Reading is Fundamental

I'm sorta cranky today. I'm back at work after a nice, relaxing mini-vacation I planned around yesterdays Federal "holiday," I slept so deeply that I was overtired when I woke up this morning, and I'm now harboring a slightly irrational fear that some of that massively recalled beef has ended up in the meatballs of my Italian Wedding soup from the office cafeteria. Not to worry, though, says the FDA. We all consumed most of that meat long ago!

My birthday fell during my mini-vacation; it was, in fact, the point of my taking a few days off in the first place. Thanks to my sister, I picked out three books for my birthday presents: One I have been dying to buy for months, one I knew of and recently decided I wanted to read, and one spur-of-the-moment choice that looked pretty interesting. Thanks to my school work I haven't had much time to read purely for fun. I finished two of the books during my time off. I'll give you a mini-review of them, shall I?

Gods Behaving Badly by Marie Philips. Gotta support a fellow (now not-so, in her case) struggling author. I'd been waiting for months for this to be released in the US and almost ordered it from http://www.foyles.co.uk/ in London in the meantime. It's modern-day London, and the classic Greek gods are forced to share a dingy house, where they've been driving each other crazy for centuries. Artemis, goddess of hunting, is a dog-walker; her twin Apollo is a TV psychic. Bored to tears and coping with ever-weakening powers, they indulge in their favorite pastime: revenge. When two sweet but nerdy mortals stumble into their path, gods and nerds must join forces to save the world. I couldn't put this book down. It's entertaining, funny, and if nothing else, a very basic lesson in Greek mythology! The New York Times criticized this book, which, the author admits, is a lighthearted story. Amazingly, their review actually criticized the author for blogging repeatedly about Strictly Come Dancing, the Brits' original version of Dancing With The Stars! Dear NY Times: buy a sense of humor already.

The Friday Night Knitting Club by Kate Jacobs. I admit I wouldn't have wanted to read this if it didn't involve knitting. That said, I enjoyed this book, but I read it with a lot of eye-rolling, if you know what I mean. Weepy chick lit is not something I usually enjoy. This plot was too formulaic: men are jerks, women should stick together. The back cover guarantees right from the start that the unthinkable will happen...Add equal doses of getting royally screwed over with saintlike proportions of forgiveness, and you've basically got this book. It's an emotional roller-coaster, with a knitting pattern and a recipe in the back.

It's the story of single mom Georgia and her daughter Dakota (it's a states thing, get it?!) and the yarn shop Georgia owns. Women of different backgrounds congregate on Friday nights. Life and all its problems ensues. I found it too sugary-sweet in several places, in particular the spunky 90-year-old Scottish granny who dispensed the obligatory accumulated wisdom; too unbelievable in others--New Yorkers just do not get that involved in the lives of other New Yorkers. Hell, most of them don't even know who their neighbors are. OK, I don't know who any of my neighbors are, either, but you get my point. Having said all this, I'll go see it when the movie version starring Julia Roberts hits the theaters this summer.

The third book is The Good Fairies of New York by Martin Millar. Set in New York City by its Scottish author. Neil Gaiman loves this book, and that's enough to pique my interest. In between school work, maybe I'll get to read it before summer comes.

No new tv shows? Read a book!

So the Writers Guild has gone on strike and television networks are scrambling to fill the void with what I'll call "classic episodes of a recent vintage," a.k.a. repeats. I'm all for writers getting fair pay for their work in an age where it can be accessed via several forms of media. But what to do in the meantime? Tuning in to BBC America comes to mind. Sure, you have to interpret the unintelligible accents of people speaking (mostly) the same language as us, and the shows are at least two years old, but there's a lot of great entertainment coming out of the U.K. BBC America's new "disclaimer" at the start of every show cracks me up (thanks for the Boston shout-out!). We can use close captioning! Of course!

Another suggestion: read a book. Read several. I have a pile of books designated for "fun reading" I haven't been able to get to since I started grad school this fall. The "hard/boring/perplexing reading" comes first. If anyone out there can wrap their head around Tristram Shandy please drop me a line!

In no particular order, here's a sampling of some of the books I'm dying to read. Perhaps you should be dying to read them too:

The Lace Reader by Brunonia Barry
A murder mystery set in Salem, MA in the 1990s--before Salem's "renaissance." When the matriarch of a family of fortune tellers disappears, her niece and an ex-NY cop must find out what happened.

Stardust by Neil Gaiman
Fairies really exist. Human boy falls in love with fairy. Movie is made before I can read book but I don't have chance to see it.

The Strange Case of Hellish Nell by Nina Shandler
Bizarre true story of a fortune teller in WWII Britain who accurately predicted the British Navy's movements so often she was arrested as a spy, but tried as a witch under Britain's Witchcraft Act of 1745.

Since there's an otherwordly theme going on here, I'll round out the list with the master of other worlds:

Making Money by Terry Pratchett
The newest in his Discworld series sees the return of Moist Von Lipwig. The city of Ankh-Morpork's benevolent dictator puts Moist in charge of the new Ankh-Morpork mint. And you just don't say no to the benevolent dictator!

