Thursday Thirteen: Thirteen Things I Never Leave Home Without. . .errr. . .Without Which I Never Leave Home

Was is Master Card that had the "don't leave home without it" ad campaign?  Well, I've been thinking lately about the ridiculous amount of stuff that I feel like I have to tote around with me.  Some of this seems really superfluous but I tend to have this irrational panic that I'll get somewhere and not have the thing I need.

1.  Lip gloss.  OK, this is totally a necessity.  I usually have more than one color in my purse.  One day, I went to a lecture on campus and found that I'd left my pencil case in my office.  But I had 8 different lip glosses with me.  Priorities.

2.  Pencils and pens in a variety of colors.  In spite of once arriving at a lecture without a writing implement, I normally carry around a couple of pencils and, maybe, eight pens.  I like to be able to color code things.  Plus, you never know when you'll need to write, which leads me to. . .

3.  Several notebooks.  I carry a tote bag that always has at least three notebooks in it, usually five or six.  I love the old school marble covered composition books.  And I have different notebooks for different things.  One's a general journal.  One's my monthly budget (really high tech!).  One's devoted specifically to lists of different sorts.  I know it's kinda OCD of me, but I feel like I need to have at least some of my notebooks with me at all times.

4.  A book.  I often think that the single most useful thing I learned in graduate school is to take a book everywhere one goes.  If I'm stuck in a waiting room or in my office or wherever, I can always read.

5.  My iPod.  This one is self evident, no?

6.  My blue turtle beady buddy.  Maybe about 10 years ago, beady buddies were all the rage with the younger set. My brother made me one, and I promised to carry it with me always.  Hence, it's always in my purse or my school bag.

7.  Cell phone.  Again, self evident.

8.  Library card. 

9.  Hand cream.  Really, when don't you need moisturizer.

10.  A spare pair of socks.  Yes, I always keep those in my tote bag.  Again, you just never know.

11.  A variety of stickers.  I am especially fond of Hello Kitty and company.

12.  The instruction booklet for my pedometer.  I'm not sure why this is in my tote bag or why I never take it out.

13.  My tiny, purse size mirror with the Wife of Bath on the back.  This is a momento  from the Huntington Library where the Ellsmere manuscript is housed.

A New Pic of Mama's Baby Boy

Ok, ok I know that I kinda go overboard with the doggie pics.  But here's a new one of Fenway.  I just think he's such a handsome guy.

Another Altered Tee!

Here's another altered tee project.  The red tee is slashed up, and a tank top is to be worn underneath.  I like how this one turned out.  I don't know if you can really tell from the photo (and yes, it's a crappy photo with all the stuff hanging behind the shirt), but it's got a off the shoulder ala Flashdance kind of look.

Thursday Thirteen, Special Wednesday Edition: Hip, Funky, Indie Crafting Resources

Ok, I've probably already said something like this, but lately all I want to do is practice yoga, meditate, read for a bit and then craft.  I love cutting up paper and adding glitter and tying on some ribbon and whatever else.  It's all I want to do:  I dream about fabrics and colors and textures.  I wake up wanting to cut and mix paint colors and whatever else.  And I've also been trying to come up with a cool name for my crafty alter ego.  Right now, I'm thinking Stitchy Woman sounds good, although not terribly original.  I'd like it if my crafty personality weren't the alter ego but the real me.  Did that make sense?  And I don't really even like the term alter ego, because more and more, it seems to me that so many things, crafting included, are about transcending the ego.  Lest I wax ridiculous, I'm just going to jump into the list of funky, wonderful craft resources.  Some of these I've found on my own; some are courtesy of some of you.

1.  Sublime Stitching.  This site, based in Austin, TX, has the greatest embroidery patterns--lots of gothic, alternative stuff.  I just ordered the Sexy Librarian pattern--isn't it perfect for me?

2.  Craft Stylish.  This web site has tons of stuff for all kinds of crafting.  Again, I love that it's hip and young.  And the site seems user friendly.

3.  Craft Leftovers.  OK, so you know how we buy all this fabric and paper and ribbon and trim and whatever else, but we never actually get around to using it?  Maybe it's because the one who dies with the most fabric wins.  But really, this site, which has all kinds of fun ideas, was originally put together in the interest of using up all that accumulated stuff.  This seems like a good crafting philosophy--do work on using up all the stuff we've bought but never gotten to.

4.  Amy Butler's In Stitches.  I really love Amy Butler's style; she designs the most wonderful textiles.  This book, which contains a number of patterns, is devoted to home dec.  While it's not as alternative as, say, Sublime Stitching, this book has a number of great ideas and beautiful, inspiring photos.  Amy Butler also puts out some beautiful, although costly, patterns.

5.  Sew U.  This book, by Wendy Mullin, includes several basic fashion patterns.  But the great thing is that, in addition to basic sewing instruction, Wendy uses her "Built by Wendy" approach to show how you can create endless variations on a single, basic pattern.  I love this idea--that something basic and plain can become one-of-a-kind.  Simplicity has published a number of "Built by Wendy" patterns that work on the same principle.  Wendy Mullin's web site can be found here.

6. Craft.  This is a wonderful magazine and web site.  Craft tends to include an eclectic mix of projects and articles and such.  Many of the craft projects are more involved and complicated than I'm wanting to be, but it's great.  I find all kinds of stuff that I wouldn't expect to see elsewhere.

7. OK, I'm going to include Lucky magazine and the J Crew catalogue in this list.  Although these publications are clearly not devoted to crafting and creativity, I do find inspiration in them.  When I look through them, I tear out pics of jewelry and clothing that I love; then I think about creative ways to recreate the looks that I like. 

8.  Wardrobe Refashion.  This site is, as the name would suggest, devoted to creative ways of refashioning old clothing.  It's great.  One can take a "pledge" to buy no new clothes and instead refashion clothing one already has or refashioning thrift store finds.  I like the whole not acquiring "stuff" philosophy.  And there are a number of contributors, who are all at-home sewers, to the site.  Lately, I'm enchanted with refashioned and altered fashion.

9.  Generation T: 108 Ways to Transform a T-Shirt.   I've posted about this book recently.  It's superfun and contains a number of easy, no-sew projects as well as more complicated things.  It also encourages reusing and refashioning, which I love.

10.  Rip It!  This is another book devoted to refashioning and altering clothing.  It presents some great ideas.

11.  Threads.  This is a magazine devoted to sewing, mostly clothing.  One thing I like about it is that it explores basic as well as advanced techniques.  Also, it's sometimes linked to patterns, from Simplicity I think, and shows you how to alter and embellish these patterns.

12.  Vickie Howell.  I love this woman.  She has several books out, a great web site, and even programs on the DIY channel, 230, if you have DirecTV.  She's from Austin, I think, and she's super cool.  For example, last week she was on DIY, knitting with Lisa Loeb.  What's cooler than that?  She sews, knits, and generally makes the world a cooler place.

13.  Tim Holtz.  Tom Holtz has a number of interesting products.  Apparently, you can watch him on YouTube, although I've not tried this myself.  His work tends to be less alternative crafty and more classy, but he does beautiful stuff. 


Honorable Mentions:  I absolutely love Adorn and Sew Stylish magazines.  Both, however, have gone the way of all flesh, if you know what I mean:  kicked the bucket, bought the farm, passed on to that big craft studio in the sky.  It's a shame because both were really great. 

One More Reason to Believe in Magic

FIREFLIES

Thursday Thirteen: Thirteen Reasons I Believe in Magic

When I was researching for and writing my dissertation several years ago, I remember reading quite a lot about how in England Medievals and Elizabethians thought about magic differently. Or anyway, some theorized that they did. I'm not sure how hard and fast the distinction is. I do know that Medieval Europeans thought about magic and what constitutes magic (and what constitutes science) differently than most of us might. For example, we might think of the Philosopher's Stone, which supposedly can turn any base metal into gold and can also bestow eternal life, as something supernatural, or just a silly idea. To medievals, it was simply science. And it occurs to me that how we define magic or miracle is a culturally defined or even a personally proscribed kind of thing. If I remember correctly C.S. Lewis said that miracles are things that could and maybe would occur naturally but happen at a miraculous speed. Or something to that effect. I'm fascinated, for some reason, by the etymology of the word influenza. Apparently, medievals believed that any sickness that couldn't be explained by causal, natural events was simply a result of the planetary influences; thus we have influenza. Your astrology causes the flu. And yet, if we could speak to medieval peasants or even more learned members of medieval society and explain that really the flu is caused by a virus, which is this living organism that somehow infects the body, would this really sound any more logical or reasonable? I mean, the medieval might ask to see such a virus, and of course, they are not visible to the naked eye. Is the explanation that we accept, that a virus causes the flu, really any less supernatural or magical than attributing sickness to the planetary influences or even to some spiritual presence. In this spirit, then, I offer thirteen reasons that I believe in magic.

