Starting Family Man

The Family Man by Elinor Lipman





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Opening line: "Henry Archer did not attend his ex-wife's husband's funeral, but he did send a note of condolence."

Lizz Wright

My mom and I saw Lizz Wright perform last Saturday at Yoshi's in Oakland. We had the best time, and it was definitely one of those moments you remember. We ate a sushi dinner before the show, also at Yoshi's and we enjoyed our meal immensely. The people watching was fun too, especially this one lady wearing a ridiculously enormous floppy-brimmed hat.

Lizz Wright was a revelation. From the moment she opened her mouth when she stepped onstage, she had the whole room enthralled with her. Her voice was pure and smooth and I haven't heard anything like it. A show at Yoshi's is unique because the venue is so small. The artist and band have no place to hide and I think you have to be uniquely talented to perform like this. Lizz Wright is definitely that - uniquely talented. She didn't hit one wrong note for an hour and a half and the band was also flawless. She was painfully shy, which was obvious since we were seated almost right under nose in the row of tables directly in front of the stage. I even liked that about her, because it showed that her talent is truly something she has to share even if her body may not necessarily want to. Each song of her set was relaxed and beautiful, although some of her lyrics probably weren't suited to a Mom-daughter date. More like husband-wife date ;)

I had a great time and I know my mom did too, we kept looking at each other in amazement that someone this talented exists somehow below the radar. She would put many of today's pop stars in their place with her vocal ability.

We shared our table with two other ladies who had each bought single tickets and come to the show by themselves. They were beautiful black women, which made our table a quartet of beautiful black women. They gushed over the fact that Mom was my mom (since she looks so great for her age), which happens almost every time we go out together, but I don't mind and I'm sure Mom doesn't.

The only bad part of the night was that it had to end and I forgot my camera. However, the memories are emblazoned in my mind and those pictures won't fade.

Disappointed

The Lost Symbol by Dan Brown


My rating: 2 of 5 stars
This was no 'Da Vinci Code.' I don't know why I couldn't really get into this one, whether it was the unbelievable villain, the reveal of the lost symbol or what. It was still a page turner, which explains why I read it so quickly, but I was not nearly as excited to read on as with the other two Robert Langdon thrillers. For some reason, I just couldn't connect with the history of the Masons, even knowing how many of our forefathers were members. The other books were about the Vatican and the Holy Grail, and I don't know whether being Catholic led to me being more interested in those two.

I was especially annoyed by the falseness of being able to solve something that supposedly no one has solved for centuries in a matter of hours. Also, at the end after the characters had narrowly escaped death by drowning or being bled to death, they still wax on for about 50 pages! If anything, you would think they could have talked about the secret in the morning after a night's rest. The authorities didn't really seem to care either, just letting someone whose hand had been cut off continue riding around with Robert Langdon talking about the pyramid and what it means.

It was totally unbelievable that any human being would be able to withstand that much stress and strain and not need immediate medical attention. For some reason, I just couldn't let that go and it ruined the ending for me.

I'm just glad I borrowed this book from the library and didn't buy it.

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Starting the New Dan Brown

The Lost Symbol by Dan Brown





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Opening line: "The secret is how to die."

Finished 'The Magicians'!

The Magicians by Lev Grossman


My rating: 5 of 5 stars
I just finished this one and I am in awe of Lev Grossman's brain. This was a true fantasy novel and I didn't think that was particularly my genre. This book may have changed my mind. I love the idea of anyone having the chanve of being chosen to go to a secret magician's school.
Quentin, the protagonist, is a unique character who is not easy to love, but somehow I did.
Just when I thought we had gone past the mainstream, the characters enter another dimension, only ever before written about in a novel. Can you imagine stepping into the world of one of your favorite books? I would love to spend some time in 2059 with Lieutenant Eve Dallas, but after reading this maybe not so much. The fantasyland is awful and scary and full of unimaginable beings and terror. I could never have guessed what would happen.
This was a great book and I think the film industry should not even attempt to massacre its originality by trying to make it a movie. Quentin wouldn't want that, anyway. ;)

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A rare 5-star book!

