Julia London's Blog, page 45

Grave Expectations

Heaven knows, we need never be ashamed of our wolfish cravings. . . .

Bristly, sensitive, and meat-hungry Pip is a robust young whelp, an orphan born under a full moon. Between hunting escaped convicts alongside zombified soldiers, trying not to become one of the hunted himself, and hiding his hairy hands from the supernaturally beautiful and haughty Estella, whose devilish moods keep him chomping at the bit, Pip is sure he will die penniless or a convict like the rest of his commonly uncommon kind.

But then a mysterious benefactor sends him to London for the finest werewolf education money can buy. In the company of other furry young gentlemen, Pip tempers his violent transformations and devours the secrets of his dark world. When he discovers that his beloved Estella is a slayer of supernatural creatures, trained by the corpse-like vampire Miss Havisham, Pip's desire for her grows stronger than his midnight hunger for rare fresh beef. But can he risk his hide for a truth that will make Estella his forever—or will she drive one last silver stake through his heart?

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Downton Abbey Stars: Then or Now?

Part of the fun of watching Downton Abbey, if you happen to be hooked like I am, is seeing the glorious Edwardian fashions. I've enjoyed the era so much that I've been watching other Edwardian pieces, like Room with a View (God, I love that movie! Maggie Smith! Young Helena B-C's hair! Naked Bathing Scene!).

Anyway, I've seen some of the stars on the red carpet, and it occurs to me that some of them really look better Edwardian. Or maybe I just can't get used to the real people behind the characters. We all know Dame Maggie Smith as the Dowager Countess of course.

AKA Charlotte Bartlett, AKA Minerva McGonagall.

But she always looks right in character, no matter the character. Love her! She's pretty foxy out of character, too. And, younger? 

How about the Crawley sisters? Anna? Thomas? Bates? Cora? Gasp, O'Brien? Is that you?

Jessica Brown-Findlay aka Sybill

Joanne Frogatt (maid Anna Smith)

Elizabeth McGovern, matriarch Cora

 

Sophie McShera (Daisy), Brendan Coyle (Bates), Rob James-Collier (Thomas)

Also Rob James-Collier, looking more like Harry Potter's hipster older brother.

 

Lesley Nichol (Mrs. Patmore), Siobhan Finneran (O'Brien), Laura Carmichael (Lady Edith), and Thomas. Wait, what-- holy crow, O'Brien?!

Siobhan Finneran is definitely done the most disservice in Edwardian garb. I would love to try on some Edwardian gowns. I found this one the other day on Pinterest and fell in love:

Breathtaking!

I hope you all caught the Saturday Night Live parody, if Downton Abbey aired on Spike TV. Too funny! I can't share it because I can't find it posted legally online for sharing. Sorry!

What's your favorite fashion era? How do you feel about Edwardian influences? Are you all caught up on Downton Abbey? Let's talk in the comments! 

 

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I want to be cool, but I'm very afraid

So when the Mac vs. PC commercials first aired ages ago, I fell in love with Justin Long.  I mean who wouldn't want to be geeky cool.   But I am a die-hard PC fan, and to be honest, far more resemble Jon Hodgeman's character.  Stodgy comes to mind.   But I am surrounded by uber cool friends who try (sometimes without success) too keep me at least nominally on the path to cooldom.

I have a friend from Texas who has an amazing sense of style.  She can put together the oddest combinations of clothing and look like a million dollars.  I on the other hand would look like a bag lady (no offense to bag ladies everywhere).   Bottom line, it's not easy to cool me up.

However, after my semi-literate phone was stolen, my husband took the leap for me and presented me with a new iPhone.  We haven't been separated since (the iPhone, I mean).  Seriously what a freakin' cool product.  And I only have the 3gs model.  The only problem was that my old eyesight had a little trouble seeing the text—especially on the web, and though I can squeeze it bigger, by the time I've managed to get it large enough to decipher there are only five words on the screen.  Which means a lot of scrolling.  

But there's an app for that—or more accurately a new machine for that.  The iPad.  When it came to getting my iPad 2 I did something I've never done before.  I invaded my stash of unspent birthday money (and you can guess how long I've been saving that when you consider the price of an iPad) and bought one for my very own self.  AND I LOVE IT.   (Note the caps!)  Seriously the little guy has become the keeper of all my stuff.   The holder of all my secrets.  The king of my world.  Okay, I think that's over stating it a bit.  But basically, I like it.

