Category Archives: Books, Movies, TV & Music

Every year I get really excited about the series premieres. There aren’t a lot of TV shows that I really like, so I am always ridiculously optimistic that something will come along. I hate, hate, hate reality TV (it’s absolutely ruining our country, I swear). I don’t get the appeal of “Grey’s Anatomy.” I also don’t have any interest in “Dr. Who” or “Nip/Tuck” or “Scrubs” (“Scrubs” actually annoys me a great deal). Yes, I am difficult to please. I usually end up watching Law & Order: SVU reruns or Forensic Files, or something on Discovery or The History Channel.

The one show I do watch faithfully is “The Office.” The premiere last week was pretty good, though I can’t say there was anything especially memorable. I’m a bit afraid that the show is going to start going downhill. (Actually I was alarmed a few weeks ago when I saw bins of Office-themed merchandise in Target’s Dollar Spot — that can’t be a good sign.) Great. Pam & Jim are together (something I was never really cheering for, but knew was bound to happen). What will be the source of tension this season? I’m going to assume Karen will come back at some point. Her departure was far too abrupt. I’m going to also take a guess that there will be some Ryan/Michael tension. Otherwise, what’s left? My fingers are crossed that the show pulls through, but this is what — the fourth season? It can’t last forever.

I’m also disappointed in “House.” It’s getting too wacky. I couldn’t even bother watching the end of last night’s episode. We also caught “Cavemen.” Unlike pretty much everyone else I’ve talked to, I was actually looking forward to the show (and so was Drew) and we both really liked it. It’s just an easy little sitcom. Kind of dumb, I guess, but certainly not as bad as say “Two and a Half Men”. But because I enjoyed it, that means it will be on for maybe another week before they replace it with “Dancing with the Stars” or something equally as crappy. (Apologies if you enjoy that kind of thing, but I honestly do not understand the appeal.)

Maybe I should just give up on television. Period.

I used to be a voracious reader. I could go through a book a week, easily. In college, I read books for pleasure on top of all my required reading (which was plentiful, trust me). But then I got pregnant. Actually, after Jake was born I still kept up with reading pretty well. I wasn’t reading at the pace I used to, but I still got through a few books within a year’s time. But after Noah was born? Forget it. I don’t think I completed a single book last year and I’m not faring any better this year. So I’m going to participate in the Fall Into Reading challenge. Just because I haven’t been reading, that doesn’t mean I haven’t been quietly amassing books. I have a huge pile and I need to start working my way through it.

So with that in mind, I hope to read the following book by December 21st:

Heat: An Amateur’s Adventures as Kitchen Slave, Line Cook, Pasta-Maker, and Apprentice to a Dante-Quoting Butcher in Tuscany by Bill Buford – Must. Finish. This!

<em>Water for Elephants by Sara Gruen – I’m about 30 pages in. Another in the “finish” category.

Stephanie Pearl-McPhee Casts Off: The Yarn Harlot’s Guide to the Land of Knitting by Stephanie Pearl-McPhee – Gifted by my SP10 pal. I’d hoped to read it while on vacation in June. Haven’t opened it yet.

Kafka on the Shore by Haruki Murakami – Highly reccomended by one of my customers. This is exactly the kind of book I need to read to get my brain working again.

So You Wanna Be a Rock & Roll Star: How I Machine-Gunned a Roomful of Record Executives and Other True Tales from a Drummer’s Life by Jacob Slichter – I’ve had this forever and I’m so mad at myself for letting it just sit there.

I need to spend less time reading stuff online and get my nose back between the pages of some books. Let’s hope I can do this!

I really need to start reading more. I continue to buy books, but by the time I can sit down and start reading, I’m just too tired. But I do spend a lot of time in the car and was thinking that maybe I should start listening to audio books. Booksonboard.com has a great selection of Downloadable Audio Books from both major publishing houses and small publishers. There are no annual fees or minimum purchases. Might be a cool service to check out.

I know nothing about cars. Nothing. As long as it starts when I put the key in, that’s good enough for me. Of course, I know when to get oil changes and stuff (though our new Corolla actually tells us when it’s time for that!), but I know nothing about auto parts or body shop supplies. Nevertheless, I still find myself listening to “Car Talk” on NPR occasionally. Why? The hosts are pretty funny, so maybe that’s it. It’s a good show, though, and probably even better if you’re interested in the subject matter.

I had no idea that they were making one of my favorite books, Silk by Alessandro Baricco, into a movie! I’m a little nervous. Often when I love the book I hate the movie, so I’m not sure what to expect. My friend’s theatre company made it almost three years ago, though, so I do know it can work in a visual medium. I’m cautiously excited. The book is so special to me. I just hope the movie comes close.

Celebrities are so weird. Maybe that’s why people are obsessed with them. Apparently Kate Moss (yes, the supermodel scrawn) is writing a song for Amy Winehouse who is supposedly undergoing treatment for a drug problem. Of course, the singer had been in and out and in and out and I’m not even sure at this point. But who knew that Kate Moss was a budding songwriter? She was in drug rehab herself, but… I don’t get it. Can’t wait to hear it, though. (Out of morbid curiousity if nothing else!)

I’m not sure if this is best classified as an obsession or as a guilty pleasure, but I am totally addicted to The Jewelry Channel and their drop auctions. The other night while I was finishing getting dinner ready, Drew was channel surfing and came across this shopping channel where the price kept dropping and when time was up, everyone who secured an order got the lowest price. We were compelled, to say the least. It has now replaced CNN as my “just to have something on” channel. Yesterday I attempted to register through the Web site, but kept getting a database error so I think I might have to call. There was a gorgeous diamond and garnet ring on tonight, valued at $500 and it went for $36! I so would have treated myself to that if I’d had my damn PIN! Oh well. Something else will come along, I’m sure! I also find the channel interesting because they have short bits between jewelry segments that show how the gems are mined, or give a bit of history on them (I swear I am now an expert on Mexican fire opals). I’m just fascinated. Love it!

When Jake was Noah’s age, he was rocking out to Einstürzende Neubauten. No, seriously — I can’t remember which CD it was, but we’d play it over and over again and he’d dance his little heart out. He was also quite taken with Hi-5!, which is pretty tolerable as far as kids’ music goes. Well, now Noah is equally obsessed with Hi-5! but he’s not so into the industrial/goth/however you’d classify E.N. Sadly for me, he is also not into The Decemberists, Morphine, or G. Love. He does like to groove to Beck, though. Jake is still in his Velvet Underground phase, currently. And, of course, they both have been asking their Daddy to sing his smash hit “Melonball” over and over… and over again. Maybe we’ll see if we can get him to upload a version as an MP3.