Dorothy Every Time Smurf Girl

Books read in 2012

2012-01-01T00:55:00.004-06:00

Travels with Charley: in Search of America - John Steinbeck
Belching Out the Devil: Global Adventures with Coca-Cola - Mark Thomas
The Hunger Games - Suzanne Collins
Deconstructing Sammy: Music, Money, Madness and the Mob - Matt Birkbeck
Tupperware: The Promise of Plastic in 1950s America - Alison J. Clarke
His Way: the Unauthorized Biography of Frank Sinatra - Kitty Kelley
Catching Fire - Suzanne Collins
Cannery Row - John Steinbeck
Of Mice and Men - John Steinbeck
Mockingjay - Suzanne Collins
Partly Cloudy Patriot - Sarah Vowell
Unfamiliar Fishes - Sarah Vowell
The Coke Machine: The Dirty Truth Behind the World's Favorite Soft Drink - Michael Blanding

End of the year book survey 2011

2011-12-31T13:33:00.002-06:00

2011 was a year I did a lot of driving and flying and listening to the same Sarah Vowell audio books over and over. I have at least one domestic flight and one international flight scheduled in early 2012. Expect to see Assassination Vacation on next year's list nine times.

Total books read this year: 107

Fastest Memoir to Read, Most Hilarious: Is Everyone Hanging Out Without Me? (And Other Concerns) - Mindy Kaling

Fastest Memoir to Read, Least Hilarious: Not Afraid of Life: My Journey So Far - Bristol Palin (Also the winner of the 2010 book survey category: I Don't Believe She Wrote a Word of This)

Best Nonfiction: Tomatoland: How Modern Industrial Agriculture Destroyed Our Most Alluring Fruit - Barry Estabrook

Why did I think this would be interesting?: Eat Mor Chikin: Inspire More People - Truett Cathy

So many unanswered questions: Stories I Only Tell My Friends - Rob Lowe (Also the winner of the 2010 book survey category: He should definitely be in jail)

Too many answered questions: The Flags of the Confederacy: An Illustrated History - Devereaux Cannon

Why Did I Read So Many Books About Flags: What You Should Know About the American Flag - Earl Williams

Sarah Vowelliest: Assassination Vacation by Sarah Vowell

Prettiest Hipster Nonsense: And the Pursuit of Happiness - Maira Kalman (It was great, actually)

Slate.com-iest: Moonwalking with Einstein - Joshua Foer

Ugh: Freedom - Jonathan Franzen

Best Biography: Nellie Taft: The Unconventional First Lady of the Ragtime Era - Carl Anthony

Best Book by a TV Character: Pawnee: the Greatest Town in America - Leslie Knope

Funniest: Bossypants - Tina Fey

Saddest: The Lonely Lady of San Clemente: The Story of Pat Nixon - Lester David

I think it's cheating to count this towards my books read total: About half the list are audio books.

They should have called it The Girl With a Lot on Her Plate: The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo - Stieg Larsson

Worst of the Year: Comeback 2.0: Up Close and Personal - Lance Armstrong

Best of the Year: Bossypants - Tina Fey

First books of 2012: Travels with Charley, the Hunger Games trilogy and since I'm starting the new year with a plane ride, probably a Sarah Vowell audio book.

Treat Yo Self 2011

2011-12-16T15:37:00.004-06:00

2011 wrap up.

I moved from one town to another. My brother left for a mission and I got his iPhone. And as you can see from the photo below, I really got into Instagram.
I flew to California three or four times ~~to get cookies from Trader Joe's~~ see my nephews.
Books read total for the year: 98. Possibly 99 by December 31 or a smaller number if I remove all those repeated audio books (I drove a lot this year and have a small collection of audio books).
I'll probably never remove them.

My parents moved to China for a mission and I got their house (temporarily). Long term house sitting for Republicans means I'm also a gun owner now. One thing about living by yourself that I've discovered is that EVERYONE who visits asks the same question. "Is it scary living on your own in this house?" This never stops being a weird and slightly condescending question, and it's not one I ever got living alone in an apartment. So I always want to say, not really, I've got like three guns. Which is a lie. I have a lot more.

I planted a lot of flowers, became a museum docent and remain confused by Pinterest. So, while I turned 28 and was twice mistaken for 18 this year, I am actually 80 years old. That being confused for 18 is not a back door brag, I firmly believe it was due to perceived immaturity and chin acne.

My sister, brother-in-law and three of my nephews moved to Norway. I'm traveling to Norway next spring to visit, so Instagram followers and any remaining blog readers are going to see all the Instagram'd Norway they can handle. My fifth nephew was born this August. He's now lived in Norway longer than he's lived in America, which means he's basically a Socialist. I recently decided I have six nephews because my sister's dog counts as one.

Parks and Recreation has been really good this year. It's a real shame not everyone in America is watching it, because I firmly believe all Americans can become united in having a crush on Ben Wyatt.

I went to five presidential libraries: Lyndon Johnson, George H. W. Bush, Richard Nixon, Ronald Reagan and Bill Clinton. I saw three grave sites: Johnson, Nixon and Reagan (while Bush is still alive, I didn't have time to visit his future grave site). And I visited two birth sites: Johnson and Nixon.

I tried raw okra, fried okra and fried snickers for the first time. One was tolerable, one was amazing and one was MIND BLOWING. Bonus points if you can correctly guess which was which.

So many different types of sparrows!

2011-12-16T15:33:00.002-06:00

Since I quit Tumblr a few months ago, I'm going to update this more often. And by more often, I mean, whenever I have a blurry photo of a bird I want people to see.

I've always wanted to see Macon, Georgia.

2011-04-21T15:46:00.004-05:00

I copied this from the Best Study Abroad Blog in the World. It is meant to be a 15 day quiz for Tumblr, but I'm going to complete it all here now. And I'm going to count places in the US as well as abroad.

Favorite place(s) you’ve been to - In the US, the north rim of Grand Canyon. Abroad, Normandy, especially Pointe du Hoc.
Where you’d like to travel next - Hong Kong. My parents are moving there to serve a humanitarian/welfare mission for 18 months. I'm hoping to visit them there.
An adventure/challenge you had while traveling or living abroad - One happened in Mexico and one in Carlsbad, California, but they both involved going on terrifying and iffy looking roller coasters.
A picture of you in another country - I can't find my flash drive with my France photos, otherwise I would have posted a photo of me with a cannon at this museum in France. I'm changing this question to "Where will you travel next?" and that is Branson, Missouri, a city I'm obsessed with for its ability to increase my chances of becoming a total square.
What do you bring with you when you travel? - A journal.
What does “home” mean to you? - My family together, making jokes about members of my family.
Besides people, what did/do you miss from home? - Diet Coke. Coke Zero is not the same, rest of the world. I love other countries and it's not a deal breaker, but it is the one of the few things that makes me feel patriotic.
A favorite food from another country/culture - I liked a lot of the food I had in France and I love Thai food, but the winner is THE BEST WAFFLE I have ever had, from the basement of Manor in Geneva, Switzerland.
A song you like from another country/language - Ma Philosophie by Amel Bent, partly because I heard it at least three times a week in Paris. A music store in France also introduced me to my favorite band, Pink Martini.
A favorite foreign movie - One of the first Bollywood movies I watched, Rocket Singh - Salesman of the Year.
Did you have any milestones or “firsts” while traveling or living abroad? I visited two Catholic masses at Notre Dame and Sacré-Coeur.
Someone who influenced you to travel abroad - I misinterpreted this as someone who influenced you while traveling abroad, so my answer to that is my host in France, Sophie, who read every book she could get her hands on. Who influenced me to travel abroad, that was a poster in my school's study abroad office.
A favorite travel quote - "In Spanish there is a word for which I can’t find a counterword in English. It is the verb vacilar, present participle vacilando. It does not mean vacillating at all. If one is vacilando, he is going somewhere, but does not greatly care whether or not he gets there, although he has direction. My friend Jack Wagner has often, in Mexico, assumed this state of being. Let us say we wanted to walk in the streets of Mexico City but not at random. We would choose some article almost certain not to exist there and then diligently try to find it."-John Steinbeck, Travels with Charley.
What did you learn from traveling abroad? Don't swing your arm wildly for emphasis when giving a presentation on a paper in an art museum. Even if the painting is in a relatively dark corner of the museum.
Advice to someone who’s thinking about traveling to another country - Do what John Steinbeck said in #13. Know the bus schedule as well as you know the subway schedule.

It's up to me now. I'm Mr. Manager.

2011-01-03T18:41:00.008-06:00

Here are my eleven goals/joke goals for 2011, not including getting a job, which is a very important joke goal (I'm still not sure if my mom reads my blog). Also, this blog is going to be at elisabethwrites.blogspot.com for now. My old domain name is expiring and I'm not planning on renewing it. I might even export the thing back to Wordpress if it ever starts looking easy to use.

Read more about the 11th president of the US, James K. Polk and learn anything about the 11th Vice President George Mifflin Dallas. Most of the latter will be watching a TV show about a paper company founded by a distant relative, Dallas.
~~Meet Alton Brown or Tony Blair who are both cute and would both be excellent at selling grape juice~~. I watched The Deal, The Queen and The Special Relationship. Michael Sheen playing Tony Blair while looking like Liz Lemon's ex-fiancé Wesley Snipes is about as close as I'm going to get to Tony Blair.
Play a game of mini golf at Peter Pan Mini Golf in Austin.
I'm going to Washington D.C. in July. My goals for that trip: visit Colonial Williamsburg (and be disappointed and angry), visit the NMNH or NMAH and take a tour of the White House and meet President Obama's dog.Revision needed. Instead of D.C. I will be going to visit a city outside of the US. More on that later.
~~Break in new hiking boots~~ by revisiting the McKinney Falls State Park and trying to stop calling it the McKinley Falls State Park. And to stop asking the rangers what William McKinley had to do with Texas. Half done. I will never stop asking what William McKinley has to do with Texas.
~~Win a game of Scrabble~~ or Scramble ~~on Facebook.~~
~~Visit the LBJ ranch and Texas White House~~. Done. More on this later. I guess one of my goals should be to blog more.
In December I watched Tron Legacy and I loved it. My favorite parts were the dialogue and Michael Sheen's character. ~~In 2011 I will finally watch the original Tron.~~ A terrible movie, but man how handsome was Jeff Bridges? How handsome is Jeff Bridges?
~~Revisit the (Good) Bush Library before August so I can look at dresses worn by former FLOTUS and former White House Press Secretary Allison Janney~~. Ditto what I said for number 7.
Commit to memory something eloquent and impressive to recite at fancy parties like the Gettysburg address or an episode of Arrested Development.
Get invited to any fancy parties.

Books read in 2011

2011-01-01T11:48:00.022-06:00

Medium Raw: a Bloody Valentine to the World of Food and the People Who Cook - Anthony Bourdain
Fortune and Glory - Brian Bendis
Americana and other poems - John Updike
Life with Jeeves - P.G. Wodehouse
Spoken from the Heart - Laura Bush
Outliers: the Story of Success - Malcolm Gladwell
Don't Get Too Comfortable - David Rakoff
The Magician's Nephew - C.S. Lewis
Bitter is the New Black - Jen Lancaster
The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe - C.S. Lewis
Decision Points - George W. Bush
Travels with Charley in Search of America - John Steinbeck
Comeback 2.0: Up Close and Personal - Lance Armstrong
The Horse and His Boy - C.S. Lewis
Prince Caspian - C.S. Lewis
The Voyage of the Dawn Treader - C.S. Lewis
The Silver Chair - C.S. Lewis
The Last Battle - C.S. Lewis
Kapitoil - Teddy Wayne
Twenties Girl - Sophie Kinsella
Harry Truman's Excellent Adventure - Matthew Algeo
Johnny Cash: I See a Darkness - Reinhard Kleist
Being Martha - Lloyd Allen
The Devil Wears Prada - Laura Weisberger
How Did You Get this Number? - Sloane Crosley
Stuff: Compulsive Hoarding and the Meaning of Things - Randy Frost
Freakonomics: a Rogue Economist Explores the Hidden Side of Everything - Steven Leavitt and Stephen Dubner
I Was Told There'd Be Cake - Sloane Crosley
The Nanny Diaries - Emma McLaughlin and Nicola Kraus
Squirrel Seeks Chipmunk - David Sedaris
Assassination Vacation - Sarah Vowell
My Fair Lazy - Jen Lancaster
Julie and Julia - Julie Powell
Nanny Returns - Emma McLaughlin and Nicola Kraus
The Wordy Shipmates - Sarah Vowell
Kennedy Weddings: a Family Album - Jay Mulvaney
Cleaving - Julie Powell
The Partly Cloudy Patriot - Sarah Vowell
Me Talk Pretty Some Day - David Sedaris
Holidays on Ice - David Sedaris
When You Are Engulfed in Flames - David Sedaris
A Christmas Story - Jean Sheperd
Take the Cannoli - Sarah Vowell
The Wordy Shipmates - Sarah Vowell
The New York Regional Mormon Singles Halloween Dance - Elna Baker
Unfamiliar Fishes - Sarah Vowell
Dreaming in Chinese: Mandarin Lessons in Life, Love and Language - Deborah Fallows
Everything You Always Wanted to Know About Nixon by Gerald Gardner
Nickel and Dimed: On (Not) Getting By in America - Barbara Ehrenreich
Bossypants - Tina Fey
Earth: The Book - The Daily Show with Jon Stewart
Eat, Shop Austin - Kate Wellman
Love is a Mixtape - Rob Sheffield
This is a Book - Demetri Martin
The Flags of the Confederacy: An Illustrated History - Devereaux Cannon
What You Should Know About the American Flag - Earl Williams
I Was Told There'd Be Cake - Sloane Crosley
Unfamiliar Fishes - Sarah Vowell
Stories I Only Tell My Friends - Rob Lowe
This Land is Their Land - Barbara Ehrenreich
Don't Get Too Comfortable - David Rakoff
When You Are Engulfed in Flames - David Sedaris
Talking to Girls About Duran Duran - Rob Sheffield
Ice: a Memoir of Gangster Life and Redemption - Ice T and Douglas Century
Betty Ford: Candor and Courage in the White House - John Greene
Dress Your Family in Corduroy and Denim - David Sedaris
Holidays on Ice - David Sedaris
Zombie Spaceship Wasteland - Patton Oswalt
Not Afraid of Life: My Journey So Far - Bristol Palin
Naked - David Sedaris
How Did You Get This Number - Sloane Crosley
The Wordy Shipmates - Sarah Vowell
Assassination Vacation - Sarah Vowell
And the Pursuit of Happiness - Maira Kalman
The Bedwetter: Stories of Courage, Redemption and Pee - Sarah Silverman
Tomatoland: How Modern Industrial Agriculture Destroyed Our Most Alluring Fruit - Barry Estabrook
Nellie Taft: The Unconventional First Lady of the Ragtime Era - Carl Anthony
My Year with Eleanor - Noelle Hancock
Moonwalking with Einstein - Joshua Foer
Eat Mor Chikin: Inspire More People - Truett Cathy
Pawnee: the Greatest Town in America - Leslie Knope
Confessions of a Shopaholic - Sophie Kinsella
Shopaholic and Sister - Sophie Kinsella
Mini Shopaholic - Sophie Kinsella
Unfamiliar Fishes - Sarah Vowell
The Steal: a Cultural History of Shoplifting - Rachel Shteir
Happy Accidents - Jane Lynch
Dress Your Family in Corduroy and Denim - David Sedaris
The Lonely Lady of San Clemente: The Story of Pat Nixon - Lester David
Holidays on Ice - David Sedaris
The Devil Wears Prada - Lauren Weisberger
Is Everyone Hanging Out Without Me? (And Other Concerns) - Mindy Kaling
The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo - Stieg Larsson
The Wordy Shipmates - Sarah Vowell
Bossypants - Tina Fey
Assassination Vacation - Sarah Vowell
Me Talk Pretty One Day - David Sedaris
Freedom - Jonathan Franzen
101 Places Not to See Before You Die - Catherine Price
The Girl Who Played with Fire - Stieg Larsson
The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet's Nest - Stieg Larsson
Reflections: Life After The White House - Barbara Bush
All the King's Men - Robert Penn Warren
Birds of Houston - B.C. Robison
I Like You - Amy Sedaris
Squirrel Meets Chipmunk - David Sedaris
His Excellency: George Washington - Joseph Ellis

End of the year book survey for 2010

2010-12-31T22:08:00.001-06:00

Total books read this year: 180

Best accidental find: Always a Reckoning and other poems by Jimmy Carter. I remember picking this up at the library and wondering if it was just a coincidence. Could there be anything more random and delightful than a book of poems written by a former president? Now I know how the world's biggest Jewel fan and occasional poem reader felt when she stumbled upon a copy of A Night Without Armor.

