Tuesday, August 28, 2007

Call for Submissions: Dreaming About Water

My Literary Mama friends and colleagues Violeta Garcia-Mendoza and Amy Mercer are putting together a new anthology by and for women living with diabetes. They are both such terrific writers, I wish I could submit to their book. But instead I am doing what I can to spread the word; please pass this on!

Dreaming About Water: A collection of personal essays and practical advice by and for women living with diabetes


Co-editors Amy Mercer and Violeta Garcia-Mendoza are seeking personal essay submissions from women writers for their upcoming collection.

Essays should fall between 1,500 and 3,000 words and explore an aspect of living with diabetes.

The collection will cover any and all aspects of living with diabetes: from diagnosis to aging gracefully. Other possible essay topics may include:
• Growing up with diabetes
• Dating with diabetes
• Diabetes at college
• Diabetes & eating disorders
• Finding the perfect doctor
• Wedding planning/marriage with diabetes
• Diabetes in the workplace
• Traveling with diabetes
• Starting a Family (either through pregnancy and/or adoption) with diabetes
• Talking to kids about diabetes
• Dealing with complications/ Staying healthy with diabetes

Our goal is to provide diabetic women- type 1 and type 2- with a place of community while they navigate the various stages of their lives, and their diabetes.

We welcome you to submit one or more essays. For more information, or to submit, please write mercermendoza(at)gmail(dot)com or visit the website.

Labels: , ,

posted by Caroline @ 1:22 PM  

Monday, August 27, 2007

Two More Reviews of Mama, PhD!

Two more wonderful endorsements have come in for Mama, PhD and I'm a very proud mama, indeed:

"All those sleepless nights and dirty diapers and baby food in your hair --where's the discursive construction of motherhood when you need it? It's here, in these smart, funny, poignant essays that struggle to balance mind and body, to balance body and soul."
--Catherine Newman, PhD, author of

"This is a charming, heartfelt book that expresses the difficulties and the joys of combining a life in academia with motherhood. Each story is different, but the experiences and challenges are widely shared."
--Mary Ann Mason, author of

We've got a long wait still before the book comes out, so be patient; you know I'll let you know when you can pre-order...

Labels:

posted by Caroline @ 4:30 PM  

Saturday, August 25, 2007

8 Things Meme

I was tagged for this meme once already, but it's always fun to play. And since tonight Eli took an extra-long time to go to sleep (see list 4), I have written an extra-long response. I posted the rules previously, so I'm skipping that step now; I'm also all out of bloggers to tag. But I will say that Jean Kazez tagged me, a contributor to Mama, PhD and a terrific writer, so go check her out!

List One: 8 small ways to improve the world
join MomsRising
subscribe to a CSA
compost
recycle
Freecycle
call the organizations who send you junk mail and get off their lists (or sign up for Green Dimes to do it for you)
walk, carpool, take public transit
buy refillable water bottles

List Two: 8 things Ben has made from his new cookbook
heart in hand cookies
extra e-z fudge
papa’s pesto
berry dip and roll
boss banana bread
blueberry pie
chocolate covered bananas
bunny salad

List Three: 8 things I carry in my bag
phone
rosebud lip salve
eye drops
wallet
notebook
pen
keys
tissues

List Four: 8 things I’d rather be doing now than keeping Eli company while he falls asleep
drinking a glass of water
doing research for an essay
packing for our trip
eating the last piece of blueberry pie
putting 3 years of family pictures into an album (or two or three)
reading the newspaper
watching a movie with Tony
sleeping

List Five: 8 best movies I’ve seen so far this year
Away from Her
Waitress
Whale Rider
Once
The Miracle of Morgan's Creek
The Lives of Others
The Namesake
51 Birch Street

List Six: 8 things I worry about sometimes
light pollution
global warming
the safety of our food supply
the war
my kids’ nutrition
global malnutrition
earthquakes
accidents

List Seven: Eli’s current 8 favorite books
The Bunnies Are Not In Their Beds
Kipper
I Went Walking
Everywhere Babies
Why Do Babies Do That
The New Baby Train
A Fish Out of Water
The Baby Goes Beep

