual progress!  Brilliant.

Random Links

Not your typical bar fly.

Yes!

Don't honk at old people.

Farewell, Ray.

I would like to read this book.

Good dog.

Elephants, reunited.

British Shin-Kicking Championships.  Yes, really.

Pies and Tarts

Last week I took a cooking class!  L'Ecole Culinaire recently opened a branch called L'Ecole Academy, which offers all manner of cooking classes.

The one I took was Pies and Tarts.  We learned about the five different types of pie (fruit, meat, cream, custard, and chiffon), different types of dough and crusts for pie bottoms vs. tops, tarts, and shortbreads, and then we made two pies!

First up was an apple pie, and it was the first time in my life that I made a lattice top!  Total success!  Then we made a pumpkin pie (out of season, I know, but it's the first step towards a cream pie so it was a good choice) decorated with cute little leaves all the way around.  So fun!

Plus I learned about all the fun kitchen supplies you can buy at Home Depot - dowels, key stock, brushes, marble slabs, all kinds of things!

What I Watched -- Downton Abbey, Season 2

OMG, this show is amazing!  Everything about it - the history, the manners, the awesome quotations (as you can see).  Here are two more, one humorous and one poignant:

"Don't be defeatist dear, it's very middle class."
-- Maggie Smith as the Dowager Countess

"Will you be happy, truly?"
"I have no right to be unhappy, which is almost the same."
"Almost."
-- Claire Calbraith as Jane (a house maid) and Hugh Bonneville as the Earl of Grantham

I think many of the characters really came into their own this season, which spans WWI.  It covers a lot of ground, but does it well, especially for the sisters and Matthew upstairs, as well as Daisy, Bates, and Anna downstairs.

And of course, Maggie Smith is brilliant as always.

New Town St. Charles

On Sunday morning, I rode my bike out to New Town St. Charles.

Have you ever been there?  It's super weird.  As I approached, I commented that I felt like I was riding into Stepford.  All the houses were a little too well-laid-out, it was all a little too planned.

It was fairly early, about 8:00 in the morning, and there were very few people out.  The longer I was there, the more it felt like I left Stepford and entered into an episode of the Twilight Zone.  So, so strange.

In theory, the planned community seems like a good idea, but I was all too happy to ride away from it.

What I Watched -- The Descendants

Look at me, catching up on all the Oscar darlings that I never saw!   (Exhibits A, B, C, and D.)  This time around, it was The Descendants which caught my eye.  George Clooney is a damn good actor.  For some reason, that fact annoys me, but he is.  I think I want to dislike him, but I just can't!

And The Descendants was good!  I think I liked it better than The Artist, in fact.  The story is pretty simple: distant dad has to learn how to rear his own children after his wife falls into a coma, and on top of that, he learns that she was having an affair.  And there's the meta-story, which is that dad and his family are descendants of a Hawaiian princess and have some wealth in the form of pristine shoreline; they're under some time pressure to figure out what to do with it, and as an attorney, our part-time dad is the trustee in charge.

Clooney as Matt King is clearly the star of the show, but he's backed up by a great ensemble cast: Shailene Woodley as Matt's older daughter Alex, Amara Miller as his younger daughter Scottie, Matthew Lillard as Matt's wife's lover, Judy Greer as the lover's jilted wife, and Beau Bridges as Matt's cousin and fellow royal descendant.

Bottom line: the whole thing is well-acted, the story is funny and sad and touching, and I loved it!

Goal #23

Goal #23: clear out e-mail inboxes.  Again.

This is a redux of Goal #9.  Unfortunately my inboxes have fallen again into a state of disrepair over the last couple of months, so I have to go back at them this week.  Ugh.

Recap of Goal #22: I got almost everything out of the living room that I needed to, but somehow we managed to make an even bigger mess of the living room than we did last week.  Not sure how that happened.

Quote of the Day

"...It's a brave new world we're headed for, no doubt about that.  We must try to meet it with as much grace as we can muster."
 -- Hugh Bonneville as Robert Crawley, Downton Abbey

"I'm a woman Mary.  I can be as contrary as I choose."
 -- Maggie Smith as the Dowager Countess, Downton Abbey