Christmas is next month?!?!?
Having worked in bookstores throughout most of my college career, I developed a hatred of retail Christmases. Due to that hatred, I always try to have all my shopping done before Thanksgiving. Now the advent of the internet has eased some of that pre-holiday angst, but I still want to be done by turkey day.

The problem is, however, my large family. One mom, two sisters, two brothers, one sister-in-law, one nephew, one girlfriend-in-law, one girlfriend, one boyfriend. Forrest's family is easy. His mom and her husband. But my family requires a lot of inspiration and imagination. This is complicated by the fact that in most cases their taste is so incredibly far from my taste that you can't even drive to it from here. I seem to be out of inspiration this year. And I really, really hate to give dull gifts.

Oh poor little Mackenzie!
And now the winner of the most spoiled brat on the planet award. Check out this video clip where some rich bimbo freaks out because the car she gets for her birthday is the wrong color! Oh the poor, poor thing!

CD Pick of the week: Jim Robinson
Economy Hall Breakdown.Classic New Orleans jazz recorded live at Preservation Hall on Aug. 22, 1965. The late Robinson was a fabulous trombonist with a rich, warm sound. He’s joined by equally talented artists on cornet, clarinet, piano, and drums. All instrumentals except for one track featuring Robinson on vocals. It's brassy, sassy, and scintillating with a ragtime, speakeasy kind of feel. Great stuff.

Poor Philly!
Philadelphia just can't get no respect. Years ago a survey voted them the city with the most overweight citizens. Now Travel & Leisure magazine has decided they also have the most unnattractive citizens. I love the headline in the Philadelphia newspaperHey! We're not just fat -- we're ugly too.

Being married to a native of Philadelphia, I must object. Although I have to admit, the most overweight cops I've ever seen were getting pastries in a Philadelphia cafe.

For the pretentious, but poor

Talk about ridiculous! Check out Bag, Borrow, or Steal a website where you can rent "the latest authentic designer handbags, purses, jewelry, and accessories."

OK, so obviously I'm not their target audience because I have no idea what the difference between a handbag and a purse is. But what the hell??? Why would you want to rent a Gucci purse? Because you want people to think you're rich enough to afford something both ugly and expensive? How shallow can you be that this is something that matters to you?

The heartbreak museum

I love Europe.

Check out this exhibition in Berlin.

"The Museum of Broken Relationships asks people in the cities it visits to donate mementos of everything from short flings to painful divorces."

In the report on the BBC website, it asks readers what they would donate to such a museum. Tough call. Having had my heart seriously broken in the past I know the power that objects associated with the ex can hold. And how cathartic it can be to take out your anger and hurt on inanimate objects. I don't think I have much left from that relationship and now that I'm past the hurt and have luckily managed to maintain a precious friendship with my ex, I'd have to say that I have nothing to donate. But right after it happened, I'm sure I could have found some suitable object.

Oh the humanity!

Ok, I'm sure I'm the last person in the world to see the latest You Tube hit but just in case you haven't seen this example of "talent" you really should check it out. Turn up the sound and sit in stunned silence as you watch this crime against humanity.

A good place to recommend to your annoying brother-in-law

Check out these reviews of the Eden Plaza Hotel in London. A sample of the headlines:

- Horiffic
- Dire
- Most disgusting hotel ever
and my favotite
- Bring disinfectant

Scrolling through the amazingly disgusted reviews is actually amusing. Some even include photos that lead you to believe every venomous word is justified. The place looks like a total pit.

Why can't birth control be retroactive?
In another brilliant move by our clueless leader, Bush just appointed Susan Orr to oversee federal family planning programs at the Department of Health and Human Services. This "highly qualified" (translation: brain-dead zealot) has been quoted as equating contraceptives with "the culture of death." She's written a paper entitled "Real Women Stay Married" and thinks that birth-control shouldn't be covered by health insureance because "fertility is not a disease."

Gosh, should I get barefoot and pregnant now or wait until Christmas is over?

CD Pick of the Week: Tango No. 9
This San Francisco-based band plays stylish, sophisticated tangos with flair and polish. A mix of tango standards and new compositions. At times they have a Cirque du Soliel-style creative theatricality and edge, at others there’re achingly romantic. All instrumentals, except for #7. Every track a gem.

CD Pick of the Week: Taraf de Haidouks
With their new release, Maskarada, Taraf goes classical with a crazy gypsy take on Bartok, Khachaturian, and more (plus some originals). This is fabulous stuff, wacky good (mostly) instrumentals with an overall sound like some freaky traveling carnival that makes you want to lock up your kids. The playing is superb. Tight arrangements too. It's the soundtrack to Satan asking you to dance...