List Eight: Recent(ish) reading that’s stayed with me
The New Yorker article on light pollution
Irene Nemirovsky’s Suite Francaise
Michael Pollan’s The Omnivore’s Dilemma
Nicole Krauss’ The History of Love
Andrea Barrett’s Secret Harmonies
Jeannette Walls’ The Glass Castle
Audrey Niffenegger’s The Time Traveler's Wife
Susan O'Doherty's Getting Unstuck without Coming Unglued

Labels: , , ,

posted by Caroline @ 9:30 PM  

Friday, August 24, 2007

My Son Cooked Dinner

Let's say it again, shall we? My son cooked dinner! And for those of you who are new here, or maybe just a bit inattentive, I'll point out that he's five.

Hats off to the Spatulatta girls, who provided the inspiration and recipes.

The menu: rigatoni with pesto, sauteed spinach (ok, Tony made that), and chocolate covered bananas.

Eli kept marveling, "No Da-da make dinner. No Mama make dinner. Mama hehp Buh-buh make dinner. Buh-buh make dinner!" And Ben was a very proud chef, indeed, telling Tony, "You're not going to believe how delicious this is, Daddy!"

And indeed it was.

Labels: ,

posted by Caroline @ 2:51 PM  

Tuesday, August 21, 2007

MotherTalk Blog Book Tour: Getting Unstuck without Coming Unglued


On the one hand, I could say--with a great sigh of relief and a handful of salt tossed over my shoulder-- that it has never happened to me.

On the other hand, I could say that my eight years in graduate school (and the three years’ office work before that) were a protracted block, a self-imposed detour from the writing I should really have been doing the whole time, an elaborate (and ultimately expensive) procrastinatory ploy.

I’m talking about writer’s block, of course, a subject that I’ve been thinking much more seriously about since reading Susan O’Doherty’s sharp, smart, and sensitive .

Before I go further, I should say that I am not an unbiased reviewer. I first discovered Sue’s work in Andrea Buchanan’s anthology, ; her beautiful essay, “The Velvet Underground,” about her music-loving, costume jewelry-wearing son, Ben, struck a chord with me, the mother of a Ben who used to wear “dress-up hair” to school. I came across Sue’s work next in Jessica Berger Gross’s anthology, ; “The Road Home” details, with agonizing honesty, her journey through multiple miscarriages to motherhood. When my co-editor and I were collecting essays for Mama, PhD, I remembered “The Road Home” and wondered if Sue might have a story to tell for the anthology. Indeed she did, and in working with her to edit her essay and pave the way for its publication, I’ve come to respect her and admire her writing even more.

So when I saw that MotherTalk was enlisting bloggers to review her book, I signed up, looking forward to reading a book I knew I’d enjoy, despite thinking, mistakenly, that it wouldn’t really have much to say to me.

But here’s the thing: my truth, of course, is more complicated than the two versions I offer in the first two paragraphs above. I would never say that graduate school was a waste of time or even a detour from a more satisfying writing life. I did a lot of good writing in graduate school, including a very readable 300 page dissertation. Graduate school, and the courses I took and taught, gave me a great framework for reading and writing that I draw on to this day, and I’m proud to have earned my doctorate.

Still, Sue’s book has made me wonder for the first time whether if I’d skipped grad school and stayed at work in publishing, would I have kept noodling away at the workplace novel I started at my desk? Would I have continued adding sentences between phone calls and correspondence? Is there enough of a writer in me that I would have kept at it, after work, and on lunch hours? Or would something else have come up to interfere with that writing?

Maybe, maybe someday I’ll dig out those fragmented bits of that novel, dust it off, and see if it might still have life in it. In the meantime, though, here I am, seven years post-doc and five years into motherhood, developing a different and very fulfilling writing career. At the moment, I have more ideas than time to write them all out. I can gaze out my window and see writer’s block just hovering out there, past the trees in my neighbor’s yard, but here come Eli and Ben, thundering down the hall giggling, trying unsuccessfully to sneak up on me at my desk, and I race to finish my sentence, jot a few notes to remind myself where I was headed, close the laptop and bounce onto the big bed with them. For now, writer’s block and I are keeping at arm’s length.