1. Humans are able to look at symbols, dashes of ink really, written across a page and decipher some sort of meaning that is akin to spoken language. Reading is magical.

2. If reading is magical, writing is even more magical. Not only can we interpret symbols, often in complex arrangements, but we can produce them and communicate our thoughts, feelings, and dreams. Writing is another kind of magic. And the pen, as we all know, is indeed mightier than the sword.

3. I suppose that although speech is more natural to humans than reading and writing, speech is magical in its own right. We make sounds with our bodies. And these sounds serve to communicate. But they do more than simply communicate. Words have power.

4. Seeds grow into plants. This is a kind of magic, for what human could have created such workings? We plant tiny seeds, sometimes they look like rocks. Mostly, they certainly don't look alive. And yet, sun and rain and air and earth are all they seem to need. And life appears. And it isn't, of course, some sort of random spontaneous life. But seeds become plants, and plants grow. Every day, there's something new to see in my yard. This, indeed, is magic, more magical than any purported supernatural event.

5. The world is full of colors. Color seem to me to be particularly magical. And not only do we perceive color, but we respond to it on nonconscious and emotional levels. Color means; color moves us.

6. We love and are loved in return. What could be more magical than the mystery yet the nearly universal experience of love, especially sacrificial love.

7. As humans, we are conscious of our mortality. We remember the past, and we understand that there is to be a future. Some argue that this is an important factor than separates us from animals. This also seems to be the curse of humans--it's difficult to live in the present and to fully appreciate the present when we are hung up on the past or worried about the future. And yet, to have this range, this spectrum of experience seem to me to be magic.

8. Our necessities can become pleasures; this is magic. Of course we need to eat. But eating is, for many of us, more than just fulfilling a basic need. We can enjoy it, and we do enjoy it.

9. We have the ability and sometimes the imperative to create. Again, some would argue that creativity, the drive to produce art, is what separates humans from animals. We write songs; we paint; we present our food in a way that is pleasing to the eye; we experiment with our food and our wardrobes and how we speak and how we think. We try new ways of doing things, and even if we return to the old ways, we are sometimes better for having tried something new. This ability to create, to produce a painting or a song that is not just interesting but moving, is truly magic, more so than anything I've read about in folk tales or in Arthuriana. Merlin is no more a magician than you and I. Or maybe it's better to say that you and I are just as much magicians, mages as Merlin.

10. Maybe this is just another form of love, but as humans we have the need to feel connected to something outside ourselves. We connect to other people, to social causes, to God. John Donne reminds us that no man is an island. What he doesn't say is that we are not islands, in part, because we need to feel connected to something other than ourselves.

11. We experience loss and pain, but we heal. And most importantly we grow. Humans are not emotionally or intellectually or spiritually stagnant, or not for very long. We hurt, and we don't like hurting, but we grow. Growth and beauty and strength can come from pain. And people do have the ability to change. This is even more magical than an oak growing from a tiny acorn.

Ok, so that was only 11. I really thought I could do a full 13. Still, a list of 11 reasons is better than no list at all. And maybe I can edit this post later. I do believe in magic. All these things, part of our everyday, natural life seem just as magic as anything we might imagine or read about. I think that because so many of these are mundane we tend to take them for granted, and yet, who would we be with out love and communication and each other?

Oh, OK, it's a couple hours later, and I just thought of two more magical things.

12. Risotto is, indeed, magical. There is, for me, something really fulfilling and satisfying and, yes, magic about making risotto. I mean, it's not hard but it always feels like adding the liquid a bit at a time and stirring and stirring until the whole starchy thing has this almost creamy texture is fascinating and akin to magic. How can it be that rice with a little olive oil and a little onion and a little white wine and a lot of broth can become something so luxe and rich and decadent? Because that's always my experience of even a very simple at-home risotto.

13. Silly, impulsive, fearless crafting is magic. I know that this last item might not make sense to many others, and certainly it's somehow related to creativity. But I love impulsive, inexpensive crafts. I love taking something plain and creating something unique that reflects something about me. See for example, the tee shirts below. I love crocheting scarves and dying slips from goodwill and refashioning things that I've not worn in ages and gluing beads and glitter to everything and sewing and cutting up pretty paper. And I love not worrying about how it'll turn out but simply enjoying the process of creating. I love getting lost in the activity. I love feeling smart and sassy and creative. I love, even, pairing funky argyle socks with a drab skirt and sweater, so that I feel like I've created even a look that's "me." I know that all of this may not sound magic to anyone else. But it is. What could be more magic than using nothing but, say, scissors and glue and pretty paper to make a lovely card?

And so there you have it: some of the reasons that I don't just believe in magic but embrace it.

Wiki Idea

This just occurred to me. What we really, really need, seriously, is a wiki devoted to literary criticism. How helpful would that be? Oh and Thursday Next can define Reader Response Theory much better than I ever could. But more on that later.

Communication and Miscommunication

On Sunday morning, I woke up to a message on my answering machine. It sounded something like this: "Hi Drennan. . .wah wah wah [insert the noises the adults on the Peanuts make]. . .this is wah wah. . .wah wah wah wah wah would love to talk to you wah wah wah." And that was all I could make out. The caller sounded like a female voice. And she didn't leave a number. Now clearly, I have no idea who this was. And I think that the message was possibly left in the wee hours, although it's difficult to say for sure--the power had gone out the night before, and I know that my time stamp thingy was off. So. . .if you left a message on my landline, and I never called back, please call again. It's best to call my cell number if you have it. I feel bad and a little concerned about the whole thing.

Also, this just in. Recently, I have had several people mention things like they wish I had a myspace or that they requested me as a myspace friend and that I ignored. So I've decided that, in the interest of communication, I will start being more active with the old myspace account.

"Pull This Thread As I Walk Away:" Altered Tees and Why They Don't Unravel

Ok, let me say, first, that I think this is a really unflattering picture of me. However, it shows the lace up back of my latest altered tee, which I think is kinda fun. And here's an explanation for C. about why I think this sort of thing can be done without sewing, why it shouldn't unravel. Some of you know that I actually like to sew and while I'm not a brilliant seamstress, I'm not bad. However, sometimes a no-sew project is kinda fun. This particular tee is done by cutting off lengths from the bottom of the tee, poking holes along the scoop back and lacing the lengths from the bottom across. This was a scoop back to begin with, but a regular tee could be cut into this shape. I've borrowed and modified ideas from the book Generation T--108 Ways to Transform a T-Shirt, which is kinda fun and has good ideas. I've left the bottom, where I've cut off a strip unfinished, and the holes I've punched with a craft knife are unfinished too. The kind of knit that the tee is should not unravel--I think it's called a jersey knit. A woven fabric wouldn't work this way and would have to be finished in some way, usually with a hem. I think that the nature of the knit is that the ends and even the little holes just stay the way they are. If you get a small hole in a tee or a polo shirt, it's rather unattractive, possibly, but it doesn't tend to get any bigger. The edge will just kinda curl up a bit, but it works fine. I do think it would look good if the little holes that the band is laced through were finished either with a grommet or an eyelet thingy. But I don't have an eyelet / grommet setter that will work on fabric. But it seems like that would be a fun detail if one wanted a more finished look and wanted to spend a bit more time. It's certainly not a polished look, but it works for casual. This is a purchased tee, and one great thing about it is that it says "Jet Setter" across the front, although you can't see it in this pic. But I just think that's funny. Anyway, I like the idea of wearing clothing that somehow reflects my creativity and all that, so this sort of thing appeals to me, even if it is somewhat trashy and not terribly age appropriate.

This shirt I bought for 3.99. Mostly, I bought it for the color. Again, with nothing but the magic scissors and a craft knife, it becomes something much more interesting. It's much cuter on, I have to say.

More Altered Clothing

Here, a boring purple tee finds new life with the addition of a little ribbon. I like this because the cut up tee is kinda punk, but the green and purple make it girly.

Altered Tees

Ok, so here's my new thing. Here you see a boring black tee. But with my magic scissors, and a few embellishments, it becomes something punky and much more fun. I know that the pic isn't that great, but you get the idea.

