2008-05-15

vacation!

This is what I'm taking on vacation:



Silver shoes for dancing? Check.
Flirty zippers on shoes? Check.
Bandage for sprained ankle? Sigh. Check.
I know, I know. It's hard to feel sorry for me when I get to take a break from work, etc. And when I spend so much time feeling sorry for myself.
Anyway, dear readers, I'll be taking a break from blog posting for the next bit. While gone, I plan to read Elizabeth Hay's Late Nights On Air. My not-so-secret subversive plan is to leave my copy at a hostel to spread the Canada summer lovin'. (Hey, it's not all just Atwood and L.M. Montgomery, people. There's more CanLit to love.) (Um, yes I do realize I haven't yet read Hay. But as if I won't love a Canadian author some have compared to Alice Hoffman.)
Your homework while I'm gone? Well, for book clubbers, it's time to pick up Hey Nostradamus!
Otherwise, I offer you a handful of first impressions:
".... it is sometimes a disadvantage to be so very guarded. If a woman conceals her affection with the same skill from the object of it, she may lose the opportunity of fixing him; and it will then be but poor consolation to believe the world equally in the dark. There is so much of gratitude or vanity in almost very attachment that it is not safe to leave any to itself. We can all begin freely -- a slight preference is natural enough; but there are very few of us who have heart enough to be really in love without encouragement. In nine cases out of ten, a woman had better show more affection than she feels...."
-- Pride and Prejudice
Emma Woodhouse, handsome, clever, and rich, with a comfortable home and happy disposition, seemed to unite some of the best blessings of existence; and had lived nearly twenty-one years in the world with very little to distress or vex her.... The real evils indeed of Emma's situation were the power of having rather too much her own way, and a disposition to think a little too well of herself; these were the disadvantages which threatened alloy to her many enjoyments. The danger, however, was at present so unperceived, that they did not by any means rank as misfortunes with her.
-- Emma
It sometimes happens, that a woman is handsomer at twenty-nine than she was ten years before; and, generally speaking, if there has been neither ill health nor anxiety, it is a time of life at which scarcely any charm is lost.
-- Persuasion

2008-05-13

Finally:

A man for me to love.

(I hope that link stays live. Otherwise this entry won't make any sense at all....)

2008-05-06

awesome

Quickly, to justify my existence, on books: I am to be the next host of book club. And so, I am trying to figure out what book to choose. I already have two in mind (so please, avid blog readers, don't confuse me by sending suggestions), but I'm trying to pick between a light read that still contemplates life and death and heaven, or a slightly more in-depth read that treats sex as religion....

Tough decision.

Now, to what I'm actually excited about tonight: Robert Downey Jr.

That's right, the man behind Chaplin.

And my favourite messed up character in 1969.


The most hilarious member of a totally messed up family in Home for the Holidays.

And, finally, Iron Man.

I loved, loved, loved Iron Man. LOVED it. Loved Jeff Bridges, loved Gwyneth Paltrow, loved Robert Downey Jr. sitting in the back of an army truck with soldiers while drinking a glass of icy scotch. I'm such a sucker for superhero movies, and I got to see a preview for the new Batman movie (question: is Maggie Gyllenhaal supposed to be replacing Katie Holmes?), and I feel like speedy cars and awesome special effects and a pretty good storyline are all the makings of a great summer.

Awesome.

2008-05-04

shake, shake, shake

If you happen to subscribe to Google Reader, you must sign up for Today We Can Speak. It's a regularly updated review of other blogs. So far, its main focus is on blogs hosted by Blogspot, but I imagine that will change? Regardless, the picks are interesting and largely fashion related at the moment.

This is the site to read for anyone looking for diversity in their online reading material.

2008-05-01

[insert brilliant, positive comment here]

Need a laugh? I know I do.

Take a spin past Liz Withey's site -- the video she's linked to is bizarrely hilarious.

(And for the record, I completely support profanity.)