Nia's Book #9: Ok, ok, so it was an audio book...

A few weeks ago, I listened to A Cook's Tour: In Search of the Perfect Meal by Anthony Bourdain while at work. It was loaned to me by a coworker who once told me "I'd eat a dog's ass if it was prepared well," and in that sense I feel he shared a lot with Anthony.

Basically, Anthony spent some time traveling around the world (particularly focusing on Asian countries), eating local cuisine in 4-star restaurants, hovels, and everything in between. He dealt with the western disconnect between eating meat and realizing how you get meat, and took on vegetarians at every turn. Speaking as someone who doesn't eat any meat that remotely indicates that it was once an animal (this weekend, facing the scales on a salmon fillet I was cooking almost made me throw the whole thing away), I felt that I would have resorted to full-on veganism within a couple hours of this journey. However, Anthony was there for the whole experience, from the slaughter of whatever was on the menu to the usually delicious end.

Something that he pointed out, and I have often noticed is the predominance of foods in Asia that are intended to "make you strong like bull." I have often wondered over the apparently-urgent need to do something for their wangs (hehe, I typed "wang"). There is no real explanation, just more food for thought.

The most extreme experience he had, from my perspective, was eating the still-beating heart of a cobra. That was one of those "strong like bull" dishes. Don't worry, though, the rest of the snake was not wasted. Everything was eaten, including the bones.

In summary, I felt a little ill while listening to it, but it was quite fascinating and worthwhile. I have the MP3s if anyone is interested in the experience.

I am currently reading a very long book for my book club. I hope to have it done next week, otherwise there will be a fine. Wish me luck.

Skippity's Book 17: Some sheep, and some snobs

Wendy Holden's "Farm Fatale" was one of those reads that is light enough to keep you entertained but just meaty enough that you don't feel guilty for reading a potato-chip book. The main character is a woman named Rosie who has a rosy view of what living in the country is like. She has been stuck in a shitty flat in London with her boyfriend, and when he gets a job offer to write about what living in the country is like, Rosie is thrilled. They move into a cottage in a town called Eight Mile Bottom and of course, madness ensues (because it would be a boring book otherwise). Rosie's bf turns out to be a real jerk and can't write for shit and won't accept any of the column ideas Rosie offers (which are all quite good). Rosie gets the hots for a local farmer. Some crazy bitch who thinks she's an actress moves in up the road at a mansion that she wrecks with her decorating taste and when she throws a party and invites Rosie and Mark (the bf), Rosie accidentally meets a celebrity who lives on a local estate while he recovers from celebrityhood, but he lies and hides his identity from Rosie, there's more madness, Rosie and Mark break up, and the book ends with Rosie falling in love and accepting the marriage proposal of the celebrity, thus getting her comeuppance, which has been due her the whole book because of the astronomical number of shitty things that keep happening to her.

I recommend this book if you have a busted shoulder and nothing but time on your hands. It is a good read. It's a little hokey in places and now and then you're not convinced that things are just coincidences, but the plot is kind of out there anyway and you just keep rooting for Rosie. She's worth rooting for.

Skippity's Book 16: I've heard this before...

I'm reviewing that same book of fairy tales Nia reviewed, and I liked it as much as she did. Let us just say, it got me through some poopie times. I think I could actually re-read the second half of the book and it would be all new to me because I was high on Percocet when I read it and I don't remember much.

Stories I particularly liked: The Reverend's Wife, about two chicks in the church who "borrow" one another's husbands to great success for both of them (and with a not-so-subtle message that men are thick as bricks). The last one, about a commoner trying to hack through the roses surrounding Sleeping Beauty's castle, because he got lucky and it was quiet and introspective and nice. The one about the witch having the thumb-sized daughter getting her revenge, because I dig revenge stories and fancy myself able to carry off revenges for petty wrongs, even though in the end I always just let it go. All the stories that told a familiar tale from the point of view of someone the story traditionally shuns (the Snow White story in particular).

Like Nia, I didn't dig the poems much. The one about the matchstick girl was ok though.

Oh and the Rumplestiltskin story, that was probably my favorite. The narrator totally took me for a ride. It was great.

Nia, I shall try to remember to bring your book back Monday. I meant to Friday and my silly brain forgot.

Oh yeah while I am thinking of it

It's not a wine, it's a beer, but I'm going to review it, because it is so damn yummy.

Genesse Creme Ale, kids. It's fabulous stuff.

Sadly, I think you can only get it in the Allegheny Mountain region of Pennsylvania and New York.

You know how cream soda compares to regular soda (or, pop, if you're from Ohio)? That is how this beer compares to other light-colored beers. It is just flat-out yummy. Here is a picture:
It's the one on the right. It looks a bit darker in this picture than it actually is because of the reflections and also because I had some blue tissue paper taped over the light I was using to light this (for that cool, summery feeling, of course).

It's good stuff. Worth the drive to New York.

How do you review a beer, anyway? "It tastes good."

Skippity's Bickity-Bam! Three in a row!

Kay, so I suck a lot and my life has pretty much been a carnival of pain for the past three weeks, but I am now going to review...dum dum dum...three books at once! Cuz getting all my typing done in a lump hurts less.

Book 14: Maid Marian, by Elsa Watson. Please make fun of me for reading this book, for I deserve it. Long ago, when I was a tween, I got hooked on Robin Hood stories (I know, I know...). This was a buck at Half Price Books and I needed something to read on my ski trip, so I picked it up. It was okay. Nothing to write home about. Nothing spectacular. It kept me interested, but it let me down too. It's the Robin Hood story told from the POV of Marian, and it was pretty predictable. It was very obviously written by a woman who has a lot of cats and a real peachy view of the world, which, sadly, I do not share. I give it a "meh."

Book 15: High Impact Portrait Photography by Lori Brystan. I guess I know how to take high-impact portraits now. Dammit, there should be a hyphen between "high" and "impact," woman! It's called a compound modifier! Ack! No, but anyway, I actually found this book really useful. I want to do a sort of kids-and-pets kind of photo gig if I ever get the hell out of advertising, and this book had lots of cool ideas in it, for props and poses and lighting and all sorts of stuff. I took notes. If anyone would be willing to pose for me so I can practice my high-impact portrait photography skills, I would appreciate it. As soon as I get my arm glued properly back into its socket and I am able to lift my camera again.

Book 15: Lighting Secrets for the Professional Photographer by Alan Brown. The lesson I learned from this book is that the secret to professional lighting is that you need to be really rich so you can afford all the shit they use in this book. It seemed to be aimed much more at people who already have a photo studio and a shitload of professional lights, which I don't. Nonetheless, I read the whole thing, hoping to glean some useful bits of information. The only really good idea I got from this book is that you can use fill cards to un-fill too, which, well, if you're not into the photogeekery crap isn't going to make any sense.

So. I actually read all these books a while ago and I am just now getting around to writing about them. Sitting down and reading is, randomly enough, very painful right now. So is not sitting around and reading. Pretty much everything I have done the past three and a half weeks has been painful. I am really ready for this doopidity to be over.

Okay. Enough bitchin'.