This week's PostSecret favorite

Maybe if she admitted that she likes her job, others would admit that they do too.

This feels like bragging . . .

States Visited - 43 (44 if you count DC)

This is an easy one. Again, you're tagged only if you want to be.

Put an X by the states you have been to. The average is 8; how do you match up?

Should you choose to play, here's what you do:

Copy my note. Click on “notes” under tabs on your profile page. Select "write a new note" in the top right corner. Paste the copy in the body of the note. Delete my Xs and add your own. Change the number at the top, and add your title. Once you've saved, don't forget to tag friends (including me) on the right. Tag the same # of people as the # of states you've been to. Just for fun, put an O beside the states where you have lived.

Alabama - X
Alaska -
Arizona - X
Arkansas -
California - X
Colorado - X O
Connecticut - X
Delaware - X
Florida - X O
Georgia - X
Hawaii - X
Idaho -X
Illinois - X O
Indiana - X
Iowa - X
Kansas -X
Kentucky - X
Louisiana - X
Maine -
Maryland - X O
Massachusetts - X
Michigan - X
Minnesota - X
Mississippi - X
Missouri - X
Montana -X
Nebraska - X
Nevada - X
New Hampshire -
New Jersey - X
New Mexico - X
New York - X
North Carolina - X
North Dakota -
Ohio - X
Oklahoma - X
Oregon -
Pennsylvania - X
Rhode Island - X
South Carolina - X
South Dakota - X
Tennessee - X
Texas - X
Utah - X
Vermont -
Virginia - X
Washington - X
Washington DC - X O
West Virginia - X
Wisconsin - X
Wyoming - X

I'm a sucker for these - Sorry!

BBC Book Inventory

BBC believes most people will have only read 6 of the 100 books here. How do your reading habits stack up?

Instructions: Copy this into your NOTES. Look at the list and put an 'x' after those you have read. Tag other 'Book Nerds'.."

1 Pride and Prejudice - Jane Austen (x)
2 The Lord of the Rings - JRR Tolkien (x)
3 Jane Eyre - Charlotte Bronte
4 Harry Potter series - JK Rowling (x)
5 To Kill a Mockingbird - Harper Lee (x)
6 The Bible (X)
7 Wuthering Heights - Emily Bronte
8 Nineteen Eighty Four - George Orwell (x)
9 His Dark Materials - Philip Pullman (x)
10 Great Expectations - Charles Dickens

Total: 7

11 Little Women - Louisa M Alcott (X)
12 Tess of the D’Urbervilles - Thomas Hardy
13 Catch 22 - Joseph Heller
14 Complete Works of Shakespeare
15 Rebecca - Daphne Du Maurier
16 The Hobbit - JRR Tolkien (x)
17 Birdsong - Sebastian Faulk
18 Catcher in the Rye - JD Salinger
19 The Time Traveler’s Wife - Audrey Niffenegger (x)
20 Middlemarch - George Eliot

Total: 3

21 Gone With The Wind - Margaret Mitchell
22 The Great Gatsby - F Scott Fitzgerald
23 Bleak House - Charles Dickens
24 War and Peace - Leo Tolstoy
25 The Hitch Hiker’s Guide to the Galaxy - Douglas Adams
26 Brideshead Revisited - Evelyn Waugh
27 Crime and Punishment - Fyodor Dostoyevsky
28 Grapes of Wrath - John Steinbeck
29 Alice in Wonderland - Lewis Carroll (X)
30 The Wind in the Willows - Kenneth Grahame

Total: 1 (Wow, am I lame?)

31 Anna Karenina - Leo Tolstoy
32 David Copperfield - Charles Dickens
33 Chronicles of Narnia - CS Lewis
34 Emma-Jane Austen (X)
35 Persuasion - Jane Austen (x)
36 The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe - CS Lewis
37 The Kite Runner - Khaled Hossein (x)
38 Captain Corelli’s Mandolin - Louis De Bernieres (x)
39 Memoirs of a Geisha - Arthur Golden (x)
40 Winnie the Pooh - AA Milne (x)

Total: 6

41 Animal Farm - George Orwell
42 The Da Vinci Code - Dan Brown (x)
43 One Hundred Years of Solitude - Gabriel Garcia Marquez (x)
44 A Prayer for Owen Meaney - John Irving
45 The Woman in White - Wilkie Collins
46 Anne of Green Gables - LM Montgomery (x)
47 Far From The Madding Crowd - Thomas Hardy
48 The Handmaid’s Tale - Margaret Atwood
49 Lord of the Flies - William Golding (X)
50 Atonement - Ian McEwan (x)

