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Thursday, 26 February 2015

Me Talk Pretty One Day by David Sedaris

Back in the days when I'd only dimly heard of David Sedaris, the book I had heard of was Me Talk Pretty One Day. Based on the title alone, I was under the assumption that it was a novel about a girl with mental development problems. It was perhaps that which led to me getting an embarrassingly long way into Dress Your Family in Corduroy and Denim before realising that it was not a novel about a young girl. But now, on my third Sedaris book, I'm in the swing of things - he writes humorous essays about his own life.  But you probably know that already.

This collection is (I believe) his bestselling title, and it is extremely funny. The focus is not so much on his family as it was in the other two books I read, although the first few stories do take place among those many brothers and sisters. They're anecdotes, really, more than stories - about how David's father forced them all to play instruments, with the misguided idea that they would become almost instantly proficient; about his overly-invested speech therapist; about tanning competitions on the beach. His eye for an anecdote is perfect. Sedaris is endlessly dry, self-deprecating, and able to find the humour in any experience - often through the throwing in of a bizarrely specific detail or unlikely piece of dialogue. Are all his reminiscences accurate? One assumes not. They are exaggerated at the very least. But that doesn't matter a jot.

The two main sections of Me Talk Pretty One Day deal with Sedaris' student years and his experiences trying to learn French. I'm always amazed at how many things Sedaris has crammed in his life, and one of those is a period during which he thought he'd try his hand at performance art. It is all extremely amusing (as that topic is more or less set up to be), even given my discomfort at reading about drug-taking. What makes it so brilliant is the dry, eye-rolling narrative that subtly looks back on disaffected, youthful David from the vantage of disaffected, middle-aged David. And when it comes served with sentences like the following, what more could you want? He is the master of putting together a sentence that neatly wraps up the ridiculous without making a song and dance about it:
I enrolled as an art major at a college known mainly for its animal-husbandry programme.
But the most sustained theme I've seen in the three books I've read so far is, as mentioned, his attempts to learn French and live in France (thanks to the French-dwelling of his partner Hugh). It is these experiences that give the collection its title - with a sort of oh-I-see sense that eluded me with Dress Your Family in Corduory and Denim and Let's Discuss Diabetes With Owls. From his first venture to France, knowing only the French for bottleneck, to his intense lessons with an aggressive teacher, to living fairly confidently off phrases cribbed from medical audiobooks... His lessons sounded brutal, but also led to some amusing moments (of course), and this one gives a good example to Sedaris' style for those who haven't read him:
"And what does one do on the fourteenth of July? Does one celebrate Bastille Day?"

It was my second month of French class, and the teacher was leading us in an exercise designed to promote the use of one, our latest personal pronoun.

"Might one sing on Bastille Day?" she asked. "Might one dance in the streets? Somebody give me an answer."

Printed in our textbooks was a list of major holidays accompanied by a scattered arrangement of photograph depicting French people in the act of celebration. The object of the lesson was to match the holiday with the corresponding picture. It was simple enough but seemed an exercise better suited to the use of the pronoun they. I didn't know about the rest of the class, but when Bastille Day rolled around, I planned to stay home and clean my oven.
I love that sort of pay-off at the end of that; the detail that is curiously specific and off-kilter, but carefully within the world that Sedaris has created. This world isn't the real world, and isn't a fictional universe, but it's a beautiful, bizarre, grumpy, and very amusing realm that Sedaris has both created and made his own.

Oh, and I forgot to say - Liz very kindly gave me this copy; thanks so much, Liz!

Tuesday, 24 February 2015

Whither silliness?

An interesting question was posed today in my online book group - in passing, actually, in a discussion of Elizabeth von Arnim - about silliness in books. It was agreed (between the two of us, at least) that silliness could be on the level of either plot or dialogue. I think there's a place for either, but definitely prefer the latter.

Let me briefly explain... Novels that have silliness on the level of plot are those like P.G. Wodehouse that have absurd event after absurd event - a sort of narrative farce - that is expertly organised but so unlikely as to be impossible. Silliness on the level of dialogue encompasses rather more - the example given was from von Arnim's In the Mountains, where a pompous guest begins a reminiscence with "Our father ..." and the narrator thinks she is about to start praying. I suppose it is moments or wordings that are unlikely to happen.

I love dialogue taken to unlikely extremes. It's why I love Ivy Compton-Burnett, and strident heroines like Lady Catherine de Burgh. I also love narratives which leap to hyperbole or litotes - which is why I adore Richmal Crompton's William books and the Provincial Lady series. Silliness perhaps isn't the word, but it isn't realism. Silliness in plot, however, I have only limited tolerance for. Wodehouse yes; almost everyone else, no.

Does this division chime with anyone? What are you thoughts? Did you think I was finally going to blog about the Mr Men? (One day...)

Sunday, 22 February 2015

The Fur Person by May Sarton

I can't remember exactly how it came about - begging, borrowing, or stealing (or, y'know, a present), but when I stayed with Thomas in Washington D.C. about 18 months ago, he gave me The Fur Person by May Sarton. That was not even amongst the nicest things he did - he's a great guy, y'all - but it was definitely very exciting to get. He has been keen for me to read May Sarton for ages, and the one I did read (As We Are Now) never made its way to Stuck-in-a-Book - so, rather than strike out two for two, I'll be talking about The Fur Person now. Full disclosure: I loved it.

How was I not going to love it, considering that it's about a cat? Well, some cat-centric books have failed with me, one way or another. I wasn't enamoured by Jennie (Paul Gallico), and - while I did adore Dewey, it was for all the wrong reasons. But The Fur Person (1978) combines a strong understanding of cats with a complete lack of sentiment - in the best possible way. So, although the novella undoubtedly includes cat-lovers, the narrative is presented from the cat's perspective (albeit in the third person, if you see what I mean). He - Tom 'Terrible' Jones, no less - is pragmatic and selfish (like all cats) but willing to exchange affection and loyalty for the correct 'housekeeper', having realised that one cannot be a footloose, fancy-free young tom forever.

The story is simple, and supposedly based on the real life adventures of Sarton's cat. He experiments with various housekeepers, before settling on the admiration and respect of Sarton and her partner. In a chilling warning to such as me, Tom is not interested in the cloyingly affectionate:
The trouble was, as he soon found out, that as soon as he came into reach, the lady could not resist hugging and kissing him with utter disregard for the dignity of his person. There are times when a Gentleman Cat likes very much to be scratched gently under his chin, and if this is done with savoir-faire he may afterwards enjoy a short siesta on a lap and some very refined stroking, but he does not like to be held upside down like a human baby and he does not like to be cooed over, and to be pressed to a bosom smelling of narcissus or rose.
Which is understandable, but there is a certain pathos in the way Sarton presents the scene. Tom is intent merely on getting out of the house - by the common feline method of standing silently by the door until obeyed - but, in the background, this would-be owner is mournful:
"You're not a nice cat at all," she said, and she began to whimper. "You don't like me," she whimpered, "do you?"
In another sort of novel, this might have been a tragic moment in her life - but, in The Fur Person, it is one of many instances that occur while Tom is finding his way to the idyll at the end of his journey.
The Fur Person bounded up the stairs, and at the very instant he entered the kitchen, the purrs began to swell inside him and he wound himself around two pairs of legs (for he must be impartial), his nose in the air, his tail straight up like a flag, on tip toes, and roaring with thanks.
It's quite a sweet ending, but it doesn't fall over the boundary into saccharine. And the reason for that, I believe, is because Sarton has observed the behaviour of cats so precisely. Everything she described rang true. Perhaps not the ten commandments for cats (individually they were accurate, but I suspect cats do not repeat these mantras by rote), but certainly the movements of tail and paws, the stretching, the staring and waiting - everything it described with such precision and accuracy that any cat-lover (particularly those of us who love cats but don't live with any) will thrill to the reading experience.

Saturday, 21 February 2015

Stuck-in-a-Book's Weekend Miscellany

My day started with pancakes and went on to pie (a mushroom, spinach, hazelnut and white truffle oil pie, since you ask = bliss), so it's all going pretty well. My intention to read all day isn't going great, although I am loving David Sedaris in brief snatches. And not reading the two books I told myself I'd read today. Still, it's only 5.30pm, so still plenty of reading time left today - and time to give you a few bits of miscellaneous linking.

1.) You may know that Oliver Sacks is one of my heroes, and I love his books (and his humanity). His heroism continues in this beautiful, sad, wise piece for the New York Times about learning that he has terminal cancer.

2.) In a totally different tone, you might enjoy this quiz I put together in honour of Go Set a Watchman being announced: it is titles of books which are taken from elsewhere. Half are from the Bible; half are not. Can you tell which is which? (And thanks Susan for pointing out to me that Go Set a Watchman borrows its title from the Bible! I'm ashamed that I didn't realise that myself.)

3.) Helene Hanff's Letter from New York is on my bedside table, so I was excited to see Ali's review of it - especially since it's rather glowing.

4.) Do you (like me) love bad films? Not just mediocrity, but the ones with a script, direction, acting, and sound quality so bad that you ask 'How did this get made?' Well, that just so happens to be the title of a hilarious podcast I discovered recently. It's been going for four or so years, so there should be something in the archives to whet the appetite.

Thursday, 19 February 2015

Old Books, Rare Friends by Leona Rostenberg & Madeleine Stern

You know what it's like with book reviews on Stuck-in-a-Book - they're like buses; you wait a month for one, and then three come along at once. (If you've ever waited a month for a bus, then - please - just give up and get a taxi.) In the weekend last year where I coincidentally read a bunch of books I bought in America, one of them had the enticing title Old Books, Rare Friends: Two Literary Sleuths and Their Shared Passion (1997) by Leona Rostenberg and Madeleine Stern. (Who first told me about this? Was it YOU?)