I don't believe she wrote a word of this: Miley Cyrus: Miles to Go by Miley Cyrus

So many unanswered questions: Hot Dog! A Global History by Bruce Kraig.

Too many answered questions: Collecting Political Buttons by Marc Sigoloff. Walter Mondale campaign buttons are the most desired of all political buttons, according to Marc Sigoloff: Walter Mondale button collector.

Sarah Vowelliest: The Wordy Shipmates by Sarah Vowell..

Gail Collins can do no wrongiest: When Everything Changed: the Amazing Journey of American Women from 1960 to the Present by Gail Collins

Best Collection of Essays: The Fiddler in the Subway by Gene Weingarten

Reread Book I'll Read Again: The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald

Best Nonfiction: Loot: the Battle over the Stolen Treasures of the Ancient World by Sharon Waxman

Worst Nonfiction: Confessions of an Heiress: a Tongue-in-Chic Peek Behind the Pose by Paris Hilton with Merle Ginsberg. I'm not sure what this was, but the fact that it is shelved next to Going Rogue by Sarah Palin at the public library is pretty hilarious.

Best Title: Sabine's Notebook: In Which the Extraordinary Correspondence of Griffin & Sabine Continues by Nick Bantock. I look forward to not watching the twee hipster film adaptions of these books.

Worst Title: America by Heart : Reflections on Family, Faith, and Flag by Sarah Palin. Reflections on...Flag.

Best Fiction: Room by Emma Donoghue

Worst Fiction: My House in Umbria by William Trevor

Best visit down memory lane: The Westing Game by Ellen Raskin

Worst visit down memory LAME (high-fiving a million angels): Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets by J.K. Rowling

Best Memoir: Amen, Amen, Amen: Memoir of a Girl Who Couldn't Stop Praying (Among Other Things) by Abby Sher

Worst Memoir: So many candidates, but Stories from Candy Land: Confections from One of Hollywood's Most Famous Wives and Mothers by Candy Spelling and its random and incomplete "food" recipes takes the cake.

Worst book to find a handful of blonde hair in: Diana, a Tribute to the People's Princess by Peter Donnelly

Still no point for existence of TV companion books: The West Wing: The Official Companion

He should definitely be in jail: The Governor by Rod Blagojevich

Weirdest love letter to HEB: Inside South Austin: a Guide by Diane Barnet

Funniest: The New York Regional Mormon Singles Dance by Elna Baker

Saddest: Resilience: Reflections on the Burdens and Gifts of Facing Life's Adversities by Elizabeth Edwards. Especially if you're reading it on the day she died and have already read the terrible book The Politician about John Edwards.

I think it's cheating to count this towards my books read list: Still More George W. Bushisms edited by Jacob Weisberg

Worst of the Year: The Politician by Andrew Young (Alternative title: Some People With Cancer Are Mean and I Need Cash by Andrew Young). The only thing one can learn from this mediocre and meandering book is that no one involved with John Edward's presidential campaign is going to Heaven. And gross John Edwards was inspired to be in politics after watching The American President, which somehow makes him more gross.

Best of the Year: Reconciliation: Islam, Democracy and the West by Benazir Bhutto.

First book of 2011: Medium Raw by Anthony Bourdain

For the first time, our tree-lighting ceremony will be simulcast on internet radio.

2010-12-01T22:08:00.001-06:00

This year is the first time I've been in charge of decorating my own Christmas tree. My mom sent me a box of my old ornaments I received as gifts, which is why the theme is Angels and Apples from Elementary school. I'm most excited about being in charge of the topper, which I decided will be something I picked up from the St. Paul Museum of Science. I even filmed my tree lighting and set it to some appropriate music.

Before you watch the tree lighting, a not stupid idea that I came up with for my blog, I would like to announce that the winners of my November Win a Prize with Tad Hamilton giveaways:

The Word Museum will go to Gretchen, whose favorite word is diaphanous, and the winner of the "downgraded to only potentially" stabby Ford necklace is Srah! And now, my tree:

Oooo. Ahhh.

Merry Star Wars Christmas Special, Everyone!

Happy Valentimes

2010-12-01T00:01:00.001-06:00

I love Pink Martini. They're the most NPR band that ever NPR'd and their lead singer China Forbes sang the theme song from the TV show Clueless. Their fifth album and first holiday album Joy to the World is available to purchase now on iTunes or at Starbucks. You can hear part of it on NPR. I highly recommend that everyone buy it and add to their holiday music collection, because this album is literally the Polaroid of perfection.

2010-11-28T22:04:00.008-06:00

Today is Emily Elisabeth Day, or as my nephew called me today Cookie Monster (I do love cookies). Thank you for celebrating it by coming to my blog. Happy birthday to my fellow Nov. 28th birthdays, Jon Stewart, Anna Nicole Smith and Not Fergie or Will.i.am from the Black Eyed Peas. I'm going to celebrate it by changing the name of my blog for one of my favorite Parks and Recreation quotes.

Thanks to my four nephews for being especially adorable. It's been so fun seeing them in Houston during Thanksgiving week. I know every aunt thinks their nieces and nephews are the cutest and smartest kids around, but as far as nephews are concerned, they are all wrong. I'm sure your niece Torpal is very talented.

Thanks to Gretchen and Giromide for tweets that made me laugh. Thanks to Srah for the birthday post. Don't forget to enter to win these November book giveaways at her blog! And check out the best collection of animated gifs on one post. I received a Gerald Ford magnet and postcard with a few POTUS and FLOTUS on it from her. The postcard now lives from on my refrigerator, with the magnet placed strategically to cover up Barbara Bush's scandalously uncovered gams.

I told Twitter this, but since I've met her three times, and most of the time she seemed really mean to both me and Henry Kissinger, I'm kind of obsessed with her. Forget Sarah Palin, Barbara Bush invented going rogue (I wouldn't be surprised if she ever bit someone). The first time I met Barbara Bush she introduced me to the man who would soon be Teri Hatcher's ex-boyfriend. This will be a really interesting story if I ever meet Tony Parker.

Since today is my birthday, but this is also a post about Barbara Bush, here's a photo of younger me and a picture of two first ladies who seem like they would be much nicer to me than Barbara Bush.

Is that cross-hatching I detect?

2010-11-25T00:00:00.000-06:00

I know this is an inaccurate, third grade interpretation of the "First Thanksgiving," but I'm a little proud of my paper cutting and drawing skills.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Eisenhower, Roosevelt, Harry S Turkey

I'm drafting this turkey into military service.

2010-11-24T00:02:00.004-06:00

According to my holiday source, today isn't an actual holiday, just the birthday of the non holiday deserving President, and Mighty Morphin Power Ranger, Zachary Taylor. So as part of my Unofficial Zachary Taylor Day celebration, I will just talk about another president during my annual holiday tradition of "informing everyone around that George H. W. Bush was the first President to give a turkey an official pardon, not Harry Truman or Lincoln." Gail Collins will back me up on this. And Gail Collins never lies. Gail. Collins. Never. Lies.

Before George H. W., there were events with presidents and turkeys on Thanksgiving, but they were rough sailing for those turkeys.

Turkey getting the Johnson Treatment before getting the Johnson EATment

You best put seat belts on your ears, cause I'm gonna take them for the ride of their lives!

2010-11-23T01:42:00.000-06:00

It is Go for a Ride Day and I'll be doing that today driving from Austin to Houston for Thanksgiving. I'll be listening to the audio book of The Politician and shaking my head every time John Edwards does anything sketchy (like being inspired by The American President to get into politics, gross). Anyway, going for a ride...riding in my car, here's a slightly related song that I like.

She & Him - Ridin' in My Car

Claps-Giving Yay Ha-Rade

2010-11-22T06:49:00.003-06:00

Since Christmas creep is in full force, and the dark cloud of CNN News Reports about People Shopping Day is almost upon us, I am declaring today the start of THANKSGIVING WEEK.

What: A week long celebration of Thanksgiving with occasional blog updates and watching football or episodes of Friends/The West Wing about Thanksgiving if you don't get football. It's also a good time for some Sarah Vowellish reading and thinking about genocide. It's a complicated holiday. That's why it needs a week or more.
When: Today until the end of Thanksgiving (realistically) or the end of November (ideally).
Who: Americans, flexible Canadians
Why: The last part of November is the best part. It's kind of cold and everyone's on vacation
How: Eat real Chex Mix, look up pictures of Presidents pardoning turkeys, help Save November (special thanks to Srah this month) and dress up your presidential action figures in faux "First Thanksgiving" garb.
Where: Your mom's house.

My family makes fun of me for doing what they call my "happy dance." The following doesn't quite capture my dance style, but they do adequately express that I am just genuinely pleased about this upcoming week.

Boss Zefron gif

I have a title for this post.

2010-11-21T15:06:00.001-06:00

Today is False Confession Day, which is either the weirdest and most fun November holiday or the one that makes me think about current human rights violations and the Salem witch trials. So I decided to go with the former, which is less crushingly depressing. These are my false confessions.

The best book I read this year was Miley Cyrus: Miles to Go by Miley Cyrus.
I haven't written fan fiction about John F. Kennedy and Richard Nixon.
Pickles are not disgusting. They should be in all egg salad sandwiches.
I didn't watch this video of Karl Rove and David Gregory dancing three times this weekend.
I love it when people dress up animals in people clothes, but if animals could dress themselves, like if I had to watch an animated guinea pig in a Pixar movie put on a little coat, scarf and hat, I would probably barf.

Abraham Lincoln once said, "If you are a racist, I will attack you with the North."

2010-11-19T00:30:00.003-06:00

Gettysburg Address from Adam Gault on Vimeo.

Today is the 147th anniversary of a speech which dedicated a cemetery for a battle where 8,000 men died. So maybe, my triumphant "I knew I didn't just imagine an episode of Animaniacs about the Gettysburg address" Google search wasn't the best way to start things off.

I'm sorry, Jelly Beans. I know how much the Gipper liked you.

2010-11-18T23:59:00.000-06:00

Hey you, want to be as fashionable as Nancy Reagan¹ and as stylish as a person with a homemade campaign button necklace?

Enter a comment, with your favorite Jelly Bean flavor or your favorite president, on this post from today through December 1st and you could win this² necklace. It's perfect for when you're Reaganing or when you're just lying around in an evening gown and showing off your husband's monogrammed throw pillows.

It's really just a campaign button that can be detached from the necklace and just worn on your shirt or trousers. But it is a pretty sweet button and this way it won't poke holes in your clothes. How much would you pay for this on Etsy?³ Maybe a $100? Man, the scam I could pull off with this thing. Enter to win and you could get this $1,000 necklace for free.

Pretend I posted this on Tuesday (Button Day).

¹ Chicest FLOTUS of the 20th century, because Jackie Kennedy was mean.

²As with the other giveaway, you don't have to pick the Reagan related prize, you could choose an Obama 08 button (or Ford, Nixon, Mondale or Kennedy--although those are older and they ~~might~~ will definitely stab you in necklace form). But who wouldn't go with the Reagan one? (I don't like a lot of what he did as a president, I just think he was adorable.)

³I don't like or respect Etsy.

The winner of the Dorothy Every Time Smurf Girl trophy for Excellence in Female Stuff:

2010-11-12T15:17:00.001-06:00

Today is a day for one of my fellow EliSZabeths (that's the name of our club) Elizabeth Cady Stanton. One great thing about the Internet is that you can read almost every book written before 1900. Here are a few of the things she wrote while advocating for women's rights and abolition.

Eighty Years and More: Reminiscences 1815-1897 by Elizabeth Cady Stanton

History of Woman Suffrage edited by Elizabeth Cady Stanton and Susan Brownell Anthony

The Woman's Bible by Elizabeth Cady Stanton and the Revising Committee.

This is a two minute biography, but there is also a Ken Burns documentary on Netflix Instant about Elizabeth Cady Stanton and Susan B. Anthony. Here's another video on suffrage, that unfortunately forgot to mention ECS, but still rocks.

School House Rock - Sufferin' Till Suffrage

Forget-Me-Not Day

2010-11-10T00:00:00.017-06:00

Forget: From the Forget-Me-Not Wikipedia disambiguation page (my favorite type of page on Wikipedia) I learned that "Forget Me Not" was the title of episodes of Charmed, Psych, and Garfield and Friends. Those shows are ordered by how I watched them, from forced to by roommates, to enjoyed with family, to dreamed about.

Me: If I had a job for every time I almost emailed an HR department this week and said I've "attached me resume" me would have six jobs now.

Not: Yesterday I saw this headline on cnn.com, "20-somethings -- get ready for a 'thrisis'," or the start of an existential crisis all 29 year old people could expect on their next birthday. My only reaction: Nope. No. Not doing it. I accept and love and make up a lot of made up words but I am not a major source of news and Twitter updates. It would be a lot easier to handle adulthood without associating it with the stupidest word I've heard in 2010. CNN.com is awesome. Not.

Day: I assumed the holiday was about one of the most fake looking flowers I've ever seen (or the 1822 literary annual).

Ace of Cakes fondant practice

But it is actually about remembering family and friends you haven't seen in awhile. So, here's a photo of two of my favorite family members I haven't seen in at least a month.

Baby nephew, Washing machine

I don't have a lot experience with vampires, but I have hunted werewolves. I shot one once. But by the time I got to it, it had turned back into my neighbor's dog.

2010-11-09T16:34:00.004-06:00

I liked the required fiction reading from high school, but when it comes to reading any fiction written after 1960, I have had a harder time finding anything I liked. I can't really tell the difference between good contemporary fiction and mediocre fiction, so I usually end up with the bad and mediocre and categorize all modern fiction that way (I do love the Shopaholic series more than I care to admit). I've tried to make an effort to try to read more contemporary fiction.

This year I read about 25 fiction books that were published after 1960, not counting the out-and-out lies in Miley Cyrus's "memoir." My method of picking these books has been to go to the new fiction section in the library and pick out the shortest or most notable books in the section. This week I checked out a Nobel Prize winner's works and the book I heard had won the Thurber prize. In case critically acclaimed or universally loved by all of Sweden and Norway isn't enough, I decided to also try what was popular. Which is why I have finally decided to bow to peer pressure and read Twilight.

The author is really taking her time getting to the vampires.

I also subscribe to USA Today and American Way magazine

2010-11-07T20:55:00.005-06:00

Happy Magazine Day! Here are a few of my favorite magazines.

National Geographic. I had a subscription for National Geographic magazine throughout high school. It was a gift from my grandpa. Through National Geographic I first learned about Ernest Shackleton, how awesome and gross things were when magnified and the giddy fascination of learning about strangers based on zip codes.
Life. Every issue is available on Google Books. What Will Nixon Do With It?
My HEB Texas Life Magazine. My favorite grocery store has a monthly magazine or a really big waste of paper for a page of coupons and super easy crossword puzzle. The letter to the editors are all in fawning praise of the magazine and the store and one day they will publish one of my letters (published letters get a gift certificate). But I'm just doing it because I love the magazine.
The Pawnee Parks and Recreation Summer Catalog.
Sassy Magazine. Here's the ideal way to read Sassy. 1) Don't read it as a child 20 years ago. 2) Read a bunch of back issues in 2010 in the home of your sibling who read Sassy as a child. 3) Laugh forever.
Bear Hugging and Bittersweet Chocolate with Almonds Weekly. For all your other November 7th holiday needs.

Diana Walker

2010-11-06T15:36:00.000-05:00

If you're looking for something to do in Austin between now and December 17th, check out the exhibit of Diana Walker's photos at the Dolph Briscoe Center for American History. The CAH is next door to the LBJ Presidential Library; both are free. You can also visit CAH online and listen to Walker discuss her photographs. I recommend watching this one. Here are a few of her photographs.

Bob Dole and Gerald Ford

Ronald Reagan and Flopsie the Hat

George H. W. Bush in Saudi Arabia, 1990

Bill and Hillary Clinton

Who knows how words are formed.