More Insomnia

I wonder if blogging about insomnia is somehow generating more insomnia in the world. But last night was another night plagued by the specter of insomnia. Earlier in the day, I went to the pharmacy and bought some sort of homeopathic thing that is supposed to help with sleep. I followed the directions carefully, yet it didn't seem to help at all. Lately, I seem to be able to get to sleep. But I only sleep for like 45 minutes and then am wide awake for hours. Last night, I tried all my old tricks: counting backwards from 300, listening to my iPod, deep breathing. None of it seemed to help. I kept thinking about how I was in the house all alone and how if there were an intruder I probably wouldn't realize it and how if I were to scream no one would hear. I do realize that obsessing about this stuff isn't rational and certainly isn't helpful. But there it was. Yesterday, I also had my annual visit to the gynecologist--woo hoo! That "woo hoo" was sarcasm, by the way. Anyway, sitting in the waiting room felt so weird yesterday, and last night in bed, it was like I kept flashing back to the whole waiting room scene. I felt like I was surrounded by these hugely preganant women; they looked ready to pop. And there they were with men I assume were the fathers of their children. OK, I know this is a terrible thing to think, but they all just looked like they wouldn't be good parents. I realize that, among other things, that's totally classist of me, but I kept thinking, "Why should they get to have a baby?" I feel awful for thinking these things. Then there were several teenagers in the waiting room, waiting to be tested for STIs and to get birth control, no doubt. I've been to the gyno a lot over the past year, and it seems like every time, there's some sort of drama with a 15 or 16 year old girl who either forgot her parents' insurance card or is being chewed out because she missed her last five appointments or whatever. And something about it just freaks me out. I always somehow feel like the pregnant women are being given the VIP treatment and the teenagers are getting lots of attention and I'm persona non grata, as they say. Again, I realize that most of this is in my imagination, but that perception is still there. And I kept thinking and thinking about it all in bed last night. And now I'm to the point in this whole cycle of insomnia where I'm starting to dread going to bed each night. Here it is, only 10:00am, and I'm already worried about going to bed. It's all just maddening!

Jasper Fforde's Thursday Next Series

Last week, I went to the local library, which is really quite a fine library for a small community. While there, I discovered the latest novel in Fforde's Thursday Next series. So I decided that before I read the fifth and most recent novel in the series, I'd reread the first four. So now, I'm on The Well of Lost Plots. And I'm trying to put my finger on what it is that makes this series so entertaining. First, I like that one gets the feeling that Fforde really loves literature but doesn't take it or himself too seriously. There's something wonderful and fun and funny about his play with language and his use of parody. For example, in the fourth in the series, Something Rotten, Hamlet appears as a character who's been transported from Shakespeare's play to Thursday's England, this crazy, alternate England where everyone is all into literature. Anyway, Hamlet is having this identity crisis, which seems somehow apt. And he goes out and rents all these videos with different film adaptations of Hamlet. He can't decide if he wants to be more like Sir Laurence Olivier's Hamlet or Mel Gibson's. And it goes on and on--he analyzes the merits of each, asks others for their opinions. And there's something really funny and absurd but also nearly true, somehow, in all this. And it's indicative of what Fforde does throughout the series. It's all really wonderful. I also recommend Fforde's Nursery Crimes series. It's good light reading. It's funny and clever and not predictable. Fforde is all-round entertainment for English majors.

Insomnia

So last night was not good. I got in bed around 11:00, read until 11:30 or so, turned the lights out, slept for maybe 45 minutes, then was wide awake until nearly 3:30. This morning, I slept until 9:30ish. And now, 45 minutes later, I feel like crap, absolute crap. I feel like I've been out with the dry cows, as some might say. And it drives me crazy when I can't sleep. Seriously, if there is a purgatory, and if it isn't LAX, then it must be insomnia. Truly. So I watched TV--there's not much good on at 2:00am--and read for a while. Mostly, I worried about what the next day would be like and how late I could afford to sleep in without lowering the chances for the next night's sleep. I've had issues from sleep for as long as I can remember, certainly since I was 6. And some nights I sleep fine, but others it's just so miserable. And I never quite know what to do. It all produces anxiety. I've read somewhere that there's a theory that insomnia is about the fear of not being able to fall asleep; for me, fear, or more properly anxiety, feeds it, that's for sure. Because you sit there all anxious about what's going to happen if you don't get enough sleep and anxious about what you should do to promote sleep, and I certainly am not going to drink warm milk--ick! But last night, at about 2:30 I spent a lot of time debating whether or not to get up and take a bath. I guess that I'm thankful that I'm not disturbing anyone else, except for maybe Polly. But it was a truly miserable night.

After a hiatus, I'm back, back to the blogosphere. I wish I had fun, exciting stuff to report, but I don't. Things have been chugging along in a mostly normal, quiet fashion. I was scheduled to start teaching summer school yesterday, but my courses were canceled due to low enrollment. I do have to say that I'm disappointed. I have decided to make use of all the extra time to get some reading and writing done, which is good I suppose. I've also had the time and inclination to practice yoga more than I normally might. I don't think yoga is some miracle cure, but I know that for me, it makes a difference in a number of areas of my life. Lately, I'm using Cyndi Lee's OM Yoga in a Box. She has several books out that are also quite helpful. She does a good job of explaining the postures. Also I'd totally recommend yin yoga to anyone who's looking to really relax and chill out; I've been using the CD and cards that come with Biff Mithoefer's The Yin Yoga Kit . So there, I suppose, are my yoga recommendations. I have other CDs and DVDs that I use also, but these two are the ones I've been using most lately.

I have to say that I'm really enjoying the time off work. In the past, I've always had trouble with more than about a week off work--I tend to get anxious and depressed. But for the past couple of weeks, I've been enjoying sleeping in and reading and watching movies and simply having time to relax. I am so relieved that I seem to be able to handle it.

Anyway, that's an update on me--nothing to exciting or even interesting, I'm afraid. What was it that Tolkien said? Something about how the days that are most pleasant to live are not very interesting to tell about. So that clearly wasn't verbatim, but you get the idea.

Fenway

Here's a new pic of my handsome, handsome baby boy. He's pleased that the Red Sox are in first place in their division; the Yankees are in last. And I feel the same way. You see, it's not so much that I like the Red Sox; it's more that I just HATE the Yankees.

Thursday Thirteen: Thirteen Books I've Never Read But Think I Should Read and Books I've Started But Never Finished But Think I Should Finish

This Thursday Thirteen is in honor of my having finished Bleak House. I decided to read it for many reasons, one of which is that it seems like something someone should read at least once in her life. Oddly, I never expected to actually enjoy it. But I did. Once I got into it, it was interesting and really quite readable. And I always thought I didn't like Dickens! Anyway, here's a list of books that I've either never read and think I should or books that I've started and never finished but think I should. I'm rather embarrassed to admit some of these!

1. Dante: The Divine Comedy. OK, I've started Dante, and I've read most of the Hell section of the poem. And I feel like I know what I need to know, in terms of cultural literacy, about the Divine Comedy--who Beatrice is, for example. But I'm a little embarrassed to have never read all of it. My brother tells me there's an edition with interesting illustrations, maybe by Durer or someone like that, that I should pick up.

2. Virginia Wolf: The Waves. This is one that I really want to read but somehow never get to. In part, I keep thinking, "Oh, I'll reread Dalloway and To the Lighthouse first and then read the Waves." But it never actually happens.

3. Dostoevsky: Crime and Punishment. This is another that I actually want to read. I guess that I've just had other reading priorities, you know?

4. Tolstoy: War and Peace. While we're on the subject of Russian writers, I thought I should fess up to never having read War and Peace. I do remember the Happy New Year Charlie Brown special in which he's assigned War and Peace.

5. The Mabinogion. Again, a volume that I've started several times but never finished. FIY, it's a collection of Welsh myth and folk tales.

6. Joseph Campbell: The Masks of God. So I think Campbell is interesting. And I've read The Hero With a Thousand Faces. And I've read part of the Masks of God. But I've never finished it.

7. Frazer: The Golden Bough. Again, this seems like something I should know more about.

8. Sontag: "Notes on 'Camp.'" This is another one of those that I actually want to read but never quite get to. And yes, I realize it's an essay in a list of books. But it seems to fit.

9. Solzhenitsyn. Ah yes, another Russian. I've started The Gulag Archipelago but never finished. Ditto The Oak and the Calf. But I actually enjoyed them and can't think why I put them down!

10. Thackeray. Again, anything by Thackeray would be an improvement. I'm certainly interested in Vanity Fair. Hey, I've seen the BBC adaptation, does that count?

11. Neil Gaiman: The Sandman Series. This is a graphic novel, for those who don't know. Again, something I started but never finished.

12. Simone de Beauvoir: The Second Sex. Again, I've read some, maybe the first 75 pages, and just didn't feel inspired to finish. Maybe it's because those first 75 pages basically depressed me.

