Unless you have been living in a cave you must have heard of the craze concerning the Twilight series of books written by S. Meyer.
Yes I am aware it is targeted for adolescent girls and I am far from that age group but this book series took over a few weeks of my life. Lest you think I am a typical reader of this type of book I will list the book I read before this series and the book after – 1984 by Orwell and the classic Jane Eyre by Bronte. My non-classic favorites of the summer were the Glass Castle by Walls and Me Talk Pretty One Day by Sedaris.
This book series, contrary to the target audience assumed by bookstores/marketers, is for any reader that enjoys action, mixed with romance, mixed with suspense and more.
You will find many websites claiming these are the best books ever and an equal amount saying they are the worst and that anyone that enjoys them is an idiot.
Is it the best book series ever written? No
Is it terrible writing? No
(To clarify the writing quality is not poor enough to distract the reader and conversely it is also not well enough written to bother underlining beautiful sentences and sentiments.)
Is it fun? Yes
Does it have surprises along the way? Yes
Is it worth the read? Definitely – even by self-professed booksnobs like myself
Will guys like it? Yes – what’s not to like when there are vampires, fast cars, sexual attraction and adventure?
This is the ultimate summer read of 2008 – it isn’t the most complicated to read but it is fun. Trust me fellow book snobs – sometimes it is ok just to have some fun.
Friday, August 22, 2008
Thursday, August 21, 2008
The Ballerina Incident
Before I begin I would like to say that my dentist is a lovely man that means well – as are, I assume, most dentists – and I in no way mean this blog as an attack against dentists and other dental professionals as a whole.
And now we begin the “ballerina incident”. . .
I have a fear of the dental chair that goes back to my earliest memories. Due to a genetic deficiency of not having the proper enamel on my teeth, I was a regular in “the chair”. In the 70s most of you will know that the fillings were the Amalgam Fillings and not the beautiful composites of today (http://www.ada.org/public/topics/fillings.asp#amalgam) and the entire process was undertaken in a no-nonsense fashion.
After many incidents of pain and stress in the dental chair my parents finally found me a dentist that offered laughing gas as a means of relaxing me. This was a HUGE improvement for me and gave me a few years of less traumatic dental work.
So, what does this have to do with ballerinas? A few years ago I needed to find a new dentist and my friend Carrie suggested hers. He was nice, intelligent and had a reputation as being a good dentist for children which would make him ideal for our family. The problem? No laughing gas and thus ANXIETY. He offered me a prescription for Percocet to take the edge off, so I popped the magical pills before I went to the dentist.
I will admit the anxiety was not crippling and therefore the Percocet had done its job. I sat smugly in “the chair” listening to Bono on my headphones thinking I would finally have a relaxing visit to the dentist without the use of laughing gas.
That is we SHE showed up – yep you guessed it, it was a ballerina. I happened to glance at the wall across from me and there she sat – an adult sized ballerina dressed in full ballerina garb except she wasn’t very lady-like. She looked like a “hard living” ballerina. In other words, her make-up was smeared, she looked dirty and disheveled, she had one leg straight in front of her and one leg bent at the knee with a dirty cigarette hanging out of her mouth. She just sat there smoking and looking at me with her creepy eyes.
The dentist and his assistant entered my room and they didn’t even see her – not for one moment. Not a single person cared that there was a ballerina in my room. It turns out she was my first true hallucination and it was brought on by Percocet. So where does that leave me for tomorrow morning as I head in for more dental work? Do I take a Percocet and hope to avoid anxiety but run the risk of a hallucination (and let’s face it, hallucinations can be much scarier than a silent ballerina) or do I just march into the dentist office with my anxiety in tow?
For the record I am well aware of how ridiculous my fear of dental work is. My 7 year old daughter had a cavity treated just last night with no Percocet, laughing gas, or even numbing shots. She sailed through just fine with no complaints.
And now we begin the “ballerina incident”. . .