Total: 5

51 Life of Pi - Yann Martel (x)
52 Dune - Frank Herbert
53 Cold Comfort Farm - Stella Gibbons
54 Sense and Sensibility - Jane Austen (X)
55 A Suitable Boy - Vikram Seth
56 The Shadow of the Wind - Carlos Ruiz Zafon
57 A Tale Of Two Cities - Charles Dickens
58 Brave New World - Aldous Huxley (x)
59 The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night - Mark Haddon (x)
60 Love In The Time Of Cholera - Gabriel Garcia Marquez (x)

Total: 5

61 Of Mice and Men - John Steinbeck
62 Lolita - Vladimir Nabokov
63 The Secret History - Donna Tartt
64 The Lovely Bones - Alice Sebold (x)
65 Count of Monte Cristo - Alexandre Dumas
66 On The Road - Jack Kerouac
67 Jude the Obscure - Thomas Hardy
68 Bridget Jones’s Diary - Helen Fielding (x)
69 Midnight’s Children - Salman Rushdie
70 Moby Dick - Herman Melville

Total: 2

71 Oliver Twist - Charles Dickens
72 Dracula - Bram Stoker
73 The Secret Garden - Frances Hodgson Burnett (x)
74 Notes From A Small Island - Bill Bryson
75 Ulysses - James Joyce
76 The Inferno – Dante
77 Swallows and Amazons - Arthur Ransome
78 Germinal - Emile Zola
79 Vanity Fair - William Makepeace Thackeray (x)

Total: 2

80 Possession - AS Byatt
81 A Christmas Carol - Charles Dicken (X)
82 Cloud Atlas - David Mitchell
83 The Color Purple - Alice Walker (x)
84 The Remains of the Day - Kazuo Ishiguro
85 Madame Bovary - Gustave Flaubert
86 A Fine Balance - Rohinton Mistry
87 Charlotte’s Web - EB White (x)
88 The Five People You Meet In Heaven - Mitch Albom (x)
89 Adventures of Sherlock Holmes - Sir Arthur Conan Doyle (x)
90 The Faraway Tree Collection - Enid Blyton

Total: 5

91 Heart of Darkness - Joseph Conrad
92 The Little Prince - Antoine De Saint-Exupery (x)
93 The Wasp Factory - Iain Banks
94 Watership Down - Richard Adams
95 A Confederacy of Dunces - John Kennedy Toole
96 A Town Like Alice - Nevil Shute (x)
97 The Three Musketeers - Alexandre Dumas
98 Hamlet - William Shakespeare (x)
99 Charlie and the Chocolate Factory - Ronald Dahl (X)
100 Les Miserables - Victor Hugo

Total: 4

Grand Total: 40

Hmmmm, I wish I had at least made 50%. I feel like my book geek credentials are in jeopardy . . .

There's something wrong with me

I can't explain it but one of my many quirks that make my husband and daughter shake their heads at me is the pleasure I get out of giving directions to tourists.

I swear, I love to walk around town looking for people struggling with maps in their hands and looking about quizzically. I sidle up to them, say sweetly, "Can I help you find something?" and hope that they don't ask me about something I've never heard of.

Since, it's a small town, that rarely happens and, once I get my bearings, I'm able to quickly point them in the right direction. (Yes, I point them in the right direction. This is not about messing with people.)

I get such a buzz and they're so appreciative.

Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince

The Harry Potter movies face an imposing task. In order to be truly successful, they must satisfy the faithful with their knowledge of the most inconsequential details, retell the story for those who've read the books but forgotten, and present a stand-alone experience for those who haven't read the books (yes, they do exist).

Because I fall in the middle group, it's difficult for me to assess how successful the sixth movie is at accomplishing all of those goals. But, speaking for my constituency, the movie performed admirably. The movie has an overall more ominous tone (these are not the more carefree days of yore) and yet still manages to inject humor and charm. The scene where Ron is under the spell of the love potion is pure frivolity.

Rachel and I both remarked that we're glad we've already read the seventh book, in that we have some insight into where things are headed. But it would also have been interesting to have experienced the movie without that knowledge.

Taking Woodstock by Elliot Tiber

Not for the prudish or homophobic.

But so long as you don't belong to either of those two groups, this book appeals.