I'm not the sort of man to walk away from a book about loving books, particularly one penned by older women, and so I was excited to read this. But it was quite a while ago, so I'm going to review this one in bullet points... let's call it an experiment.

  • Leona and Madeleine take it in turns to narrate chapters, starting with their childhoods (perhaps unsurprisingly) and through the schooling and college education.
  • The main point of interest here is that one of them was refused her doctorate, mostly because her supervisor disagreed with her argument. (That is NOT acceptable supervising.)
  • I could never really tell Leona and Madeleine apart from their writing styles, so their lives intertwined for me.
  • They set up a rare books business together, buying and selling, and this is where my interest was piqued.
  • They make catalogues! I could read about the preparation of catalogues forever.
  • They're only interested in very old books, so my love of 20th-century literature was never really satisfied. But, oh well.
  • And they discovered sensation magazine stories that Louisa M. Alcott had written under a pseudonym - which led to a minor sort of literary fame for them.
  • I really enjoyed it! Reading about the books business, particularly in a time before the internet made book hunting both easier and less filled with surprises is always fun.

Here is my caveat (for which I have slipped out of bullet points). I love reading about readers; about people who hunt for books because they are desperate to read them. Rostenberg and Stern hunt for books for a living, and so (naturally enough) are concerned more with profit than anything else. Still, I couldn't help weary a little at the number of times they said how much they'd paid for something and how much they'd sold it for - particularly on the occasions when that effectively meant diddling a seller out of money, because the seller had sold a book for less than it was worth. Which made it rather a surprise to come across this paragraph in the epilogue:
We have become keen observers of the generations who have succeeded us. Every age is critical of the next, and we are no exceptions. Although we admire and befriend many young dealers who do not confuse value with price, we deplore the all too popular conception entertained by many dealers that books are to be regarded primarily as investments. Such booksellers go in for dollarship, not scholarship.
I wonder how they think they differ from this? Perhaps as bibliophiles, albeit bibliophiles who get money from their love, rather than simply gratification.

But, this quibble aside, I found it fascinating and fun. It's not up there with Phantoms on the Bookshelves or Howards End is on the Landing - the works of true booklovers, and lovers of 20th-century fiction into the bargain - and it's not quite the book that I thought it would be, but Old Books, Rare Friends will still retain its place on my books-about-books bookshelf.

Tuesday, 17 February 2015

As Cooks Go by Elizabeth Jordan

Note the 'Invalid Fruit Tart' postcard from my friend Clare...

I don't remember where I heard about As Cooks Go (1950) by Elizabeth Jordan - please let me know if it was from you! I dimly remember reading about it somewhere, either a blog or a footnote in a book, but I have been unable to trace the source. What I do know is that it arrived in my house on 13 October last year, and that I was sold by the title coming from one of my favourite Saki quotations:
The cook was a good cook, as cooks go; and as cooks go, she went.
That was enough to have it winging to my door; that, and the fact that there was a cheap copy going on Amazon. I'm very glad I did, as it's right up my street - and I think almost all regular readers of Stuck-in-a-Book would also find a lot to love here.

It took me a page or two to realise/remember, but this is non-fiction; it is Jordan's account of becoming a cook. If the spectre of Monica Dickens' glorious One Pair of Hands is in your head, then it was also in mine - and remained there. As Cooks Go certainly isn't as amusing as One Pair of Hands, and isn't really trying to be, but it is a lot more informative about the day-to-day life of a cook - and also has the virtue of being an account of necessity, rather than a frivolous experiment. For Jordan needs the money, essentially.

As Jordan explains on the first page, she hires a charwoman because she so loathes cleaning and cooking, and must find a way to pay for this. And decides to do so by becoming a cook. This may seem (aptly enough) like jumping out of the frying-pan and into the fire, but it is monotony that Jordan wanted to avoid. In her new role, she would cook (and sometimes serve) elaborate dinner parties, but in different houses on different nights of the week. She starts off working for two bachelor brothers in one house, a friend and her husband in another, and so on.

As the memoir continues, we see Jordan in various different settings. She tries her hand at cooking in a restaurant, in a hotel, and as the chef in a large private house. She undertakes a series of cooking lessons, hitchhiking to Scotland every weekend to see her children (more on them anon). In each situation, she recounts tales of the people she has to work alongside - sometimes complimentary and affectionate, but more often wearied. Although the book is not first and foremost a witty one, I did love the odd moment of dark humour:
Mrs Blackmore both owned and managed the hotel. She was a widow, and as I became better acquainted with her I envied her late partner for a release which can only have been welcome.
More impressive than her memory of dozens of people is her recollection of the foods cooked and meals served. As Cooks Go could almost serve as a recipe book, and I think would greatly entertain anybody partial to recipe books. She details many of the meals she cooked, giving tips as to seasonings and flavourings, unusual combinations of ingredients, and the most efficient ways of cooking anything from trout and potato to Bondpige Med Slor and Chou Farci Maigre. This is all the more impressive, given that she was working with rations. I don't recall any dates appearing in the text, but it was published in 1950 and the war is not mentioned, so I assume it all takes place between 1945 and 1950? Some foods now considered commonplace (rice, for instance, and gnocchi) were new and exciting to Jordan - while some sections proved that there is nothing new under the sun...
During the first week-end in Scotland I started to read The Way of All Flesh; when I left the Oak Hotel I had reached page seventy-five. Later on I started to read it again quickly, hardly able to put it down. It was a relief to be able once again to read, to enter into the stories of other lives recounted with humour and sensibility. It is monstrous to me that, except during a short time of crisis, people should have to work so hard that they have no time to think of anything but the trivial everyday worries of material existence. Many times have I heard the boast that there is no time for anything but expediences. I think rather that it is something of which to be ashamed: it is certainly a disease of modern life.
Jordan focuses almost entirely on her career in As Cooks Go - which is, of course, her prerogative. It does make it slightly unsettling when she mentions, in passing, that she and her husband have separated, and their children are living with her parents. There is a space of a year where she barely sees them at all - and although the whole process documented in the book is leading towards Jordan being able to live with her two daughters, the emotional turmoil of her romantic and maternal life is determinedly put to one side. As I say, entirely her right to do so - but it is still a slightly unsettling background to the day-to-day anxieties of cooking.

But, besides this small issue (and an extremely abrupt ending), As Cooks Go is a really great read. It isn't screamingly funny (for that, do turn to Monica Dickens and One Pair of Hands), nor is it remotely charming - instead, it is realistic and engaging, refusing to sentimentalise or satirise, but simply to show the life of a cook in various places. Anybody with an interest in domestic life and working women in the late 1940s will find a great amount to fascinate from a seldom documented perspective.

Monday, 16 February 2015

Death on the Cherwell by Mavis Doriel Hay

I have been extremely pleased to see the success of the British Library Crime Classics, but although I've cheered them on from a distance, and bought one of the John Budes, it's only now that I've actually read one of the series. And it isn't the John Bude; it is one they kindly gave me: Death on the Cherwell (1935) by Mavis Doriel Hay.

This is extremely apt for me, since it is set in Oxford - the Cherwell (pronounced char-well, please) is part of the Thames - and I know the places Hay describes. The setting is largely the environs of the non-existent Persephone College, a women-only Oxford college. A handy map in the front shows where this college supposedly stands - a small park by the river that, incidentally, remains building-free, and would be a very foolish place to build anything you didn't want to have annually flooded. But, according to Stephen Booth's introduction, it's based on St. Hilda's - which Hay attended as a student, but before women were awarded degrees.

A group of undergraduates, or 'undergraduettes' as the papers apparently label them, are in the process of setting up the Lode League ('the formation of esoteric societies is one of the favourite pastimes of undergraduates'), sat on the corrugated iron roof of a small boathouse, when a mysterious canoe floats by... In it is the body of the bursar, Miss Myra Denning, an unpopular woman whose unpopularity was, indeed, the very genesis of the Lode League.

This League is composed of Daphne, Gwyneth, Nina, and Sally. In truth, I found these young women more or less interchangeable - one was supposed to be wiser than the others, one more impetuous, and so forth, but any of them could fairly easily have said any of the dialogue. It didn't much matter. What matters rather more is the fun that Hay throws us into.

As I wrote recently in my post on A.A. Milne's The Red House Mystery, detective novels that aren't written by Agatha Christie inevitably suffer by comparison, when it comes to plot. (I'm not going to risk mentioning Dorothy L. Sayers again, even though there are striking similarities in scenario to Gaudy Night, published in the same year. I'd better not say what I thought of Gaudy Night.) And the plot of Death on the Cherwell isn't filled with the sorts of twists, turns, and surprises that Christie would have found - it ends up being one of the people you suspected it would be all along, for fairly undisguised reasons - but, that acknowledged, this novel is great fun and very well told.

Hay is great at crafting an engaging narrative. Whenever it palls a bit, we get a new character - a vivacious and witty couple who apparently appeared in Hay's Murder Underground make a reappearance, driving madly around Oxford and staying at the Mitre (which was apparently once rather classy; how things have changed). Then there is Draga, the 'Yugo-Slavian' student who lives in constant surprise at the English and equally constant poor grammar. She is in every way a stereotype of the Eastern European student, but perhaps we should expect no better from the 1930s - and she is certainly not intended as an offensive portrait. She is vibrant and amusing, and certainly stands out from the other student characters.

Although sold as an amateur detectives premise, there are a couple of police officers involved. Both, luckily, are extremely willing to share details of their investigations with the central characters, and they more or less work in tandem.

I wasn't quite fair when I said there weren't twists and turns. There are, just not particularly in the denouement - along the way, we get curses and secrets and all that sort of thing. There isn't a dull moment, and it's all (I keep coming back to this) very fun. Like The Red House Mystery, it's definitely cosy crime - with the added bonus of offering a window into a women's college in the 1930s. It's a delight, and if the rest of the British Library Crime Classics are of an equal tone and standard, then I can't wait to dive in and explore.