Which brings me to the point of this diatribe (and you were wondering if I had one).  Slight aside…why is it that the punctuation goes inside the parenthesis?  It makes so much more sense to do it the way I said it as it's ending the original sentence which wasn't in parentheses?  Sorry, I digress.   The point.   And as Ellen DeGeneres says…I do have one.   I am considering going for a full count and introducing a new friend to the mix.  The iMac.   Now for me (and my PC is cringing as I type this) this is a HUGE step.

And I'm afraid.  Seriously, I've never been totally cool and while I'll admit this would only be technologically speaking, it still scares me to death.  I mean, what about the delete key?  You may scoff, but I love the delete key…I use it all the time.   And it's different from the backspace key—they are not the same.   And what about Outlook?  I love Outlook.  And Word.  And I know there are Mac versions but will they really feel the same?   And games…this is a huge worry.  I love to play computer games.  Not War of Witchcraft or whatever it's called…just simple games like Diner Dash and Royal Envoy and Plants vs. Zombies.  I'm amassed quite a collection over the years.  But they're all PC.  And some of them *gasp* aren't available in Mac format.  What's a girl to do???? 

Okay, so what do you think?  Do I have it in me?  Can I make the switch?  Will the PC guy haunt my dreams if I do?  Will Justin Long accept me into the cool club?   If I buy an iMac now will Apple come out with the new version immediately after?  It's enough to make my mind spin.   Maybe I'll just buy a blue-ray player instead… but then what would I do with my old DVDs?

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Valentine's Days Dos and Don'ts — a List of How-To's for the VD challenged

As much as I would like to blog about the Superbowl, I feel like I cannot without being a super obnoxious whiner.  And then I thought about blogging about the Superbowl commercials, but I didn't think they were that awesome (see: favorite Superbowl commercials here

Click here to view the embedded video.

and  

Click here to view the embedded video.

  and this

Click here to view the embedded video.

).

So in the spirit of not being an obnoxious whiner, today we're not talking about the Superbowl, but instead discussing Valentine's Days Dos and Don'ts for the romantically-challenged.

1.  Chocolate is pretty much a universal VD do.  And surprisingly enough, chocolate is most enjoyed when your special someone is dieting.  Yes, I know, it seems counter-intuitive.  Wouldn't the chocolate be full of calories and thus, should be avoided if you want to help your someone special stay true to the diet?  Yes, that would be the case if Valentine's Day was about being achieving goals and focusing on being better people, but please note that Valentine's Day is NOT a holiday to encourage people perfection, it is a holiday that says, "I do not care if you're not perfect.  You are perfect to me and I love you just the way you are" and nothing says *I love you, clunky thighs and all*, better than chocolate.

Love-loser!

2.  Practical gifts are for love-losers.  Are you a loser in love?  Do you give your significant other toasters, dish pans, or even worse, vacuum cleaners?  This is a hallmark sign of a love-loser.  VD is a day to unlink the relationship between work and love.  If you give your SO a practical gift, especially one that more easily enables *chores* then you are saying, "My love for you is a chore, and I picked this crappy gadget so that you can always remember how much of a chore it is to love me in return because I am a love-loser."  Instead of gifts that are practical, or are used in the enablement of *work,* choose a gift that is used in the enablement of *fun.*

3.  When choosing a VD eatery, avoid such common staples as Ihop, McDonalds, or Starbucks.  Yes, I know that everyplace decent is crowded on Valentine's Day, but when you take your SO to an uncrowded venue, you are saying, "Sure, I love you, but no way am I waiting forty-five minutes before eating because I am STARVED and after a long day of work, I don't want to you know, have to make small talk."  Valentine's Day is the perfect day to remember small talk.  It is the perfect day to forget schedules or dental appointments or tax returns or that big Visa bill that needs to be paid.  It is the perfect day to remember that your SO IS perfect and nothing in the world, not tax returns, nor dental appointments, nor schedules, nor Visa bills, can compare to the wonderment of them.

4.  Be careful when giving undergarments.  As a rule, men usually like to give undergarments for VD, because they think that VD is a day to get lucky.  And if you are not a love-loser, you can get lucky on Valentine's Day.  But when choosing undergarments, choose wisely.  Choose an outfit that you can actually see your significant other actually *liking* to wear.  It should not be too small, too itchy, too trashy.  It should NOT have pithy sayings plastered on pixelated areas, nor ladies, should it contain pictures of Superheroes, cartoons, or cartoon appendages.  Nothing says love-loser like wearing the Hulk's junk on your privates.

