Chasing Lauren Weisberger

I just finished Everyone Worth Knowing and Chasing Harry Winston, both by Lauren Weisberger, who also wrote The Devil Wears Prada (which I read ages ago). I didn't really pay attention to which was written first, but wound up unwittingly reading them in chronologic order.

In DWP (and The Nanny Diaries), I got annoyed with the lead character for putting up with a lot of crap at work and just whining--not doing anything about it. There's still a bit of that in EWK, but it's not nearly as bad as it could be. The lead character in EWK, Bette, winds up at a PR firm, where her job involves a lot of partying. And while some of the people she works with are a bit much, it's nothing like DWP. Plus, she seems to enjoy (at least, certain aspects of) her job, and is good at it.

One thing I really appreciated is that a lot of the times, Weisberger didn't go for the easy wacky situation. Bette would be given an assignment when she clearly didn't feel prepared...and then the book skips ahead a bit. That assignment? Went fine. Not a big deal. Almost like real life. Huh! A lot of the story felt fairly organic.

Which was totally not the case in CHW, which is about three best friends (Adriana, Emmy, and Leigh) as they approach 30. And, as a 30-year-old, I just could not relate to these people at all. It was hard to see how these three women were even friends, and if Adriana had any likable qualities, I don't know what they were. I mean, pretty much any time Emmy or Leigh had good news, Adriana got annoyed and had to get the spotlight back on herself. It would probably help the story if we got actual scenes of Leigh and her love interest, too, so maybe that we'd see it was love, not lust. And I'm not sure about Emmy's story, the moral of which I think is that to loosen up and find love, she had to have sex with a bunch of random men.

I also got thrown off by some of the references. For EWK, it really has to be placed at a certain time--Bette works in PR, she needs celebrities at parties, so there's a definite time for that book. But in CHW, one of the characters rides in a limo past Bear Stearns and makes some comment about it, and I was like, "Wow." I also wasn't thrilled with a bit where one of the characters praises Something Borrowed and Something Blue (which I've mentioned a bit before). Now, I have no idea whether Weisberger knows Emily Giffin, but it still bothered me a bit. Solidarity and all that is fine, I just felt like she maybe laid it on a bit thick.

Anyway, I recommend Everyone Worth Knowing, but suggest skipping Chasing Harry Winston...though they're both pretty quick and easy reads. CHW isn't the worst book ever written--which some of the Amazon reviews would have you think--but there are definitely better ways to spend your time.

Craigslist: Not just for residents!

There was a really good story in the Post on Sunday about the actors who are in the touring companies of shows. It's a life I cannot even imagine--constantly being in new places, having empty days. It's nice to hear that DC is a good town to play, but I never even thought about some of the intricacies. I mean, they rent apartments! I guess I just imagined they'd stay in hotels? I bet they do in some places; a lot of cities, shows are only there for a week. But maybe even there, the company (and crew) rents an apartment. Or stay at, say, a Residence Inn. I didn't really think about it, but I guess I thought that someone with the show coordinated where everyone stayed. It's weird to think about per diems and stuff with shows. Worlds colliding, I guess.

I do remember seeing the blog of a cast member of...Avenue Q? Putnam County Spelling Bee? (I saw the two of these within weeks of each other a couple years back.) The show was in town during Halloween, and some cast members went into Georgetown for the night. It was another interesting glimpse into that life. It's probably not what people think of when they imagine being an actor...and though it does sound cool, for me, it would get real old real quick.

Shut it, Barry

There are any number of comic strips I read that frustrate me. One the many is Curtis, and the thing that frustrates me every time it's featured is when Curtis's little brother, Barry, gets Curtis in trouble for something he didn't do. And this happens a lot. So I was happy to see this strip from yesterday: This is possibly the first time that the mother actually believed Curtis and scolded Barry. Seriously, Barry just pisses me off. It's probably because I'm a younger sibling, and know that a lot of older siblings feel like the younger sibling always got away with everything growing up--which totally wasn't the case with me and my sister. In any case, I wouldn't mind Curtis getting away from his mom and whaling on Barry with that tennis racket.

Just don't get me started on the stupid little invisible lizard thing that shows up and wreaks havoc. WTF is Ray Billingsley on?

Stay where we can keep an eye on him

A few years ago, I read Helter Skelter, about the Manson murders. It totally freaked me out. I was freaked by a combination two things. One was the "creepy crawling." See, members of the family would practice breaking into houses and would just crawl around and then leave. I found this way more upsetting than the murders, which were, admittedly, very upsetting. I guess it's just the sense of violation, even though the people never knew.