Saturday, 14 February 2015

Stuck-in-a-Book's Weekend Miscellany

Hope you're all having a fantastic day! I'm actually writing this on Thursday, in astonishing preparation, so who knows quite what I'll be doing on Saturday... I've got my fingers crossed for a sunny day and a nice lie-in. And a walk to the post office to pick up some parcels. It's all go at Stuck-in-a-Book Towers.

1.) The link - is to the Folio Prize shortlist. Now, I've not read any of them - I know, pearl-grabs of surprise all round - but I had read a surprising FOUR of the 80-strong longlist:

Boy, Snow, Bird by Helen Oyeyemi
Lila by Marilynne Robinson
The Paying Guests by Sarah Waters
Virginia Woolf in Manhattan by Maggie Gee

All of these were excellent, but none made the shortlist. And I find it very difficult to believe that any of the shortlisted authors could be better than Marilynne Robinson... but, again, I haven't read them, so this is wildly uninformed.

2.) The blog post - is on the hitherto-unknown-to-me Farnham Street blog. It's a job application letter by Eudora Welty to the New Yorker. It's glorious. I love her more than ever. (Are any of her novels outright comic? Please say yes, someone.)

3.) The book - I have to tip my hat to the good people/person who arranged the window display in Blackwell's in Oxford. How did I not know that there was another biography of Tove Jansson available? I love Boel Westin's (which I reviewed for Shiny New Books) but hadn't realised that Tove Jansson: Work and Love by Tuula Karjalainen also existed. It was published in 2013 in Finnish, and this translation by David McDuff was published last year. And it's such a beautiful book. So beautiful. Now the question is: do I wait a while so that I forget some of the details from Westin's book, or do I dive straight in?

Thursday, 12 February 2015

To Kill a Mockingbird: the unexpected sequel

Harper Lee, as I'm sure you've all heard by now, is leaving the ranks of Emily Bronte, Margaret Mitchell, and Anna Sewell, and will have two novels published during her lifetime. I'm sure the blogs have been ablaze with it; I've not spotted much chat, but I've been rather absent from the blogosphere for the past fortnight.

In case you didn't know, here's the low-down:
  • It'll be called Go Set a Watchman, showing that Harper ain't lost her knack for titles that are seemingly gibberish but actually (probably) very meaningful.
  • It was written before To Kill a Mockingbird
  • It's about an adult Scout - the editor Harper Lee sent it to told her to write about Scout as a child instead. That turned out ok.
  • Supposedly it was found in a box, or something.
Lovely SIAB-reader Merenia got in touch to suggest I blog about this, and included a fascinating excerpt from an article in the Guardian:
However, Dr Ian Patterson at Cambridge University was underwhelmed by the news. “I can’t but imagine it must be of historical interest rather than anything else, at this point,” he said. “It will doubtless be eagerly read by fans of To Kill a Mockingbird, but that’s a soggy sentimental liberal novel if ever there was one. I’m always dubious of attempts to close the gap between fiction and reality, as in wanting to know what happens to characters outside a novel’s confines – Tom Jones with Alzheimer’s, Mr Darcy’s daughters or, as here, Scout grown up. I expect it will garner lots of short-term interest on those grounds, and on the grounds of being another novel by a one-novel writer.
Now, I have no idea who Dr Ian Patterson is, but according to his website one of his publications is a critical guide to Wyndham Lewis. Having tried and monumentally failed to read Tarr, I can sense that we are not likely to enjoy the same books. But Dr Simon Thomas says that To Kill a Mockingbird is far from soggy or sentimental. It is liberal, I suppose, in that it's anti-racism, but I suspect (and hope) that's not quite the gripe he has. Mostly, it is a beautiful portrait of a good man and excellent father - which does sound rather soggy, I suppose. But you've all read it; you know it's not.

Having said that, I do have some qualms about this book being published. Harper Lee has always been adamant that she doesn't want anything else to be published. I worry that her fragile mental and physical health may have led to her being pushed into something...

But will I read it? Of course.

Wednesday, 11 February 2015

The Red House Mystery by A.A. Milne

I've reviewed The Red House Mystery today, over at Vulpes Libris - a detective novel by the man who is probably my all-time favourite writer, A.A. Milne. Usually I'd just point you over there, but I hope my fellow foxes won't mind me posting the review here too, since I'd really like to have my much-loved author reviewed in the Stuck-in-a-Book archives as well...

The Red House MysteryNowadays, The Red House Mystery is likely to provoke the words "I didn't know A.A. Milne wrote a detective novel"; back in the day, you'd have been more likely to hear astonishment that the author of The Red House Mystery had turned his hand to children's books. For, although Milne arguably only ever wrote one detective novel (Four Days' Wonder just about counts as one as well, I'd suggest, but that's another story), for a while it was the thing for which he was most famous. Having earned his name as a Punch humorist, he turned his hand to The Red House Mystery in 1922 and it was an enormous success. Two years later would come When We Were Very Young, and another two years later arrived a certain Bear of Very Little Brain - but, between 1922 and 1924, A.A. Milne and crime went hand-in-hand. And a few years ago The Red House Mystery was reprinted: hurrah.

I first read it sometime before that, in around 2002, when copies were traceable but the novel was certainly not in print. I enjoyed it, but that was about all I remembered when I decided, recently, to give it a re-read.

Everything kicks off 'in the drowsy heat of the summer afternoon'; The Red House is occupied with various guests, but it is the servants who take centre stage at the beginning. Mrs Stevens (the cook-housekeeper) is talking to her parlourmaid niece Audrey about the colour of a blouse the latter will wear. That isn't a detail that has any bearing on the later plot; it's just an indication of the sort of domestic triviality that Milne so loves describing, whatever sort of fiction he is writing. And, indeed, whatever sort of fiction he is writing, he can't avoid giving his prose an air of comedy. Both Stevenses are rather given to inconsequential conversation, and Milne throws in some fun verbal tics. Audrey relays the news that Mr Mark's brother has returned from Australia (Mr Mark being the owner of The Red House); Mrs Stevens replies:
"Well, he may have been in Australia," said Mrs Stevens, judicially; "I can't say for that, not knowing the country; but what I do say is he's never been here. Not while I've been here, and that's five years."
Upon being assured by Audrey that the brother has been absent for fifteen years, she says:
"I'm not saying anything about fifteenth years, Audrey. I can only speak for what I know, and that's five years Whitsuntide. I can take my oath he's not set foot in the house since five years Whitsuntide."
You either like that sort of thing or you don't. If you don't, there is still the mystery to hang around for; if you do, you'll find that Milne could write just about anything and you'd lap it up.

What he has written is a murder mystery that is pretty decent. My refusal to reveal any details at all about a detective novel has rather stymied this review, but suffice to say that it doesn't revolutionise the genre particularly. That is to say, this was before the Golden Age had really taken hold, so the genre hadn't come close to being clichéd. For context, The Red House Mystery came out the same year as Agatha Christie's second novel. So, we have clues strewn willy-nilly, secret passages, midnight assignations, costumes, and all sorts of things that would be considered too hackneyed now. How nice to have been able to use them with impunity!

Milne lays out some ground rules for detective fiction (or, at least, his favourite detective fiction) in an introduction. Plain writing (no 'effecting egresses'), no predominant love story, and 'for the detective himself I demand first that he be an amateur'. He can be a extremely shrewd man, but not a specialist - or, at least, his specialism ought not to help him solve the murder. As Milne writes:
What satisfaction is it to you or me when the famous Professor examines the small particle of dust which the murderer has left behind him, and infers that he lives between a brewery and a flour-mill? What thrill do we get when the blood-spot on the missing man's handkerchief proves that he was recently bitten by a camel? Speaking for myself, none. The thing is so much too easy for the author, so much too difficult for his readers.
The detective Milne creates is, indeed, an amateur; a guest at The Red House. He is Anthony Gillingham, and is intelligent, charming, quietly witty, and essentially an incarnation of Milne himself, so far as I can tell. It is difficult to get much of a sense of him here, besides his likeability, but I would have loved to see him feature in more detective novels. Sadly, that was not to be.

I have glossed over the surface of the plot, but that is to be expected. Importantly, The Red House Mystery is cosy crime at its finest. Milne does not have the genius for plotting that Christie had - but who does? This novel can certainly hold its own with the second tier of detective novelists and, I would controversially argue, is rather better than the Dorothy L Sayers' books I've read. If you've somehow missed it, go and treat yourself.

Sunday, 8 February 2015

Cluny Brown by Margery Sharp

It's not quite true to say that I didn't join in Margery Sharp Day (so ably organised by Fleur Fisher; see her round-up post for more details), because I started Cluny Brown on the day in question. What I did not do was either finish the book or write a review, but I have now done so - encouraged by the dictum that it is better late than never.

Actually, according to the cover of my edition (by the Reprint Society in 1945, a year after the novel was original published) I was joining in Marjorie Sharp Day. Despite getting her name right inside the book and printed on the book itself, the dustjacket spells it incorrectly. What a thing to overlook!

I read my first Sharp, The Foolish Gentlewoman, back in 2002, encouraged by seeing it recommended in the letters of P.G. Wodehouse. In the intervening dozen years I've bought quite a few of her novels (this one in 2005), but I needed this encouragement from Fleur Fisher to make the obvious next step and read one of them. And thank goodness I did. Cluny Brown is an absolute delight, and establishes Sharp in my mind not simply as a first rate middlebrow novelist but also (which I had forgotten) a wry and witty one.

Cluny Brown is a young woman whose abiding fault (according, at least, to her guardian Uncle Arn) is not knowing her place. Although he is content and humble to be a plumber, she doesn't see any reason why she should not take tea at the Ritz, if she can muster together the money. She is not beautiful; she is inordinately plain (which was refreshing), but she has Presence. And that presence disconcerts her uncle; he decides that it would be much for the best if she were taken away from London and put into service. And so she goes to Devon to be a maid.