13. Melville: Moby Dick. This is maybe my biggest shame as someone with an advanced degree in literature. I've started Moby Dick a couple of times. And again, I know what I'm supposed to know about it, i.e. "Call me Ishmael." But I've never finished the thing. It's like my own personal whale to conquer. Or maybe it's my personal "El Guapo." Did anyone get that reference?

It seems like The Old Man and the Sea deserves a sort of honorary place in the list. It's a book that I've read several times but wish I'd never read. I can never put my finger on why, but I just hate it.

C.S. Lewis once said that if after the first fifty pages he just isn't enjoying a book, he doesn't finish. And maybe that's a good policy. Maybe life is too short to read books we think we should read but don't bring pleasure. Or maybe I can accept that it's OK to simply not enjoy something that everyone else considers important literature.

Ian Rankin: Knots and Crosses

Ok, so earlier today I finished Ian Rankin's Knots and Crosses. It is the first of his Inspector Rebus novels, set in Scotland. And it was a good read. It was reasonably well written, and the mystery unfolded in an interesting way. But what I think I liked best about it was that while it was a murder mystery, it was really a psychological novel about Rebus. And that's what really appeals to me in this genre anyway; I like mysteries that have interesting, complex, conflicted detective characters. And maybe that's why I like House too. But Rebus is this intelligent, flawed, thoughtful, damaged person, as are so many of us. And he talks about how he's a Christian, but he doesn't really live in the way that he thinks he should. And he prays, but when he's really angry with God, he doesn't want to pray. But when things are tense, he prays anyway. And it strikes me that there's something so universal about it all. I mean, we have standards or values or beliefs, whether we are Christians or not, and we think we should live according to these, and maybe we should. But we find, like Sir Gawain, that sometimes our values come into conflict. And we find that some days we just can't do it. I would offer that those are the days when we really should pray. But life just isn't simple. For Miss Marple, life is simple, right? I mean, all the evil in the world is just like the petty evil in St. Mary Mead. And there's some truth to that. Humans are humans regardless of geography, and they perpetrate the same evils, at least to some degree. But evil, murder, mysteries never end simply and cleanly, with all the loose ends tied up, as they seem to for Miss Marple. Life is messy. And even when we solve the mystery, or right the wrong, or stand up for what we believe in, things are still difficult. Even when Rebus reaches the end of the novel, he's so scarred that life is going to be difficult and painful and even full of loss, no matter that another murderer has been captured. This, to my way of thinking, is like life. And this is the kind of mystery that I like: one with a flawed detective who tries to be moral as best he can, but one who still endures the pains along with the joys of life, after the bad guy is put behind bars. This is the life that we all live.

The Crave Reader

OK, you seriously have to check this out. It's kinda amazing: http://automobiles.honda.com/cr-v/crave/

On Blogging

Ok, so I wish that I had brilliant academic stuff to blog about. Or that I had wonderful intellectual stuff to say. Or that I could blog about politics or literature or theology or something that would indicate that I do have an actual brain in my head and that I'm not completely superficial and self-absorbed. And the truth is that I do think about things (you know, smart stuff, ideas, books, whatever) besides crafts and food and depression. But those more serious things don't quite seem to make their way into this blog. So what I'm trying to get at is this--maybe if I weren't afraid, I'd blog about those kinds of things and really put my ideas and convictions out there. I suppose it's easier to hide behind interests connected to the material world.

Thursday Thirteen: Thirteen Things I'd Do If I Weren't Afraid

Ok, so I've decided that when I don't have some brilliant concept for the Thursday Thirteen, I'd move through Segalove and Velick's List Your Self. I can't remember how I stumbled onto this gem. But here's the idea: one will gain insight of some sort by listing this and that about herself. That was probably obvious. Oh, well. So here we go.

Thirteen Things I'd Do If I Weren't Afraid

1. I'd write a long, long post for all the world to see that describes the evils of my former husband. I don't know why I feel the urge to do this. And I can't imagine that it would be productive on any level. But there it is.

2. Make new friends.

3. Telephone friends I've allowed to fall by the wayside.

4. Become a bone marrow doner.

5. Take art classes at the college.

6. Organize the mess in my basement.

7. Write a novel.

8. Write poetry.

9. Shave my head.

10. E-mail Dan Abrams to say that I think he's pretty fly for a white guy.

11. Take math classes at the college.

12. Admit that I really enjoy reading and watching materials intended for "tweens."

13. Go to church regularly.

Now that I've written these all out, it seems like I've maybe done this topic for a "thirteen" before. Ah well. I think it's good to ask ourselves what we'd do, really do, if we weren't afraid. And OK, I know that some of these are pretty trivial. But some aren't. Oh, a final thought: if I weren't afraid, I'd start sentences with conjunctions and end with prepositions. OK, I admit to doing that already.

Altered Dominos--Early Efforts

Thanks to my much beloved pal Zee, I've been experimenting with altered domino art. Here are some samples. I realize that this isn't the best photo in the world, but you get the idea. I love the two with the vintage photos of children with dogs. The one with the two pink hearts isn't as interesting. The one with multi hearts is simply stamped using dye ink, then colored with permanent marker, then set with a heat tool. The fairy is prettier in "real life." It's embossed using a glittery medium. So these are kinda basic, but it's fun to experiment with different techniques. Pigment ink, by the way, doesn't work, unless used with embossing powder. I'm planning to make these into magnets. But there really are many things one could do with altered dominos.

Thursday Thirteen: Songs I LOVE, Part Deux

1. "All I Want is You"--U2. "Stuck in a Moment" is another fav.

2. "Brother Love's Traveling Salvation Show"--Neil Diamond. As we all know, "there are two types of people in this world: those who like Neil Diamond and those who don't." I also like "Sweet Caroline," of course and "Cracklin' Rosie."

3. "I Guess That's Why They Call It the Blues"--Elton John

4. "Such Great Heights"--Iron and Wine

5. "Beautiful"--James Blunt

6. "Ballad of Jack and Diane"--John Mellencamp

7. "The Sweater Song"--Weezer

8. "Here Comes Your Man"--Pixies. "Gigantic" and "La la Love You" are pretty good too.

9. "Mah na, mah na" as performed on The Muppets. I think the Muppets are grand.

10. In a similar vein: "Rainbow Connection"--performed by Kermit the Frog, of course.

11. "Streets of Bakersfield"--Dwight Yokam and Buck Owens.

12. "I Been Everywhere"--Johnny Cash

13. "One Week"--The Barenaked Ladies. OK, I have to admit that I think of the Barenaked Ladies as Canadian wannabe TMBG. But they're still lots of fun.

Today was one of those days during which everything seems to be about five times more difficult than it really needs to be, know what I mean? And I guess I'm just doing a quick post to decompress or whatever before I try to relax and settle in for the evening. I did get done the grading that I really needed to do, so that's a good thing. And boy did I read some bad stuff, let me tell you. But isn't that always the way of it? I don't know if I should admit this or not, but I had a beer as I was grading. It felt like I somehow needed the beer just to get through, you know? So I was just telling my mom this: when you go to the grocery store and see a sampler pack of this or that, well, I just have a hard time resisting those sampler packs of whatever. I really, really like the idea of trying out a little of this and a little of that and deciding what I like best. And variety packs of stuff is especially appealing to me if it's packaged in an organized, or just a cute, way. So on Saturday, I went to the grocery store and felt like I'd hit the mother load because they had a sampler pack of. . .wait for it. . .Mexican beers! Oh what fun. And no Corona--whew! However, I have to admit that my fav Mexican beer is Negra Modelo, which was not included. Come to think of it, I don't think I've ever seen that in VT. *sigh* One of the things I miss most about CA is Mexican food. I'm not exaggerating. Mexican food and Trader Joe's. Well, maybe someday I'll be living on the West Coast again, who knows? I miss it lately. I mean, I know that most people would say that Bakersfield is no great shakes, and maybe that's true. But the bottom line is that it still feels like home. Oh, and it's a dry heat.

Thursday Thirteen, Special Tuesday Edition: Thirteen Songs I Find Meaningful

OK, here's a list (in no particular order) of songs that, for one reason or another, I find particularly meaningful. I do realize that some of these are silly, some cheezy, and some have really do redeeming value whatsoever.

1. "Birdhouse in Your Soul"--They Might be Giants. OK, I LOVE this song, and if you call my cell phone right now, you'll hear it instead of a ring. TMBG are just so smart and funny and hip and wonderful, to my way of thinking. And they make me think of college and Scott and Cort and Doug and Joy and even Cory, in a bitter-sweet way. And here's a little known fact about me: I love to soak in a bubble bath and sing TMBG at the top of my lungs.

