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September 11, Again
I wonder how many years will go by before we can hear the words, “September 11th” without it taking us back to that horrible day. How long before we forget the tragedy of those who died that day, those who were badly injured, those who continue to carry the harm of that day around inside of them. How long before we forget the sight of people jumping to their deaths from the top of the towers. Before we forget the gut wrenching signs all over Manhattan, of people missing, while their families hoped against hope that they might have somehow survived. How long before we forget the fear and anger…
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The Time Traveler’s Wife
I read the novel version of The Time Traveler’s Wife a few years ago, and I loved it. It was really well done. This weekend, we finally got around to going to see the film version, and I loved it too, just not quite as much. I think that happens most of the time with books that are turned into films. So much of the story has to be left out when you change the medium, it’s rare to find a film version that really works. And I would say, this one did. The premise of the story is that Henry has a genetic disorder that causes him to travel…
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Oven-Fried Chicken Parmesan
I thought I would share the recipe for Chicken Parmesan that I made with the $10 pasta sauce (on sale now at Safeway for $9!) last week, which I made again last night, because Maya wanted to try it and couldn’t last week because her teeth hurt too much after getting her braces tightened. Anyway, I made it again, and this time, I took a picture. I think this is my favorite Chicken Parmesan recipe ever. The keys are: good quality chicken, good quality sauce, Italian Parmesan, and panko rather than American breadcrumbs. They’re so nice and crispy, and give the chicken a wonderful texture. Also, of course, don’t overcook…
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Suzanne Vega ~ Men in a War
Funny how things change in life, right? This song isn’t even my favorite Suzanne Vega song, and before I lost my mom last year, it never would have made me think of her. But now. Now, any time I hear it, it makes me think of that horrible adjustment period after she died. Of how confusing the world suddenly was around me. Of how, though I still had (have) so many things and people in my life that were (are) so very important to me, things would never be the same again, would never be right again. I know how it isWhen something is goneA piece of your eyesightOr maybe…
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Another Random Mess of Friday Randomness
I paid $10 for pasta sauce the other day. I know, I must be insane, right? It all started at the orthodontist’s office (as so many torrid tales are wont to do), where I sat reading an issue of Cooking Light while various sadists tortured my lovely daughter. The magazine had a delicious looking recipe for Chicken Parmesan, as well as a taste test of several different pasta sauces. Just a month or so ago, I saw a taste test of pasta sauces on America’s Test Kitchen, but unfortunately, I don’t think that the winner of that contest and the winner of this contest were both included in either taste…
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Helpless
When people talk to you about having kids, they often ask you if you’re ready to give up your freedom, your ability to go out when you want, see whatever movie you want, eat whatever you want, stay up until 4am, sleep in when you want, have sex when you want, work late if you need to, live in a crappy apartment in a bad school district if you so choose…so many sacrifices. People list them and warn you. And you say, “Yes, I’m ready. I want a baby to love and to hold and to care for. I want to smell the sweet smell of a baby’s head after…
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Flip Flop
(photo found here) I spied a single flip flop in the road this morning, the kind of thing which makes me wonder…where’s the other one? Is the person missing their shoe? Or were they trying to throw them both away, and just dropped one? Who knows. But it reminded me of a story from my miss-spent youth. When I was 22 or so, living in San Francisco, in a lovely flat on Fulton Street, I came home from work one night to find a young woman asleep on our doorstep. I was worried about her, but not worried enough to call the police. (Perhaps that would have been the smart…
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Rush ~ Time Stand Still
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4QfvFy2Qy-M[/youtube] Ted loves Rush. If he could, he would marry Rush. Really, he loves them. Totally. Me? I loved Rush in 9th grade (this is me in grade 9), totally into 2112 (both sides, I know, I’m a dork), and that was about the end of it. But Ted is a true fan, has loved them from the beginning. Still loves them. Has seen them in concert many times. Maya and I finally went with them last year, and they were totally great. I was really impressed with their stage presence, their skill, the fun that they had, and the connection with the audience. Really great. I think my favorite…