Fashion DONT -- Hulk get angry...

5.  Always get a card.  Yes, I know there are people that will say, "I don't need anything," but a card is the very least of the appropriate gifts for Valentine's Day.  Cards can be funny or sexy or mushy or even blank (if for instance, you are a romance writer and know EXACTLY what to say).  A card can be saved for years (yes, I have a file drawer full of cards).  Or alternatively, if a relationship ends, a card can be trashed or shredded, or tossed into a roaring bonfire on the former lover's lawn!

So that is the list of Kathleen's Valentine's Days Dos and Don'ts.  How about you?  What's the worst Valentine's Day gift you gave or received?  Are you a good VD giver, or are you a loser in love?  Worst Valentine's Days stories?  And remember, all comments are entered into that Kindle Fire giveaway — (an excellent choice for the SO in your life who loves to read).

 

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I Give Madonna Props

There are a lot of people talking about Madonna's half time performance at the Super Bowl on Sunday.  Was it the best show ever?  No.  But I thought it was pretty good as those things go.  Is she the best half-time performer ever?  I don't think so, but I couldn't tell you who's done better.  The best thing about Madonna's show to me is that she is still rocking it at 53.  Check. it. out.  The woman has worked hard to keep in shape, she looks great–okay, she has to lip-sync now, but let's be real.  You remember how coaches told you to figure out if you are working your heart too hard?  If you can still talk, great, but you shouldn't be able to sing.  I think singing and doing anything but standing there is hard.  If she was going to move around, I don't see how she could do anything but lip-sync.  And move, she did.  Some of those knee-bending moves that just made me hurt.

Whether you're a fan or not, I think you have to give the girl some props.  It ain't easy getting old.  Madonna and I are about the same age.  I can't do those knee bends without hurting something important.  I consider myself in pretty good shape, but I don't know if I could ever work enough to do some of the stuff she did.  But I can run, and I am running in another half marathon this coming weekend.  So I am driving the Cutest Kindergartner Ever somewhere and I told him I would be gone next weekend to run in a race.  "Are you going to win?" he asked.  I said no.  "Are you going to be last?"  I laughed and said no.  I didn't tell him I really hope to hell I don't come in last but it's not outside the realm of possibility.  I told him I would be somewhere in the middle.  He said, "Are you super super fast?"  Because he's all about super powers.  I said, "I'm not fast.  I'm slow.  But I can do it for a long time."  I added that last part more for myself, my justification for not being fast and having no hope of ever being fast.  I'm too big and too old to improve much, and honestly, I'm not Madonna.  Unless there's a really big prize like a million dollars, I am not inclined to put in all the physical work I'd have to do to gain a few minutes.

But the Cutest Kindergartner Ever said, "That's okay.  That means you're super strong!"  It does?  He about cyborg or clydemore or someone who isn't very fast, but he's tough and he can pick Superman up with arm.   Hey, I'll take that.  It made me smile.  It made me think, he's right.  I AM strong.  I can run 13 miles!  I am a Cyborg! Or a Clydemore!  Not sure which!

When I saw Madonna Sunday night I thought it was pretty darn good.  For a cyborg.

Are you a Cyborg?  How do you keep physically fit?  What did you think of the halftime show?  Who do you consider to be strong?  Who is your getting-older role model? Be sure and ask Kathleen about the hand injury she got while running.

Wish me luck!  I will be in Jacksonville Florida on 2/12 with several thousand other middle-agers trying to prove we are still strong. 

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Shadow Keepers: Midnight

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I Need A Magic Mommy Wand

After Isabella's palate surgery at age 3

I'm annoyed at some neighborhood boys, and at myself for not knowing how to handle the moment in the moment (it's really too late now and, to be honest, I wasn't around "in the moment" but heard about it later). But I fear that this won't be the last time…

Sigh.

It sucks being Mom and not being able to make everything better with a wave of my Magic Mommy Wand.

So what happened?

Well, as some of you probably know, my daughter Isabella was born with a cleft lip and palate. We adopted her at age three, and while they fixed her lip in China, they did nothing with her palate. We had it repaired when she was three and a half. (I blogged about the surgery here, if you're curious as to the process; there's also a picture of what her palate looked like both before and after the surgery.) As you may or may not know, you can't really speak without a palate, and those baby noises that babies make are part of the process of learning to talk. If you don't have the ability to do that as a baby, you're going to have a battle later in life.