2. "Sunday Morning Coming Down"--written by Chris Kristofferson and preformed by Johnny Cash.

3. "Come Thou Fount of Every Blessing"--this has always, always since childhood been one of my favorite hymns.

4. "Angel"--Aerosmith. This is quite possibly the cheeziest pop song ever written. And I recognize that musically it's pretty awful. But I love it anyway. I'm kinda embarrassed about how many Aerosmith lyrics I actually know!

5. "Both Sides Now"--Joni Mitchell. I've learned the hard way that one shouldn't listen to Joni Mitchell when depressed. But it seems so natural to do so.

6. "Just As I Am"--Another favorite hymn. Willie Nelson does a version on guitar that's wonderful. I really love Willie singing gospel. His "May the Circle be Unbroken" and "Where the Soul Never Dies" are just wonderful.

7. "God Only Knows"--The Beach Boys. According to my brother, this is one of Paul McCartney's favorite love songs. I have to confess that I think the Beach Boys are just loads of fun.

8. "Spirit in the Sky"--Norman Greenbaum. What's not to like. Seriously, when I go to meet my Maker, I want a wake with lots of beer and this song playing on a continuous loop.

9. "Standing Outside the Fire"--Garth Brooks. I have a theory that there's a Garth Brooks song for every occasion and every personality type.

10. "Fast as You"--Dwight Yokam.

11. "Jesu, Joy of Man's Desiring"--J.S. Bach.

12. "Countin' Flowers on the Wall"--The Statler Brothers.

13. "In My Life"--The Beatles. This may be my all-time favorite song ever. I just love it, always have.

OK, to keep it to 13, I had to cut some songs that I really love, like Jewel's "Jupiter" and a number of Tom Petty songs. I also cut Merle Haggard, which is kinda sad.

Exhaustion

I am exhausted, in most every sense of the word. I'm trying to eat lunch, because I know I need to eat, but nothing sounds good. I spent most of the morning grading papers on Shakespeare and Mary Shelley and all kinds of other things; most were mediocre, at best. I've been having "issues" with sleep for the past few weeks (not that that's anything new), and I think that sleep deprivation is certainly part of my problem. Anyway, when I get like this, I just feel icky, you know? It's like I feel tired and slightly achy physically. And intellectually, I feel this general ennui. And I can't seem to do much of anything, although I did get tons of grading done this morning. That counts for something, right? All I really want to do is to sit very, very still and watch really mindless TV or Law and Order. And I start to feel generally frustrated with my appearance and my life and my job and my accomplishments. I don't know--maybe it's just that it's the end of the semester and I have all this work to do when what I really need is a break. When I get like this, I tend to just focus on the negative, which of course isn't a good thing. I don't know--I'm going to stop now and either get actual work done or go home and try to relax.

Bleak House, Part II

I've now read about half of Dickens's Bleak House. And I'm enjoying it, but I'm also remembering why it is that I tend to avoid Dickens. First, it seems to me that Dickens is truly masterful in the way that he writes his characters. Some are flat; many are round; but they tend to be interesting, engaging kinds of characters. The problem I'm having, at the moment, is keeping them all straight. He'll introduce a character, develop her a bit, and then let her fall away. And this is fine; this happens with minor characters. Sometimes, they are there to advance the plot or the theme in some way, and when they've served their purpose, they leave the scene. But Dickens will pull them back in, like 150 pages later. In the intervening 150 pages he may have introduced like 15 more characters, and it's becoming really difficult for me to remember who's who and why he's important and that kind of thing. Am I really this inept as a reader? Dickens makes me doubt myself; I mean, I'm supposed to be qualified to professionally decipher texts, right? But with this novel, I keep losing track. The other thing about Bleak House is this: there's lots of characters who seem to be there to provide some sort of satire or social commentary. For example, early on we are introduced to Mrs. Jellyby, whose family is falling apart as she devotes all her time and energy to some sort of missionary project in Africa. She ruins her family financially; she totally neglects her children in just about every way possible; and her home is really dirty. She, of course, thinks she's really doing something wonderful, however, by devoting all her energy and resources to this project. OK, so I get the point that she's a hypocrite; I get that "charity begins in the home." But it's like we can't just have the example and move on; Dickens brings her (and even a whole cast of similar characters) up over and over and over. And it seems so very heavy handed after a while.

But the point is, as far as I'm concerned, I'm reading Dickens. I'm reading Bleak House. And really, in spite of the afore mentioned criticisms, I'm enjoying it immensely. So maybe this is like a new leaf for me as a reader--maybe I can enjoy the 19th century, triple decker novel. Or maybe this is just a fluke.

Update 1.1

Oh, and I've cut back on the so-called reality TV. This is a good thing.

Update 1.0

I just spoke with C. on the phone. She said something like, "I checked your blog over the weekend, but it didn't look like you had any new posts." So I decided that I really should post something, at least for the sake of keeping up with things. Here's a quick review of what's been going on with me. Fenway is about 4 1/2 months old, and he's growing so quickly. It's hard to believe. But he's cute and fun and I wouldn't trade him for anything. Over the weekend, I spent a lot of time doing nothing, which was lovely and perfect and just what I needed. I watched Across the Universe on Saturday night. A student had lent me her DVD of it. I liked it but didn't love it. In fact, there was some of it that just seemed to forced or contrived or something. When I mentioned some of this to said student, as I returned her DVD, she actually gave a really sophisticated, insightful analysis of why she thought it worked, and I was somehow so inspired and thankful that someone, some student of mine, is actually using her mind and thinking about the world and thinking about text as text and as a kind of cultural artifact, and that was really encouraging. (Ok, I realize that my sentence structure is annoying and even incorrect at some points above. One occupational hazard is that I think too much about my writing and why I'm saying what I'm saying in the way I'm saying it and so on. Recently, I realized *duh* that I go around all day, every day thinking about words--how they sound, what they mean, which I like, which I don't. I'm word obsessed!)

Also, I have stared some fun BBC series on DVD. I've been watching Hetty Wainthrop Investigates, which stars the woman who plays Hyacinth in Keeping Up Appearances. It's loads of fun. I really, really love murder mysteries, especially British ones. And the Hetty Wainthrop series isn't great in terms of the mysteries themselves, but the characters are loads of fun, and that's what I enjoy about detective fiction anyway. I've also started, from the beginning, The Midsomer Murders. That's great too. The mysteries are a bit more complex, but Inspector Barnaby is a great character--he's no Dagleish or even an Inspector Lynley, but he's still interesting. The more I think about it, the more I'm convinced that the murder mystery, more than any other popular genre, really speaks to what defines human nature, what it means to live in this world. And that's exciting, somehow.

Oh, and I'm still working through Bleak House. I'm reading it in part because it seems like something I should do at least once in my life, but also in part because scholars and the like say that it contributes to the development of detective fiction as a genre. And that's clearly interesting to me. This is something that I think I want to pursue academically. One of my many and varied academic interests is in "medievalism," that is the ways that later eras recycle medieval themes, motifs, and the like. And I'm especially interested in the ways that medievalism plays into issues surrounding cultural identity and the like. Anyway, my tentative hypothesis is this: the character of the detective is a sort of reincarnation of the Arthurian knight. This is pretty interesting, I think. And it's something that I want to pursue and at least work on some sort of conference paper on. I also think (and this is connected to the above) that there is something about Christianity that allows for the detective character, but I'm still working this out. I'd argue that at the very least the sort of Christian ethos that informs the Arthurian knight is also at work in the serial detective novel. And really, detective novels do tend to be serial--this seems to mirror in some ways the episodic nature of the medieval romance. OK, if I've thoroughly bored you, that's OK. But this is just something that, at the moment, is super exciting to me.

So that's what's been going on with me.

Thursday Thirteen: Thirteen Reasons That I Love Tea

More and more, I'm convinced that tea is, indeed, a way of life. Or at least, it's become a metaphor for how I want to think about life. And so, in honor of my morning "cuppa" I offer this list of reasons that I love tea. Maybe it would be more accurate to say that it's a list devoted to what I love about tea and what it's come to represent.





One: Tea gives me something to do during awkward silences. This is especially useful while teaching. There's always that rather awkward lag time between when I ask some leading or maybe obvious question (always eloquently worded) and the time that some brave soul will venture an answer. To fill this time, I tend to take a sip of tea, usually from my fun, pink travel mug!

Two: In those period pieces produced by the BBC, you know things like Upstairs, Downstairs, when there's any sort of distress, the immediate response is to give someone either brandy (ick!) or a cup of tea. I'm not sure why tea is the universal band-aid for the hemorrhaging soul, but I'm willing to accept that it is.