If this were simply a knockabout comedy about the ineptitude of an inexperienced maid in a large house, that would frankly be enough for me - but there is plenty else going on. Down in that house are Lady Carmel and her hunting-shooting-fishing husband, and (occasionally) their adult son Andrew. He has seen fit to invite a Polish intellectual to live with them during the war, under the impression that is in grave danger throughout Europe. Completing the party (upstairs at least) is Betty, a young lady with whom every young man is in love, and who is divinely unmoved by these attentions.

We must pause for a moment to appreciate the wonder of Lady Carmel. She manages the household beautifully. Everybody thinks her sweet and ineffectual, whereas she is sweet and effectual; never a busybody or ogre, she simply knows how to treat everybody and persuade everybody to behave properly. And she could not be considered the most politically devoted:
Lady Carmel looked troubled. It was the thing to do, just then, at any mention of Europe, and indeed there had been moments, with Andrew still abroad, when she felt very troubled indeed. But now the expression was purely automatic, like looking reverent in church. Picking up a bough of rhododendron she tried its effect in a white crackle jar, and at once her brow cleared.
And she appears again in a quotation I wanted to give to show the humour in Sharp's writing:
For a moment mother and son stared at each other in mutual surprise. Lady Carmel in particular presented an odd appearance: the lilac in her hand gave her a vaguely allegorical look, like a figure strayed out of a pageant.
You will be getting the impression that the novel is nothing by Lady Carmel wandering about holding plants; in truth, she is quite a minor character, I just happened to love her. The title of the novel is Cluny Brown and it is indisputably she who is the main focus. Cluny is brazenly honest, with an honesty born of ingenuousness rather than anything else. Her answers to questions are often curiously at odds with expectations, and perhaps the reason she does not 'know her place' is that she doesn't really have one. Equally happy in the Ritz and up to her elbows in water fixing somebody's sink, she is also fluid between the upstairs and downstairs of the Carmels' house. She is happiest of all with the neighbour's golden retriever - and begins an engaging relationship with the local chemist - a serious, level-headed, but poetic gentleman.

Sharp takes the maid-with-prospects narrative (which has been around since Pamela and before) and completely changes it. Her charming ingenue is not a beauty or an upper-class girl; she does not hide a cynical soul or a caustic wit. Those elements are as enjoyably present as could be wished, but in the mouths of other characters (and occasionally the narrator); Cluny Brown is not fey or soppy.

I've spent quite a lot of time saying what Cluny Brown is not, because that's the best way of saying that Sharp isn't quite like any other writer I've read. But, basically, any lover of domestic fiction and witty, wry fiction will find them combined beautifully in this novel. Thanks, Fleur Fisher, for encouraging me to pick up my copy.

Saturday, 7 February 2015

A couple more reviews (and a pretty cover)

Busy busy busy at the moment. Off to London today to see Once, and yesterday my team won the Abingdon Book Quiz put on by Mostly Books. It's all GO. The quiz is always great fun; this year we had Annabel on our team, as she was taking a year off from writing the questions. And I picked up a few books as prizes or the book swap - Hawthorn and Child by Keith Ridgway (after John Self raved so much about it), Love, Nina by Nina Stibbe, and Humor by Stanley Dorwood (mostly for the beautiful cover).

Not really a Weekend Miscellany, but thought I'd direct you to a couple of the Shiny New Books reviews I wrote...

The Small Widow by Janet McNeill - one for anybody who liked All Passion Spent by Vita Sackville-West.

The Happy Tree by Rosalind Murray - the latest Persephone title, and a worthy addition.

Tuesday, 3 February 2015

My Family and Other Animals

If you follow me on Twitter, you'll already have seen me raving about this one (oh, yes, I have Twitter - @stuck_inabook - tell your friends) but I loved the latest Slightly Foxed memoir My Family and Other Animals by Gerald Durrell.

And, indeed, I have written about it at Shiny New Books. Even if you don't usually like clicking from one place to another, do go and read more about this one, because I'd be surprised if this can be beaten as my book of 2015... (strong words for a book read in January!)

Sunday, 1 February 2015

Oops... a belated look back at 2014

So, it's not even January any more, but I've been meaning to do my annual stats round-up for a while. Leaving it so late at least means that I shan't be overshadowed by everybody else doing it at the same time...

Number of Books Read
Only 98, which is the lowest I've read since I started keeping records - although only five fewer than last year. It makes me realise how unlikely A Century of Books was to be completed...

Fiction/Non-Fiction Ratio
72 fiction and 26 non-fiction. Non-fiction had been growing every year, and I'm surprised that it slumped in 2014, since it felt like quite a non-fiction-heavy year.

Male/Female Authors
62 by women, 36 by men - which is more or less what I expected.

10, most of which were by or about A.A. Milne.

Reading slumps
One, and it lasted for weeks and weeks. Hence the number of Agatha Christie titles I read.

Oldest book read
I think the oldest book I read was exactly 100 years old - Love Insurance by Earl Derr Biggers. Very good it was too.

Newest book read
Shiny New Books meant I read loads of new books. Well, a few. I guess the most recent was Marilynne Robinson's Lila.

Shortest Title
Another victory for Lila!

Books in Translation
5, I think - including lots of Tove Jansson.

Books Added to my 50 Books List
Just two - Charlotte Mew and Her Friends by Penelope Fitzgerald and Patricia Brent, Spinster by Herbert Jenkins.

Most Books by One Author
Agatha Christie (quelle surprise) with 9. A.A. Milne had a healthy showing with 6.

Most Baffling Book
What on earth happened in Gertrude Stein's Blood on the Dining-Room Floor? I couldn't tell you.

Most Disappointing Book
Agatha stood me in good stead, but Elephants Can Remember was dire.

Most Overdue Read
I should have read Swallows and Amazons decades ago. Better late than never!

Best Title
I didn't love the novel as much as I'd hoped, but Nancy Spain's Cinderella Goes to the Morgue still has a beauty of a title.

Animals in Book Titles
This has become an essential category for me now. Elephants Can Remember by Agatha Christie, Here Be Dragons by Stella Gibbons, Boy, Snow, Bird by Helen Oyeyemi, Lets Discuss Diabetes With Owls by David Sedaris, Mr Fox by Barbara Comyns, Swallows and Amazons by Arthur Ransome, Pigeon Pie by Nancy Mitford, The Man Who Unleashed the Birds by Paul Newman, and The Midnight Fox by Betsy Byars.

Strange things that happened in the books I read in 2014
Everyone's favourite category! People teleported and stuck monkey glands to necks, the fifth child turned out to be a demon, the apocalypse came to a country house, a fake chemist entered a dystopia, a woman and a dog swapped minds, Virginia Woolf wandered through modern day New York, enormous silkworms crushed crowds, a hotel was used as a kidnapping front, oh, and lots of ingenious murders, of course.


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Curtis's Mission

Curtis Andersen

Actor, Producer, Acting Coach

Televison, Film, Stage and Voice-Over

Professional Development On IMDB

When I was eight years old I started working professionally in the entertainment industry and I never stopped. I’ve performed on television, film, stage, in voice-over and, for the last ten years, I have helped to coach actors young and old how to “book the job.” This is the greatest, most exciting job in the world. No other occupation allows you to be a Viking, an airline captain and the voice of a gopher all in the same week – but it’s also one of the most competitive and I speak from experience when I say that you need as many advantages in your favor as you can. I want to share with you the lessons I’ve learned the hard way from over twenty-five years as an actor and producer. I want to help you develop your craft. I want to see you succeed. I continue to work in the industry, so you can depend on current, accurate information in this fast-paced, constantly changing business. This is the business that is specifically designed to make dreams come true, and I want to make sure you have the best tools to build those dreams.

Contact Us

Studio 105

300 E 4th St
Suite 105
Long Beach, CA 90802

You can reach us Mon-Fri

(323) 898-3567

If you'd like to sign up

for a class please fill

out our contact information form

Classes are subject to change on a month to month basis.

News & Events

New webpage online

You can now also see an online overview of the courses we offer.

Latest News & Events

May 2015 We will be

introducing a class for

the kids taught by

Curtis Andersen.

This class will be scheduled

for Saturday afternoons.

This will be the best Kids class available in the Long Beach and surrounding areas for young aspiring actors under 13 yrs old.

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December 31, 2011

{ image via Shutterstock }

Happy New Year's Eve everyone! It's hard to believe today is already the last day of 2011. I'd like to thank you for reading my new blog and for sharing your comments. I'm excited to grow this blog in the new year and see what it will become. But first, it's time to ring in 2012! Whatever your plans are tonight, have fun, stay safe, and see you next year!

December 28, 2011

Gingerbread Cookies

I've been baking these gingerbread cookies every Christmas since I was in high school, and it's now a holiday tradition of mine. The original recipe came from my mom's co-worker, which I have since adapted as my own. What I love most is that it uses real pieces of ginger and the Jell-O butterscotch pudding adds a nice chewy bite. If you have any favourite holiday baking recipes you'd like to share, please let me know in the comments below!

December 26, 2011

Monday Muses: Heidi Klum & Lou Samuel

Happy Monday everyone! Hope you all had a fantastic December 25th! Since today is Boxing Day, I thought I'd compile a Monday Muse for all the shoppers out there who are looking for something for themselves and their little ones. I was drawn to this monochromatic outfit that Heidi Klum and her daughter Lou are sporting. Here are some pieces that will help you get their look.

