I'm hooked

The publishers of kidult novel The Knife of Never Letting Go appear to have done a deal with Starbucks -- if you use your coffee card, you get 'your exclusive taster' of the first three chapters of the book.

And it worked. I'm hooked. Three chapters of this story of the 'last boy in Prentisstown', some mysterious place where all the women have been killed by some virus, and the remaining men are going crazy because they can all hear each others thoughts has been enough to grab me. Yet another potential item to add to my 'things to buy when I'm in the US' list. Phew - better bring another suitcase!

Seven words I *can* say on my blog

Farewell George Carlin, you'll be @@!!$1&bleep@#$# missed!

Get your head in the game

Ok, I know I'm about a quarter-of-a-century too old for this... but how much do I want to see High School Musical: Live on Stage when it comes to the Hammersmith Apollo?? Anyone know any tweens I can borrow?

One stitch at a time

So, nine weeks and multiple seams, bindings, darts, pleats, tucks and more, my sewing class has ended, and I am the proud owner of one home-made (er, class-made) blouse, made by my own fair hands. And one Pfaff sewing machine. Ok, so the shoulders are a bit wonky. And so what if I can't actually wear it yet (the class ended before we got to buttons, and, more importantly, button holes) -- but minor points. I'm just excited to have sewn mostly straight seams, with sleeves and darts and everything, and you can recognise the (near) finished project as a piece of clothing, rather than a random collection of stitches.

And I feel 1000 times more comfortable with a sewing machine -- yay! On my way to fulfilling one of my 2008 resolutions: to make a quilt out of old running t-shirts.

Next step? Buy my own machine... just as soon as I clear some space off the table for it to go!

London 2012 Mascot

After the logo debacle, can LOCOG (er, London Olympics Committee Organizing Group??) choose a more acceptable mascot for the 2012 London Olympics. A talking phone box? A Spitting Image of the Queen? And how many previous mascots can you remember? I'm drawing a blank -- was there a Sam the Eagle in the US one year? Or is that the Muppets?

Happy birthday!

Happy Birthday Dad!

65?? You don't look a day over 30!

Belated farewell, Harvey Korman

Sigh... another person I remember from my childhood...especially his inability to keep a straight face in any sketch with Tim Conway. Thanks for the many laughs!

Fairy Tale Friday

So, I saw Sex and the City (the movie) Friday night and it was... just as I expected. Frothy, fun, frocks, and, er, feisty female friends... you get my drift. But I can't decide if I really liked it or not. Well, I laughed at the appropriate places, and oohed & ahhed over the amaaaazing apartment, and even got a little teary at the more emotional moments. So I guess I liked it. And, going with a group of 8 other women, dressed in our NYC finest (while a bit cliche, considering the other 80% of the audience doing the same thing) was enjoyable -- always a good night if I get to wear a favourite dress.

But was it any good? More undecided over that. I think Cynthia Nixon is by far the best actress of the 4 (perhaps having the most realistic story line helped). So well done her. But if it was trying to be more than a feel good fantasy, (which, by reading any of the nine million interviews with SJP that have been written, appears to have been their aim) I'm not sure they succeeded. The movie is a fairy tale, pure and simple.

And there's nothing wrong with that -- just don't attempt to be otherwise. I'm still not sure the point of having Carrie reading Cinderella to Charlotte's little girl Lily, and -- after quoting 'And they lived happily ever after' -- telling her oh-so-wisely, "Things don't always work out that way Lily -- you should know that sooner rather than later."

But if you watch this movie, the message is actually, things do work out that way. Down to the princess and her form-fitting slipper (Manolo, not glass in this case, but does the same trick).

So I say, SatC: TM -- embrace your fun and fantasy and friendship, and be happy to have crowds of women cheering along across the country and around the world. We can all use a fairy tale now and then. Just don't make it out to be any more than that.