On the bookshelf

I am currently reading Reading Lolita in Tehran by Azar Nafisi. Before reading the memoir I read Lolita and so the timing is appropriate. Here is one passage of the book that I have enjoyed, thus far:

"I wrote on the board one of my favorite lines from the German thinker Theodor Adorno: "The highest form of morality is not to feel at home in one's own home." I explained that most great works of the imagination were meant to make you feel like a stranger in your own home. The best fiction always forced us to question what we took for granted. It questioned traditions and expectations when they seemed too immutable. I told my students I wanted them in their readings to consider in what ways these works unsettled them, made them a little uneasy, made them look around and consider the world, like Alice in Wonderland, through different eyes."

It is worth noting that Lolita is not the only novel read in the meetings between Nafisi and her students, even though the title may misled some readers. They also read Persian classical literature and the following Western novels: Pride and Prejudice, The Great Gatsby, Madame Bovary, Daisy Miller and The Dean’s December. I always get excited about knowing what novels get picked for instruction (or reading) and why. This may be a symptom of all the time I’ve spent sitting through literature courses.

Dear Abby is not the only one with answers

Sometimes the idea of working in a coffee shop as a coffee barista sounds like the most romantic job in the world. Right next to being a professional ballet dancer, or being an underground, undiscovered, starving poet. So, is it a romantic job? Yes, and no. I don’t have a final answer to this question but something that needs to be stressed is: life in a coffee shop is a whole lotta work. If you like moving nonstop, then the job is probably for you. If you are lazy and don’t care about the importance of crafting the perfect foam, then you should probably seek employment elsewhere. Also, an important part of the job is the ability to answer a wide range of questions. Here is a small sample below.

What is the difference between whole milk and skim milk?

What drink has the most caffeine… Let’s say, enough to keep me alert for 72 hours? Or, is there a way I can inject the caffeine directly into my veins and essentially speed up the process?

Will you marry me?

Are you a natural blonde or is that Revlon Ultra Blonde at work?

What was your personal reaction to James Joyce's Ulysses?

Do you support Obama?

What is the capital of Argentina?

And, one of most frequent (and challenging!) questions of all:

How do you feel about Starbucks?

To which I reply: “Leave this café at once!”

The rain in Spain falls mainly on the plain

My roommate, who I shall refer to as The One from Spain, has been spending the past few days in Chicago with her Turkish lover/boyfriend. While in Chicago they are going to a Bob Dylan concert, which is great, if you are into that kind of thing and happen to be my parent’s age, of course. I’ve found myself missing her while she is away to the extent I selected an appropriate song for her return.



I will be Eliza Dolittle. I suppose she will have to step in as Henry Higgins. I hope she is familiar with her lines so we can cut straight to the singing and dancing.

The perfect costume for my boyfriend

If I had the power to force my boyfriend to do anything in the world, I would use that power to have him wear this costume for Halloween. Let’s just say, he has the body to pull it off.



I apologize to those of you who are easily offended by German stereotypes. This young man is obviously not a representative of all German men. He looks like he is on his way to the movies and threw on some "street" clothes before meeting up with friends. But do all German men dress this way? Of course not! I imagine his orange suspenders come in a wide variety of colors for men to choose from.

Mario Batali lives here

I just read that celebrity chef, Mario Batali, has his "getaway home" in Northern Michigan. (In the Grand Traverse Bay/Leelanau Peninsula area.) “Michigan is my antidote to Manhattan. This is where I come to relax,” says Mario. It’s interesting to know an Italian chef would select Michigan over, let’s say, Lake Como. My getaway house would have to be outside of Michigan… somewhere far, far away. Where? Oh, the location changes by the day. Sometimes by the hour.

Martha blogs

Martha just started a blog. I know, she is a little late to the blogging world, but this is the woman who isn’t afraid to attempt to run over her husband with her SUV but at the same time understands how to make the perfect bundt cake, so one can’t criticize her too harshly. Now if only she will add tales from the bean to her link list...

Clip from Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?

We're watching this for one of my classes. If you haven't seen the movie, you should rent it today.



More about the movie: Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?

Add some French to your day

If you need a second language to speak in order to impress guests over drinks at dinner parties, or you spent years in high school taking foreign language courses that you ignored*, then French Word-A-Day may be helpful. I like the site because it is simple and therefore, I can fit in to my daily schedule. Also, I love the “A Day in a French Life” stories that are included with each entry.

* This applies to me.

Dumbledore, gay?

