Hey readers!
As you might know, I am involved with the Jewish Theatre Workshop of Baltimore, a shomer shabbos acting troupe. Next season, we're doing something pretty interesting -
writing a play, to be performed by us, based on convert or BT stories. We're quite sure that people's path to observance has led them to some interesting places (I.E. from joining the KISS Army to munching on kugal) , and we'd love to hear about it.
If any of you have a story to tell, an anecdote, something like that (and we're not just looking to bring the funny here - we know how heart-wrenching the process can be) - please feel free to send it to me! Thanks, guys!
Please note - You have my assurances that NOTHING you send me will be a) used, b) quoted, c) changed in any way (i.e., name changes, etc) without the expressed and written permission of YOU, my shiny blog helpers!
Ariella
Coming after the Holidays to an Itunes store near you - B-JAP --- Baltimore's own podcast for Jewish artists in the metropolitan area, co-hosted by yours truly!
Thursday, August 27, 2009
Tuesday, July 21, 2009
Lashon Hara and You! Five Steps to Never Wanting to Talk Again
Anyone who knows me know that I'm a film buff. Even my profile boasts that I was raised by Turner Classic Movies. I know trivia, I know cinematic techniques, blah blah blah. I have very strongly held opinions about movies I choose to watch. And some movies, well, I just can't sit through 'em. I don't like E.T. I wasn't a fan of Munich. I'm not... the best person to talk to about Spielberg. I'll respect your opinions, but it's really better not to get me started.
So, imagine my surprise today when a lecture I was listening to on Lashon Hara called me out on that very thing...the Rabbi actually MENTIONED how you can't go around badmouthing (or in my case, muttering about) Speils because you don't like his movies. How you've got no idea is his vision was what came out on film, how you might be interpreting it a completely different way than he did...how he's not an AWFUL person, just because some of the things he puts his name on are crap. (Indie 4, though...I'm coming from a pained, pained place.)
Upon hearing this, I slouched in my chair. No one was home, no one could hear, but I still slouched. Do you ever have those moments where you look skyward, and say "Oh, haha. I get it. Thanks, Hashem. Good one."?
In trying to work on my lashon hara, I've discovered how interested I am in people. Not to gossip, or talk in any other unproductive-to-my-cause type manner. But, what people think about politics (sans slander), history, books, films of course. What people want to do with their lives. Stories they have to tell, about their childhood, or college experiences. People are FASCINATING. This past Shabbos, I was out to lunch and met a woman whose a baseball fan, not unlike myself. We sat and talked for a good two hours about Birds past and present. Not once did we delve into what so and so heard this morning in shul about this one or that one. and it felt really nice. I think this is a very healthy goal for me.
In other news, Merchant is going well. We're selling online tickets for the first time (exciting!). Props are being built (I am the prop QUEEN), costumes are being designed (our costume mistress has amazing vision. These actors are going to look GREAT), and as always, we're having a great time. I lift an imaginary glass to you, JTW. You exhaust me, but you're so worth it.
That's all the news for now, folks. Be happy and healthy, and if you miss meat like I do (Only 9 days, I keep telling myself...), try soy jerky and load everything else up with cumin. It'll ALMOST fool ya.
So, imagine my surprise today when a lecture I was listening to on Lashon Hara called me out on that very thing...the Rabbi actually MENTIONED how you can't go around badmouthing (or in my case, muttering about) Speils because you don't like his movies. How you've got no idea is his vision was what came out on film, how you might be interpreting it a completely different way than he did...how he's not an AWFUL person, just because some of the things he puts his name on are crap. (Indie 4, though...I'm coming from a pained, pained place.)
Upon hearing this, I slouched in my chair. No one was home, no one could hear, but I still slouched. Do you ever have those moments where you look skyward, and say "Oh, haha. I get it. Thanks, Hashem. Good one."?
In trying to work on my lashon hara, I've discovered how interested I am in people. Not to gossip, or talk in any other unproductive-to-my-cause type manner. But, what people think about politics (sans slander), history, books, films of course. What people want to do with their lives. Stories they have to tell, about their childhood, or college experiences. People are FASCINATING. This past Shabbos, I was out to lunch and met a woman whose a baseball fan, not unlike myself. We sat and talked for a good two hours about Birds past and present. Not once did we delve into what so and so heard this morning in shul about this one or that one. and it felt really nice. I think this is a very healthy goal for me.