So even though I didn’t pick up Sue’s book looking for answers, I’m happy to report that it gave me some anyway. Each chapter in the book is followed by an exercise intended to help you apply the chapter’s lessons to your own creative life and artistic goals. I decided, as a diligent reviewer, to do the exercises, starting in order, and although I haven’t finished (none of them takes more than twenty or thirty minutes, but each warrants a return visit, a reflection a few days later), I’m learning plenty from them already. Some of the exercises are serious (completing the “Girls Should…” sentence with messages you received as a child; identifying your inner critic) and some are a lot of fun (imagining a day without consequences, or imagining your greatest success) but so far I’m already filling pages with memories from my childhood, images I’d forgotten, ideas for future essays: in short, loads of new material. Thanks, Sue!

Like any good teacher, Sue makes her points in this book by telling stories. She’s brave enough to describe the ups and downs of her own creative life, and then sympathetically relates the stories of several of her clients, women at all different stages of their artistic careers, some trying to come to terms with past difficulties, some trying to address current hindrances. And again, although none of these stories is exactly relevant to my own situation right now, each taught me a little bit more about keeping creativity active throughout various different stages of life, whether single or partnered, parenting or childless, younger or older.

When I first started reading this book, I kept thinking of writers I’d give my copy to when I finished writing the review, thinking I’d absorb the lessons and move on. But now I think I’d like to keep it on my shelf after all, and I’ll be giving some copies as gifts.


Labels: , , ,

posted by Caroline @ 8:01 PM  

Monday, August 20, 2007

Summer's Fruit and Cornmeal Cake


Goodness, this is a delicious cake! It's quite a bit like last year's Easy Summer Cake, though it's got a higher proportion of cake to fruit, and the cornmeal gives it a nice crunch. I made mine with yogurt instead of sour cream, and served it with vanilla ice cream and some more fresh berries. Yum.

Labels: ,

posted by Caroline @ 7:39 PM  

Sunday, August 19, 2007

Scenes from Spatulatta


Well, the arrived earlier this week and the kids are eating it up. This is not the first kid's cookbook we've encountered; in fact, among the over one hundred cookbooks on my kitchen shelf, five are for children. We've got the classic, Mollie Katzen's sweetly illustrated ; we've got Linda Collister's beautifully photographed , plus the retro-looking , by Tina Davis. We've got my childhood favorite, , which is full of recipes to make for your dolls and stuffed animals in the backyard. And then we've got a real treasure, Michel Oliver's , with an introduction by Jean Cocteau. This was given to Tony by his grandmother, and is inscribed thus:

"This is to mark your very first birthday--and I hope you will emulate your Mamma and Papa in the preparation of gourmet foods--I will look forward to your first efforts--and I hope it will be a souffle--that's my favorite."

Nothing like setting a child's sights high! (And in fact, with such familial encouragement, Tony embarked on a culinary career that included, as a kid, chicken kiev and lemon meringue pie, and now covers most of our family dinners). We don't use this cookbook much -- it weighs about ten pounds, for one thing -- but I love a cookbook for kids that includes such basics as coq au vin, pain perdu and sauce bechamel.

We use all these cookbooks, but what sets Spatulatta apart is that it is written by kids, the two girls behind the Spatulatta website, Isabella and Olivia Gerasole. As a serious cookbook reader, I was worried that this might translate into some cutesy, written-by-adults-to-sound-like-kids tone, but that's not the result at all. The recipes are peppered with little comments like "Pretty neat, huh?" and "This is the fun, slimy part..." and Ben, a brand new cookbook reader (let alone reader) was delighted at these remarks aimed at him. I like that each step in a recipe is explained clearly enough for a five year old to understand, with cooking terms marked in bold and keyed to a glossary in the back. It's a smart cookbook, too, with its spiral-bound, coated pages that wipe clean, tabbed section dividers and plenty of room to write in notes. The people who designed it know what they're doing.