I have a fear of the dental chair that goes back to my earliest memories. Due to a genetic deficiency of not having the proper enamel on my teeth, I was a regular in “the chair”. In the 70s most of you will know that the fillings were the Amalgam Fillings and not the beautiful composites of today (http://www.ada.org/public/topics/fillings.asp#amalgam) and the entire process was undertaken in a no-nonsense fashion.
After many incidents of pain and stress in the dental chair my parents finally found me a dentist that offered laughing gas as a means of relaxing me. This was a HUGE improvement for me and gave me a few years of less traumatic dental work.
So, what does this have to do with ballerinas? A few years ago I needed to find a new dentist and my friend Carrie suggested hers. He was nice, intelligent and had a reputation as being a good dentist for children which would make him ideal for our family. The problem? No laughing gas and thus ANXIETY. He offered me a prescription for Percocet to take the edge off, so I popped the magical pills before I went to the dentist.
I will admit the anxiety was not crippling and therefore the Percocet had done its job. I sat smugly in “the chair” listening to Bono on my headphones thinking I would finally have a relaxing visit to the dentist without the use of laughing gas.
That is we SHE showed up – yep you guessed it, it was a ballerina. I happened to glance at the wall across from me and there she sat – an adult sized ballerina dressed in full ballerina garb except she wasn’t very lady-like. She looked like a “hard living” ballerina. In other words, her make-up was smeared, she looked dirty and disheveled, she had one leg straight in front of her and one leg bent at the knee with a dirty cigarette hanging out of her mouth. She just sat there smoking and looking at me with her creepy eyes.
The dentist and his assistant entered my room and they didn’t even see her – not for one moment. Not a single person cared that there was a ballerina in my room. It turns out she was my first true hallucination and it was brought on by Percocet. So where does that leave me for tomorrow morning as I head in for more dental work? Do I take a Percocet and hope to avoid anxiety but run the risk of a hallucination (and let’s face it, hallucinations can be much scarier than a silent ballerina) or do I just march into the dentist office with my anxiety in tow?
For the record I am well aware of how ridiculous my fear of dental work is. My 7 year old daughter had a cavity treated just last night with no Percocet, laughing gas, or even numbing shots. She sailed through just fine with no complaints.
Thursday, July 24, 2008
Monday, July 21, 2008
Book Of The Month / Choose One Thing
The Glass Castle: A Memoir
J. Walls
A friend of mine recommended this ages ago and I finally read it. This book is real, raw and exposed.
In the spirit of the novel . . .
If you were a child and your parents told you that you were leaving your home and could only bring one non-essential thing what would you bring? (p.s. to play this game properly you must know that you are very poor and will likely be living in a home that should be condemned – therefore no Guitar Hero)
J. Walls
A friend of mine recommended this ages ago and I finally read it. This book is real, raw and exposed.
In the spirit of the novel . . .
If you were a child and your parents told you that you were leaving your home and could only bring one non-essential thing what would you bring? (p.s. to play this game properly you must know that you are very poor and will likely be living in a home that should be condemned – therefore no Guitar Hero)
Tuesday, June 24, 2008
Bizarre
Tonight I found myself saying the craziest thing I’ve ever said and I meant it seriously, there was no intention of a joke.
"Chris, can you throw down the wet monkey? You should see it on the stove."
If you remember saying anything bizarre you never thought you would say please post it for all to see.
"Chris, can you throw down the wet monkey? You should see it on the stove."
If you remember saying anything bizarre you never thought you would say please post it for all to see.
Tuesday, June 17, 2008
“What all the ads and all the whoreoscopes seemed to imply was that if only you were narcissistic enough, if only you took proper care of your smells, your hair, your boobs, your eyelashes, your armpits . . .you would meet a beautiful, powerful, potent, and rich man who would satisfy every longing . . .make your heart skip a beat (or stand still), make you misty, and fly you to the moon (preferably on gossamer wings), where you would live totally satisfied forever.
