Twi-lit?

Sometimes you just want to read throwaway pulp. Not literature destined to stand the test of time, but the novel’s equivalent to junk mail: easy to read, quick to digest, and occasionally interesting enough for a momentary diversion. So, I picked up the Twilight saga. Last year, I read Twilight, and found myself alternatively bored and frustrated. Bella is whiney and dull. I grew tired of her paragraph-long musings on Edward’s extraordinary beauty. I just wanted to wring Edward’s neck for most of the book (but he’s already dead anyway; he’s a vampire after all). “Leave already,” I thought after his innumerable threats to desert Bella for her own good. But, he always came back. I couldn’t pick up another book in the series for over a year. Yet, the saga is omnipresent and my interest still strangely piqued.

So, I read the rest of the series, and what did I find? The writing quality, plot, story, and characters didn’t improve. In fact, they got worse! Bella is more annoying than ever and unfortunately (spoiler alert) she’s undead by the end of the series, so theoretically, readers will have to put up with her forever and dread her presence in future novels! I breezed through books two and three, but four was medieval torture. I stopped and started so many times that I wasn’t certain I would finish. The birth scene was excruciatingly long, the child is weird (and not in an endearing way), and the author’s shifting POVs are distracting, not enhancing.

However, after reading the whole series, you know what my first thought was? You guessed it: Why didn’t I think of that?? If I had thought of the idea and had the perseverance to write it all and get it through the often grueling acceptance and publishing process, I would now be kicking back on a beach chair in the tropics drinking a Bloody Mary (I don’t know if I even like Bloody Marys, but what else do you drink to celebrate a successful vampire series?) and planning how to spend my countless millions. Unfortunately, I only have a couple of unfinished novels and the dream of countless millions (pun intended).

Twilight may not be good literature, but it’s a good living. Good for the author and too bad for me!

I'm a Farmer

On Farmville. After over a year of resisting Facebook, I caved in and joined. I had also decided not to play any of the Facebook games some friends had been obsessed over. But, despite my resolve, I joined Farmville, and I really like to farm. I don't get why it's so satisfying to plant and harvest fake crops, tend to virtual animals, and buy computer-generated buildings with fake coins. But it is.

Unfortunately, most of my formerly addicted Farmville friends no longer or hardly play. I joined too late. So, whoever is reading this, join Farmville and be my neighbor! Then I can expand my farm :).

The Devil Is in the Details

I'm about halfway through The Devil's Rooming House by M. William Phelps, a true crime book about Amy Archer-Gilligan, a female serial killer in the early 20th Century who murdered inmates for money at her boarding house/nursing home in Windor, Connecticut by poisoning their lemonade with arsenic. Apparently, these actual crimes were used as inspiration for the 1940s Cary Grant movie Arsenic and Old Lace, although there aren't strong parallels between the plot of the movie and the true events (other than poison used as a method of murder).

If you like true crime, you might find this an interesting read, although Phelps isn't as skilled a writer as Erik Larson (of Devil in the White City fame). Like Larson in Devil, Phelps weaves two stories together: the murders of Archer-Gilligan and the deadly heat wave of 1911 in the New England states. However, the "silent killer" trope isn't as consistently sustained or as artfully executed as the white/black--construction/destruction themes Larson uses.

Middle East Peace in a Bottle

It won't solve any religious or policy disputes, but shatta, a hot red pepper sauce used in Palestinian cuisine and having Egyptian origins, might be able to bring people together at the dinner table. I think a lot of hot sauce enthusiasts would agree that this mouth-searing condiment is fantastic. I use the Canary brand of shatta that I found at a local Middle Eastern market. It's great with hummus, pita bread, and Persian cucumbers (but any cucumbers will do).

When I had congestion problems a couple of weeks ago, I prescribed myself some shatta, and the issues cleared up. It sure tastes better than over-the-counter cold meds. Caution: It really is hot; take with a liberal amount of fluids. It's well worth the mouth and stomach burn.

Answer: To Hell in a Handbasket

Question: Where is our country headed now that the Democrats' health care legislation has passed?

Drum Roll Please

Now unveiled for the first time: a few pictures taken on a recent trip to Descanso Gardens. Which one do you like the best and why?


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Tell me what you think!

Blogger Slacker

I am a bona fide blogger slacker, not having posted since the election! My problem is that I tend to censor myself even when I have good writing ideas. Or, I put off writing for another day and that other day never comes. A few years back, I used to write morning pages to cultivate the habit of writing. Morning pages were not profound insights on life or masterful examples of word play, but simply prosaic journal pages intended to make writing an integral part of the day. Morning pages could be about anything as long as they were consistently done. I found myself writing more when I forced myself to put pen to paper.

So, in the attempt to make blogging more of a habit, I am writing today about nothing more than the fact that I haven't been blogging! However, stay tuned because this week, I will publish a few pictures I recently took at Descanso Gardens. And, I'll be asking for your opinion of which one you like the best!