In our first 3 days with this cookbook, we made Extra E-Z Fudge, Heart-in-Hand Cookies, and Berry Dip & Roll, which were all a tremendous success and are not at all a representative sampling of the recipes in the book, which are seasonally organized and include a nice section of vegetarian recipes. I let Ben call the shots, and he went for the sweets; we'll get to the Bunny Salad, Black Bean Chili, and other healthier choices another day. The one surprising omission from the cookbook, I think, is breakfast! Pancakes, french toast, and muffins tend to be a staple of most kid's cookbooks, for good reason: they're simple and plenty good for you. Spatulatta leans more toward lunch and dinner foods, when I'm less inclined to think of involving the kids in the cooking in favor of getting a meal on the table promptly. But of course, the more I include the kids in the kitchen, the less of an art project cooking will be for them, so I like that Spatulatta will help nudge us this direction. My kids, at 5 and 2, are definitely younger than the target Spatulatta audience, but this cookbook will grow with them, and I'm looking forward to the meals along the way.

Labels: , ,

posted by Caroline @ 8:37 PM  

Saturday, August 18, 2007

Shower Gel Cinnamon Rolls


A few months ago, as a bit of a joke, I gave Tony a bottle of Philosophy's "Cinnamon Buns" shower gel. It smells remarkably like cinnamon buns, which is why I can't use the stuff to wash myself, but I noticed that it has a recipe on the label. And I'm no snob about recipes; if it looks good, I'll try it, whether it comes from an in-flight magazine or a food package or, apparently, a bottle of shower gel. This one looked too simple not to try. And they're good, though I think next time I'd toss in some raisins, and then probably frost them, too.

Combine in a large bowl:
1/4 c warm milk
1/2 c sugar
1 t salt
1 T cinnamon
4 T soft butter
2 eggs

Set aside to cool slightly while you combine

1 pkg dry yeast
1/4 c warm water

Add the yeast mixture to the milk mixture, and then beat in 1 1/2 cups of flour. Cover and set aside to rise for an hour.

After the dough's risen, add another cup of flour, blend well, and knead until smooth.

Put the dough into a buttered mixing bowl and let rise until doubled in size. Then punch down, shape into 8-10 rolls, place in a buttered baking dish (I used a 9" pie dish, the recipe is vague on details like this) and let rise another hour. Bake at 400 for 15 minutes, or until golden on top.

Labels:

posted by Caroline @ 8:38 PM  

Friday, August 17, 2007

Reading in Bed


Everyone in the family is falling asleep with books in their hands these days. I've been absorbed in Irene Nemirovsky's amazing, heartbreaking ; Tony's filling a gap in his California history with Simon Winchester's . Ben, as you see in this picture, is just trying to absorb as much information as he can (he alternates reading this encyclopedia and a fabulous book of simple science experiments for ages 5 and up). And Eli lately takes to bed with him at every nap, clearly enjoying the message about not really tidying his basket; the current crib census includes 6 blankets (which he names as I lay them over him), his lovey (aka "patch blanket"), one mole, one knit bear, one lemur, one Pat the Bunny, one Piglet, one giraffe, one gorilla, one dachshund, one cow, one baby doll, two small stuffed dogs (Brown Doggie and Purple Doggie) and one plastic goat.

Labels: ,

posted by Caroline @ 11:32 AM  

Wednesday, August 15, 2007

An Early Review!

Mama, PhD has received its first review, and I couldn't be prouder. Robert Drago, author of Striking a Balance: Work, Family, Life (Dollars & Sense, 2007) says, “Through the voices of those who have weathered the storm, Mama PhD fills a crucial gap in our understanding of why gender equity has been so difficult to achieve in academe. More importantly, it provides invaluable lessons for young scholars — both men and women — striving to navigate family and academic careers.”