Finally, some of my random weirdness for your pleasure/amusement or annoyance. Possibly all of the above:

1) I dressed as a Hogwarts student for Halloween. At work. Technically I was Ginny Weasley because I'm a redhead, but as I was sitting outside on a bench during a break a schoolbus full of elementary school kids stopped at the traffic light. They all called out "Hi hermione!" It made my day.

2) Cops on Segways make me giggle. I'm sorry, they just do. It's all I can do to keep a straight face when I walk past one downtown, but when Salem's finest Personal Mobil Transport brigade showed up on TV I lost it! Every year on Halloween, thousands of people pack the downtown area to celebrate. Everyone comes in costume, and it's a blast. NECN, the local New England news channel aired a piece the morning after Halloween that they had filmed the night before. As the reporter was wrapping up his report, not one, but two Segway cops zoomed past behind him, right on cue, one after the other! It was awesome(ly funny)!

Hello Grad School, Goodbye Free Time.

But first, one episode of this season's Dr. Who to go! As the tv screen darkened, we saw Martha running frantically toward a burning London as millions of baby Death Stars rushed toward the city high over her head. Oblivious to the lone human/easy target directly underneath them. The Doctor is now a really old dude, while the Master is crazier/hotter than ever. He's crazy hot! And Jack? He's...just Jack (insert Will and Grace hand motion). Despite all the spoilers I've been reading on line all season, I don't know what's going to happen and I can't wait to find out. I do know Martha joins Torchwood and Donna Noble comes back to be the Doc's companion in season 4. Finally! A non-teenage, non-stick-thin redheaded sistah as companion!

Now, back to me. I've been accepted into a Masters of English program, which means I get to read lots and lots of books and write lots and lots of papers. This semester, I get to read Lottes of Bookes that look lyke this with no Chapters, Punctuation or Paragraph Breaks for Dyalogue. I'll also learn how to write fiction, which is the main reason I'm going to school. My full-time job workload and my part-time school workload mean that I can now kiss the following goodbye for the next 2-4 years:

1. Sleeping

2. Free Time

3. Sanity

4. Knitting, Sewing and Various Crafty Endeavors

5. Reading for Fun (no analytical thinking required)

Of course, it would all be worth it if I had the Doctor as a professor...

I'ts Official...I have a clutter management problem.

I also have "Rehab" by Amy Winehouse stuck in my head, but one problem at a time.

Being forced to clean out my bedroom at short notice so the carpets could be cleaned made me take a hard look at how I live my life. I have "stuff" issues. As in, I can't let go of it. It just accumulates, piles up, takes over, and then lays around laughing at me while I try to find the car license renewal paperwork I knew I'd received in the mail not too long ago.

I don't know why I allow clutter to run my life, but my taste in hobbies doesn't do me any favors. I've officially run out of room in all my bookcases. I have so much yarn and knitting crap that I've started storing it in plastic bins from Target, discreetly hidden under my bed. The embroidery stuff is quietly giving the knitting stuff a run for its money. Now that I've taken up sewing as well (sewing machines--what a great invention) it means I'll be buying even more Stuff, and I'll need more space to store said Stuff.

I've made a large dent in the clutter reduction project over the last few days. My floor is now free of any randomly roaming books on embroidery, sewing, Terry Pratchett's Discworld or any and all of Jane Austen's works of fiction. Next phase of the project is Tops, as in the dresser top, desk #1 top, desk #2 top. Desk #2 (more of a drawing table actually) will become my new sewing corner. Look at me, I'm all into the crafts now!

Does anyone else pile up as much crap as me, or am I a total freak? I still can't get "Rehab" out of my head...I'm humming it now for Pete's sake.

5 Things Not to write on a Grad School Admission Statement

1. I would like to study at your institution because I've been rejected by my first 5 choices

2. I'm sure I'll be admitted; after all, I'm not exactly applying to Harvard, am I.

3. I would appreciate knowing your decision as soon as possible because next week I'm leaving for a monthlong trip to Europe.

(for the English major):

4. If I don't get in, all I can say is, Bummer.

5. Harry Potter rocks!

(As I typed this, I managed to knock the last accessory from my action figures off my desk. So maybe I was the culprit all along....)

It's Raining Free Books!

I work in the public education system (cue ominous music). Lately there's been a workplace-wide rash of midsummer office clean-outs, resulting in boxes full of books marked "Free to good home" mysteriously popping up.

Two weeks ago, right before I went on vacation, I came across one such box in the building where the English classes are taught. To go to the snack bar in the foyer. For iced tea, honest! Since I'm applying to go back to school for literature/creative writing, I thought that this might be a positive sign! I walked away with a copy of a creative writing textbook. A Free Professional Copy, mind.