Over the weekend it was revealed by JK Rowling that Professor Dumbledore is, in fact, gay. "Oh, well that makes sense," my friend replied after hearing the news. Does it? Were there stereotypical "gay" scenes that appeared in the series that I somehow missed? I suppose there was the casual mention of how a younger Dumbledore "loved to shop." And the character Dumbledore always reminded me of being molded after Tolkein's Gandalf, who in the LOTR movie series was played by Sir Ian McKellen, who also happens to be gay...

I am curious as to why JK Rowling has decided to have a main character "come out" now, when there wasn't mention of it in the series. I suppose the answer to this question shouldn’t matter. After all, there could be a lot of information about each character that never made it into the final books. We never found out Hermione's favorite color, for example, or if the house elves were avid tea drinkers considering they also lived in Great Britain...

However, I am left wondering if JK Rowling decided to have Dumbledore “come out” in order to spark additional controversy. Perhaps she decided, on a whim, let’s stir things up. The Religious Right hasn’t been as strongly anti-Potter lately and the “Dumbledore is gay” fan fiction is compelling… so why not give fans and foes something to talk about?

In equally compelling news, why not check out Giuliani in drag. I am not trying to make the suggestion that Giuliani might be gay, I just envy the fact he was able to sing alongside Julie Andrews. Who wouldn’t go in drag for the opportunity to sing alongside Maria? I know I would. (Maria from The Sound of Music is my favorite Julie Andrews character.)

Fall activities

I try to make the most of fall before the weather takes a turn for the worse and suddenly I am caught scrapping snow off my car windshield and cursing the dreariness of winter in Michigan. So on Saturday Nate and I went over to Jenny’s Farm Market. We cuddled with the farm animals. A calf tried to eat Nate’s pants, while showing no interest in mine. We devoured pumpkin spice donuts, followed by homemade apple cider. AND! We went on a horse drawn hayride. I would mention how Nate forced me into crawling through the hay maze designed for kids only but I have too much pride to go into those horrific details.

And, because Kroger had a sale on Halloween items I ended up making Halloween themed cupcakes. I’m not an expert at applying frosting but I tried my best.



The green is supposed to resemble slime... Toxic slime.



This is a view of all the tiny cupcakes together. (I used tiny cupcakes instead of the regular size because, well, I think they are cuter. And eating a tiny cupcake is so much healthier than eating a normal size cupcake.)



It’s a pumpkin! Or is it? The frosting was out of control at this point.

I have photos of Jenny's Farm Market up on flickr from a trip in October 2005. I didn't take any photos this time.

Kermit would fit in here

In early September I painted the Living Room of my apartment. The walls ended up being bright green. This is the wall above our sofa:



On some days I appreciate the brightness and it puts me in a cheery mood... on other days I regret the color selection and take comfort in knowing I won't be living in this apartment forever. As of now, I've painted two rooms in my apartment. The second being my Bedroom, which is pictured below:



Ahhh, how refreshing. I think the blue is a better match for my personality.

MSL Tote Bag

My Martha Stewart Living tote bag came in the mail the other day. It was free with a new magazine subscription.



I like it. I might end up using it as a grocery store tote bag (instead of using plastic bags). Or, I may just stare at it all day and feel that much closer to Martha.

Aunt Barista

In September I spent some time with my niece and nephew, two little people I rarely get the chance to see but should probably see more often before they pass through childhood and morph into grown-ups. My eight-year-old niece was making a joke using the words bored and board games, which phonetically sound identical but here she is, at eight, recognizing linguistic properties in order to create humor. Such wit! Such cunning! Perhaps she is on her way to becoming a stand up comedian? The fact she is already making sophisticated connections about her language is fantastic but on the same hand, terrifying for those who don’t want her to grow up.

Because I was in charge of overseeing two children, we ended up at a coffee shop. (My nephew took all the photos in this post.)



No, I didn’t give them espresso shots or introduce them to their first cappuccino. As a general rule, children don’t need caffeine. So what can a child order at a coffee shop? Here are a few popular choices: Hot Chocolate, Chocolate Milk, Regular Milk, Italian Sodas and French Sodas. Also, many coffee shops have Juice as an option. I would add Tea to the list but can’t imagine being able to convince an American child to drink tea.



Are there things for children to do at coffee shops? Not really. But I needed caffeine and I made it into an “exciting” adventure because it turns out their parents never take them to coffee shops. (Shocking, I know.) You see, my niece and nephew have this idea of coffee shops as a “grown-up only” kind of place that is off limits to kids. Well, I made sure to show them what they have been missing out on. After staring intently at their surroundings and gulping down their drinks, I heard a mutual cry of: “We’re bored…” Followed by: “Can we go do something else now?”

As a good Aunt I said, “Okay,” and we left. After I finished my mocha.

John Paul II speaks from the grave

I think this is a great story as Halloween approaches. Also, I am reminded of a scene from Harry Potter but I can't remember which one off the top of my head. If you know the scene, please tell me.

