We've been friends for a long, long time, and I feel like our relationship is one for the history books. I've studied you, used you and even tutored students in the finer points of all things you. Sure, we've had our rough patches. The editing class I took in college made me cry daily, but I choose to blame your snarky sister Copy Editing for my distress.
You're a stickler for following the rules, and I respect that. I too am a goody-goody and can appreciate the necessity of keeping writing on the straight and narrow. I wanted to celebrate you, Grammar, so here are some of my favorite things about you.
The Interrobang, or genius in punctuation form. Combining exclamation and interrogative points into one snazzy typographic solution. I love it. Who wants to type "!?!?" to ask a question with shock and awe? Not me.
The Oxford Comma, recently fired from the Oxford Style Guide, will always have a place in my heart. Sure, it's not Associated Press style, which is how I have to write in my professional life, but I will always seriously love the serial comma. In the song "Oxford Comma," the band Vampire Weekend asks "Who gives a flip about the oxford comma?" Well, I do, boys. So there.
Also, dear Grammar, you make everyone who uses you seem infinitely smarter. Seriously, someone who knows the difference between
You're vs. Your
Their vs. There vs. They're
Where vs. Wear
It's vs. Its
will go far in this life.
So, thank you Grammar, for all that you do. You're doing good, and I hope that you're well.
In my home, cleaning and sorting through old stuff turns into a discovery of treasures thought long, long gone. For example, I recently discovered my first published piece of writing. It was never in any magazine or newspaper; oh no, this outlet has a very select demographic. I am talking about my family's Christmas letter, which I took over writing in 1999. Yes, just over a decade ago, I was attending Catholic middle school and begrudgingly telling people about it. I think, though, that you can see my journalistic side make an appearance. I will transcribe my magnum opus here for you in its original comic sans. Also, try visualizing it on candy cane paper.
Dear Family and Friends,
Hello!! How are you? Everything here is great. I hope that you all are having a nice holiday season. So far things this year have been pretty busy. I got out of the slammer [ school ] on Friday, and so far nothing much has happened.
I'm in the school choir, and I take piano and voice lessons. I hate practicing, but my parents tell me that I want to play the piano, I just don't know it yet. On Friday my school had the Christmas Mass, and it was about 2 hours long, one of the longest masses we've had this year. Then we had our Christmas party, and the girls were trying to get the boys to dance with them. And, no surprise here, the boys wouldn't dance with the girls but would show their cool dance moves only in their little groups. My mom says some things never change!
My mom is teaching at a really neat school and she likes it a lot. My dad still works too hard but says he likes it. It's been a great year and we'll see you soon.
LOVE, Anna Beth
Note my cutting wit and reporting skills. Very Woodward and Bernstein, no? Yet, this is where my passion became more of a career path. Family loved my use of the word "slammer" (to be honest, so do I), and, with their encouragement, I began to think of writing as something that didn't just exist in my journal but rather as something you share. Who would think a Christmas letter could make a kid want to be a writer? Obviously not younger me. Who knows what small step can change your life, huh?
Hope you all have had a great weekend! My thoughts and prayers are with those reeling from Irene.
dancing it out- verb: a series of movement, aesthetically pleasing or otherwise, that release any sort of emotion, including joy, anxiety, fear and so on. Can be accomplished to all forms of music.
For as long as I can remember, I've danced it out. Thanks to my life-long love of musicals, life has always seemed better if it features a song and dance. Am I a talented dancer? I don't know. When I was 14, a boy told me I was a good dancer, and I've allowed that compliment to imbue my hoofing with confidence ever since. In high school, my friends and I would break it down in parking lots in random areas of town. Yes, the Footloose nature of that is not lost on me. My random need to bust a move occurred all throughout college, usually when a test was the next day or a paper was due. I think this clip from Grey's Anatomy, where I first heard the term coined, is a perfect example of d.i.o. Ignore the babbling from Meredith (just one of the many reasons why I no longer watch this show), and just take the sage advice of Christina Yang into your heart: "Shut up. Dance it out...Dancing makes you brave."
Here are some tunes, some old and some older, that I've been dancing it out to of late:
If we've hung out for an hour of more, you probably know about my love of Etsy. Actually, it's not love; it's an obsession. Most people have a checklist of things they do every day when they turn on their computers. E-mail, news and Facebook are all usually among the websites visited by most. My list goes as follows: e-mail, blogs and more blogs, Facebook, Pinterest and, for the coup de grace, Etsy. What does one person need to do on Etsy for hours and hours you might ask. To be honest, I'm not sure.
All I do know is that Etsy has revolutionized online shopping. And it makes me look like an uber-considerate gift giver. I mean, who doesn't love a handmade, personalized coffee mug or a print of a cupcake that looks like Andy Warhol?
So cute, right?
Back off, he's mine!