And the crazy part of it was that even if you were clever, even if you spent your adolescence reading John Donne and Shaw, even if you studied history or zoology or physics and hoped to spend your life pursuing some difficult and challenging career – you still had a mind full of all the soupy longings that every high-school girl was awash in."
Fear of Flying – Erica Jong
The world my daughters are growing up in is full of princess stories, Barbie Dolls and dreams of future romance – and they don’t even know what romance is. They are however being taught that love is important and romantic love a dream to wish for. This is everywhere –not just in toys and movies but on the covers of magazines on the grocery shelves, in the newspaper, on bus ads, even watching mommy and daddy kiss and flirt while making dinner.
What is this fascination with love? Above it feels like a marketing ploy designed to make us desire to spend money changing ourselves but what instinct are we following that makes the idea of love so powerful? Why do people crave love, acceptance and connection? It isn’t always easy and it doesn’t always work out but we are undeniably attracted to the idea of romance.
The quote at the top was written in 1973. Has the world changed at all in all these years?
And the crazy part of it was that even if you were clever, even if you spent your adolescence reading John Donne and Shaw, even if you studied history or zoology or physics and hoped to spend your life pursuing some difficult and challenging career – you still had a mind full of all the soupy longings that every high-school girl was awash in."
Fear of Flying – Erica Jong
The world my daughters are growing up in is full of princess stories, Barbie Dolls and dreams of future romance – and they don’t even know what romance is. They are however being taught that love is important and romantic love a dream to wish for. This is everywhere –not just in toys and movies but on the covers of magazines on the grocery shelves, in the newspaper, on bus ads, even watching mommy and daddy kiss and flirt while making dinner.
What is this fascination with love? Above it feels like a marketing ploy designed to make us desire to spend money changing ourselves but what instinct are we following that makes the idea of love so powerful? Why do people crave love, acceptance and connection? It isn’t always easy and it doesn’t always work out but we are undeniably attracted to the idea of romance.
The quote at the top was written in 1973. Has the world changed at all in all these years?
Monday, June 16, 2008
Mmmmm . . . Nachos!
It is golfing season in Calgary and I have learned my new favorite math equation:
Golf Lessons + Great Friends + Nachos = Best Day Of The Week.
Sure, not everyone is taking golf lessons and maybe you are at home without any friends at the moment but you can likely make yourself a plate of nachos that are YUMMY!
First you must buy the red El Molino tortilla chips from the deli section of Safeway (special thanks to Leona for that fantastic tip). Spread your chips on a baking sheet and spray them liberally with cooking spray. Don’t skip this step, it will help make the flavor stick. Turn on your oven so it can begin to pre-heat. In a small bowl mix chili powder with finely ground sea salt (if you don’t have any in the house you can use table salt). Mix this up and sprinkle it on your chips but not too heavily because trust me there can be too much. Now you are ready to bake your chips.
While the chips are warming prepare your cheese. If you need to shred it, do that now. If you bought pre-shredded cheese, now is a great time to get your drink ready.
When your chips are warm, pull them out and cover them with your cheese. Now all you need to do is bake them until they look ready and top them however you like.
Golf Lessons + Great Friends + Nachos = Best Day Of The Week.
Sure, not everyone is taking golf lessons and maybe you are at home without any friends at the moment but you can likely make yourself a plate of nachos that are YUMMY!
First you must buy the red El Molino tortilla chips from the deli section of Safeway (special thanks to Leona for that fantastic tip). Spread your chips on a baking sheet and spray them liberally with cooking spray. Don’t skip this step, it will help make the flavor stick. Turn on your oven so it can begin to pre-heat. In a small bowl mix chili powder with finely ground sea salt (if you don’t have any in the house you can use table salt). Mix this up and sprinkle it on your chips but not too heavily because trust me there can be too much. Now you are ready to bake your chips.
While the chips are warming prepare your cheese. If you need to shred it, do that now. If you bought pre-shredded cheese, now is a great time to get your drink ready.
When your chips are warm, pull them out and cover them with your cheese. Now all you need to do is bake them until they look ready and top them however you like.
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