Isabella is an amazing kid. She's smart. She's funny. She has more personality than should be allowed. And she has the My Parents Are Weird eye roll down pat. But she's still struggling with her speech, although she's come so, so, so far. She's eight now, and it's only been in the last year or so that my mother can understand what she's saying. I understand probably 97% now. In other words, the kid's worked hard. She's not 100% there yet, though, and, in fact, she can't be, as there's still a gap in her gum line that we're fixing this summer with a bone graft surgery, in which we'll take bone from her hip and put it in her gum line. (And by "we" I mean a doctor.) Even after that, she may never be perfect in her articulation. There's baggage that comes with such a long wait to repair a palate.

It is what it is, and I think she's perfect.

She, however, is at an age where she's self-conscious of everything–and as you might expect, her speech is the biggest. And the other day some neighborhood boys didn't make it any better.

In their defense, these boys are generally good kids. We're blessed with a fabulous neighborhood filled with really nice people. But even nice people can say hurtful things.

My girls and a friend were playing in the yard and started talking/shouting/teasing/being teased by the older boys (who are, I believe, in junior high now). I'm inside, not really paying attention, but then in bursts the kids, and Isabella's in tears. After I get her calmed down, I get the story. They've started a "war" with the boys, and somewhere in the playing, the boys get annoyed with the younger girls and at some point (I think when the boys were leaving, and I don't think it was meant for the girls' ears, but still) one of the boys says, "And the little one can't even talk."

Cue the big crocodile tears.

I hug her and hold her and tell her how proud I am of how hard she works at speech (3X/week) and how far she's come and remind her how well she's doing and point out that her friends can understand her, and that wasn't always the case. And, yeah, it gets better. But still. I don't want her to have to face those moments at all. But I know she will. And I won't always get to be Mama Bear.

I want my magic wand.

Have y'all faced a Mama or Papa Bear moment? What did you do? I didn't say anything to the boys, particularly since I didn't witness the event. What would you have done?

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Skype and Facetime…I just don't know

No! No! Not a picture!!!!!!

I have a cool new MacBook Air, and in playing with it, I discovered FaceTime. Okay, full disclosure: actually, it doesn't work…gripe, gripe…The one thing on my nice little computing device that isn't functioning as advertised. But I do have it on my phone, and it works fine there.

The thing is, I'm not sure I want it to.

I'm having a conversation later today on Skype with a friend. I dutifully downloaded Skype and, yup, there's that video thing again.

Do I really want folks looking at me? I'm trapped in the house with two small children, either slaving over teaching decimals to the older or spelling to the younger. Can you imagine how often I run my fingers through my hair? And make-up? Seriously? I mean, when do I even have time to shower?

Add to that the fact that I'm working on revisions–more fingers-through-hair, lack of showering, really grungy comfortable clothes action.

And, alas, that's usually my life. The "normal working hours?" Um, not at my house.

What I want to know is why these video conference thingies weren't around back when I was practicing law? Back when I trolled the malls looking for cool clothes and tried eyeliner and wore powder. Back in those days I'd be up for an encounter with a web cam. Now…. I just don't know.

So far, at least, I'm limiting the video conversations to friends!

How about you? Do you like video conferencing? And is it my imagination or all web-cams installed with an "unflattering" lens? What happened to that soft focus from the old movies? It was good enough for the stars of yesteryear, after all….

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Very Pinteresting Attire

Pinterest! Have you heard of it? It's the new thing. You take things that interest you online and you pin the pictures to boards and basically have a whole bunch of "Boards" (pinboards, bulletin boards, what have you) in different interests, like travel, food and wine, fashion. I have one on Proper Victorian Vampyre Slaying, among other things. Get on board (get it?). You can check it out or follow me here.

I need a board for Awards Shows. Did you catch the SAG awards? Here's what you need to know. The Help won a lot of awards, like Best Ensemble Cast, Best Actress (for Viola Davis, over Meryl and Glenn!), and Best Supporting Actress for Octavia Spencer. This leaves our Oscar race a little more up in the air. But the gowns! That's what really counts, right? How did they look? Well… Emma Stone hit it out of the park again.

Great dress- fancy, but a little less formal for the SAG. Black, but not boring. Girly, flattering cut. Great shoes! Great bag. Pretty hair. Win, win!

Meryl Streep is improved, but still not there yet.

Did she drape a long formal scarf over a full length jersey dress, and belt it?