For Mama:
1. Wilfred Chevalier blazer $225 CAD
2. J. Crew sequin Isabel sweatshirt $229.99 CAD on sale
3. Forever 21 sunglasses $8.60 CAD
4. Steve Madden P-Lakke boots $139.95 USD
5. Zara jegging trousers $59.99 CAD on sale

For Mini-Me:
1. Osh Kosh B'gosh glitter tee $7.99 USD on sale
2. Gap mini skinny jeans $34.95 CAD
3. Airwalk Mary Jane convert clog $14.99 USD on sale

December 25, 2011

The Happiest of Holidays

{ image via Shutterstock }

Merry Christmas everyone! Wishing you lots of love, joy and cheer with your friends and family this holiday season!

December 23, 2011

Hello Lover

{ Coat: Aritzia // Sweater and Belt: Old Navy // Pants: H&M // Shoes: Christian Louboutin // Bag: Danier // Sunglasses: Dior // Necklace: House of Harlow // Bracelet: Spike the Punch // Cocktail Ring: HRH Collection // Watch: Michael Kors }

{ Photographed by Eleanor Chow }

These shoes were last year's Christmas present from my husband and I adore them. I definitely had a Carrie Bradshaw moment when I unwrapped the box. I'm also in love with my Spike the Punch necklaces (if you follow me on Twitter or Instagram you would have seen a preview of them), and chose to wear this smoke and silver glitter necklace as a bracelet. It has the perfect amount of sparkle and I'm pretty sure I'll be wearing both necklaces non-stop through the holidays.

December 21, 2011

What's making me smile

{ Revlon Lip Butters in Cherry Tart and Lollipop }

Can you believe there are only four more sleeps until Christmas?! It's time to eat, drink and be merry! I hope all your holiday shopping is done too! I finished mine tonight and can now breathe a little easier. Having all my gifts completed, along with these snippets of happiness, are certainly smile-worthy in my eyes.

{ Ornaments in an Ikea vase, an easy way to give your home some holiday cheer }

{ A sophisticated red and green bouquet that's festive and bright }

{ Pigtails in Charlotte's hair (she was photographed by Eleanor Chow) }

{ Finding the H&M faux fur vest I've been coveting on sale for 50% off }

December 19, 2011

Monday Muses: Halle Berry & Nahla Aubry

Today's muses are Halle Berry and her daughter Nahla. Toting my toddler around on my hip is an every day occurrence for me, and seeing Halle Berry do it so fashionably has me looking for an equally put-together look for myself and Charlotte. Hope everyone is having a great Monday!

For Mama:
1. Wilfred Tapestry Wool Scarf $75 CAD
2. American Apparel Unisex French Terry Drop-Shoulder Sweatshirt in Zinc $54 CAD
3. BDG Black Overdye Skinny Jean $54 USD
4. Spring Ketterer boots $34.99 CAD on sale

For Mini-Me:
1. Old Navy cableknit sweater $14 CAD on sale
2. Gymboree snail bow sneaker $13.48 USD on sale
3. The Children's Place bootcut jeans $15 CAD on sale
4. Carters long sleeve graphic tee $5.99 USD

December 16, 2011

{ Coat and Sweater: H&M // Faux Fur Collar: Urban Outfitters // Jeans and Belt: Old Navy // Watch: Longines // Bracelets: handmade (inspired by HRH Collection) // Booties: Zara // Bag: Marc by Marc Jacobs // Sunglasses: Dior }

{ Photographed by Eleanor Chow }

I haven't worn a pair of coloured jeans since I was in the seventh grade, when Guess was THE brand of jeans to wear at my elementary school. Now I wish I could go back into the closet of my 13-year-old self to pull out the mustard and purple jeans. Instead, I picked up this pair of cobalt blue jeans on clearance at Old Navy for only $7.50 (as mentioned in this post). They're an easy transition into coloured jeans since they're still in the blue family, and work well in any season. I've styled them with a dark coat and faux fur for a winter-feel, and am already anticipating the warmth of summer to colour-block the jeans with a bright top.

December 14, 2011

Mandy Lau Illustration

You may have noticed that my blog and Twitter page have gone through a little facelift. Mandy Lau is the talented artist behind the new illustrations on my blog. Her work spans different styles, from fashion, lifestyle, and portraits, to caricatures, cartoons and fantasy. You can view more of her work on her website.

I hope you enjoy the illustrations as much as I do!

December 12, 2011

Monday Muse: Miranda Kerr

I've always enjoyed looking at celebrity style and attempting to re-create it for less. My first muse in this new series is Miranda Kerr. The Victoria's Secret Angel stepped out in a luxurious Balenciaga leather motorcyle jacket and cashmere sweater by The Row, which together totals to over $4,000. Below is a compilation of pieces that will emulate her entire look for under $400.

4. Gap skinny moto pants $69.95 CAD
5. American Apparel Crew sunglasses $45 CAD
6. Aldo Kirkling booties $70 CAD

December 09, 2011

Holiday Gift Guide: Etsy Favourites

With only 15 shopping days left, Christmas is literally right around the corner. Some of my favourite gifts to give are ones that are handmade, either by myself (last year I knitted hats for friends and bibs for babies) or by a talented artisan. I've rounded up a gift guide of all the girly hand-crafted goods from Etsy that would delight your bestie, mom, sister, niece or even yourself.

1. Spike the Punch necklace $36 USD
These hand-painted crystal necklaces are sparkly, fun and can double as a bracelet. I've already picked up two for myself.

2. MadeByGirl ABC KIDS typography print $50-$65 USD
How cute is this print? They come in different colours and sizes, perfect for accenting a little one's room.

3. Curly in the City clutch $18-$22 USD
I love this clutch in the large size, and folding it over gives it an entirely new look.

4. Social Experiment cocktail ring $25 CAD
Made from semi-precious stones, these cocktail rings are inspired by Vancouver and the West Coast. My pick is this clover-shaped pink aventurine set in gold-plated wire.

5. Bfrend Golden Cobra bracelet $45 USD
The friendship bracelet trend is in full swing. These colourful Bfrend bracelets make a statement on their own or stacked in an arm party.

6. HRH Collection Silver Cuff necklace $50 USD
Alex is the Queen behind HRH Collection and has since "graduated" from Etsy to her own online shop. I first discovered her jewelry when it was still on Etsy so I'm including her since she's still a favorite of mine. I recently wore her layering chain bracelet here.

7. Plum Street Prints custom iPhone skin $35 USD
Custom skins are a great way to personalize your phone while protecting it at the same time. Plum Street Prints can customize nearly any cell phone or tablet.

8. LOVE + MARK'D Stationery $18-$28 CAD
Personalized cards with glitter are winners in my book. Gift a set of cards to the ladies in your life who enjoy sending chic notes.

December 07, 2011

Leopard, Lace & Leather

{ Scarf and Booties: Zara // Blazer and Lace Top: H&M // Faux Leather Shorts: Forever 21 //  Bag: Jimmy Choo for H&M // Sunglasses: Tory Burch // Bracelets: Forever 21 and HRH Collection // Watch: Michael Kors // random tights }

{ Photographed by Eleanor Chow }

Leopard, lace and leather are textures I love to play with. Plus, when you put them all together you get some fun alliteration going on (is it just me being an English geek?). For my very first outfit post, I got together with my cousin who's learning to use a DSLR, while I learn how to be a "model" and pose. It's a work-in-progress for the both of us, but we're enjoying it and hope you will too.

December 02, 2011

Pear and Raspberry Tartlets

My fridge had a few too many Bartlett pears that were starting to get over-ripe and bruised. Since we weren't going to be able to eat all of them before they spoiled, I looked up a dessert recipe that would allow me to use my abundant stock of pears. I modified this recipe into a tartlet instead of a mini pie, and used store-bought tart shells and puff pastry to save time. I would have loved to make the pie crust from scratch but let's face it, when you're trying to bake during a toddler's nap, there's not a lot of time to make your own pie dough.


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Penelope Cruz Designed For Loewe&Posed For The Fall 2013 Ad Campaign

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When you’re famous it almost sounds easy to be a working mom, doesn’t it? Just look at Penelope Cruz (and her sister Monica Cruz): they’ve done so many things together, at least fashion-wise, and I can’t notice a single stress wrinkle on their face… As we speak, the two Cruz sisters joined their creative efforts to design a collection of bags for Loewe.

The fashion house’s Fall Winter 2013 2014 ad campaign features Penelope Cruz as photographed by Mert and Marcus, showcasing the said designs on the rooftop of the Casino de Madrid on a cloudy day. It’s all lovely and colorful, despite the gloomy skies as Penelope wears some bright accents (be it the leather gloves or the patterned coat) and I’m certain it will make for a very successful campaign.

Penelope Cruz Loewe Fall 2013 ad campaign

Not so much because of the designs but because of Penelope being a trusted face, a trustworthy character and a role model. Not to mention a loving wife to Javier Bardem and a dotting mother… A working mother. Balancing personal life, professional career? It’s all in the bag for the Cruz sisters!

Penelope Cruz bags Loewe ad campaign

Fall 2013 ad campaign Loewe Penelope Cruz

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Prestige For Two: No Blurred Lines Between Thicke, Wife Paula Patton

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If you have not danced to Robin Thicke and Pharrell hit song this summer, then you must have something against dancing. If you haven’t heard Blurred Lines on the radio or seen it on the TV this summer then you must be having something against turning on your radio or watching music on TV. Because Blurred Lines was everywhere this summer! And I mean literally everywhere!

Came fall, nothing really changed as Miley Cyrus chose to do Blurred Lines her own way at MTV’s Video Music Awards, setting everyone on fire about her behavior and Robin Thicke’s song (incidentally generating over 350k tweets per second). Again! So really, in all justice, it makes one ask about how Thicke’s wife is taking all this. But Paula Patton is pretty serene and supportive about her husband’s music/work. And here they are, doing their first magazine cover as a couple: Prestige.

