Happiest of birthdays to my sister, Joyce. It feels odd to type her name because I haven't called her anything but "dork" in twenty-five years. And she calls me "freakshow."
I don't know how people without sisters survive. She's my psychiatrist, fashion consultant, emergency babysitter, health advisor...and best friend.
I recently had the great pleasure of watching my sister walk across a stage and receive her degree from one of the most prestigious nursing schools in the country. Summa cum laude. Uh-huh. When the Dean handed her the diploma, I thought, this girl has no idea how fantastic she is. So I'm telling her now.
Hey, dork. You rule. And are awesome. Happy birthday!
Love, Freakshow
Monday, May 17, 2010
Friday, May 14, 2010
Freaky Friday
Here goes:
1. So I'm driving home from work last night at around midnight, barely able to prop my eyes open, and all of a sudden this woman on the radio is singing, I'm a cougar, you're a cougar, too! Raaawwr! Cougarlife.com is "The premiere online dating service that pairs women in their prime with younger men and ends the double standard." Wha? Should I feel empowered (I am cougar, hear me roar!) or skeezed out? I'm going with the skeeze. Ewww...
2. Book rec: Before I Fall by Lauren Oliver. I've got to admit I didn't like it at first, and I wondered how I was going to tell the person who gave it to me that it just wasn't my thing. I stuck with it, though, and by around 100 pages in I knew there was no way I was putting it down. This is a really great novel, folks; it's surprisingly deep and philosophical. Run to your local bookstore. Seriously.
3. I need squee lessons. Not that I have anything in particular to squee about at the moment, but if I did, I'd flounder in squee-less silence. I'm just not a person who makes noise. I don't scream at concerts or cheer at sporting events and, though I'm a teacher and can project when I have to, people are always asking me to speak up IRL. Is a squee a yelp? A high-pitched scream? I have no idea. Guess I'll have to ask Lisa and Laura.
4. Mother Nature is ticked at me for my utter lameness. I have not turned over my garden yet. I know. I am zone five, so I can still get my plants in, but lame, lame, lame.
5. My friend K.V. is stuck in the hospital on this gorgeous day. That totally sucks, K. I'll have to bring you some Dove dark and National Enquirers to pass the time. Hope you're on the mend!
Have a fantabulous weekend, everyone!
1. So I'm driving home from work last night at around midnight, barely able to prop my eyes open, and all of a sudden this woman on the radio is singing, I'm a cougar, you're a cougar, too! Raaawwr! Cougarlife.com is "The premiere online dating service that pairs women in their prime with younger men and ends the double standard." Wha? Should I feel empowered (I am cougar, hear me roar!) or skeezed out? I'm going with the skeeze. Ewww...
2. Book rec: Before I Fall by Lauren Oliver. I've got to admit I didn't like it at first, and I wondered how I was going to tell the person who gave it to me that it just wasn't my thing. I stuck with it, though, and by around 100 pages in I knew there was no way I was putting it down. This is a really great novel, folks; it's surprisingly deep and philosophical. Run to your local bookstore. Seriously.
3. I need squee lessons. Not that I have anything in particular to squee about at the moment, but if I did, I'd flounder in squee-less silence. I'm just not a person who makes noise. I don't scream at concerts or cheer at sporting events and, though I'm a teacher and can project when I have to, people are always asking me to speak up IRL. Is a squee a yelp? A high-pitched scream? I have no idea. Guess I'll have to ask Lisa and Laura.
4. Mother Nature is ticked at me for my utter lameness. I have not turned over my garden yet. I know. I am zone five, so I can still get my plants in, but lame, lame, lame.
5. My friend K.V. is stuck in the hospital on this gorgeous day. That totally sucks, K. I'll have to bring you some Dove dark and National Enquirers to pass the time. Hope you're on the mend!
Have a fantabulous weekend, everyone!
Tuesday, May 11, 2010
From the Vault
Most of us know Buddy Holly from that Weezer song (Oooh-weee-Oooh, I look just like Buddy Holly...) or as the inspiration for The Day the Music Died, the end-of-the-night song college bars played when they wanted us to get the hell out. My mom works for a store that sells costumes at Halloween and Buddy Holly glasses are filed under "nerdwear." Here's a shot of Buddy without his glasses:
This doesn't scream nerdy to me. And neither does his music. Listen to some. It's sexy and modern and lyrically perfect. Try Well...All Right, an ode to the dawning confidence of the young. Or the tale of a woman who can't walk away (or the man whose ego can't imagine she will), That'll Be the Day . How about listening to a snippet of Maybe, Baby--hear something familiar? According to Paul McCartney, Holly was the primary influence on the Beatles during the early years. In fact, besides being a play on words (beat-less), "The Beatles" was a slightly amended version of "The Crickets," the name of Buddy Holly's band. Click here to watch Paul sing his version of Peggy Sue. Now tell me Holly's music isn't sexy.
