Today Ryan and I walked to the Brooklyn Bridge, walked across it, ate dinner in Brooklyn Heights, then walked back. I’m absolutely exhausted, but here are some pictures.
Last night Ryan and I saw Pirates of the Caribbean: At World’s End at the Ziegfeld Theatre. It was our first time seeing a movie at the Ziegfeld.
First, The Ziegfled. It’s absolutely incredible. Ryan joked that it must have been built when someone had 100,000 yards extra of red velvet. It’s classic and beautiful. It’s one of the last great picture houses left in the US. The kind with a single screen and a massive theatre where there are almost no bad seats among the 1000+ that it offers.
They don’t play annoying ads the entire time you’re waiting for your movie; they play music. Then, just before the previews, the golden curtain opens up to reveal an absolutely gigantic screen. The audience cheers. I love that people cheer and clap after the previews that they like, and that they also cheered when Johnny Depp sails onto the screen. The crowd was extremely excited and energetic, but extremely respectful. When the movie started the theater went completely silent. No one talked during the movie. It was a great experience.
Here is a picture of the lobby:
Next, the movie. I was obsessed with the first movie. I watched it nine times in the theater. My expectations were not incredibly high for the second because I thought the previews looked disappointing and bad. And my instincts were right, I did not like the second very much at all.
So I had low expectations for this one as well, especially because of the horrible reviews it got. However, I absolutely loved it. It was better than the second by far. The critics are right: it is confusing. Especially toward the middle. But it’s funny. Much more funny than the second. It’s also cooky – there’s a plot line involving Captain Jack that’s funny and weird, and sort of explains a little about why he’s wonky. It also glorifies his weirdness, and it’s fun to watch.
The second half is absolutely awesome. The visual effects are incredible, and the idea behind the battle scenes is outrageous and so cool.
So when (or if) you see it, don’t worry too much about understanding absolutely everything. Just enjoy the pirates, Johnny Depp, the effects, and the humor. It’s fun.
Here is a post from Amazon’s blog that does a much better job than me about explaining why this movie is awesome. (And don’t worry about spoilers, there are none, except for one at the end written in white font that you have to highlight to see.)
Last but not least, a picture of Ryan, while waiting to enter the theatre.
So last year when I saw this absolutely stunning 80th anniversary edition of the book, I had to have it. It then lived for a while on my nightstand, and this week I read some every day after work (I’m too OCD about my books to take such a nice edition out of the house).
Anyway, I cannot recommend this loud enough. It’s everything the movie was but cuter, better illustrated, quirkier, kookier, and more of a masterpiece. And that’s saying a lot, because I still love the movie too.
I also recommend this particular edition, it has beautiful full color illustrations, and maps on the inside jacket. The pages are also a gorgeous buttercream color, something you don’t see often for book pages.
Pictures from my copy are below.
First of all, still loving The Daily Puppy blog, and Dudley the puggle is cute enough to break your heart with just one glance.
Mental Floss posted 15 Reasons Why Mister Rogers Was the Best Neighbor Ever. I’m not sure why, but while I was reading it I was on the verge of tears. It’s interesting, and offers a lot of evidence as to how great of a person Mister Rogers was; it wasn’t an act. Worth a look.
Another Mental Floss post – this time about more book lists. Some I had seen before, but they link to the 778 best books of all time, which I have never discovered before. It’s an interesting list, although polling on 46 people for this seems a rather small amount. (Additionally, who are these 46 people? The link to the list of “sumbitters” leads me to believe they are quite an odd assortment. And why are they called Sumbitters?) However, it’s a cool idea for generating a list, and I’d be interested in seeing a similar list gathered in a more credible way.
I’m shyly obsessed with the northern lights, and I love this Neatorama post today with a great picture of the northern lights in Alaska.
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My friend Elisa is incredibly nice and got me a signed copy of A Thousand Splendid Suns by Khaled Hosseini. I wasn’t feeling up to going to the signing last night, but I heard it was great and absolutely swamped with fans. It was too crowded for him to personalize the books, but I’m happy just to have a signed copy.
Books: Show us your summer reading list.
Submitted by marvel is my pen name.