Ever since I got into Etsy about 2 years ago, I haven't been able to stop. That makes it sound like an illegal habit, doesn't it? Well, much like most enjoyable things in life (chocolate, wine, shopping), it's addictive. But tell me, where else will you find a ring made out of a spoon from 1860 or letterpress stationery covered in avocados? When was the last time you could walk into a store and tell someone exactly what you want and have them make it for you? Walmart may be full of good deals, but those savings come at the cost; you can't buy anything handmade and one-of-a-kind from a chain retailer.
If you have enough time and patience, Etsy will change the way to buy anything. Are you saving money? Depends on what you buy. A poster of the cast of Twilight may be cheaper than a gorgeous hand-screened print. However, what you are doing is supporting small businesses. Think of it as sponsoring artists and helping bolster the economy instead of balking at some of the prices. There's something for every budget, whether you want to spend $15 of $1500. And, with the recession making itself at home like an uninvited stranger crashing on the couch, now it's more important that ever to support local businesses. So, when you can find things this great, why not?
Etsy logo via. Personalized mugs can be purchased here. More cupcake art can be found here
To start off this experiment of a series, I thought I'd discuss my current girl crush, the woman whose closet I'd like to raid, kitchen table I'd like to drink coffee at and awesomeness I'd want to soak up like a parched sponge. I am of course talking about the coolest woman on the planet, J. Crew's creative director Jenna Lyons.
I mean, look at her at work in her office. Isn't she just so effortlessly chic? And better at it than you or I could ever hope to be, so I think we should just stop trying. There's an amazing and highly complimentary article about her in New York Magazine, calling her an unlikely and humble tastemaker. I love this quote from the piece:
"This is not a role that Lyons will readily admit to, and when I bring up a word that is often applied to her, she expresses a shuddering distaste. 'My goal is not to be a tastemaker,' she says. 'It has never been that. I don’t consider myself that at all. The idea that you can make taste or influence someone’s taste is a very precarious and overly presumptuous concept.' But isn’t that, in large part, what she is paid to do? Lyons frowns. 'Hubris is not so cute.'”
"Hubris is not so cute." What a wonderful notion! Although to be honest, if anyone should toot her own horn, it should be Ms. Lyons. The ease and glamour that she brings to everyday fashion is an art form unto itself. It's like she's channeling four-year-old me who only wanted to wear comfortable clothes with sparkles. And a marabou boa. Daily. Dressing that way makes a celebration out of going to the grocery store or to work. It brings charm to an outfit and a spring to one's step. Making little things special is what Lyons has brought to fashion, and customers have followed her like the Pied Piper of perfection that she is.
I've long admired Lyons' style, but it wasn't until the brouhaha that arose after this picture was posted on J. Crew's website that I truly loved her:
What was meant as a sweet image of a mother and son on a Saturday turned into a needless controversy because, if you examine the photo closely, you see that Jenna's son has hot pink toenails. Personally, I love it. Let's turn those silly gender stereotypes on their heads people! Little girls play with trucks and Legos, so why can't a boy ask his mom to paint his toes? Yet, those naysayers had to say nay, so a strange and pointless debate began. I think Lyons had the best reaction to the sturm und drang in the NY Magazine piece.
"I was painting my nails and Beckett wanted his nails painted, too. I’m not surprised that he was interested in what I was doing. My God, my toes went from white to hot pink—it was very exciting.”
I've said it once, and I'll say it again - she's cooler than all of us people! And, since a picture speaks a thousand words, I thought I'd leave you with a few so that you can start cultivating your own crush too.
It's time to reveal something. Something that I've carried with me for a long, long time. It's something that I've felt guilty about, and I need to unburden my soul. Can you handle it?
All these bookstore closings are my fault.
Yes, the recent sweep of bookstores going out of business is. All. My. Fault.
How can one woman have such an impact on the economy? Let me lay it out for you.
I've had a love affair with books for as long as I can remember. Growing up with two bibliophiles, I learned to treasure and love my books. When we'd move, it wasn't the couch or china cabinet that took the most effort to haul. It was our extensive library.
Borders bookstores were always my favorites. I'd spend hours perusing historical biographies and choosing which cover of the latest edition of Jane Eyre I liked the best. Have I mentioned that I am really, really cool? Obviously, right? I'd drag my friends to bookstores after going out to dinner or the movies because it's what I considered to be the height of fun. By the time I reached high school and needed a summer job, I considered working at a bookstore because I thought it would be the best job ever. Surrounded by books? Throw me in the briar patch! However, competition was fierce, and I wound up working at a clothing store that I grew to hate. It became a blessing in disguise to not work at a bookstore because then I always loved it. It's like never finding out your significant other's faults; everything is sunshine and Santa Claus.