2010-11-05T19:32:00.007-05:00

In honor of Book Lover's Day (Observed) and a November bloggy giveaway idea I stole , I am giving away a book I love. Leave a comment on this post any time from now until November 30th and you could win my copy of For the Record: From Wall Street to Washington by Donald T. Regan, with my underlined passages of what I thought justified USA Today's front cover review of this book, "Spicy!" This book is also autographed. By me.

If for some reason you don't want Regan's book (like who needs two copies) you could choose another book that I love, The Word Museum: The Most Remarkable English Words Ever Forgotten by Jeffrey Kacirk. From this book you can learn that a "glee-dream" isn't just a nightmare about living at a musical high school. If the reviewers of Regan's book had had a copy, that book would have a much more interesting front cover. I didn't write in or underline anything in this book, but on the other hand, it will teach you NOTHING about the Gipper.

Book Lover's Day is tomorrow, but like refrigerator cleaning and donuts, books deserve more than one holiday.

I like Gretchen's suggestion, so if you want to, leave your favorite word in a comment. If you want the Regan book, be sure to include an exclamation point.

We're off cupcakes and we're back to donuts.

2010-11-05T04:51:00.010-05:00

As evidence for the claim that America is the "Greatest, Strongest Country in the World," today is one of at least three holidays dedicated to the donut. The person from About.com who wrote the list of November holidays I used as a source, called November 5th National Donut Day, which is wrong (except in the sense that we should keep National Donut day in our hearts all year round).

The real National Donut Day is in June and its origin honors the work of the Salvation Army more than the donut, which about.com and I would both agree is a real waste of the name. Today is actually Doughnut Appreciation Day, so update your calendars accordingly. I will certainly appreciate donuts today while watching this Good Eats episode, eating a donut and saying the pledge of allegiance.

"Hey dudes, I'll get you a couple 64 oz. colas to wash down this basket of donuts."

Also, you could celebrate Guy Fawkes day, if you prefer fireworks to donuts (or combine the two). I learned today that Guy Fawkes was also known as Guido Fawkes and Dumbledore's phoenix is named after Fawkes.

Blah, blah, blah donutos.

Jokes.com

Mike Birbiglia - Dunkino Donutos

comedians.comedycentral.com

Funny Jokes

Funny Videos

Daniel Tosh Stand-Up

Nobody likes beets, Dwight. You should grow something everybody does like. You should grow candy.

2010-11-04T00:00:00.008-05:00

To celebrate National Candy Day, other than through the candy I will eat, here's a video on how candy canes are made. Personally, watching this video is almost better than eating a candy cane. It's narrated by a British (or something) guy and I didn't get tired of watching it half way through only to leave it alone for a minute and coming back to see it sticking to the wrapper and grossing me out (when the crook is more saliva than sugar). Plus it's just fun to watch things like candy canes, laws, and sausages being made.

And now, the end of National Candy Day, when I'm tired of the candy I've chosen.

I'm done with you, Runts.

How I spent my November vacation

2010-11-03T22:42:00.009-05:00

I can't top Srah's celebration of Sandwich Day. However, I did attempt to write a poem praising Thundercloud Subs and their egg salad sandwich, which is the last word in unhealthy egg salad sandwiches (I think the recipe is half eggs/half mayonnaise). Instead, I want to mention how I spent National Author's Day, November 1st. Each month the public library puts on free afternoon writer's workshops. I decided to attend the workshop that Monday. The workshop's theme was "Writing Inspired by Music."

My only impressions of writing workshops had come from writers discussing their experience (usually bad) in writing workshops and the show Home Movies. I didn't really know what to expect from a free writing workshop, but I definitely held some stereotypical and slightly mean expectations. In college I wrote things and read other things people had wrote, but they were usually articles about deviant behavior or six sigma management. The last time I had been in a room where I wrote fiction after a short prompt and read it out loud was sixth grade.

There were about nine others and most were regular participants in the monthly workshops. One was a college student, but the others were middle aged. I felt at the start of the workshop that I was only observing; I don't write enough fiction as the rest to justify calling myself an author. These were people who ran poetry festivals. Poetry for me has always been that thing you do as a joke. They were also doing NaNoWriMo and again, not as a joke.

One of the music prompts was the UT fight song. For most in the room, former UT students, the song inspired short stories and memories about football games. I couldn't turn my memory into a short story in the short amount of time (or a longer amount of time, honestly) nor could I read what I wrote straight from the page. What I admired about the authors in the workshop is that they could read what they wrote, fiction or real, right from the page.It just seemed brave. When it came to sharing on Monday I could only summarize what I wrote to the group. Here's what I wrote from the UT fight song prompt or what I think I wrote based on my handwriting:

The UT fight song doesn't make me think of UT, football or even one of their rivals, my alma mater. I had heard it for the first time this summer when I moved to Austin and was far from the UT campus. I was working for the campaign of a gubernatorial candidate* and my boss and several of my fellow campaigners were UT alumni. A few nights this summer, after hours of canvassing, my boss would strike up the UT fight song and blare it throughout the office. This was entertaining for two reasons: the hardcore UT fans would sing along and the one Oklahoma fan would glare at everyone in the room. As the daughter of a Sooner and the only Aggie (my sad little school is so obsessed with UT that it mentions the Longhorns several times in its fight song) I decided I would join Team Sooner. We would listen to the song and talk about the day's calls and campaigning and talk about the next day of canvassing. The UT fight song is not a clarion call for a university and its team, but for my group of Texas Democrats. UT's color is orange, but for me, the fight song's only color is Blue.

The writing workshop definitely took me out of my comfort zone and allowed me to meet nine really cool people with a passion for writing. I didn't have a chance to say it to the group on Monday, but Happy National Author's Day.

*More on this later. He lost and I'm mad at 52% of Texas right now, but now that the election is over, I have some things to discuss when I'm calmer.

Go Vote

2010-11-02T00:15:00.005-05:00

Earn that free sticker, America.

After you vote, you may click "read more" of this post to see a cute photo of my nephew dressed as a shark. Or, if you will, after the jump, the shark.

First vote: 2028 presidential election

Save November

2010-11-01T02:28:00.017-05:00

I went into the grocery store a few days before Halloween. In the middle of the aisle they had Halloween candy already on sale. Pile A candy. It's almost as cliché to complain about the early arrival of Christmas in stores as the early arrival of Christmas in stores. Except I will never get tired of those who complain about it. It's no wonder that by the time December actually comes, you can't swing a dead Christmas tree without hitting a panicky Fox News correspondent convinced someone's trying to destroy Christmas (Some blonde lady on Fox: He lives in the White House hint). If there was a war on Christmas, everyone would take up arms against it. If you really want to save Christmas, don't make every consumer celebrate it for 10 weeks. I am fine with Happy Holidays. I prefer that greeting in stores and out, because December contains more than one. And so does poor little, ignored November.

Since I have a November birthday, I feel attached to what I've thought of for the past two decades as "my month." I used to list out the holidays for each month, so I decided to revive the tradition for November. These are the holidays we'll be collectively ignoring for a month, because every radio station and convenience store decided it's time for Mannheim Steamroller on an endless loop. There is a war on November holidays and I am here to defend them, no matter how dumb they might be or how grim a reminder they are of our awful history toward Native Americans. The two sources I used listed two separate days as National Cleaning Your Refrigerator Day, but that's the kind of holiday you should celebrate more than once. Around Nov. 21, it gets a little weird.

November 1st - All Saint's Day, National Author's Day, National Family Literacy Day

November 2nd - Cookie Monster's Birthday, U.S.A. Election Day, National Deviled Egg Day, Look for Circles Day

November 3rd - Sandwich Day, Housewife's Day

November 4th - National Candy Day, King Tut Day

November 5th - Guy Fawkes Day, Doughnut Appreciation Day

November 6th - Basketball Day, Book Lover's Day, Saxophone Day, Carl Sagan Day

November 7th - Hug a Bear Day, Magazine Day, Bittersweet Chocolate with Almonds Day

November 8th - X-Ray Day, National Bookstore Day

November 9th - Parade Day (I checked, unfortunately it does not seem to mean Parade Magazine day)

November 10th - Forget-Me-Not Day

November 11th - Remembrance Day, Veteran's Day, Corduroy Appreciation Day

November 12th - Elizabeth Cady Stanton Day

November 13th - National Indian Pudding Day, Sadie Hawkins Day, World Kindness Day

November 14th - National Clean Out Your Refrigerator Day, Operating Room Nurse Day, National Reading Eduction Assistance Dogs Day

November 15th - America Recycles Day, Pack Your Mom Lunch Day (huh?), Clean Your Refrigerator Day, National Philanthropy Day

November 16th - Button Day

November 17th - Homemade Bread Day, National Young Reader's Day, Take A Hike Day, Have Party with your Bear Day, World Peace Day, Electronic Greeting Card Day

November 18th - Occult Day, William Tell Day

November 19th - Gettysburg Address Day, Have a Bad Day Day

November 20th - Mexican Revolution Day, Absurdity Day, Beautiful Day, National Adoption Day, Universal Children's Day

November 21st - World Hello Day, False Confession Day

November 22nd - Stop the Violence Day

November 23rd - National Cashew Day, Go for a Ride Day

November 24th - Zachary Taylor's Birthday, Zachary Taylor Day

November 25th - Thanksgiving Day, National Parfait Day

November 26th - National Cake Day, Black Friday, Buy Nothing Day, Shopping Reminder Day, National Day of Listening

November 27th - Pins and Needles Day

November 28th - Make Your Own Head Day, Red Planet Day, Emily Elisabeth Day

November 29th - Square Dance Day

November 30th - Stay At Home Because You're Well Day, My Mom's Birthday

Great and not so great holidays and birthdays of awesome people, all. Even if November only had a few holidays, it deserves better than some pity Fall leaf wreath decorations, discount pumpkin candles and slightly creepy songs about harvest time. So I say, down with the Red and Green! Join me, my some Scorpios and some Sagittarius brothers and sisters. Let us scoff at the too soon dancing and rapping Santas piled high at the grocery store. Let us ignore aisles of mediocre holiday candy and put our fingers in our ears when every store we're in plays A Few of My Favorite Things. Now is the dawn of our Sweater Weather Revolution. Together, we will bring down the Chrismahanukwanzakah empire or at least tell it to chill for a few weeks. We are Autumn, hear us roar. TURKEY DINNER, TURKEY DINNER, PUMPKIN PIE, THREE MILES HIGH.

In case your imaginary friend wants to learn about voting

2010-10-25T03:15:00.002-05:00

After voting and getting an I Voted sticker, my favorite thing about Election day is watching television shows about voting.

Sesame Street

The Brady Bunch

Vote for Marcia! Marcia! Marcia!

I find it hard to believe Greg Brady could win anything with a slogan as snappy as "Vote for Greg with all my campaign promises." This is one of the few Brady Bunch episodes I remember (along with the one about Jesse James) and it still annoys me that the message was "just let Greg win."

King of the Hill

The West Wing

You're Not Elected, Charlie Brown!

Don't forget to vote early (now through Oct. 29) or on November 2nd!

Would You Rather?

2010-10-23T15:37:00.006-05:00

1. Date someone whose library consisted of nothing but John Grisham novels...

OR

Date someone whose library consisted of nothing of Clifford the Big Red Dog books (who never interacts with children)?

2. Listen to Randy Travis rap the song from Animal Farm every time you watch a news story about a food recall...

OR

Listen to Ira Glass read five lines from a Jodi Picoult novel every time you watch a soft news story?

3. Live in a country free from war, crime, and unemployment, with health care for all and a great educational system, but Sarah Palin (or Keith Olbermann) is president for life...

OR

Live in the US just as it is now, but every president throughout history is the one who lost the presidential election?

4. Get paid to travel to theme parks across the country for a year with the Coca-Cola logo painted on your car and the same Coca-Cola shirt to wear each day and every morning people yell "Sell out" at you for two hours...

OR

Drink a bottle of warm Pepsi every day?

5. Listen to your favorite songs for 24 hours without interruption but each song is a cover by the cast of Glee...

OR

Listen to I Wanna be Sedated by the Ramones for 24 hours, but every third play is interrupted by a college DJ talking about his failure to find the song he's going to play?

Sundries

2010-10-21T16:41:00.003-05:00

I voted early on Monday. I Voted sticker accomplished.

I am 14 First Ladies away from completing this list of the heights of the First Ladies. New additions: Bess Truman and surfer Helen Taft.

I am currently reading books about or by Robert Kennedy. I am preparing for the upcoming RFK bio starring Matt Damon. I will only watch it as many times as I watched the movie W. or The Reagans. Four.

If you're interested in blogs about reservoirs (AND WHO ISN'T) my dad has a nerd blog about it. Go there and click on the like buttons and/or read it.

I finished this scarf and the library's copy of the soundtrack to MTV's Carmen: a Hip Hopera just loves it. I need to hang out with people.

Only Beyoncé could rhyme "porpoise" with "horse is."

Austin Lounge Lizard

2010-10-13T00:03:00.002-05:00

Yesterday morning I was cross-stitching and I dropped a needle on the floor. I had learned from the last time I did this that the right thing to do is to pick it up immediately rather than brush it off as a loss and grab a replacement needle. As I was rescuing Future Me from stabbing her toe with a needle, I spotted something that looked like a small twig. I turned it over and discovered this:

An awesome thing to find on the carpet.

At first glance I thought a snake had come into my apartment and shed half of its skin. This was a little alarming; there was a half naked snake gliding around my living room, like a nature special on the CW. After a closer examination I realized that not many snakes leave their heads behind with their skin. I'm no herpetologist, but I've never seen a snake with arms.

I had seen other lizards indoors twice during the past five months. This was a definite improvement over Houston, where I saw a lizard in the house on a weekly basis. The lizards I spotted in Houston were larger and I'm certain a few died after crawling into the engine of my car.

The first Austin lizard was hiding in the closet and it ran out of sight before I could react. The second one surprised me by falling from the ceiling to a bookshelf. I'm not proud of this, but I grabbed a can of Raid and sprayed the shelf until it ran out. Only a G. Gordon Liddy bio caught any of the spray, but he's awful, so it doesn't really matter.

I think the Raid killed it. I felt bad about that. Or worse, I stepped on it. It found its way from the bookshelf in the hallway to the middle of the living room 6-7 feet away. I assumed he was the same lizard from those prior encounters, which is a more pleasant thought than the idea of two other tiny lizards out to avenge their fallen comrade. However, that would make a good action movie. Or a terrific romantic comedy.

I decided I couldn't let him go to his final resting place, that Great Outside of My Apartment in the Sky, without a name. And so, in the sense that a living room is sort of like a lounge, I named him and said farewell.

RIP Old Blevins

I took about 100 other pictures of it, because it was kind of cool/gross and I live a really exciting life.

Speaking of Alton Brown

2010-10-11T11:15:00.000-05:00

I like this cartoon by Natalie Dee

It is also possible to watch hours and hours of Good Eats on Youtube.

Sundries

2010-10-11T10:10:00.001-05:00

The Texas Book Festival in Austin is next weekend and ALTON BROWN, my favorite Food Network personality and one of my top 25 favorite humans, is going to be there. However, I am going to be at the wedding of two friends in Houston. It's a little awkward, as I did tell everyone Alton Brown was going to be my date.

I have 30 stations on Pandora, most of which are for show, because I only listen to the one titled MUSICALS!!

This is a great song to wake up to (obvs).

I started rereading A Tale of Two Cities after listening to a guy maligning the good name of Dickins and forgetting if I should be outraged about that or not. I'm also doing some knitting.

After years of voting in Houston and getting nothing as a reward except a high five from myself, I might actually get an I Voted sticker from my new county. That's what really matters.

Have you seen the Burger King breakfast commercial on Hulu that lets you insert your name into the ad? I'm ashamed to say I found it momentarily enjoyable to hear my name in a commercial. I accepted that it had Elizabeth and no Elisabeth, but then I saw that it has an option to put Cynthia or Synthia. I mean, seriously, Synthia?

Liz Lemon Cinnamon

2010-10-09T04:30:00.000-05:00

What a weird, nice thing to say, bottle of cinnamon.

Edith Bolling Galt Wilson and her best pal William Gibbs McAdoo

2010-10-08T21:30:00.000-05:00

Since moving to Austin this past May, I have become a regular visitor to the Austin Public Library. Given the wide selection the library has due to its extensive branch exchange program, I've had almost no need to purchase books. However, a handful of books this year have been given a permanent home on my bookshelves. Most were Nixon biographies that came from my sister, but a few came from the Book Exchange, a used bookstore in Austin.