Three: Apparently, our bodies metabolize the caffeine in tea more rapidly than that in coffee. This means that we get the zippy effect more quickly, but it also moves out of our system more quickly. Can we say then, that tea has a shorter half life than does coffee? Either way, I figure tea's OK before bed, but coffee may not be.

Four: One can (and sometimes one does) create a routine that revolves around tea. For example, for a while I was on this schedule where I had black tea in the morning, green tea in the afternoon, and white tea in the evening. This gives both structure and meaning to one's day.

Five: Tea always gives one something to look forward to. No matter how dreary the day becomes, one thinks, "Well, at least when I get home I can have a cup of tea."

Six: Tea makes life easier by providing the ideal gift for almost any occasion.

Seven: Tea can be an opportunity for social interaction. You can certainly meet a friend for a cup of coffee, but isn't meeting for a cup of tea far more interesting.

Eight: Tea allows one to participate in the illusion that British culture is somehow superior to American culture.

Nine: Tea leads to e-mails that contain ideas like this: "Did i tell you about that article/blurb in wired mag. that said that we yanks were drinking caffeine all wrong. it said that studies showed constant low doses paired with carbs--as in tea and scones was the most effective. yippee and yumm!" Seriously, isn't that great? I mean, in this case, tea in addition to providing meaning to life becomes a conversation piece.

Ten: Tea is a good justification for various collections: tea cups, tea pots, tea itself. All these are valuable collectibles.

Eleven: How could we have Victorian society without tea? Seriously. Would Dickens ever have had anything to write about had the English not become tea drinkers? Isn't tea a big reason that the British Empire develops in the first place?

Twelve: Everyone drinks coffee these days. Preferring tea allows one the illusion of having a cool, counterculture persona. Some of us thrive on that.

And Thirteen: Tea is simply comforting. Simply holding the hot mug provides physical comfort.

And Today's Rant. . .

Ok, consider yourself warned. This post is going to be a rant. I just get so frustrated when people don't follow directions. It drives me crazy. And I know that it shouldn't get to me, but it does. And it really kills me when said directions are given in writing, possibly in, say, the form of an assignment sheet. I just don't get it. And it makes me crazy. I mean, how hard is it to, say, include a "Works Cited" page with an essay? Or to simply understand that no make up quizzes really does mean no make up quizzes. I'm so fed up! Maybe I just need a more constructive outlet for all this pent up frustration. You'll notice that I'm not going in to any specifics: of course, I wouldn't want to violate any sort of implied confidentiality or to do anything unethical. I meant that seriously. But I'm tired of it. And I'm tired of working really hard and feeling unappreciated. Lately, I just feel like I'm not very important to anyone and that I do have some good qualities but that these are largely going unrecognized. I know--I'm now descending into self-pity, and last night I promised myself that I'd try to stay away from self-pity, partly on the principle that, hey, my situation isn't as difficult as some people's is. But it gets draining to feel like I work and work and give and give and go out of my way for people, mostly students, and then to feel like they don't care. I guess I know that it's important to do the right thing because it's right and not expecting praise and appreciate and all that. But it gets exahusting some days. And I think that we all want to feel appreciated and wanted and all that. Ok, I'll stop now.

More Fenway Photos

Here Is A New Pic of My Handsome Boy

Passions

This is one of the best decisions I've made in recent memory: I've started watching the soap opera Passions. It used to be aired on one of the networks, NBC I think. But was canceled a year or so ago. Fortunately for me, it's now being run on the DirecTV channel 101 a couple of days a week. Unfortunately for me, it's apparently being cut from even DirecTV later this year. But it's great! I've never been all that big on soap operas, although I did go through a Guiding Light phase not that long ago. But all the weird things about soap operas--the weird pacing, the mixed-up relationships, the melodrama--Passions kicks up a level that becomes camp but also a kind of spoof of the soap opera, it seems to me. And I'm so disappointed that just as I'm getting interested, I find out that the last episode is scheduled to air in August. BTW, Wikipedia has an interesting article on the program. OK, so this is how I got started, I was flipping through on the TV, and I stopped on a scene in a room at a hospital. The doctor is telling Pretty that she's pregnant. The father of Pretty's baby is Luis who is engaged to Pretty's sister, Fancy. (Later, I learned that Pretty is faking the pregnancy.) Anyway, Fancy and Luis are in the room with Pretty and the doctor. And Fancy asks the doctor something like, "So are you permanently back on staff?" And the doctor explains, "No, they only called me in to reattach Julian's penis." And really, any production that asks an actor to deliver that line with a straight face is my kind of production. It turns out that Julian's penis has been reattached upside down / backwards because the doctor was drugged by her son, the nurse, before the procedure. So who thinks up this stuff? When I watch soap operas, which I admit isn't too often, it always seems that there's not much thought given to a plot arch or a character arch. It just always feels like the writers write themselves into some ridiculous, melodramatic situation and then write their way out without much long term planning while writing in a little more drama along the way. I'm always kind of mesmerized by this approach. I really, really wish it were available on DVD so that I could start from the beginning.

Bleak House

100 pages down, 899 to go! I have decided that I should at least attempt to read Dickens's Bleak House, in spite of my normal tendency to avoid Dickens. I mean, doesn't it seem like the kind of thing an English teacher should do at least once in her life? So I started in on Tuesday evening. And I've read the first 100 pages, and so far, I actually think it's pretty interesting. And I have to say that I'm predisposed to assume that Dickens is unnecessarily wordy, but that just isn't how it feels, at least no so far. And if I decide that I'm just not that into it, I think it's totally fine if I don't finish it. But when I do finish (or not finish), I think it would be fun to watch various adaptations. I've heard that the recent one with Gillian Anderson isn't all that great. Maybe it depends on what one thinks of Gillian Anderson; this is the second time I've mentioned her this week--maybe I'm having X-Files nostalgia. Come to think of it, the first episode of the X-Files that I saw was about spontanious combustion--so really, it seems that there are more connections between the X-Files and Bleak House than one would have thought. On a more serious note, I'm reading Bleak House in part because I'm interested in the evolution of the detective novel, and apparently Bleak House is somehow influential. I'm not sure how, but I guess I can research that later. But now my point is that I'm actually really enjoying Dickens! I suspected that, apart from A Christmas Carol, this day would never come.

Under Construction

Just a quick note: this site is under construction. I've always wanted to type that. Seriously, I'm making some changes to the layout of my blog. I hope it's not too annoying. Really, I think that the current, three-column layout is pretty snazzy.

Paradise Hotel

OK, I have a confession: I've been watching season two of Paradise Hotel. Most of you have probably not heard of Paradise Hotel; if you haven't, it's probably a good sign. This has to be one of the trashiest reality programs that I've ever seen. It runs on the Fox Reality Network (channel 250 for those of you who have direct TV) at 1:00am on Monday night / Tuesday morning. I think it repeats at other times as well. But I figure that the 1:00 am (that's EST) time slot tells us something about the quality of the programming. Oh, it opens with a disclaimer that's something along these lines: "This program may contain some nudity and / or sexual situations. Viewer discretion is advised." I always figure that saying, "Viewer discretion is advised" is really a way of trying to attract a certain demographic, i.e. 17 years olds. Oh, and me. I watch it too.

The premise is something like this: a dozen or so 20-somethings are isolated at the Paradise Hotel, a kind of tropical resort. They choose "room mates" of the opposite sex. There's always one extra man or woman, and the person without a room mate is eliminated. A day or two later, a new single enters the mix.

All that said, I'm really not trying to post a review or analysis of this really terrible program. Rather, I'm interested in considering why I watch it in the first place. And I am not up and about at 1:00am; I DVR the thing, so clearly, I'm going out of my way to watch it. In general, I think that many of us, myself included, like so-called reality TV and programs like Dr. Phil because these types of programs somehow make us feel better about ourselves. I think, for me anyway, it goes something like this: "Hey, *insert name* on Paradise Hotel is a real skank. And she's dumb. I can't believe that she doesn't have more self-respect than that. What a skanky loser!" On the one hand, this is clearly a variation on the old trick of putting others down so that we can feel better about ourselves. However, I think it goes beyond this. For me anyway, it's also about realizing that maybe my situation isn't as bad or overwhelming or hopeless or whatever as it sometimes feels. I was watching Dr. Phil earlier today, and it was more like this: "Yeah, sometimes I feel bad about myself, and sometimes I feel like a failure. And yeah, I do mess things up sometimes. But I should be thankful: my situation isn't as difficult or as painful as that of the recovering Heroin addict." I don't think this is making myself feel better at someone else's expense; rather I see it as simply acknowledging and being thankful for the obstacles that I'm not facing right now. It's a way of realizing that life could be a whole lot worse.