The other thing that freaked me out were the pictures of Manson. His eyes are just insanely scary. They remind me of this picture of Rasputin that was in a book I read for my Russian history class. So I was happy when the California prison he's being held in released a recent picture of him. He lost the scary. Which is not to say that I want him released when his parole is up in 2012. It's just good to see that he's now just an old man.

Oh, and I definitely recommend reading Helter Skelter. Freaky, but really good!

Old chum

In looking at Natasha Richardson's work, I realized that I really only knew her from the remake of The Parent Trap and the Cabaret soundtrack, but those were enough to make me pretty upset when I heard about her death. I definitely recommend checking out this post, which not only goes into detail about why her performance of Sally Bowles was so awesome, but also includes clips of her doing "Maybe This Time" and "Cabaret."

So THAT'S what Alan Thicke has been up to

If you're not watching How I Met Your Mother, you're missing out. It's completely hilarious and more realistic than most shows about people my age. Plus, you're missing out on the awesome tie-ins. If they mention a website on the show, you can be pretty sure that they've actually made the website. And CanadianSexActs.org, featured last night, is no exception. I highly recommend checking out all of the descriptions. I particularly recommend Two Girls, One Stanley Cup and Sloppy Dog Sled. You'll have that site bookmarked in no time, just like Barney!

(Also, the Manitoba Mail Bag.)

Hidden potential of not-so-great chick lit

I like the chick lit. I admit it. And I'm not necessarily picky about it. So when I was meandering around the library the other day and saw a book called Remind Me Again Why I Need a Man, I picked it up. Set in Ireland. A woman goes through her ex-boyfriends to figure out what she's doing wrong. Sounds promising. Like a lot of others, the writing and story were entertaining enough to propel me quickly through the book. And, like a lot of others, after I finish it, I find myself thinking "Meh."

For one thing, the story is just insanely over-the-top. The main character, Amelia, is taking a class because she wants to get married, and each week she's supposed to contact a former boyfriend and find out why he thinks they broke up--get his perspective. Logical. However, two problems. One, there were a lot of flashbacks. A bunch of these flashed back to the 80s. And the author couldn't help but throw in things like people commenting about how perfect Charles and Diana are for each other, or how Elton John couldn't be gay--he's married! Oh, ha ha! It's funny because it's not true! *bangs head on desk*

The other main problem is the craziness of the ex-boyfriends. (SPOILERS AHEAD!) We meet 10 of them, and the most normal of them is the latest ex. He told her he couldn't commit, then turned up engaged to a woman 15 years younger to them, and the two of them moved in across the street. The others? Gay, insane asylum, monk, etc. I know, it's a delicate balance. They couldn't all be normal, because then the book would be boring. Or, you know, the author would have to work harder to make the book entertaining. So it's just the litany of crazy mishaps and crazy boyfriends.

Which, again, is pretty entertaining. The issue is that, as the teacher of the class points out, this only says that Amelia needs to pick less crazy men. She doesn't need to change. There were a couple points when I thought she would realize that maybe part of her problem was that she was career-oriented. This could lead to her being all, "Hey, I'm cool with that--I have an awesome career!" or maybe trying to figure out a better balance or realizing that she buried herself in her career so she wouldn't have to deal with her life. No. At other times, I thought it would be that she'd realize her group of friends was too insular; she has three friends (whom she calls "girlies," which just drove me up a wall) whom she's known she was a child and with whom she's insanely tight. And again, this isn't necessarily a bad thing, but it would be nice if maybe she thought that the tightness of her group might be intimidating to men. This is pointed out by her teacher. I'm not saying that she has to change...it would just be nice if Amelia were the least bit introspective about any of this.

But no. In the end, she chooses herself. Which isn't bad. It just seemed incredibly abrupt, and reinforced that her career and friends were more important than a man. And I don't disagree--I don't mean to say that at all. It was just all very odd.

It reminds me a bit of Something Blue. Now, Emily Giffin is a better writer; her characters have depth and are incredibly relatable. Except for in Something Blue, in which the main character, who's been pretty unlikable for the past book and a quarter (the book is a sequel to Something Borrowed), basically says, "Hey, I should become a Good Person," then acts like one. And ta-da! Transformation! Incredibly superficial one, in my opinion. I guess I just need a bit more of the inner workings of the characters.

