Now Weight a Minute!

I, like many American women, hate the emphasis our culture places on youth and thinness. Of course I do. And yet, in the past year-and-a-half, I've lost over 50 pounds. So how do I reconcile those two things?

Well, because technically, I'm still overweight. According to BMI measurements, I'd need to lose another 10 pounds to be considered a "normal" weight, and that would be at the very top of that "normal" scale. And that's kind of bullshit.

I chose to lose weight because my blood pressure was high, I was getting frequent migraines, and most importantly to me--and probably most shallowly--I couldn't wear the clothes I wanted to because hardly anyone makes cute clothes for fat chicks.

So, I decided to do something about it. But I chose to do it in a way I felt I could handle: Slowly. My goal wasn't to lose 20 pounds in a month. My goal was to lose one pound a week--at the most--until I got to a point I could live with.

Someone I knew had downloaded and successfully used an iPhone app called Lose It!, and since it was free, it sounded like a good way to go. Basically, it's like Weight Watchers, but without the Points system. You are given a daily calorie budget, and you log your foods and your exercise, and try to stay at or below your given daily budget. Since I'm an anal person who loves lists and keeping track of stuff, I took to it easily. It became like a daily game.

And the great thing is, when you start off at as high a weight as I was at, you're actually able eat a lot of food at the beginning. And that was the key thing to me: I didn't want to do anything where I had to cut out certain kinds of foods completely, because that's just not something I can maintain. Instead, I wanted to eat whatever I wanted to eat, just less of it.

Also, when you go from doing no type of exercise to some kind of exercise every day, the pounds kind of drop off. At least at first. (I lost five pounds in the first week and a half.)

When most people ask me about losing weight, they remark that it must have been really hard, and the thing is, it really wasn't. But it didn't happen quickly; it took almost two years. And I think that's the key: When you allow the process to take some time, it becomes a habit, and becomes something that's easier to maintain.

I chose to stop ten pounds shy of my "healthy" weight because that's where my body wanted to stop. Losing more became way too much of a struggle, and I'm at a weight I can be happy with--even if it isn't what's considered an ideal weight by most. My blood pressure is down, and I don't get nearly as many headaches as I used to. And while I can't fit into every outfit I'd like to--the fashion industry is still bullshit on that front--I'm much happier with the clothing choices that are available to me now.

I basically wrote this as a reference for anyone who asks me how I did it. So, for those interested, here's a summation of what worked for me:

Keep track of calories: Once you become aware of how many calories are actually in the foods you eat every day, it can revolutionize the way you eat. It's all just math. (It helps to get a food scale, to weigh things like meat and cheese and figure out portion sizes.)

Try to do some kind of exercise every day: I bought a cheap home stepper machine, and tried to do that every day. At first, I could barely do 15 minutes on the thing; eventually I got up to 45 minutes at a time. The key? I could do it while watching TV. But I also just tried to walk more. I resolved to not wait for any Muni bus more than 10 minutes. If it was longer than that, I'd just start walking. (You'd be surprised how much faster than the bus your feet can be!)

Weigh Yourself a Lot: This seems to be controversial. A lot of people say not to do it more than once a week, because it can be frustrating. But weighing myself almost every day really helped me learn what did and did not work for me. For instance: On more than one occasion on weighing myself after I had gone way under my calorie allotment the day before, I had actually gained weight. Key takeaway: Starving yourself doesn't work.

Drink lots of water: Actually, this might be total bullshit. I don't know if it helps or not, but everyone seems to think this is a major factor, so might as well include it. If you're exercising more, you're probably going to want to drink more water anyway, so it's not exactly hard to do.

Keep some old fat pants: Not because you're ever going to wear them again, but because putting on a pair of your fat pants after you've lost weight and inches feels really, really great, and will mean more than any number on a scale ever will.

Nosy Nellie

So here's the story: I heard some yelling on the street and looked out the window to see a woman arguing with a cab driver. She seemed to be saying that he was lying about not taking Visa, when it states on the cab door that they do. I couldn't really make out what he was saying, but he was obviously denying that. She called him a "fucking liar" and started to walk away, when the cabbie got out of the cab to confront her.