The greatest new (non Nixon) book in my collection is called For the Record: From Wall Street to Washington by Reagan's first Secretary of the Treasury, Donald T. Regan. Finding it was a better argument for bookstores and capitalism than the author or his boss could ever give. And Reagan was always praising local bookstores.

Knowing that most of you are very particular about which Reagan cabinet memoirs you read, you might be asking, "Was this book as well received by critics as it was by this blogger?" Was it ever. One word reviews of praise decorate its front page; Business Weekly declared it “Explosive!” while Fortune called it “Deadly!” More words on included on the front and back pages and they all make as much sense if you think about the Reagan years enough.

Longer reviews in the first pages reveal that this book is going to get to the heart of his animosity towards Nancy Reagan, a shocking first considering the wonderful friendships between other first ladies and secretaries of the treasury. In a word, "He seriously hated Nancy Reagan," Time magazine. Time actually called the book "Jarring!" but like anything from Time it is all about reading between the lines.

Another inside review claims this book isn't just the story of a Treasury Secretary and the astrology loving lady he loved to disagree with, when that's only the first two pages. Or the other 31 pages that mention astrology. But astrology isn't what makes this book so Deadly! and Explosive! The real culprit is tax policy.

I will post an entire passage from the book here, so you can witness for yourself just why USA Today called it (this is the best one word book review of all time) “Spicy!” Warning: this may be too spicy for weaker readers.

"On March 15 we would decide which kind of income tax system to pursue. By June 15 we would have a detailed analysis of the tax base, with particular attention being paid to deductions and credits. We would also have an analysis of special rules for special industries: oil and gas, real estate, banking and all the others who had benefited from tax breaks. By October 15 the complete tax reform package would be ready in outline form. And by November, we would go to the President with our final recommendations.”

Spicy indeed. Just rereading it made my eyeballs burst into flames. I haven't read of a tax reform package this caliente since the night Eisenhower spilled a bowl of his famous five alarm chili over his speech on tax legislation recommendation..

Speaking of hack writing, the book also includes a variation of my favorite line from any movie with a president, "He's the President of the United States. He commissioned the report!" I can only hope that future presidential movies add those last four words. At least they will be included when the inevitable movie version of For the Record is released.

The first Google result for "Harry Truman animated gif"

2010-09-23T17:23:00.000-05:00

I was hoping for something sillier, but I do love a good old time newsreel.

This site is quite possibly the best place one could waste the rest of one's life on the Internet.

Why is this show not coming back until March?

2010-09-23T05:05:00.000-05:00

Because the world is unfair and stupid.

Enjoy your racist replacement show tonight, America.

"What did we learn, kids?
If you're trying to hide a sharp object inside candy, use a small blade.
Or poison! Poison's invisible."

Little Secretary of State

2010-09-23T04:35:00.000-05:00

I will never open and operate a small business of my very own, I've accepted that, come to terms with it. However, if I knew how to apply for a small business loan, was automatically approved for one and told to open a small business immediately (in what I can only imagine, is Mitt Romney’s America) I have one great business idea.

Last winter I was at the mall watching one of my toddler nephews crawl over a large plastic turtle. While he frolicked with the gentle giant, I looked past the play place at a store which had replaced a K*B Toys. It was called Little Diva. At first, I only saw its exterior and I assumed it was simply a store where discerning parents could purchase enough tiaras and feathers and glitter to live vicariously through their daughters in whatever terrible pageant the mall was putting on. I was cynical and I was naive not to think these parents weren't buying the glitter and feathers for themselves. Adults are weird.

A web search for the Little Diva store explained that it more like a Chuck-E-Cheese meets Toddler and Tiaras birthday party place. For what looks like $260 on their website, you can dress your child and four friends in all the tiaras, headsets, rockin' gloves and Go Go hats, they'll need for their next mall tour. Now, I'm not telling parents how to dress their children or where they should celebrate birthdays. I rarely encounter children and it's not for me to say what anyone wears. I had my ninth birthday party at McDonald's. I threw up in a trash can. There was a train you could eat in. I loved it.

I'm not trying to put Little Diva out of business (but it would be kind of nice). I just want there to be an option for a party place for young girls that isn't all sparkles and divas and Glee. If I do have nieces, I want them to receive the same Jr. Scientist kits I will eventually give my nephews once a non lame version is invented. So, that's why I have an idea for a new party place for young girls (and boys) which will give them positive role models and teach them about foreign diplomacy.

It's called

Little Secretary of State

At Little Secretary of State every birthday girl and her friends can

Learn to make pasta and write Declarations with Thomas Jefferson.
Model Hillary Clinton pantsuits and try on Madeleine Albright inspired costume jewelry. If this seems sexist to define these women by their fashion choices alone, ruining the whole idea behind this project, they can also dress up like John Jay.
Model the facial hair of Charles Evan Hughes, John Foster and John Hay.
Become a war criminal and marvel others with your ability of still being alive like Henry Kissinger.
Learn about a history of foreign affairs through animatronic Cyrus Vance. The things he'll say about Carter alone guarantee half hours of fun.
Be terrified of John C. Calhoun.

Little Secretary of State will provide hours of entertainment and plenty of good learnin times for the whole family. It will offer competitive prices (competitive with all other Little Presidential Cabinet Members party places) and inspire young girls everywhere to start acting and dressing like Hillary Clinton, so that my Hillary Clinton inspired clothing line can finally take off.

If that's not working for any loan officers, I also have an idea for a movie about the founding fathers played by dogs, that will be called The Founding Barkers.

I think it's clear now I'm not sure how bank loans work.

End of September Craft Bonanza

2010-09-23T01:16:00.000-05:00

It seems like Halloween is celebrated earlier and earlier every year.

I admire crafty people like M. Diddy, Amy Sedaris, and my sisters. I think their work is cute or terrifying or terrifyingly cute and all best viewed online. I would never sell something on Etsy, because I don't think anyone would buy my half finished cross stitch or my old 5 iron with a smiley face drawn on it (Like I would ever sell that).

If I ever bought anything on Etsy, it would be something that captured the wit and whimsy of my pals Wilhelm and Randolph up there. Care to guess which one is which? A little hint, I just spent three minutes trying to figure out a better way to spell Randorange.

I am not crafty. I will never be as crafty as my sisters. One of my sisters makes handcrafted thank you notes. The only thing I do with my store bought thank you notes is write really large words because I think it makes my handwriting look better. They can sew. I can burn myself with hot glue guns. The last time I used a hot glue gun, in the service of a political campaign, I burned my fingers twice. But it was worth it, because how often does one get to be melodramatic over minor injuries while in a Democratic campaign headquarters? Other than some of the time.

In the largest creative gap between two of my sisters and I, they have created four amazing tiny human beings. To my credit, I have never burned any of them with a hot glue gun. I did put one of them in a side loading washing machine (IT WAS OFF) for what we all later agreed was a hilarious photo op. Putting Babies Where Babies Do Not Belong is a concept that is always funny. This is why Anne Geddes sleeps on bags of money. Does this make me a bad aunt? No, a bad aunt would have burned her nephews with hot glue guns. Case closed.

So when it comes to crafts, I avoid any that come with complicated instructions and more than two essential items. It's just me, the least popular candidate from my fridge, a couple of Kleenex and a giant Sharpie with its toxic fumes. Throw them all together, add some artistic flair and my Halloween decorations are done, a month ahead of schedule. It's a good thing.

Bonjour mon petit bureau de change

2010-06-20T14:06:00.000-05:00

I had forgotten about this song until yesterday, when I overheard someone at the farmer's market asking for a croissant while I was buying a baguette. The fact that someone there looked like Jacques Cousteau meant I had to watch this video five times in a row when I got home.

"Fracture simulation is a technique used by engineers to create a crack or fracture in the rock that contains oil or gas."

2010-06-20T13:55:00.000-05:00

The week after I graduated from high school my dad sent me a letter that broke down the mineral content of the entire core of the earth. Every time I'm home, we have at least one conversation that revolves around wellbores. Everything I know about the oil and gas industry I learned from the Science museum because I went to those parts of the museum with my dad. I'm not sure how disappointed he was that when I went to college I became a Democrat and studied what he still refers to as socialism.

Happy father's day, nerd.

24 facts and one thing I made up about 25 First Ladies

2010-03-23T02:00:00.000-05:00

Can you guess which one what I made up? The winner will get a poem written about them OR they can pick the mystery prize that's in this box.

Julia Dent Grant really, really loved being First Lady. She was the first after Monroe to be one for eight years. She was the first First Lady to write a memoir. It was published in 1975.
Eleanor Roosevelt is the only First Lady to have a National Historic Site in her honor, Val-Kill, in New York.
Ellen Axson Wilson studied to be a painter and had a studio installed in the White House.
Abigail Adams's approval of the Alien and Sedition Acts earned her the nickname of "Her Majesty." (But maybe those people should have just tried not being so seditious.) She was played by Laura Linney in John Adams. Now, I've got a few things I want to say about Laura Linney.
Betty Ford opened and taught in a dance school called the Betty Bloomer Dance School.
Grace Coolidge was the first to secure White House furnishings by getting Congress to approve an act protecting them. She also loved baseball.
Edith Wilson was a descendant of Pocahontas.
Michelle Obama and I both received a Bachelor's degree in Sociology. So clearly, one benefit of that degree is that one day you will get to marry Barack Obama.
Laura Bush. According to the awesome film W., Laura Bush likes reading, smoking, and admiring things. She seems like a nice lady.
Claudia “Lady Bird” Johnson purchased and ran a radio station with her inheritance and was a millionaire in her own right.
Lou Henry Hoover was fluent in Chinese and Latin.
Dolley Madison was born a Quaker and was kicked out of the Society of Friends for marrying James, an Episcopalian. That's the craziest thing I've ever heard! Episcopal.
Hillary Rodham Clinton once applied to work for NASA.
Pat Nixon met her husband while they were auditioning for a play.
Florence Harding died of kidney failure. She was also one of several First Ladies to ask astrologists for advice. Can you guess two others?
Lucy Hayes commissioned an artist to complete the White House's collection of portraits of prior presidents.
Frances Cleveland was the youngest First Lady (21). Her daughter Esther was the first child of a president to be born in the White House.
Harriet Lane was James Buchanan's niece. The song "Listen to the Mockingbird" was dedicated to her.
Elizabeth Monroe's first language was Dutch.
Bess Truman died at age 97 and was the longest living First Lady.
Nancy Reagan's most recent film role was playing herself in the movie Balls of Fury.
Caroline Harrison ordered White House china with a Goldenrod pattern (Benjamin Harrison's favorite flower that she wanted to be the National flower), but she died before she was able to use the china.
Lucretia Garfield taught algebra, Latin and French classes and took a class in Greek from James Garfield.
Helen Taft loved to surf.
Rosalynn Carter established the White House Trust and hosted the first jazz and poetry festivals in the White House.

My next list will probably be a list of secretaries of state ordered by how cute I thought they were.

