FF:185

Appetizer

What does the color dark green make you think of?

A leather bomber jacket I had in the seventh grade. It was so cool! However I saw someone wearing one the other day and couldn't believe that I actually wore and owned one. Does anyone else remember the navy, mauve and forest green leather jackets back then?

Soup

How many cousins do you have?

Eleven. I am the third oldest on both parent's sides.

Salad

On a scale of 1 to 10 with 10 being highest, how honest are you?

Seven? I'll admit that I can be fake or hide my true feelings in uncomfortable moments and of course I consider this to be dishonest.

Main Course

Name something that is truly free.

This is a difficult question for a household of two economists. My first suggestion was body odor but I was reminded that there is a cost with body odor---exercise, the cost of smelling yourself and having others smell you. So then I brought up AIR! I thought I was genius for this! However Farmer Ted has pointed out that it takes time to breathe and thus there is a cost to consuming air. TANSTAFL BABY!

Dessert

Using the letters in the word SPRING, write a sentence.

Do the words have to be in order?

Spring pours rain in new gardens.

Sing Prince's Rasberry (Beret) in navy galoshes.

Cover-Up

While acknowledging that we can’t judge books by their covers, how much does the design of a book affect your reading enjoyment? Hardcover vs. softcover? Trade paperback vs. mass market paperback? Font? Illustrations? Etc.?

The design of a book can greatly affect my reading enjoyment. I read to relax and books that have beautiful, oftentimes romantic cover designs help me relax. There is something comforting about viewing a cover that makes you want to read the book more than just the reviews or summary. I also enjoy looking through the additions to Covers, a website dedicated to book covers.

I've had a copy of Tess of the d'Urbervilles by Thomas Hardy since 9th grade English class. The sole reason I could never depart with it was the cover. I only recently read the book but I've held onto the worn copy for years because the painting on the cover haunted me. The painting, by Francis Danby, is called "Disappointed Love". It made me want to read the book.


Sometimes I've been misled in purchasing a book because I liked the cover but was disappointed the writing. My most recent experience with this was Yakuza Moon: Memoirs of a Gangster's Daughter by Shoko Tendo. I liked the simplicity and statement the cover makes but I believe that the story has been lost in translation. I have already listed the reasons why I prefer hardcovers and I still stand by those reasons, especially bullet #3 in this case. I'll also admit that if a cover has painted tulips on it I'll usually buy it. I love tulips and since I can't have the real thing all year round in Idaho I like to be able to look at paintings of them.

Ladies out on the town talk

"Excuse me, but I think my uterus just shriveled up a little bit."

Happy Easter

While cruising Craig's list Farmer Ted came upon a painting of Jesus for sale.

His questions were: How would a devout Christian attempt to negotiate this deal? Are we going to see hard core negotiating or lowballing? In general, a negotiation takes place and the two parties split the pool of value (e.g. the difference between the lowest value the seller will accept and the highest price the buyer will pay). Can you really put a price on the Lord?

So, when negotiation meets religion, will the price be closer to the asking price?

FF: 184

Appetizer

Given the choice, would you prefer to live in the country or in the city?

I grew up in the country and over the years have come to appreciate all that it offers. So I would have to say country. You can always travel to cities but the countryside is harder to get to. Cities have planning guides, countrysides don't. I believe it's easier to choose what city to visit but the same doesn't apply to the country.

Soup

Who is the cutest kid you know?

They are seven year old twins. I can't get enough of them as they make me laugh all day.

Salad

Fill in the blank: I couldn’t believe it when I heard ___________.

I couldn't believe it when I heard my LSAT score. It's one of the last times I remember going WOW! and I was nervous since I didn't know if hard work would pay off for that test.

Main Course

If you could star in a commercial for one of your favorite products, which one would you want to advertise?

I can't decide! I'm thinking Mr. Bubbles, Juicy Couture (I live in their velour jackets), and Harney and Sons jasmine tea. To be honest, I wouldn't want to star in a commercial. I would be fine as an extra though.

Dessert

What type(s) of vitamins and/or supplements do you take on a regular basis?

I take a Flintstone everyday. I like them chewable.

BTT: The End

You’ve just reached the end of a book . . . what do you do now? Savor and muse over the book? Dive right into the next one? Go take the dog for a walk, the kids to the park, before even thinking about the next book you’re going to read? What?

(Obviously, there can be more than one answer, here–a book with a cliff-hanger is going to engender different reactions than a serene, stand-alone, but you get the idea!)