This list is definitely not all inclusive – I wanted lots of room for wild card reads of whatever I find and am in the mood for. But here are my goal books for the summer. Most are books that have been on my TBR list for a long time. This summer I want to make them a priority. Also included is Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, as well as re-reading 5 and 6 to finish my complete re-read of the series before July 21.
So, nerd that I am, I’m going to take this very seriously, and set some start and end dates. Let’s go with May 25 (start of Memorial day weekend) as a beginning and September 3 (end of Labor day weekend) as the end. I’ll update with my progress, and do a recap at the end. :)
Above is a link to my collection with all the titles and covers, and here’s the list:
Sometimes in life, a truly enormous piece of chocolate cake comes along. This one is from Ruby Foo’s, and there is still a quarter of it in the fridge after several attempts, by several different people, to concur it.
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Welcome Morning
By Anne Sexton
There is joy
in all:
in the hair I brush each morning,
in the Cannon towel, newly washed,
that I rub my body with each morning,
in the chapel of eggs I cook
each morning,
in the outcry from the kettle
that heats my coffee
each morning,
in the spoon and the chair
that cry “hello there, Anne”
each morning,
in the godhead of the table
that I set my silver, plate, cup upon
each morning.
All this is God,
right here in my pea-green house
each morning
and I mean,
though often forget,
to give thanks,
to faint down by the kitchen table
in a prayer of rejoicing
as the holy birds at the kitchen window
peck into their marriage of seeds.
So while I think of it,
let me paint a thank-you on my palm
for this God, this laughter of the morning,
lest it go unspoken.
The Joy that isn’t shared, I’ve heard,
dies young.
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There’s no cure for a rotten morning like buying three new books and three new magazines on your lunch break.
I’ve been enjoying stories of Indian Americans since I discovered Jhumpa Lahiri, and this collection, Karma and Other Stories by Rishi Reddi, looks very promising.
From a Booklist review:
This excellent debut collection is deceptively easy to read. The stories of Indian Americans navigating their way through two cultures can be read in one or two sittings, but they deserve to be pored over slowly. Each story manages to include information about Indian culture, without seeming remotely pedantic or expository. The details make the stories specific to Indians, but the emotions and characters make the stories universal. A teenager tries to gain his father’s protection, while also asserting himself. A devoted wife and mother struggles to find her own identity. A hip twentysomething copes with her best friend’s upcoming marriage and her own failed relationship. A great recommendation not only for fans of Jhumpa Lahiri’s The Namesake (2004) but also for fans of F. Scott Fitzgerald’s elegant studies of a culture that is both familiar and foreign.
I’ve been very into short story collections lately.
The other two books I purchased were the two Salingers I haven’t read:
-Raise High The Roof Beam, Carpenters & Seymour – An Introduction
-Nine Stories
I also left the store with InStyle Homes, Better Homes and Gardens, and House and Garden – because, well, what can I say – sometimes I just want to look at pretty rooms in magazines.
Needless to say my day got better after this.
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Earlier: On My Nightstand 3.31.07
A few books remain from before: Good Poems, Intellectual Devotional, and Winnie the Pooh.
I have a new goal of reading one short story a day. I get too caught up in bouncing from novel to novel; I don’t often stop to appreciate the wonderful collections of short stories I have. I have many from individual authors, and a lot of excellent collections. Also – numerous McSweeney’s back issues and Paris Reviews that have so many hidden gems to find. Currently I’m reading stories from Miranda July’s new collection No One Belongs Here More Than You. (I cannot recommend this enough: check out her awesome web site.)
Additionally, I’m keeping the latest Paris Review there by my side, but I admit I haven’t opened it as much as I’d like to. (The new one will be out soon too – I need to get moving!)
Another goal is reading The Elements of Style small chunk by small chunk. I feel as though, especially at my pace, I should just flip back to the beginning and start reading again when I finish. It will take many readings of this book and much study of the language examples to make its full positive impact.
And finally, Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire. Still on track to re-read the series before book seven. I’m greatly enjoying this one – it’s lovely to be back at Hogwarts. This book definitely marks a turning point in the series – the books get a lot darker after this, and I’m basking in the fun while I can.
What’s on your nightstand?
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