So I kind of have a new toy in my life. Through work, I got an iPad. Now originally, I was excited, but not overly excited because I thought my iPhone and computers (home and work) were sufficient. But just over a week with that baby and I've changed my tune.
The iPad is great; it makes mobile email and web surfing easier and better than the iPhone. And the digital books! And the games! And videos/TV shows on iTunes! Basically, it's easy for both entertainment and work all in one. And it works as easily and efficiently as the iPhone which I've already declared my love for.
Not everyone at work has one, a select group of people (about 150) are considered "Spillers" meaning that we Spill on our company homepage about news, events- both in NY and the industry or whatever else people want to share. You can spill directly from the iPad or from a standard computer. I describe a spill as longer than a tweet but shorter than a blog. As long as you keep up on spilling, you get to keep the iPad. I love it so much already I'm determined to Spill Spill Spill!
The only thing I've already realized is that things I would normally blog about, I've spilled about. So, I'm trying to post things that are especially interesting on both places so that I can keep up this lovely little blog.
Friday, July 30, 2010
The New Classics in Books
Entertainment Weekly put together a list of the New Classics in Books- “the best 100 reads from 1983 – 2008“.
Here’s the list, how many have you read? I’ve read 14, but considering most I read on my own, not for school, I’m pretty pleased with myself.
1.The Road, Cormac McCarthy (2006)
2.Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, J.K. Rowling (2000)
3.Beloved, Toni Morrison (1987)
4.The Liars’ Club, Mary Karr (1995)
5.American Pastoral, Philip Roth (1997)
6.Mystic River, Dennis Lehane (2001): Seen the movie … not dying to read the book.
7.Maus, Art Spiegelman (1986/1991)
8.Selected Stories, Alice Munro (1996)
9.Cold Mountain, Charles Frazier (1997)
10.The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle, Haruki Murakami (1997)
11.Into Thin Air, Jon Krakauer (1997)
12.Blindness, José Saramago (1998)
13.Watchmen, Alan Moore and Dave Gibbons (1986-87)
14.Black Water, Joyce Carol Oates (1992)
15.A Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius, Dave Eggers (2000)
16.The Handmaid’s Tale, Margaret Atwood (1986)
17.Love in the Time of Cholera, Gabriel Garcia Márquez (1988)
18.Rabbit at Rest, John Updike (1990)
19.On Beauty, Zadie Smith (2005)
20.Bridget Jones’s Diary, Helen Fielding (1998)
21.On Writing, Stephen King (2000)
22.The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao, Junot Díaz (2007)
23.The Ghost Road, Pat Barker (1996)
24.Lonesome Dove, Larry McMurtry (1985)
25.The Joy Luck Club, Amy Tan (1989)
26.Neuromancer, William Gibson (1984)
27.Possession, A.S. Byatt (1990)
28.Naked, David Sedaris (1997)
29.Bel Canto, Anne Patchett (2001)
30.Case Histories, Kate Atkinson (2004)
31.The Things They Carried, Tim O’Brien (1990)
32.Parting the Waters, Taylor Branch (1988)
33.The Year of Magical Thinking, Joan Didion (2005)
34.The Lovely Bones, Alice Sebold (2002)
35.The Line of Beauty, Alan Hollinghurst (2004)
36.Angela’s Ashes, Frank McCourt (1996)
37.Persepolis, Marjane Satrapi (2003):
38.Birds of America, Lorrie Moore (1998)