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Friday Randomness
Really? Is this all I have left in me, blogging wise? Random updates on my life, music videos, and the occasional recipe or book review? Yes? OK, whatever. Sorry if you came here looking for a wonder eulegy of Ted Kennedy, or more debate on the Heath Care issue. Let’s get to the randomness, k? Awhile ago, I read a book called “Why Do I Love These People“, by author Po Bronson. He has a new book out soon titled “Nurture Shock“, in which he talks about how parents’ constant praise of their children hampers them, hampers their school performance, and makes them decode your words and pretty much see…
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Boomtown Rats ~ I Don’t Like Mondays
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zdA-2oXzk10[/youtube] For those of us old enough (or young enough) to remember Live Aid, it was indeed an amazing phenomenon. We missed a lot of it in California, being 8 hours behind England, and 3 hours behind Philadelphia, and it being announced not too long before the concerts were held. But wow, the work that went into that…without email, without cell phones, all of that. And a lot of it didn’t make it to MTV at the time. Originally, Geldof didn’t want the concert to be re-broadcast, saying that it would have more power in our memories than in being replayed over and over again. Not like today, where it…
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Queen ~ One Vision
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XJvNvBYTsGw[/youtube] I remember the day I heard on the radio that Freddy Mercury had died from complications of AIDS. I wasn’t the biggest Queen fan in the world, but still, the news broke my heart, and I knew the world was worse off without his exuberant spirit in it. I think the DJ played Bohemian Rhapsody, and these lyrics never rang more true: Too late, my time has come Sends shivers down my spine Body’s aching all the time Goodbye, everybody I’ve got to go Gotta leave you all behind and face the truth Mama, ooh I don’t want to die I sometimes wish I’d never been born at all……
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Friday Randomness
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NiNB4epGxK8[/youtube] First off, go see Ponyo. Right now. I’ll wait here. Seriously, we went to see it on Wednesday evening, and we LOVED it. So much that Maya and her friend went to see it on Thursday. And the friend said she now wants to see it again, with her mom. Such a sweet, lovely film. It’s made for perhaps a slightly younger audience than Miyazaki’s Spirited Away, but it’s so charming and delightful, I can’t think of a single age group that won’t enjoy it. That’s two awesome films in one week, and I have to say that I cannot imagine two more different films than Ponyo and District…
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Letter to Abercrombie
Dear overpriced mall chain store (aka, Abercrombie in this case, but this has happened in other stores as well), Perhaps I don’t understand basic economics, but it seems reasonable to me that when a hapless 40-something year old mom finds herself dragged into your obnoxiously loud and smelly store, willing to shell out more than she can afford on clothes for her teenage daughter, in order to emerge relatively soon and sane, you might help her out by having some of the clothes that you advertise in stock. I took my daughter clothes shopping the the other day, and was irritated and then simply dismayed as outfit after outfit that…
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The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society
Dear Sidney, How comforting it was to hear you say, “God damn, oh God damn.” That’s the only honest thing to say, isn’t it? Elizabeth’s death is an abomination and it will never be anything else. This short paragraph struck my heart, because it’s almost what my dad said when I told him that my mom had died. Everyone else was mostly sad for me, worried for me, and said kind things like, “I’m so sorry”, or “Oh, no”, or whatever wonderful and caring things they said. But my dad, he and my mom were part of their own group in High School, their own society that railed against the…
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Health Care food for thought…
I have a Facebook friend who I sort of knew via High School. He was a really great guy, and we had several friends in common, but he was a few years ahead of me, and he graduated before I started HS. Anyway, through common friends, we became Facebook buddies. He’s been talking once in awhile about the Health Care issue, one that he clearly feels passionately about, as do many people on both sides of the argument. I’ve made my admittedly emotional points already, but since A doesn’t have a blog, I thought I’d let him guest post here. He sent me several emails full of his thoughts on…