Buddy Holly died in a plane crash in 1959 at twenty-freaking-two. Yep, 22. Just six months before his death, he fell in love with a record company receptionist. Buddy proposed to Maria Elena the day they met, married her two months later, and composed this song to celebrate, recorded in her presence. Enjoy.
Monday, May 10, 2010
The Dessen!
As reported in Persnickety Snark, and confirmed via Twitter by Sarah Dessen herself:
From Publisher's Weekly:
Deals: Week of 5/10/10: "Hayes Buys ‘Cut and Run’
Agent Leigh Feldman, of Darhansoff, Verrill, Feldman, sold a new YA novel by Sarah Dessen to Viking Children’s Books. Regina Hayes bought world rights to Cut and Run, about a high school senior who, after her parents’ divorce, has taken up the practice of assuming a new identity in each of the four towns she’s lived in. Dessen, according to Penguin, has sold more than four million copies of her nine previous titles, which include the New York Times bestsellers Along for the Ride and Lock & Key. Cut and Run is scheduled for May 2011."
Anyone who reads this blog knows how much I love Sarah Dessen's work. All of her books are deeply heartfelt coming of age stories, but this title looks like Dessen's return to some darker material, which is exciting. Like Elizabeth Scott and Deb Caletti, Sarah Dessen is quite gifted at creating realistic, relatable characters and I can't wait to see what she does with this fabulous idea.
(BTW, If you aren't reading Persnickety Snark on a regular basis, then you are really missing out. Adele over at PS interviews great writers, writes honest book reviews, and offers a unique take on YA in general. Check her out!)
From Publisher's Weekly:
Deals: Week of 5/10/10: "Hayes Buys ‘Cut and Run’
Agent Leigh Feldman, of Darhansoff, Verrill, Feldman, sold a new YA novel by Sarah Dessen to Viking Children’s Books. Regina Hayes bought world rights to Cut and Run, about a high school senior who, after her parents’ divorce, has taken up the practice of assuming a new identity in each of the four towns she’s lived in. Dessen, according to Penguin, has sold more than four million copies of her nine previous titles, which include the New York Times bestsellers Along for the Ride and Lock & Key. Cut and Run is scheduled for May 2011."
Anyone who reads this blog knows how much I love Sarah Dessen's work. All of her books are deeply heartfelt coming of age stories, but this title looks like Dessen's return to some darker material, which is exciting. Like Elizabeth Scott and Deb Caletti, Sarah Dessen is quite gifted at creating realistic, relatable characters and I can't wait to see what she does with this fabulous idea.
(BTW, If you aren't reading Persnickety Snark on a regular basis, then you are really missing out. Adele over at PS interviews great writers, writes honest book reviews, and offers a unique take on YA in general. Check her out!)
Saturday, May 8, 2010
Freaky Friday
OK, technically it's Saturday, but life got in the way...
1. I took the plunge last week and bought a Macbook Pro. Then I went a leeetle bit crazy and installed Scrivener. BEST DECISION EVER. Suddenly I'm organized. No more post-its flying all over my bedroom, no more trying to decipher restaurant napkins with hastily scribbled notes--I can type them onto the corkboard. At least in theory. I'm still learning.
2. This week's episode of the Real Housewives of NYC put the "reality" in reality television. During a particularly nasty exchange Alex tells Jill, and I don't know if I'll get this exactly right, "I live in Brooklyn, and I'm trying to get by in this horrible economy!" Good for you, Alex. In Jill's world giving a $4,000 never-worn designer dress to a homeless charity makes one a good person. Jill's delusions are epic.
3. True Blood minisodes. So fun. This is HBO marketing expertise at its best. Click here for Eric and here for Jessica.
4. My To-Be-Read pile is stellar. The Carrie Diaries, Before I Fall, Will Grayson, Will Grayson, and the 10th Sookie Stackhouse book. This should keep me happy until June!
5. Last, but definitely not least, happiest of Mother's Days to all the mamas!
1. I took the plunge last week and bought a Macbook Pro. Then I went a leeetle bit crazy and installed Scrivener. BEST DECISION EVER. Suddenly I'm organized. No more post-its flying all over my bedroom, no more trying to decipher restaurant napkins with hastily scribbled notes--I can type them onto the corkboard. At least in theory. I'm still learning.
2. This week's episode of the Real Housewives of NYC put the "reality" in reality television. During a particularly nasty exchange Alex tells Jill, and I don't know if I'll get this exactly right, "I live in Brooklyn, and I'm trying to get by in this horrible economy!" Good for you, Alex. In Jill's world giving a $4,000 never-worn designer dress to a homeless charity makes one a good person. Jill's delusions are epic.