In other news, Merchant is going well. We're selling online tickets for the first time (exciting!). Props are being built (I am the prop QUEEN), costumes are being designed (our costume mistress has amazing vision. These actors are going to look GREAT), and as always, we're having a great time. I lift an imaginary glass to you, JTW. You exhaust me, but you're so worth it.
That's all the news for now, folks. Be happy and healthy, and if you miss meat like I do (Only 9 days, I keep telling myself...), try soy jerky and load everything else up with cumin. It'll ALMOST fool ya.
Monday, June 8, 2009
Shout out
The owner of this blog would like to send a special shout out to Michal, who took my last post and made a thread out of it. It was nice to see other people weigh in on the clothes issue!
I'll post more later. A free Monday afternoon is too tempting to pass up. Off to have adventures!
I'll post more later. A free Monday afternoon is too tempting to pass up. Off to have adventures!
Saturday, May 9, 2009
Missing Modesty
Although I feel that I am constantly moving forward in my observance, there have always been a few rules and regs that have my thudding my head against the wall.
One of these being tzniut.
Now, I'm not saying I run around in short shorts and tank-tops, or that I go out of my way to call unneeded attention to myself (because tzniut is a mindset as well as a dress code), but the prospect of filling my closet with ankle brushing skirts and slightly uncomfortable necklines doesn't have me jumping for joy. I'm short. All ankle length skirts drag the ground (and catch dirt, mud, and slap against my legs in the rain) - and I'm oh sew challenged. AND, I'm large busted, so...after a while, the necklines on my shirt stretch, meaning I've got to replace, replace,replace. All the time. Stupid boobs.
I've read the books on modesty, the idea of beauty shining from within, etc. I've researched the laws. I am careful to be appropriately dressed when the situation arises (i.e., when I'm in my local Jewish community) I know that modesty is important, and I know why. But until I can bestow heaps of cash on funkyfrum.com (have you BEEN to funkyfrum? Go there, girls. Go now.), I'll be reaching for my baggy tees and basketball shorts when I get home. Since I live with family, it's no big deal - as the weather warms though, I've been running around outside in my short and tee combos, jeans and short sleeves, stuff like that. I make no bones to my fellow frum friends about my penchant for pants, but I don't like the stares that I'd get in the local kosher market. So, I bust out the peasant skirt and the 3/4 sleeve henley, and all is good.
Ruining my marriage prospects for the sake of comfort, right readers?
The thing is, and don't laugh and say "I told you so", but I miss being modest. When I'm sitting in Barnes and Noble, if I'm not tznius, I find myself picking at my clothing. Constantly adjusting, picking, making sure everything is covered, tummy still looks decent, don't even get my started on the remote possibility of cleavage. Yank, yank, yank. If I'm covered, not only do I NOT stretch my clothing out with the constant stretching - and I'm focusing more on what I'm doing. When I'm more covered, I have more fun.
This realization has led me to try to be better. More fun - what an added perk. I wish I had come to this discovery sooner...say...autumn, but I think this is progress.
Anyway, tznius girls...any tips?
One of these being tzniut.
Now, I'm not saying I run around in short shorts and tank-tops, or that I go out of my way to call unneeded attention to myself (because tzniut is a mindset as well as a dress code), but the prospect of filling my closet with ankle brushing skirts and slightly uncomfortable necklines doesn't have me jumping for joy. I'm short. All ankle length skirts drag the ground (and catch dirt, mud, and slap against my legs in the rain) - and I'm oh sew challenged. AND, I'm large busted, so...after a while, the necklines on my shirt stretch, meaning I've got to replace, replace,replace. All the time. Stupid boobs.
I've read the books on modesty, the idea of beauty shining from within, etc. I've researched the laws. I am careful to be appropriately dressed when the situation arises (i.e., when I'm in my local Jewish community) I know that modesty is important, and I know why. But until I can bestow heaps of cash on funkyfrum.com (have you BEEN to funkyfrum? Go there, girls. Go now.), I'll be reaching for my baggy tees and basketball shorts when I get home. Since I live with family, it's no big deal - as the weather warms though, I've been running around outside in my short and tee combos, jeans and short sleeves, stuff like that. I make no bones to my fellow frum friends about my penchant for pants, but I don't like the stares that I'd get in the local kosher market. So, I bust out the peasant skirt and the 3/4 sleeve henley, and all is good.