39.Interpreter of Maladies, Jhumpa Lahiri (2000)
40.His Dark Materials, Philip Pullman (1995-2000)
41.The House on Mango Street, Sandra Cisneros (1984)
42.LaBrava, Elmore Leonard (1983)
43.Borrowed Time, Paul Monette (1988):
44.Praying for Sheetrock, Melissa Fay Greene (1991)
45.Eva Luna, Isabel Allende (1988)
46.Sandman, Neil Gaiman (1988-1996)
47.World’s Fair, E.L. Doctorow (1985)
48.The Poisonwood Bible, Barbara Kingsolver (1998)
49.Clockers, Richard Price (1992)
50.The Corrections, Jonathan Franzen (2001)
51.The Journalist and the Murderer, Janet Malcom (1990)
52.Waiting to Exhale, Terry McMillan (1992)
53.The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier & Clay, Michael Chabon (2000)
54.Jimmy Corrigan, Chris Ware (2000)
55.The Glass Castle, Jeannette Walls (2006)
56.The Night Manager, John le Carré (1993)
57.The Bonfire of the Vanities, Tom Wolfe (1987)
58.Drop City, TC Boyle (2003)
59.Krik? Krak! Edwidge Danticat (1995)
60.Nickel & Dimed, Barbara Ehrenreich (2001)
61.Money, Martin Amis (1985)
62.Last Train To Memphis, Peter Guralnick (1994)
63.Pastoralia, George Saunders (2000)
64.Underworld, Don DeLillo (1997)
65.The Giver, Lois Lowry (1993)
66.A Supposedly Fun Thing I’ll Never Do Again, David Foster Wallace (1997)
67.The Kite Runner, Khaled Hosseini (2003)
68.Fun Home, Alison Bechdel (2006)
69.Secret History, Donna Tartt (1992)
70.Cloud Atlas, David Mitchell (2004)
71.The Spirit Catches You and You Fall Down, Ann Fadiman (1997)
72.The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time, Mark Haddon (2003)
73.A Prayer for Owen Meany, John Irving (1989)
74.Friday Night Lights, H.G. Bissinger (1990)
75.Cathedral, Raymond Carver (1983)
76.A Sight for Sore Eyes, Ruth Rendell (1998)
77.The Remains of the Day, Kazuo Ishiguro (1989)
78.Eat, Pray, Love, Elizabeth Gilbert (2006)
79.The Tipping Point, Malcolm Gladwell (2000)
80.Bright Lights, Big City, Jay McInerney (1984)
81.Backlash, Susan Faludi (1991)
82.Atonement, Ian McEwan (2002)
83.The Stone Diaries, Carol Shields (1994)
84.Holes, Louis Sachar (1998)
85.Gilead, Marilynne Robinson (2004)
86.And the Band Played On, Randy Shilts (1987)
87.The Ruins, Scott Smith (2006)
88.High Fidelity, Nick Hornby (1995)
89.Close Range, Annie Proulx (1999)
90.Comfort Me With Apples, Ruth Reichl (2001)
91.Random Family, Adrian Nicole LeBlanc (2003)
92.Presumed Innocent, Scott Turow (1987)
93.A Thousand Acres, Jane Smiley (1991)
94.Fast Food Nation, Eric Schlosser (2001)
95.Kaaterskill Falls, Allegra Goodman (1998)
96.The Da Vinci Code, Dan Brown (2003)
97.Jesus’ Son, Denis Johnson (1992)
98.The Predators’ Ball, Connie Bruck (1988)
99.Practical Magic, Alice Hoffman (1995)
100.America (the Book), Jon Stewart/Daily Show (2004)
Also, here’s the link where you can look up other Top 100 lists (movies, videogames, etc). http://www.ew.com/ew/article/0,,20207076_20207387_20207349,00.html
Here’s the list, how many have you read? I’ve read 14, but considering most I read on my own, not for school, I’m pretty pleased with myself.
1.The Road, Cormac McCarthy (2006)
2.Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, J.K. Rowling (2000)
3.Beloved, Toni Morrison (1987)
4.The Liars’ Club, Mary Karr (1995)
5.American Pastoral, Philip Roth (1997)
6.Mystic River, Dennis Lehane (2001): Seen the movie … not dying to read the book.
