Month: May 2011

Before She Met Me by Julian Barnes

The best parts of Before She Met Me by Julian Barnes:

“As soon as Jack introduced the girl, something flickered in his brain and automatically expunged her name. That was what happened at parties. A few years earlier, as an experiment, Graham had tried repeating the person’s name as they shook hands. ‘Hullo, Rachel,’ he’d say, and ‘Hullo, Lionel,’ and ‘Good evening, Marion.’ But the men seemed to think you homosexual for it, and eyed you warily; while the women asked politely if you were Bostonian, or, perhaps, a Positive Thinker. Graham had abandoned the technique and gone back to feeling ashamed of his brain.”

“She no longer expected each dinner to disclose a perfect partner — or even an adequate one.”

“He’d turned into a man like other men: lovingly surprised at his own emotions, while diminishing those of his partner.”

“He was incompetent at arguing with Barbara; she always operated on such fearlessly non-academic principles.”

“He felt a complacent lack of curiosity about why he had ever loved her in the first place.”

“But even so, she had said “Fuck’. It had been a nice evening; they’d had a good dinner together, got on well, hadn’t run short of things to say; but even so, a couple of drops of water and it brought out a ‘Fuck.’ What on earth would she say if something serious happened? If she broke a leg or the Russians landed?”

“One of the first things he’d said to her that made her laugh was, “I’m afraid I’ve got an academic’s body.”

Vocab list:

adamantine – having an adamant quality
ruckle – a wrinkle or crease
gammy – sore or lame
cheroot – cigar with both ends open and untapered
intransigence – unwillingness to change one’s viewpoint
parturate – give birth
senescent -Growing old; aging
tassle – euphemism for a boy’s genitals
homo ludens – man the player, the element of play in society
muleteer – person who drives mules
atavistic – Relating to or characterized by reversion to something ancient or ancestral

British terms/slang, (with aid from Nick and Sarah):

wet – usually ‘wet’ means like soft, or a wuss. Weak-willed. As in, “don’t be wet.”
Junior Scouts – like Cub Scouts
Scrubber – basically means… unattractive… someone who tries to look good, but looks awful. And probably a bit loose.” (I said, “White trash?” and Nick said, “Yeah.”)

Motionpoems

Years ago, I posted this poem by Todd Boss, and he recently sent me a note to say he’s been working on a project called Motionpoems — poetry set to animation and video. I love this idea:

RENDER, RENDER a poem by Thomas Lux from Motionpoems on Vimeo.

The Trees — They Were Once Good Men, a poem by Todd Boss from Motionpoems on Vimeo.

If you’d like to help, they have a Kickstarter Project up to fund about 15 new shorts to accompany Scribner’s Best American Poetry Anthology, so consider pitching in. Also, if you’re a professional film maker or video artist who wants to make a motion poem, let me know and I’ll pass your info along.

Thank you, smart people, for making cool stuff. Amen.

The Oprah Gratitude Project

I’m watching the finale as I type this. Thanks for playing, team. A few of my favorite lessons learned from the Oprah Winfrey Show in the last 25 years:

“Doubt means don’t.” -Sarah

“I learned, then re-learned, then learned again to believe that when people show you who they are, believe them.” -Michelle K.

“We teach others how we want to be treated.” -Roxanne

“You can be right or you can have peace.” -AEB

“Being a good mom means taking care of yourself too.” -Allie

“Never let them take you the second location.” -Megan

“Always sign your own checks.” -Sugarleg

“A person who does not accept your “no” is trying to control you.” -DEA

“As a parent to one child, it was easier. Whenever Peanut walked (or crawled or toddled) into the room, I stopped what I was doing and said, “Look who’s here!” or something equally as inviting.” -Woven Moments

“If you don’t listen to the whisper it will show up again as a scream.” -Allie

If you still want to play along, tell us what Oprah means to you:

– Post your photo to the Thanks, Oprah! Flickr Group.
– Tweet your photo with the hashtag #thanksoprah.
-Leave a something you learned from the Oprah Winfrey Show in comments.

Oprah’s Last Show! Project: What Have You Learned?

The Oprah Winfrey Show is almost over, and I’m a little disoriented. As many of you already know, I admire Oprah deeply.

Last week I was in Chicago with Laura, Margaret, Elizabeth, and 14,000 close friends to attend the taping of the Oprah Farewell Spectacular.

Y’all, I’ve had narcotic-induced dreams that were less surreal. Stevie Wonder! Aretha Franklin! Diane Sawyer! Queen Latifah! I kept waiting to find myself on stage in my underwear for the Algebra Exam Segment. (Laura is doing a recap of the whole thing, so check in there for details.)

I was weepy through most of the show, thinking about everything I’ve learned from Oprah and her team, and I know a lot of you feel the same way. The last show is Wednesday, and I’d like to celebrate by posting about what we’ve all learned over the years. If you’d like to play along, take a photo (like the ones below) of yourself holding a little sign with something you’ve learned from the Oprah Winfrey Show. And then:

– Post your photo to the Thanks, Oprah! Flickr Group.
– Tweet your photo with the hashtag #thanksoprah.

I can’t wait to see them, and again I’ll post a roundup of my favorites here Wednesday. For now, here are mine.

Ten Things I’ve Learned from the Oprah Winfrey Show











Your turn.

I can’t wait to see what you come up with. If you’re not feeling photo motivated, comments are welcome too. Tune in Wednesday when we’ll discuss our collective wisdom and what to do next with our DVRs.

