Book Review: The Dinner by Herman Koch

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When we meet a person for the first time, we are like new born babies.  We know nothing of that person's world.  Where did they grow up, go to school, work, marriage, kids, we know none of this.  When that person tells us things, we have to take their word that they are speaking the truth.  As we get to know that person, we begin to realize that that person is either straight forward and has been telling us the truth or is a b*ll sh*t artist out to take advantage of us or to somehow raise their self worth in our eyes.  I dated a guy once, he was from NYC, who told me that on the weekends he was a ski instructor.  That's easy to believe.  But then he told me (you might remember this, that on the Wide World of Sports, when they were showing downhill skiing,they used to show a guy having a horrible crash) that guy was him.  Now that was easy to verify.  Not him.  Too bad.  He was a good looking guy and fun but unreliable when telling me anything.  And that's what we have in Herman Koch's new book The Dinner.  A totally unreliable narrator. The Dinner is a big hit in Europe having sold over 1 million copies and now has made its debut here in the states. Following on the heels of Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn, which also has very unreliable narrators, The Dinner should do very well.   read more...

Travel Faux Pas: White Tennis Shoes Oh My!

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I found this article on travel faux pas on the USA Today site and it comes from smartertravel.com.  It got me to thinking about all of my travels and which denizens of which countries are the worst travel dressers.  I know the good people of the good old US of A have to rank in the top 5 if not the top two.  Who competes with us on that level, for diplomatic detente, I shall remain speechless.  But if you've traveled all over the world, it's not difficult to make the deduction.  I remember going on a mother daughter trip to Amsterdam in 2002.  I suggested to my daughter that we wear clothing with no logos, sandals not sneakers, no baseball nor golf nor gimme caps and capris not shorts.  The world was still topsy turvey  at that point and I didn't want our clothing to scream AMERICANS!  I'm blond (well, you know what I mean) and blue eyed and my daughter has dark brown hair and blue eyes.  We fit right in with the wonderful people of Holland.  We would sit at a side walk cafe reading and having a coffee and tourists would come up to us to ask directions.  Cool.  I agree with this article's author. She gives not only clothing advice but also how the clothing you wear can cause you to be the victim of a crime.   Read more...

Time Time Time is on My Side, Yes it is....

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No it's not!  Well, I guess it depends on when you make the statement.  If you're 25, yes, time can be on your side unless you get drunk and slam into a tree.  If you ask someone of the respectable age of 65 if time is on their side, they'd probably say, not as much as before.  Why does time seem to go by so quickly when you're older?  I've read a few articles about this and people like Stephen Hawkings and other big thinkers say it's a mathematical equation.  Lost me there.  Or this...let's say the average life expectancy is 100.  You're now 20, so, you then have 80% of your life left to live.  Or take the opposite, you're now 80 therefore you have only 20% of your life to live. Well, that's depressing.  That doesn't make that much sense to me because it doesn't answer the feeling that time is going by rapidly.  Here's an answer I like.  It's from Psychology Today written by Ronald Riggio, Ph.D.  He says, "that the best answer for this phenomenon is that the early years are full of first time events, your first date, the birth of your first child, that first big vacation, etc.  First occasions are novel events and we tend to make more detailed and lasting memories of those first times.  When we repeat the event, year after year, it is less likely to make a unique or lasting impression... So here is the key to slowing down the pace of life (at least psychologically): As much as possible, take advantage of new and unique experiences.  When we go to the same places and do the same things, we don't make distinct memories and time seems to fly by...focus on positive (rather than negative) past memories, trying to live more in the present, and holding a positive perception of the future-envisioning a future full of hope and optimism.  IN OTHER WORDS...use your time wisely!  Read more...

