Have you ever described 'The Office' to your mother-in-law?

A few days back I teased my mother-in-law for watching soap operas on TV. She avenged my comments today by laughing hysterically as I described events from "The Office" to Katie. It is a soap opera disguised as a comedy. Since the arrival of our son, Lucas, Katie and I have watched very little television and did not see the first few episodes of The Office. So, after reading summaries of the new episodes online, I was explaining what happened to Katie--that Jim transferred offices, Pam and Roy broke off the engagement, Pam moved out, the offices might combine, and Jim would be Michael's boss. It sounds more like the young and the restless than prime-time comedy. My mother-in-law laughed!

Book Review: The Brief History of the Dead by Kevin Brockmeier

Grade: B

In The Brief History of the Dead, Kevin Brockmeier explores death as a form of insomnia--that the will and memory of the living can perpetuate the lives of the dead, and vice-versa. Brockmeier's simple plot alternates between two realms--earth (home to the living) and "the City" (home to the dead). In the City, the dead continue living as long as someone on earth still remembers them. But the City's population is shrinking fast becasue a virus has killed all but one human on earth--antarctic researcher Laura Byrd. The remaining residents of the City are Byrd's acquaintances from earth. As she struggles to survive, the dead learn to live. Both rely on each other for survival. Byrd wills herself to live by remembering her family, friends, and acquaintances. City residents remain alive through her memory.

"That was what insomnia was, after all--an excess of consciousness, an excess of life. Ever since she could remember, she had treated her life as an act of will, the you-can-do-anything-you-set-your-mind-to philosophy, but she couldn't will herself to fall asleep. The only way to fall asleep was not to care whether you fell asleep or not: you had to relinquish your will. Most people seemed to think that you fell aslweep and then started dreaming, but as far as Minny could tell, the process was exactly the reverse--you started dreaming and that enabled you to fall asleep. She wasn't able to start dreaming, though, because she couldn't stop thinking about the fact that she wasn't already asleep."

While I recommend this book for its discussion of death and memory, I caution readers of its failings. Brockmeier succeeds by creating a powerful image of the link between the dead and the living--that the dead remain through the memory of the living. He fails because the characters and plot do not match his theme in power or depth. I felt little connection to any of the characters, alive or dead. I did, however, like the name of the central dead character--Luka--which is similar to my son's name--Lucas (even though Lucas was unborn at the time I read this book). Similarly, I found the plot predictable and lacking depth.

Savannah Celebrity Sighting

Caveat: Don't worry, Jayme. This post will not be of the long-winded variety. (Yeah, right, I can hear him saying.) Well, at least not as long winded as yesterdays post.

I had my first bona fide celebrity sighting today. And what is better, if I could have picked any celebrity, this is the one that I would have chosen!!!

Today, I took a trolley tour of Savannah. I thought about just walking around, but the day was rumored to be hot and humid, and I never know how I am going to feel these days, so I opted for the tour. Besides, I figured that I would learn a lot more about the history of the city and its buildings if I went on the tour. The tour was actually much more informative and less cheesy than I expected.

I got off at stop "6 and a half," a new stop outside the Mansion at Forsyth Park, a "new" 5 star hotel (http://www.mansiononforsythpark.com/) in Savannah. I thought it sounded worth touring (unofficially, of course). I walked two blocks, rounded the corner, and who did I see not more than 3 or 5 feet in front of me??? Jennifer Garner. Ben Affleck. Baby Violet. I was starstruck. Seriously. It really surprised me. Sure, I enjoy People magazine while Jayme stands in the grocery checkout line as much as the next girl, but I didn't think I would ever be starstruck. I kind of gasped, stared, tried to be really inconspicous (I don't think it worked.) I had heard that Casey Affleck got married yesterday in Savannah, but didn't actually expect to see anyone famous. I would have taken a picture, except that there were only four of us out there, it would have been really obvious, I was too embarassed, and I thought that at any minute a big burly body guard would jump out of the shadows and demand my camera, so I pulled it together and went inside. They put something in their black range rover (I have since learned they have a house in Savannah--good old internet research) and then went back into the hotel--of course, I stared as they walked by.

I laughed pretty hard afterwards when I remembered exactly what I had been thinking:

• Oh my goodness, what am I wearing? Wait, they don't care what I am wearing.
• I really wanted to say hi to Jennifer Garner--because I had watched so many Alias episodes, I felt like I knew her. Duh--I had to remind myself that I actually didn't know her and that Sydney Bristow was not standing in front of me.
• Ben Affleck is cuter in person.
• Oh my gosh, she has wet hair. And dark jeans. She looks like she did exactly what I did--got up, showered, put on a little makeup, and went about her day.
• What an adorable baby!