Ruining my marriage prospects for the sake of comfort, right readers?
The thing is, and don't laugh and say "I told you so", but I miss being modest. When I'm sitting in Barnes and Noble, if I'm not tznius, I find myself picking at my clothing. Constantly adjusting, picking, making sure everything is covered, tummy still looks decent, don't even get my started on the remote possibility of cleavage. Yank, yank, yank. If I'm covered, not only do I NOT stretch my clothing out with the constant stretching - and I'm focusing more on what I'm doing. When I'm more covered, I have more fun.
This realization has led me to try to be better. More fun - what an added perk. I wish I had come to this discovery sooner...say...autumn, but I think this is progress.
Anyway, tznius girls...any tips?
Sunday, March 8, 2009
Rave: Jewish Theatre
First, let me start by saying that I miss doing full out, bang fer yer buck, all song, all dance musicals. Rodgers, Hammerstien and I were like this (insert image of crossed fingers) for a long, long time. And now I work with the Jewish Theatre Workshop, and our theatre is run differently and my love of belting showtunes isn't utilized quite as much. Which is fine. Being in the Jake (read: Jewish Community), I know that working with the JTW comes with parameters. These rules are initially galling to some, and no sweat to others. Here is my take on them.
I know I'm not the only theatrical non FFB who thinks that the no singing/touching/revealing, elaborate (as in short skirts, sequins, etc - we're never going to dress in the chorus girls costumes from Billy Flynn's "Razzle Dazzle" number) costumes might be a little different than the theatre they did in their pre-frum days. We'll never do "Oklahoma!", "Avenue Q" or "Cabaret". Sorry, guys. For those of you in the know, we at the JTW don't touch members of the opposite sex, the women don't sing, and our clothes must all be tznius (or, modest). We just do things differently. We also don't (gasp) perform on Friday nights. Shocking.
In my pre-Jewish theatre days, if I had a husband or significant other character, we'd be touching, we might kiss, or sing some love-lorn ballad to one another. Now, instead, I'm using my voice to convey tenderness, my gestures to denote affection.I'm Juliet, tenderly confessing to her Romeo - from the second floor of a balcony How tznius is THAT! Nevermind what comes later, in that famous scene, R and J are separated by an entire frikkin' FLOOR. And guys - no one missed that they were falling in love.
I'm using something other than blatant "THIS PERSON IS MINE" movements. No audience members have ever come up to anyone in our troupe, as far as I know, and mentioned that the relationship between the husband and wife character wasn't believable because they weren't slobbering all over one another. In my mind, this physical taboo encourages out of the box thinking, a deeper level of character development. I know it takes some getting used to, but I've seen some really touching moments wrought out of people who were geographically separated. If one is capable of that level of sensitivity on their own, why take the easy way out, and just sling their arm over their partner?
As far as costumes are concerned, same principle. If you can't feel that you can play "the ingenue" without your cleavage hanging out...then I think the problem lies more with your acting ability than my costume choice. Take it from someone who had to re-learn to climb trees in a skirt. Just because you're covered up physically doesn't mean you have to be hindered, or covered up emotionally. The fact that you're not picking at your clothing all the time, to keep your decollage from spilling over, or hitching at your pants because they're tight around your waist is an added bonus, I assure you. Costumes help set the scene, but they don't make or break it. At least not in community theatre, that is.
We are an incredibly fortunate company in that we have people from all walks of life audition for us. We're not a 100% frum cast 100% of the time, and we've made lasting friendships with non-jewish actors who have no problem with the standards that we choose to adhere to. We've also had some upsetting issues with it, which was the inspiration for this post. This might be disjointed, and my apologies for that - but I really think this point had to be brought up.
People choose to do theatre for all kinds of reasons, but I think a lot of performers stop trying to grow after a certain point. I hope that anyone's experience with the JTW has taught them something about their craft, and their place in it. Most of all, I hope that people come to see our rules and regs as I do, a chance to push past what might feel natural, into something truly expressive.