Yesterday I was in the building where the art classes are taught. To go to the vending machines. To get bottled water, honest! Sitting on the floor was yet another box stuffed full of old books. When I went over to check it out, I discovered it was full of old books on needlepoint! I was pretty excited because I do needlepoint, and I love buying old (1950-1980s) books on needlepoint. These were all in excellent condition, except for one book by needlepoint designer Erica Wilson, which had water damage. The whole book had its pages all stuck together. I selected three books on cross stitch and needlepoint. There were at least 10 others still in the box. To be honest, this box didn't have a sign on it that said Free to good home," so I may have just swiped a bunch of books from someone who might be coming back for them. I'll have to go down and get some Fritos later on and check to see if the box is still there.

What I'm wondering is, where did the needlepoint books come from? The English texts i can understand being cleared out by faculty members. Someone must have cleaned out at home and brought a box in. Whatever the case, I've scored some free books that I would have paid, oh, three, four dollars apiece for at a used bookstore!

Gripes du jour:

Someone keeps interfering with the Emily the Strange and skeleton boy and girl from The Corpse Bride action figures on my desk. The little pieces like the cat and stuff are missing, presumably knocked behind the desk, only I can't see them on the floor. It's a tight fit to get behind there. Also, my short story got rejected by the literary magazine I submitted it to. As a potential English grad student, let me just say, Bummer.

Doctor Who? Getting better, slowly. I have since pronounced the William Shakespeare episode unwatchable. The (new) New New York episode? Slightly better. My favorite part? Martha's Oh S*** moment when she realizes she doesn't even know the Doctor, really. Well, who does, eh?

Martha: I don't even know who he is (or something like that)
Carjacker/kidnapper girl: So that means our only hope is--
Me: A casual acquaintance?!
Carjacker/kidnapper girl: a total stranger? That's no good.

Ah, but it is good, kidnapper girl. It's very good, indeed.

Tomorrow: the Daleks take over the Chrystler Building. Can't wait!

Space Rhinos, Bad Extras, & Questionable Science

Last Friday was the (finally!) double header season premiere of Dr. Who in the U.S. More David Tennant hotness, some Catherine Tate wackiness, and some Freema Argeman, uh, newness!
This opinionated post will contain spoilers. These are my thoughts on the first two episodes. And, please, spare me any "it's only a tv show" comments, if you don't mind. Just picture my tongue firmly planted in my cheek. So I will dutifully insert a spoiler space. But I'm pretty sure anyone on either side of the Atlantic who wanted to watch Dr. Who at all has probably seen it by now. Nevertheless...
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The Runaway Bride was pretty cool. I like the Dr. Who Christmas specials, and this year David Tennant didn't spend most of the episode in a coma so that was a definite plus. Donna was incredibly irritating and yes, I have to say it, a little thick. So let's review: The Doctor wants Donna to travel with him, but only wants to take Martha along for one ride?

Lance: Even though the Doctor looks at Donna like she's being too cruel, yes, in my opinion, Lance did deserve what he got for betraying her. Hello? He was also sacrificing the entire human race to the mean giant spider lady?!

Racnoss (??) Empress: Mean giant spider lady funny. Maybe it was intentional. most of the aliens in Dr. Who's entire history have been unintentionally funny, so I'm not sure. Whatever the case, she made me laugh. She was waaay over the top, freaky as all get-out, and I loved the 10-packs-a-day raspiness of her voice. I like Sarah Parrish. The portrayal probably wasn't meant to be intentionally funny, but either way, you can tell she definitely had a blast.

Smith and Jones was pretty cool. I love when the aliens are weird/spooky looking. That's why I like the Cybermen better than the salt shakers-I mean Daleks. The heavily armored Judoon were creepy cool in their heavy black spacesuits and 6-inch high Creepers. At first.

There are three things about this episode that I couldn't quite get over. Hint: See title of post.

1) Rhino aliens. Why rhinos? Are they aware they resemble non-sentient earth animals?! Would they flock to all of Earth's zoos in order to free their bretheren, then blast the entire zookeeping staff because "justice is swift?" Would they find Doc Martens more comfortable than Creepers?

2) Bad extras. OK people, imagine you're sitting in a lounge one minute, the next minute, Oh my God, the entire hospital is on the moon! You look out the window. You react. Okayyyy and....ACTION!

The extras reaction to being on the moon made me laugh. I don't know, I just thought they were funny. And Martha? I'll suspend my belief and just accept that she didn't freak out. Cos I can tell Martha is going to kick a**. Girl, you went to the moon and back in a day, yet you're together enough to make it to your brother's birthday party on time? Rock.

3) The Doctor's Revival and Other Scientific Oddities. Now, I'm not a doctor, but if someone dies from a loss of blood, would CPR really be enough to revive them? Wouldn't they need a transfusion? And don't get me started on how the hospital's power supply was still working on the moon. The entire building's removal left a giant crater. So at some point wouldn't all the underground plumbing and electrical lines, etc., have been severed? I'm sure everyone would say, "yes, but the bubble the Judoon created to keep the air in also enabled all the systems to keep functioning." Fine.

I can't wait to meet William Shakespeare!