Small Sacrifices for Big Loooooovvvvvvve

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For my American audience (but the post will also intrigue my international readers), this blog reminds me of one of my favorite episodes of the Ray Romano hit show, Everybody Loves Raymond. Ray and Deborah go on a vacation.  When they return, Ray leaves the suitcase at the base of the stairs.  He clearly anticipates that Deborah, his wife, when cleaning, will take it upstairs.  She, on the other hand, looks at it as Ray being lazy.  After a few days of them both looking at it (passive aggressively) and daring the other to take it up, Ray finds the biggest, stinkiest piece of blue cheese he can find and stuffs it in the suitcase thinking Deborah will smell it and take the case upstairs.  Instead she takes out the cheese and leaves the case as is.  They end up having Marie (the worst mother in law in TV history) tell them a story about the big spoon and fork (long story) and Ray and Deborah then fight over who will take the suitcase upstairs.  Whew!  But there is a moral to this story oh gentle readers. Let's see if this segue works:  It's this.  If you put your mate's needs first, it will not only make you happier but it will also make your mate happier. Read more...

The Best Mother's Day Gifts Ever; Courtesy of Saturday Night Live

If you do a search on my blog, you'll see that I posted a blog entitled Fifty Shades of Grey and Trickle Down Economics.  Well, here's another example of that.  It seems the phenom has not quieted down over those books.  They're now out in special editions and hardback sets.  No news yet on who might play the characters but there's speculation all over the web.   So you know Saturday Night Live had to flick a whip at the craziness and for Mother's Day at that...  Enjoy:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MK8Lr_HL3eY&feature=youtube_gdata_player

The Double Life of Pi

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The wonderful novel, Life of Pi, by Yann Martel is once again in the spotlight.  The novel won the 2001 Mann Booker Prize for best fiction written in English by a citizen of  the Commonwealth of Nations.  Now it is a fabulous movie by Ang Lee.  As you might surmise from the above comments, I am a big fan of Life of Pi.  I led my book club discussion on the book and have defended it against many of its detractors.  It seems you either really love this book or really hate it.  I asked the usher at the theater how people were reacting to the movie and he said about 50/50.  So, I guess if you didn't like the book, you're not going to like the movie.  I went with someone who didn't have a clue about the plot and she loved the movie.  Even if you don't like or "get" the movie, it is visually stunning.  I saw it in 3D and it was spectacular.  So, after 12 years I'm once again thinking about the double Life of Pi.  I think that what confuses people the most is:  WHAT IS THE TRUTH?! Which story told by Pi is the real story? In the movie the stories are being told by Pi to a writer  many years after the shipwreck.  Which to believe...  Read more...

New Books on the Horizon

Here's a short list of some popular authors that will have books coming out, mostly in May. I guess they figured just in time for the beach season.  If you're like me, I pre order from Amazon and am always delighted to see a new book pop up on my Kindle. If you go to Amazon to the link for upcoming releases, there are over 50,000. A bunch of those, though, are coming out in paperback. Read more...

Two Book Reviews: Route 66 Still Kicks and The Lifeboat:A Novel

I at first thought I'd write this as a book review aimed at men and then another one at women.  And then I asked myself, " why?"  I thoroughly enjoyed the "man's" book, Route 66 Still Kicks by Rick Antonson.  I don't believe The Lifeboat by Charlotte Rogan is chick lit.  Far from it. So  here goes, two book reviews.  Let's start with Route 66 Still Kicks.  The reason I loved it was because I love trivial history about America.  And Route gives you plenty of that.  Let me set the map for you.  Rick talks one of his buddies, Peter, into taking a drive along as much of the now defunct Route 66 that they can find.  He wants to rent a convertible and travel down memory lane.  The road begins in Chicago and ends in LA.  Of course the book is riddled with references to how Nat King Cole came upon the song named after the road as well as tales about the TV show. But I'm jumping ahead.  I looked on Amazon and when I typed in Route 66 in books, 3,551 references were made regarding Route 66.  3,551.  Now that means somebody is interested.  Once Rick and Peter get underway, it's like opening an American history book.  We learn that FDR used Al Capone's car to make his speech regarding Pearl Harbor.  Why?  While Capone was in the slammer, it was the only armored vehicle the secret service could find on short notice.  We learn all about how the hotel industry started with the Harvey Houses and how hotels sprung up along the continental railroad.  We learn that much of the Route is along old cattle trails as well as parts of the Cherokee Trail of Tears.  As they visit Oklahoma, Antonson talks about the wonderful humor of Will Rogers and his tragic death and about the scouting and hiring of Mickey Mantle by the New York Yankees.  He tells the tale of a notorious double murder in Oklahoma that still permeates the psyche of the town of Depew. So as they follow Route 66, we get a great history lesson. Read more...