Labels:

posted by Caroline @ 10:35 AM  

Monday, August 13, 2007

New Fiction at Literary Mama


My Mama, PhD co-editor, Elrena Evans, has a beautiful short story up on Literary Mama this month. Here's an excerpt:

It was day two of the journey home, and I missed Miriam. On the way to Yerushalayim for the Feast of the Passover our families had walked together, her friendship a welcome comfort on the dry, dusty road. But Yosef, her husband, had been eager to get back home to Nazerat, and my little ones were moving more slowly each day. “Go on ahead,” I’d finally told Miriam, midmorning on the first day after the Feast. “I’ll bring Yeshua back when we get to Nazarat. Or whenever I run out of food.”

Miriam had laughed. Her eldest son, Yeshua, was my eldest son David’s constant companion. The boys were inseparable, so much so that when I looked at my family I either saw three children, or five. If Yeshua wasn’t around, neither was David.

One, two, three, four, five, I counted in silent rhythm as we walked, one, two, three, four, five. Five children. All present, all accounted for.

I paused for a moment on the dusty trail. Thoughts of Miriam slipped from my mind as I realized my feet were tired, my arms sore, and my overnursed breasts like smoldering coals beneath my dusty robe. One, two, three, four, five, I counted again. One, two, three, four, five.

I arched my back, shifted my daughter’s weight from one hip to the other. But as I moved her she awoke, instantly hungry, and began frantically searching for my breast. I sighed and called to my husband.

“Ba’al, we need to stop. Zahara needs to feed again.”

He looked at me. “Why can’t you just feed her as we walk?”

I closed my eyes and counted four breaths before I answered. It was useless getting angry with him, he’d never nursed a baby. He couldn’t understand. Once again, I missed Miriam.

Click on over to Literary Mama to read the rest!

Labels: , ,

posted by Caroline @ 2:38 PM  

Sunday, August 12, 2007

Pasta with Fresh Corn and Shitake Mushrooms

We have Tony to thank for this recipe; he was inspired by the fabulous corn and shitake side dish served at the Slanted Door, and turned it into a dinner (with some carmelized tofu) that the whole family loved.

Pasta with Fresh Corn and Shitake Mushrooms

4 ears corn, removed from the cob
12 oz. shitake mushrooms
1 lb short pasta (campanelle or something ideally with a little "scoop" to it... orecchiette would also be good)
2-3 stalks lemongrass (optional, but good)
1 "thumb" of fresh ginger, minced
4 cloves garlic, minced
3 tbsp finely chopped cilantro
soy sauce
peanut or canola oil
ground black pepper to taste

Sauce
1 ounce soy sauce
2 ounces sherry
2 tsp sesame oil
6 ounces veggie stock
1 1/2 tbsp. corn starch, dissolved in a little water


Put up a big pot of water to boil for the pasta.

Combine all the sauce ingredients in a Pyrex measuring cup -- total liquid should be just a little more than a cup.

Trim the stems off the mushrooms and wipe off any excess dirt with a paper towel. Slice the mushrooms into 1/4 inch strips.

Take the lemongrass stalks and cut them into 1 inch pieces. Crush the pieces with the handle of your knife.

Add the pasta to the water and cook as directed by the box, testing frequently.

Heat about a tbsp of oil over medium high heat in a large skillet and add the mushrooms. Stir them often. After a few minutes they'll start to give off some liquid and reduce in size. Add the lemongrass, if using. After another few minutes, add all the garlic and half of the ginger and stir constantly for another minute or two. Add a generous dash of soy sauce, stir vigorously for about 10 seconds and remove to a bowl.

Add another tbsp of oil to the pan, and when it's hot, add the corn, stirring frequently. Cook for just a minute or two.

While the corn cooks, pick out the lemongrass stalks from the mushrooms and discard.

Add the remaining ginger and black pepper to the corn if desired. Cook for about another minute, and as with the mushrooms, add a dash of soy sauce and stir vigorously for 10 seconds. Return the mushrooms to the pan just to get them hot again.

Pour in the sauce and cook for just another 30 seconds until it begins to thicken. Remove from heat.

When the pasta is cooked, drain it well and return it to the pot. Add the corn and mushroom mixture and the cilantro to the pasta and combine thoroughly.

Enjoy!