Prestige for Blurred Lines Thicke wife Paula Patton

Have you seen Paula’s film this summer? She costarred alongside Denzel Washington and Mark Walhberg in 2 Guns. A wonderful, oldschool fashioned action movie I loved through and through. Funny, fast, smart and just. And with Denzel! What more could you ask from a summer blockbuster? So you see, not only Robin Thicke was busy this summer but his wife also! Paula’s acting was lusciously splendid as usual and you can see from the pages of Prestige just how magnetic she can be!

Thicke wife Paula Patton Prestige Magazine

But if we’re to believe their interview, everything they do, they do together, Robin and Paula. And that for over 8 years since they’ve been married (they’re together for almost 20 years, since highschool). So it’s really a team work. A couple. Which they seem to put on display even at the launch of Thicke’s album when Paula was wearing a perfectly fitted tangerine dress. Flattering both her complexion and her frame, Paula accessorized her Stella McCartney cut-out dress with heavy golden Erickson Beamon bracelets stacked on her right arm as her left was already taken by Thicke (wink).

stretch cocktail dress Paula Patton tangerine Stella McCartney

Celebrating the power women have on men – that’s Thicke’s Blurred Lines. Celebrating real women and the powerful magic their real beauty has on men – that’s Paula Patton’s Prestige! I wanted to write about this story because it helps me introduce 2 Guns as a must-watch recommendation from yours truly. Secondly – because of Paula Patton whom I like very much and think represents gorgeously for the real women out there who can be – as her husband puts it ‘my rock, my muse, my inspiration and I love her. The whole way…’

Kind of puts Blurred Lines in another perspective, huh?

Paula Patton husband Robin Thicke Prestige magazine pictorial

But like I said when talking about Emma Watson’s GQ magazine feature: let’s concentrate on the clothes. Namely on the Gucci, Lanvin and Michael Cinco Couture dresses Paula is wearing in the Prestige photo shoot.

Although my favorite, and by far the most impressive dress in the pictorial is the Michael Cinco Couture sparkling dress. But Lanvin’s black dress from the Fall 2013 collection is also charming, especially fitted for the back to black trend we talked about.

lovely LBD Paula Patton Prestige Magazine

The black Gucci dress, full of drama and panache is also part of the back to black evening wear trends we signaled. All in all, from the catwalk in the pages of a magazine, fancy clothes look just gorgeously on a real woman’s body, don’t they? (images starpix, styledotcom)

fantastic evening dress Paula Patton Gucci Prestige

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Sunday, January 19, 2014

Sunday Funday: Smile, Darling.

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Hi there! I was so incredibly busy with school this week, so that didn’t leave me with many opportunities to enjoy life, so today’s post will be pretty short and sweet about a couple of things that just made me very happy this week. Enjoy! x

A belated happy birthday to a very special lady.

birthday, black and white, cake, photography
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My mom is such an important person in my life and an amazing one, as well that I am so lucky to have in my life. It was her birthday this past week and we celebrated on Friday by getting the most delicious Thai food in town and going skating with Beavertails and overpriced hot chocolate. It was just the best.

We were a bit too hungry to take photos of the food before devouring it (oops), but I can tell you that we had the most delicious red curry with jasmine rice and green curry with Thai pancakes amongst other dishes. We’ve never had the pancakes before, but I’m so glad we bit the bullet and tried them out because they are so good. It’s kind of like naan break except flakier, crispier, and fluffier. I just want to eat some more that stuff.

It was a big year for my mom, a big milestone, so my parents had a lovely day celebrating on the day of and it’s a bit too personal to share, but it was just the cutest thing I have ever heard. (Hint: The two fs were involved: flowers and food.)

We had a moment. Numerous ones.

There’s something about being able to connect with someone and know that they just get you is just an amazing feeling. I’m able to have that with a few people who have become my bestest of friends and just this week, I’ve noticed little bonding moments with a good friend of mine at school. It’s so rare to find someone with whom you can just talk each other’s ears off about a passion of yours. I was lucky enough to find yet another person with the same passion.

I don’t think she’s reading this right now, but if you are, you’re pretty cool.

(P. S. – We bonded over a mutually crazy love for fashion. I thought that’d be appropriate to share.)

Sometimes you meet someone, and it’s so clear that the two of you, on some level belong together. As lovers, or as friends, or as family, or as something entirely different. You just work, whether you understand one another or you’re in love or you’re partners in crime. You meet these people throughout your life, out of nowhere, under the strangest circumstances, and they help you feel alive. I don’t know if that makes me believe in coincidence, or fate, or sheer blind luck, but it definitely makes me believe in something.” – Unknown (via Tumblr)

Don't you love that special feeling? Share your stories below! And let me know if there are any upcoming birthdays I should know about, as well because it would be incredibly rude of me to miss a dedicated reader's birthday.

Thank you so much for reading!
- J

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Reed and mud collection

Haapsalu Bay, Estonia

reed_haapsalu_bay_303x148 Matsalu and Haapsalu Bays on the West coast of Estonia offer ideal brackish water conditions for reed. About 26% of Haapsalu and 35% of Matsalu Bay areas are covered by reed beds or a mixture of reed with other high plants. Both bays are very shallow and nutrient rich due to considerable input of nutrient by rivers. Continuing post-glacial land uplifting also contributes to the extension of reed areas.

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Aidan Baker - I Wish Too, To Be Absorbed (brainwashed extract)

With so much music released in the last eight years, it's not hard to imagine Baker having a diverse amount of rare songs in need of greater exposure. I Wish Too, To Be Absorbed collects MP3 downloads and songs from CD-R albums that I know about only because reliable discographies of Baker's work exist online. Despite the multiplicity of styles and approaches Baker utilizes, both discs flow with a logical and pleasing continuity that suggests a proper album more than a compilation. The track selection and running order have little other rhyme or reason; both discs jump backwards and forwards in time, skipping multiple years in favor of shared aesthetics and natural progressions.
Disc one begins with Baker's first release, Element. "Element #1" serves to establish a mood and does little more than rumble and hiss in a threatening, slightly brooding manner. The tolling of deep, distant bells provides a ritualistic tone that resonates throughout much of the collection. "K" follows this mass of sound and lightens the mood considerably, exhibiting Baker's less intense tendencies. Cello and violin are featured heavily during the first half of the song and it's difficult not to imagine Baker taking some inspiration from bands like Godspeed You Black Emperor!, Labradford, or even Rachel's. In a span of five minutes, the song's theme changes from one of memory and yearning to one of suffering and uncertainty. The strings on "K" disappear and the song resolves into a mess of scraping metal and unidentifiable clatter before ending and moving naturally into "Merge." These are the only two songs on the compilation that were originally featured on the same record, Wound Culture. This release was a book/CDr combo that dealt ostensibly with erotic themes in various forms; if "Element #1" set the tone for this disc, then these two songs add just a hint of sensuality to the record. Each of the following songs, whether they be ten or 20 minutes in length, bare traces of these first three compositions. There are hints of industrial influences on some songs and on others it's hard not to hear Baker incorporating shoegaze and krautrock stylings into his work. Whatever dress the music is wearing, it's always harboring a kind of sensuousness that isn't immediately discernible in all of Baker's music, especially not in Nadja. "Speed of Thought" ends disc one with a kind of jam-piece that sounds partly improvised, but also highly structured. It's perhaps the best song on the entire compilation and it represents a side of Baker's talent with which I am entirely unfamiliar. His pseudo-ambient, pseudo-metal, pseudo-drone projects receive plenty of attention, but this post-rock amalgam of a song has me completely spellbound. Hopefully Baker hasn't abandoned this approach and will be releasing more music like it.
Disc two collects the kind of music that I think must be most associated with Baker's solo output. Each of the five songs are long, abstract pieces with highly cinematic qualities. The focus on disc two is long, rolling sounds, muddy bubbles of synthesizer noise, and slowly developing melody. Both "Melusine" and "Esken (Bonedweller)" are mostly quiet pieces that thrive on minutiae and the mysterious qualities of hazy samples. Though definitely reliant on guitar, both songs are rich with tiny details that I can't imagine an electric guitar producing: there are sputtering motor-boats slowly sinking off foggy shores, foot steps tapping down long, ageless corridors, and gelatinous washes of bass-heavy noise creeping in and out of these songs to great effect. The title track is perhaps the most bizarre of all the songs and features a number of samples and tape loops oddly familiar to my ears. I'm nearly certain that a fraction of Autechre's "VI Scose Poise" (from Confield) is utilized on "I Wish Too, To Be Absorbed." The beginning of the song is laden with cut up, completely disproportionate samples that skip, jump, and skew the ocean of underlying guitars and synthesizers that populate the majority of the track. Bird calls, percussive glass, and mumbled vocals emerge towards the end of the song, but this array of sampling is far less manic than the rhythmic jumble that got the whole thing going. The rest of disc two is a quiet, almost-ambient affair that follows the lead of "Melusine" and "Esken (Bonedweller)."
In a way, I Wish Too... serves two functions: it highlights a number of Baker's musical styles and it functions as two complete and independent records. Both discs have natural peaks and valleys and both discs present a variety of Baker's musical approaches. Though I doubt that this release was meant to serve as an introduction to Baker's solo output, it fills that role perfectly and with a lot of class. I've heard plenty of good compilations and retrospectives before, but I Wish Too... goes above and beyond because it manages not to sound like a collection or retrospective at all. (Brainwashed) (brainwashed extract)

Aidan Baker - I Wish Too, To Be Absorbed

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Tuesday, March 31, 2009

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Friday, March 27, 2009

Daring Bakers: Lasagna!

Daring Bakers want Sharon to cook?
As in food?
As in gather ingredients, chop up stuff;
take the pans out and do something with all that to create.......
a meal??

Do they know me at all?
Sharon does not cook much. At all. OK, never.
Sharon does not care for cooking.
Sharon gave that up decades ago when the obnoxiously
picky eaters she lives with proved it to be a futile effort.

And to add insult to injury they want me to make lasagna? Do they not know I am married to a 100% pure blooded Sicilian who will eat no other Italian food besides his mamma's? Did I do something to piss off the Daring Bakers?