Gray Eyes...Oh My...

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In a humdrum moment of pure laziness, my mind wandered and began to contemplate the eyes of both Christian Grey and Gideon Cross.  Not an unpleasant way to laze away the time.  Authors these days, particularly the hot sex, rom/dom/sub types, have their protagonists with unusual hair and eye color combinations.  In Fifty Shades of Grey, Christian has copper colored hair with gray eyes whilst Ana has auburn hair with blue eyes.  In the Crossfire series, Gideon has black hair with blue eyes and Eva has blond hair with gray eyes.  I agree that black hair and blue eyes as well as auburn hair with blues eyes may not be that unusual.  But what's with the gray eye thing?  So I let my mind go all stream of consciousness a la James Joyce. (OMG, in college I took one whole course on his writings.  Other than the penis floating in the water like a flower, that's about all I remember.) What is so important about the eyes, other than for seeing? Well, according to a Yiddish proverb, "the eyes are the mirror to the soul".   I found some interesting useless info but hey, I'm satisfying my curiosity, right? Read more...

Book Reviews: The First Two Crossfire Books by Sylvia Day

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As the Wall Street Journal said:  There is finally someone sexier than Christian Grey...His name is Gideon Cross and he is, of course, a hunka  hunk of burning love.  When Bared to You came out, it sold 80,000 paperbacks in the UK in the first week alone.  More than Fifty Shades did.  And when Reflected in You came out, it sold 82,000 copies in the UK. On Goodreads, BTU has 71,4111 ratings and RIU, 35,075. Amazon reviewers give BTU an average 4.7 stars, RIU, the same.  So why all of the fuss about this Crossfire Series?  There are some similarities to Fifty Shades of Grey. Read more...

Book Review: Matched by Ally Condie

Genre:  Teen romance grades 7+

Author:  Ally Condie

It seems like the trilogy genre is on fire.  I know the first trilogy I read was The Lord of the Rings.  Now we have the Twilight series, The Hunger Games, The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo series and of course, the grand mamma of them all, Fifty Shades of Grey etc.  As a reviewer it is awfully hard to go from reading a Fifty Shades of Grey series, the adult dominance and submissive stuff, to reading a trilogy written for teens.  Truth be told, I thoroughly enjoyed the first in Ally Condie's trilogy, Matched.  Condie  has the middle book, Crossed,  as well as the concluding book,  Reached, now at a book seller near you or on an e book site.  Read more...

If You Like Vodka...

I have been a vodka aficionado for a while.  I've tasted quite a few through out my travels especially while in Russia.  But, I've come across a USA distilled vodka that I love.  It's Tito's Vodka made in Austin, Texas.  I was telling a friend of mine about Tito's and we decided to do our own little tasting of vodkas.  We had Tito's, Ketel One, Grey Goose and Crystal Head vodka (the one made by Dan Aykroyd).  Tito's won hands down.  Not only is it smooth in taste but the price is smooth. Crystal Head is anywhere from $45.00-$50 for 750ml .  Ketel One and Grey Goose $38-40.00 for 750ml.  Tito's is around $28-30!  The magazine, Wine Enthusiast, out of 100 points gave Tito's 95 points, Ketel One 89 and Grey Goose 84.  If you doubt my love of vodka, just read my blog about my adventure of trying to get some vodka on Borneo:  http://satisfyingmycuriousity.blogspot.com/2010/05/its-been-while-since-i-last-posted-but.html.Read more...