Many of the anecdotes beg disbelief and, of course, since most of the players are deceased, there's no real fact checking to be done but Tiber's story is an aspect of Woodstock that hasn't been previously explored.

How and why The Woodstock Music & Art Festival ended up 50 miles from Woodstock is yet another piece in the improbable, nay, impossible event that took place nonetheless.

As a baby boomer who was 7 years old at the time, my knowledge of Woodstock was woefully lacking and Tiber's book is an intriguing, if at times appalling, introduction.

The Widows of Eastwick by John Updike

Um, not so much.

Much more graphic sexually than the original, not as interesting and really just blah.

Updike's last novel and certainly not his best (although what do I know, having only read this one and the Witches of Eastwick?).

Every once in a while, his descriptions caught me up short but for the most part, I was reading for plot, in a hurry to get it over with and find out what happened to the three friends.

If not for the plane ride, I still wouldn't be done with it.

The Museum at Bethel Woods

Wow!

We want to go back.

Bethel isn't really close to anything so it took us a while to get there from Woodstock (1.5 hours) and it took us a while to get from there to the Albany airport (2.5 hours).

Accordingly, we only had a little less than 2 hours in the museum. That wasn't nearly enough.

The museum is well thought out with exhibits about the culture in the country leading up to the summer of 1969, exhibits about the planning stages of the Woodstock Festival and exhibits about the festival itself.

It was fascinating.

Rachel and I knew hardly anything about Woodstock and each piece of information was a revelation. The whole thing was intoxicating.

It was also very cool walking around the field where the stage was, standing there comparing a photo of the field from the weekend of August 15, 1969 with the empty field sprawling in front of us and chatting with the "docent," a tattooed rocker who had actually been there and kept using the collective pronouns, "that's where we did such and such . . . our most common injury was . . ., etc."

We're so glad we went out of our way to see it all. What an added bonus to a fun weekend.

We're looking forward to seeing the movie, Taking Woodstock, when it's released next month. Rachel's already finished the book (which we purchased on Saturday).

This week's PostSecret favorite

on back: I'm glad that I didn't

Woodstock, not Woodstock

The town of Woodstock seems to have a very conflicted relationship with its landmark namesake music event of 40 years ago.

The festival was not held in Woodstock but in Bethel, a good 50 miles and an hour and a half drive away. So, many visitors to the town are simply not where they thought they were going.

Even those who understand the distance are often looking for something the locals aren't sure they want to provide. There are stores which cater to the crowd seeking to recapture that weekend in 1969, with hippie clothing and "tobacco" products. But there are also stores which seem to be studiously avoiding any connection with the eponymous event.

Being one of those in the know, I inquired at the local bookstore about how far Bethel is from Woodstock and the nice woman behind the counter replied, "Well, I've never been there . . ." This was shortly after she made a comment about the troublemakers by the shelves with the Woodstock books (which kept falling to the floor through no fault of the patrons due to the poorly engineered display).

Not being one to be dissuaded by a little negativity and because of the very intriguing trailer we saw on Wednesday for Taking Woodstock, Rachel and I plan to make the hour and a half drive to Bethel tomorrow to see Max Yasgur's farm and to visit the somewhat scorned (at least by some of the residents of Woodstock) Museum at Bethel Woods.

Surprise!

Rachel and I traveled to the Catskills in upstate New York to surprise my maid of honor and Rachel's godmother for her birthday. We drove to Denver last night and then flew to Albany at 6 am this morning. We then drove via Woodstock to Mt. Tremper and the Emerson Resort & Spa.

Shortly after we checked in, Leah figured out we were here. We had a fun reunion and then a lovely dinner at the Phoenix with Leah's family and assorted friends. It was a really relaxed and friendly interconnected web of people gathered together to celebrate 3 July birthdays.

Tomorrow, we're looking forward to a day of hanging out culminating in a birthday barbecue. Tonight we're exhausted.

This week's PostSecret favorite

07/05/2009

Public Enemies

Johnny Depp - plus.

Violent criminal - minus.

Loyal lover/boyfriend - plus.

Alone, betrayed and anachronistic at the end - minus.

Marion Cotillard - plus

Public Enemies is not an easy movie to characterize. It's violent and Dillinger is hardly someone to like. Of course, as portrayed, he has his moments of rakish attractiveness but there's also little illusion regarding his inevitable end.

It's an engrossing eyes wide open look at America's most wanted criminal and the agent who brought him down.

