Don't Pee on the Bee

Dorothy Who?

Do you know Dorothy Gale?  You probably do, but you just don't know it.  Dorothy Gale is Dorothy from The Wizard of Oz.  Who knew she had a last name?  I certainly didn't!  But the May 2011 issue of Vanity Fair had an article about the life of Judy Garland, and there it was.  Really, did you know?

By the way, I am fairly certain that my children will never watch this movie!  I think they are the only kids out of our group of friends who have never been to the movie theater!  They get too freaked out watching G-rated movies at home!  If there is any sort of bad guy, Sarah flips out and runs out of the room, crying.  JJ will usually hide behind his dad's big chair.  Now do you get where I'm coming from?  I guess there's no place like home when you need to hide during a scary movie!

The Other L-Word

Like, you know when you've read something, and you, like, want to share it with, like, your family and friends?  Like, well, that's how I, like, felt after reading this, like, article.

Oh my gosh!  It's a trait I can't stand, and it's one I am completely guilty of!  I can even trace the roots of its use back to a certain friend of mine.  She's no longer living, and I still love her and miss her, but I cringe when I start to hear myself using that word!  We were working in Oakland at a large child care center, and she was a dancer, a cultural sponge, and she brought it to me.  Of course, you would think that after 15 years, I would be over it, but it is such a hard habit to break!

If you're interested in reading more about it, there's a funny article by Christopher Hitchens from Vanity Fair.  If you would rather skip his verbose thoughts about the word, then here's a quick quote:

But I realize that it can't be expelled altogether.  It can, however, be pruned and rationed, and made the object of mockery for those who have surrendered to it altogether.  The restoration of the word "as," which isn't that hard a word to master, along with "such as," would also be a help in varying the national lingo.

So, like, chew on, like, that for awhile!

Daily life gets in the way of blogging!

I can't believe how hard it is for me to get back in the blogging groove!  I was on such a roll before we left.  Then I had to adjust to being on vacation and blogging when everyone was asleep!  Now I can't seem to get back into the afternoon blog!

So . . . reading . . . haven't gotten much done.  Spent some time reading the new Vanity Fair.  Good stuff, but nothing I wanted to blog about.  Read something in the September/October Spirituality & Health about "The Mindful Diaper Change" that nearly made me crazy!  Wanted to blog about--STILL might blog about it!--just not now.  It won't be nice, and I'm not sure that's where I want to head right now!

Spent 45 minutes yesterday afternoon DEVOURING the Fall 2009 issue of Brain, Child.  This IS the magazine for "thinking mothers" as the byline says!  I've talked about this magazine before, and I will definitely talk about it again!  This one will get you going! 

When it arrived, and I saw "Bad Mother? Shut your mouth" on the cover, I couldn't wait to see what it said!  Mostly because that is how I have been feeling lately, but also because I have on my desk Bad Mother: A Chronicle of Maternal Crimes, Minor Calamities, and Occasional Moments of Grace by Ayelet Waldman.  I have now seen this book written up in 3 different magazines, and I just am so curious to read it!  Maybe that's what I should focus on for the next few days!

What's a culture snob to do?

Still working my way through that pile of magazines!

That's the title of a thought-provoking article in the August issue of Vanity Fair.  (One of my vices--reading about the terrible lives of the incredibly wealthy!)

This article by James Wolcott asks how will the highbrow distinguish him- or herself from the masses with the digitization of books, music and movies?  Although highbrow is not a word that I would use to describe myself or most of the people I know, the point is if everyone starts reading on their Kindles and iPhones, how will we see what they are reading?  How will we know if we want to start a conversation with someone?  Ask them if they've read the other books by that author?  And on and on and on . .

Wolcott writes, "Books not only furnish a room, to paraphrase the title of an Anthony Powell novel, but also accessorize our outfits.  They help brand our identities.  At the rate technology is progressing, however, we may eventually be traipsing around culturally nude in an urban rain forest, androids seamlessly integrated with our devices."

Although the idea of a Kindle thrills me to no end when I pack 20 books to take on vacation with me--since I'm not sure what I'm going to feel like reading--I will say that I do like to see what the people around me are reading.  It makes them interesting!  It makes ME feel interesting to know that either I've read that book, or I haven't, or I've chosen to never read it, or it's next on my list--whatever!  Seeing what other people are reading adds to who we are too.

I'm interested to hear what you have to say on this too!

If you're intrigued, check out the full article at
What's a Culture Snob To Do?