A guy who was walking his dog came over and tried to get them both to calm down. He suggested the cab driver just move along, and the woman go home. At that point, someone drove up and honked for the cab to get out of the way. (He was blocking the entrance to an alley.)

So he drove up a few feet, put on his blinkers and got back out. At that point, the woman had gone inside her apartment, although I couldn't tell where that was (nor could he). He was kind of just standing on the corner looking dumbfounded when the guy with the dog came back over and started to talk to him.

He said he didn't know who the woman was, but he had come over previously because he was hoping to diffuse a situation before it blew up. And at that point in the conversation he offered the cabbie some money…And that's the part I got on the above video…

Personally, I think it was pretty great of the guy to pay the cabbie. I have a feeling the cabbie wasn't being totally honest about the Visa thing (cabbies are notoriously dickish when credit cards are involved, and will often lie about the "machine being broken" to avoid taking them), but that lady could have handled the situation a whole lot better...

Here's to the kindness of strangers.

Round-Up - March 2012

Movies Seen: Twelve, with two in a theater. I reviewed one of those, Silent House, for the Appeal, and the other one, The Hunger Games, I had to go and see after it opened, like an animal! That one I liked, for the most part, but I hated, hated, the way it was filmed. The first hour of the movie is filled with shaky camera work and rapid editing, when there is really no reason for it. I mean, during close-ups? And calm moments of conversation? Really?? It was so bad I almost wanted to leave. Eventually it calms down a bit, but I dread the second movie if it's going to be full of that crap.

Of the DVDs I watched, I really liked Young Adult a lot, and I think I liked Melancholia, though that one is a bit of a stumper...

Books Read: Six. Click through to read my brief reviews, where applicable.

Starter for Ten by David Nichols

Whateverland: Learning To Live Here by Alexis Stewart and Jennifer Koppelman Hutt

Zone One by Colin Whitehead

Left In the Dark by R.A. McBride

Bringing Adam Home by Les Standiford and Det. Sgt. Joe Matthews

The Family Fang by Kevin Wilson

Fancy Dinners Out: One fancy dinner, at Alfred's Steakhouse, which was great. I hadn't been to Alfred's since they moved from their former Broadway location, but the place where they are now looks like it's been theirs forever. It's the perfect old school steakhouse.

And while this dinner wasn't really fancy, it did feature a star: My friend and I basically had dinner with Lauren Hutton at Hunan Home's in Chinatown. Sure, she wasn't actually sitting with us, but she was in the restaurant, right across from us, so I think that counts, yes?

Live Shows Seen: None!

Shoes Bought: I don't think I bought any shoes in March, but I did remember I bought a pair in February that I forgot to list: these pink flats from Target, which I got for 50% off. A friend also gave me a couple of pairs of vintage heels that were too big for her. I've only got a picture of one of them right now, though. Glittery!

February Round-Up - 2012

Once again, the end of the month sneaked up on me. I can't believe it's already April!

Let's get on with it, before it's May.

Movies Seen: Nine, with one in a theater. That one was Safe House, and you can read my review of it here.

Of the DVDs I watched, the best two were documentaries, and they're both terrific. Being Elmo brought tears to my eyes about five minutes into it, and Resurrect Dead: The Mystery of the Toynbee Tiles is just fascinating, but is probably better if you don't really know much about it going in.

Being Elmo is going to be PBS this Thursday at 10 P.M. Watch it!

Books Read: Five. Click through to read my brief reviews.

Miss Peregrine's Home For Peculiar Children by Ransom Riggs

Shock Value by Jason Zinoman

Shockaholic by Carrie Fisher

Coffee at Luke's edited by Jennifer Crusie

Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close by Jonathan Safran Foe

Fancy Dinners Out: Two. I'd never been to Bar Agricole before, and it was very good, although I can't remember what I ate! I know I drank an Old Fashioned that had one gigantic ice cube in it. The restaurant itself has a lot of concrete and wood, which, yeah, I realize most buildings are made out of concrete and wood, but the decor of this one just seemed a little off to me. But they have a large outdoor dining area that could be nice on a warm day. It was the first time I'd been in that area of SoMa in many years, and I was surprised by how dead it seems. It used to be the center of San Francisco night life, and now it feels like a ghost town.