Books read in 2010

2010-01-01T02:30:00.007-06:00

Favorites in bold

Byzantium: the Bridge from Antiquity to the Middle Ages by Michael Angold
Whose Muse?: Art Museums and the Public Trust edited by James Cuno
Cheap: The High Cost of Discount Culture by Ellen Ruppel Shell
Dress Your Family in Corduroy and Denim by David Sedaris
John Adams by David McCullough
Official Book Club Selection by Kathy Griffin
A Remarkable Mother by Jimmy Carter
Appetite for Life: the Biography of Julia Child by Noel Riley Fitch
Love Stories in this Town by Amanda Ward
First Ladies Quotations Book edited by William Foss
Warren G. Harding by John W. Dean
Who Moved my Blackberry? by Lucy Kellaway
Read My Pins: Stories from a Diplomat's Jewel Box by Madeleine Albright
Emma Goldman: American Individualist by John Chalberg
The Devil Wears Prada by Laura Weisberger
Che: A Graphic Biography by Sid Jacobson and Ernie Colón
The Wordy Shipmates by Sarah Vowell
Post Grad by Emily Cassel
Feisty First Ladies and other Unforgettable White House Women by Autumn Stephens
The Motorcycle Diaries: notes on a Latin American Journey by Ernesto Che Guevara
Hot Dog: a Global History by Bruce Kraig
Soda Pop! From Miracle Medicine to Pop Culture by Gyvel Witzel and Michael Witzel
Smart Girls Like Me by Diane Vadino
V for Vendetta by Alan Moore
Collecting Political Buttons by Marc Sigoloff
The Face on Your Plate: The Truth About Food by Jeffrey Masson
Extraordinary Texas Women by Judy Alter
In Defense of Food: An Eater's Manifesto by Michael Pollan
The 9/11 Report: a Graphic Adaptation by Sid Jacobson and Ernie Colón
Ghost World by Daniel Clowes
Assassination Vacation by Sarah Vowell
Loot: the Battle over the Stolen Treasures of the Ancient World by Sharon Waxman
Speaking with the Angel edited by Nick Hornby
The Wisdom of Sam Ervin edited by Bill Wise
It Sucked and Then I Cried: How I had a Baby, a Breakdown and a Much Needed Margarita by Heather Armstrong
Me Talk Pretty One Day by David Sedaris
The Tenth Muse: My Life in Food by Judith Jones
Translation Nation: Defining a New American Identity in the Spanish-Speaking United States by Hector Tobar
Stories from Candy Land: Confections from One of Hollywood's Most Famous Wives and Mothers by Candy Spelling
Travels with Charley by John Steinbeck
Jane Austen: A Life by Carol Shields
Amen, Amen, Amen: Memoir of a Girl Who Couldn't Stop Praying (Among Other Things) by Abby Sher
Always a Reckoning and other poems by Jimmy Carter
Art in the White House: A Nation's Pride by William Kloss
The Governor by Rod Blagojevich
William McKinley by Kevin Phillips
Mennonite in a Little Black Dress: A Memoir of Going Home by Rhoda Janzen
Born Round: The Secret History of a Full-Time Eater by Frank Bruni
Miley Cyrus: Miles to Go by Miley Cyrus
Lady Bird Johnson: Our Environmentalist First Lady by Lewis Gould
Bait and Switch: the (Futile) Pursuit of the American Dream by Barbara Ehrenreich
The Long Chalkboard and other Stories by Jenny Allen
Knives at Dawn: America's Quest for Culinary Glory at the Legendary Bocuse d'Or by Andrew Friedman
Who's Buried in Grant's Tomb? A Tour of Presidential Gravesites by Brian Lamb
The Westing Game by Ellen Raskin
Stuck in the Middle: Seventeen Comics from an Unpleasant Age edited by Ariel Schrag
The Partly Cloudy Patriot by Sarah Vowell
Insecure at Last: Losing It in Our Security Obsessed World by Eve Ensler
Richistan: a Journey Through the American Wealth Boom and the Lives of the New Rich by Robert Frank
Wishful Drinking by Carrie Fisher
When Everything Changed: the Amazing Journey of American Women from 1960 to the Present by Gail Collins
Unsweetined by Jodie Sweetin
Breakfast at Tiffany's and three other stories by Truman Capote
Holidays on Ice by David Sedaris
The Tipping Point by Malcolm Gladwell
The West Wng: The Official Companion created by Aaron Sorkin
When You Are Engulfed in Flames by David Sedaris
Going Rogue: An American Life by Sarah Palin
Such a Pretty Fat by Jen Lancaster
Waiting: The True Confessions of a Waitress by Debra Ginsberg
Confessions of an Heiress: a Tongue-in-Chic Peek Behind the Pose by Paris Hilton with Merle Ginsberg
Listen Up, Mr. President: Everything You Always Wanted Your President to Know and Do by Helen Thomas and Craig Crawford
All We Ever Wanted Was Everything by Janelle Brown
Celebutantes by Amanda Goldberg
Audition: a Memoir by Barbara Walters
Everyone Worth Knowing by Laura Weisberger
Mutual Contempt: Lyndon Johnson, Robert Kennedy, and the Feud That Defined a Decade by Jeff Shesol
My Fair Lazy by Jen Lancaster
Inside South Austin: a Guide by Diane Barnet
Reconciliation: Islam, Democracy and the West by Benazir Bhutto
The New York Regional Mormon Singles Dance by Elna Baker
The Bedwetter: Stories of Courage, Redemption and Pee by Sarah Silverman
Supreme Courtship by Christopher Buckley
Food Rules: An Eater's Manual by Michael Pollan
Passionate Sage: the Character and Legacy of John Adams by Joseph Ellis
The Crucible by Arthur Miller
Hairspray: the Roots by Mark O'Donnell, Thomas Meehan, Marc Shaiman and Scott Wittman
Barack and Michelle: a Portrait of an American Marriage by Christopher Anderson
The Fiddler in the Subway by Gene Weingarten
Ready or Not by Meg Cabot
Radio On: a Listener's Diary by Sarah Vowell
Take the Cannoli: Stories from the New World by Sarah Vowell
A Nation Rising: Untold Tales of Flawed Founders, Fallen Heroes, and Forgotten Fighters from America's Hidden History by Kenneth Davis
House of Cards: Love, Faith, and Other Social Expressions by David Dickerson
Still More George W. Bushisms edited by Jacob Weisberg
Read My Lips: Classic Texas Political Quotes edited by Kirk Dooley and Eben Price
This Land is Their Land by Barbara Ehrenreich
Carry On, Jeeves! by P.G. Wodehouse
Tip It: The World According to Maggie by Maggie Griffin
Not Quite What I was Planning: Six Word Memoirs by Famous and Obscure Writers edited by Rachel Fershleiser and Larry Smith
Nickel and Dimed: on Not Getting By in America by Barbara Ehrenreich
Orange is the New Black: My Year in a Woman's Prison by Piper Kerman
The Value of Nothing: How to Reshape Market Society and Redefine Democracy by Raj Patel
Texas: A Compact History by Archie McDonald
Molly Ivins Can't Say That, Can She? by Molly Ivins
Closing Time: a Memoir by Joe Queenan
What the Dog Saw and Other Adventures by Malcolm Gladwell
I like You: Hospitality Under the Influence by Amy Sedaris
How Does it Feel to be a Problem? Being Young and Arab in America by Moustafa Bayoumi
My House in Umbria by William Trevor
Griffin & Sabine: An Extraordinary Correspondence by Nick Bantock.
Sabine's Notebook: In Which the Extraordinary Correspondence of Griffin & Sabine Continues by Nick Bantock
The Golden Mean: In Which the Extraordinary Correspondence of Griffin & Sabine Concludes by Nick Bantock
The Four Elements by Roz Chast
Redneck Power: The Wit and Wisdom of Billy Carter edited by Jeremy Rifkin and Ted Howard
Everything I Needed to Know About Being a Girl I Learned From Judy Blume edited by Jennifer O'Connell
Are You There God? It's Me, Margaret by Judy Blume
Deenie by Judy Blume
Then Again, Maybe I Won't by Judy Blume
Tiger Eyes by Judy Blume
Ladies and Gentlemen, The Bible! by Jonathan Goldstein
When You Are Engulfed in Flames by David Sedaris
The Story of Stuff by Annie Leonard
Laughing Gas by P.G. Wodehouse
"What the Heck Are You Up to, Mr. President?" by Kevin Mattson
The Partly Cloudy Patriot by Sarah Vowell
Do Butlers Burgle Banks? by P.G. Wodehouse
You're a Horrible Person, but I Like You: The Believer Book of Advice edited by Eric Spitznagel
1984 by George Orwell
How Did You Get this Number by Sloane Crosley
Fifth Avenue, 5 A.M. by Sam Watson
And the Heart Says Whatever by Emily Gould
Remember Me? by Sophie Kinsella
Superfreakonomics by Steven Levitt and Stephen Dubner
Earth (the Book): A Visitor's Guide to the Human Race by The Daily Show
Shopaholic & Baby by Sophie Kinsella
The Passport by Herta Müller
How I Became a Famous Novelist by Steve Hely
I Was Told There'd Be Cake by Sloane Crosley
Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone by J.K. Rowling
Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets by J.K. Rowling
Diana: A Tribute to the People's Princess by Peter Donnelly
Assassination Vacation by Sarah Vowell
Reading Lolita in Tehran by Azar Nafisi
Confessions of a Shopaholic by Sophie Kinsella
Keep the Change: A Clueless Tipper’s Quest to Become the Guru of the Gratuity by Steve Dublanica.
Love is a Mixtape: Life and Loss, one Song at a Time by Rob Sheffield
The Politician by Andrew Young
Half Empty by David Rakoff
I Know I Am, but What Are You? by Samantha Bee
The Wordy Shipmates by Sarah Vowell
Paula Deen's Savannah Style by Paula Deen and Brandon Branch
The Word Museum: The Most Remarkable English Words Ever Forgotten by Jeffrey Kacirk
Bright-sided: How the Relentless Promotion of Positive Thinking has Undermined America by Barbara Ehrenreich
Me Talk Pretty One Day by David Sedaris
Mad Men Unbuttoned: A Romp Through 1960s America by Natasha Vargas-Cooper
Bright Lights, Big Ass by Jen Lancaster
Dress Your Family in Corduroy and Denim by David Sedaris
Things Seen by Annie Ernaux
Resilience: Reflections on the Burdens and Gifts of Facing Life's Adversities by Elizabeth Edwards
Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban by J.K. Rowling
Shopaholic Takes Manhattan by Sophie Kinsella
Shopaholic and Sister by Sophie Kinsella
Squirrel Seeks Chipmunk by David Sedaris
Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire by J.K. Rowling
The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald
America by Heart by Sarah Palin
Talking to Girls About Duran Duran by Rob Sheffield
Can You Keep a Secret? by Sophie Kinsella
This Book is Overdue! by Marilyn Johnson
Julie and Julia by Julie Powell
For the Record: From Wall Street to Washington by Donald T. Regan
Shopaholic Ties the Knot by Sophie Kinsella
Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix by J.K. Rowling
Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince by J.K. Rowling
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows by J.K. Rowling
Mini Shopaholic by Sophie Kinsella
Holidays on Ice by David Sedaris
Kitchen Confidential by Anthony Bourdain
Room by Emma Donoghue

The Lincoln/Kennedy List: Rutherford B. Hayes and Jimmy Carter edition

2009-12-31T11:00:00.001-06:00

The idea of a Hayes/Carter comparison originated when I viewed a PBS series called the American Presidents, during the episode titled “An Independent Cast of Mind.” In this episode the presidents were mentioned along with John Taylor and John Adams as those who “put the national interest above the concerns of their parties.” PBS goes on to say they were all one term presidents and wasn’t that a coincidence. PBS did not think highly of these four and out of respect for John Adams, I told the DVD narrator, “HEY WAIT A MINUTE.”

(I’ve been watching a lot of the West Wing lately and fun fact, my favorite president is John Adams and Martin Sheen’s favorite president is Jimmy Carter. I’m just saying, that would be a great icebreaker for when I meet Bradley Whitford.)

A biography of Hayes by Ari Hoogenboom points out the Hayes/Carter similarity, saying that the two were both more popular post presidency while doing humanitarian work. But Hayes and Carter have similarities beyond their humanity work and whether or not they were terrible presidents. The didn't share the same pre-presidency career or the same political party, but they did have a whole bunch of similarities that would have been really spooky had they both been assassinated. Or mentioned in the same PBS series.

OOOooooOOOooooOOO. Rutherford B. Hayes and Jimmy E. Carter each have five syllables in their names. Carter was the 39th president. Hayes was the 19th president. Carter’s term in office: 1977 – 1981. Hayes’s term in office: 1877 – 1881.
They were both governors who became one term presidents.
Each focused on humanitarian careers post presidency and in the spirit of Lincoln/Kennedy list vagueness, they both had something to do with helping the poor (Habitat, whatever Hayes did).
Economic/civil rights/prison reform/Ohio reform. Hayes did a lot of good post presidency.
Both had vice presidents whose first names began with W.
Both of their successors were shot in '81 by crazy guys obsessed with Jodie Foster or the 19th century equivalent, an ambassadorship to France.
Both were born in October. They were both Virgos. Or Libras. I’m getting mixed signals from what seems like an unnecessary amount of zodiac lists from Wikipedia.
Military service. They both fought for the Union.
A mutual love of the Northwest Ordinance of 1787. Actually, only Hayes had this quality according to biographer Ari Hoogenboom. But I’m sure Carter loves it too.
Both were preceded by Presidents whose monosyllabic names were both nouns and verbs (Grant/Ford). <- HOW ABOUT THAT ONE, HUH?
Goody two shoes. While Lemonade Lucy Hayes gets the credit for making the Hayes administration a dry White House, Rutherford probably helped push the idea along. Their house also banned smoking and profanity. Carter’s White House was technically dry, but the Carter’s did occasionally drink. And while I haven't personally lived in that decade, I’ve read about the seventies, and I can’t say I blame them. It really sounded like just an awful, awful time.

Follow up questions:

1. What were the Seventies like? Anything like the 1870s?
2. Do you love the Northwest Ordinance of 1787? Circle Yes/No

2009 book wrap up

2009-12-18T22:46:00.001-06:00

Best Nonfiction: Furious Improvisation: How the WPA and a Cast of Thousands Made High Art out of Desperate Times by Susan Quinn. A book about my two favorite things: federal arts funding and the depression.

Worst Nonfiction: A Guide to Quality, Taste and Style by Tim Gunn with Kate Maloney. It turns out Tim Gunn is not that interesting in book form. He didn't even say make it work, and that takes like, one second to type.

Best Fiction: Hunger by Knut Hansum

Worst Fiction: The Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger. Maybe it's because I read it a decade after I should have, but it was pretty forgettable. This does not bode well for The Grapes of Wrath.

Best Memoir: A Time to Heal: The Autobiography of Gerald Ford by Gerald Ford. Or as I liked to call as least half of it, "Hey, Let Me Tell You What Else I Don't Like About Ronald Reagan by Gerald Ford."

Worst Memoir: Dolly: My Life and Other Unfinished Business by Dolly Parton. It just kind of rambled on to nowhere.

Even the Author thought Chester A. Arthur was boring: Chester A. Arthur by Zachary Karabell

Sarah Vowelliest: Assassination Vacation by Sarah Vowell

Best of the Genre I’m Ashamed I Occasionally Read: Confessions of a Shopaholic by Sophie Kinsella. I kind of liked the movie.

Worst Chick Lit: Shopaholic Ties the Knot by Sophie Kinsella. You would think by now they would see that this woman has a problem.

Best Year of Doing Something: The Year of Living Biblically by A. J. Jacobs. Take that, book about a year of cooking recipes from the Bible.

I wonder if that would work?

Best Terrible Conspiracy Driven Online Publication I Regret Reading: Kissinger: the Secret Side of the Secretary of State by Gary Allen

Best Title: The Art of Tying the Cravat: Demonstrated in Sixteen Lessons, Including Thirty-Two Different Styles; Forming A Pocket Manual; and Exemplifying the advantages arising from an elegant arrangement of this important part of the Costume; Preceded by A History of the Cravat, From its Origin to the Present Time; and Remarks on its influence on Society in general by H. LeBlanc Esq.

Worst Title: Thirteen Days: a Memoir of the Cuban Missile Crisis by Robert Kennedy. So boring. He could have jazzed it up a bit. Every Pig has its Bay 2: Kennedy's Revenge. Tagline: They've got almost two weeks to save the world.

Worst Book about Food: House of Plenty: The Rise, Fall, and Revival of Luby's Cafeterias by Carol Dawson and Carol Johnston. Throughout the book the authors alluded to a terrible crisis in the restaurant's history, calling it the "worm in the apple" with all the drama short of adding a Dun-Dun-Dunnn at the end of each chapter. In the final chapter we discover this crisis is the lawsuit over family money and that one side of the lawsuit actually wrote the book. It seems odd that this is presented as the worst part of Luby's history, as the chain's past includes multiple deaths, all of which, from a CEO's suicide to a mass murder in Killeen are described in gruesome detail. Describing Luby's as the pinnacle of the American Dream, this book's highlights include randomly placed family photos of Luby’s founders and descendants posing together or square dancing and little of the actual restaurant. If you want to recreate Luby's dishes, you're in luck, they did print recipe cards with 1/3 of the ingredients and all the instructions missing. All in all, it really captures the spirit of dining at Luby's.

Best Book about Food Save the Deli: In Search of the Perfect Pastrami, Crusty Rye, and the Heart of Jewish Delicatessen by David Sax

Best Collection of Martha Mitchell Quotes: On With The Wind: Martha Mitchell Speaks (additional dialogue by John Mitchell)

Reread Book I'll Read Again: Inherit the Wind by Jerome Lawrence and Robert E. Lee

25 more facts about US Presidents

2009-12-18T12:46:00.000-06:00

In February I posted 25 facts about US Presidents in place of the 25 facts about me Facebook meme before it became 25 facts about swine flu or something. Now I have 25 facts about US Presidents (not mentioning Taft's weight, Coolidge's silence or Harding's awfulness) and one about me.

John Tyler named his home Sherwood Forest and considered himself an outlaw from his political party. Maybe the law too, I don't know. Different times, the 1840s.
James K. Polk's political career was declared to be over after winning one electoral vote in 1840 and losing his gubernatorial bid in 1841 and again in 1843.
Zachary Taylor was a poor dresser. He was eulogized by a fan of his, Abraham Lincoln.
Millard Fillmore was the first president to discuss bird guano importation in his annual message and was surprisingly not the last.
Franklin Pierce was not a foodie and was a mediocre president.
James Buchanan was a foodie and also a mediocre president. So.
Andrew Johnson's wife Eliza taught him how to read and write.
Rutherford B. Hayes's name is an anagram for "Huh, red ferryboats."
James A. Garfield could write in Greek and Latin AT THE SAME TIME. He was the first left handed president THAT WE KNOW OF.
Chester A. Arthur was America's safety school of presidents.
Benjamin Harrison pretty much disliked everyone and everything. He was also the last president to make any public mention of guano.
William McKinley was 5'7''.
William Howard Taft was a seventh cousin of Richard Nixon, an equestrian and the last president to milk a cow in the White House.
Warren G. Harding was an advocate of eliminating the 12 hour workday. John Dean wrote a biography about Harding.
Grover Cleveland put two criminals to death during his term as sheriff to spare his inferiors from doing the job. This remains my second* favorite fact about G.C.
Calvin Coolidge's voice was recorded on film in 1920 accepting the VP nomination on his birthday, July 4th.
Herbert Hoover was almost declared dead at the age of two. He lived to be the first president to have a phone at his desk. Before that, they just yelled loudly.
Harry S. Truman, like John Adams, had a biography written by David McCullough. I'm still waiting for the HBO series and what will no doubt be the most thrilling depiction of a haberdasher ever committed to film. (Would it be? I haven't watched a lot of movies.)
Lyndon Johnson paid $2.50 for Lady Bird Johnson's engagement ring.
Richard Nixon signed several bills preserving presidential birthplaces and homes as national historic sites. His own birthplace was registered as a national historic site during his presidency, because that sounds like something he would do.
Grover Cleveland loved corned beef and cabbage. *This is my favorite.
Gerald Ford was a good athlete and a pretty terrific human being. He was also in Glee Club in high school, which really changes the way I watch the show Glee, in that it makes it enjoyable.
George H. W. Bush is friends with Teri Hatcher.
George H. W. Bush. His museum has the best tour guides of any presidential site.
Me I'm the same height as William McKinley.
Barack Obama was the first president born in Hawaii. OR WAS HE? Yes, yes he was.

Happy Thanksgiving!

2009-11-26T12:54:00.000-06:00

I am thankful for:

The music of 1776 and the availability of the film on Netflix's Instant Queue.
My four awesome nephews.
Pie (nephews are technically tied with pie)
Essays about John Winthrop
Books about Lyndon Johnson
Raps about Alexander Hamilton
The local library/local art museum
Art museum docenting
Great art like the Mona Lisa or the music of Squeeze
The not low number of similarities between Rutherford B. Hayes and Jimmy Carter
The page of The Grapes of Wrath I've read this week.
William Seward
Literacy and a huge ego
Bookshelves
Books about John Adams
Everything and television

Favorite books read in 2009, part 1

2009-11-14T01:44:00.000-06:00

Nancy: A Portrait of My Years with Nancy Reagan by Michael Deaver. Nancy is the kind of absolutely glowing portrait one might expect Mike Deaver to write. Deaver is perplexed that Hollywood doesn't praise Reagan more, and this situation can only be corrected by awarding RR 6-7 posthumous Oscars. When Deaver isn't Goin' Rogue on Ronald's enemies, he writes a sweet little 90 page hagiography to Ol' Nancy Pants that will please any Nancy Davis Reagan completionist.