3. True Blood minisodes. So fun. This is HBO marketing expertise at its best. Click here for Eric and here for Jessica.
4. My To-Be-Read pile is stellar. The Carrie Diaries, Before I Fall, Will Grayson, Will Grayson, and the 10th Sookie Stackhouse book. This should keep me happy until June!
5. Last, but definitely not least, happiest of Mother's Days to all the mamas!
Wednesday, May 5, 2010
All the Young Dudes
I've written a bunch of chapters for my third book, though I'm still putting the finishing touches on my second. I know, I know, not too smart, but sometimes characters just won't shut up and a person just has to get writing.
My third novel is a story told from--OMG, what the hell am I thinking--four different perspectives. I've got three of the voices down, but the fourth is really kicking my derriere. Kevin is a really guyish guy--the kind of guy I never hung around with in high school, the kind of guy who wouldn't have wanted to hang with me if I asked. He's not a jerk, just so different from me, and I didn't want to fall into the trap of making a 17 year old boy sound like a thirty-something woman masquerading as one.
So what does a writer do when she's having a little trouble? She reads. A lot. And I've had the pleasure of reading these great narratives told--very realistically--from a teenage guy's point of view:
The Secret Year by Jennifer Hubbard
Destroy All Cars by Blake Nelson
The Spectacular Now by Tim Tharp
King of the Screw-Ups by K. L. Going
Anything by John Green
Got any to add? I need all inspiration I can get...
My third novel is a story told from--OMG, what the hell am I thinking--four different perspectives. I've got three of the voices down, but the fourth is really kicking my derriere. Kevin is a really guyish guy--the kind of guy I never hung around with in high school, the kind of guy who wouldn't have wanted to hang with me if I asked. He's not a jerk, just so different from me, and I didn't want to fall into the trap of making a 17 year old boy sound like a thirty-something woman masquerading as one.
So what does a writer do when she's having a little trouble? She reads. A lot. And I've had the pleasure of reading these great narratives told--very realistically--from a teenage guy's point of view:
The Secret Year by Jennifer Hubbard
Destroy All Cars by Blake Nelson
The Spectacular Now by Tim Tharp
King of the Screw-Ups by K. L. Going
Anything by John Green
Got any to add? I need all inspiration I can get...
Tuesday, May 4, 2010
From the Vault
(OK, in an effort to give this blog a little rhythm and consistency, I've decided every Tuesday will be a "From the Vault" day, that is, a short essay on a movie, book, song, etc., from the past that has continuing influence. Some of the stuff will be pretty old, as in, before most of us found our way to this planet.)
I learned yesterday that Lynn Redgrave* died. She wasn't as famous as some of the other people in her family, or as outspoken, but Lynn's work was wonderful, particularly in Georgy Girl (1966).
Plain, sloppily dressed Georgy is what my mom would rather impolitely refer to as big-boned. She lives in a flat in swinging London, which actually is still working class drab, though you do kind of expect John, Paul, George, and Ringo to careen around a corner with a pack of girls in hot pursuit. Her roommate is the stylish Meredith, who happens to be pregnant by her boyfriend, Jos.
Georgy is the perpetual third wheel who suddenly gets the boy, then finds she really doesn't need the boy, thank you very much. And whether you read this as early feminism or Georgy's inability to form a relationship, it's interesting, and mildly shocking, and definitely stays with you.
Check out this trailer for the movie to get a feel for what Georgy is all about.
I love that there are book clubs popping up all over, but I think movie clubs are just as fun. Georgy Girl is one of those films you could talk to your girlfriends about for hours. Check it out!
*Lynn lost her job on the television series House Calls because, a breast-feeding mom at the time, she was fired when she brought her child to the set. Lynn sued and lost, but this makes her instantly cool in my book.
I learned yesterday that Lynn Redgrave* died. She wasn't as famous as some of the other people in her family, or as outspoken, but Lynn's work was wonderful, particularly in Georgy Girl (1966).
Plain, sloppily dressed Georgy is what my mom would rather impolitely refer to as big-boned. She lives in a flat in swinging London, which actually is still working class drab, though you do kind of expect John, Paul, George, and Ringo to careen around a corner with a pack of girls in hot pursuit. Her roommate is the stylish Meredith, who happens to be pregnant by her boyfriend, Jos.
Georgy is the perpetual third wheel who suddenly gets the boy, then finds she really doesn't need the boy, thank you very much. And whether you read this as early feminism or Georgy's inability to form a relationship, it's interesting, and mildly shocking, and definitely stays with you.
Check out this trailer for the movie to get a feel for what Georgy is all about.
I love that there are book clubs popping up all over, but I think movie clubs are just as fun. Georgy Girl is one of those films you could talk to your girlfriends about for hours. Check it out!
*Lynn lost her job on the television series House Calls because, a breast-feeding mom at the time, she was fired when she brought her child to the set. Lynn sued and lost, but this makes her instantly cool in my book.
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