In honor of our nation's founding, I took the weekend to celebrate traditional American craft, celebrate the immigrant and melting pot of our nation (hello menudo!) and buy into today's celebrity culture and enjoy our cousin's on the other side of the pond. See below for clarification.
Unaccustomed Earth: Stories by Jhumpa Lahiri
I started a bit backwards with Lahiri. I read The Namesake first before going back to read Interpreter of Maladies. I have never been a fan of the short story. Most of the time, it's not satisfying enough of a read. Just as a get into the story and invest in the characters, it's over. I like to immerse myself to the point where I forget to breathe; and delve into my suspension of disbelief, until I am a part of the novel world, for better or worse. So Interpreter of Maladies was a hard read for me. Yet, when I saw Unaccustomed Earth in bookstores, I couldn't help myself and picked it up. While I am not an immigrant Asian-Indian, and I cannot relate to some of the difficulties of the older generation or the first generation Indian, there is a hope that Lahiri creates in her collection of tales. She uses simple words and simple phrases and I've read her words over and over now, looking for what it is that strikes me so when she writes but I don't know what it is. While she writes tales of sadness and hardship--it's not an "I can do it," but perhaps the simple message of no matter what, life goes on. That we endure; despite and in spite of.... And maybe that is the most optimistic message of all.
The Book of Lies by Brad Meltzer
Gotta say, good airplane reading. This book managed to take Bible lore and tie it well to Superman lore and create a believable chase story. While I am not sure why certain characters were featured so prominently, and I thought some disturbed the flow of the storyline, overall it was an attention grabbing read for a short haul flight.
WATCHED:
Bottle Shock (DVD):
So I thought I had rented Shopaholic but when I opened the Netflix package I realized that I hadn't changed my selection in time before shipment. Anyway, I am by no means a vino-phile, but I think that it was time to support a Northern CA staple. Plus, who doesn't love Alan Rickman. As a bonus, Chris Pine (aka Captain Kirk) was also in the movie with long, stringy hair. I thought he did well, but I noticed an alarming trend. He gets beat up a lot in movies that he's in. Wonder if that's deliberate or a giant coincidence?
Public Enemies (Movie):
Michael Mann, Johnny Depp and Christian Bale. These three names should be enough to guarantee a good movie. Then you top it with some of the best character actors around and I thought I was in for a rollicking good time.
I heard Jon Favreau say that when you do a movie you look at the script, the director and the cast. And you can take a chance on one of the elements but not two. Well, in this case, the chance turned out to be too big of a leap of faith.
The movie was tight and entertaining up front, but towards the middle, I was wondering and wishing for Johnny's character's demise. I wonder if the movie was edited by two teams. It just seemed slow and boring and I wasn't rooting for Johnny's character to get away (even though I already knew the outcome from history).
PROJECTS:
Finished 1st baby blanket:
Finally finished my first baby blanket present for my friends in Philly. And not a moment too soon either. Getting started on another present. And at the rate my friends seem to be getting engaged one after the other, I am going to become an expert soon. :)
TASTES:
Farmer's Market:
Went to the Farmer's Market in South Pasadena for a stroll. Ended up picking up some super fresh product and in the course of the weekend, I shelled 4 pounds of peas and 2 pounds of green beans and along with my family ate it all. There is just something about fresh food, and simple ingredients that I just love. Oh yeah, did I mention we consumed 6 quarts of the most awesome strawberries in the world. I think I ate about 4 quarts of it by myself.
Ramen:
Foo Foo Tei's is the amazing Ramen place in Hacienda Heights (don't be fooled by the one in Monterey Park, not the same, in fact, there is a pending lawsuit over copyright). We ordered the fried tofu, chilean sea bass, liver and onions, friend chicken, fresh squid and one menudo and two ramen. I think we only had a few pieces of chicken and fish left in the end. 31 different types of ramen and an even longer list of side dishes.
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