So, there it is, my first celebrity sighting. As a side note, I also saw Liv Tyler (there for the wedding, I would assume), and her husband (his name is Royston Langdon. I had to look it up.) I guess Liv and Casey just made a movie together--Lonesome Jim. They were sitting at a table with about 7 other people, who looked slightly familiar. I kept thinking that I should probably recognize them, but I was still in shock about Jen and Ben. Oh yeah, and Liv had wet hair too. I'm sort of sad I didn't take a picture, but go to any stakkerazzi site and you will see similar ones. It was a great day! P.S. Casey Affleck married Summer Phoenix, sibling to the other famous Phoenix's. They have a son named Indiana August. Makes Violet seem like great name!

Savannah: Pecan Paradise or Haunted House?

Now, whether you pronounce them pe-cons or pee-caans, I have learned one thing in my short time here in Savannah--pecan encrusted anything tastes like heaven. Now, I'm new at this blogging thing, so I'm afraid I will not be as witty as Jayme, or as interesting as Ian, or as authoritative as Chris. However, I have had a thouroughly enjoyable, quite comical day. And besides, who can resist an ode to pecans.

I am staying in the historic district (perfect for me!) in Savannah, and will be here for about a week. The hotel is great, the view is awesome, and I am very tempted to take a trip on the Savannah River Queen (the sister riverboats are docked just outside my window). I had planned to take a nap upon arriving at the hotel, but the lure of the River Street Street Fair proved too strong, so I grabbed my camera and water bottle (our pilot informed us that humidity in Savannah hovers around 100% all summer long) and headed out to explore. The street fair had similarities to ones I have been to in Amber's Gold Street neighborhood or Eastern Market, with a few exceptions: a booth labelled "Voodoo Jewelry Design," several booths with 6 foot tall totem poles/men carved out of wood, and entire stalls devoted to peanuts: boiled peanuts, cajun peanuts, barbeque peanuts, wasabi peanuts--the list was practically never-ending. It made me wish that peaches were in season...

While wandering through the street fair, Savannah-style, I met a long lost love: pecan clusters. Any concerns about gaining too much weight were thrown out the window when I encountered the Savannah Candy Kitchen. Those 300 extra calories that pregnant women are supposed to eat--do samples of pecan clusters or key lime fudge fit into the "healthy 300 calorie" column? I think the answer to that is yes.

I ran into a friend and co-worker while on Savannah's version of the "River Walk," and we decided that we needed to find a tasty, authentic Southern restaurant. What we didn't know is that the graduation ceremonies for the Savannah College of Art and Design were today, which means an extra 10,000 people are visiting Savannah, and all of them wanted to go out to dinner at 7pm. Luckily, with a tip from my extensive research, and a call from our concierge, we were able to get reservations for a restaurant called the Pirate House. The Herb House, located inside the restaurant, was built in 1734--it is the oldest house in Georgia!!! I decided to really indulge my desire for Southern soup, and had part of a low country (slow cooked pork and collard greens) egg roll, she crab soup (soooo delicious), and honey pecan fried chicken. And lets just say, it really doesn't get any better than that! (Note: The picture was taken AFTER I had given a chicken breast to a friend. Way too much food, but soooo delicious.)

The Pirate House, it turns out, has a very interesting history, which leads me to the second part of the post's title--pecan paradise or haunted house? I have already decided, quite enthusiastically, that the term pecan paradise should be applied to Savannah. I also learned that Savannah has a reputation for being the number one "ghost town" in the U.S. But, back to the Pirate House. Let me excerpt from their "history."

"The Old Pirates' House first opened in 1753 as an inn for seafarers, and fast became a meeting point for bloodthirsty pirates and sailors from the Seven Seas. Here seamen drank and discoursed, sailor fashion, on the exotic high seas adventures from Signapore to Bombay and from London to Port Said. Stories still persist of a tunnel extending from the old rum cellar beneath the Captians Room that led to the river through which men were carried unconscious, to ships waiting in the harbor. Indeed many a sailor drinking in carefree abandon awoke to find himself at sea on a strange ship bound for a port half a world a way.

Now, who can resist a story like that one? I actually saw the tunnel that led to the river, and it is not somewhere I would have liked to end up. I also learned that in the classic Treasure Island, by Robert Louis Stevenson, it says that Captain Flint, who buried the original treasure in Treasure Island, died at the Pirate's House. Yep, you guessed it, the very same. "Even now, employees and guests alike" claim that the ghost of Captain Flint haunts the Pirate House.