Well, being the stubborn me that I am, I did not let these obstacles deter me from my challenge. I expected to either throw it away cuz it would totally suck, or end up eating it myself for a whole week until it was all gone.

The March 2009 challenge was hosted by Mary of Beans and Caviar, Melinda of Melbourne Larder and Enza of Io Da Grande. They have chosen Lasagne of Emilia-Romagna from The Splendid Table by Lynne Rossetto Kasper as the challenge. If you want the recipes, click on the hosts' sites above.

For this challenge we had to make our own homemade spinach pasta, and use a recipe for bechamel sauce and a meat ragu. Alrighty then! The only thing I have used my pasta machine for is fondant and gumpaste. But make the pasta I did. I totally screwed up the recipe and had to add about 3 more eggs to make it kneadable and non brick-like. I knew this was gunna be bad from the get go.

I made mine as rolls, rather than the traditional layered casserole because, well, that's how I roll. HAHA. I crack myself up sometimes.

J saw the green pasta and asked what the heck was that? I told him I was making lasagna (which he does like) and that it was broccoli pasta and he would love it. I told him it was broccoli because he loves broccoli and if he knew it was spinach he might not even try it.

Well, later that evening as the lasagna is baking he comes into my office and says,

J: Mom, that stuff has spinach in it?

Me: Getting nervous and pretending I did not lie earlier: Yeah, it does.
J: You said it was broccoli. I saw a package in the garbage can that said spinach.
Me: (Busted!) I did? Oh, I just said the wrong thing. It tastes just like broccoli. You won't even taste it in the lasagna. Trust me, you will like it.
J: Yeah, whatever.

OK, so I know for sure he's gunna hate it.

And hubby hates all things white sauce and not made by his mom Gina. But, I must forge on as any true Daring Baker would do. I will get my photo shots for the blog, get credit for the challenge, and move on with my miserable lie filled life.

OK. At least he agreed to try it. He looks miserable. But he does that a lot when I take pictures.

What do you think J-Man? He gave it a thumbs up, but in a cool teenager kinda way. (See the one little thumb up?)

He likes it! Hey Mikey!

And guess what else. Sit down. P-Daddy liked it too! I nearly fainted. I did not tell him it had white sauce in it. God, I am such a dishonest person. I need to go to confession.

SO, for the first time in about 20 years, 3 people in my household liked and ate the same thing on the same night! Check the Book of Revelations cuz the end of the world must be coming soon. Or Hell is frozen over. Something freaky is going on for sure!

So does this success mean Sharon is going to start cooking on a regular basis?

When pigs fly!

Wednesday, March 25, 2009

How to Make Baby Booties

Who doesn't love a cute little baby bootie? No, I don't mean their butts, but those are dern cute too!

I'm talkin' bout those cute baby shoes you can use for toppers on your baby cakes!

Here is a step by step tutorial on how I make them using the cutter set you can find HERE:

I use gumpaste for mine, and I highly recommend the Nic Lodge recipe. But some folks do use fondant with success. Cut out 2 soles. There is no left and right foot. Cut them the thickness of the cutter itself. I let those dry one day before I proceed.

Then cut out the toe flap. Don't go too thin or you will have "toe issues" when you apply it to the sole.

I thin the edges slightly.

Then I fold up that flap that I thinned.

Paint with water for glue.

Then I apply the sole (the sole cutter is marked as to which end is the toe). That wet flap is going to go under the bottom of the sole itself.

See how that flap is wrapped under the sole? Many people do not do it this way. They do not thin it, and just wet the to flap and attach it right along the outside edge of the sole. That does not work too well for me, but many people do it that way. So try both ways and see what works best for you. I stuff the inside of the toe with a little cotton to get a nice shape. If your toe flap is rolled too thin, the sole will break through, or you just will not get a good clean look. I let this dry a while before moving on to the next step.

Cut out the back flap piece.

Clean the holes out with a round piping tip.

Thin the edges a bit.

Bend up that flap and wet it with water.

Attach the back flap starting in the middle and then wrapping the 2 sides forward.

I had to prop the shoe up here to take the picture, so I could not actually show you doing it with my hands. These photos were taken many years ago before I even knew how to turn a camera on, so I apologize for the poor quality.

Stuff the shoe to help it hold its shape and let it dry a full day. Then you can go back and add the laces. Do not try to thread and tie the shoe laces like a real shoe. Make them like a dress bow. One loop on one side, one on the other, and a faux knot in the middle. I use my clay gun , using the smallest round disc, to make the laces. (See first pic above.)

Ain't that cuuuute? You can learn how to make this package cake and bows HERE.

These make a nice keepsake for the mom to be. They will last indefinitely.

Customers go nuts over these little things. You will be a superstar cake decorator when they see these!!

Give them a try. They are really fun to make. You can also get creative and modify them a little to make sneakers and Mary Janes.

Love your cakes.
You made them.
God made you,
And God don't make junk.
So you don't either!

Happy Bootie Making!

Sunday, March 22, 2009

A Day at the Zoo

Hi Ya'll! Hope you are having a nice weekend. This post has nothing to do with cake whatsoever. So if you stop reading now I will not be offended. I can't be offended because I have no way of knowing if you stop reading or not. But if I did know you stopped reading, my feelings would be hurt, so please keep reading. I think you will enjoy the pictures.(Click on them to enlarge, because some of them are pretty good if I may say so myself!)

My hubby P, my youngest son J, and I took advantage of the arrival of some beautiful spring weather and spent the day at the Audubon Zoo. Apparently so did the other 2 million people that live in the Greater New Orleans area. It was packed. Despite the crowds, we had a wonderful day at our nationally highly ranked facility. ( Which I am very proud of because when I was a kid, the place was a total dump. They did a major improvement project about 25 years ago or so and it is a world of difference.)

We are fortunate enough to be one of only a few zoos in the nation with white Bengal tigers.

So sweet and peaceful.

I though this little fellow was cute.
Some kind of bear walking right towards us.

Oh, a little to the left. No, a smidgen to the right.

Ah, yes, that's the spot.

Watching the apes is one of my favorite things at the zoo. They don't do much, but their mannerisms and facial expressions are so human like, it fascinates me.

Yeah, he scared me a little.

Here are my 2 apes. They are very uncooperative with picture taking. This photo is out of focus because my camera focused on those 2 guys in between them (pro photog I am not.) But I am blown away by the exact same facial expressions they have here.

Now that is better. I had to threaten them with cooking dinner to get some nice smiles out of them.

The zoo has a brand new exhibit about dinosaurs. They are life sized robotic things, kind of like you see at Disneyworld. They move and roar and stuff. Not sure what kind this is.

This is the dreaded T Rex.

And my little monster in front of a smaller one. He really loves the Jurassic Park movies, and enjoyed this exhibit a lot.

A nice shot of rhino butt for your enjoyment. This was taken just moments after he sprayed his territory about 4 times in a row. That was lovely to watch.

Looks like a decoy, doesn't it? He was gorgeous.

What ya'll lookin' at?

A black bear walking in the swamp water. Nasty.

J-Man and P-Daddy on the climbing thing. J makes Dad do everything with him. He is at that age where he is separating from me and all about his dad. Sniff. Sniff.

OK. The giraffes were my absolute favorite yesterday. They were out and walking all around, very close to the viewing area. They were very interactive with each other and I was just mesmerized by them. This is the baby who kept just walking in this big circle.

Close up of the baby. I named him Lagniappe. Get it? Cuz lagniappe is a little something extra thrown in ?

Two adults who stayed side by side the whole time. I think one was courting the other. See the little tongue sticking out? Cute! There were 2 other adults out and about also.

Love this shot for some reason. Aren't they magnificent creatures?

Here is the lovey dovey couple literally "necking." Right after this pic was taken, one of them did something really disgusting. The whole crowd went "EEEWWE!" My trance was broken. Time to move on to another animal.

J-Man was really into the raccoons for some reason so I had to take some pics for him.

Here is one foraging with his front paws. They would not stay still long enough for me to get any good shots.

Big ole swamp alligator with algae growing on him. He was huge. That's good eatin' in these parts! (But not me. I don't like alligator; too chewy.)

I saved some room on my photo card hoping the elephants would come outside and they never did. So I didn't get any pictures of my all time favorite zoo animal. Next time!

It did my spirit a lot of good to get out in the fresh air, do some walking, and spend some time with my 2 guys. It would have been totally perfect if my other son had been there, but alas, he is away learning crap in college that he may or may not use later in life.

I hope you enjoyed the photos. Support your local zoo. The animals need you and it will do your heart good.


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Radiology News

Lipoma arborescens-MRI

51 year old male with clinical history of ? Psoriatic arthritis.: Evidence of extensive fluid in the knee joint distending the suprapatellar bursa and medial/lateral recess, along with significant synovial hypertrophy and thickening.   There is vilous filiform pattern of synovial hypertrophy with areas of lipomatous signal on all sequences possible lipoma arborescens.

Lipoma arborescens is a rare intraarticular lesion characterized by villous Iipomatous proliferation of the synovium, usually involving the suprapatellar pouch of the knee joint. A patient with the condition typically has a slow increase in painless swelling of the knee for many years, accompanied by intermittent effusions. MR imaging findings of this rare disease. which probably are diagnostic include a villous like synovial mass with a signal intensity similar to that of fat on all pulse sequences with associated joint effusion.

Lipoma arborescens-MRI Reviewed by Sumer Sethi on Wednesday, November 06, 2013 Rating: 5

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“Presence/ts on Wharton Street” unveiling at 5:00 for the Festival of Lights

Summerland Community Arts Council announces their First Ever Art Installation “Presence/ts On Wharton Street” for the 29th Annual Festival of Lights

On Friday, November 25 at 5 pm the Summerland Community Arts Council is lighting up their first ever outdoor art installation, “Presence/ts on Wharton Street”.

