I'm Obsessed with:

—Gregory Peck, They just don't make 'em like this anymore. Like George Clooney, this guy only got hotter as he aged. I just discovered, upon researching him a bit, that he was born in La Jolla! I think it's only fitting that I proceed to rent every movie he ever starred in and swoon at his fabulously good looks and equally fabulous acting. His original name was Eldred Gregory Peck—nice choice on the name change, Handsome. I love him best in his roles in Spellbound, Roman Holiday, To Kill a Mockingbird, and even in Old Gringo (I only liked it b/c I was in Mexico when I watched it, stateside it's probably not that good).

—In unrelated news, I LOVE Nabisco Newtons Fruit Crisps!!! No, no one's paying me to promote these (I wish they were), but I've taken to eating these daily. I haven't tried the mixed berry one, I'm still working through a box of the apple cinnamon...tastes like an apple turnover. YUMMO! Now go buy.
—Audio books, the cure to Meg's road rage. My dearest friend Sarah had to witness my road rage while she stayed with me in San Diego for a while and it wasn't until I heard the moans of mortal terror coming from her in response to my behind-the-wheel outbursts that I realized I had a problem. A big one. I hate sitting in traffic, foot beginning to ache from being poised over the accelerator in hopes of using it. I hate A-hole days on the road during which it seems like everyone got the memo that cutting off, tailing, honking, and ignoring blind spots is okay. But true to new-age California, I have been enlightened, I have risen from road rage to road zen. I pop in an audio CD from the library (God bless 'em) and mentally go away, the road may do as it will b/c I'm not in a hurry when I'm absorbing Nabakov's Lolita, Kerouac's On the Road, or Ellison's The Invisible Man. Indeed, I've been known to remain in my car post-journey in order to prolong my literary car sessions. So I say viva la audio book! Oh, and by the way, so long as the audio book is unabridged, you can TOTALLY say you've "read" that book. No question.

—Unusual vegetables, or at least unusual to me:
—I'm a fan of spaghetti squash, you bake it like a potato at 375 for 15-25 minutes depending (don't forget to poke holes in it!). Once baked, carefully split the squash, deseed it, and use a fork to separate the strands of meat. They're not hairy strands like other squashes and they take on the taste of whatever you put on them (I did chicken medallions, peanut sauce, chives, and broccoli with mine). So why not just eat normal noodles? Because spaghetti squash is super good for you!

—I've also fallen for eggplant, I made a low-fat eggplant parm the other night that was to die for. Crispy on the outside and chewy, earthy eggplant on the inside. Let me know if you would like the recipe. *update* recipe is found in comments on this post.



—Butternut squash, it's a pain b/c it's really hard to cut and you have to peel them, but I cut mine into french fry shapes, baked them with some olive oil at 425 for about 15 minutes, put salt on them, and enjoyed alternative french fries.

—Beets, also hard to cut, peel them and either sautee them with some evoo, salt, and pepper or steam them, puree them and make into beet soup, here's a great recipe I found (I replaced the whipping cream with F.F. sour cream, and ditched the butter, and it still tasted indulgent).



—Asparagus, not exactly exotic, but I finally found a way to prepare it that I'll eat! I broil just the ends in evoo, a splash of soy, and some minced garlic until the outside is crispy and the inside is tender and limp. *Tip*: how do you know where asparagus woodiness ends and tender, good-to-eat tenderness begins? Simply take the aspargus stalks one at a time and snap them into two pieces, they break at the perfect point.

More veggies I'm going to try/learn to cook and love: brusselsprouts (they have a bad rep., but I hear these adorable little cabbage dudes are delicious if prepared well), artichokes (I can never make these right...), endive, and garbanzo beans. However, I refuse to touch water chestnuts. Sick.

Someone(s) to Watch over Me

Last week, I did my laundry at the on-premises facility in my apartment complex, I'd neglected to switch out my clothes from the dryer and remembered only long after they were done. I returned to the machines to find my clothes in a neatly stacked, folded pile in my basket.

