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Book vs. Film – A Single Man
The night I finished reading Christopher Isherwood’s A Single Man (1964), two thoughts went through my head: first, where’s the Kleenex? Because I was a sniffly, teary mess. And second, I prayed that Tom Ford had not found some way to fuck up this beautiful, subtle novel. One of those wishes came true, just not the important ...
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Banks These Days
Older folks like to rattle on about “kids these days”, how reckless and irresponsible and even cruel they are. Sounds a lot like banks these days. Sure, it’s terrible that kids these days have no manners and don’t appreciate anything they do have, but we really do have bigger problems in the raw immorality of ...
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Book vs. Film – Crazy Heart
Every once in a while, I come across a book that makes me think, “Wow, this could be a great movie.” More often, I come across a movie that I enjoyed very much and find out after the fact that it was a book first. When that happens, I tend to wind up disappointed by ...
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Holiday Traditions
Well, now that we’re smack dab somewhere between Thanksgiving and Christmas, I guess it’s fitting if we talk about it, huh? See, I am admittedly obsessed with holidays. Any holiday. Give me a holiday, I will overplan, overprep, overcraft, overbake. Thanksgiving, Christmas, Easter, Birthdays, Arbor Day, heck, make up a day. So yes, I am ...
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Moveable Type
Thanks to the documentary Helvetica and the unending miscellany that is Tumblr, I have recently become more aware of the typeface and design that surrounds me. Have you noticed, for instance, the advertisement for Helvetica, the font, in the background of Mad Men season 3? Perhaps more reasonably you might have noticed the diversity of ...
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A (Short) Rant on Unemployment
When Americans say they’re concerned about the economy, what they mean is that they’re concerned about jobs, jobs, and jobs. Unemployment, potential or actual, in a fragile economy, is at the forefront of many Americans’ minds. Unemployment means not being able to support yourself, it means not being able to put food on the table ...
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Book vs. Film – Perfume: The Story of a Murderer
I can count on one hand the number of people I know who have at least heard of Perfume: The Story of a Murderer. I don’t know if it’s one of those books that was really big when it came out and then sort of faded away, or if it was always had something of a ...
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Book Review: Kitchen by Banana Yoshimoto
The back of my copy of Kitchen (which is actually my mother’s copy, that I stuffed in my bag coming back to school) proclaims that “Bananamania Is Here!” Apparently I missed Bananamania, as I’d only heard about the Japanese writer this year reading reviews of her recent novel The Lake. I wanted to read The ...
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Respect the Bird
I was all set to write an entirely different article on typeface, but when I realized it was to be published on Thanksgiving, I had to reconsider. Turkey Day is undoubtedly my favorite holiday despite being a vegetarian, and should I have chosen to ignore it by blogging about Helvetica, I wouldn’t have been representing ...
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Am I My Brother’s Keeper?
Thanksgiving is coming up. It’s a much anticipated day in America, a day of sharing a meal in communion with family and perhaps some friends. After the floating turkey balloons, the Sesame Street and Charlie Brown floats of the Thanksgiving Day Parade, televisions switch over to the green of the gridiron for some Thanksgiving Day ...
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Errands of our Foremothers
Do you have a butcher? I don’t. I don’t have a butcher. I’m rather miffed at myself about this. I bet some of you do. I just bet it. I bet some of you still have milk delivered to your house. My friend Karoline told me about how when she was growing up she had ...
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Book vs. Film – The Princess Bride
When I participated in the 30 Day Book Meme on my blog, I was worried about not being able to fulfill Day 20, which was supposed to be about my favorite romance book. I didn’t have a favorite romance book, so what’s a girl to do? I had The Princess Bride in mind as soon as I ...