iPod Random Ten 11-16-07

Friday morning’s musical montage: “Cool,” Gwen Stefani, Love, Angel, Music, Baby“Hallelujah I Love Her So,” Ray Charles, Ray (Motion Picture Soundtrack)“Train in Vain (Stand By Me),” Annie Lennox, Medusa“Take Your Mama,” Scissor Sisters“Lost Highway,” Bon Jovi, Lost Highway“Black Wave/Bad Vibrations,” Arcade Fire, Neon Bible“If I Were You,” Kasey Chambers, Barricades and Brickwalls“Fix You,” Coldplay, X&Y“Can’t Stand Losing You,” The Police, Greatest Hits“Take a Chance on Me,” Erasure, Pop! 20 HitsFor once, I agree – I […]

Not much love for Los Angeles

Not much love for Los Angeles

This is the city: Los Angeles, California. Its environs are home to a couple million people, and more arrive every year. It creates its own mythology and image, and, as the capital of film and television production – often featuring stories based on or in the city – spreads that image to the world. (Although that’s on hold for the moment, and was already a topic for another post.) But, as reported in the LAist […]

Booking Through Thursday 11-15: “Preservatives”

Booking Through Thursday 11-15: “Preservatives”

Today’s question comes from Conspiracy-Girl:I’m still relatively new to this meme so I’m not sure if this has been asked yet, but I’m curious how many of us write notes in our books. Are you a Footprint Leaver or a Preservationist? Don’t forget to leave a link to your actual response (so people don’t have to go searching for it) in the comments—or if you prefer, leave your answers in the comments themselves! This is […]

Nobody walks in LA – everyone drives (each other crazy)

If you’ve been reading here for any length of time, you may have noticed that traffic and commuting are among my favorite ranting topics. This is an interesting finding on that subject, via the On the Job blog – when given the choice between relocating and “extreme commuting,” a new study from Korn/Ferry International indicates that 70% of executives would prefer the latter alternative. “Extreme commuting” is defined as “traveling by plane to work and […]

Wiki Wednesday 11-14-07

Time to learn something! 1. Go to Wikipedia.2. Click on “Random article” in the left-hand sidebar box.3. Post it! My mom’s family used to get out of the Bronx to spend their summers in New Jersey, but not here: Cohansey Township was a township that existed in Cumberland County, New Jersey, United States, during two separate periods, from 1697-1748 and from 1848-1865. The name was derived from the Cohansey River, which flows through the area. […]

Ten on Tuesday 11-13: Songs That Bring Back Memories (and Why)

This week’s Ten on Tuesday prompt is an excellent one, and a bit of a challenge for me, for several reasons: It’s hard to think of the songs on their own. Recollection by song, for me, is usually prompted by hearing the song (or at least reading the title somewhere). For me, exposing things related to my musical tastes always feels risky. Combining my iTunes library with Tall Paul’s after we moved in together was […]

Book talk: “The Man of My Dreams”

Book talk: “The Man of My Dreams”

The Man of My DreamsCurtis Sittenfeld I read Curtis Sittenfeld’s first novel, Prep, earlier this year, and it earned a place on my personal “best first novels” list. Her second book, The Man of My Dreams, avoids the archetypal “sophomore slump,” but it didn’t hit me in quite the same way. One reason for that is probably the choice of third-person narration in this novel, which always has less of a sense of immediacy to […]

Strikeout

I work in Hollywood, but not as part of “Hollywood” – my closest connection to “the industry” is my brother-in-law, who manages several local production studios for a cable-TV company. But the writers’ strike is the talk of our town right now, and if it lasts too long – the last time one happened, in 1988, it lasted 22 weeks – it will probably be the talk of your town too, since there won’t be […]

That’s amazing!

That’s amazing!

Many, many thanks to Wendy, better known as Literary Feline of Musings of a Bookish Kitty, for giving me my very first blogging award! She’s a regular Booking Through Thursday participant and a thoughtful book reviewer, and I’ve picked up a few fun memes from her lately. She is also a recent recipient of the Amazing Blogger Award, and shared the love! It’s amazing just being part of the great blogging community. Many of the […]

The 3 R’s of LOLcats

I’ve tried to avoid the whole LOLcats thing – I’m holding out for the LOLdogs, since that would be more my speed. But this I couldn’t resist – giving my blog the LOLinator treatment. Here’s an excerpt: hoem 4 holidays 4 first tiem in awhile… i wil b preparin both thanksgivin n xxxmass day dinna in my own kitchen thiz year… n i’m lookin forward 2 it. maybe i had long enough vacation frm it… […]

Home for the holidays

Home for the holidays

For the first time in awhile, I will be preparing both Thanksgiving and Christmas Day dinners in my own kitchen this year, and I’m looking forward to it. Maybe I’ve had a long enough vacation from it, but it’s also because I actually enjoy being a host and getting to feed people. Besides, having the holiday gatherings on my turf gives me a lot more control over events, not to mention the menu. And we […]

What we’re all about

This “About Us” meme comes via Literary Feline (I’ve been picking up some fun stuff from her lately.) I am publicly inviting my husband to comment in writing – here on this blog – if he would have answered anything differently. The basic facts:Who is your significant other? My husband, “Tall” PaulHow long have you been together? 2.5 yearsDating/Engaged/Married? Married – just celebrated our first anniversary on October 21How old is your Significant Other? Mid-40’s […]