The other dinner was at the new version of Original Joe's, now in North Beach. It's a testament to the quality of the restaurant that even though the chicken parmigiana I ordered was partially raw, I'd still go back in a heartbeat...

Live Shows Seen: None!

Shoes Bought: Four pairs!  I got these Vince Camuto leopard pumps at Macy's for under 30 bucks.

These Lela Rose heels were only 19 bucks at Payless, and I also got a pair of silver flats there for about 10 bucks.

And finally, I scored the last pair of these super cheap green faux suede flats at H&M.

Bully For You

The above is a clip from the movie Bully, which opens this weekend, and which you might have heard about because of issues with the MPAA, and how they want to rate the movie R, because of swearing, thus making it harder for the kids who could benefit from the movie to actually see it. (For example: Most schools won't be able to show an R or unrated movie to an entire school without getting permission from each and every parent, and they'll likely see that as more bother than it's worth.)

The clip is actually edited down from how it appears in the movie, (I haven't seen the movie, but saw the extended clip on the "Anderson" show this week), and it's even more maddening in its entirety. That a teacher, (and actually, I think she's an assistant principal), would chastise a bullied kid for being rude to his bully is just...I don't even know what else to call it but totally fucked. (Rate THAT R!)

I don't know if I'll go see the movie, because the clips I saw on TV immediately made me cry. I tear up just thinking about them now. And it makes me glad I don't have kids, because having to deal with the heartbreak of having a bullied kid OR a kid who's a bully would just be too much to bear. And this is coming from someone who was both growing up.

The clip up there strikes a certain note with me because in grammar school, I was bullied by kids and a teacher. And in a way, the stuff with the teacher was worse.

The kid stuff started around the second grade. I don't know why I was singled out. Maybe it was my name; maybe it was because I was bigger than the other kids, who knows. (And while I was big, I would have been considered svelte next to kids the same age these days.) During that grade, a girl decided to get a bunch of her friends together and sing me a song about how none of them wanted to be my friend anymore. I believe it was to be sung to the tune of "Hello, Dolly," but the title was "Goodbye Rain," (clever!). Such an elaborate bit of bullying theater, and if it wasn't such a sick thing, I'd almost commend her for having such creativity at such a young age.

Fortunately, our teacher found out about it, (perhaps someone snitched), and she prevented it from happening. But she didn't prevent the girl from putting the lyrics to the song, all very nicely written out and decorated, in my backpack so I could discover it when I got home.

In another grade I had a "best" friend who would, purely based on her whims, decide day to day whether or not she was going to be nice to me, or, along with her friends, torture me. I never knew if a day was going to be a "Be Nice to Rain Day," or "We Hate Rain Day." On the Hate days, I would be hit, threatened with ass-kickings after school, taunted, or just given the complete silent treatment. Welcome to the birth of my neuroses!

Finally, I eventually got to a grade, fifth, where I didn't seem to have any active bullies, and in fact had a bunch of friends. Unfortunately, my teacher hated me. Now, I will admit I was a bit of a wise-ass and a know-it-all, and was probably annoying as hell. But she was an adult, and a teacher, and really should have been above bullying tactics. Tactics like the time there were class elections, and I was voted class president, but she decided to basically veto that vote, give that position to someone she liked, and demote me to "hall monitor," or some such bullshit.

Or the time the class put on a play, The Wizard of Oz, and we all auditioned, and I wanted to be the Cowardly Lion, and could imitate the crying Bert Lahr does in the movie to a T, but she gave the role to someone else, didn't give me a part at all, and made me a line prompter. Or some such bullshit.

Or the time she told the parents of one of my best friends that she shouldn't be allowed to hang out with me anymore because I was a "bad influence." I was NINE. The only thing I was influencing her on was to not like the teacher, which, can you blame me?