7.Maus, Art Spiegelman (1986/1991)
8.Selected Stories, Alice Munro (1996)
9.Cold Mountain, Charles Frazier (1997)
10.The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle, Haruki Murakami (1997)
11.Into Thin Air, Jon Krakauer (1997)
12.Blindness, José Saramago (1998)
13.Watchmen, Alan Moore and Dave Gibbons (1986-87)
14.Black Water, Joyce Carol Oates (1992)
15.A Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius, Dave Eggers (2000)
16.The Handmaid’s Tale, Margaret Atwood (1986)
17.Love in the Time of Cholera, Gabriel Garcia Márquez (1988)
18.Rabbit at Rest, John Updike (1990)
19.On Beauty, Zadie Smith (2005)
20.Bridget Jones’s Diary, Helen Fielding (1998)
21.On Writing, Stephen King (2000)
22.The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao, Junot Díaz (2007)
23.The Ghost Road, Pat Barker (1996)
24.Lonesome Dove, Larry McMurtry (1985)
25.The Joy Luck Club, Amy Tan (1989)
26.Neuromancer, William Gibson (1984)
27.Possession, A.S. Byatt (1990)
28.Naked, David Sedaris (1997)
29.Bel Canto, Anne Patchett (2001)
30.Case Histories, Kate Atkinson (2004)
31.The Things They Carried, Tim O’Brien (1990)
32.Parting the Waters, Taylor Branch (1988)
33.The Year of Magical Thinking, Joan Didion (2005)
34.The Lovely Bones, Alice Sebold (2002)
35.The Line of Beauty, Alan Hollinghurst (2004)
36.Angela’s Ashes, Frank McCourt (1996)
37.Persepolis, Marjane Satrapi (2003):
38.Birds of America, Lorrie Moore (1998)
39.Interpreter of Maladies, Jhumpa Lahiri (2000)
40.His Dark Materials, Philip Pullman (1995-2000)
41.The House on Mango Street, Sandra Cisneros (1984)
42.LaBrava, Elmore Leonard (1983)
43.Borrowed Time, Paul Monette (1988):
44.Praying for Sheetrock, Melissa Fay Greene (1991)
45.Eva Luna, Isabel Allende (1988)
46.Sandman, Neil Gaiman (1988-1996)
47.World’s Fair, E.L. Doctorow (1985)
48.The Poisonwood Bible, Barbara Kingsolver (1998)
49.Clockers, Richard Price (1992)
50.The Corrections, Jonathan Franzen (2001)
51.The Journalist and the Murderer, Janet Malcom (1990)
52.Waiting to Exhale, Terry McMillan (1992)
53.The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier & Clay, Michael Chabon (2000)
54.Jimmy Corrigan, Chris Ware (2000)
55.The Glass Castle, Jeannette Walls (2006)
56.The Night Manager, John le Carré (1993)
57.The Bonfire of the Vanities, Tom Wolfe (1987)
58.Drop City, TC Boyle (2003)
59.Krik? Krak! Edwidge Danticat (1995)
60.Nickel & Dimed, Barbara Ehrenreich (2001)
61.Money, Martin Amis (1985)
62.Last Train To Memphis, Peter Guralnick (1994)
63.Pastoralia, George Saunders (2000)
64.Underworld, Don DeLillo (1997)
65.The Giver, Lois Lowry (1993)
66.A Supposedly Fun Thing I’ll Never Do Again, David Foster Wallace (1997)
67.The Kite Runner, Khaled Hosseini (2003)
68.Fun Home, Alison Bechdel (2006)
69.Secret History, Donna Tartt (1992)
70.Cloud Atlas, David Mitchell (2004)
71.The Spirit Catches You and You Fall Down, Ann Fadiman (1997)
72.The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time, Mark Haddon (2003)
73.A Prayer for Owen Meany, John Irving (1989)
74.Friday Night Lights, H.G. Bissinger (1990)
75.Cathedral, Raymond Carver (1983)
76.A Sight for Sore Eyes, Ruth Rendell (1998)
77.The Remains of the Day, Kazuo Ishiguro (1989)
78.Eat, Pray, Love, Elizabeth Gilbert (2006)
79.The Tipping Point, Malcolm Gladwell (2000)
80.Bright Lights, Big City, Jay McInerney (1984)
81.Backlash, Susan Faludi (1991)
82.Atonement, Ian McEwan (2002)
83.The Stone Diaries, Carol Shields (1994)
84.Holes, Louis Sachar (1998)
85.Gilead, Marilynne Robinson (2004)
86.And the Band Played On, Randy Shilts (1987)
87.The Ruins, Scott Smith (2006)
88.High Fidelity, Nick Hornby (1995)
89.Close Range, Annie Proulx (1999)
90.Comfort Me With Apples, Ruth Reichl (2001)
91.Random Family, Adrian Nicole LeBlanc (2003)
92.Presumed Innocent, Scott Turow (1987)
93.A Thousand Acres, Jane Smiley (1991)
94.Fast Food Nation, Eric Schlosser (2001)
95.Kaaterskill Falls, Allegra Goodman (1998)
96.The Da Vinci Code, Dan Brown (2003)
97.Jesus’ Son, Denis Johnson (1992)
98.The Predators’ Ball, Connie Bruck (1988)
99.Practical Magic, Alice Hoffman (1995)
100.America (the Book), Jon Stewart/Daily Show (2004)
Also, here’s the link where you can look up other Top 100 lists (movies, videogames, etc). http://www.ew.com/ew/article/0,,20207076_20207387_20207349,00.html
Thursday, July 22, 2010
My Most Controversial Post Yet?