I know I'm not the only theatrical non FFB who thinks that the no singing/touching/revealing, elaborate (as in short skirts, sequins, etc - we're never going to dress in the chorus girls costumes from Billy Flynn's "Razzle Dazzle" number) costumes might be a little different than the theatre they did in their pre-frum days. We'll never do "Oklahoma!", "Avenue Q" or "Cabaret". Sorry, guys. For those of you in the know, we at the JTW don't touch members of the opposite sex, the women don't sing, and our clothes must all be tznius (or, modest). We just do things differently. We also don't (gasp) perform on Friday nights. Shocking.
In my pre-Jewish theatre days, if I had a husband or significant other character, we'd be touching, we might kiss, or sing some love-lorn ballad to one another. Now, instead, I'm using my voice to convey tenderness, my gestures to denote affection.I'm Juliet, tenderly confessing to her Romeo - from the second floor of a balcony How tznius is THAT! Nevermind what comes later, in that famous scene, R and J are separated by an entire frikkin' FLOOR. And guys - no one missed that they were falling in love.
I'm using something other than blatant "THIS PERSON IS MINE" movements. No audience members have ever come up to anyone in our troupe, as far as I know, and mentioned that the relationship between the husband and wife character wasn't believable because they weren't slobbering all over one another. In my mind, this physical taboo encourages out of the box thinking, a deeper level of character development. I know it takes some getting used to, but I've seen some really touching moments wrought out of people who were geographically separated. If one is capable of that level of sensitivity on their own, why take the easy way out, and just sling their arm over their partner?
As far as costumes are concerned, same principle. If you can't feel that you can play "the ingenue" without your cleavage hanging out...then I think the problem lies more with your acting ability than my costume choice. Take it from someone who had to re-learn to climb trees in a skirt. Just because you're covered up physically doesn't mean you have to be hindered, or covered up emotionally. The fact that you're not picking at your clothing all the time, to keep your decollage from spilling over, or hitching at your pants because they're tight around your waist is an added bonus, I assure you. Costumes help set the scene, but they don't make or break it. At least not in community theatre, that is.
We are an incredibly fortunate company in that we have people from all walks of life audition for us. We're not a 100% frum cast 100% of the time, and we've made lasting friendships with non-jewish actors who have no problem with the standards that we choose to adhere to. We've also had some upsetting issues with it, which was the inspiration for this post. This might be disjointed, and my apologies for that - but I really think this point had to be brought up.
People choose to do theatre for all kinds of reasons, but I think a lot of performers stop trying to grow after a certain point. I hope that anyone's experience with the JTW has taught them something about their craft, and their place in it. Most of all, I hope that people come to see our rules and regs as I do, a chance to push past what might feel natural, into something truly expressive.
The BBC, literacy and you.
There's a note going around on Facebook about the BBC and literacy - apparently out of the 100 book list that they've provided, statistics show that the average person has read 6 books. SIX books? That's gross. Since I don't feel like posting this on Facebook, but I DO feel like kicking the shit out of this statistic - here goes.
Allegedly (The meme doesn't cite it's sources) the BBC reckons most people will have only read 6 of the 100 books here.
Instructions:
Put a yes, hell yes, or something similar to any books that you've read. Leave the ones you haven't, blank. No fairs if you didn't finish.
1 Pride and Prejudice - Jane Austen....................
2 The Lord of the Rings - JRR Tolkien............................... yup
3 Jane Eyre - Charlotte Bronte......................................
Allegedly (The meme doesn't cite it's sources) the BBC reckons most people will have only read 6 of the 100 books here.
Instructions:
Put a yes, hell yes, or something similar to any books that you've read. Leave the ones you haven't, blank. No fairs if you didn't finish.
