Ode.

Pile of orange peels
sits beside me
Tell me, orange, do you miss the tree?
For I do.
I have not found my tree yet, orange.
Now you're in my tummy.
No trees in there.
Did you ever see the monkeys of Florida, orange?
It's true, you know. There are wild monkeys in Florida.
Thanks to Tarzan.

I think you might be from California anyway.
Did you see Steve there?
Help me, orange, find meaning in this law school case statement I'm editing.
BECAUSE THERE ISN'T ANY
Stupid lawyers.
I love you, orange.

Such things will happen around Bliss, I suppose.

I just stopped and realized, looking at Bliss, how much of my waking life is spent at work. Not home, not what I consider Real Life, not in a place I love, not in a place I want to be. At work. Work I don't even feel has much meaning.

What a waste.

I asked some of you for book recommendations

And here they are. Additions are welcome and invited!

EVITA's:
Geek Love, Kathleen Dunn
Secret History, Donna Tartt
The Boys of my Youth, Jo Ann Beard (a book of essays, my absolute fave)
A Confederacy of Dunces, John Kennedy Toole
A Prayer for Owen Meany, John Irving
Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius, Dave Eggars
Rachel Papers - Martin Amis
The Talisman - Stephen King
Time Traveler’s Wife
Anything by David Sedaris
Catcher in the Rye
To Kill a Mockingbird

Recently read and liked:
The Road, Cormack McCarthy
Zoology, Ben Dolnick
Truth and Beauty, Ann Patchett

EVELYN'S:
Off the top of my head, I really liked:
The Center of Everything by Laura Moriarty
The Reluctant Fundamentalist by Moshin Hamid
The Vanishing Act of Esme Lennox by Maggie O'Farrell (at least so far; I'm halfway through it, so I hope it stays as wonderful as it's been so far)
You Remind Me of Me by Dan Chaon
The Egyptologist by Arthur Phillips
The Historian by Elizabeth Kostova
Water for Elephants by Sara Gruen

MARY'S:
Stiff: the Secret Life of the Human Cadaver

KIM'S:
Ysabel by Guy Gabriel Kay

JUDY'S:
Anything by Christopher Moore. Really liked Practical Demon Keeping.

DIANE'S:
Suite Francaise by Irene Nemirovsky
The Places In Between by Rory Stewart
The Zookeeper’s Wife by Diane Ackerman
Run by Ann Patchett
Shalimar the Clown by Salman Rushdie

Also notable:
Hunting and Gathering by Anna Gavalda
The Maytrees by Annie Dillard
Eat, Pray, Love by Elizabeth Gilbert

JENNY'S:
A Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius
Middlesex
St. Lucy's Home for Girls Raised by Wolves

CHRIS R'S:
Truman -- McCullough
To Kill a Mockingbird -- Lee
Lonesome Dove -- McMurtry
Anything in Chandler's Marlowe series
Anything in Donaldson's Thomas Covenant series
Black Hawk Down -- Bowden
Anything in Roberts' Milan Jacovich series
About Face -- Hackworth
Everyday Faith/Faith and You -- Pluto
April 1865 -- Winik
Good Enough to Dream -- Kahn
Grant -- Smith
Luckiest Man -- Eig

HAWKMAN'S:
The Hotel New Hampshire by John Irving
Red Earth and Pouring Rain by Vikrim Chandra
One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest by Ken Kesey
A Game of Thrones, A Storm of Swords, a Clash of Kings, and A Feast for Crows by George R.R. Martin
Harry Potter
The Deverry books by Katherine Kerr
the Chronicles of Amber (the first 5 books) by Roger Zelazny

EALISH'S:
Oh it was the Amelia Peabody series by Elizabeth Peters! I am listening to some on CD right now. Victorian-era lady meets and marries a surly and sexy Egyptologist, solves crimes, and spoofs "gothic horror"/"comedy of manners"/"oriental adventure" novels along the way. And eventually they have a son who is my boyfriend. I love these books to death. It starts with "Crocodile on the Sandbank," or try the CDs: the narrator, Barbara Rosenblat, is awesome -- she does all the voices, and they actually sould like different people.

I still say you'd really like "Daughter of the Forest" by Juliet Marillier. It's so lyrical and evocative.

And "Sunshine" by Robin McKinley. Realistically creepy anti-Anne Rice vampires.

"Fire and Hemlock" by Diana Wynne Jones, a Tam Lin tale. (Or anything else by Diana Wynne Jones.) Or "Tam Lin" by Pamela Dean, set in a small college, with liberal Shakespeare and English-geeky references Or "Wicked Lovely" by somebody, with a heroine who is being menaced by a creepy otherworldy faery world that only she can see Tam Lin is popular.

ME
The only one I can think to add that others haven’t mentioned is The Eyre Affair by Jasper Fforde. I’m not sure if it’s an all-time favorite, but it’s great to read, if you know what I mean.
Oh also
Song of Solomon – Toni Morrison
The Bean Trees and Pigs in Heaven – Barbara Kingsolver
Anything by Douglas Adams

Elle a huit ans!

This could have been very painful

Rogue turns 8 sometime this month. I wanted you to know so you could start your shopping.

She is partial to Kitty Kaviar, toy mice, paper wads, and yogurt, and likes to sit on top of paper and boxes.

And this thing

And various knees.

I did this today

I've loved Bradley Cooper since seeing him on Alias, but I only learned his name today. And it still took forever to remember it. I've never been very good at drawing men's faces, so I started buying some men's magazines a few months ago so I could tackle that. I really hit the jackpot with the People Sexiest Man Alive! issue. I don't even mind the smell of the cologne that emanates from it.

Anyhoo, here's Bradley. Not perfect, but pretty good, methinks. It was kind of weird drawing someone I find so attractive; I felt like I actually knew him somehow. Had touched his face or something.



BTW, if someone doesn't comment soon (because I know you're out there), I'm going to start posting nothing but long sad diary entries about being alone. A threat? A promise? A warning? You decide. It's in your hands now.

ADDENDUM: Wow, seeing it backward like that (iSight takes mirror-image pictures), I can see all kinds of things I want to alter. And shadows to deepen. I'm always wary of that. Hard to erase.


Here, this is better.



I think it appears slightly slanty because of the way I'm holding it.

It was bound to happen

I DO miss Florida, I DO!
(that's a link there, see)

The photos of little kids in princess outfits especially make me tear up.