Pope Fire The Vatican says Pope John Paul II has appeared in the shape of a bonfire. The internet is going crazy for the Papal fire, in which the former Pope appeared in flame format at a gathering in Poland.

I think his* message is clear: "Don't listen to anything this man says!"

* The "he" being Pope John Paul II from the grave, of course.

It's raining cats and dogs

I wore the wrong shoes today and it ended up pouring. My feet are soaked and my pants are soaked up to my ankle. Also, wearing wet socks around is probably the worst feeling in the world. While stepping through one puddle after another earlier I daydreamed about rain boots. Here are a few visions I had:





Next time I'll be ready.

You can find the boots at Target.

Quick update

I'm making a few changes around here. You may want to hit Refresh. I don't have everything up but am working on it.

Outside it is rainy and cold. What a sad combination.

Ann Coulter

If you are looking for a frightening Halloween costume this year here are is one option:

Pictured above: Ann Coulter.

Tips for your costume:

Wear all black.

Attempt to make your face longer and pointer than usual.

You may want to use makeup to make your skin appear vein-like and extremely pale.

Don a long blonde wig. Your hair should be straight and flowing.

Make controversial (and hateful) statements in order to attract attention. Remember: no one will notice you unless you master this first.

Do not hesitate in using generalities, which some individuals may interpret as wit.

Bash Democrats for being Democrat. Praise Republicans for being Republicans.

If you encounter a single woman, let her know she shouldn’t have the right to vote. She is one screwing everything up!

If you encounter a Jewish person, let him/her know Jews should be “perfected.” Try giving the suggestion: “Can’t you guys hurry up and be Christian already?” You may want to mention Jesus in order to seal the deal.


* The image in this post is from The Sydney Morning Herald.

Conversation over dinner

Emily (who is 4.5 years old): “My middle name means Jade… I like it because it reminds me of diamonds.”

How does a 4.5 year old understand expensive jewelry? My guess? Radio Disney. Or possibly that subscription to Tiffanys is actually sinking in.

Where is the Isle of Woman?

Random factoids I find interesting…

There is an Isle of Man but there is not an Isle of Woman. Queen Elizabeth II is the head of state and she holds the title, Lord of Mann. During the reign of Queen Victoria the title was switched to Lady of Man. Apparently, Elizabeth II can’t be bothered with such distinctions. Also, the flag of the Isle of Man is rather peculiar. I'm not sure how I feel about it. 3 legs? 3 manly legs? I don’t know what to make of it.

Blogging sins

Not updating your blog on a daily, or fairly regular, basis.

Writing something mean or hateful about a person. Even if the words are true, you should still hesitate in posting something hurtful.

Forgetting to proofread your entries. To some extent, spelling and grammar matter.

Assuming that your mother/next door neighbor/boss/ex-girlfriend/etc. doesn’t read your blog. They probably do and are printing out all your entries so they can analyze them in their free time.

Faking it. Exaggeration is fine for effect. Lying, however, is not. If you don’t live in a castle in Wales and spend your days sipping tea while pondering the complexity of life, don’t mislead readers into thinking that you do. I tried this once and believe me, it totally backfired.

Using too much caution, which in turn produces “safe” yet boring entries. It’s okay to be “risky.” If you don’t like the word “risky” then think of it is as being “creative.”

Republican candidates battle it out

Alternative title: Pick your poison




This is not going to turn into a political blog but I realized sometime today I’ve posted about Hillary, Obama and Edwards. However, I haven’t said anything regarding the Republican candidates for the 2008 presidential election. I realize some of you reading this blog may be “into that kind of thing.” I’m not so much but in the interest of fair and balanced reporting, one should note that Giuliani and Romney are at each other’s throats for the Republican vote.

Giuliani wants you to know he knows how to “keep it real”:

“That’s my appeal. I am me. I will be straight with people. I think the most important thing we’re facing is the challenge of terrorism.” -Giuliani

Meanwhile, Romney wants you to know he isn’t the best Trivial Pursuit partner:

“Now, I don’t have all the answers. I don’t pretend to be the answer man. But I do know how to get all the answers.” -Romney

* All images in this post are from NY Times.com.

Mind reading

My sister, L, had a recent stint as a psychic tarot card reader. She would offer readings through ebay and surprisingly (or not surprisingly, depending on how you look at it), people were seeking her advice. She stopped doing the readings after awhile and her cards are now tucked away. I don’t take tarot card readings very seriously (nor should you!) but I was reminded of this when I found the article, Mind Reading, from Psychology Today. Apparently, all of us are “street-corner psychics” who use our ability to see inside the minds of others.