Or the time we were on a field trip, and we were all waiting for the bus, many of us students just kind of milling around the teacher, vying for her attention and approval, as young students are wont to do. And some kids were asking her if she thought they were smart enough to get into such and such a school, and she said to each of them, "Yes, oh yes, of course!" And when I asked her she said, "You? No way. Never."

Who do you go to when your teacher is bullying you? Back then, there was nothing I could do. I told my parents, and they had a teacher conference with her--as all parents did, at least once a year--but really, what were they going to say? I know my mom said she came out of the meeting wanting to stick an electrical plug into the teacher's nose, but, alas, she wasn't able to follow through on that.

When I finally got out of her hell class, and moved on to junior high, where it felt like a fresh start, and I could be whoever I wanted to be, well, I did what a lot of bullied kids do: I became a bully.

I was horrible. Just awful. I never hit anyone, or threatened them with violence, but I was a bitch, and cruel, and mean. I'm completely ashamed of it. That I eventually became good friends with most of the girls I bullied is testament to their being superior lifeforms, hands down.

A lot of people who come out of bullying say it made them better people, and who they are today; they came out of it stronger, and that most of the biggest successes in life are the people who were considered weirdos when they were kids.

But that can be minor consolation to a kid who's being bullied in the here and now. I wrote all this stuff down, and am sharing it, because I think it is always helpful to have stories about surviving bullying out there for anyone who might need it. And not to get all, "it gets better," but, it did. By the end of junior high, I was free from bullying--both of and by me. And by the time I got to high school, I didn't give a shit about anything anyone had to say about me, and as a result, no one really said anything about me. In retrospect, high school was a piece of cake, socially, though sometimes I wish my bullying years had been later in life, because I don't think it would have affected my core being as much as it did happening to me so young.

The presence of the Internet and social networking has added a whole new level to bullying, to the point where the only previous respite from school bullying--being able to go home and get the hell away from it, at least for the night--no longer exists.

But the Internet has its counter benefits. Kids can reach out to people who are feeling or felt just like they are, who can tell them that they are great people, and the bullies are complete and total assholes who are going to lose at life. At least kids can get some support outside of their family, because sometimes validation from complete strangers can mean a lot.

Who knows what would have happened if I had been able to post the lyrics to that stupid song on a Tumblr back in the day? And what kind of counteractive song readers might have been able to help me write? And what kind of courage that could have given me for the rest of my school days?

So if, for some completely bizarre reason, there's some bullied kid out there reading this, let me know.

And maybe we can write a song about it...

January Round-Up - 2012

Welcome to the first official round-up of 2012, happening on Leap Day no less. Does that make it more exciting?

Probably not.

But it does remind me, I never understood why the year with an extra day is called a "leap" year, when it seems to make more sense for common years to be called leap years because you are, essentially, leaping into March on years where there isn't a February 29th.

Right?

Whatever, let's look at January!


Movies Seen: Eight, with three in a theater. Getting off to a slow start this year...

The three theater movies started with a sing-along screening of West Side Story at the Castro, which was fun, but frankly, West Side Story isn't a very easy musical to sing along with!

The other two were The Iron Lady, which I didn't bother reviewing because not much could be said beyond, "Bad movie, but Streep was amazing," and Contraband, which I reviewed here.

Most of the DVDs I watched were lame, but I did enjoy Someone's Watching Me!, John Carpenter's 1978 made-for-TV movie starring Lauren Hutton. It's worth seeing because of her--she's just kind of a kooky character in it--and because, as far as TV movies go, it's above average.

Books Read: Four. Click through to read my (limited) thoughts on all.

Then Again by Diane Keaton.

The Hunger Games
Catching Fire
and
Mockingjay, all by Suzanne Collin.

Regarding that trilogy, man. It started out so good! And ended so bad! But I'm still totally excited to see the movie!

Fancy Dinners Out: Four, although two were technically lunch. The first of the lunches was at the Rotunda at Neiman Marcus, which I had never been to before, and would certainly go to again, if only for those popovers and strawberry butter.

