Book Review: Don't Bother with "Carsick"

This morning, once I finished reading it, I left my copy of John Waters' travelogue, Carsick, on an northbound NJTransit train, next to our used New York Times. You see, I did not like the book. At all. It was one disappointment after another. I recommend no one read it.

But I am not capable of throwing out a book. But to donate it to my public library or to Goodwill somehow would feel like an endorsement. So some unsuspecting commuter is going to thumb through this book now at his or her own peril.

"Admission:" From Thoughtful Book to Funny Movie

After dinner at our favorite Italian restaurant last night, my husband and I drove over to our local multiplex for the opening of the romantic comedy "Admission." This PG-13 movie stars Tina Fey and Paul Rudd; she as Portia Nathan, an uptight Princeton University admissions officer and he as John Pressman, the founder of an alternative high school in the boondocks of New England.

This is a delightful movie that had us laughing and smiling and kept us thoroughly engaged for its 117 minutes. Don't judge this movie by its trailer, which would make you think it is a slapstick comedy. While there are plenty of laugh-out-loud moments, this sweet movie also weaves in the questions of what constitutes maternity and what makes life meaningful.

Before I continue, I need to make my own admission: Jean Hanff Korelitz, whose 2009 novel of the same name was adapted to the big screen by Karen Croner, is a dear family friend and her eighth- grade son, who has a brief, nonspeaking part in this movie, has been our younger son's best friend since nursery school.

Thanks to Former Gov. Richard Codey, I Am Thankful for Having a Home

I have spent the past six days fighting a virus by sleeping when I am not working, as well as drinking copious amounts of water. Still, last night I fell asleep by 9 - after a two and a half hour nap in the early evening - and woke up to realize I had to call in sick. So I did. I have been sleeping pretty much nonstop since then.

On one hand, being sick is annoying. I have a lot of work to do, at my job and with my family, and I just can't get it done. Then, last night I saw that our former governor, now 65 years old, did a little political theater to research flaws in the state's approach to homelessness. His actions made me realize how very, very blessed I am to have a warm home in which to recuperate.

Rush Limbaugh and High School Cafeterias

I hesitate to give any more oxygen to Rush Limbaugh and his mean-spirited "entertainment." His three-days-worth of on-air name calling of a 30-year-old Georgetown University law student ("slut" "prostitute") is only the latest incarnation of his penchant for making money spouting vulgarities. His remarks are gross and I am delighted he has lost 33 and counting sponsors. Perhaps inadvertently, he has managed to undermine real concerns about the lack of conscience protections for religious institutions in President Obama's health-care mandate.

Still, while politicians are taking to the airwaves to condemn Mr. Limbaugh's remarks,  in places as humble and as important as high school cafeterias, the name-calling of women continues. During lunch duty in a suburban high school cafeteria, I regularly hear words like "slut" "bitch" and "whore" flow from the mouths of seemingly sweet adolescent girls. And I wonder whether this generation of girls is growing up with any sense of themselves as special or beautiful.

After Whitney Houston's Death: Reflections From A Grateful Alcoholic

Jamie is a family friend, a soccer coach to our younger son and a beloved neighbor.

By James McCrone

I celebrated eight years sobriety last week (Feb. 3). Whitney Houston died last night.

My wife and I will commemorate and celebrate those eight years with dinner out tonight. While our discussion will not dwell on things past, whatever we end up talking about, the subtext will remain that this dinner, the health and well being of the children and the continuation of a (now) happy marriage, could not have been foreseen eight and a half years ago. We’ll certainly talk about Whitney Houston, who was barely six months older than I am.

On Paula Deen, Newt Gingrich and Our Inevitable Hour

The boast of heraldry, the pomp of power,

And all that beauty, all that wealth e'er gave,

Awaits alike the inevitable hour.

The paths of glory lead but to the grave.

Seven Quick Takes for Friday: Turkeys, Turkey Burgers, Nonflying Turkeys and Advent

1. I woke up at 4:30 a.m. Thursday to take the train into Manhattan so I could see the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade. What a blast! A friend from work and I, her two teenagers and two of their friends stood for two hours by Times Square, waiting for the parade. Thousands and thousands of others gathered to watch the marching bands, the clowns and the floats. It was a beautiful fall day and we grabbed breakfast at the Tic Toc Diner near Madison Square Garden before heading home.

Seven Quick Takes for Friday

Do you know about this feature? Jen Fulwiler at Conversion Diary started it. The idea is to come up with seven quick things to talk about. Hmmmm. Given that I am most verbose, this will be tricky. Let me give it a whirl. And tell me what you think. Is this fun to read? Or annoying?

1. The camera phone works well enough. But we have got to get the cord juicer-upper thingy working on the family camera. There is so much I would like to photograph and I don't like grabbing stuff off google images so much for the blog.