Move over Nobel Prize
There's an even more prestigious award in town. America's Best Restroom! No, I'm not kidding. I wish I were. Yes, there are photos. But if you want to visit this year's number one (to do your number one) you'll have to go to Fairfield, Ohio.

CD PIck of the Week: Beto Villa
Beto Villa: Father of Orquesta Tejana is a wickedly cool blend of big band swing and Mexican Tejana music recorded in the late 1940s and early ‘50s. All instrumentals, featuring Villa on a swinging alto sax. If you like retro charm, you will love this. Trust me.

CD Pick of the Week: Love Letters from Ella by Ella Fitzgerald
Oh my...
This selection of previously unreleased love songs from the ‘70s (one track from the early ‘80s) shows why she’s the undisputed queen of jazz vocalists. Every note is pitch-perfect and whisky-smooth, her style is impeccable, and it’s all worth at least three stars. Miss Ella, we love you right back.

CD Pick of the Week: The Rough Guide to Flamenco
Yet another wonderful Rough Guide compilation. This is a wonderful exploration of the contemporary state of Spanish flemenco music featuring artists at the top of their game. You can’t go wrong with any track. This delivers flamenco in all its emotional flavors – from absolute exultation to pure misery. Damned good stuff.

For women only
Well the fine folks at the Southwestern Baptist Theolgical Seminary in Tennessee knows what's important for their female students. Knowing how to cook, sew, and raise Christian babies.

They now offer a bachelor of arts program in humanities that includes a 23-hour concentration in homemaking -- for female students only.

According to an Associated Press article, "Coursework will include seven hours of nutrition and meal preparation, seven hours of textile design and "clothing construction," three hours of general homemaking, three hours on "the value of a child," and three hours on the "biblical model for the home and family."

What century are we in again? Sewing??? Who sews anymore? Why not just include a course in butter churning?

CD Pick of the Week: Dobet Gnahore
Artist: Dobet Gnahore (DOH-bay gna-OR-ay). CD: Na Afriki From the Ivory Coast, delicious pan-African vocals ranging from sweet ballads to upbeat African grooves. Backed by a wonderful band and back-up singers, this release is a delight throughout. Fresh, at times funky, always fabulous. She is the real deal and, most impressive, she sings in about 8 different African languages. Read the lyrics, her songs have a lot to say.

Book Review: Suite Francaise
Suite Francaise, by Irene Nemirovsky details life in France as the Germans march in during WWII and what the occupation was like. There's one problem, it's the first draft of the first half of an unfinished novel.
It was never finished because the author (a Russian-born French writer) was Jewish and was transported to Auchwitz where she was killed. Given that tragic story, I feel guilty and petty for criticising this book but I didn't like it. My reason is just what I said -- it's a first draft of the first half of an unfinished novel.
The first part focuses on a group of Parisiens leaving the city before the Germans arrive. In short, it's a group of unpleasant people doing unpleasant things during unpleasant circumstances. Critics have hailed it as a biting satire, but I just found it unenjoyable. I liked the second half better -- set in farming country where the residents learn to deal with having German troops living in their homes. The characters were more likeable, the story focused more on people an less on what everyone chooses to pack while fleeing a war (what is that obsession with linens?), and it was a more polished work.
My short review is that this work has promise, and had the author been allowed to finish it I believe it could have been truly important. But were it not for her tragic end, would thid have deserved to be published?

Firecracker Jazz Band
Their CD "Explodes," truly lives up to the name. It's a total explosion of good time fun. Classic Dixieland that harkens back to the roaring 20s. Great material played with energy, style, and an obvious love for the material. Plus lots of tongue-in-cheekiness. Solid playing throughout with wonderful retro vocals and arrangements. It's the kind of music that instantly improves your mood. Trust me, it's impossible not to smile with this on the stereo.

I'm free!
Well, it's official. I am now unemployed. Having had it up to the preverbial "here" with life in the iPit, I quit my job and am now two weeks into life. Ahh.....

I can tell it's going to take me a long time to decompress. I still have that nagging "I'm sure I'm forgetting a major deadline" feeling in the back of my mind. But it's delicious to wake up in the morning and not dread having to go to the bad place.

So what am I doing? Reading a lot. Doing two radio shows (At the Cafe Bohemian, my regular world music show. Tuesdays from 6-9 pm. And The Hair of the Dog, a blues show on Friday afternoons from 1-3). Catching up on sleep. Going to physical therapy twice a week, and finally getting back into the swing of my daily walks. All-in-all, it's wonderful.

Many thanks to my beloved husband for supporting me in my decision to quit and supporting us while I take some time off.