I went to Disneyland for my birthday, and had what has now become a traditional steak dinner at Steakhouse 55 in the Disneyland hotel. Got the prix fixe. Delish.

On my actual birthday, I had dinner at La Traviata, per usual. Had pasta. Wish I had some right now.

And I ended the birthday month with another steak, this time lunch at the Leatherneck Steakhouse, which is in the Marines' Memorial building. It is pretty reasonably priced for what you get--which includes TRUFFLED TATER TOTS--and has a totally amazing view. I highly recommend it.

Live Shows Seen: None, but as I mentioned, I did go to Disneyland, which is basically a non-stop show.

Shoes Bought: Two pair, both metallic! The first are some goldish Old Navy flats that are kind of textured to look like lizard. Can't find a picture of them anywhere right now, though. The second are these silver American Rag pumps, which I snagged for under 30 bucks at Macy's.

SHOOP!

I'll admit, I was shocked to hear about the death of Whitney Houston. I can't say I was ever a big fan of her music, (just way too adult contemporary for my tastes), but there was no disputing she had an amazing voice that just puts other so-called divas to shame.

I was more a fan of Whitney Houston herself, in all her crazy glory. Of course, it was pretty obvious a lot of her kookiness came from her drug use, so it's probably in poor taste to find any of that funny now.

Except, I still do, and there's really no way I can curb that. So, I choose to remember her in the many ways she, and her influence, made me laugh.

Like this moment, where she's with Bobby B., and decides to try on some sunglasses.



Or here, where she's telling him, or maybe the cameraman, or maybe just the world, to kiss her ass.



I've also found myself mourning the (probable) loss of Maya Rudolph's Whitney impersonation, which never failed to crack me up. In a weird coincidence, Rudolph is set to host "Saturday Night Live" next week, and I am hoping they find a way to keep her impersonation alive.

Here are a few of the best of Rudolph's Whitney moments, collected so I can have a localized place to watch them over and over and over again, which I plan to do. A lot.


maya rudolph aka Whitney Houston by jenniesslave







Finally, I knew Rich Juzwiak would have something great to say about her, and I wasn't wrong. Check it out.

Today's TV Tirade

I've been thinking about some shows recently, and how they've been annoying me. Here's a blog post about that!

A few years back I wrote about the TV show "Jack and Bobby," and how no abortion on a TV show can go unpunished. In summation: Most of the time, to avoid any kind controversy, if a character doesn't want a baby, and is pregnant, the writers will introduce a very convenient miscarriage. As I mentioned in that post, this happens in movies too--and is one reason I didn't think the movie Citizen Ruth was that great; it didn't have the courage of its convictions--but I tend to notice it more on TV.

A few months ago, on "Grey's Anatomy," the character of Cristina Yang got pregnant. She's married, and in a good position to have a kid, but she has never wanted kids, and didn't want this one. Her husband, Owen, knowing that his wife doesn't want to be a mother--and a kid should not grow up with a mother that never wanted him--agreed that terminating the pregnancy was best, and even went with her to the procedure.

That, as the saying goes, seemed to be that. There were several episodes after in which things were back to normal, they were doing fine, and it seemed to be non-issue.

Of course, this couldn't last forever. Two episodes ago, during a fight, her husband admits that he is not fine with the abortion, and bellows at her that she "killed" their baby.

And in the previews for this coming week's episode, it looks like Yang might get hit by a car, or someone might get hurt while trying to save her from getting hit by a car, or maybe she'll get hit by a car, and magically find out she's pregnant again, and this time keep the baby.



No abortion can go unpunished.

It's sad that I was more surprised by the show's few episodes where it all seemed to be a non-issue than I am by this latest development, because it's just so pathetically typical. I hope this wasn't the way creator Shonda Rhimes wanted it to go, and she was somehow influenced to add this new drama, but she's a TV writer. She probably knows how stories like that "have" to be handled on television...