Maybe I'm just ticked off at the lost potential. I see a better story there, just wanting to get out. But it doesn't.

OK, so he's kind of a Baldwin

Admittedly, it really only takes "Paul Rudd's in it" to get me to see a movie. I love him. I have, since Clueless. Every time he goes on The Daily Show, I only love him more (go here and search for him). And in Knocked Up, he wore Orioles gear. Awesome! (And seriously, Role Models was underrated. You should totally rent it.)

So, combine him with Jason Segal, whom I love from Freaks & Geeks and How I Met Your Mother, in I Love You, Man, and yeah, I'm thinking I'm there. Plus, I love the one trailer where Paul is trying to figure out how to meet guys to be friends with. It's so true; how do you make friends? And I can relate to those "needs to loosen up" characters.

Also, Paul Rudd has the best eyes. Dreamy.

Celebrities and those crazy Internet people

When I got to the Y today, my iPod decided to break and the elliptical I was on didn't have a tv, so I found myself reading a copy of Marie Claire that had been left in the machine's cupholder. There was an article that interviewed Drew Barrymore, Jennifer Aniston, and Ginnifer Goodwin, who were promoting He's Just Not That Into You. The section that really grabbed my attention was their discussion of online dating:

MC [Marie Claire]: You all have, um, colorful dating pasts. If you weren't celebrities, how would you choose to meet men?
DB: Drunk in a bar. No, wait — kidding!
JA: I'd have to be dragged out to places. Well, like I am now.
MC: No Match.com? No Facebook?
JA: No, no, no. The Internet freaks me out.
GG: I think it's the devil. We're pack animals! We're supposed to be connecting face-to-face.
JA: The Internet warps reality. If you're an Internet person, real life will fall short of what you have been privy to online — sexually, emotionally. It's so unreal and gives you this sense of order where there isn't any. You can't drag and paste life!
MC: You don't feel you can get to know someone online?
DB: You think people tell the truth about themselves? Every guy is 6'4" with a huge schlong. That's why people love it so much. Internet does not equal sodium pentothal. [Holds up an old Polaroid camera that she carries with her everywhere] This is not for the person who surfs the Web. I love this thing. I want to meet someone who's into all the old-school stuff. I remember when I first started dating, the big thing was RadioShack answering machines. It was such a huge deal to run home and check your messages. And when you could actually check from another phone? That was, like, the craziest thing ever!

And it goes on from there. I mean, obviously Jennifer Aniston checking out Match or eHarmony for a date. It is interesting, though, how their celebrity colors their view of the entire Internet. It's a shame, really, though it's an understandable one. Goodwin admits that she has googled herself and that it led to tears. Which is kind of weird; I don't think I've ever read anything negative about her...but then, I've also never done a search for her. And it must be weird to be a celebrity and to see all this discussion of your life out there.

But at the same time, it's sad that they don't realize that people on the Internet aren't inherently bizarre freaks. It's annoying, too, but mostly I think it's sad. Again, I understand why they think so; both Drew Barrymore and Jennifer Aniston got really popular before the Internet became used in such a widespread way. I would hope that, like, Miley Cyrus or the Jonas Brothers don't have a similar attitude.

Though it does make me wonder what these people do with their time. If they find the Internet so scary...what do they do with their time? Work out, I guess. Watch tv? Obviously they can't watch certain channels. Read, maybe? Play video games? I have no idea.

BOBSLED!

I've enjoyed The Amazing Race since its early season. I even went to a few TARCons in New York (I want to say for Seasons 3 and 4, maybe). It's such a great show; you get to see fabulous places, and the placement of the teams is largely in their own hands.

Tonight's leg was one of my favorites ever, based entirely on where they went and what they did. They went to Siberia. How awesome is that? I want to go to Russia and think it would be so cool to get to Siberia; or, at least, get as far east as where the Romanovs were killed. (Because yes, I find that intriguing.) You know what would rock? Going on the Trans-Siberian Railway. Um. Anyway. Cool!

And then, as if going to Sibera wasn't enough, they had BOBSLED! It was very similar to the bobsled I did in Jamaica last December, and seriously, every time they showed it, I got all happy. And then annoyed that most of the teams hadn't heard of Chekhov. It's not like he isn't famous, people. I shudder to think of what the Russian judge there thought of us. I'm sure she's heard of Mark Twain, you know?

So thanks, Amazing Race. You totally made my night.