Paris 2010

Paris 2010
Garden at Versailles

Wednesday, October 31, 2012

Review of Shockaholic by Carrie Fisher

I just read Shockaholic  by Carrie Fisher.  This is a short, quick read (I read it in a few days but I'm sure I could have finished it in one sitting). Carrie has an interesting take on what it means to be famous i.e. her story about dating Senator Chris Dodd in 1985 and being friends with Michael Jackson.

Although I didn't like this book quite as much as Wishful Drinking which I gave 5 stars on www.goodreads.com, I would still recommend it. I especially liked the chapter about her father (Oy! My Pa-Pa) which was very sweet and sad. She had a complicated relationship with him over the years, much as I did with my own father who passed away suddenly on September 10, 2012.  Eddie Fisher died shortly after falling and breaking his hip (which is also what happened to my dad).  Carrie had been taking care of her father but unfortunately was not with him when he died on September 22, 2010.  We also have that in common. 

The title of this book comes from her experiences using ECT treatments for depression and the subsequent memory loss. "You haven't lived vicariously until you've done it through me," Carrie writes.  Only Carrie Fisher can write about this topic so frankly and hilariously. If I ever get the chance to hear her speak in person, I would definitely go!

Wednesday, October 24, 2012

Mad Men's Matt Weiner Honored

TheHollywoodreporter.com has listed Mad Men creator Matthew Weiner as one of the Top 50 Showrunners for 2012.  A showrunner is generally the writer/producer of the TV series i.e. the executive producer.  Here is the link to the article and the interview with Matt Weiner (I think he's brilliant!) -

http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/showrunners-2012-mad-men-matthew-weiner-376006

Mad Men end of Season 5

 
 

Tuesday, October 23, 2012

Quotes for Today

"The greatest glory in living lies not in never falling, but in rising every time we fall."
- Nelson Mandela


"Do not wait for your ship to come in -- swim out to it."
- Unknown author


"You've achieved success in your field when you don't know whether what you're doing is work or play."
- Warren Beatty 


 

Monday, October 15, 2012

Skyfall

You may already be aware that the latest James Bond movie will be released soon - fans in the United Kingdom will get to see it beginning on October 26 and it will start here on November 9th.  My husband and I are big fans of the franchise and this will be the 23rd adventure for Bond.  Here is the link to the official website -

http://www.skyfall-movie.com/site/

Fans of Daniel Craig will be interested in this link listing the "19 Reasons to Love Daniel Craig" -

http://www.glamour.com/entertainment/blogs/obsessed/2012/10/daniel-craig.html

My favorite Bond is Sean Connery, followed by Pierce Brosnan and Daniel Craig.  The early reviews of Skyfall have been raves -

http://www.celebuzz.com/2012-10-15/skyfall-rave-reviews-are-in-for-new-james-bond-thriller/

 
Daniel Craig as 007
 

Friday, October 12, 2012

Little Bee

Recently, I started reading Little Bee by Chris Cleave.  It was a Goodreads Choice Award Nominee for Fiction in 2009.  Here are some reviews from the author's website -

http://www.chriscleave.com/books/little-bee/reviews/

A friend whose book club read and loved this book, passed it on to me.  I'm not very far into it yet so I'll let you know what I think once I've finished it. 

Wednesday, October 10, 2012

Achieving Goals

I read a helpful article about achieving goals when you are depressed and thought I'd pass it along here -

http://www.hopetocope.com/Item.aspx/610/putting-the-go-in-goals

Tuesday, October 9, 2012

Happy Birthday, Mr. Monk!

Just a quick post to say happy birthday to one of my favorite actors.  Tony Shalhoub, who is best known for playing Adrian Monk on the USA series Monk, is 59 today.  I must be one of his biggest fans!  Hope he had a special birthday today and many more to come!  I have the entire series on DVD and was planning to watch an episode today but didn't get to it yet.  It's such a wonderful show!

 
 

Thursday, October 4, 2012

The Impossible Dream

When I was growing up, my family and I always watched Gomer Pyle, U.S.M.C starring Jim Nabors and Frank Sutton.  This classic show was a spin-off from The Andy Griffith Show and you can still watch full episodes on YouTube and it's available on DVD.  Jim Nabors is a wonderful singer and I thought I'd post his version of "The Impossible Dream" here as a tribute to my father who passed away last month.  As I recall, he loved Gomer Pyle...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oqJ2jYumJJo&feature=colike

The show ran from 1964 to 1969.  According to Wikipedia, "Gomer Pyle" has become U.S.M.C. slang for "a recruit who continually messes up or needs extra training."  But I think Gomer had a wonderful, optimistic, sweet nature and even Sgt. Carter eventually learned a few things from him.  Gomer would often say, "Surprise, surprise, surprise!" and "Shazam!"

Here is a list of interesting trivia about the show from www.imdb.com -

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0057752/trivia


My husband and I were able to see Jim Nabors perform in Hawaii when we were there on our honeymoon.  He has lived there for many years.  I seem to remember that I shook his hand after his show.  Hope you enjoy this walk down memory lane!


Garden

Garden
Versailles

The Louvre

The Louvre
Paris

Paris

Paris
The Seine

Arc de Triomphe

Arc de Triomphe
Paris

Paris in May

Paris in May
Paris

The Louvre

The Louvre
Paris

Chihuly glass sculpture

Chihuly glass sculpture
Victoria & Albert Museum, London

Monet's Water Lilies

Monet's Water Lilies
Orangerie Museum, Paris

Westminster Abbey

Westminster Abbey
London

Bruges

Bruges
View from our hotel window

Amsterdam

Amsterdam
canal

Arc de Triomphe

Arc de Triomphe
Paris

Lilacs in London

Lilacs in London
St. Paul's Cathedral

The Royal Guard

The Royal Guard
London

Music man

Music man
Bruges

Joy at the Palace

Joy at the Palace
London

Guard

Guard
Tower of London

Jackson in Bruges

Jackson in Bruges
Belgium

Canal bridge

Canal bridge
Amsterdam

Houseboat

Houseboat
Amsterdam

British police

British police
London

Oscar Wilde's Grave

Oscar Wilde's Grave
Paris

Rhododendrons in the park

Rhododendrons in the park
Amsterdam

Versailles

Versailles
Joy in the palace

Winter scene

Winter scene
wow!

Chinese New Year

Chinese New Year
dragon

Sweet peas

Sweet peas
love 'em

Pretty bouquet

Pretty bouquet

Princess Diana Fountain

Princess Diana Fountain
Hyde Park

Gardens

Gardens
Versailles

End of summer daisies

End of summer daisies
Our yard

Cool art

Cool art
Tate Modern, London

Penguin party

Penguin party
penguins

Pretty kitty

Pretty kitty
My sister's cat

Jon Hamm

Jon Hamm
Is he a great looking guy or what?

Mad about Don

Mad about Don
Mad Men

Love Monk!!

Love Monk!!
Love To Tony

January and Jon

January and Jon
Beautiful people

Jon and January

Jon and January
Mad Men actors

Mona Lisa

Mona Lisa
The Louvre

Royal Crescent

Royal Crescent
Bath

British phone booth

British phone booth
London

Harrod's Department Store

Harrod's Department Store
London

Versailles

Versailles
bedroom

Trafalger Square

Trafalger Square
London

Tower of London

Tower of London
London

Seattle Public Library

Seattle Public Library
Seattle

Lavender

Lavender

Lighthouse

Lighthouse

Hydrangeas

Hydrangeas
beautiful

Coffee love

Coffee love
yummy