Whitney

I haven't bought her CD (yet), but this post by Rich is a piece of art.

Fringe

I LOVE FRINGE. It seems like I say I love a lot of things and that is probably true, but I really do love this show. It is so unique and so fun and so scary and so unsettling; I think it is one of the best shows on TV. The cast is terrific (an understatement) and I can't wait to see what the writers have come up with after the fantastic season finale. It premieres tonight at 9 PM.

Picture of the Day

For the record, Sydney does actually smile all of the time.

My mom went with me and Sydney this weekend to my friend and former co-worker's welcome baby party. I am holding little Darion Joseph Angelini, born on 8/5/2009. I love Sydney's expression in these pictures. This is her 'party-face' where she basically refuses to smile for an entire party. The other little boy is Darion's older brother, Givanni and he is almost 2 years old.

Picture of the Day

Kanye

Can I just say one thing? LEAVE KANYE ALONE!! Enough already! We are two wars, millions of Americans don't have healthcare, Michael Jackson is dead (OK that one probably doesn't count), don't we have enough to talk about? Taylor Swift has improved her celebrity; she will now always be pitied, unless she cheats on her future husband or starts doing drugs.

America is so fickle, it is incredible. I know this will blow over by the end of the week, but I am already tired of it. I watched the part of the show where the 'incident' happened, and I'm not entirely sure that it wasn't staged. Kanye is known to act out at awards shows, and putting him in the front row or anywhere near the stage reeks of a set-up. This show probably shouldn't even exist to put it plainly since the Music TeleVision channel does NOT show music videos. MTV execs were probably looking for a way to spice up their telecast and they are likely giddy with the publicity.

I think Kanye regrets getting played, but probably really regrets that he didn't think before he jumped up there. I don't think it was malicious at all, just the product of an immature, impulsive man.

ANTM

My favorite recapper is back with Part One of the America's Next Top Model first episode that aired last week. His name is Rich Juzwiak, he has an amazing blog/website called fourfour and he is hilarious! He is also really computer-savvy so he is able to capture images from the show and insert them into his commmentary of what went on that week. LOVE HIM! When Top Model is on, I can't wait until Mondays when he posts his recap. Its like watching the episode with a hilarious friend. Rich is also an author on the VHI Blog, where he also recaps the ridiculous shows on VH1.

Starting The Magicians

The Magicians by Lev Grossman





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Opening line:
"Quentin did a magic trick."

Just Finished

The Distant Land of My Father by Bo Caldwell


My rating: 3 of 5 stars
This one was really interesting, though in the beginning I wasn't sure I would like it. It starts in 1930s China, which I knew nothing about prior to reading this. The narrator is a young girl who is almost abnormally observant. We follow her throughout her life and she leaves Shanghai for LA when she is 7 years old. I really liked the progression of a young child who is trying to listen to adults and understand adult thinking to the narrator becoming an adult with children of her own. The father was hard to sympathize with, but I did feel bad for him when he was in prison and after he died and his daughter found out how he was living.

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Ellen

I think I am in the minority of fans of American Idol who are not upset at the addition of Ellen DeGeneres as judge, in place of Paula Abdul. When I heard the news this morning, I was ecstatic. Ellen is funny, coherent, and would easily replace the niceties to contestants that Paula was known to do. However, when I looked on my Blackberry and saw my favorite Idol commentator EW.com's Michael Slezak's excoriating response to the Ellen addition, I was nonplussed.

Michael noted that Ellen was exactly influential with her 'critiques' when she guest-judged the 99th episode of So You Think You Can Dance this past summer. However, I think that Ellen served her purpose for that job. She was probably invited to offer comic relief and it was purely a guest judging stint. I think she would approach American Idol a little differently.