In a completely different, but still very annoying vein, what the hell is up with "Alcatraz"? Every week we see one of the prisoners who disappeared back in 1963 reappearing in 2012 San Francisco, and we have yet to witness any of these prisoners having any kind of problem navigating modern life, or, indeed, acting very surprised by anything they witness.

I really hope I've just missed an important plot element, (which could very well be the case; my attention tends to drift when watching the show), and they've explained that, perhaps, all these guys have actually been wandering around for years, and thus we just haven't been privy to their moments of acclimation, or some other plausible explanation for their nonchalance.

But if that's not the case, and they haven't explained this at all, and don't intend to, well, I don't think I can keep watching. I don't know why, but this aspect of the show just really, really irks me. I think you have to earn that kind of preposterousness. You can't just throw it at an audience right out the gate!

As a final note, here's a link to blog post I wrote in 2004, about "Lost," that mentions a certain island in the San Francisco Bay.

In case you didn't know, "Alcatraz" comes from some of the creators of "Lost"...

So, yes, basically I am saying I am responsible for the existence of "Alcatraz." OBVS.

December Round-Up - 2011

I just got done with a crazy week of birthday celebrating, which included a party and a trip to Disneyland. I'm still recovering, so this post is going to have to be a bit on the brief side.

So without further ado, here is a final look at 2011...

Movies Seen: Eleven, with five in a theater. Click through to read my reviews of four of them:

Carnage
The Sitter
We Bought a Zoo
The Grey

The fourth theatrical viewing was Hugo, which I did like, but didn't love. It's was beautiful to look at, and touching at times, but really went on way too long.

None of the DVDs I watched was worth mentioning.

Books Read: Only two, but one of those books was over 800 pages long. That book was Stephen King's 11/22/63. Click through to read my brief thoughts on the matter. I could go further into it, but that would be spoiler-rific...

The other book was Joan Didion's Blue Nights, which I read in a night, and is good, but not quite as devastating as her Year of Magical Thinking.

Fancy Dinners Out: Four! It was Christmastime. Imbibing is de rigueur that time of year! The fanciest night was an evening at the Bella Vista in Woodside. It involved a limo full of friends, and lots of flaming foods. Check out my blog Flambabes for some video from the evening.

Bix has daily lunch during December, so that was a must. The most amazing part of that meal had to be the truffled deviled eggs. OMG so good.

We took my mother to the Buckeye for a birthday lunch, and the highlight of THAT meal had to be their oysters bingo. I could eat a dozen of those myself, easily.

Finally, there was a dinner at La Traviata, which is always good.

Live Shows Seen: One! The San Francisco Ballet's Nutcracker, which, as always, was tons of fun.

Shoes Bought: I don't think I bought any shoes for myself, but I did get a pair of new Keds for Christmas.

The Year In Pictures

Picture the Day - 2011, a set on Flickr.

At the beginning of 2011, I decided I'd try and take a picture every day and post it on Flickr. Miraculously, I did just that, and that set is now 365 pictures full. Check it out!

I'm kind of amazed I accomplished it, and with only two mistakes: There was one day when I totally forgot, and ended up taking a picture that was technically the following day since it was about two in the morning.

The other "mistake" is I posted a picture of me that someone else took, so technically I suppose it doesn't count. But it was taken with my camera, and on the day, so....I let it slide.

Oh, and I also found out the date set on one of my cameras was wrong, so some pictures taken with my SLR are dated wrong.

Since it wasn't really a hard habit to keep up with, I've decided to keep it up in 2012. If nothing else, I'll be prepared to document the coming apocalypse!

In With the Old

Yo. Happy New Year (a tad early)!

In many ways 2011 was pretty awesome. Sure, for most of it I was unemployed, (and still am), but because of that unemployment--the longest time I have been without a job since I started working in earnest, mind you, so about 20 years--I was able to do a hell of a lot of nothing, and a hell of a lot of fun stuff. I traveled somewhere different once a month for five months straight; I stayed up until four in the morning, reading, or watching TV, or Internet-lookin', for more nights than I care to admit to. And I basically took a much needed break from IT.

You know what IT is. We all do.