Local artist Sophia Zang had the brainwave of combining apple bins–an iconic and historic symbol of Summerland–with Christmas lights to celebrate the Arts Council’s new presence on Wharton Street in Summerland, and to entice visitors into the Arts Centre.  The District of Summerland was quick to partner by lighting up the huge pine tree in the park to highlight the installation.

Other partners include the Summerland Chamber of Commerce, Summerland Heritage Cider, the Summerland Museum, BC Tree Fruits, Triple L Transport, and Fortis BC.  An army of elves has been busy making presents, getting lights, and preparing the outside and inside for Light-Up and for Season’s Sparkles Christmas Gift Shop.

Thank you to all our sponsors!

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Monday, 19 June 2017

Mental block

Oh dear, this is odd, I seem to have lost the ability to write a blog post.   Even typing this feels like an upward struggle and I’m not sure why but, of course, the more I think about it the harder it gets. I’m thinking about it far too much now, I know, aargh.   Can’t tell you how many times I’ve tried and then scrapped an idea . How many times I’ve backspaced - even now when I’m writing about it – I mean, I just backspaced there without anyone knowing and took half the original sentence out.  There have been those paragraphs I’ve composed in my head in that sort of stream of consciousness way when I’m doing the washing up or brushing my teeth which seem to make sense – “Yes!” I think, “quick, write it down! ("Yes, when I've dried my hands!") but then when I try, the words just won’t co-operate.

So really, just to say – after a disproportionate amount of time and effort to even string this much together - that I’m still here and all is fine but I’ve come up against a bit of a block at the moment when it comes to blogging.  As soon as I can kick it out of the way, I’ll try again.  Sort of hoping that just saying this will be a start.

Fuck that backspace and....

Orange Juice: Rip It Up

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The Sun News

Thanks for killing VAMPIRE, but…

We are used to governance by contradictions. It’s part of the Nigerian political culture and we enjoy it, or better said, have come to make do with it. It’s a situation of cherishing what you have when you can’t attain what you desire.
This week, we stepped back into the same cesspit where the same government sommersaults in public on policy pronouncement contradictions. The president’s adviser had issued a statement that made sense, asking Nigerians without clear purpose of visiting the US to stay away as the immigration policies of President Donald Trump are not so clear now.
Just the same day, the foreign minister asked all of us to ignore Abike, for ‘she knoweth not what she sayeth or doeth.’ Now, the same person asking you to ignore his partner in the same confusing government said all of us with valid reasons and mission to visit Trump’s country shouldn’t hesitate. At last, I have not seen the reason for one asking us to ignore the other. What Geoffrey Onyeama, the minister said and that of Abike Dabiri-Erewa, the SA, in my thinking are just like one person saying that: Monotony kills interest, and the other counters that that’s not true, rather that: Variety is the spice of living. Any difference in the two? Don’t go to US if you don’t have good reason to be there. Don’t hesitate to go to US if your mission is valid. What is the difference between the two? None, other than confusion of the ruling class.
In December 2004, the Supreme Court had delivered a judgment that President Olusegun Obasanjo’s Federal Government had no legal reason to withhold Lagos State LG allocations.
Few weeks after that when it was clear that Obasanjo had superior law and decision to that of the Supreme Court, on that fateful day, the formidable Lagosian and Works Minister, Adeseye Ogunlewe visited Lagos and told journalists at the airport that the money had been released, because Obasanjo is an avid respecter of the rule of law. On that same day, another minister in the same government, Bayo Ojo, the Attorney General, visited Ibadan and in response to the same question from the media, Ojo said the money had not been released because the government was still studying the judgment to decide on compliance. What is the meaning of these? Confusion! Government confusion or what Fela called govment magic comes in diverse forms.
That is my case for discussion here. On January 27, Friday, in a court in Owerri Imo State, a notorious kidnapper, as we were told was abducted, kidnapped, and forcefully bundled out of the court in the full glare of the court and police. His name was Vampire. In a vampire move, his fellow vampires desecrated the court and whisked him away. That act was a sign that bullying and lawlessness are more powerful and potent than all the laws put together in a jungle setting called Nigeria.
Later on March 2, 34 days after that invasion, Vampire was neutralized in gunfire exchange in Rivers State, and I read the people of the state got into jubilation frenzy. I think some people must have jubilated more – that is some of the powerful and well connected in the state.
I can bet my hat that something sinister, away from what the eyes see was behind Vampire, the kidnapper’s kidnap from the court in Owerri. If my senses and tentacles still vibrate in tune with reasonable suspicion, I can tell you as a matter of fact that, that act was necessitated by powerful forces in Imo that Vampire acted for or in concert with. Otherwise, it’s almost impossible that the goons mobilized and stormed the court and successfully whisked away their member who must have been  guarded by armed security operatives due to the weight of his crimes and standing.
Some people possibly didn’t feel comfortable with his trial, because that would have exposed certain things other ears must not hear. To stop Vampire from squealing, the trial must stop and he must be taken away and eliminated. That way the trial would never hold. Some people heaved a sigh of deep relief that the fall guy has been taken care of.
While the streets were filled with jubilant motley crowds, some alleys and lounges for the powerful would have overflowed with champaigne, wines, spirits etc in celebration of the same death, but with a different motive. Vampire is silent forever and the collaborators had a last and loud laugh. That is organized crime and the way it operates. So instead of finding a way of capturing Vampire to continue with the trial he was safer dead.
Vampire’s drama is akin to the major character in Casey Prescott’s book, Asset in Black who was described as a man too important to die and too dangerous to live. You may do a rehash of what you read in James Hadley Chase novel – Safer Dead. Vampire was safer dead just like some that are still alive who are twice safer when Vampire is dead.
To wrap up whatever deal in this drama, the police that shot dead Vampire never revealed to us what happened to his gang members and, especially those that abducted him out of the court while trial was on. That abduction was a typical case of multiple crimes in the face of the court and in defiance and scorn of due process in criminal justice administration.
It reminded me of the hideous assassination of Osisikankwu, another high wire kidnap kingpin in Abia State in December 2010. In his case, soldiers killed him and much as the goon was a terrorist that needed trial to unravel what moved him to his awesome evil adventures, some forces that used him and his group for politics never wanted him caught so that he won’t say some abominable things.
So, kudos to the police for killing Vampire, but we expect to be briefed further on when his gang members and those that forcefully took him from the court and truncated his trial would be caught and tried. Until that is done, I think the jubilation would be too unwholesome and must be called off, otherwise killing him would not bring any palliative to the continued reign of the kidnappers and other criminals in that state and region of Nigeria.
It is possible that state has forgotten or that they think Nigerians have forgotten the Otokoto incident that ravaged Owerri in 1996 in reaction to the gruesome beheading of 11-year-old Ikechukwu Okoronkwo, the kid groundnut hawker that was lured into Otokoto hotel and beheaded by an evil agent, a guilty felon that bore a misnomer – Innocent Ekeanyanwu. After he chopped off Ikechukwu’s head, he was caught on his way to deliver it to one Chief Unaogu through a tip-off by an okada rider that conveyed him there.
In the same vein, Ekeanyanwu, the major culprit died in detention just after three days. That way he was silenced, but it didn’t stop the completion of the trial of the seven major suspects and their execution, especially one that was hanged November 13 last year.
Maybe Owerri wants to reenact that Otokoto saga of 21 years ago, but this time, the masses instead of protesting like they did then, instead jubilated and I hope the jubilation lasts because something seems to say that whoever did the damage control in Vampire assassination, and I believe they would be, may just have treated a symptom and not the cause of the ailment.

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Super Stoker presents the second video in a series of compilations covering the best moments in extreme sports from this past year.

Best Of Extreme Sports 2010: Part 2, 9.3 out of 10 based on 24 ratings
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2 Comments to “Best Of Extreme Sports 2010: Part 2”
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text:
Jean Marie Drouet - Artist

When did you get your first surfboard?
My first surfboard was a soft bodyboard and it was in 78. The same year I bought my first windsurf (a windsurfer with wood wishbone) many years later, I discovered surfing, stopped the windsurfing and now I only ride longboards.

What was the feeling you had when you first stood on a surfboard?
It was the start of an addiction  :)

What do you love about surfing?
Being in the water. I love being one with the ocean.

What was your most memorable wave?
it's not a memorable wave but more a memorable moment. When I surf early in the morning before work the world is quiet, no wind, nobody around, the waves are glassy… just perfect. I love this moment, it gives me the energy to paint.

What is your favourite surfspot?
My favorite surfspot is 5 minutes from my worshop. It does not have the best waves, but it's cool because it's near.

Who did you look up to and admire when you were a child?
I grew up with the beginning of the windsurfing boom and Robby Naish was a good role model of course.

Who/What inspired you to become an artist?
Many many different things. First I think it was the comics of Moebius, Jeff Jones, then later Edward Hopper and N.C.Wyeth. I've been drawing since I was a child. Making art has always been the obvious thing for me to do. I need to create worlds through my paintings.

What meaning does surfing hold for you and how has it changed your life?
Surfing has a power of regulation on me. It gives me energy and allows me to surpass myself. It is as an exchange with the ocean. I think it makes me better. Three years ago I left the city to live by the sea and my life really changed.

What sort of education have you had?
I have a degree in fine arts & graphic design.

What was your very first job?
Art director in advertising when I was 17.

What is your current job and what does it entail?
for 13 years I've been a full time painter.

How did you get into the position you are today?
With a lot of will  to work. Like Neil Young said : "Just do what you want to do, don't listen to anyone else"

What do you like most about your work?
The absolute freedom to be who I want and do what I want. Surfing, painting and drawing, that's what I do again and again. And it makes me so happy.

Where can we find you online?

Posted by: Matthew Ryan, on August 12, 2013
Categories: Interviews


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