[In my best Chris Harrison voice] This may be “my most controversial post yet”. Maybe even more so than the Lean Cuisine post (check out those comments, maybe I was too harsh). And if you don’t get the joke about Chris Harrison and most controversial, you don’t watch enough of the Bachelor/Bachelorette franchise.
But in all seriousness, here’s my controversial question: does having a child/children give a woman different privileges at work than people who don’t have kids?
I totally understand; people want to spend time with their children, they don’t want to pay the nanny/daycare more in overtime than they’re making at work, they may be more experienced so they expect better hours. But does that mean that because I don’t have kids I should work later? Or cover meetings that I may or may not be ready to run because someone has a recital to attend or leaves early to relieve the nanny? I work in an industry where there aren’t really set hours, there is no official end of day. And because of this, sometimes we need to stay later in order to get our job done.
This is not supposed to be a post just for venting; it’s really a question of how does a working mom balance work and kids. And what does her “balance” do to others who do not have children?
From my experience and observations I think that you really cannot have it all. And sometimes it sucks when you’re trying to anyway. Maybe if only one person in the marriage has a stressful, non-structured hours career, and the other can leave everyday at 5pm and not check a blackberry at night and on weekends it can be done. This isn’t a new theory- the two newest female Supreme Court justices were both noted for the fact that they didn’t have families but they had incredible careers.
But on the flip side, if there is support (within a marriage, a company, a group or team) for one person to try to have it all, does that negate support for others to try to too? If one person leaves early to see her children and the other people stay to work and then miss happy hour, dinner with friends, or other things that are important to them – is that support or sacrifice? And does the person who left early have the same career opportunities? Will it be different for me in 10 (give or take) years when I have kids?
I am pretty sure there are no answers to a lot of these questions, but it is something I think about often. I may look back on this later in life and think I was naive or too harsh. I know everyone is different, so what are your thoughts?
But in all seriousness, here’s my controversial question: does having a child/children give a woman different privileges at work than people who don’t have kids?
I totally understand; people want to spend time with their children, they don’t want to pay the nanny/daycare more in overtime than they’re making at work, they may be more experienced so they expect better hours. But does that mean that because I don’t have kids I should work later? Or cover meetings that I may or may not be ready to run because someone has a recital to attend or leaves early to relieve the nanny? I work in an industry where there aren’t really set hours, there is no official end of day. And because of this, sometimes we need to stay later in order to get our job done.
This is not supposed to be a post just for venting; it’s really a question of how does a working mom balance work and kids. And what does her “balance” do to others who do not have children?
From my experience and observations I think that you really cannot have it all. And sometimes it sucks when you’re trying to anyway. Maybe if only one person in the marriage has a stressful, non-structured hours career, and the other can leave everyday at 5pm and not check a blackberry at night and on weekends it can be done. This isn’t a new theory- the two newest female Supreme Court justices were both noted for the fact that they didn’t have families but they had incredible careers.
But on the flip side, if there is support (within a marriage, a company, a group or team) for one person to try to have it all, does that negate support for others to try to too? If one person leaves early to see her children and the other people stay to work and then miss happy hour, dinner with friends, or other things that are important to them – is that support or sacrifice? And does the person who left early have the same career opportunities? Will it be different for me in 10 (give or take) years when I have kids?
I am pretty sure there are no answers to a lot of these questions, but it is something I think about often. I may look back on this later in life and think I was naive or too harsh. I know everyone is different, so what are your thoughts?
Wednesday, July 21, 2010
Mmm Pie!
I consistently make 3 pies a year: apple in October after my annual apple picking trip, pumpkin for Thanksgiving, and then blueberry in the summer.
The last couple of blueberry pies I've made had been really juicy. Never overflowing in the oven juicy, but like super soggy crust and lots of sweet syrup juicy.
This year's pie though may be as close to perfect as I can get! The crust held together, the pie didn't overflow or burn. But...it wasn't quite juicy enough. You see these pieces below, how there is nothing leaking from the pie, just a couple of stray berries? I wanted just a little bit more juice to mix into my ice cream and oooze around in the bowl for the ultimate summer dessert.