Meryl did end up in the big color of the night, a gray, sometimes tinged with blue or purple. A lot of women in gray at the SAGs. Let's hope they're all over it by the Oscars. I want to see some color!

Worst dressed: Kristen Wiig does something weird with a choker and a high neckline. Why? Why would you wear a choker with that neckline?

You can catch the rest of the SAG good, great, and ugly here, one of my favorite fashion sites Go Fug Yourself. And we'll check back again after the Oscars. But for now… more importantly, this weekend is the SUPER BOWL!

That's right, Kathleen O'Reilly. Your Giants take on my Patriots. Who will reign supreme? Well, we've done the trash talk. The big question should be "What will we wear?"

I recommend:

Stretchy Pants! Doesn't matter if you go sweat pants, yoga pants, or pajama jeans (yes, that's a real thing, haha– and they also make them for men). Just stick with an elastic waist. The goal here is to be comfortable at home on your couch eating game day food. (All bets are off if you leave the house).

Also, comfy footwear. It's pretty warm here in the Northeast but I'll still have comfy slippers. But you could go with socks, flip flops, whatever works for you going back and forth to the kitchen to get more game day snacks, or… ordering the husband to go refill the chip bowl. Yeah, baby.

I recommend these! Happy feet!

And you probably want to top it all off with a snuggly sweatshirt, t-shirt, or jersey.

Like this!

Or this!

And when you're best dressed on the couch at the Super Bowl home party, you can reward yourself with one of these:

Go Pats!

Happy Super Bowl weekend! What will you wear? Watching at home, going out, not watching at all, or you just like the commercials? What will you eat? Did you catch the SAG Awards? Are you on Pinterest? Happy Groundhog Day! 

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The Sound of Jersey

And no, I'm not talking about a certain incident in a red rental car on the way to the NJ conference or a certain orange-tinged group of also-rans.  Instead, I'm thinking about all the great musicians to come out of the state.  The train of thought started when my husband treated me to seeing Jersey Boys for my birthday.  The musical is about the lives of Frankie Valli and the Four Seasons (having typed that I'm not going to be singing "Grease is the word…is the word…is the word" for the rest of the day.)  And it's sparkles in part because of the world they came from.

But as we were standing on 8th Avenue trying to hail a taxi, I found myself segueing off into Jersey music, and who else, besides Frankie and company claimed New Jersey as home.  The obvious choices for me formed a triad, starting with the late great Frank Sinatra, who hailed for Hoboken, although probably got serious flak from the home crowd for singing New York, New York.   

Next up, a clear leader in the 'New Jersey singers make good' category, none other than the Boss himself, Bruce Springsteen.  I'll admit I'm not huge fan (although Wendy strapped to that motorcycle evokes some pretty vivid images), but the boy from Long Branch along with his E-Street Band certainly knows how to carry a tune and a state right to the top.

And forming the third side of our top NJ triad the hard rocking sounds of Bon Jovi, led by pint sized pretty boy, Jon Bon Jovi.  Hailing from Sayreville, this group has been together since 1983, with only one change in personnel.  With over fifteen albums they even named their fourth after the state—New Jersey spent four consecutive weeks at number one.  Not bad for a state with attitude.

But the list doesn't stop there.  Looking Glass, the creator of one hit wonder, Brandy, was formed in 1969 at Rutgers University.  And Connie 'Where the Boys Are' Francis was from Newark, along with Whitney Houston.  Both women belting the tunes out with the best of them.  East Orange can claim both Queen Latifah and Dionne Warwick.  (Do you know the way to San Jose?—most definitely not in New Jersey).

Debby Harry (of Blondie fame) grew up in Hawthorne, NJ.  And the Jersey Shore brought us not only Snooki (does she sing?) but also the Jonas Brothers.  And Patti Smith hails from South Jersey, which I'm told is practically another country. Never mind that I can drive from one end of Jersey to the other in less time than it takes to drive from San Antonio to Dallas.  (I know, I know, it's all about perspective).

Anyway, bottom line, over the years New Jersey has produced a pretty impressive list of major musical talent.  And if I were inclined to go for a singing career, I think I'd head for the Garden State.  Anyone up for a road trip?

So can you guys name any other famous NJ musicians?   Can you think of another state that's produced a list as impressive (Tennessee doesn't count, Nashville is its own entity!)  Any favorites among the singers listed above?  And mostly….who was Sherry baby? Okay, I actually know the answer…but do you?

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