Giving "Back": I See Rotten Tomatoes Coming My Way

I'm going to approach this subject two ways.  The first will certainly be considered a "humbug" approach.  The second will probably have mixed reviews.  First, the "humbug" approach or how I let a phrase like "giving back" totally irritate the heck out of me.  But why?  Because, often, when people feel they have some extra time in their lives and want to do something for their community, they say they want to "give back".  Well, here's my point.  Give what back to whom and why?  I guess you could say I take the phrase literally and not figuratively.  Give back...let's see, the path I've taken in life has, at times, been rocky.  Have I faced a fiscal cliff or two in my life time?  You betcha.  But I have never had to, luckily, rely on the auspices of the government (taxpayers) nor private nor public charities to help me out.  I've never been on welfare nor food stamps nor medicaid.  I've not had to eat in a soup kitchen or ask for charitable help.  If I had to do any of these things, and then I found myself with the ability and where with all to "give something back" to those who have given to me, then I would with an open heart.   Read more...

If You Want to Go to London, Read This...

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I've got two pieces of advice for you if you're going to London:  either go on an expense account or go on an all inclusive tour.  I don't like tours.  I'm not into the pack your bag every day and be with 30 strangers, some of which can either be really obnoxious or are repeatedly late or are chronic complainers.  But London is so expensive, I'd give it a shot.  London isn't the most expensive city in the world.  That honor, according to CNN, is Oslo, Norway.  New York ranks 6th.  But when the equivalent of 1 GBP (British Pound) costs $1.60 US, you're losing money like crazy.  That's why it's so expensive for travelers who use US dollars.  We got a discount at a JW Marriott, The Grosvenor House, which included breakfast.  I'm not going to say how much but it was reasonable enough not to figure into the overall expensiveness of the city.  We didn't eat at overly expensive restaurants but still ended up, for 3 people, with restaurant  tabs of $250 or more (includes tip).  And we're not big wine or mixed drink drinkers.  By the way.  I do like my martinis, vodka thank you.  They pour ONE ounce!  Sometimes at 10 GBP or $16 US.  We did eat at some great restaurants though.  One fun one was Bone Daddies on Peter Street in SoHo.  They specialize in ramen noodle dishes.  We had three bowls of ramen soup at 10 GBP each or $16 US.  The soup was delicious and I would highly recommend the place.  It's hard to find.  Peter street is a very short street and most people don't know where it is. I had to laugh.  It was like a phone commercial.  I walk up to five people standing in front of a bar.  No, this is not the beginning of a joke. I asked them if they know where Peter Street is and Bone Daddies.  Two of them, at the same time, say, let's race and begin to frantically look on their phones to see who can find my info the fasted.  We were at the restaurant 5 minutes later.  Read more:

Books to Give for the Holidays

It’s been a very good year, in my opinion, for the publishing world. It was buoyed by The Fifty Shades Trilogy.  Some authors seemed on auto pilot while others tried a different tack.  And as usual, we have many old characters back:  Jack Reacher, Harry Bosch, and John Corey, just to name a few.  The *-***** stars are provided by Amazon.com readers. I'll also designate TR, to read, or otherwise assume I read it.  

So here’s a list of books I have either read or I will read.    Read more...

Will I Always Remember Christian and Ana? Depends...

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Hah!  Suckered you in!  This is a blog on memory.  Although I must say that I will probably always remember Fifty Shades  as well as I remember reading my first "adult" fiction at the tender age of 13. And I do remember it, The Golden Hawk by Frank Yerby.  It was one of those bodice rippers with the hunky sea captain thing going on.  Forward (didn't I just see that word used in some campaign? How soon we forget.) then to the topic.   On Feb. 22 of this year, I wrote a blog entitled: Every memory soon becomes fiction. It's a quote from Ernest Hemingway.   I found this article in the Huffington Post and I thought I'd pass it on because so many of us baby boomers are worried about Alzheimer's.  We'll walk from one room to the next with a purpose to do so and by the time we get to the other room...realize we have forgotten that purpose.  Not to worry.  There's a reason for it and many of the other worrisome memory lapses we might have.  Hopefully this will relieve you of some of your anxiety.    Read more...