Oh well....maybe next year.
The last couple of blueberry pies I've made had been really juicy. Never overflowing in the oven juicy, but like super soggy crust and lots of sweet syrup juicy.
This year's pie though may be as close to perfect as I can get! The crust held together, the pie didn't overflow or burn. But...it wasn't quite juicy enough. You see these pieces below, how there is nothing leaking from the pie, just a couple of stray berries? I wanted just a little bit more juice to mix into my ice cream and oooze around in the bowl for the ultimate summer dessert.
Oh well....maybe next year.
Tuesday, July 20, 2010
Summer Sunday Supper
This past weekend I decided that I was going to ignore the heat wave and prepare a nice dinner with dessert and invite some friends over. The original idea was to make a blueberry pie and then do cheese, crackers, and other snacky food. But then I thought that wasn't much of an offer for friends coming over, including one girl coming in from Brooklyn.
So I decided to add a Spanish twist and make sangria and gazpacho. I christened my Cuisinart Food Processor with the gazpacho. I bought this probably in late April as a treat to myself. I had originally flagged a food processor as a wedding registry item. As in, something I don't need bad enough so I can wait and get it as a wedding present (someday). But since I'm not getting married anytime soon (but again, someday) and when the Bloomingdale's home sale had the 11 cup for $99, it was a done deal.
I continued my Spanish theme with some sangria. Sometimes sangria can be too boozy and potent but I have found a mild recipe I like a lot. I'm thinking of calling it Sunday Sangria, as in, you can drink it Sunday night and still make it to work bright eyed and bushy tailed on Monday.
Sunday Sangria:
1 bottle Chardonnay
3/4 cup peach schnapps
6 tablespoons frozen lemonade
1 nectarine, sliced
1 granny smith apple, sliced
Mix all together in pitcher, let sit for a few hours, serve over ice. We like to top each glass with some champagne as well.
So I decided to add a Spanish twist and make sangria and gazpacho. I christened my Cuisinart Food Processor with the gazpacho. I bought this probably in late April as a treat to myself. I had originally flagged a food processor as a wedding registry item. As in, something I don't need bad enough so I can wait and get it as a wedding present (someday). But since I'm not getting married anytime soon (but again, someday) and when the Bloomingdale's home sale had the 11 cup for $99, it was a done deal.
I continued my Spanish theme with some sangria. Sometimes sangria can be too boozy and potent but I have found a mild recipe I like a lot. I'm thinking of calling it Sunday Sangria, as in, you can drink it Sunday night and still make it to work bright eyed and bushy tailed on Monday.
Sunday Sangria:
1 bottle Chardonnay
3/4 cup peach schnapps
6 tablespoons frozen lemonade
1 nectarine, sliced
1 granny smith apple, sliced
Mix all together in pitcher, let sit for a few hours, serve over ice. We like to top each glass with some champagne as well.
Thursday, July 8, 2010
One of those weeks
I'm sure you've heard, we've had a heat wave in the Northeast. A brutal, record breaking wave of three digit temperatures, fear of Con-Ed running out of power, etc.
On top of that, we have a HUGE meeting at work this afternoon. The kind of meeting that 1) shouldn't be scheduled during a short week (we had Monday off for the holiday) and 2) that no matter how early you start prepping, you're always rushing at the end.
The upside- I've been at work for crazy long hours, like 10pm Tue, 1am Wed and they've kept the office air-conditioned. I also got dinner delivered and got to take a cab home. So I'm saving money and staying cool.
As the eternal optimist, I am figure it all works out, but at the same time, I am tired, my apartment is a mess, and everyone is very stressed at work.
Cannot wait until Friday!
On top of that, we have a HUGE meeting at work this afternoon. The kind of meeting that 1) shouldn't be scheduled during a short week (we had Monday off for the holiday) and 2) that no matter how early you start prepping, you're always rushing at the end.
The upside- I've been at work for crazy long hours, like 10pm Tue, 1am Wed and they've kept the office air-conditioned. I also got dinner delivered and got to take a cab home. So I'm saving money and staying cool.
As the eternal optimist, I am figure it all works out, but at the same time, I am tired, my apartment is a mess, and everyone is very stressed at work.
Cannot wait until Friday!
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