What I do after a book ends depends on the book. If it's nonfiction I usually think about whether or not I would recommend the book to others. Sometimes I will summarize the ideas to Farmer Ted which helps me understand how I felt about the material. If it's a super good book, fiction or non-fiction, it usually takes me awhile to choose another book to read. There have been times where I have felt that reading any book following a book I really enjoyed has left me with below average feelings on that "following" book. I couldn't read for a week after I finished Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows and it took me awhile to decide a book after America is in the Heart by Carlos Bulosan. I know it's not fair in some aspects to compare books but there is just something that lingers over into the next book at times that I'm not too comfortable with. Of course this doesn't happen often but enough that I thought I would mention it.
I read a lot of predictable books and I read a lot in bed. I also read more than one book at once and it is usually a combination of non-fiction with fiction. When this happens I can honestly say that I turn over and go to sleep. When I wake up I take a moment to think about the book before I put it back on the shelf and cross the title out on my 50 Books for 2008 list. I have respect for writers and like to think that I spend time reflecting on the style, plot and my interaction with the themes. I have had too many moments with people who say they have read a book but cannot tell you their thoughts on it. This peeves me and makes me question whether they really have read it or are just claiming to have due to the prestige of reading. I'm thinking of academics and English majors, some who think they're better than everyone else and the sole reason why books are published in the first place.

I have finished five books in the last two weeks. Here is what I did upon completing them:

America is in the Heart by Carlos Bulosan: Spent some time discussing how amazing Bulosan's journey was with family and friends. I enjoyed this book enough to be able to discuss it with my conservative father. Bulosan spent time working through eastern Washington, the area I grew up in and where my family still lives. When I was finished I spent about a day thinking about what would be best to read after such a great read. I decided on Dream When You're Feeling Blue by Elizabeth Berg, a book a friend loaned me to read.

The Pirates! In an Adventure with the Scientists by Gideon Defoe: I read this during silent reading at school. This series reads fast and is laugh out loud funny. When I finished it I ordered their adventure with whaling. I finished it in class and felt good the rest of the day. I love it when a book does that for you!

Yakuza Moon: Memoirs of a Gangster's Daughter by Shoko Tendo: Easy memoir to read through however afterward I felt a lot was lost in the translation. When I was done I picked up my non-fiction book and continued reading it. This meant that I didn't have too much to reflect upon finishing the book.

Sex with Kings by Eleanor Herman: Nice non-fiction. A little too organized in a manner I wasn't fond of but the information was great. I finished it the same night as Yakuza Moon and then went to sleep.

Dream When You're Feeling Blue by Elizabeth Berg: A nice easy WWII story that a friend wanted me to read. I usually don't read this type of fiction but I will read books friends loan me. Since she wants it back I felt obligated to read it so I could give her my opinion on it. Upon finishing it I turned to Farmer Ted and said, "this is an easy peasy nice and pleasy read" and went to sleep.

Today I will decide what to pick up next for my non-fiction and fiction book. I usually don't do that on the same day.

Moments with Farmer Ted

Farmer Ted: I have an idea for a new Transformer.

Idaho Gal: (sigh) What?

FT: He is an outhouse who turns into this guy who cleans up after the other Transformers. Similiar to The Poopsmith.

IG: I shouldn't have asked.



IG: Hey! Our dog is not a guitar!

FT: But he likes it! Do you know of any other dog that can play "guitar" as well as Keynes?



We have many, MANY Curb Your Enthusiasm moments in our house. This being one of them. Only it was at an airport. And after everything the guy still didn't get it. I was also known at work for doing this with my Shrek light that resembled an earpiece. Why do people do this? It is so annoying! And rude!

Happy St. Patrick's Day

In honor of Guinness day as it is called in our house, I present two of the best Guinness commercials. The first is just cool. The second is also cool unless you don't believe in evolution or if you admire St. Patrick's use the the clover to represent the Holy Trinity. Either way the motto, "Good things come to those who wait" still applies. Cheers!



(Most expensive ever Guinness advert features large-scale domino game. Directed by Nicolai Fuglsig of Sony Bravia 'Balls' fame, it is a celebration of community. The advert was shot on location in a remote side village called Iruya, in the Salta region of northern Argentina, with a population of around 1,000 people. Toppling items included: 6,000 dominoes, 10,000 books, 400 tyres, 75 mirrors, 50 fridges, 45 wardrobes and 6 cars.)

FF: 183

Appetizer

On a scale of 1-10 (with 10 as highest), how much do you like your own handwriting?

7, although when I am at school I have to use "correct" cursive so I don't like my handwriting that much

Soup

Do you prefer baths or showers?

I love a hot bath, but I never find the time to take one, so my preference (due to a time restraint) are showers.

Salad

What was the last bad movie you watched?

The Simpsons Movie and Because I Said So

Main Course

Name something you are addicted to and describe how it affects your life.

Reading. I am always reading books. It has affected my life positively since I am always learning, building upon my vocabulary, and lost in stories.