I don't know. I readily admit that I actually enjoy watching "reality" TV that I acknowledge to be not just dumb but objectionable. But somehow, it's like I can't stop looking, like the trainwreck cliche. But it goes beyond that. And I'm having a hard time really figuring out what the attraction is. Even worse than Paradise Hotel, IMO, is The Girls Next Door, which is actually about Hugh Heffner's three live-in girlfriends. I'll spare you any further discussion of Hef and the girls. But it's so terrible on just about every conceivable level. I certainly don't DVR it, but I have to confess to tuning in on occasion.

A Recommitment to Blogging

Ok, I've decided that blogging is a good thing--it's good for me. And unlike most good-for-you things, it's not unpleasant. So I'm here and now making a formal recommitment to blogging. Here are some possible topics that I could pursue in the near future. I welcome any feedback or preferences, if any of these sound more fun than any others.

1. A review of the Sweet Valley High series of books. I really, really loved SVH when I was about 12, and recently I bought a ton of them for cheap on eBay. So if anyone's interested, I'd be happy to contribute my thoughts about SVH.

2. A review / analysis / thoughts about the British murder mysteries I've been consuming and the BBC / PBS adaptations of said mysteries. This is my new pet project.

3. A discussion of the new direction of the program formerly known as Masterpiece Theatre. It's just Masterpiece now. And they've recently run adaptations of Jane Austen, a perennial favourite. Gillian Anderson is the new host, btw.

4. Updates on my dogs, especially Baby Fenway. He couldn't be any cuter. Of course, Fenway related posts could be written in the first person, in Fenway's own voice. I'm happy to turn the laptop over to him.

5. Food

6. DVDs

I think that pretty much covers my options, at least as I see them now.

Oh, here we go

7 and 8. Reviews / discussion of the Little House on the Prairie TV series or of 7th Heaven, both of which run daily on the Hallmark channel. 7th Heaven is particularly cheezy but intriguing at the same time.

Feel free to comment or to simply take the poll at the left. I do realize that the poll isn't displaying very nicely--oh well!

Great Review of Tori Spelling's sTori Telling

As I hope you all know, Tori Spelling, has a new book out. It's called sTori Telling. Here's a really great review of it that I found on bn.com:

"I have always liked tori shes a great actress.i feel so sorry for her mother because i think tori was a great daughter her mom should be ashamed of herself for her behavior towards tori. with all the money that she has i bet shes just a miserable person.money isnt everything( it sure helps) i grew up with similar things the big house ,maids ,butlers,country clubs ,they sent me to camp every summer a home in miami beach that we just used for xmas and easter my parents were so loving my mom use to tell me how beautiful i am all the time.but i like tori always worked since i was fifteen. but they still gave me everything.my parents still to this day love me so much. they are in ther eightys they live in florida now. i can totally relate to tori i lived in a suburb of detroit had the bigest house on the block , built in pool . im also jewish and have been married times. first husband was jewish child hood sweetheart my parents hated him.he was verbal abusive and gave me a black eye. i had ahuge and expensive wedding. anyway i divorced him in 1980. single for ten yrs and had some real looser boyfriends. but i met my husband now in the 80,s hes catholic and my folks love him they told me that i better behave funny. weve been married since 1990. what a diffrence.hes so wonderful i love him so much.we have a great marriage like you and dean. tori ,dean and liam i wish you the best!!!"

I'd like to post a review of this review. You'll note that it says nothing about the book itself. In fact, it says very little about Tori. This is the kind of off-topic drivel that I seem to encounter far too often.

Hookin' Up With Ira Glass

So this morning I had the craziest dream about Ira Glass. And although I guess we didn't really hook up, it was just too weird. So I tend to sleep all night with the TV on, which, apparently, isn't supposed to be such a hot idea, especially if one has issues with sleep. And so, in the attempt to wean myself off of all Headline News, all night, I've been switching to my iPod at some point. When I woke up around 2:3o this morning, I put in my earphones and listened to NPR's This American Life, of which I'm especially fond. I finall fell asleep, still listening to This American Life and had this crazy dream that my mom had tickets to go to this weird NPR-sponsored circus. And it was in this huge venue, but only like 50 people were there and all had to sit in just one small section. And there was this mom with like a toddler and stroller and huge diaper bag taking up more than her fair share of seating. Consequently, there wasn't anywhere for me to sit. So I was like strolling around. And Ira Glass was like the ring master / announcer / MC for this weird, NPR-esque, not-quite-Prairie-Home-Companion event. He was walking through the aisles while I'm trying to get my mom to ask pushy mother with toddler paraphernalia to move over. And I walk up to him, and I'm like, "Hey, Ira. I'm Drennan. And I totally love your work. And let me tell you about me." It was all very weird but in this totally nerdy, geeky kind of way.

I've been silent, the last few weeks. Let me rephrase: I've been "virtually" silent, as in not blogging, for the last few weeks. And this virtual silence (don't you LOVE the overuse of "virtual" and all its variants?) has corresponded with a real emotional funk, if you know what I mean. I can work, and I enjoy work, but it's about all that I can get myself to do lately. That's not entirely true--outside of work, I feel like all I've been doing is eating. And it's just generally icky. And I'm so tired of feeling this way and living this way and being this way. But I just can't seem to figure out how to even start to pull myself out of it. And I'm kinda pathetic and miserable lately. I wish that I had something more profound or at least something more interesting to blog about, but I guess that I don't. But there's a part of me that believes that maybe I can somehow write my way out of it. Maybe if I blog enough and write in journals and write and write and write, I can somehow find a way out. Well, that and better living through chemistry, AKA antidepressants. But I want to feel better; I do. I just don't know how right now. And I keep thinking that if there's just one small step I could take, something I could do each day to get myself on the right track, I'd build momentum and work up to feeling better, feeling like a normal, healthy person. But just now, I don't know what that little step might be.

Grahame's The Wind in the Willows

I am winding down a longish day at work and thought I'd indulge in a quick post about Kenneth Grahame's The Wind in the Willows. First off, I should say that I am completely biased here, in that this is probably my all-time favorite book. I absolutely LOVE it. It's like good comfort reading for me. The difficulty is that my students don't seem to get into it, and I can never quite figure out what to do about it. I began discussing it just this morning with my 20th Century Children's Literature class, and I faced the problem that I've faced too often before with regards to this work. The students see it as difficult (and I suppose it's not the easiest thing, stylistically speaking on our syllabus) and boring and disjointed. And I just don't see it that way at all. Stylistically, I think it's brilliant and wonderful. And to attempt to demonstrated that, I read passages, sometimes long passages, aloud. For example, the opening paragraphs are particularly lyrical and suck us into Mole's awakening, and I so want my students to see (or hear!) it, but I am just not sure that they do.

And they cite all these apparent inconsistencies--in the passage of time, in the assumed size of the animals--inconsistencies that I think just don't matter. I mean, trying to make some sort of literal, logical sense out of it destroys the whole thing. In the end, it doesn't matter if we ever really figure out how big Toad is--it's about Toad's character. And I seem to have trouble moving my students beyond all of it.

And yet, still I love The Wind in the Willows. I love the characters, and I love Ratty's leisurely lifestyle of boating and writing poetry. I love Mole for his loyalty to Rat. I love Grahame's treatment of friendship; I think we could even call it "fellowship" in a Tolkienesque kind of way. I love Grahame's obvious love of nature and of language. And I keep feeling frustrated at my apparent inability to convey all this to my students--it's as though my own enthusiasm for the topic just isn't quite enough this time. And this concerns me. I mean, what are we coming to if college students think The Wind in the Willows is not just "boring" but "too hard." It's not "hard." And where is Spencer when we need him? They should be thankful that we're not reading The Faerie Queen or some such. Grahame isn't "hard." And I suppose that if students think it's boring, they have themselves, like Mr. Toad, succumbed to the temptations of the motor-car, the desire for speed--"here to-day--in next week tomorrow." They seem maybe incapable of slowing down and enjoying the luxuriousness of Grahame's language, just as Toad is unable to enjoy the natural world that Ratty and Mole so love. My students (maybe!) have become the products of industrialization that Grahame warns us about in the character of Toad. Alas!

Well, I didn't start out intending this to be some sort of rant, which seems to be what it's become. Maybe I needed the rant. Maybe it will be catharsis enough that I can read Grahame with pleasure!

And Finally, Alan and Drennan

OK, so this was over the summer. But I still like it.

More Photos. . .

I really, really LOVE this pic of Polly (in back) and Guinn (in the foreground). They are, of course, sitting on my bed, which isn't really allowed.

