You are currently browsing the monthly archive for October, 2007.
I received the following forward yesterday from my mother with the subject line: “NOT a good movie for kids”:
You may already know about this, but I just learned about a kids movie coming out in December starring Nicole Kidman. It’s called The Golden Compass, and while it will be a watered down version, it is based on a series of children’s books about killing God (It is the anti-Narnia). Please follow this link, and then pass it on. From what I understand, the hope is to get a lot of kids to see the movie–which won’t seem too bad–and then get the parents to buy the books for their kids for Christmas. The quotes from the author sum it all up. I’m going to tell everyone about this movie.
Fact: Yes, this trilogy does explore the idea of overthrowing “God” or a higher deity. Read the rest of this entry »
Now Listening: Aaron Schroeder, Artist; Black & Gold, Album
There is a photography shop in Dupont that sells a print of the words “Without Music Life Would Not Be Fair” chalked on to a black brick wall. Surrounded by vibrant images of Greece and Spain and Vietnam, this is the photograph that always draws my eye and leaves me walking away with a little extra spring in my step. The power of music is right up there with that of the written word (although my brother definitely received the musical genes in our family). Despite my inability to produce music, I can attest that not only would life not be fair without music, but the work day would be much longer.
The combination of NPR and iPod ownership have renewed my passion for music. Listening to mainstream radio had left me feeling as if today’s music scene was stale and overplayed. I had come to rely on my friends for recommendations when it came to the occasional music purchase on iTunes.
When my iPod was out of commission, I began depending on the music offerings of NPR.org for my daily at work music fix. I had discovered the amazing talk-radio programming NPR offered a few years before as a commuter in DC traffic, offering a happy alternative to the usual prattle of morning radio, but I had no idea that I would find my musical tastes so in line with that of those making programming choices at NPR. Read the rest of this entry »
22. Memoirs of Montparnasseby John Glassco
This book took me back to a time I have never experienced and yet it stirred in me feelings of deep nostalgia–as if this is the Paris of my mind and memory. Bogged down with literary references and name-dropping at times, this novel (a memoir only in the loosest of terms) still manages to spectacularly convey an era of gaiety, optimism, and creativity, unlike any that came before it or any that will come after it.
I am a city mouse, not a country mouse. The rhythms of the city are the soundtrack of my day: the pounding footsteps on the sidewalk at rush hour, the roar of the metro’s comings and goings, the shouts of newspaper vendors, the boy with the banjo on First Street, even the homeless’ pleas for aid. But every now and again, it’s good to mix things up, as I recently discovered when I set my iPod to “shuffle” mode.
And so when the rain bid our region a last adieu on Saturday afternoon, we piled rather unpreparedly into the Spitfire and headed out of town to Prince William Forest National Park. This park seeks to preserve the watershed in the Piedmont mountains as they approach the coastal plain. A mere 40 minutes outside DC, it provides an escape from the rush of traffic and the swells of people.
New tent! Read the rest of this entry »
It’s nearly upon us–the sole consolation for the departure of warm days, outdoor dinners, flip flops, and BBQ’d hot dogs. The Holiday Season. When it comes to the holidays, I may not live up to all my Martha Stewart aspirations, but I do start planning early (as much out of necessity as excitement).
The current countdown stands as 2 days until Halloween, 24 until Thanksgiving, and far too many until Christmas and New Years. My pumpkin is bought, plans for a premature roommate Thanksgiving fete are forming in my head, Veteran’s Day weekend guests are already expected, the flights home for November and December are purchased, Christmas craft/present ideas are beginning to formulate, and an invitation to a New Years celebration on a down home Missouri farm has already been issued (and accepted!). Can you blame me for already longing to hear the solemn strains of O Holy Night filling the coffee shops?
I’m putting together a list of potential gift/craft ideas. It’s still very much in beginning stages and wide open to suggestion:
- Knit hats and/or mittens (scarves were so 2006…)
- Aprons with a pertinent story attached as a “party favor” of sorts for the 2nd Annual Selz Women Christmas Cookie Cook-Off. (inspired by The Apron Book)
- Business card holders (idea courtesty of Blueprint magazine)
As a result of this budding craftiness, top on my list of things to do this week is visit my local bookstore (Confession: Books and magazines are the sources of most of my ideas. I lack the certain je ne sais quoi required for being creative without a pattern.) and the new craft store in DC, Ipso-Crafto (733 8th Street SE). I had a chance to stop in during the week of their grand opening in Auguest and was delighted by the trendiness of their fabric selection (although, www.reprodepotfabrics.com is another excellent source if you are comfortable shopping online). Located right next door to Stitch DC in Eastern Market, the cozy store was still very much a work in progress in that first week, and I’m very excited to see how far it has progressed in the past few months. I recently joined their mailing list and hope to attend some of the classes this November! I hope to continue returning for much needed craftiness motivation and inspiration, as this local option provides a much needed alternative in DC to the larger, more impersonal craft store options.