Apparently, ghosts are big business in Savannah. My cab driver, an older, native Savannahian, swore that his house was actually haunted, and that several people, his wife and himself not included, had seen a man in their house--a ghost--over the years. Luckily, the ghost didn't bother the man or his wife. He told me several of the more prominent stories that have hit the news over the years, most including antique furniture or Revolutionary War-era homes. He even told me that when he was the foreman of a fertilizer plant, there was a story that a man's head had been chopped off in the conveyor belt, and many of the workers swore they had seen the headless man if they happened to be at the factory at night. Ewwww. Apparently, there are some people who love the idea of ghost stories, evidenced by the 10 people I saw get out of the hearse that had pulled up in front of my hotel. The side of the hearse read: Hearse Drawn Ghost Tours (I guess as opposed to the many horse-drawn ghost tours available in the evening.)

Overall, an eventful first day here in Savannah. I prefer to think of the city as a pecan paradise, and will leave the ghost tours to someone else :)

Katie's Ravishing Radishes

Let me introduce my guest blogger--my wife Katie. She wanted to title this entry "My Garden is More Prolific than Yours." But, since this is my blog and she is my guest, this entry is called "Ravishing Radishes." Ravishing for her and Radishes for her harvest.

It all started with a trip to buy pots at Campbell & Ferrara Nursery in Alexandria, my favorite nursery (http://campbellferrara.com/). (It truly started when I protested not owning a house with a yard by trying to fill every square inch of our balcony with plants. Katie's involvement started with our trip to Campbell & Ferrara.) Katie helped me pick a bright orange pot. Then she selected some purple and yellow exotic-looking flowers for that pot. Then she bought cucumber plants, followed by radish seeds, gerber daisies, bean seeds, petunias, and a vinca. Yes, her plants now rival mine. And they're winning!!

Today Katie harvested the first fruits (vegetables, really, but the term "first fruits" sounds more authoritative, in a biblical sense)--two radishes. They aren't the biggest radishes, but they are radishes, they are ripe, they are edible, and they are the "first fruits" of our. . . er. . . Katie's labor. So, without any further ado, here's ravishing Katie (and her radishes):



Katie will be writing about food from Savannah, Georgia. She is a talented writer and promised to eat lots of first-class southern fare at places like Paula Deen's The Lady and Sons (http://www.ladyandsons.com/), and Wall's Bar B Que (http://www.rachaelraymag.com/content/20247/).

Enjoy!

Booksellers: The Mysterious Bookshop, The Strand

Several weeks have passed since I returned from visiting my sister in New York. She calls it "The City." By "The City" I think she means that New York is bigger and better than everywhere else. I think she also calls it "The City" to demean all other cities. San Francisco, for example, is a "cute little town." "Washington D.C. is nice; but its no New York." I like visiting her because she knows where to find the best of everything. For dumplings, there is this little place off Mulberry Street. For hamburgers there is a secret place hidden behind a curtain in a hotel lobby. And for cupcakes you go to the Magnolia Bakery.

Its when she shows me these hidden gems that I think she is right. New York is "The City." But at times she is wrong. A New York icon will tout itself as the biggest and best. I visit, and am sorely disappointed.

Take bookshops for example. During my last visit to New York I made a point to visit The Strand, New York's most famous bookseller. I also stumbled across a delightful bookseller called The Mysterious Bookshop.

The strand holds itself out as the biggest and best; "18 Miles of Books" reads its sign. It is big. But size isn't everything. As I perused their shelves, I noticed that they simply carried more copies of the same books found in every Barnes and Noble or Borders. Moreover, my mother was with me. She was looking for a book set in London while travelling to England later that week. The staff couldn't make one recommendation. DICKENS, maybe!! I left very disappointed.

Within hours of leaving the strand, we stumbled across The Mysterious Bookshop. And within minutes the attendant had recommended several books for my mother. He asked where she would be staying, then asked several questions about authors she liked and disliked. Then he recommended two or three books based on her answers. She left with one in hand. She loved it. I left with a copy of Paul Auster's New York Trilogy.

That's The City, home to the biggest (The Strand and) and the best (The Mysterious Bookshop)!! But beware, for they are not one and the same. Here's a link to the biggest: http://www.strandbooks.com/home/. But if you are looking for the best, try something mysterious: http://www.mysteriousbookshop.com/index.php.

Bookseller: John Sandoe (Books) Ltd.