1 Pride and Prejudice - Jane Austen....................
2 The Lord of the Rings - JRR Tolkien............................... yup
3 Jane Eyre - Charlotte Bronte......................................
4 Harry Potter series - JK Rowling.................................. five times
5 To Kill a Mockingbird - Harper Lee................................. love this book
6 The Bible.............................................................. I suppose...
7 Wuthering Heights - Emily Bronte................................ Hated it, but yes
8 Nineteen Eighty Four - George Orwell............................ Double plus good
9 His Dark Materials - Philip Pullman................................. Reading this now (so I wont count it)
10 Great Expectations - Charles Dickens........................... Hard to get through, but yes
11 Little Women - Louisa M Alcott................................... Can quote it
12 Tess of the D’Urbervilles - Thomas Hardy......................
13 Catch 22 - Joseph Heller......................................... Started, but again - won't count it
14 Complete Works of Shakespeare............................... not all of them (though I own three copies)
15 Rebecca - Daphne Du Maurier..................................
16 The Hobbit - JRR Tolkien........................................ Yup
17 Birdsong - Sebastian Faulks.....................................
18 Catcher in the Rye - JD Salinger............................... Over-rated.
19 The Time Traveller’s Wife - Audrey Niffenegger............. Yup
20 Middlemarch - George Eliot.....................................
21 Gone With The Wind - Margaret Mitchell..................... Yup
22 The Great Gatsby - F Scott Fitzgerald........................ Unfortunately
23 Bleak House - Charles Dickens.................................
24 War and Peace - Leo Tolstoy................................... The Peace parts (wont count it)
25 The Hitch Hiker’s Guide to the Galaxy......................... Loved it
26 Brideshead Revisited - Evelyn Waugh........................*
27 Crime and Punishment - Fyodor Dostoyevsky............... Loved it
28 Grapes of Wrath - John Steinbeck............................ Yup
29 Alice in Wonderland - Lewis Carroll............................ AND though the looking glass
30 The Wind in the Willows - Kenneth Grahame................ yup
31 Anna Karenina - Leo Tolstoy...................................
32 David Copperfield - Charles Dickens..........................
33 Chronicles of Narnia - CS Lewis............................... Yup, read 'em all
34 Emma - Jane Austen............................................
35 Persuasion - Jane Austen......................................
36 The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe - CS Lewis........ See above, why is this on here
37 The Kite Runner - Khaled Hosseini............................ I loved this book
38 Captain Corelli’s Mandolin - Louis De Bernieres.............
39 Memoirs of a Geisha - Arthur Golden......................... Yup
40 Winnie the Pooh - AA Milne.................................... Yup
41 Animal Farm - George Orwell.................................. Yup
42 The Da Vinci Code - Dan Brown............................... Sigh, yes
43 One Hundred Years of Solitude - Gabriel Garcia Marquez..
44 A Prayer for Owen Meaney - John Irving..................... Yepper
45 The Woman in White - Wilkie Collins...........................
46 Anne of Green Gables - LM Montgomery..................... Read all of 'em
47 Far From The Madding Crowd - Thomas Hardy..............
48 The Handmaid’s Tale - Margaret Atwood..................... Yeah, I liked this one
49 Lord of the Flies - William Golding.............................. Yup
50 Atonement - Ian McEwan....................................... Yeah, but I didn't like it
51 Life of Pi - Yann Martel.......................................... Started it
52 Dune - Frank Herbert............................................ Started it
53 Cold Comfort Farm - Stella Gibbons............................
54 Sense and Sensibility - Jane Austen........................... Yup
55 A Suitable Boy - Vikram Seth....................................
56 The Shadow of the Wind - Carlos Ruiz Zafon................
57 A Tale Of Two Cities - Charles Dickens........................
58 Brave New World - Aldous Huxley.............................. Loved it (love all distopia)
59 The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time - Yeah, I liked this but wasn't blown away
60 Love In The Time Of Cholera - Gabriel Garcia Marquez..... No, I want to.
61 Of Mice and Men - John Steinbeck............................. Yup
62 Lolita - Vladimir Nabokov......................................... Love Nabokov
63 The Secret History - Donna Tartt...............................
64 The Lovely Bones - Alice Sebold................................
65 Count of Monte Cristo - Alexandre Dumas................ Yup
66 On The Road - Jack Kerouac.................................... Yes, just to say I did
67 Jude the Obscure - Thomas Hardy.............................
68 Bridget Jones’s Diary - Helen Fielding........................ Guilty pleasure
69 Midnight’s Children - Salman Rushdie........................... No, but I read the Satanic Verses
70 Moby Dick - Herman Melville....................................
71 Oliver Twist - Charles Dickens.................................. Yup
72 Dracula - Bram Stoker............................................
73 The Secret Garden - Frances Hodgson Burnett............. Yup
74 Notes From A Small Island - Bill Bryson.........................
75 Ulysses - James Joyce............................................ I've tried a few times. This book kicks my ass
76 The Bell Jar - Sylvia Plath........................................
77 Swallows and Amazons - Arthur Ransome....................
78 Germinal - Emile Zola.............................................
79 Vanity Fair - William Makepeace Thackeray...................
80 Possession - AS Byatt............................................
81 A Christmas Carol - Charles Dickens...........................
82 Cloud Atlas - David Mitchell.....................................
83 The Color Purple - Alice Walker.................................
84 The Remains of the Day - Kazuo Ishiguro.....................
85 Madame Bovary - Gustave Flaubert............................ Yup
86 A Fine Balance - Rohinton Mistry...............................
87 Charlotte’s Web - EB White...................................... Yup
88 The Five People You Meet In Heaven - Mitch Albom..... Yup
89 Adventures of Sherlock Holmes - Sir Arthur Conan Doyle....
90 The Faraway Tree Collection - Enid Blyton......................
91 Heart of Darkness - Joseph Conrad............................. Yup, liked it
92 The Little Prince - Antoine De Saint-Exupery................. I adore this book.
93 The Wasp Factory - Iain Banks..................................
94 Watership Down - Richard Adams............................... Fiver! Strawberry! Hazel!
95 A Confederacy of Dunces - John Kennedy Toole..............
96 A Town Like Alice - Nevil Shute...................................
97 The Three Musketeers - Alexandre Dumas.................... Yup
98 Hamlet - William Shakespeare.................................... Yup
99 Charlie and the Chocolate Factory - Roald Dahl............... Roald Dahl!!
100 Les Miserables - Victor Hugo.................................... I did. It took a long, long time.
Ok, let's total. I didn't do as well as I thought I would. There are a lot of books I've yet to read. But I find that six out of one hundred seems really unrealistic. I wonder where they got that statistic from? It's probably made up for the sake of the meme. Anyway, out of these arbitrary (or so called classic) hundred, I've read...49. Almost half. Not bad.