As the holidays draw nearer, I’ll keep you up-to-date on the success or lack thereof of the Homemade Gift Extravaganza 2007 and will hopefully have some season appropriate recipes to share as well.
For those with advice to offer on rice cooking and those who feel clueless in the dairy section.
When it comes to my dietary preferences, I figure a bit of background may be necessary. Here are the basic tenents of my edible history:
- Forget matching wine to your menu. Dinner is meant to be accompanied by milk.
- It is possible to not eat vegetables (depending on where you fall in the “Potato, Vegetable or No?” debate) at all. I did it for nearly 20 years.
- If genetics is kind and youth on your side, you can subsist on a diet of meat and potatoes and pasta for months on end without being treated for heart failure or obesity.
- Cake without icing is like Christmas without snow.
As I declared July 21 as the symbolic commencement of my year-long quest to read 100 books, I came to the rather sad realization today that the time for my first quarterly report has come and gone and I’m 4 books off pace, having read 21 books at this point. I am currently comforting myself with the knowledge that the holidays should provide some extra long, lazy hours designed for the consumption of hot chocolate and long, cerebral novels that are so easy to shy away from during the breezy summer months but which seem so comforting when a cold draft begins to seep in around the windows.
Books on the night stand: Underworld, Don Dellilo (an 800 page tome that was seemingly written to be consumed over the holidays without the demands of a real job); two by Ruth Reichl (my friends may turn me into a foodie reader, yet); A Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius, Dave Eggers (which I’ve avoided thus far as he stole the title of my great American novel in progress. kidding); and Arthur & George, Julian Barnes (eventually you read too many good reviews, find a copy at the used bookstore, and the next thing you know. . .)
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| From I See London,… |
I have a confession: I’m an utter and complete Francophile.
In my experience, there are only so many ways to successfully combat a dreary morning. If rolling over and staying in bed is not an option, it may be best to go with Plan B: Pick up a book about Paris and allow yourself to be transported to a city so filled with light and history and perhaps a large dose of magic that even gray skies cannot dim its uplifting power.
The number of books available about Paris often seems comparable to the number of grains of sand on a beach. I own more books on the City of Light than any other topic in my non-fiction collection. My copy of Adam Gopnik’s Paris to the Moon is dog-eared and highlighted from it’s role as a standby in my bedstand reading. And A Moveable Feast is the only Hemingway I’ve ever bothered to add to my library.
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| From I See London,… |
This morning, Paris seemed the only refuge from the continual rain and bleak skies that has descended on our nation’s capital the past few days. John Glassco’s Memoirs of Montparnasse has become my escape from the reality of October 25, 2007, in D.C. to the Paris neighborhood of Montparnasse in the 1920s. I find myself salivating at Glassco’s memories. To be able to call oneself “a man of letters” and pass the days at cafes and bistros drinking pernod and eating canard and lobster while occasionaly rubbing shoulders with Hemingway and Stein, those are the escapist fantasies I have to limit myself from indulging for fear that I may one day find myself wandering the rue St. Michel muttering in broken French without a penny to my name and a new addiction to coffee and cigarettes to support. But these are also the escapist fantasies that bring a bit of light through the clouds and make gray skies seem more silver in nature.
When the metro pulls into Union Station at the end of my morning commute, it is time to return to reality. But I often find that these brief retreats through literature can restore my good nature to face the day and remind me that I am overdue to pay a visit to Cafe Bonaparte in Georgetown for a breakfast of crepes and more crepes. . .
Blogging is like any other writing. It can be damn near impossible to carve away and set aside the time to just let the words pour out. While such an action seems so organic and so terribly necessary, it’s also so easy to let slide.
Hence, Creative Day. Perhaps I should declare a Creative Day just to develop a more creative title for the event. The first Creative Day will be tomorrow, October 24, 2007, commencing at 5:30 and ending when my brain has been stretched to its limits and beyond. The details are being worked out on an “as I go” basis. A complete update will be provided afterwards.