But 2012 is a new year. (And if the Mayans are right, the last year.) I still plan on having tons of fun, but since fun needs funding, I'm going to have to find a new job, and probably pretty damn soon. Wish me luck.

But along with job searching, I'm hoping to do some more writing in 2012, and towards that goal, I am starting up a new blog.

Musty TV will remain the source for all things TV-related, (and Rain-related), but my new venture--Mulling Movies--will be a fond look back at the year 1982, and my birth as a genuine movie dork. Please check it out, add it to whatever you use to keep up on such things, and join in on the discussions therein.

Here's to a terrific New Year!

November Round-Up - 2011

Happy New Year!

Let's talk about November.

Yes, as is tradition on Musty TV, when the end of a month approaches, I talk about the end of the month before. Screwy, I know, but that's just how I roll.

In actuality, November, and Thanksgiving seems like it happened yesterday; the end of the year always comes too fast. And I suppose I should save my year-end reminiscing for December's Round-Up post. (Which I might try to publish before the end of January, just to change things up.)

But I will let you know that I've got some things in the works for 2012. I'm hoping some will be entertaining, for both you and me, and if they aren't, well, the world is supposed to end in 2012 anyway. We won't have to deal with the disappointment for too long.

On with the Round-Up.

Movies Seen: Ten, with three in a theater. Here are links to my reviews of those three (though to sum up, "The Artist" is the only one really worth seeing):

"A Very Harold and Kumar 3D Christmas"
"Into the Abyss"
"The Artist"

None of the DVDs I saw are really worth mentioning, though I guess my favorite of the bunch was Errol Morris's "Tabloid."

Books Read: Eight. Click through to read my brief reviews, where applicable, (though, again, to sum up, "Among the Porcupines" was the most enjoyable read):

"The Prince the Showgirl and Me," by Colin Clark

"My Story," by Marilyn Monroe

"Among the Porcupines," by Carol Matthau

"Rules of Civility," by Amor Towles

"The Night Strangers," by Chris Bohjalian

"The Walking Dead – Vols 9 and 10," by Robert Kirkman and Tony Moore

"The Visible Man," by Chuck Klosterman

Fancy Dinners Out: Only one dinner, at Harris' Steakhouse. We sat in the bar area, the food was great, and there was a jazz pianist playing. Pricey, but a good experience!

Also had fancy tea at the Top of the Mark.

Live Shows Seen: None, unless you count my annual visit to the Great Dickens Christmas Fair, which is always a hoot and a holler.

Shoes Bought: I am pretty sure I bought no shoes in November!

October Round-Up - 2011

Christmas is fast approaching, but it seems like October was just yesterday. Seriously!

No. Seriously.

But I can't dwell on that. I've got Thanksgiving food to continue to digest, and a holiday to plan. On with it!

Movies Seen: Fourteen, with five in a theater. Here are links to my reviews of those five films.

"The Ides of March"
"My Week With Marilyn"
"The Thing"
"In Time"
"A Very Harold and Kumar 3D Christmas"

Of the DVDs I watched, I think I most enjoyed the latest adaptation of "Jane Eyre," this one starring Michael Fassbender and Mia Wasikowska. And I probably least enjoyed "A Little Help," which was just a meandering and meaningless mess.

Books Read: Six. Click through to read my (often brief) reviews!

"The Internet Is a Playground," by David Thorne. (No review, but if you want to read the best parts of this book, just go to the guys site here.)
"My Boyfriend Wrote a Book About Me," by Hilary Winston
"This Is the Zodiac Speaking," by Michael D. Kelleher and David Van Nuys
"Popular Crime," by Bill James
"A Stolen Life," by Jaycee Dugard
"Record Collecting for Girls," by Courtney E. Smith

Fancy Dinners Out: Nothing too fancy this month. Had tea at Lovejoy's, (I think I prefer Crown & Crumpet), and dinner at Garcon, a small french restaurant in the Mission. Ate at the bar. Had a steak. It was good, if served a little on the cold side.