Dessert

Which instrument is your favorite to listen to?

Piano, cello or violin solos.

Wow

Watch and be moved.

Not Oprah's Book Club--Angela Shelton

I can't believe

• that I just purchased the soundtracks to High School Musical and Enchanted. I swear its for work!!
  
• that my nephew (or nephlette as I call him) could be here any day
• that I have a growing collection of 1st and 2nd grade scarves. I'm starting to receive them daily.
• it's raining...which means our class won't be able to practice our parachute dance routine. Yes, you read that correctly! A PARACHUTE DANCE ROUTINE! And don't mess with me! I'm a serious parachute choreographer now! To you guessed it, music from above.
• that a guy brought his pet snake into the grocery store the other day. WHY ON EARTH WOULD YOU DO THIS? I can't take my dogs or the cattle I somehow now own into the meat section, so YOU CAN'T EITHER! I looked at Chelsie and asked why she let him in. She looked at me like seriously, you expect me to ask him, with a huge boa, to leave! No.
• I'm now obsessed with the Tudor period. Not the menstrual period that was so loudly asked about in silent reading yesterday. She was pointed to the dictionary where we could silently discuss the meaning. I'll admit my composure was flawless when the question came half way through a gulp of tea. The joys of teaching....
  

BTT: Playing Editor

How about a chance to play editor-in-chief? Fill in the blanks:

__________ would have been a much better book if _________________.

I don't really know how to respond to this question. Yes there are thousands of poorly written books in the market but a ready example doesn't jump to my mind. One aspect of editing that I've recently come to loathe is how a book is sold. Editors or marketers, whoever is responsible for this, have done an excellent job of selling me books that are not what I thought they were. For this I have several non-fiction examples.

I like to garden and cook. After growing twenty-one heirloom tomato plants last summer I thought it would be nice to buy The Tomato Festival Cookbook which promises 150 recipes AND tips on growing the best heirloom varieties. While there are lots of recipes I don't find them realistic because even I don't have the amount of ripe tomatoes to make them. Who has three pounds of ripe tomatoes gathering in their kitchen at one time? The tips on growing are ones any basic gardener should already know. Nothing new and thus nothing exciting. So I bought another cookbook that I most likely will never use and should just give away.

I purchased The Sexual Organization of the City for research purposes thinking it would be about any city. It's not. It is focused around Chicago and is more on interpersonal relationships than the sex market which I was hoping the focus would be around. I guess I should have read the description more carefully, but no mention of Chicago-based was mentioned at the time I bought it. The book is interesting, just not what I was hoping for.

Planet of Slums by Mike Davis reads like one long demographic study. I feel as if I'm reading the same things in every chapter too. I would have enjoyed more social dynamics, personal stories and breaks in the statistics. I enjoy facts but not in the manner Davis has presented them.

I was a Women's Studies major in college so I enjoy reading women's history probably more so than other people. The American Women Activists' Writings: An Anthology, 1637-2002 is a disappointment though. It promises to cover a range activist subject matter however I feel that it does not. Some of the activists', such as Abigail Adams, entries are excerpts from their diaries or letters to family members that don't necessarily showcase their activism. It takes away from these women's work and the meaning of activism.

I could probably come up with other examples but I'll stop. I don't think I would ever want to play editor-in-chief but I would like to make sure books are more appropriately labeled.

Concert experience #419 Gogol Bordello

Last night Farmer Ted and I went to a concert. It was our first concert since the concert of utter disaster last December when we saw Tool with our friend The Drummer. We saw Tool in the Idaho Center which is probably the crappiest place in Idaho to see a show. When we arrived we could already tell they were severely over serving alcohol which isn't the best idea for a metal/rock show. We found our seats which were two rows from the back wall and quickly realized that the five dudes sitting behind us were extremely drunk, and the opening band had not yet started. I was not happy. By the third Tool song I had beer poured down my back and decided to stand so that I wouldn't have it spilled on my head. Let's face it, that wouldn't be the best combo with an already soaking sweatshirt. Farmer Ted tried to sarcastically suggest that beer should go into the belly and not the floor but I don't think they heard. It didn't matter much since I was already in bitch mode. It was the beginning of a long night of standing, of yelling, of scaring everyone around me and of having to do everything on my own since The Drummer and Farmer Ted did not want to fight five drunk dudes. About six songs in more beer was spilled and the cigarettes came out! So we were ashed on. No, let me rephrase that, we became THE ashtray. At this point I again let my wrath out and the drunken a$$hole claimed he wasn't smoking when in fact he was so drunk he couldn't see his cigarette in his hands and his friend bent over backward to apologize. It wasn't working. About another song later he started falling on me and I had had enough so I let it all out and they shut up. None of the five dudes could look at me. They were pretending not to be with their drunken friend. It was around this time that their mohawk friend came back and heartily said "aren't you glad he doesn't have any more beer!" to which I replied, "I'd be happier if he didn't have any more F*#$%#@ing cigarettes!" He was embarrassed, shocked that I was that angry and shut up. Just because we're at the same concert does not make us friends. And just because you have a mohawk doesn't make me fear you. I went to the Prom with a mohawked dude. Meanwhile, Farmer Ted and The Drummer are still just sitting there most likely pretending not to know me. Things settled down for the most part. And I am grateful that he chose to piss and vomit against the wall and not on me. I still had to hear it, smell it and see it though. It was the worst concert experience ever and I've been to many shows over the years.