Three Smart Things

Gah! I have so much to tell you, but no time. A few things you should read in the meantime:

The Trephine got rid of everything that didn’t fit in her car: “All I can tell you is that I, personally, as an individual, was deeply unsatisfied with the way things were. I spent far too much of my time dusting my crap, arranging my crap, painting my crap, finding more crap I needed to go with my other crap, and suffering under the illusion that I would feel fulfilled and satisfied and happy just as soon as my life looked like something out of a Pottery Barn catalog and I were wearing the right pair of ballet flats and the most whimsical brooch.” (via Sarah Brown)

Tina Fey’s A Mother’s Prayer for Her Child: “And when she one day turns on me and calls me a Bitch in front of Hollister, Give me the strength, Lord, to yank her directly into a cab in front of her friends, For I will not have that Shit. I will not have it.”

The Thingist’s Nerds, We Need to Have a Talk, “My fellow nerds, geeks, hackers, designers, makers, builders, and DIYers, there is something very very wrong with out culture right now. We’re jackasses to one another.” (via Tim Ferris)

How about you? What have you been reading that we should be reading? See you later this afternoon.

Refraining from sending Ke$ha my teeth,
Maggie

Packing Light: New Orleans with Roxanna

Hello team, please welcome my lovely, kind friend Roxanna from Every Day Treats. I saw her recently at Mom 2.0, and she always looks so smashing that I asked her to do a packing light for us. We were halfway through the trip by the time I asked, so she did an “unpacking” light when she got home instead. Enjoy.

Take it away, Roxanna:

DAY ONE

My flight landed at the exact time the opening cocktail party started, so getting dressed was a rush. After checking in, I went into my room changed out of my travel outfit (yoga pants, tank top and a cardigan — all in black) and slipped into this dress. It took five minutes. We all know that little black dresses are magic, and this one is stretchy and comfy, so wearing it feels exactly like wearing a T-shirt without pants.

Dress: Calvin Klein, purchased at TJ Maxx. Calvin Klein dresses fit me well, and TJ Maxx always has them in stock. Therefore, I never pay full price for them. Awesome.
Necklace: A find at a preppy little shop in Wellesley, MA. It cost $15 and I love it so.
Shoes: Naturalizer. These strappy heels are a gold/platinum color and go with everything, so they usually come with me on trips.

This is what I wore on the first day of the conference. I chose a purple top and yellow heels as a nod to Mardi Gras. I don’t think anyone noticed, but it was fun for me.

Unfortunately, I regret wearing jeans. I love skirts and dresses, and since winters are so cold where I live I don’t get to wear them as often as I’d like. So when I walked into the conference the first day and saw so many women in dresses, all I wanted to do was go change. But I didn’t. Instead I gave longing looks to anyone in a skirt and kicked myself for not taking advantage of a chance to wear what I like.

Even worse, I wore jeans so I wouldn’t stand out too much on my first day. I thought that’s what most people would be wearing. What a mistake! I’m always telling people that they should dress for themselves and I didn’t follow my own advice. Bad style blogger! Don’t be like me — pack things you love to wear and nothing else.

Top: Nordstrom, bought off season, so it was 60% off!
Jeans: Joe’s Jeans, also from TJ Maxx.
Shoes: Seychelles purchased at Saks…Off 5th. And they were on sale. Again, I don’t pay full price if I can help it.

NIGHT ONE

After a busy day bummed out by my too casual attire, I was so happy to change into something dressier. We had plans for an evening of misconduct on Bourbon Street. This was my favorite outfit from the entire trip. The night started at Pat O’Brien’s and ended at Galitoire’s, and I was comfortable at both places because I dressed for myself. Lesson learned!

You know how those makeover TV shows tell you to mix textures to “add interest” to your outfits? I think that this is what they mean. I love this skirt because it’s shiny and you can’t tell if it’s made of leather or fabric. People can’t help but touch it — which means that I was petted by many lady bloggers.

I would never pair this skirt with flats at home, but my feet were tired from wearing heels all day at the conference and these were my only other option. Limited choices force you to be creative, and in the end I loved how the whole thing came together.

Top: AK Anne Klein from TJ Maxx! (Are you sensing a pattern? I have an awesome one right by my house.)
Skirt: J. Crew, bought off season and on sale.
Shoes: Aldo

DAY TWO

I’m obsessed with personal style blogs and this is me trying to look like a style blogger. I could use some practice. I was going for sultry, but the expression on my face is actually me noticing that I need to mop my floor:

Housekeeping aside, this outfit is so comfortable. This skirt is better than wearing yoga pants, because it’s missing the pants part. I take it with me on almost every trip. You can also wear it as dress, and while I prefer longer skirts it’s nice to have options.

Tee: Banana Republic (I paid $5 for it!)
Skirt: J. Crew
Shoes: Jack Rogers (these never go on sale, but I live in them in the summer so they’re worth it.)

NIGHT TWO

I wore the same dress with different jewelry and shoes (the black flats) to the reading at the Eiffel Society. I actually had another skirt and top to wear, but it turns out I didn’t even need them. If you travel a lot, invest in a black sheath.

And that’s it! Other than my travel outfit and another set of workout clothes to sleep in, this is everything I brought to the conference. Everything fit in a carry on and it was more than enough. See you next year!

Thanks, Roxanna. You are a peach. If you’d like to read more on Roxanna’s packing light philosophy, you might like this short post from her site. Please let me know in comments if you’d like to see more Packing Light features from friends (maybe a guy friend?), or if there’s anything that’s been perplexing to you about how to fit everything in a carryon. I’ve been getting a lot of requests for packing lists for people who have tough trips ahead of them. Is that something you care to see, or too personalized to be of use? Let me know.