Just say no to Bike Nashbar

I know internet credit card fraud is a common tale but I thought I'd weigh in anyhow.

In checking my bank account online today, I saw a suspicious charge from www.fedgrantusa.com that had just posted. Granted it was only for $7.95 but it was on a debit card that has not been used since last fall. Being the suspicious person that I am, rather than going to the website which might not be secure, I googled it.

Come to find out that there have been loads of consumer complaints regarding this and affiliated websites. Also found out that most people who were hit with these fraudulent charges had done business with Bike Nashbar (as we have) and that Bike Nashbar has acknowledged a security breach. However, Bike Nashbar has been extremely lax about notifying its customers of this breach.

I called the bank, cancelled the debit card, got the charge reversed and found out about a nice service. Wells Fargo offers a free checking account with a free debit card that you can use for internet purchases. You transfer money into the account when you want to make a purchase and otherwise have the account at $0. This is slightly less convenient as you have to transfer funds before you make a purchase and it's hardly foolproof since a fraudulent charge could hit when you've transferred funds for a legitimate purchase but I'm going to give it a try.

Trying not to be

Ok, I admit it. I'm jealous. Trying not to be but not succeeding.

One of the performers spotlighted in Every Little Step, Charlotte D'Amboise, is going to be at Paepcke Auditorium for the screening tonight and is to conduct a Q & A afterwards. I was quite taken with her when we saw the movie last night.

So, not only did we have to put up with the interruptions each time the reel had to be changed (which we all tried to bear in good grace) but we missed out on a personal appearance.

I definitely picked the wrong night on this one . . .

Every Little Step

A Chorus Line was a vivid part of my high school years. It came to Chicago around the time I was a junior and I went downtown to see it. I bought the album which I still have. A high school classmate, a year ahead of me, got hired for the touring company.

When I saw a preview for Every Little Step which the Aspen Filmfest was bringing to Aspen as part of its summer film series, I was immediately interested.

Every Little Step is a documentary which uses the casting of the current revival of A Chorus Line as a vehicle to explore the creation of the original Broadway smash. It is at times touching, heartrending, hilarious, nostalgic and always fascinating. 5 of us went to see it and all 5 came away well-pleased.

Even the technical difficulties which left Paepcke Auditorium with only one projector and Jon Busch scrambling to change reels on that sole projector with as little interruption as possible couldn't dampen our enjoyment of the film. It was actually a novel experience which gave us an opportunity to discuss the film as it was unfolding.

It'll be available in limited release but if it comes to your area and you have the slightest interest in A Chorus Line or in the Broadway audition process, I recommend you see it.

Happy 4th!

Is it just me . . .

or did Sarah Palin seem even odder than normal today?

What the heck?

I wonder what she's trying to get out ahead of . . .

More PostSecret favorites I never got around to sharing

09/06/2008

09/15/2007

09/23/2007

Race and Humor

The Aspen Ideas Festival is ongoing this week and today I attended Race and Humor, which was basically Ta-Nehisi Coates, an author and writer and blogger for the Atlantic, interviewing Larry Wilmore, the Senior Black Correspondent for the Daily Show.

I realize I'm probably in the minority here but I was more acquainted with Coates from his recent interviews on NPR promoting his book which was recently released in paperback than I was with Wilmore of whom honestly I had never heard. Many of you probably already know this but Wilmore's a funny guy. He started his career as a stand up comedian and then moved into writing, starting with In Living Color. He styles himself as a contrarian and is just full of piercing, witty observations.

During the Q&A period, an audience member asked him if he was offended by the ghetto portrayal of the "twins" in Transformers 2. The audience member specifically referenced (and mischaracterized) a line in the movie where the twins said they couldn't read an ancient language. Wilmore's one line response was that he didn't care if a Transformer can't read.

In response to another audience member's question about Dave Chappelle's rationalization for walking away from his TV show and $50 million dollars (that he felt that his mostly white audience was laughing at him, not with him), Wilmore basically said (in a very biting and humorous way) that he thought Chappelle was stupid to walk away from all that money, especially given the fact that Chappelle wrote all his own material and thus had control if he didn't like how people were reacting.

He's written a book of satirical essays, I'd Rather We Got Casinos, that I'd like to read when it comes out in paperback. I'm also going to make an effort to find some of his Daily Show video clips online.

I also had the opportunity to briefly chat with Coates afterwards to tell him how impressed I was with his article on Michelle Obama in the Atlantic.