Michael also noted that Ellen does not really come into the position with any real music industry know-how or experience. That is true, but no one on the panel is a Juilliard professor of music. The few critiques that Paula offered that made sense were never on point as far as tone or resonance that I can think of. American Idol, which I admittedly have a love-hate relationship with, is not all music. The winner is based on part personality, part song choice, part relatibility and a lot of other factors. You can't really say that about the winner of Project Runway or Top Chef, a show where the fans do not decide. In those cases, the judges should have firm backgrounds in the fields of fashion and food.

I agree with Michael that American Idol should really be about the contestants, but I think that Ellen will enforce that more than any of the current judges have done in the past. When she was on SYTYCD, she was funny but the biggest point she made of the night was about one of the dancers who Nigel Lythgoe really ripped right before her. Her comments resonated because you could tell that she wanted the dancer to know that he was special and deserved respect even if he wasn't necessarily the best or the most talented.

I just wish Ellen the best and I know she'll do a great job.

SYTYCD!!!

If you don't know the above acronym stands for So You Think You Can Dance, I feel sorry for you. Because you are missing out on one of the best reality competition programs on TV. It premieres tonight, YAY! I don't know whether I like the audition episodes as much as performance night when the top 20 are finally revealed, but its still great to pick favorites and watch their progression.

L&O: CI

I have recently become obsessed with episodes of Law and Order: Criminal Intent. I have watched over 50 episodes since July and I find that I am only getting more and more addicted, rather than less so. Once I start watching an episode, I actually feel like I have to see it through until the end or the murder won't be solved. I know that's a little crazy, but I LOVE the show.

Jimmy Fallon

I LOVE Jimmy Fallon! I loved him on SNL, loved him in Fever Pitch, and I love him on Late Night. I think he has really come into his own in just a few short months and I wish him the best. This was a pretty good back and forth of him and Dick Cavett.

New York Magazine Article

This article is about David Letterman and how he has finally come into his own. I watch Dave from time to time, mainly when I want to see a guest he has scheduled to be on. When Jay Leno was on, I would always choose Jay over Dave but I think that now that I'm older I understand Dave Letterman a little better. I also really enjoyed his monologues leading up to the election last year. He doesn't care that his audience knows his political views, which is rare. I still love Conan although I can't say that I have watched him on the Tonight Show faithfully.

Wait a Minute

Hold on. I didn't start this blog to only post about books! I'll try to have more interesting posts about other things too.

Man Booker Shortlist Announced

I usually make it a point to read the winner ever since I read Life of Pi, which won the prize a few years back. The list this year didn't have any titles that really grabbed me, but we'll see.

The Distant Land of My Father

The Distant Land of My Father by Bo Caldwell





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This book was on my high school's summer reading list for all grades. The author will be leading a discussion at ND at the end of the month.

Opening line:
"My father was a millionaire in Shanghai in the 1930s."

An Expensive Education

An Expensive Education by Nick McDonell


My rating: 4 of 5 stars
This one was very different than the type of novel I usually read. It was a cross between a spy novel and a college story. I could never really get a bead on the characters, which changed every chapter, but I liked it that way. It had a really good surprise also that I won't spoil here.
The author is younger than me, too so I'm jealous. And, this is his THIRD book! Some people have all the luck.

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Here's the Video

Great Kid's Book

It looks like this may be one of those rare instances that the movie is as good as or better than the book.

I'll Start This One Next

An Expensive Education by Nick McDonell





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Opening line:
"The large Victorian is dark and cool, silent in the autumn night."

Not Sure I Was Effusive Enough ;)

The Angel's Game by Carlos Ruiz Zafón


My rating: 5 of 5 stars
It is very rare that I have to restrain myself while reading a book from looking at the end to find out what happens to the characters. However, Carlos Ruiz Zafon is a master of suspense and surprise. Every word is a delectable treat. The imagery that comes out of his brain onto paper is absolutely staggering. Give this man all of the literary prizes! He is, in my mind, the greatest living author.

I'm not sure if you can tell, but I REALLY ENJOYED this book. It is impossible to sum up the plot without giving anything away, but any true book lover would eat this up.

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