Monday, April 22, 2013

Too Tired...Good Tired...GaGa and Sedaris

Heart-A-Rama week.  Do I have to say much more?  I am tired, exhausted, actually.  But, tired doesn't get much better than being surrounding by goofballs doing good.  Each year, at about this time, I beg forgiveness in advance, for any extraordinarily foolish, inappropriate, convoluted and just plain stupid remarks that may be forthcoming.  Like Lady Macbeth, I was my hands of the guilt, and cannot be held responsible.

Reading?   Well, Heart-A-Rama week and David Sedaris week usually coincide.   He is one of the few authors I re-read - to the point of being able to quote.  Some people quote Lincoln, or MLK, or Shakespeare,  or the Buddha (sure I can quote him a little)...but me, I can quote Sedaris  Because I have read and reread and re re re...I don't have to think about it too much, and still get the benefit of a strong, dark, stout belly laugh on each page.  Next week will be David Sedaris week 2.

Off to a new topic.  Lady GaGa.  Love that woman!  Love how she pushes the envelope making people roll eyes, gasp in horror and question her sanity.   She  has taken a strong, public stand against bullying, and we all need to perk up and listen to her anti-bullying messages.

My neighbor's son lives on Michigan Avenue in Chicago.  Lady GaGa, -Stephanie - as I like to call her - lives in one of four penthouses in the same building.  These are a couple photos from her apartment.  Enjoy looking at them and then get to the Pig and buy your Heart-A-Rama ticket.


Thanks for stopping by.

Saturday, April 13, 2013

Happy Happy Saturday



What a great day!  Nice weather.  Spring smells in the air.  A visit with Terri and her handsome grandson, Wyatt.   And...my friends Olivia, Thomas and Max dropped by.  Really, these three could be a comedy team.  The first time they stopped in together, the guys told me they found Olivia, friendless, sitting on a curb.  They pitied her and allowed Olivia to be their friend.  Nothing could be further from the truth.  These three have been besties for a long. long time.  In fact, Olivia and Thomas claim they have been friends since the day they were born.  They found Max way back when they were "kids" in kindergarten.

Shh!  I'm not telling you this but...right now they are trying to put together an optical illusion puzzle.  They have been tackling this on and off for months and today, they brought along reinforcements to aid in the challenge.  Someday they will turn the puzzle pieces over and see that the placement order is written on the back.

Each day, I am lucky to come to work in place filled with books, good music, interesting people and  - best of all - friends like Olivia, Thomas and Max.

What am I reading?  A tween hybrid called Timmy Failure: Mistakes were Made.  Timmy Failure is the founder, president and CEO of the best detective agency in town...according to his resume.  The book is a record of his life as a detective.  Timmy had to do the illustrations himself since his business partner, and and not so faithful canine companion, refused to help.

Monday, April 8, 2013

Rainy Days and Mondays


A rainy Monday!  It appears I have two options:  get really grumpy because I want spring weather and I want it now, or get Zen-ish - become one with the weather by reading a book set in the dampness of the British Isles.  Since my 8 AM dental appointment resulted in no needed work, I'll pass on the grumpfest and move right on to the British portion of my day.

Last week I started The Bookman's Tale and am finding it hard to put down.  It's a light literary piece  set in three time frames, the present, the near past, and the Elizabethan period.  The antiquarian book seeker and seller theme reminds me of Arturo Perez-Reverte's Club Dumas, except that Bookman is much simpler and my pea brain can easily keep track of all the characters and parallels.  But, that little reminder coaxed me to dig out my unread copy of another book by Perez-Reverta, The Flanders Panel.  I bought this book (for the first time) way back when LaDeDa first opened.  Tried reading it.  Failed.  Sold it.  Bought it again - several times- failing each time.  This time, I am determined to conquer the darn thing.  The back of the book says it's a "stunning debut that mixes history, mystery, deceit, and death -"  who can resist?

My favorite line from The Bookman's Tale will make my theatre friends laugh.    Describing Shakespeare, Mr. Cotton says "He was a quiet man - not taken to drunken carousing and immoral behavior like so many theatre folk."

Before I face the Flanders challenge for the final time, I am going to read  The Mystery of Mercy Close because I like the cover and I love the opening paragraphs.

" I wouldn't mind - I mean this is the sheer irony of the thing - but I'm the only person I know who doesn't think it would be delicious to check in to 'someplace' for a 'rest'.  You'd want to hear my sister Claire going on about it, as if waking up one morning and finding herself in a mental hospital would be the most delightful experience imaginable.
     'I've got a great idea' she declared to her friend Judy.  'Let;s have our nervous breakdowns at the same time....we;ll get a double room...kind people...soft welcoming hands...whispering voices...white bed linen, white sofa, white orchids...Just like Heaven... the sound of tinkling water...the smell of jasmine...

