Clay and I watched the Shining this past weekend. Unsurprisingly, I had never seen it before-I usually curl into the fetal position at the mere mention of a scary movie. But I put on my big girl pants and twisted myself into the space between clay's torso and his arm, and found myself genuinely enjoying the experience. It was beautifuly shot and haunting and moody and just really cool. I especially loved Danny, the kid. So everything was going great until I see this one scene... Some background for those who haven't seen the movie: Jack is a writer, and... Continue reading

As if Lady Vacation # 1 wasn't good enough, I had a lady vacation #2 all lined up for when I returned. My two life-long friends came out to San Francisco to visit- and I used that as an excuse to avoid work for another week. I don't have biological sisters, but these two fill that gap. Except we don't really ever fight, which I heard is common place in sisterhood. We did a few toursity things, but balanced it out with mandatory cocktail hour (or mocktails and fauxhito's for the one among us who is expecting). We also partook... Continue reading

This past April has been a doozy- in the best possibly way. The month started out with preparations for a conference. I spent a week writing and rewriting my paper while breaking into cold sweats and convincing myself that everyone at the conference will soon discover my deep secret...that I am an idiot and the university and granting institution should immediately revoke my funding. But despite terrible dreams, cuticle biting of legend, and innumerous hastily prepared snack concoctions, the paper went well. I also had a good and productive dicussion with my advisor who was on the same panel, and... Continue reading

Have you seen the movie Notting Hill? Well, I wasn't crazy about it the first time I saw it, but it has grown on me after repeated cable viewings. The dearth of quality post-1990s romantic comedies makes it look even better in hindsight. The sister with the "peacock feathers for hair" who busts into Anna in the loo is pretty great, so are all the other friends, come to think of it. And I would love to see a real version of the Henry James movie-within-a-movie that Anna stars in towards the end. But my favorite cheese part is when... Continue reading

I went out to a bar last night with Clay and his two college friends. I had a few drinks- not too many. But these days, "not too many" is more than enough to still feel like shit the next morning. I woke up with a vague headache, which is expected and easily treatable. But then, the weird depression/shame feeling started to sink in- this is a relatively newish phenomenom. I am 99% positive that there was no shameful behavior. I did not throw up, I did not pee my pants, I did not sing and dance wildly at a... Continue reading

I was born and bred in New Jersey, and have yet to adopt the generally sunny and positive disposition of the people of my new state (California). I have a soft spot for people who complain or are generally assholes. For instance, I feel a deep connection to the characters on Seinfeld. In that spirit, and since I am tired of writing about late-eighteenth-century Tuscarora villages in New York State, here is a small list of things that annoy the shit out of me... -Leaky take-out coffee cup lids, especially when you can't locate where the leak is originating. At... Continue reading

While procrastinating, I love looking at decorating and home improvement blogs. I usually leave these blogs with an odd mixture of inspiration, jealousy, and defeat. I start with ideas like "Wow, that is great what they did there...we could totally do that in our apartment." But then reality sets in and I remember that: we can't paint our walls; I wouldn't want to bother painting even if we could paint our walls... after a brutal run-in with bedbugs three years ago, I am terrified of buying things from flea markets and garage sales to "reclaim" with funky blue paint or... Continue reading

This is the little speakeasy hatch in the front door of my apartment. It is the most curious little architectural detail. When I swing the lil guy shut, there is a small lever to lock it in place (useful should a burgler try to invade the apartment with his finger). When it comes open by accident, the apartment get's noticably colder. Sometimes, I open it to make sure the hall light is off. I have not once had the chance to use it for its intended purpose...to check the identity of the genteman caller outside my door. Opening the door... Continue reading