Cutest Animal on the Planet

I am always on the lookout for the cutest animal on the planet, and I'm convinced that Guinnie and Polly (and now Fenway) are in the running. But this sea otter is pretty darn cute. A. and I encountered him when we visited Morro Bay, CA a couple of weeks ago.

Here's the new little guy. We're calling him Fenway. He's only five weeks old and can't come home with me until Valentine's Day.

I talked to C. the other day, and she said something like, "I keep checking your blog, but you haven't posted anything new." But now I finally feel inspired to post. I'm doing well, I think. I started back to work this week, which has been exhausting but good--I really do enjoy it. And I feel good, because *finally* I feel like I'm making some positive changes in my life. And that makes me feel good, but I also wonder if maybe it's that I'm feeling better, less depressed, that makes me feel able to somehow take control and make positive changes. Either way, it's good. So I'm a little pressed for time at the moment, but more later.

Thursday Thirteen: Books

Yet again, I am procrastinating, putting off the grading (uggh!) that I should / could be doing. But it seems like a fun "thirteen" is thirteen favorite books / authors, or at least authors that I find particularly meaningful in some way. So, in no particular order, here e go. . .

1. C.S. Lewis. Although it's not his most widely read work, I'm convinced that Till We Have Faces is his very, very best. And I am of the opinion that everyone should read it. And it proves definitively that Lewis, so often called a misogynist, really does "get" women. Till We Have Faces absolutely changed the way that I think about relationships.

2. Margaret Atwood. I've been rereading The Handmaid's Tale for a class I'm teaching. And it strikes me that Atwood is such a skilled, intentional writer. Her work feels so very well crafted.

3. J.R.R. Tolkien.

4. Beatrix Potter

5. Harper Lee. I'm convinced that if there is a single great American novel, then To Kill a Mockingbird is it.

6. Virginia Woolf. Mrs. Dalloway has changed me forever.

7. Chaucer (but not Shakespeare!)

8. Nathaniel Hawthorne. I adore "The Minister's Black Veil."

9. E.B. White. I love this line from Charlotte: You have been my friend. . .That in itself is a tremendous thing. . .After all, what's a life anyway? We're born, we live a little while, we die. . .By helping you, perhaps I was trying to life up my life a trifle.

10. Beowulf

11. Flannery O'Connor. O'Connor is hard to deal with, hard to even talk about. But she rocks my world. Seriously.

12. Colin Dexter / G.K. Chesterton / PD James. Ok, I LOVE the British murder mystery, particularly the character-driven, "cozy" mystery. I'm convinced that these writers have this deep understanding of the complexities and beauties and horrors of the human condition.

13. P.G Wodehouse. I came to Jeeves and Wooster via Hugh Laurie and Stephen Fry. But I've discovered that Wodehouse is every bit as funny and clever and smart as Laurie's and Fry's representations of his characters. It's truly, truly laugh-out-loud stuff. And when I need something light, this is my go-to guy.


Ok, conspicuously absent are Hemingway (The Old Man and the Sea is like my literary nemesis) and JK Rowling.

Thursday Thirteen, Project Runway Edition

Yes, it's only Wednesday. But I've been vegging out, watching Bravo's Project Runway for the last couple of hours. And Project Runway is probably the least objectionable of the "reality" TV that I indulge in. So as I've been watching and sipping red wine (love the Coppola red blend!) and browsing magazines, I've felt inspired to post a quickie "thirteen." So here it is for your edification.

I want to be someone who wears

1. Hats. I want more hats in my day-to-day existence. I'm particularly fond of winter hats.

2. Jackets. This season, J Crew has the cutest, hippest jackets. I want jackets in fun colors and funky textures. I especially want jackets with 3/4 sleeves, so that I can layer them with fun colors.

3. Sunglasses, preferably with pink lenses

4. Fun, funky, campy tee shirts. I have a pink tee that says "Wild Thing." And there's a picture of one of Sendak's creatures. What's better than that?

5. Knee socks. I'm particularly fond of argyles and stripes. I'm particularly partial to pink.

6. Scarves. Wooly scarves, crocheted scarves, silk scarves, scarves for the ski slopes, scarves reminiscent of Audrey Hepburn: I LOVE them all. And it seems worth making the concerted effort to incorporate more scarves into my daily look.

7. Interesting tights. I love tights with interesting colors and textures. Recently my mom sent me this great pair of black and grey argyle tights. What could be finer?

8. Dresses. I've decided that I want more dresses in my wardrobe. I wear skirts, usually A-lines, with sweaters and tights often. But I want more dresses, particularly in corduroy and in wool blends.

9. Boots. I so enjoy wearing boots, especially with skirts or dresses. Boots make me happy and confident in a way that's completely irrational and wonderful.

10. Belts. I've not been wearing belts the past few years. And yet, I want to try. I want to make the effort to attempt belts. Maybe my heavier body can't handle belts--I don't know. But it seems worth a go.

11. Glittery make-up. I know that some would say I'm too old for it, but I absolutely LOVE fun cosmetics. Glitter eyeshadow just makes me happy. Ditto for frosted blue eyeshadow, the kind we wore in the late 80s. I know it's silly, even campy, but I adore it all.

12. Tattoos. I have one and only one. But I want at least two more.

13. Clothing and accessories of my own creation. I love wearing items that I've designed or made or remade. It gives me this sense of accomplishment and power.

Some of these things, like boots, I do wear frequently. Others I'd like to incorporate. But they make me happy. Not very long ago, I was someone who displayed a definite sense of style. I want to feel like that woman again.

I'm taking a break from grading, grading, grading. Arggh! How much grading can one Professor be reasonably expected to complete. OK, to be fair, I was the one who assigned all this stuff, so by rights, I should be the one who has to grade it. But there are moments when it becomes mind-numbing. Oops--is this turning into one of those posts that's going to come back to haunt me someday if /when I'm on the job market? And more to the point, really, will there come a day when I am back on the job market? But what I really wanted to say is that for the past four days or so, it's just been cold. I don't think it got to much about 20 today (and that's 20 Fahrenheit, I'll have you know!) And, already, I'm tired of being cold. I'm tired of sloshing through snow. I'm tired of having to worry about slipping and falling in the parking lot. It's somehow all way more complicated than, as a Californian, I would have imagined. And yet it's somehow magical too. I cannot the way that I feel as I sit before a toasty-warm fire and watch the snow fall. I cannot convey the comfort of the long nights, seemingly custom made for reading long novels. I cannot explain the sheer joy of picking just the right scarf and hat and actually layering clothing. Wearing sweaters and jackets and wooly tights and socks is such fun in that J. Crew, non-SoCal kind of way. Maybe I'm just trying to make my peace with winter here--I'm not sure. But somehow the discomforts of winter are, at least a little bit, offset by the sense of coziness. This, I suppose, is winter in New England.

Thursday Thirteen: Words, words, words

I think a fun "13" is 13 expressions that I really enjoy. I don't incorporate these into my everyday speech as much as I'd like, but they are fun ones!

1. If I'm lyin', I'm dyin'.

2. Don't know shit from shinola / Don't know his ass from a hole in the ground. For those of you with a less rednecky background than I have, this one refers to someone who isn't too bright (the lights are on, but no one's home), doesn't get it, or maybe is just generally dumb.

3. No great shakes. I also like "two shakes," as in, "I'll be there in two shakes of a lamb's tail." Really, anything with "shakes" works for me.

4. Different points to be made. So that's a David Brent one.

5. But I am COLD. That's a Guinnie one, and as such it maybe doesn't qualify as an expression. But it's fun all the same.

6. Take off you hoser.

7. Rudesby.

8. "You're walkin' on the fightin' side of me." That's a Merle Haggard one.

9. It's a long ol' road that don't turn. Apparently, this means the same thing as "What goes around, comes around." I never quite get it, but for entirely personal reasons, I like it.

10. "In the end the love you take is equal to the love you make." If you don't know where that one's from, then I'm not going to tell you. But in a very simplistic way, I think it sums up my life's philosophy.

11. "If I fake it, I don't really have it. . . same with cardiac arrest." Also memorable are, "baby steps" and "There are two types of people in this world, those who like Neil Diamond and those who don't." Oh and then there's "Your death therapy saved me, you genius!"

12. "Hi, you've reached Drennan. I'm emotionally unavaliable right now, but if you leave a message. . . "

AND (drum roll)

13. Context is all / context is everything / context is king.

Oh, a couple of post-scripts:

A. "Well, there's always beer"
B. "It's five o'clock somewhere"
C. I don't drink candy-ass-girly drinks.

Odd, isn't it, that those are all alcohol themed?

If you feel so inclined, please contribute your own in the comments section!