So we decided it was time to try the show scene again and one of our favorite bands came through last night, Gogol Bordello. It was the best $17.50 show I've seen. They played their asses off, the energy was crazy and the dancing sublime. The opening act, Skindred, was also incredible! We had so much fun and we didn't have any drunken a$$holes to deal with. Gogol Bordello played for two+ straight hours and the encore was unbelievable! All on a Sunday night! It was crazy. It was fabulous!

FF: 182

Appetizer

If you could be any current celebrity for one whole week, who would you want to be?

Queen Elizabeth II. I think it would be absolutely fabulous to rummage through her belongings, tour her castles and drink her tea. I also think it would be somewhat relaxing and she always has loads of dogs to please her. I would not be bored, that's for sure!

Soup

On a scale of 1-10 (with 10 being highest), how much do you enjoy talking on the phone?

1

Salad

Name a charitable organization to which you have donated (or would like to).

Amnesty International, Idaho Youth Ranch, YWCA, Idaho Food Bank and Idaho WCA--all are current donations.

Main Course

What is a food you like so much you could eat it every single day for a month?

Easy, sushi. And I've done it while living in Tokyo.

Dessert

Have you or anyone in your family had the flu this year?

Yep. Farmer Ted and I both did at the smack dab start of the year. It was horrible and I wouldn't want to wish it on any of you!

BTT Hero

You should have seen this one coming … Who is your favorite Male lead character?

Hmm....I'll admit that if I read fiction it usually has lead female characters for me or that the men don't stand out. I had to resort back to my library for some responses. So, I suppose these aren't truly favorite characters, but enjoyable male characters. One of the more recent characters is Amir in The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini. I liked his internal struggle, his humanity, and adult thought process. It was a worthwhile read. I have always liked Old Jules by Mari Sandoz. Jules, her father, is such an asshole but he reminds me of my own father--so I could relate to the character. In fact, anyone with a conflicted father-daughter relationship might be able to relate.

I found fascinating the unnamed narrator in Memoirs of My Melancholy Whores by Gabriel Garcia Marquez. The short novel starts out, "The year I turned ninety, I wanted to give myself the gift of a night of wild love with an adolescent virgin." How is this not interesting! He is one of the least engaging first-person narrators I've ever encountered. He's insipid and silly and has spent much of his life, as well as his modest nest egg, frequenting prostitutes. What are we to make of this lifelong bachelor who's never been in love and who actually likes to pay for sex? He comes off as a typical dirty old man and leering pedophile who now wants to call his friendly madam to request a young virgin over whom he can exert complete mastery. Of course, almost any type of person can be made interesting in a work of fiction, no matter how weird or banal or repellent he might seem at first glance.

And, I've enjoyed the life of Harry Potter. I don't think I have to say much about his character as it is known worldwide.

Musical Musings

My friend Jeffrey is always sending me new music to check out. His latest was on Erykah Badu's new album New Amerykah Part One. I have to say that I find the music video for "Honey" creative in the sense that it takes me back to MTV 1991 for some reason. I'm not sure if I like the song and have yet to listen to the rest of her album but I do like the mellow sound.

The last time Jeffrey sent me music it was M.I.A., who is playing Sasquatch this year with a bunch of other awesome bands. M.I.A. has grown on me. I love the chorus to Paper Planes. And I'm thinking I should see her live. I also secretly wish I could get away with wearing spandex and converse together.

Before tonight's results

There is an interesting piece titled, A Letter from Feminists on the Election in the current Nation. I enjoyed reading it however I saw a lot of rainbows and unicorns dancing in the background. It's not that I'm against what these feminists are saying, it's more that I'm cautious of their reactive stance. Where was this discussion a year ago? Yes, Clinton and Obama have had to downplay their gender and race but there has a been a rift in the women's movement for awhile now and frankly, I rarely hear it being discussed by these same feminists. Again, like so many moments in the past twenty years, certain feminists are acting reactively versus being proactive. Could they not meet more frequently?