Yesterday, I stood in line behind a man with more groceries than reasonably fit into a single cart, also in tow was his son in a carrier. The toddler eyed me suspiciously, so I decided to prove I wasn't a threat by helping him take off his socks and find his piggies. The dad watched, amused at the farce of "lost toe-kies" and the three of us shared a chuckle.

I collapsed, exhausted on some grass by Mission Bay after a long walk/jog and had begun to snooze under the sun when a woman—also apparently worn out from a jog—hovered over me to inform me that I was "looking a little pink," and to head indoors before I got a sunburn. I really was looking quite rosy and I don't think I would've been very content with what would've been the outcome of that nap; a lobsteresque exterior.

My fruit-stand guys are endlessly patient with my comical Spanish. I haven't practiced conversation for some time and I find that the flow is good, but the terms are off. "¿Cuantos libres?," I ask "How many freedoms?" instead of "How many pounds" of fruit I'm looking to purchase. I had to ask about four times before I remembered how to say "plums," (ciruelas, if anyone's interested), and hilarity ensues as I answer "Yes." to either/or questions I thought were yes/no. The guys promise me fresh produce and Spanish lessons whenever I stop by and that they don't mind my practicing with them as it always results in a good laugh.
My library lady insists I come over for lunch sometime to chat, share a cup of tea, and look at her scrapbooks. Though I had some more youthful activities in mind for my social calendar, my 60-something friend is too sweet to resist.
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Flustered after being the cause of a not-so-smallish snafu at work, I ran to put some gas in my car, distractedly grabbed the pump and prepared to fill up when a man comes running up to me. Being in lone-woman-in-the-city-fending-for-herself mode, I prepared to key or claw in case the man intended to accost me in some manner. He puts his hand over mine on the pump and swiftly pulls it out of my tank. "What are you doing?," I asked, not so kindly. "Well," he responded, "unless your car takes diesel, I'd highly discourage using the green pump." I shudder to think what would have become of my darling little Honda if it weren't for this man, I told him he was a stud and thanked him profusely.

America's Got Talent...for Unstimulating Broadcasts

I want my half-hour of life back I wasted watching America's Got Talent.

Jerry Springer serves as ringleader to this true celebrity circus (I won't even get into that show...), which is a painful parade of mediocre performers judged by two E-list celebrities and one oh-so typical British snob/Simon Cowell knock off. The general ineptitude of the judges' careers beautifully sets off the line up of sub par magicians, untrained singers, and sideshow acts. Most abrasive are the fame-hungry parents of some of the kids that are forced out on stage only to be brought to tears by the snobby Brit (whose name I could easily find out but is too inconsequential to merit the effort), and defended by the abominable Hasselhoff who, as headlines tell it, made no scruples of slurring insults at his own daughter.

The vomit-inducing back stories the majority of the performers conjure up are beyond the pale, these individuals' powers of invention would be better applied cowriting a piece of fiction with Mitch Albom. "I haven't sang in 11 years because my throat was run over by a tractor while living in the Bronx where I lost my entire family to their crack addiction while my girlfriend was cheating on me with half the neighborhood...but now I will dance/sing/contort to victory!," or some such nonsense.

I know no one's forcing me to watch this piece of primetime, but for some reason this show pushed me over the edge and incurred my disgust more than most (I don't get cable, so I'm mercifully spared many of the even less palatable reality TV going on).

America, if you've really got talent, prove it by using your time for something more worthy than turning your attention to this show.

gO tO tHe bIbLiO aNd StIcK tHiS iN yOuR gUlLiVeR

New post coming soon, in the mean time...

