The Goonies

R E A D. I picked up this book because I was trying to make it to the SC Alum book club. Turns out it's really hard to make yourself go to a book club when you can stay home instead. Who knew? But I'm glad the idea made me read the book. Egan's Pulitzer Prize winning novel is great literary company to autumn in New York. Her descriptions of the Lower East Side make you want to eat fish from the East River and put gold in your coffee. I was hooked from the first page's dating kleptomaniac to the last chapter's hipstah-baby-daddy. I swooned over many of the chapters hoping they would last longer and speedily read the ones I found less enthralling. Overall it's the sort of book that excites you about reading and you can't wait to get your hand on a new book - as opposed to other post book emotions which leave you wanting to reread the book you just put down or only watch tv for a year.

Let's talk about pool.

My roommate M is a bona fide pool shark. I'm not sure where she picked up her skills but she always amazes me. (Finding friends' hidden talents is so exciting!) But I'm really, very bad at pool. It's depressing because I love games, and I love beer so pool is a great medium. Last night M and I met some fellow SC alums at a sweet little bar in Brooklyn. Replete with probably the best juke box ever, lovely cocktails and some delicious sandwiches...and pool. M whipped up a game with strangers who had very, very serious pool rules. I tried to get in on it but it was getting a little ridiculous so I went back to cheerleading. On our trek back home I whined about my game and M promises we'll work on my moves. Being a semi-confident pool player could really boost my bar-going moral plus I'd join a long line of great sharks and learners alike. But I don't think I'll ever trump M's billiard swag, also the bartender lit the cocktail she ordered on fire.



(Photos from top: Lucille Ball, my instagram of M's shot, MLK and babies)

The Creators Project

Soil at The Creators Project

The weather has been gorgeous in New York so I spent the day exploring a new neighborhood with D and A. We walked accross the Brooklyn Bridge to Dumbo to visit The Creators Project, a mash up installation of technology and art. We saw the mirrored squares in the photo above - an interactive piece entitled Soil by Cantoni and Crescenti. After sandwiches and chowder at the BK Bridge Park we went to a showing of The Art of Flight, a Planet Earth-esque film about snowboarding some of the world's most beautiful and isolated places. I had such a great time exploring a new part of New York AND we found free kettle corn and pumpkin beer on the way home. To combat the winter blues A + D + I are going to find great free events to go to as often as we can. Preferably the kind where you learn something new and they have wine and cheese.

The Art of FLIGHT

Volver

W A T C H. I've been meaning to see the Pedro Almodovar film Volver for so, so long. I finally got my chance last night when my friend A asked me to see a movie and we decided on the cheaper option of staying on the couch with something from my dismal DVD collection. I can't believe I waited so long. Volver was totally awesome and nothing like what I expected. It's funny, dark and pretty all at the same time. I also had no idea how much of a mother-daughter film it is, and how well it captured those relationships. The film had me wanting to cook, dress up and be a sneaky accomplice. So ten minutes before the end we paused to make chocolate chip cookies at 11:30 PM. Two down.

 

The Mushroom Farm

I found this mushroom kit at Whole Foods and bought it so K and M and I could start our own lil' mushroom farm. We'd been watering it for a few weeks with no results and had just about given up on our skills, but then...

Mushys to the rescue! Get your own farm here.

Top photo via Back to the Roots bottom photo my instagram. 

R E A D. A couple of weeks ago I started a memoir by the Japanese author Haruki Murakami, What I Talk About When I Talk About Running. The only other work I've read by him is a fictional novel, The Wind Up Bird Chronicle, which I really enjoyed. The Bird mainly took place in a sort of fantasy Japan where the narrator and the reader never know what's around the next corner/page; is it a talking cat or a prostitute in a shiny pink raincoat? Hard to say. A few years ago when I heard Murakami was coming out with a memoir I was super pumped to read it, I knew it was a series of essays a mix of tales on runnning (Murakami is an avid long distance runner) and writing. As an author who has published 10+ novels and numerous short stories all fantastical and magicy I thought Murakami would be giving his readers an insight into his creative process and wildy imaginative imagination. I have about ten pages left and so far it's not what I expected. He writes mainly about running and little about writing. When he does talk about writing he focuses more on his career path than where his stories come from. The book is very well written and has kept me (definitely not a long distance runner) captivated enough to keep going. While I'm a little dissappointed that this nice guy won't let on how he comes up with talking cats and secret Japanese underworlds it feels good to get behind the scenes a little. When I finish the book I'll mail it to a marathon running friend and get back on the look out for a more spill-your-guts author.