Live Shows Seen: Actually did make it to one show, the Dukes of Hamburg at Bottom of the Hill, as part of the Budget Rock Showcase. Hadn't seen them in some years, and it was as fun as always.

Shoes Bought: One pair, these American Rag t-strap pumps, which were on sale at Macy's. I love the color, and they have a hidden platform, giving height without the obvious look of a platform heel.

State of TV - Fall 2011 Edition!

A few years back I wrote a series of posts called "State of TV," which basically took a look at my viewing habits for every day of the week, post the premiere of the Fall TV season.

This year, I've done something similar for the San Francisco Appeal, taking a day-by-day look at how the new batch of TV shows are faring, and by "faring" I mean whether or not I am still watching them, and what I think of them.

So go check those posts out, won't you?

Appealing TV: Monday, Monday, Can't Trust That Day

Appealing TV: I'll Love You Till Tuesday

Appealing TV: You Won't Give a Damn By Wednesday Week

Appealing TV: Thursday Has Its Own Peculiar Way

Appealing TV: Gotta Get Down On Friday

Appealing TV: Everyday Is Like Sunday

September Round-Up - 2011

Nearing the end of September, I realized it would be the first month since April that I didn't spend at least a few days out of town. And that would just not do. So a friend and I decided to take an overnight trip to the Madonna Inn, with a stop at Hearst Castle. I hadn't been to either since about 2004, and there were changes to both: At Hearst Castle, you can now wander around the grounds all you want after an indoor tour, which means if you want to hang out on a lounge chair by the pool for hours, you can. (Can't go into the pool, of course, but still...) And a pool was also a relatively new addition to the Madonna Inn. And a really, really nice pool, at that, complete with a fake rock waterfall and two hot tubs. The fact that the place has existed for years without it is kind of amazing since it is now, to me, the main reason to even go there. (Along with the pink steakhouse, of course.)

But oh my goodness, it is Halloween night, and it's almost coming to an end, so I should probably get this round-up over with!

Movies Seen: Eight, with five in a theater. Click through to read my reviews of "Contagion," "Moneyball," "I Don't Know How She Does It," and "Killer Elite."

None of the DVDs I watched was memorable in any way, good or bad.

Books Read: Six. Click through to read my brief thoughts, where applicable: "Love Sick" by Sue William Silverman. "A Paper Life" by Tatum O'Neal. "Walks With Men" by Anne Beattie. "Found: A Daughter's Journey Home" by Tatum O'Neal. "The Walking Dead – Vol. 8" by Robert Kirkman and Tony Moore. "Super Sad True Love Story by Gary Shtyeyngart.

Fancy Dinners Out: Five! Living large! I finally went to the House of Prime Rib, after many, many years. In fact, I think I was a kid the last time I went. I love it, especially how the meat is wheeled around the room in a silver zeppelin, but have to say, I was a little disappointed with my prime rib! I ordered it medium rare, which is how I always order it, and it's done me well in the past, but this time, it was just too well done. Not pink and slightly bloody as it should be, but pretty much cooked through. The sides were good, including the awesome salad that they spin tableside, so that almost made up for it. Almost.

Ironically, I had the same problem at the Gold Rush Steakhouse at the Madonna Inn, once again with prime rib. (Michele ordered a New York steak, medium rare, and it arrived perfectly cooked, so I'm not sure what the issue is! Other places I've ordered prime rib medium rare has always been fine, so, I guess I was just cursed this month.)

Meat was also on the menu at Absinthe, where I had the burger. This was perfectly cooked, and perfectly delicious.

I also had dinner at Jaspers Corner Tap, which isn't particularly fancy, but is relatively new, so on the list it goes. Stuck to smaller bites, with some mac and cheese, deviled eggs, sausage bites, and a chopped salad. Deviled eggs won the evening.

Finally, had one of the best Caesar salads I've ever had at Nizza La Bella in Albany, along with some very good French onion soup.

Live Shows Seen: None, unless you count the swing dancers that were performing at the Madonna Inn the night we had dinner.

Shoes Bought: One pair, these vintage "lizagator" pumps, found for under 20 bucks on eBay.