Labels: ,

posted by Caroline @ 12:09 PM  

We Have a Winner!


The first Pay it Forward Book Exchange winner, as determined by a special drawing out of a shopping bag, is Are You For Real, who's going to get lots more answers and even more questions reading Special Topics in Calamity Physics. Congratulations!

Thanks to everyone else who entered; look for another Pay It Forward Book Exchange in a few weeks!

Labels:

posted by Caroline @ 10:00 AM  

Saturday, August 11, 2007

Movie Minutes


It's been a while since I did a movie round-up, and I've seen a bunch lately. Here are my picks and pans:

No Reservations: Catherine Zeta Jones hadn't finished speaking her first line before my friend and I exchanged eye-rolling looks. It didn't improve, though of course Aaron Eckhart is always nice to look at, and I'm a sucker for a beautiful kitchen. Still, skip this and watch the original, Mostly Martha.

P.S. : I can't figure out why this movie is called P.S. Again, a great cast (Laura Linney, Gabriel Byrne, Marcia Gay Harden, Topher Grace and Paul Rudd) in an inane story about a woman (Linney) who thinks her dead high school boyfriend has been reincarnated in an applicant (Grace) to the MFA program she directs. Her ex-husband (Byrne) is a skirt-chasing professor and her brother (Rudd) is a recovering addict; her best friend (Harden) wants the reincarnated dead boyfriend for herself. What are these smart actors doing in this ridiculous story?!

Once: This is the perfect date movie. It's quiet, talky, lovely. The relationships are realistic and complicated, the songs are great, and the story doesn't get all neatly wrapped up at the end.

Hairspray: Read my column on this one; it's a totally fun way to spend a couple hours.

Ratatouille: I'm not sure who the audience for this movie is, exactly, but I'm afraid I was a little bored. The animation is amazing, and the kitchen scenes are kind of fun to watch but (heresy, I know) I kept finding myself checking my watch.

Ocean's Thirteen: I love a good caper, and in this installment the filmmakers made the wise decision to replace the Julia Roberts love interest with Ellen Barkin. This is completely entertaining.

Paris, Je T'aime: I didn't, much.

Knocked Up: Made me glad I'm not in my twenties anymore. I didn't really entirely buy the relationship between the one-night-stand couple, but the married couple (the wonderful Paul Rudd and Leslie Mann) have some real moments between them.

Away From Her: This is gorgeous, and real, and sad. Though if I look as good when I'm 70 as Julie Christie does now, then I'll be very happy.

And this brings me up to Waitress, which was also the subject of a column.

Next on my list: Becoming Jane, Manufactured Landscapes, No End In Sight, The Simpsons Movie, and This Is England.

Labels:

posted by Caroline @ 12:42 PM  

Wednesday, August 08, 2007

Pay It Forward Book Exchange


I read about Overwhelmed with Joy's book exchange idea on A Wrung Sponge and I think it's so perfect and simple I have to do it, too:

Most all of us love to read and get “new-to-us” books, right? And if you’re anything like me, you love winning things (what a rush), not to mention getting fun stuff in the mail! So here’s what this book exchange is all about:

1) Once a month I'll pick a book to give away to one lucky reader (you don’t have to have a blog to enter). It may be a book that I’ve purchased new or used, or it may be a book that someone has shared with me that I really like. It’ll probably be a paperback, just to make things easier, but no guarantees.

2) Details on how you can enter to win will be listed below.

3) If you’re the lucky winner of the book giveaway I ask that you, in turn, host a drawing to give that book away for free to one of your readers, after you’ve had a chance to read it (let’s say, within a month after you’ve received the book). If you mail the book out using the media/book rate that the post office offers it’s pretty inexpensive.

4) If you’re really motivated and want to host your own “Pay It Forward” giveaway at any time, feel free to grab the button above to use on your own blog. Just let her know so she can publish a post plugging your giveaway and directing readers your way!

So there you have it, the Pay It Forward Book Exchange, designed to encourage people to read, to share good books, to possibly get you out of your reading comfort zone, and to get fun stuff in the mail instead of just bills!"