5 To Kill a Mockingbird - Harper Lee.......................
6 The Bible.....................
7 Wuthering Heights - Emily Bronte....................
8 Nineteen Eighty Four - George Orwell....................
9 His Dark Materials - Philip Pullman...................
10 Great Expectations - Charles Dickens...................
11 Little Women - Louisa M Alcott....................
12 Tess of the D’Urbervilles - Thomas Hardy.....................
13 Catch 22 - Joseph Heller....................
14 Complete Works of Shakespeare...............
15 Rebecca - Daphne Du Maurier...................
16 The Hobbit - JRR Tolkien...................
17 Birdsong - Sebastian Faulks....................
18 Catcher in the Rye - JD Salinger..................
19 The Time Traveller’s Wife - Audrey Niffenegger............. Yup
20 Middlemarch - George Eliot.....................
21 Gone With The Wind - Margaret Mitchell..................
22 The Great Gatsby - F Scott Fitzgerald................
23 Bleak House - Charles Dickens...................
24 War and Peace - Leo Tolstoy...................
25 The Hitch Hiker’s Guide to the Galaxy....................
26 Brideshead Revisited - Evelyn Waugh.....................
27 Crime and Punishment - Fyodor Dostoyevsky...............
28 Grapes of Wrath - John Steinbeck.................
29 Alice in Wonderland - Lewis Carroll...................
30 The Wind in the Willows - Kenneth Grahame................ yup
31 Anna Karenina - Leo Tolstoy...................
32 David Copperfield - Charles Dickens...................
33 Chronicles of Narnia - CS Lewis.....................
34 Emma - Jane Austen....................
35 Persuasion - Jane Austen....................
36 The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe - CS Lewis........ See above, why is this on here
37 The Kite Runner - Khaled Hosseini..................
38 Captain Corelli’s Mandolin - Louis De Bernieres.............
39 Memoirs of a Geisha - Arthur Golden....................
40 Winnie the Pooh - AA Milne.....................
41 Animal Farm - George Orwell....................
42 The Da Vinci Code - Dan Brown.....................
43 One Hundred Years of Solitude - Gabriel Garcia Marquez..
44 A Prayer for Owen Meaney - John Irving....................
45 The Woman in White - Wilkie Collins...................
46 Anne of Green Gables - LM Montgomery................
47 Far From The Madding Crowd - Thomas Hardy..............
48 The Handmaid’s Tale - Margaret Atwood....................
49 Lord of the Flies - William Golding...................
50 Atonement - Ian McEwan....................
51 Life of Pi - Yann Martel....................
52 Dune - Frank Herbert...................
53 Cold Comfort Farm - Stella Gibbons...................
54 Sense and Sensibility - Jane Austen....................
55 A Suitable Boy - Vikram Seth......................
56 The Shadow of the Wind - Carlos Ruiz Zafon................
57 A Tale Of Two Cities - Charles Dickens...................
58 Brave New World - Aldous Huxley....................
59 The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time - Yeah, I liked this but wasn't blown away
60 Love In The Time Of Cholera - Gabriel Garcia Marquez..... No, I want to.
61 Of Mice and Men - John Steinbeck.................
62 Lolita - Vladimir Nabokov...................
63 The Secret History - Donna Tartt.....................
64 The Lovely Bones - Alice Sebold....................
65 Count of Monte Cristo - Alexandre Dumas................ Yup
66 On The Road - Jack Kerouac...................
67 Jude the Obscure - Thomas Hardy.....................
68 Bridget Jones’s Diary - Helen Fielding..................
69 Midnight’s Children - Salman Rushdie...................