“Mind reading of this sort—not to be confused with the infallible superhero kind of telepathy—is a critical human skill. It's the way we make sense of other people's behavior and decide on our own next moves. Mind reading enables us to negotiate, compete, cooperate, and achieve emotional closeness with others. It lets us figure out when we're being manipulated or seduced. It's how we know when someone finds our jokes hilarious or is humoring us out of politeness. Mind-reading ability is perhaps the most urgent element of social intelligence.”

I know I see inside the mind of Nate all the time. I see when he is hungry, when he is moody, when he is happy, or is in desperate need of a trip to the beach. (The last vision rarely comes up.) Oh, he might deny my ability to interpret but that doesn’t mean he won’t turn around and apply his psychic powers on me.

“Are you stressed because you found out So-and-So died?

“Are you stressed because your friend, Steve B, is in Iraq?”

“Are you stressed because you received your 99th parking ticket this year?”

He will go through all these possibilities, until he finally gets closer to the truth:

“Do you need a latte?”

Pretty things from Lekker

I must be suffering from window-shopping syndrome. I have it bad. Here are a few items I found that I love:



My wallet will be staying shut. I just like to dream from afar.

Top row (from left to right): Exploration Placemats, Birch Lamp Set.
Bottom row (from left to right): Vacuum Carafe Soft, Bamboo Bowl Collection.

Amy Sedaris and Martha cooking up cheeseballs

If you have a soft spot for Martha Stewart, Amy Sedaris and/or bong water, then you will love this clip:



Funny, funny.

Here is the recipe for Amy Sedaris' Li'l Smokey Cheeseball:

2 cups of shredded smoked Gouda cheese
16 ounces of cream cheese
1/2 cup of butter
2 1/2 tablespoons of milk
2 1/2 teaspoons of Steak Sauce
1 cupped of chopped nuts

Bring all ingredients to room temp. Add milk and steak sauce and beat until completely blended. Chill over night. Turn it into a ball the next morning. Roll it in the nut mixture. Serve it room temp, spread on a Ritz cracker.

John Edwards, somewhere between cute and sexy

The man has a good grasp on the wheel.


He is willing to work toward fixing the problems facing America.


Oh, and did I mention he is cute?


Some find him cute, while others find him sexy. The word "handsome" also comes to mind.

* All images courtesy of Men's Vogue.com.

Where everyone goes bang-bang

A reader pointed out that I never clarified what happened with the roommate situation. (This is not the first time I’ve failed to provide a follow up to an entry in this blog. I tend to do it all the time. In my defense: there is only so much time in the day!) Here is the complete story, which should catch everyone up to date:

During the summer we were looking for a new roommate to move in for the year. The first girl signed the lease but decided she would rather live with her boyfriend. He is completing his PhD in Engineering and has a certain nerdy look about him, so it is no wonder she has fallen passionately in love. Then we found girl number two, who was a promising roommate from Taiwan, except her plans changed and the arrangement fell through. Finally, we (meaning, my roommate, L, and I) found a roommate we loved. Not only did we fall in love with her but she is not fickle. She is from Spain, quite stylish and chic, and is a grad student studying Japanese culture.

I have been doing part of my undergraduate work in Anthropology and so the two of us have quite a bit to talk about. She tells me stories of Europe and Japan. In exchange, I tell her stories about the US and how things are done. I’ve even shared how one would use slang, including phrases such as: “I'm gonna holla at ya,” or: “Let’s bounce.” It is worth mentioning: I never use such phrases in my own speech. However, there may come a day when I need to utter the words: “Let’s bounce,” instead of the much longer: “Let’s leave this place.”

I do like feeling as if I am an authority on my own culture and have all the special insight into American life. Except, the other day we ended up in a conversation regarding Texas and guns and my ability to exaggerate may have crept into the conversation... I ended up saying something along the lines of: “You see, in some states they are a little more gun-happy than others. In Texas if you are feeling blue you might just want to shoot your gun at random, sort of like a pick-me-up. That doesn’t happen here.”

I was joking when I said these words but despite this, my roommate only looked back at me in horror. She replied, “I don’t think I’ll ever go to Texas.” Suddenly I realized my careless statement had convinced her Texas is this dangerous, gun-toting state… and who knows, maybe there is truth to that statement, maybe there isn’t… but what do I know? I live in Michigan. So I spent the next half of the conversation trying to correct my mistake. “Texas is fine, it’s a safe place to visit and live… it isn’t that bad,” I reassured her. “Not everyone in Texas carries a gun. Little kids in Texas? They don’t carry guns. They have to wait until they turn eight.”

Then she brought up a point I could not refute: “But George W. Bush is from Texas.”

To this I had no reply.