Blind Ambition by John Dean. I highly recommend this one, as it is a great book about Watergate and Dean’s drinking problem. I read my sister’s copy while in California last summer and was about to purchase the 1 cent copy available on Amazon, when I heard on G. Gordon Liddy’s radio show that Dean was coming out with a new edition in the fall. On the air GeGo blamed Dean for Watergate, and told a caller that naturally he would do Watergate all over again, only not include Dean, actually doing it. GeGo’s rant, combined with the fact that he sucks at Twitter, of all things, makes me want to buy the new edition. Because I will do anything to upset the guy who wrote The Monkey Handlers.

Alternate Kennedys edited by Mike Resnik. If you are a fan of the Kennedys, science fiction and alternate history, you will enjoy this book. I did not, but I only like one thing* on that list. Personally, I fail to see how something can be called alternate history if in almost every story, Kennedy is still assassinated. And preposterously enough, by Joe Kennedy Jr.

*"What if the Germans had won the war, Lemon?"

“Mo”: A Woman’s View of Watergate by Maureen Dean. It's a real nice ladies Watergate book for ladies. She's no Martha Mitchell.

The Defining Moment: FDR’s Hundred Days and the Triumph of Hope by Jonathan Alter. This book has received lavish and well deserved praise.

American Lion: Andrew Jackson in the White House by Jon Meacham.This book has also been praised, and I would recommend it, except for the chapter where it floats over the Cherokee nation’s forced expulsion. You don’t understand, the book pleads, Jackson had to do it for AMERICA or Georgia or something. The last chapter is all about how much every president after him, including Lincoln (Book: Yeah, that *wink* Lincoln) loves Andrew Jackson. It’s a well written book, which accomplishes the task of making you both frustrated and fascinated with Jackson, but I wouldn’t read it if you are, say, Sarah Vowell.

1960 LBJ vs. JFK vs. Nixon: The Epic Campaign That Forged Three Presidents by David Pietrusza. I read this at the beginning of the year and it’s still my favorite book so far. It’s engaging and rich with fascinating details, which makes for a great reread. I especially loved the discussion of the Nixon/Kennedy debates. Instead of the usual “Nixon was better on the radio, but Kennedy was better on TV,” the book describes a pre debate Kennedy being injected with a mixture of vitamins and animal placentas. So, that's really why Kennedy won with TV viewers.

Obama/Reagan: The No Drama Gipperama

2009-10-20T13:25:00.000-05:00

Part 3 in a series of 21-22.

Obama and some anti-American hooligan without a flag pin.

I wanted to compare Obama with some president, because everyone is (or was 8-12 months ago) doing the same. First, I asked myself several questions. Which president should I pick? Is Obama Kennedy? Is Obama FDR? Is Obama Ford? Is Obama Hayes? The short answer to all of these questions: Reagan, Kind of, Hmmm, No, and Who isn't.

It's almost impossible that all of the men who have been president wouldn't have a few large, and a lot of imaginary or superficial, things in common. After all there were a lot of lawyers, businessmen and career politicians in the bunch. If each of them took the same online personality quiz at least half would say, "Hey, the quiz says I'm Jim from The Office." Woodrow Wilson, Dwight Schrute.

The Kennedy-Lincoln comparison is popular, but faulty where most of the similarities are stretching the truth or made up, almost as if I had made the list. Although I would have included that both hid the truth about illnesses they had while in office and both (probably) contracted malaria. DUN.DUN.DUNNN. I chose to compare Reagan and Obama because it would be the most annoying to anyone who really likes Reagan or really likes Obama. Plus, it was super easy.

Obama himself made the comparison in January 2008, saying

"I don't want to present myself as some sort of singular figure. I think part of what is different is the times. I do think that, for example, the 1980 election was different. I think Ronald Reagan changed the trajectory of America in a way that Richard Nixon did not and in a way that Bill Clinton did not…I think he tapped into what people were already feeling. Which is we want clarity, we want optimism, we want a return to that sense of dynamism and entrepreneurship that had been missing."

And boy, were John Edwards and a lot of Republicans not pleased with this, according to titles I glanced over in a short Google search.

Warming up: Reagan was born in Illinois, although the fact that I've yet to see his birth certificate makes me suspicious he was ever born at all. Obama was a senator from the state of Illinois.

Reagan and Obama are the messiahs of the Republican and Democratic parties, respectively, with John McCain occasionally saying nice things about both of them. Maverick!
Reagan used television as effectively as Obama used the Internet.
Both ran against male presidential candidates with female vice presidential candidates.
Both had Vice Presidents with the same letter in their last name.
Biden and Bush Sr. each walk the line between being a competent politician and perpetually silly.

Vast Right Wing Conspiracy: Obama and Reagan were both born left handed and remained left handed through adulthood.

Mixed feelings, middle names: Obama’s middle name Hussein is the surname of good guy King Hussein and bad guy Saddam. Reagan’s middle name Wilson is the surname of Rainn Wilson, who’s likable because he’s Dwight, and mean ol Joe Wilson.

Mixed feelings, general: We could argue all day about which president hung out with which terrorists and who funded whatever contras and such. I'm not going to post pictures of Reagan hanging out with the Taliban or Obama and Chavez (stupid Chavez). But the one thing we can agree on is that both Reagan and Obama have both ordered controversial invasions on the island of Grenada. But then again, what president hasn't? And even if Obama hasn't technically done it, Ollie North isn't dead yet.

I like both of them: I like both of them. Obama and Reagan are some of the handful of presidents I will read three or more autobiographies or biographies (unlike two book limit presidents Taylor and Washington). Just last week I watch a tribute to Ronald Reagan's best greatest speeches. I loved it and kept referring to it as a "Tribute to Ronald Reagan's Greatness" because I thought that was the title. Obama has my vote locked up in 2012, unless the GOP decides to pick the folksy powerhouse that would be a Palin-Jindal ticket. Or if Al Franken runs.

Hollywood loved Reagan and Hollywood loves Obama: Unless they're not a member of that person's party. Chuck Norris for instance, loved Reagan (I imagine) and hates Obama. Chuck Norris is a terrible human being. Not for his opinion of Obama, as most Obama critics are nice people, but just in general.

Chester A. Arthur Fashion Plate Award : First Ladies Nancy Reagan and Michelle Obama, Fashion Icons. Although it wasn't that hard to win best dressed in the 1980s.

Really reaching: Reagan had four children, Obama had two, but both had two with the woman who would be First Lady during their term(s) as president. Both have six syllables in their names if you pronounce Obama "Obb-ma."

Also: Both gave speeches using the words hope and change in front of a crowd of cheering Germans, which means Barack Obama and Ronald Reagan are also both literally Hitler.

Also: Doodling. Doodling.

Also: Both Secret Service code names for them and their families started with R.

Early voting!

2009-10-19T13:43:00.000-05:00

Highlights of my afternoon early voting adventure: breezing through the line at my polling place, the act of voting itself, and meeting the lady I planned to vote for in a school board election.

I did not tell her I was voting for her partly because her name sounded like a character on the show Parks and Recreation. Mostly I voted for her because her pamphlet was informative and filled with nerd facts whereas her opponent's pamphlet was flashy and had a baseball field on it. Finally after years of regret that I hadn't been born three weeks earlier, I was able to vote for Gore, sort of.

Tragically the number of "I Voted" stickers in my scrapbook remains at zero.

Nephew #4

2009-10-12T02:47:00.000-05:00

Nephew #2 holding nephew #4, born about a month ago. Because I live in the same city as my sister, Samuel was the first nephew I got to see on the day he was born. It turns out 5 hour old babies are the opposite of cute,* but he grew cute fast. He was born in the same hospital as his mom and I, but I don't know if he ever got out of the hospital, as this sign greeted my brother and me as we left the maternity ward.

*Also, while standing outside the baby viewing room, one lady looked at me and then at my brother-in-law and said, "So, you're the...Grandmother?"

Election 2009, Texas

2009-10-12T01:33:00.000-05:00

There are so many things I love about Fall. There's pumpkin pie, the change in weather, pumpkin cookies, less kids around in the day time, and the amazing and terrifying fried pumpkin pies from Whataburger and the radio ads for Whataburger that insist on pronouncing the word Punkin. However, the greatest thing about Fall has to be ELECTION DAY! Of course, this election day isn't as sexy as last year, what with the Palin and the Obama and all that sweet, sweet pie, but despite their absence I will be voting on November 3rd (I'm hoping that this will be the year they give me an "I voted" sticker).

I have been a registered voter since that fateful day in 2000, when, a good three weeks after the 2000 election I turned 18 and marked a little box on a form at the Department of Public Safety while renewing my license. I have also been an unregistered voter since 1996, when I cast a vote in middle school for Bill Clinton and thought for months that I had determined the outcome of the real election.

Next month I'll be voting for school board members and on 11 Texas amendments. Since there are so many, many exciting things that I barely understand, but heard about once in high school government class (it's always a lie if I tell you I know what eminent domain means), I'm preparing by reading various blogs and editorial articles on the amendments. If you are a Texas resident, the League of Women Voters of Texas has a list of pros/cons for each amendment. I'm undecided on some amendments, but I'll change them here when I decide. The proposition to get more pie in more mouths seems to be missing.

Amendment No. 1 (H.J.R. 132)
Authorizing the financing, including through tax increment financing, of the acquisition by municipalities and counties of buffer areas or open spaces adjacent to a military installation for the prevention of encroachment or for the construction of roadways, utilities, or other infrastructure to protect or promote the mission of the military installation.

Undecided, obviously, what does that even mean.

Amendment No. 2 (H.J.R. 36, Article 1)
Authorizing the legislature to provide for the ad valorem taxation of a residence homestead solely on the basis of the property’s value as a residence homestead.

Undecided

Amendment No. 3 (H.J.R. 36, Article 3)
Providing for uniform standards and procedures for the appraisal of property for ad valorem tax purposes.

Undecided

Amendment No. 4 (H.J.R. 14, Article 2)
Establishing the national research university fund to enable emerging research universities in this state to achieve national prominence as major research universities and transferring the balance of the higher education fund to the national research university fund.

Yes on 4

Amendment No. 5 (H.J.R. 36, Article 2)
Authorizing the legislature to authorize a single board of equalization for two or more adjoining appraisal entities that elect to provide for consolidated equalizations.

Yes on 5

Amendment No. 6 (H.J.R. 116)
Authorizing the Veterans’ Land Board to issue general obligation bonds in amounts equal to or less than amounts previously authorized.

Yes on 6

Amendment No. 7 (H.J.R. 127)
Allowing an officer or enlisted member of the Texas State Guard or other state militia or military force to hold other civil offices.

No on 7 Other people might want those jobs. Or just one of those jobs.

Amendment No. 8 (H.J.R. 7)
Authorizing the state to contribute money, property, and other resources for the establishment, maintenance, and operation of veterans hospitals in this state.

Yes on 8.

Amendment No. 9 (H.J.R. 102)
Protecting the right of the public, individually and collectively, to access and use the public beaches bordering the seaward shore of the Gulf of Mexico.

Undecided The Houston Chronicle says yes, but the angry people who comment on chron.com say NOoo!!!1

Amendment No. 10 (H.J.R. 85)
Providing that elected members of the governing boards of emergency services districts may serve terms not to exceed four years.

Undecided

Amendment No. 11 (H.J.R. 14, Article 1)
Prohibiting the taking, damaging, or destroying of private property for public use unless the action is for the ownership, use, and enjoyment of the property by the State, a political subdivision of the State, the public at large, or entities granted the power of eminent domain under law or for the elimination of urban blight on a particular parcel of property, but not for certain economic development or enhancement of tax revenue purposes, and to limit the legislature’s authority to grant the power of eminent domain to an entity.

Yes on 11? No?

Cal and JQ

2009-07-03T02:30:00.000-05:00

For the second presidential comparison I went with Calvin "Silent Cal" Coolidge and John "The Claw" Quincy Adams. They don't have the same number of letters in their names, but they would if you called the latter Mr. Adamssss (which I do). But they do have a few things in common and only some of those things are made up.

John Adams was known as an eloquent speaker while Coolidge was famously quiet. Coolidge was a Republican and Adams was at one time, a Democratic-Republican. They both married good looking women with English ancestry who were almost the same height.

Both men were lawyers. Both were state senators. Neither served in the military. Both were probably born left handed. Both had totally awesome nicknames. Both were named after their fathers.

Coolidge is one of three presidents to go by his middle name. His first name is...John. Each named a son John (common name, but weird, right? Or not). Coolidge was elected president in 1924. Adams was elected in 1824.

July 4th

2009-07-02T17:38:00.000-05:00

I love holidays and July 4th is one of my favorites. A few years ago I made a goal to reread the Declaration of Independence on July 4th. Because I'm currently "funemployed," I also have time to spend on reading a book about Abigail Adams, a Jefferson biography, and Founding Brothers on audio book, which is like reading with your ears.

Every year when I watch 1776 I think, this won't be as awesome as I remember it, but it always is. Also, every year I forget that it's not entirely a cheesy musical and what a punch in the gut Mama Look Sharp is.

A new addition to July 4th viewing is the amazing John Adams miniseries.

I might also watch National Treasure, or just my favorite scene where Nic Cage and the others are in Independence Hall and he says "the last time [the declaration] was here, it was being signed."

I will also eat hot dogs until my stomach explodes.

Happy 4th of July everyone!

Latest nephew

2009-06-23T14:13:00.000-05:00

I am an aunt for the third time. This is James Aaron, 8 lbs 6 oz, born at 6:01 am CA time. I haven't met him yet but I can already tell he is pretty much the greatest.

My new desktop wallpaper, all three (four in September) of my nephews.

Happy Father's Day

2009-06-21T10:57:00.001-05:00

I am advertiser Tracy Jordan and I approve this message. I am an advertiser. I am an advertiser.

2009-06-20T23:25:00.000-05:00

I love watching old ads from presidential campaigns and the Living Room Candidate, Hulu, and Youtube provide a treasure trove of commercials and films. Here are a few of my favorite campaign ads from 1948 through 2012.

Ronald Reagan endorsing Truman, 1948

Nixon on Corruption, 1952

Kennedy and Stevenson, 1956

McCain should have learned from Stevenson; America doesn't like it when you stand up and walk around for no particular reason.

1960 Kennedy

I'm a sucker for a catchy jingle. But I also like that the running theme in Nixon's 1960 ads is awkwardly leaning/sitting on a desk.

1964 LBJ ad: KKK

You know who else likes Barry Goldwater?

Convention, Nixon, 1968

Welcome to my nightmares.

Nixon Now, 1972

Ford, 1975

Carter, 1980

California to Reagan: drop dead.

Reagan, 1984

I think I like this ad because I like grocery stores and commercials from the '80s set in grocery stores.

Dukakis, 1988

Again, the awkward resting against furniture pose, especially awkward since the TV blends so well into the background. I can't watch this without singing "I'm a little teapot, short and stout."

Bush, 2004

One of Bush's lesser crimes: forcing me to watch 30 seconds of the Olympics.

Obama, 2008

Good times, good times.

McCain, 2013

Well, I know who gets my vote in 2012.

The tortilla is the classic French bread.

2009-06-13T14:31:00.000-05:00

A few weeks ago I visited my sister and nephew in California. After he went to sleep at night, we would watch something my sister had recorded, usually Jacques Pepin, or Julia Child on DVD. She enjoyed it because she's a good chef and I enjoyed it as an mediocre former short-order cook. And we both, like all good Americans, love to watch people make food on TV. Jacques Pepin is amazing, because he does cute things like dancing around holding a glass of wine in one hand and scissors in the other, or being French. He loves tortillas, advising viewers to put them in place of pizza dough or as part of an apricot dish.

One point of disagreement between my sister and I, is that she does not watch anything on the Food Network. I would watch PBS more, but without a TIVO I wouldn't be able to catch Jacques Pepin without a TV Guide schedule. Plus, I love Alton Brown, and one time I heard the Barefoot Contessa declare that bread counted as a vegetable.

However, PBS is great at posting their shows online. I am addicted to American Experience (thanks, Liberty Mutual). Now I can avoid the Food Network, well, the boring shows* anyway, and get a PBS fix thanks to KQED.org, which posts full episodes of Jacques Pepin in all his tortilla loving glory.

*Anything that's not food history or how things are made like Unwrapped/Secret Life of...,or Alton/Paula Deen. I'm looking at you, Giada.