70 Moby Dick - Herman Melville..................
71 Oliver Twist - Charles Dickens...................
72 Dracula - Bram Stoker....................
73 The Secret Garden - Frances Hodgson Burnett............. Yup
74 Notes From A Small Island - Bill Bryson....................
75 Ulysses - James Joyce.....................
76 The Bell Jar - Sylvia Plath.....................
77 Swallows and Amazons - Arthur Ransome...................
78 Germinal - Emile Zola......................
79 Vanity Fair - William Makepeace Thackeray.................
80 Possession - AS Byatt.....................
81 A Christmas Carol - Charles Dickens...................
82 Cloud Atlas - David Mitchell..................
83 The Color Purple - Alice Walker....................
84 The Remains of the Day - Kazuo Ishiguro..................
85 Madame Bovary - Gustave Flaubert..................
86 A Fine Balance - Rohinton Mistry....................
87 Charlotte’s Web - EB White.....................
88 The Five People You Meet In Heaven - Mitch Albom..... Yup
89 Adventures of Sherlock Holmes - Sir Arthur Conan Doyle....
90 The Faraway Tree Collection - Enid Blyton....................
91 Heart of Darkness - Joseph Conrad....................
92 The Little Prince - Antoine De Saint-Exupery.............
93 The Wasp Factory - Iain Banks.....................
94 Watership Down - Richard Adams.....................
95 A Confederacy of Dunces - John Kennedy Toole..............
96 A Town Like Alice - Nevil Shute.....................
97 The Three Musketeers - Alexandre Dumas.................... Yup
98 Hamlet - William Shakespeare...............
99 Charlie and the Chocolate Factory - Roald Dahl............... Roald Dahl!!
100 Les Miserables - Victor Hugo......................
Ok, let's total. I didn't do as well as I thought I would. There are a lot of books I've yet to read. But I find that six out of one hundred seems really unrealistic. I wonder where they got that statistic from? It's probably made up for the sake of the meme. Anyway, out of these arbitrary (or so called classic) hundred, I've read...49. Almost half. Not bad.
Thursday, January 29, 2009
You CAN'T go home again?
Going to see my very first friend in the whole world today, for the first time in a couple of years. We met one another when we were 3 years old, playing My Little Ponies in the lobby of our apartment complex. We played Batman together, went to kindergarten together, had our first job together - We swore we'd name our daughters after one another, and plotted that our younger siblings would marry so we could really be sisters.
And now I get to see her again. I'm so excited! Even though we only live 20 minutes away, those 20 minutes seem like 20 hours sometimes, when everything else life throws at me gets in the way. We haven't been the most attentive friends (me especially. I'm awful at keeping in touch with people).
Today I am privileged enough to be able to meet her son for the first time, and she'll see me in full frum form for the first time as well. I think it'll be great. I promise to try harder. Why have 20 minutes held me back for so long?
And now I get to see her again. I'm so excited! Even though we only live 20 minutes away, those 20 minutes seem like 20 hours sometimes, when everything else life throws at me gets in the way. We haven't been the most attentive friends (me especially. I'm awful at keeping in touch with people).
Today I am privileged enough to be able to meet her son for the first time, and she'll see me in full frum form for the first time as well. I think it'll be great. I promise to try harder. Why have 20 minutes held me back for so long?
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