But that is all in the future, and I’ve quite a bit of the past to catch up on before I can enjoy the present.
CURRENT BOOK COUNT:
19. Golden Country, Jennifer Gilmore
20. Fluke, Christopher Moore
21. Fierce Invalids Home From Hot Climates, Tom Robbins
NEWEST DC DISCOVERIES:
Las Canteras, (2307 18th St., NW) charming Peruvian restaurant in Adams Morgan. If you haven’t tried Peruvian cuisine, this is the perfect place to wet your feet.
Merkado, (3115 14th St., NW) Latin American cuisine in Logan Circle. Pricier than my usual fare ($15+ per entree), but an excellent selection for a girl’s night out–large drink selection and flavorful food.
Also recommended for a Girl’s Night: The Melting Pot, offering girl’s night specials the second Tuesday of every month. You won’t be able to walk afterwards you will be so filled with fondu delightfulness.
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| From What do Mayfl… |
The highlight of the past two weeks for me (and primary reason for my disappearance from the blogosphere) was a trip with my parents down the Northeast coast from Boston to New York City. While the whole experience was fun and reminiscent of the Funk Family Vacations of yore, little compares to the opportunity to introduce the people who introduced you to so many things in the past to the greatest city in the world. We took in the city from above, from the water, and from the center of it all in Times Square.
If you’re looking to be a tourist in the Big Apple and take in as much of the city as possible in the least amount of time be sure to check out “Top of the Rock” and the Circle Line Cruises.
This weekend: Camping in Appalachians.
In the grand scheme of things, personal library building is not among the most expensive of hobbies. I don’t bother with rare books or first editions or autographed copies for the most part. The problem is that on a publishing assistant’s salary it sometimes comes down to a serious financial decision: lunch or a book? And yes, I love the library and frequent both the DC and Montgomery County Public Libraries. But, at the end of the day, I just love owning (and reading) good books, preferably off the buy 2, get 1 free table.
Only recently did I embrace the used bookstore phenomena. Paying half price for books in near perfect condition has been a sort of revelation in my life. And not just any books, but often the very books I have sitting on my amazon.com wish list waiting for an unexpected monetary windfall.
I knew of the character a used bookstore could possess from my trips to Shakespeare & Co. in Paris, but I assumed even that was primarily a part of its European charm. Little did I know the wonders Washington, DC, held for me.
So without further ado, A Not-So-Comprehesive List for the DC Book Lover on a Budget:
Silver Spring Books. (938 Bonifant St) My first DC used bookstore experience. As a resident of Silver Spring, I was looking to support the local shops. I found it to be chaotic, overwhelming, disorganized, and wonderful. Only a few blocks from the revitalized downtown, SS Books is free of the gentrification that is sweeping the area, and instead exudes a simple and quiet passion for books. Stop in when you have the time to just browse. I don’t recommend going with a specific book in mind unless you’re willing to pour over the shelves, book by book. . . . then again, that may be the best way to enjoy this little shop.
Second Story Books. (2000 P St. NW) I always stop here before hitting Kramerbooks. Fantastic organization, selection, and location.
Capitol Hill Books. (657 C Street SE) This store is literally bursting at the seams with books. Yes, there are even books in the bathroom. Hit up the top floor for one of the largest collections of used fiction in DC.
Bonifant Books.(11240 Georgia Ave) For those days you need to go to Target AND the bookstore, head up to Wheaton, MD. Bonifant Books is among the brighter and more organized used bookstores in DC. A very pleasant surprise in an unexpected location.
Red Onion Records & Books.(1901 18th Street NW) Stumbled upon this one accidentally last weekend. It is the newest and most orderly of my list. Located between Dupont and Adams Morgan, this lovely shop sells used books, CDs, and records. The owner appears to be relatively discerning about what he buys/displays. A great stop for contemporary fiction. I flipped through a temporary outdoor book display for about five minutes and walked away with no less than five books.
As you will note, I didn’t include any stores in Northern Virginia. This remains an unexplored realm for me. I hope to be able to offer a report soon. And I welcome recommendations!
In the meantime, if you need a place to read your new used books, check out my other favorite recent find (this one on Capitol Hill near Union Station): Ebenezers Coffeehouse (201 F Street NE). Fair-trade coffee, relaxing atmosphere, and cozy decor. Highly recommended.