Last night, Clay and I went to one of his coworker's house for a dinner party. The "dinner" portion of the party turned out to be an 8 course tasting menu, with a wine pairing for each course. The food was delicious, as were the wines, and the scotch tasting after desert wasn't too shabby (aren't we the fanciest fucking couple!) I don't think there is anything better than a good food-n-wine pairing. But I am not capable of maintaining that level of fabulousness on a long-term basis. Luckily, I am able to seriously enjoy food-n-food pairings, and food-n-drink pairings... Continue reading

http://edition.cnn.com/2010/WORLD/meast/11/02/iran.woman.execution/index.html?hpt=P1 This story has gotten under my skin, in the same way that all executions sort of haunt me. I find them horrifying. After reading news or even a fictional story about an execution, I carry around a sick, uneasy feeling for days. The crime that led to the punishment doesn't seem to matter too much, though the idea of an innocent being put to death is of course even more profoundly disturbing to me. I don't have a clear moral or even logical reason for objecting to any form of capital punishment- it is entirely visceral, it makes me... Continue reading

I am away from home right now...for a month! I'm subletting a room in a condo with a perfectly lovely roommate, who owns a perfectly lovely little dog. Despite all this loveliness, I can't help but feel lonely, away from my husband and the lovely little home we started to build in San Francisco. Thankfully, I spend the majority of my waking hours getting my research done, which helps keep my mind off the fact that I am all by myself in a place I don't know that well. But since my research happens outdoors, I am subject to the... Continue reading

I am in love with this book. If you haven't heard about it, it is an historical fiction told from the perspective of Thomas Cromwell during Henry VIII's divorce from his first wife Katherine and his subsequent marriage to Anne Bolyen. It's a great historical fiction, by which I mean to say, it is not a cheesy, poorly researched bodice ripper (a la The Other Boleyn Girl), but a really smart picture of interesting characters. Because of this book, I am now in love with Thomas Cromwell (an unexpected addition to my list of historical crushes). This book has totally... Continue reading

Whenever I watch "What Not to Wear," I feel stylistically superior to the poor frumps who wear crocs and tapered pants. And when I watch "Project Runway," I like to think about how Nina Garcia would never question my "taste-level." But then, when it comes time to pick out an outfit for an occasion where I have to support my own body weight and wear non-elastic-waist-band-pants, I have a crisis. I have nothing fashion-forward to wear (the fact that I aspire to be "fashion forward" is probably a symptom of my tragic frumpiness). I certainly have my moments. I think... Continue reading

I like to think that I am one of those people that stay calm and collected during a crisis. But after a minor accident this week, I have come to the sad realization that I have the potential of becoming one of those crazy screamers that needs to be restrained by fellow crisis victims while the real heroes take over. On Wednesday night, around 7pm, I decided that I would be productive and go foodshopping (first mistake). My garage is VERY tight, only a few inches between my car and the wall (on one side) and my car and my... Continue reading

Today, I finally saw The Last Station. I can't begin to express how much I loved this movie. Even if this had been a bad movie, I probably still would have loved it for the following reasons. . . 1. I have always loved all things Russian (stories, writers, composers, tragic historical figures, creepy historical figures etc). In middle school, I read every single book available at the county library that had anything to do with the Czars and/or Rasputin, Stalin, Lenin etc. I mean, what 12 year old is into Rasputin? It is amazing to me that I had... Continue reading

After five episodes into the first season, I have become chemically dependent upon the Wire. For the last few years, friends, a family member, my favorite TV critic, and Anthony Bourdain all insisted that I should watch this show. But I had other premium channel series to catch up on. Why would I want to put Narcs in Baltimore at the top of my cue when I still had a season of Deadwood left? (Deadwood, by the way, is also addictive. So much so that a month after finishing the last episode, I would say things to my husband like... Continue reading

I am about 20 pages away from finishing this book; and I love it! I am usually more into fiction, but I read a rave review of this on Salon.com a few months ago, and then saw it shortly after on a bargain table at Borders for $3.00. SOLD. It is the story of the five best-picture nominees for the 1967 Oscars: Bonnie and Clyde, The Graduate, In the Heat of the Night, Guess Who's Coming to Dinner, and Doctor Doolittle (??!!). My love of this book is not the direct result of loving all these movies to death. I... Continue reading