Come on, admit it, you're smiling just a little, and wondering what Claire and Judy are up to.

Gotta go.  Rain, coffee and books are just too much to resist today.

Thanks for stopping by.

                                                                               
Enjoy this sneak preview
 of what you'll see at
 Heart-A-Rama 2013.
Get your tickets now...
Manitowoc Pig
Inman's in Two Rivers

                      


 Only $15 for tons of fund-raising fun.

We'll be watching for you.

Monday, April 1, 2013

Roses are Red, Violets are Blue. If I Can Write Poetry and Buy a Degree, Hey, Why Not?




My blog was open. My mind began spinning. What to write! Nothing to say! Busy week! No time to read! OK...begin....my fingers hovered above they keys, ready to type NO BLOG THIS WEEK. Wait! It's the door. Someone approaches...the mail carrier. And with him came what I needed to jump start today's post.

What he brought me upped the level of responsibility I feel to this little weekly communication. How often have I apologized to you for sloppy syntax, hastily formulated thoughts, non-sequiters...not to mention the weakness in the spellcheck of this Blogger program? (...and the rambling groups of words that, on a good day, may be grammatically correct, but more often than not contain one or more significant errors defined by an inability to separate, coordinate and/or subordinate thoughts with the use of conjunctions or whatever?)

So, the mail carrier delivered three pieces of valuable inspiration. First, I was invited to apply to work on my MFA in poetry at Drew University, a division of The Caspersen School of Graduate Studies in Madison, New Jersey. A nice, handwritten note at the bottom of the form letter informed me that Carla the Recruiter discovered my blog, and knew I would be the perfect candidate for their program.

Dear Carla,
     You haven't read too much of this blog have you? Have you ever seen evidence of me writing poetry, or showing the slightest interest in or knowledge of that very sophisticated genre? Not so much, huh?

I will admit that the program has some inviting features. I can write poetry from the comfort of my own home for three years. Then, for ten days in January, I get to go to the campus, just 25 miles from NYC, and engage in "critical conversations, lectures, and workshops as a member of a community of poets." What that really means is I sit around and have people laugh at all the garbage I have written in the comfort of my own home with no one to guide or critique my work except me. OR, maybe everyone will tell me what great, insightful, and life-changing stuff I have written - worthy of publication. Then, for my thesis, I will prepare those poems for publication. Because poetry is a hard sell, no one will pick it up, and out of frustration, I will search out a vanity press, and pay thousands of dollars to see my book rot on store shelves. How much you want to bet that Drew University operates a vanity press and would be more than happy to help me out with that process? Then they will give me the pretty letters to go behind my name.

I have a friend with questionable dedication to studying, and yet he earned a PhD. I have always wondered how that happened. HMMMMMMM...

My second excitement from the mailbag was a letter from an artist named Sarah Angst. Come on...is that her real last name? Can you imagine her work? Dark. Brooding. Anger dripping from the souls of scantily clad Amazonian women, posed in a threatening stances seen only on comic book covers. In reality, Ms. Angst creates Tiffany-like prints which she incorporates into jewelry, cards, and wall art...yet another example to support Shakespeare's "What's in a name?" discussion.

The invitation to buy my MFA was quite a gift, but the free book from St. Martin's Press trumped it. Augusten Burrough's You Better Not Cry spilled out of the manila envelope on the very day I was questioning my decision to re-read Pride and Prejudice. Looks like Austen will have to wait...again. How sad. Burrough's dysfunctional family provides plenty of material for his edgy essays. They aren't for everyone, but Sedaris fans are sure to appreciate them.



What am I really reading? I just cracked The Bookman's Tale - A Novel of Obsession by Charlie Lovett. This modern Gothic opens when an antiquarian bookseller leafs though an 18th century study of Shakespearearn forgieries, and what appears to be a portrait of his late wife flutters to the floor. Of course it really isn't her. It's a Victorian watercolor but the resemblance is uncanny. Thus begins Peter Byerly's journey.

Oh, here's a cheery little note from the brain trust at a big box retialer.  They announced today that Ereaders have not killed the traditional book industry as they once had predicted.  Ya well, the American Booksellers Association has been providing us indies with the stats supporting that for years.  But, I suppose that this news comes on the heels of the turmoil caused by dramatically dropping Kindle sales.  ABA tells us that 80% of books sold in the US still have pages, covers, and no batteries.  Sure, that's not as grand as when 100% of books fit that description.  I try to keep this all in perspective.  Cavemen were probably upset when someone discovered alternatives wall writing, and that turned out OK.

Thanks for stopping by