So here's how to enter: leave a comment saying, "I want to enter." That's it. No muss, no fuss. I'll randomly choose one lucky commenter on August 12th and mail the book out; you agree to give the book away when you're done with it, via your own Pay It Forward Book Exchange or, if you don't blog, by donating it to a local library or shelter.

Oh, and this month's book: Marisha Pessl's , a campy, complicated, self-referential murder mystery and love story. And now you could read it for free!

Labels:

posted by Caroline @ 7:53 PM  

Tuesday, August 07, 2007

Mama at the Movies: Hairspray


Christopher Walken is my new favorite movie dad.

The creepy actor best-known for playing villains and psychopaths nearly steals Hairspray (Adam Shankman, 2007) away from the radiant Nikki Blonski (playing his daughter Tracy) and John Travolta, sadly underutilized in a gender-bending role as his wife, Edna. It’s Walken’s Wilbur, the only character not swathed in a cotton candy haze of makeup, sequins, and hairspray, whose strong presence gives Tracy and Edna the foundation for their helium-balloon performances.

Hairspray opens up in the clouds, and with a long, swooping pan the camera sails down into Baltimore and through the window of Tracy Turnblad’s bedroom. As the soundtrack thumps a steady beat, we see a shape wiggling in the bed, two bright eyes pop open, then two tapping feet emerge and slide into bunny slippers. This is the only time the camera looks at Tracy so closely, feature by feature; then it pulls back, and for the rest of the film, stays back so we can really appreciate the whole fabulous singing and dancing shape of her. She’s an Energizer bunny of a girl who belts out her first song before breakfast. I wondered if the film could maintain its high-octane opening; its energy flags only when it pauses for dialogue, but happily Hairspray is an unapologetic musical, taking few breaks for conversation.

Click on over to Literary Mama to read the rest of this month's column, and let me know what you think!

Labels: ,

posted by Caroline @ 8:57 PM  

Sunday, August 05, 2007

Literary Reflections: Under The Skin


This month in Literary Reflections, Kim Todd's gorgeous essay, "Under the Skin: Lessons in Transformation. " Here's a taste:

When I discovered I was pregnant, I was knee-deep in research for a book on an adventure-loving woman who, 300 years ago, at the age of 52, sailed to South America from Amsterdam to study insects. My desk lay buried under notes on Maria Sibylla Merian and her pioneering investigations of metamorphosis, the change of caterpillar to butterfly. Stacks of books detailed how she and her peers, at the dawn of science, explored questions of development and transformation. How does a creature gain new parts, either a human embryo growing lungs or a caterpillar sprouting wings? They wrangled with the enigma of self divided. Larva and moth. Mother and child: Were they one, or two?

Suddenly, the mysteries probed in these seventeenth-century treatises were unfolding under my skin. Within weeks, my hair developed a luster beyond the magic of the most expensive conditioners. Insomnia, a clean, hard light bulb of wakefulness, switched on reliably at 3 a.m. A three-mile run had been part of my routine for years, but now I was limping back, gasping, after a few blocks. A trip to the ob/gyn not long after revealed that I was breathing not just for two, but for three. Twins.

Head on over to Literary Mama to read the rest!

Image from

Labels: ,

posted by Caroline @ 11:02 PM  

Thursday, August 02, 2007

Ten or Fewer

Last month's Gourmet magazine reports that "one in five Americans live on a diet of ten foods or fewer. Among the most common choices? French fries, fried chicken, chocolate chip cookies, and Kraft macaroni and cheese."

Hmm. I was a little surprised at first -- ten foods or fewer! -- but when it comes down to it, I don't really have that many more in my weekly repertoire: pasta, almonds, broccoli, yogurt, milk, homemade granola, spinach/kale/chard (I'll count that as one), fresh fruit, bread, chocolate. I definitely eat other things in a week -- burritos, stir fried vegetables with tofu, cheese, tomatoes, white beans -- but if I had to narrow it down to ten foods to subsist on, well, I think that's my ten.

What's your ten?

Labels:

posted by Caroline @ 4:58 PM