Grant/Nixon

2009-06-01T02:00:00.000-05:00

President Obama has frequently been compared to many other presidents, but I think it's more fun to compare all the presidents to all of other presidents. First, Richard M. Nixon and Ulysses S. Grant:

GRANT/NIXON

These two Republicans were both right handed, but really, they were probably both left handed and forced to be righties at a young age. This is my deeply held belief about all the presidents who were "right handed" except Harding, and Bush II, who I've kicked out of the club.

Play the numbers game: U-L-Y-S-S-E-S (7) S-I-M-P-S-O-N (7) G-R-A-N-T (5). R-I-C-H-A-R-D (7) M-I-L-H-O-U-S (7) N-I-X-O-N (5). Each name has a total of six syllables. Should you keep reading or did I just blow your minds?

They are practically the same person: Both were notorious drinkers. Both served as lieutenants in the first war they fought in. Both served two presidential terms. Each followed a President Johnson, who in turn both followed assassinated presidents, who had all sorts of crazy things in common (sort of). Neither of their successors were elected by a popular vote. Grantism is a term for political corruption. Nixonian has been used to describe dirty politics (even though it means something else).

My list falls apart around here: Nixon was gifted musically; Grant was tone deaf. One hated the Confederacy, the other Communism. Those words both start with C! And so does the word Cookie, which they both probably enjoyed.

Finally: Their middle names are Milhous and Simpson. Milhous(e) is a character on the Simpson(s).

Dun.

Dun.

DUN.

Presidential Libraries/Museums: Lyndon B. Johnson

2009-05-16T19:07:00.001-05:00

The LBJ Presidential Library is the only free Presidential Museum, because Johnson wanted it to be available to everyone, especially children. It's open every day, except Christmas, from 9:00 am to 5:00 pm. If you only visit one $300 million propaganda shrine, I recommend visiting this one in Austin, Texas. I visited the LBJ Library this past December with my family. Before our visit I made the mistake of referring to LBJ as our 37th President. It was not my finest hour.

The current temporary exhibit at the LBJ Library is To the Moon: The American Space Program in the 1960s. NASA has a similar exhibit in College Station, TX at the George H. W. Bush Presidential Library. Both exhibits are great, but only the LBJ Library features an impossible to beat flight simulator game. The flight simulator game at the Bush Library, after you defeat it once (after months of trying), is moderately easy. I think it goes without saying that all presidential libraries should have flight simulator games. The Reagan Library has Air Force One and Nixon Library has Marine One, and don't let anyone stop you from pretending you're flying them. Without a doubt however, the best part of the LBJ Library, and something I would suggest including in both the GWB and BHO libraries is the Animatronic LBJ.

Animatronic LBJ at LBJ museum

He tells three or four stories, mostly humorous remarks. It is awesome to watch, like a mini trip to Disney World’s Hall of Presidents. This is the complete anecdote:

“We had a little boy down in our country that ran out one day and said, “Mama,come here quick! I saw a big old lion in our back yard!” And mother went out there and there was the old family dog Rover standing there. She said, “That’s
not a lion, that’s Rover. Now, you told a story. You go up there in that room,
stay an hour…and beg to the Lord to forgive you for telling a story.”…In an
hour, she came back, and she said, “Did you say your prayers?” “Yes.” “Did you
ask the Lord to forgive you?” “Yes.” She said, “What did the Lord say?” He said,
“Mama, the Lord said he thought it was a lion too.”

After telling this story to members of Congress, the non animatronic LBJ (as I occasionally refer to him) would then add:

“Now I don’t know whether you see all these problems that face America, the
priorities, the tinderboxes, the poverty and the filth and the [lack of]
education and the disease, and the isolationism and the narrow nationalism and
the protectionalism. I don’t know whether you see these lions or not. But I hope
you do. And I hope the Lord thinks they’re lions too.”

Graduation

2009-05-15T19:15:00.000-05:00

I now have a master's degree and a new square hat.

Job search update

2009-04-21T08:42:00.001-05:00

A few of the jobs I'm seeking after graduation.

Something in Alaska. I've always wanted to know what Russia looked like.
Person who hand out court papers. While I imagine they do other things, and have some kind of training, this job looks pretty appealing on television. I'll get to dress up in costumes and pop out of bushes and say "YOU GOT SERVED" which will be especially awesome if someone is suing a break dancer or tennis player. And this is America, so I'll never run out of work.
Something I'm qualified for based on my particular degree. That, or get another degree, and just ride out this recession as a full time student.
Grim Reaper and Meter Maid.
Paper Salesman.
New Zealand consulate employee.
Head Writer on TGS with Tracy Jordan.
Hotel Administration at Cornell University. I have experience at running nearly every aspect of a hotel. Taking room reservations, cleaning rooms, working in a hotel restaurant, chopping logs for the hotel fireplace, inventory while sitting next to a large California Condor, and getting real money out of the world's cheapest polygamist. I am ready to work at any hotel.
Ghostwriter for a celebrity's Twitter account. Like Tony Shalhoub.
Instead of looking for a job, I'll take a year to "go to Europe and find myself." I know it's a cliché, but I figure if I find myself, she might have a job idea. Or, if my vague knowledge of sci-fi is correct, the fabric of time would implode.

"It's like when Richard Nixon went to China to see what the Chinese were up to."

2009-04-16T11:15:00.001-05:00

One of my favorite New York Times features this year has been the "100 Days" blog posts examining the presidency from FDR through Obama. I love the writing and history in these posts and I especially like how so many of the comments are intelligent and genial, as opposed to what you might find on Youtube (and sometimes the comments are just cute, like the person who commented "for the record" that he was born on Nixon's inauguration day). The post on Nixon's trip to Europe by Roger Morris is excellent.

"In London as elsewhere, there were embarrassing incidents involving the president’s sheer physical clumsiness. In the midst of impressing the British Cabinet with a review of world politics, he fumblingly turned over an inkwell on an heirloom table. (On his return to the White House he would soon ban any soup being served at state dinners, since he almost invariably dribbled it on himself or the table.)"

In other Nixon blogging news, I discovered the Richard Nixon Presidential Library has a blog. I'm not sure how affiliated it is with the Nixon Library (other than the fact that the RNPL links to it) because it talks more about Obama administration and politics in general. But it is a pretty interesting conservative-moderate political blog.

It might be the kind of blog Nixon would have written. I know I would have loved to see what Nixon thought of Gordon Brown. But my favorite post by far is the one that asks, referring to the movie Apollo 13, "What If Hanks Had Played Richard Nixon AND Jim Lovell?" For the record, it would have been absolutely amazing, Nixon blog. I can't wait for their post that asks "What if Frank Langella played both Frost and Nixon; how much would our minds have been blown?"

Happy Presidents' Day!

2009-02-16T02:00:00.000-06:00

PBS has free downloads of its American Experience series about FDR, Truman, LBJ, Nixon, Carter, and Reagan.
Lincoln rated Best President by historians.
Read all about Presidential assassinations and assassination attempts.
Watch videos about each president on the American Presidents Archive.
The American President Project has archived over 85,000 documents, photos and videos relating to the presidency.
Find out who your "Presidential Hottie Soulmate" is.

Happy Presidents' Day, everyone!

I can't wait to go to the gift shop

2009-02-15T17:47:00.000-06:00

Thanks to Stella for pointing out this great Doonesbury cartoon (click the image to see the larger version). I'm a big fan of these "300 million dollar propaganda shrines" and I cannot wait to visit George W. Bush's library, because I always need more refrigerator magnets.

25 Facts About US Presidents

2009-02-04T19:30:00.000-06:00

After a few tags to do the "25 random things" on Facebook, I have decided that instead of 25 facts about me, I would post 25 about US presidents.

George Washington was given the nickname "Town Destroyer" by the Iroquois Indians. His wife was a total babe, probably. He inherited Mount Vernon at the age of 20 and died of a throat infection at the age of 67. And I imagine some events occurred between those times.
John Adams was one of three living former presidents to not attend his successor's inauguration, one of the three presidents born in Massachusetts and one of the three longest living presidents.
Thomas Jefferson was an architect, speleologist, naturalist, writer, lawyer, linguist, governor, minister to France, and a violinist. Based on the numerous 1776 fan videos I've watched, he was also in love with John Adams.
James Madison's last words were "I always talk better lying down."
James Monroe was the first president to ride a steamboat.
John Quincy Adams was the only president elected to the House of Representatives after his presidency, the first to have his photograph taken, and the only president to have a pet alligator. It's not too late, President Obama!
Andrew Jackson was the first president to ride on a train.
Martin Van Buren's first language was Dutch. He was the first president born an American citizen.
William Henry Harrison bought all the groceries for the White House. He was born in the same county as his VP, John Tyler.
One of John Tyler's nicknames was "His Accidency." He married on his birthday and had fifteen children.
James K. Polk was the only Speaker of the House of Representatives to become President. He seized the whole southwest from Mexico, made sure the tariffs fell, and made the English sell the Oregon territory.
Zachary Taylor didn't vote in his own election and first voted at the age of 62. Visitors to the White House could get souvenir hairs from his horse Whitey. He shares a name with one of the Mighty Morphin Power Rangers.
Millard Fillmore's nickname was the "American Louis Philippe" and he was a founding member of a chapter of the ASPCA.
Franklin Pierce recited his inaugural address from memory and was the first president to have a Christmas tree in the White House.
James Buchanan served as Minister to Russia and Minister to Great Britain. He was the first president born in Pennsylvania. Most historians either label him as a bachelor, gay or asexual.
Abraham Lincoln was super great slavery the union the end. He also loved the works of Edgar Allen Poe.
Andrew Johnson served as a Senator after his impeachment.
Ulysses S. Grant was tone deaf.
Rutherford B. Hayes took the Oath of Office privately in the White House, so Chris Wallace isn't sure if Hayes was actually President. Alexander Graham Bell installed the first telephone in the White House during Hayes's administration.
James A. Garfield was the first left handed president. Although some presidents before him could have been left handed as children and then taught to be right handed. We'll never know. Thanks a lot, Puritans. He also hated Mondays.
Clotheshorse Chester A. Arthur owned over 80 pairs of pants.
Grover Cleveland was the only president born in New Jersey and the first to appear in a movie.
Benjamin Harrison attended Miami University in Ohio. He did not study abroad. His beard had its own beard.
William McKinley's nickname was "Idol of Ohio" and in Cleveland he was a model. His portrait was on the $500 dollar bill. He was the first president to campaign by telephone.
Richard Nixon Watergate. Boom. Roasted.

First. . .Ladies

2009-01-29T09:15:00.013-06:00

Last March during a visit to the Reagan Presidential Library I picked up sets of Presidential/FLOTUS paper dolls. The dolls remained in their books until a few days ago. After cutting out the Ladies in my FLOTUS paper doll set, and after accidentally decapitating Mrs. Carter, I noticed that Mamie Eisenhower was much shorter than all the other First Ladies, who were all relatively the same height. So I went to the Google to see how accurate the height disparity was. I found out that while Wikipedia has a page of Presidents and Presidential candidates ranked by height and a list of First Ladies ranked by longevity, it lacks a page on how tall each FLOTUS was, which is totally sexist. I know the height thing is to compare which presidential candidate is taller and see if height is a factor in who wins. Someday I'll make a chart comparing each potential FLOTUS by height and see what meaningless result I can get.

The majority of the heights I found here. Thanks to Alfie for Betty Ford's height, Busster for Michelle Obama's height, and awesome researchers from Truman Library and McKinley Museum for Bess Truman and Ida McKinley's heights.

UPDATE: A few weeks ago I was reading an issue of Life Magazine on books.google.com that had an article about the Kennedys campaigning in Michigan. Reporters asked Mrs. Kennedy several questions including how tall she was. She said 5'7", the same number she told Vogue Magazine. I emailed Firstladies.org which lists her height at 5'8". They referred me to the Kennedy Library. The Kennedy Library said they split the difference and listed it as 5'7 1/2".

Martha Washington - Less than 5'
Abigail Adams - 5'1"
Martha Jefferson Randolph
Dolley Madison - 5' 6 1/2"
Elizabeth Kortright Monroe - About 5'
Louisa Catherine Adams - 5' 6"
Emily Donelson
Sarah Jackson
Angelica Van Buren
Anna Tuthill Symmes Harrison
Letitia Christian Tyler
Priscilla Tyler
Julia Gardiner Tyler - 5’3"
Sarah Childress Polk
Margaret Mackall Smith Taylor
Abigail Powers Fillmore - 5'6"
Jane M. Pierce - 5’4" or 5’5"
Harriet Lane
Mary Todd Lincoln - 5'2"
Eliza McCardle Johnson
Julia Dent Grant
Lucy Webb Hayes - 5'4"
Lucretia Rudolph Garfield
Mary McElroy
Rose Cleveland
Frances Folsom Cleveland - 5'7"-5'8"
Caroline Lavinia Scott Harrison - 5'1"
Mary McKee
Ida Saxton McKinley - 5' 5 3/4"
Edith Kermit Carow Roosevelt - 5'7"
Helen Herron Taft - 5'7"
Ellen Axson Wilson -5'3"
Edith Bolling Galt Wilson -5'9"
Florence Kling Harding -5'6"- 5'7"
Grace Goodhue Coolidge 5'5"
Lou Henry Hoover - 5'8"
Eleanor Roosevelt - 5'11"
Bess Wallace Truman - 5'3"
Mamie Doud Eisenhower - 5'1"
Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis - 5'7 1/2"
Lady Bird Johnson - 5' 6"
Pat Nixon - 5'5"
Betty Ford - 5'5.5"
Rosalynn Carter - 5'5"
Nancy Reagan - 5'4"
Barbara Bush
Hillary Rodham Clinton - 5'4" or 5' 6"
Laura Bush - 5'4" or 5'6"
Michelle Obama -5' 11"

You won't have this quiz to kick around any more

2009-01-27T17:14:00.000-06:00

Inspired by qbqrat's presidential quiz, I decided to make a quiz about vice presidential trivia.

Which three Vice Presidents have been Nobel Peace Prize winners? Al Gore-Srah Two more
Which VP lobbied for his state's official flower to be the prickly pear cactus?
~~What song accompanies the entrance of a VP?~~ Hail Columbia-Alfie
Which Vice Presidents were never elected to the office? Gerald Ford, Nelson Rockefeller-Srah, Alfie
~~Which VP has his own Parliament?~~ George Clinton-Srah
~~Which Vice President shot a guy in the face?~~ Dick Cheney-Srah
~~Name all the living former Vice Presidents.~~ Cheney, Gore, Quayle, Bush, Mondale-Srah
~~Which Vice Presidents served under more than two Presidents?~~ George Clinton and John C. Calhoun-Srah
~~Which VP was an Eagle Scout?~~ Gerald Ford-Alfie
Which alliteratively named VPs hailed from Maine ~~and Minnesota~~? Hubert Humphrey-Srah One more
~~Who were the two lady candidates for the office of VP?~~ Geraldine Ferraro, S**** P****-Srah, Alfie
Which VP used a fast food chain's slogan during a presidential bid?
~~Which VP once stated "A low voter turnout is an indication of fewer people going to the polls"?~~ Dan Quayle-Srah
~~Which Vice President became the namesake for "dividing (a geographic area) into voting districts so as to give unfair advantage to one party in elections."?~~
Elbridge Gerry-Srah
~~How awesome is failed VP candidate Theodore Frelinghuysen's campaign poster?~~ Wicked awesome-Srah

Srah: 10 points
Alfie: 5 points (bonus point for Eleanor Roosevelt's height)