Read "A Clockwork Orange"--it's one of the most brilliant reads I've found in years. Love it, hate it, read it either way. It's a modern classic, so if you're by your oddy-knocky, take a viddy at this bezoomny book, it's real horror show and it'll have you by the yarbles. (here's a list of Burgess' vocabulary he created for this tome, but the book is perfectly comprehensible without it http://www.geocities.com/Hollywood/Lot/3272/nadsat.htm)

The Essential Summer Flicks

Summertime should be spent outdoors. Period. But once our energy and the day are spent and biting bugs force us indoors, balmy summer nights are best spent with a great film, some friends and/or family, and wine. Here are my picks for summer flicks:

Cat on a Hot Tin Roof
This movie is spectacular, a character-based drama that all takes place on a sultery southern plantation. Elizabeth Taylor sizzles and, I'm convinced, is the only woman whose looks could compete with the delicious Paul Newman. This film makes me want a mint julep, a drawl, and a brass-frame bed. (movie based on play by Tennessee Williams who won the pulitzer for it in 1955)

Summer Magic
Speaking of Burl Ives, he stars alongside Hayley Mills in this adorable Disney picture. I grew up on this movie with it's cheesy musical numbers, but it's overall a very sweet movie and it's my favorite starring Hayley Mills who's just on the cusp of becoming a woman when this was made. If you've ever heard the Disney song "Ugly Bug Ball," this is where it originated. The story goes that Disney didn't like the song at all when songwriter Bob Sherman presented it. Sherman explained to Disney that to bugs, other bugs weren't ugly, even if they are to us. Disney was sold and it because one of the most popular Disney songs of that time (1960s).

Benny and Joon A brand new favorite, I saw this for the first time just last night. Depp is splendid, Quinn's eyes are fathomlessly blue (Benny), and Masterson's (Joon) inquisitivness about Depp's character is what makes their little love story sing. Now all I want is a dozen perfect pink roses and to play "I'm Gonna Be (500 Miles)" by The Proclaimers on repeat.

Mystic Pizza My all-time favorite Julia Roberts film, it's original tagline was "A romantic comedy with the works," and it is. You really do have to see it to understand, but it's sort of a coming-of-age, clash of socieites, East coast, essential '80s movie. Guys, not gonna like it so much. Girls, rent it. I know you'll love it.

Stand By Me LOVE this movie, warning, language from young mouths...it bothers many mothers. But I borrowed this movie from a coworker (thanks Blake!)this Spring and loved it. Of course, you stick Richard Dreyfus on anything and I'll eat it up, non-Dreyfus fans don't be deterred, he's just the narrator. River Phoenix, rest in peace my friend, you rocked this film. (Bonus: The movie is based on the novella, The Body by Stephen King)

Jaws Based on Peter Benchley's novel and set off by John William's unforgettable cello score, little needs to be said about this fantastic summer suspense that's enough to make you afraid of the kiddy pool in your own backyard.

A Streetcar Named Desire If you thought Vivien Leigh left us with only her stunning performance in Gone with the Wind, you're dead wrong; and if you thought that she was maltreated in that film, Scarlett's got nothing on Blanche. Not a happy film, but worth it just to watch the fabulous Marlon Brando storm and brood. Great performances, great scene settings, and oh so sultry. So once again, one of Tennessee William's screenplays makes the list.

Runners up:
Swiss Family Robinson (another cheesy but great Disney flick--and it has pirates!!)
Pirates of the Carribean, we all know it's best enjoyed with a huge pina colada (extra rum). And for Pete's sake, only watch the first one, the other two are a waste of rump time.
Finding Nemo, I shouldn't have to even list it
American Graffiti
The Sandlot
The Blue Lagoon

I think there will have to be a part II to this post, but for now, these should help you beat the heat. Enjoy!

A Dedication

I wrote this song for my Alison a couple days ago skipping back with a bag full of nectarines, plums, mangos, and peaches from the little fruit stand close to my apartment:





La fruta la fruta me hace feliz,
La fruta la fruta me hace feliz,
Duraznos y pinas y fresas tambien,
La fruta la fruta me hace bien!

Party on a pineapple Alison. Party on a pineapple.

Showstopper

Several of my friends have sung the praises of this book and they were all correct in doing so. This is a fantastic read! I found it to be a sort of light-summery read, but it retains some moving parts, allows one to feel connected to the protagonist, and once you pick it up, you won't be able to put it back down. The author's real feat is making a modern audience care about a circus story set during the depression--this she accomplishes with flair. Read it, I know you'll love it.