Become an M&M

Have you seen the commercial lately where they tell you to "find your inner M&M" online through becomeanmm.com? I usually don't pay attention to these things, but for some strange reason I couldn't resist...so here I am as an M&M. I am the yellow peanut type. I also have some trendy boots and a new haircut.
Not being able to stop myself, I have helped my boyfriend and some friends become M&Ms too. Below you will see TK, Amy, Andrew, Dustin, and Caroline. Don't we all look scrumptious!?!?

True Radiance Embodied

Cate Blanchett is the essence of true Hollywood style. She just exudes glamor and class. She is glorious in every way and I can't think of an actress I enjoy watching more on screen and off. Isn't she just stunning?

I first came to appreciate her in the lead role in Elizabeth, a movie about the early years of the "Virgin Queen" whose 45 year reign was known as the Golden Age of England. In it, Cate Blanchett is perfectly regal. Becoming the queen of England was no small task for this "illegitimate" child of King Henry the 8th, and the movie recounts her rise to power and the challenges she overcame as a woman and as a monarch. One of my favorite lines, among many, is when she slowly looks down at one of her most trusted advisers who doubted her ability to rule if she was not a wife. She says to him in an ominous voice "Observe, Lord Burghley. I am married...to England."

She next struck me in The Aviator playing the role of the great Katharine Hepburn, for which she won an Academy Award. Nailing Hepburn's voice, mannerisms, and eccentricities more perfectly than the Daigles or I could ever dream, she's absolutely marvelous. She'll give you a real laugh in this movie. She is also in Babel, another hit, where she plays a rather bored wife who is trying to enjoy a vacation in Morocco with her husband until she is hit by a bullet from some children taking aim at the couple's tour bus. I most recently saw her in Notes on a Scandal. She is truly fabulous in this role as she portrays a high school art teacher with a perfect British life until she makes the mistake of having an affair with one of her 15 year old students. The drama and manipulation that ensues between her and a fellow teacher/psycho makes for quite the picture.
There are many other movies in which Cate Blanchett graces the screen, but I am ashamed to admit that I have not seen them all. The Good German should be out on DVD soon and it will be my first to catch up on watching all of her pure brilliance. This woman has skills!

I Heart Quilting

If you know me even a little bit you probably know that I love to quilt. I love the fabric, I love the creativity, I love the process. I love staying up till "0 dark thirty in the morning" - to quote my Uncle Jon - with my best girlfriends working on projects and helping each other with ideas and solutions. Oddly enough, when it comes to fabric I am willing to spend what someone in a third world country would probably consider a small fortune.

Today in the US, there is a new generation of quilters (and librarians for that matter) on the rise. Young women are getting back to their roots by participating in this American pastime of creativity and friendship. While there are a lot of wonderful fabric stores, I have found one that is exceptional and caters to my every quilting whim when it comes to fabric selection, style, and ambiance. It is called Quiltology: The Urban Quilt Space, and if you are ever in Chicago I will take you there in a heartbeat. Wasting little time with tired old fabrics that leave much to be desired, they stock only the best! Amy Butler, Kaffe Fassett, you name the designer, Quiltology has it. And while the standard log-cabin, nine-patch, or blazing star are still in vogue, Quiltology takes it to the next level in creativity and pattern options.

My boyfriend has a dream of owning his own bike shop someday, but if I could own my own business, it would most definitely be a quilt shop. I would get a long arm quilting machine so that I could make some extra cash on the side, but those cost a pretty penny. If you are looking for a hobby, let me strongly encourage you to consider quilting. If you need someone to guide you, I can recommend a few names for you based on your location. Some of these tutors, among other creative quilting geniuses, include Caroline Bus, Lauren Carlson, Deb Lindahl, and Corky Beckstrom...just to name a few. Now get out there put together a masterpiece of your own!

Hip-Hop: Beyond Beats & Rhymes

One of my favorite tv shows is called Independent Lens, hosted by Terrance Howard. It airs on PBS and shows documentaries from around the country by independent filmmakers. Covering a multitude of topics, issues, and formats, it's almost like a film version of NPR's This American Life. Every time I watch it I learn something new that I might never have encountered otherwise.

Last night's Independent Lens was produced by Byron Hurt and is titled, "Hip-Hop: Beyond Beats & Rhymes." Interviewing rap artists, producers, scholars, historians, and fans from the East coast to the West, this film explores issues of gender politics in rap music and in hip-hop culture. Of particular focus in this documentary were rap's hyper-masculinity, homophobia, misogyny, and violence against women, and how these themes manifest themselves and have pushed their way into hip-hop culture and the world at large.

"Hip-Hop: Beyond Beats & Rhymes," will air again this Saturday, February 24, at 2:30am EST if you can record it. Check your local listings for more showings and learn more through the film's website here.

www.PBS.org

WTTW | Chicago: www.wttw.com
WNED | Buffalo.Toronto: www.wned.org
WQED | Pittsbubrgh: www.wqed.org

Hail to the Chief

I was passing a car lot this weekend and what to my wandering eyes did appear but Abraham Lincoln (complete with top hat and bow tie) advertising a sale for the dealership. The thing that comes to mind for most Americans on Presidents' Day and over this past weekend is one word and one word only: SALES. It's funny how we honor and pay tribute to our greatest presidents. We sure know how to do them honor, eh?