However, bookstores and I began to break up. Once I went to college, I wound up in a town that did not have a Borders bookstore. There were a few other chains, but I didn't love them the way I loved Borders with its warm lighting, friendly staff, and rewards program. So, I didn't shop at bookstores anymore. Also, to be honest, as an undergrad trying to pinch pennies, I saw the merit in Amazon and Overstock, with their cheap shipping and huge discounts. I bought more and more of my books online and less from the stores. Even on the rare occasions when I'd go to Borders on breaks from school, I was astonished by the price difference. $75 for a stuffed animal and picture book for a baby present? I could get this on Amazon for $30, easily. Obviously, being a prudent student had taken the spontaneity and joy out of book buying. I was no longer carefree and fun when it came to purchases, and I had to cut out frivolous buys like another copy of Jane Eyre.
Then, I decided to get one of these:
Partly so I could accessorize it with this:
I never met a product from Kate Spade I didn't like, and, to be honest, I love my Kindle. I can carry it with me all the time, have any book at my fingertips, and my arms don't fall asleep while reading those historical biographies, which in book-form tend to be heavy.
And yet, I feel ashamed of my betrayal. I told a dear friend about my behavior, and she jokingly said I was being "whorish." Yet, that how's I feel.
A few weeks ago, Borders announced its bankruptcy and immediate closings of all stores. I felt beyond sad. And, I felt guilty. Guilty that I hadn't supported an old friend in a time of need. So, to the going-out-of-business sale I went, trying to make amends.
Friends, when I tell you it was sad, I mean it was tragic. Like a being a funeral or seeing buzzards pick at roadkill kind of sad. I was reminded of the most heart-breaking scene in one of my favorite movies of all time You've Got Mail, when Kathleen (Meg Ryan) has to close her beloved and charming neighborhood bookstore because mega store Fox Books, run by her arch nemesis/AOL paramour Joe Fox (Tom Hanks), has stolen her clientele. She talks about her work being just a memory...ugh, are you crying? If you aren't then here's a clip of her going-out-of-business sale:
Now don't you feel sad? Being in Borders reminded me of this, and the guilt washed over me like an ocean. Was this my fault?
I know that I didn't really bankrupt this company alone; I had help from the millions of people who are trying to save money in this recession as well as those who understand that e-readers are where books are going, but I still feel bad. However, I spent $80 on books that I didn't need. It was my way of saying goodbye. And I didn't once think about how much cheaper it would have been on Amazon.
This weekend I saw the film adaptation of Kathryn Stockett's novel The Help. Starring Emma Stone and Viola Davis, this is a wonderful example of adapting a book into a movie because it stayed true to the source. I wasn't sure if I was going to like this film or not; when I saw the previews, I was so disappointed. They made the world of 1960s Jackson, Mississippi look shiny, sparkly and squeaky clean, which anyone with a haphazard knowledge of the Civil Rights movement knows it definitely was not. These trailers lacked the gritty darkness that made the book such a success, and I was worried that Hollywood had stripped away all of the best parts of the story in order to make it more appealing. However, the movie proved that first impression wrong. All the grit and gut-wrenching elements that were in the book are present and accounted for in the film, and I couldn't be more pleased.
Skeeter , Minny and Aibileen after their book has been published.
Not everyone loves this story as much as I do though. The Help has been criticized as another addition to the what can be called nouveau-racism, where change and social equality only happen because a member of the majority helps the minority. I do agree that books and films that feature tales such as these are ridiculous and offensive because they assume that the down-trodden can accomplish nothing without help from the powerful. I think Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and Malcolm X disprove that point. Yet, that's not what I got out of this story. Sure, at first it appears that way. Young, privileged and white Skeeter (played by Emma Stone) decides to make a name for herself by using the stories of African American maids to try to bring something that hasn't been written before to a New York City publisher. However, what began as a job turns into a partnership between Skeeter and two other maids, Aibileen (Viola Davis) and Minny (Octavia Spencer). The strength and power of those two characters saves this plot. Skeeter is a lovely girl and played charmingly by Stone, but you could take Skeeter out of Jackson and plop her into any chick lit setting. The real weight and power of the story lies with the help, and they give this tale its heart and soul. I hope the Academy takes note of Davis' superb performance because I'm pulling for her for every award out there!
For me, there's a reason why the novel begins and ends with Aibileen. She is the true protagonist of The Help. She is intelligent, kind and wise, and Davis gave her such a melancholy richness with a depth of feeling that I haven't seen in a movie in a long time. Aibileen, Minny and all of the other women who tell their tales to Skeeter are each heroines. They have the most to lose but decide to do the right thing and try to change the world. Or Jackson, at least. They are more that domestics; they are fighters. And I hope that audiences will see The Help as more than a feel-good story with a can-do spirit, but as a celebration of all of those women who raised babies who weren't their own and cleaned houses where they would never be invited to dinner. It's a reminder that this foreign world where life itself in all areas, from movie theaters to hospitals, was kept separate and very unequal and was the norm less that 50 years ago. I only wish that those women in real life could have had the chance to tell their stories like these characters did.