AAMOI: TAFS (Translation Below)

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As a matter of interest: texting acronyms for seniors.  :-X.

I bought this little flip book, Texting Dictionary of Acronyms.  I'm not into this stuff like the kids of today are.  Mostly I use the LOL or LMAO with a smattering of :)) or :((.  But apparently there is a whole new world of language out there that scares me.  Scares me because I love the English language and all of its nuances.  Here's a lovely texted nuance: EPADY.  Want to guess what it stands for?  Eat poop and die you. Very nuanced.  I'm convinced that as our world evolves all our progeny will have on their hands are little thumbs to type on tiny keys.  Since my readers are mostly, not all, but mostly a little older, this little handbook does have texting acronyms for seniors.  So here goes TWS (texting while senior):   Read more...

My First Time Was with Tricky Dicky

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Tricky Dicky?  Well, for those of you who are too young to remember, Tricky Dicky was one of the nicknames for President Richard Milhouse Nixon. My other choice was Hubert Humphrey.  When you ask people about their "first" time, normally they say it was horrible, not worth it, should have waited, what's all the fuss about.  With my choices of Nixon and Humphrey, for the "first" time, I would have had to use some of those adjectives   I suppose that if I were to compare myself with Lena Dunham, the young woman behind the ad recently approved by the Obama campaign, I'd have to say I lost "it" to Tricky Dicky.  Sexual innuendos and voting.  "O" my.  What next?  Fifty Shades of voting? I could really go somewhere with this 50 Shades analogy but I have some sense and sensibility and won't go there.  This is how outrageous this campaign has become.  The last few weeks have been taken up with arguments over Big Bird, binders and now the "lost" virginity. So I guess we shouldn't be thinking about the the unemployment rate, the high number of people on disability, the number of people on food stamps, the number of unemployed women, our debt to the Chinese,and we certainly shouldn't be concerned with the resurgence of Al Qaeda and the death of a US ambassador and 3 other Americans.  Nope.  Big Bird come here.   If you haven't seen the "virginity" ad, here's the dialog. (By the way, the Lilly Ledbetter act was signed by Obama in 2009.  It's an equal pay bill.)  Read more...

What the Heck is a Zwickelbier or Schwarzbier?

Spoetzl Brewery is located about 9 miles from my home town smack in the middle of Texas' German/Czech territory. Spoetzl Brewery is located in Shiner, Texas.  The area's towns have  populations of 900-2000 people. Shiner beer was very popular in the '60's with the hippies because it was one of the first organic beers. The brewery used to have tables and chairs in the tasting rooms but that had to stop because too many local people came in, plopped themselves down and had a few cold ones. Back in the '60's when we were drinking beer (and not old enough I might add...I am NOT advocating underage drinking here), the thing to do was send a car to Colorado to bring back a trunk full of Coors.  Shiner beer?  You've got to be kidding me. Yuck.  Today Shiner is quite the boutique brewery.  The brewery is so popular that they have a huge Bocktoberfest, held in October, of course. It's a big party with nationally renowned bands, bike-a-thons from Austin and of course, plenty of German /Czech food and BEER!
  Read more...

A Dessert For Christian and Ana: Fifty Shades of Grey Sex Bars

A girlfriend of mine made these for a party I recently had.  She called them Better Than Sex Bars.  I'll call them Fifty Shades of Grey Sex Bars in honor of Christian and Ana.  Knowing Christian's penchant for kinky f*ckery, he may do a few things kinky with whatever left over peanut butter or butter or other ingredients he may have.  I don't believe either of them would agree with my girlfriend's premise that these are better than sex.  But they certainly are decadent with a touch of eroticism in them.  I can just see Christian with his torn jeans hanging on his hips with a ripped tee shirt on and making these for Ana.  Oh my... Read more...