It seems we've taken the presidents out of Presidents' Day and substituted 0% financing with no money down and 30% off sales where there once was respect and dignity. We only let them in so long as they can endorse king size mattresses or hold up a sign that reads "Presidential Savings!"

When was the last time John Adams cared whether or not General Motors put the American people in command by giving them presidential treatment in an offer of 3% APR with a $1000 cash allowance? Uncle Sam might want you to save money on custom window treatments, but Teddy Roosevelt? Call me crazy, but I just find it hard to believe the image of George Washington with a quote bubble coming out of his mouth endorsing modern day gizmos that never even came close to existing while he was alive. What's next? Franklin D. Roosevelt coming out with a new line of wheelchairs? Herbert Hoover replacing that Dyson character to sell vacuums at a holiday weekend discount price? Abraham Lincoln offering pre-fabbed log cabin homes at never-before-seen low mortgage rates?

I have to work today, while the members of Congress are enjoying a 9 day recess to celebrate and while Washington and Lincoln are most likely rolling over in their graves. But what do we all care anyway?...there's a huge sale going on somewhere!!! Better get over to your local Chevy dealership. They have some commanding offers on new models and this term ends in five days...

Hermano Mio

Today marks the blessed day of my brother Taylor's birth, and for that matter he is now a whopping 21 years old. If you've ever met Taylor you know he's a catch. Tall, funny, handsome, smart. He's got what the world needs and he cares enough to do his best to try and meet the need he encounters with mercy and love. Taylor is the youngest of my siblings (me being the oldest) and in true youngest form he has entertained us and commandeered our family's attention since birth.

He is hilarious. Ask him to do an impression of someone you both know and he will make you weep. His antics will long be remembered in the oral history of our family to delight young and old alike for generations to come. His claim to be on the "Nice and Smart Side" of our family has indeed proven to be true. Taylor is 'studying' in Mexico this semester, living it up on the playas with the mamacitas...so my guess is that he will have a pretty nice time celebrating his special day. ¡Que tiene buen día güey! ¡Eres más chido que todos!

My Girl Agnes

Somewhere in a trailer park called "The People's Court," lives a bespectacled, round-nosed, floppy footed girl named Agnes. This nerd never lacks in whit and insight, sprinkling each conversation with a bit of cynicism as well as sarcasm. The other players in this small sideshow are her Grandma and her best friend - and fellow loser - Trout. My friend Caroline Bus introduced me to her years ago, and Agnes and I have had a lovely relationship every since. In my humble opinion, comics don't get much better than this.

Keep it on!

This lion may seem like he is looking away from Soldier Field in devastation, but I think he is optimistic. It's been almost 2 weeks now since the Super Bowl and he still has his helmet on, so it appears that he's not giving up hope. It seems, borrowing from Dennis Green's tirade earlier this season, that the Bears were NOT who we thought they were. We had a good run though, and I for one learned a TON about football. The next time you think fans are just sitting there every Sunday (or Saturday, or Monday, or sometimes Thursday) wasting their time instead of "doing" something, think again. It really is quite interesting and there is a great wealth of strategy, logistics, and details to be learned. I'm not up for watching three games in a row or anything, but I have come to appreciate a good game and all that is involved. A day - or an entire fall and winter for that matter - spent watching the Bears is not a wasted one.

Take a look, it's in a book...

My mom taught me a great many things, and one of them was the love of reading. I was looking for some good children's books the other day for my friend's baby and in searching, I stumbled upon tons of the books that my mom read to me as a kid and that I loved. There are so many good ones! These are just a few of my favorites from when I was little. You should go read them, or read them to your kids, but you don't have to take my word for it...

A Letter to Amy, by Ezra Jack Keats
"It looks like rain, you better stay in, Willie," Peter warns his dog, as he dashes out to mail a letter. He is inviting Amy to his birthday party, but he wants the letter to be a surprise for her. The wind blows the letter out of his hand as the storm grows. The author transforms the look and feel of the city on a rainy day in his great illustrations. Learn more. Buy it. Borrow it.


Miss Rumphius, by Barbara Cooney
This story, including the illustrations, is beautiful. Miss Rumphius is the narrator's great aunt who set out as a young girl to go to faraway places, live by the sea, and do something to make the world more beautiful. She does all of these things in her adventurous and exciting life as a single woman while bringing hope and beauty to those she meets. Miss Rumphius also loves to plant lupines in her yard and everywhere she goes, so we always called it "The Lupine Lady." This book teaches responsability and self-fulfillment, especially in girls. Buy it. Borrow it.


Blueberries for Sal, by Robert McCloskey
This is a story about Sal, a little girl who goes berry picking with her mother and found it more fun to eat berries rather than pick them...until she got mixed up with a mother bear and her cub on the same errand. Classic. Buy it. Borrow it.