Books Read in 2009

2009-01-01T04:18:00.001-06:00

Best/favorites in bold

1960 LBJ vs. JFK vs. Nixon: The Epic Campaign That Forged Three Presidents by David Pietrusza
The Partly Cloudy Patriot by Sarah Vowell
Holidays on Ice by David Sedaris
Radio On by Sarah Vowell
Fraud by David Rakoff
Take the Cannoli by Sarah Vowell
1066: The Hidden History in the Bayeux Tapestry by Andrew Bridgeford
The European Superpower by John McCormick
Musicophilia: Tales of Music and the Brain by Oliver Sacks
America's Hidden History: Untold Tales of the First Pilgrims, Fighting Women, and Forgotten Founders Who Shaped a Nation by Kenneth Davis
Confessions of a Shopaholic by Sophie Kinsella
Slumdog Millionaire by Vikas Swarup
The Undomestic Goddess by Sophie Kinsella
The Year of Living Biblically by A. J. Jacobs
Shopaholic Ties the Knot by Sophie Kinsella
Nancy: A Portrait of My Years with Nancy Reagan by Michael Deaver
Who Let the Dogs In? by Molly Ivins
Freakonomics: A Rogue Economist Explores the Hidden Side of Everything by Stephen Dubner and Steven Levitt
Watchdogs of Democracy?: The Waning Washington Press Corps and How It Has Failed the Public by Helen Thomas
Blind Ambition by John Dean
Toast by Nigel Slater
Alternate Kennedys edited by Mike Resnik
"Mo": A Woman's View of Watergate by Maureen Dean
The Defining Moment: FDR's Hundred Days and the Triumph of Hope by Jonathan Alter
The Hobbit by J.R.R. Tolkien
The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald
The Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger
The John F. Kennedy Handbook by Gareth Jenkins
Amazing Grace: The Lives of Children and the Conscience of a Nation by Jonathan Kozol
Shopaholic and Sister by Sophie Kinsella
A Great Idea at the Time: The Rise, Fall, and Curious Afterlife of the Great Books by Alex Beam
Twisted Head: An Italian-American Memoir by Carl Capotorto
Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone by J.K. Rowling
The Golden Age of Advertising: The 60s edited by Jim Heilmann
Spoon River Anthology by Edgar Lee Masters
Inherit the Wind by Jerome Lawrence and Robert E. Lee
A Raisin in the Sun by Lorraine Hansberry
French Lessons: Adventures with Knife, Fork and Corkscrew by Peter Mayle
The Awakening by Kate Chopin
Travels with Charley by John Steinbeck
Hunger by Knut Hansum
The Know-it-All: One Man's Humble Quest to Become the Smartest Person in the World by A.J. Jacobs
Tortilla Flat by John Steinbeck
Things Fall Apart by Chinua Achebe
Animal Farm by George Orwell
The Old Man and the Sea by Ernest Hemingway
The Adventures of Sally by P.G. Wodehouse
Pounding the Pavement by Jennifer van der Kwast
Call of the Mall by Paco Underhill
Assassination Vacation by Sarah Vowell
Furious Improvisation: How the WPA and a Cast of Thousands Made High Art out of Desperate Times by Susan Quinn
The Clicking of Cuthbert by P. G. Wodehouse
Kissinger: the Secret Side of the Secretary of State by Gary Allen
Tender at the Bone: Growing up at the Table by Ruth Reichl
The Curious Case of Benjamin Button by F. Scott Fitzgerald
Betty: A Glad Awakening by Betty Ford with Chris Chase
The Lees of Happiness by F. Scott Fitzgerald
Garlic and Sapphires: The Secret Life of a Critic in Disguise by Ruth Reichl
Abigail & John: Portrait of a Marriage by Edith Gelles
The Jefferson Bible: The Life and Morals of Jesus of Nazareth by Thomas Jefferson
Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets by J.K. Rowling
The Icing on the Cake by Elodia Strain
Cannery Row by John Steinbeck
Ted Kennedy: Scenes from an Epic Life by the writers and editors of the Boston Globe
Shopaholic & Baby by Sophie Kinsella
Mr. Abernathy by Tony Delgrosso
Set Your Compass True: The Wisdom of John, Robert and Edward Kennedy-Reflections on leading an inspired life compiled by Signe Bergstrom
The Power of the Texas Governor: Connally to Bush by Brian McCall
Of Paradise and Power: America and Europe in the New World Order by Robert Kagan
Can You Keep a Secret? by Sophie Kinsella
Such a Pretty Fat by Jen Lancaster
Salt: A World History by Mark Kurlansky
Comfort me with Apples: More Adventures at the Table by Ruth Reichl
Heat: An Amateur's Adventures as a Kitchen Slave, Line Cook, Pasta Maker and Apprentice to a Dante Quoting Butcher in Tuscany by Bill Buford
Ted Kennedy: The Dream That Never Died by Edward Klein
Dolly: My Life and Other Unfinished Business by Dolly Parton
Bridget Jone's Diary by Helen Fielding
All the President's Pastries: 25 Years in the White House by Roland Mesnier
Pat Nixon: The Untold Story by Julie Nixon Eisenhower
Monica's Story by Andrew Morton
Theories of Everything: Selected, Collected, Health Inspected cartoons 1978-2006 by Roz Chast
The Ask: How to Ask Anyone for Any Amount for Any Purposes by Laura Fredricks
Children Playing Before a Statue of Hercules edited by David Sedaris
Norman Rockwell: A Sixty Year Retrospective by Thomas Buechner
Persepolis 1: The Story of a Childhood by Marjane Satrapi
Julie and Julia: 365 Days, 524 Recipes, 1 Tiny Apartment Kitchen by Julie Powell
The Kennedy Legacy: Jack, Bobby and Ted and a Family Dream Fulfilled by Vincent Bzdek
Grover Cleveland by Henry Graff
A Little Bit Wicked: Live, Love and Faith in Stages by Kristin Chenowith with Joni Rodgers
Persepolis 2: The Story of a Return by Marjane Satrapi
Fun Home: A Family Tragicomic by Alison Bechdel
The Phantom Tollbooth by Norton Juster
Bridget Jones: The Edge of Reason by Helen Fielding
Every Boy's Got One by Meg Cabot
God Said, "Ha!" by Julia Sweeney
American Victorian Costume in Early Photographs by Priscilla Harris Dalrymple
Bitter is the New Black by Jen Lancaster
The Beast of Chicago: the Murderous Career of H.H. Holmes by Rick Geary
Bachelors Anonymous by P.G. Woodhouse
The Art of Tying the Cravat: Demonstrated in Sixteen Lessons, Including Thirty-Two Different Styles; Forming A Pocket Manual; and Exemplifying the advantages arising from an elegant arrangement of this important part of the Costume; Preceded by A History of the Cravat, From its Origin to the Present Time; and Remarks on its influence on Society in general by H. LeBlanc Esq.
Malcolm X: A Graphic Biography by Andrew Helfer
Barrel Fever and Other Stories by David Sedaris
Wigfield: The Can Do Town That Just May Not by Amy Sedaris, Paul Dinello and Stephen Colbert
Abraham Lincoln: The Life of America's 16th President by Gary Jeffrey and Kate Perry
I like You: Hospitality Under the Influence by Amy Sedaris
Pretty in Plaid by Jen Lancaster
Americanism in Religion by Theodore Roosevelt
The Life and Public Service of General Zachary Taylor by Abraham Lincoln
True Compass: A Memoir by Edward M. Kennedy
The Inimitable Jeeves by P.G. Wodehouse
Clueless by H.B. Gilmour and Amy Heckerling
Know Your Power: A Message to America's Daughters by Nancy Pelosi
The Lincoln Assassination Conspirators: Their Confinement and Execution, as Recorded in the Letterbook of John Frederick Hartranft edited by Edward Steers and Harold Holzer
Flashback: Twenty-Five Years of Doonesbury by G.B. Trudeau
The Partly Cloudy Patriot by Sarah Vowell
Sweet and Low by Rich Cohen
Much Obliged, Jeeves by P.G. Wodehouse
America (the Book): A Citizen's Guide to Democracy Inaction by the Daily Show with Jon Stewart
Kitchen Confidential: Adventures in the Culinary Underbelly by Anthony Bourdain
A Time to Heal: The Autobiography of Gerald Ford by Gerald Ford
Thirteen Days: A Memoir of the Cuban Missile Crisis by Robert Kennedy
Uncommon Grace: Reminiscences and Photographs of Jacqueline Bouvier Kennedy by J.C. Suares and J. Spencer Beck
Bringing Home the Birkin: My Life in Hot Pursuit of the World's Most Coveted Handbag by Michael Tonelo
Rush Limbaugh is a Big Fat Idiot and Other Observations by Al Franken
Ladybird: A Comprehensive Biography of Mrs. Johnson by Jan Russell
Shrub: The Short but Happy Political Life of George W. Bush by Molly Ivins and Lou Dubose
In the Kennedy Style: Magical Evenings in the Kennedy White House by Letitia Baldridge and Rene Verdon
Happy Birthday or Whatever: Track Suits, Kim Chee, and Other Family Disasters by Annie Choi
Naked by David Sedaris
On With The Wind: Martha Mitchell Speaks (additional dialogue by John Mitchell)
Summer Crossing by Truman Capote
Twenties Girl by Sophie Kinsella
Hypocrite in a Pouffy White Dress: Tales of Growing Up Groovy and Clueless by Susan Gilman
High Fidelity by Nick Hornby
Me Talk Pretty One Day by David Sedaris
Lies and the Lying Liars Who Tell Them: A Fair and Balanced Look at the Right by Al Franken
Shopaholic Takes Manhatten by Sophie Kinsella
Bertie Wooster Sees it Through by P.G. Wodehouse
Michelle Style: Celebrating the First Lady of Fashion by Mandi Norwood
Election by Tom Perrotta
What is the State of Human Rights? edited by Tom Head
A Thousand Splendid Suns by Khaled Hosseini
A Guide to Quality, Taste and Style by Tim Gunn with Kate Maloney
Words That Set Us Free: A Documentary History and Chronology of America's Struggle for Equal Justice and Civil Rights by editors of the World Almanac
Assassination Vacation by Sarah Vowell
Don't Eat this Book by Morgan Spurlock
Holidays on Ice by David Sedaris
George H. W. Bush by Timothy Naftali
The Truth (with Jokes) by Al Franken
Barack Obama: In His Own Words edited by Lisa Rogak
George Herbert Walker Bush by Tom Wicker
Andrew Jackson by Sean Wilentz
I Am America (And So Can You!) by Stephen Colbert, Richard Dahm, Paul Dinello and Allison Silverman
Alone in the Kitchen with an Eggplant: Confessions of Dining for One and Eating Alone edited by Jenni Ferrari-Adler
James K. Polk: The Man Who Transformed the Presidency and America by Walter Borneman
Chester A. Arthur by Zachary Karabell
When You Are Engulfed in Flames by David Sedaris
The Conviction of Richard Nixon: The Untold Story of the Frost/Nixon Interviews by James Reston Jr.
The Wordy Shipmates by Sarah Vowell
The Associate by John Grisham
House of Plenty: The Rise, Fall, and Revival of Luby's Cafeterias by Carol Dawson and Carol Johnston
Blandings Castle by P.G. Wodehouse
Save the Deli: In Search of the Perfect Pastrami, Crusty Rye, and the Heart of Jewish Delicatessen by David Sax
Presidential Doodles: Two Centuries of Scribbles, Scratches, Squiggles, and Scrawls from the Oval Office by David Greenberg
The True History of Chocolate by Sophie D. Coe and Michael D. Coe
Dead Aid: Why Aid is Not Working and How There is a Better Way for Africa by Dambisa Moyo
I was told there'd be cake by Sloane Crosley
Yeah, I said it by Wanda Sykes
The Guinea Pig Diaries: My Life as an Experiment by A.J. Jacobs
Dedication by Emma McLaughlin and Nicola Kraus
Last Lion: The Fall and Rise of Ted Kennedy by the writers of the Boston Globe
Cleaving: a Story of Marriage, Meat, and Obsession by Julie Powell
Michelle Obama: the First Lady in Photographs by Deborah Willis and Emily Bernard
Science Matters: Achieving Scientific Literacy by Robert Hazen and James Trefil
I am the New Black by Tracy Morgan with Anthony Bozza
Thanks and Have Fun Running the Country: Kids' Letters to President Obama edited by Jory John
Love in Infant Monkeys by Lydia Millet
I Love It When You Talk Retro: Hoochie Coochie, Double Whammy, Drop a Dime, and the Forgotten Origins of American Speech by Ralph Keyes
Cooking for Mr. Latte by Amanda Hesser
Who Owns History?: Rethinking the Past in a Changing World by Eric Foner
In the President's Secret Service: Behind the Scenes with Agents in the Line of Fire and the Presidents They Protect by Ronald Kessler
Twinkie, Deconstructed: My Journey to Discover How the Ingredients Found in Processed Foods Are Grown, Mined (Yes, Mined), and Manipulated Into What America Eats by Steve Ettlinger
Cod: A Biography of the Fish That Changed the World by Mark Kurlansky

An Open Letter to President Elect Obama

2008-11-05T23:57:00.001-06:00

Dear President Elect Obama,

Please put your presidential library in Hawaii.

Best,

Elisabeth

Books Read in 2008

2008-09-15T23:11:00.002-05:00

My favorites from 2008 are in bold.

à la Cart: The Secret Lives of Grocery Shoppers by Hillary Carlip
A Moveable Feast by Ernest Hemingway
A Short Guide to the Sculptures of the Parthenon in the British Museum (Elgin Collection) by the Trustees of the British Museum
All I Did Was Ask: Conversations with Writers, Actors, Musicians and Artists by Terry Gross
American Gothic: A Life of America's Most Famous Painting by Stephen Biel
Assassination Vacation by Sarah Vowell
Everything you always wanted to know about Nixon, but were afraid to ask by Gerald Gardner
The Foundation of Merit: Public Service in American Democracy by Patricia Ingraham
The Glass Castle by Jeannette Walls
Life with Jeeves by P.G. Wodehouse
Me Talk Pretty One Day by David Sedaris
Mistress of the Elgin Marbles: A Biography of Mary Nisbet, Countess of Elgin by Susan Nagel
My Life in France by Julia Child
Nineteen Minutes by Jodi Picoult
The Omnivore's Dilemma by Michael Pollan
Persepolis 1 by Marjane Satrapi
Persepolis 2 by Marjane Satrapi
Remember Me? by Sophie Kinsella
Savannah Comes Undone by Denise Hildreth
Savannah from Savannah by Denise Hildreth
Shadow of Magnitude: The Acquistion of the Elgin Marbles by Theodore Vrettos.
Three Cups of Tea by Greg Mortenson and David Oliver Relin
Zelda Fitzgerald: Her Voice In Paradise by Sally Cline
Brunelleschi's Dome by Ross King
Stealing Buddha's Dinner by Bich Minh Nguyen
Queen of Babble by Meg Cabot
Queen of Babble in the Big City by Meg Cabot
A Woman Trapped in a Woman's Body by Lauren Weedman
Backstage with Julia: My Years with Julia Child by Nancy Barr
Petite Anglaise by Catherine Sanderson
Meat: A Love Story by Susan Bourette
This Land is Their Land by Barbara Ehrenreich
J. Edgar Hoover: A Graphic Biography by Rick Geary
Ronald Reagan: A Graphic Biography by Andrew Helfer
Framing the Debate by Jeffrey Feldman
Fair Game: My Life as a Spy, My Betrayal by the White House by Valerie Plame Wilson
Love is a Mixtape by Rob Sheffield
The Adventures of Grandmaster Flash: My Life, My Beats by Grandmaster Flash with David Ritz
A TV Guide to Life by Jeff Alexander
The Chris Farley Show by Tom Farley Jr.
Julia Child by Laura Shapiro
Metro Stop Paris: An Underground History of the City of Light by Gregor Dallas
Queen of Babble Gets Hitched by Meg Cabot
When You Are Engulfed in Flames by David Sedaris
Free Expression in Arts Funding by the Public Policy Project
The Man Who Ate the World: In search of the perfect dinner by Jay Rayner
The Eighteen Carot Kid and Other Stories by P.G. Wodehouse
Boy Meets Girl by Meg Cabot
The Boy Next Door by Meg Cabot
Dawn Dusk or Night: A Year in the Life of Nicolas Sarkozy by Yasmina Reza
Jeeves and the Ties that Bind by P.G. Wodehouse
To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee
When the Guillotine Fell by Jeremy Mercer
The Rhetorical Presidency by Jeffrey Tulis
Quantitative Research Methods by Joseph Maxwell
Jefferson's Call for Nationhood by Stephen Browne
Out of Tune: Listening to the First Amendment by John Frohnmayer
The Wordy Shipmates by Sarah Vowell
The Appeal by John Grisholm
The United States of Argula by David Kamp
American Lion: Andrew Jackson in the White House by Jon Meacham
The Dynamics of Performance Management: Constructing Information and Reform by Donald Moynihan
Blue Water by A. Manette Ansay
American Creation by Joseph Ellis

About

2008-09-15T20:00:00.002-05:00

I'm 27 years old.
I received a B.S. in Sociology in 2005 and a master's degree in 2009 in Nonprofit management.
I love art history, presidential history, visiting museums, talking about U.S. Presidents, European and African history, Greek architecture, religion, and Sociology.
I'm an aunt to the four cutest kids in the world.