April 27th is Tell-a-Story Day. It is also what would have been my Pop’s 72nd birthday. So it seems highly appropriate to tell a story about him. A short one this year, inspired by a comment by a friend. She was describing how she frequently, in her haste to get going in the morning, will leave her coffee cup... Continue Reading →
Item #27: Grapefruit spoons
Prior to 2007, I had never seen such a thing before, didn’t even know they existed. These quirky little things are grapefruit spoons, designed for citrus aficionados who like to scoop their fruit with ease. My grampa was such a one. He was a man who took care with his appearance – almost always appearing... Continue Reading →
Letters on film
This year's first cinematic list takes a look at letters in movies (or epistolary film, which I was somewhat surprised to learn is not only a genre, but has subgenres). As my lists must include films I've actually seen, my own experience of examples is somewhat limited. Here are the ones I know and love:... Continue Reading →
Bad Blood, by John Carreyrou. Book report #6 (2019)
Vacations makes such a lovely time to read... (books 7, 8 and 9 all read on holiday.) Bad Blood, by John Carreyrou. Pub. 2018 I had somewhat followed the dramatic rise and fall of the brief career of Elizabeth Holmes, Silicon Valley wunderkind cum con artist. I had heard of her a... Continue Reading →
Their Eyes Were Watching God, by Zora Neale Hurston. Book report #7 (2019)
Vacations makes such a lovely time to read... (books 7, 8 and 9 all read on holiday.) Their Eyes Were Watching God, by Zora Neale Hurston. Pub 1937 It took me a bit to get into this book, partly because of the colloquial dialogue but more because of the main character -... Continue Reading →
Unsheltered, by Barbara Kingsolver. Book report #5 (2019)
Vacations makes such a lovely time to read... (books 7, 8 and 9 all read on holiday.) Unsheltered, by Barbara Kingsolver. Pub 2018 After putting this aside after 2/3s done last month, I decided to stick it out till the end in the hopes that it would get better. It didn't. Barbara Kingsolver's... Continue Reading →
The Enchanted April, by Elizabeth Von Armin. Book report #4 (2019)
The Enchanted April, by Elizabeth Von Armin. Pub 1922 I’ve been thinking about this book (as in thinking about reading it) for several years. I remember the film from 1991, and although I have not seen it since the late 90s, I recall that it was part of the era of “period” films based on... Continue Reading →
French Exit, by Patrick DeWitt. Book report #3 (2019)
French Exit, by Patrick DeWitt. Pub 2018 This was another recommendation from a book-loving friend – he has been right every time, and this was no exception. This novel is fun, funny, shocking, and thoroughly enjoyable. Telling the story of Frances Price and her son, Malcolm, the self-described “tragedy of manners” is a modern homage... Continue Reading →
Smut, by Alan Bennett. Book report #2 (2019)
Smut, by Alan Bennett. Pub 2011 Another point-of-purchase purchase, I had planned this as a Christmas gift, but decided after starting to read it that it was now mine. I have only read one other Alan Bennett (The Uncommon Reader), but have also seen the film based on his semi-autobiographical The Lady in the Van... Continue Reading →
Item #26: Phone collection
This is a set of items, but I'm considering it one because of what the collection represents: my cell phone history. I remember first seeing a cell phone in 1992. At work, the three guys who owned the company each got a cell phone - one of those giant brick size ones with the big... Continue Reading →
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