As I mentioned in an earlier post, I love listening to The Book Show on my iPod. Romana Koval is an excellent interviewer who gives each author time to tell his/her story. But what I like most is exposure to authors who have not published in the U.S. Ironically, this is also what I like least. These books are expensive and difficult to locate.

First I discovered Andrey Kurkov, author of Death and the Penguin, which has been published in the U.S. and is available at Amazon.com.

Death and the Penguin is a gripping novel about a man named Victor and his adopted pet penguin Misha. Aspiring author Victor is hired by a post-soviet, mob-owned newspaper to write obituaries for the undead. Eventually, as each obituary nears publication, the subject of each obituary dies. Kurkov takes us on a wild chase of reality amidst absurdity. . . Or is it absurdity amidst reality?. . . Or are they one and the same? As I see it, this is the point of the novel--that with time people will embrace absurdity as normality.

I finished Death and the Penguin in record time, only to learn that Kurkov wrote a sequel, Penguin Lost, and that it is only available in the UK. I searched and searched. Eventually I found a copy through Froogle, bought it, read it, and loved it.

That's when I decided to read all Kurkov's books. I found Case of the General's Thumb without too much trouble. A Matter of Death and Life, however, proved difficult. Several U.S. booksellers carried it, but most charged upwards of $25.

Which brings us to the point of this long-winded message: my wonderful mother and sister, and John Sandoe (Books) Ltd. Immediately upon learning that my mother and sister planned to visit London, England, I scoured the internet for a bookseller within walking distance of their hotel. I found John Sandoe (Books) Ltd. http://www.johnsandoe.com/.


I was after two books: Andrey Kurkov's Novella "A Matter of Death and Life," and Samuel Shimon's "An Iraqi in Paris: An Autobiographical Novel."
Neither is published in the United States. Thanks to my mother, sister, and John Sandoe (Books) Ltd. both now happily reside on my bookshelf.

Book Event: Arlington Library Book Sale

Its that time again. . . the semi-annual Arlington Library Book Sale.

When: Friday, April 29, 2006, at 9:00 a.m. (arrive early)
Where: Arlington Central Library
Why? Cheap books, lots of cheap books.

http://www.arlingtonva.us/Departments/Libraries/Documents/46210406%20sale%20flyer.pdf

I learned of the Book Sale from a co-worker. He told me about it last fall, and kindly instructed me to arrive early and to bring bags for my books. He wasn't kidding. The book sale is organized and staffed by the friends of the arlington library. They close off an entire level of the parking garage and fill it with books, all kinds of books. Last year I bought cookbooks, contemporary fiction, non fiction, classic literature. Most books are $1 to $3. Some were $4 or $5.

At $1/book I can afford to dabble. Last year I bought expensive cookbooks for 1/10 their original cost. I bought books by unknown (to me) authors. I bought several classics, some in wonderful hardcover editions (Twain, London, Poe). I bought books for my dad, books for my mom. I drove home and picked up Katie, then we bought some more. We bought and bought and bought $100 in $1 to $3 books.

This year will not be as fun. I have received strict instructions from my wife: I can only buy books in equal amount to the number of books I eliminate from our shelves. Yikes!! This is a tough mandate for me. Who do I cut? What do I get rid of? I will let you know.

Book Website: Library Thing

Are you like me? Do you have stacks of books in all corners of your home? Have you ever wanted to catalog your books? Share them with others? If you answered yes to any of these questions, then Library Thing is for you (http://www.librarything.com/).

Library Thing is an online service that anyone can use to catalog their personal library. Because everyone catalogs together, you can also use LibraryThing to find people with similar libraries, get suggestions from people with your tastes and so forth.

I have started my catalog. You can view it here: http://www.librarything.com/catalog/guanarteme.

I really like the feature that tells you how many other people have a book you've listed. Sadly, the book I share with the fewest people (2) is the One Volume Bible Commentary by J. Dummelow. The book I share with the most people (2835) is Harry Potter and the Half-blood Prince. Suprising, I know.

Introduction

Littera Scripta Manet -- The Written Letter Abides.

Writing instructors teach you to "know your audience." I don't know mine, for this is my first foray into the world of weblogs. My simple hope is that my interests correspond to the interests of others--that I can identify the things I enjoy so that someone else can enjoy them too.

When thinking about the scope of this blog, I thought about my many interests: books, food, sports, gardening, religion. First I contemplated creating a separate blog for each of my interests. "No, I said, that would be unweildy." Then I considered limiting my blog to only one topic. But that would leave me with little to say. So, I decided to create one general blog for anything and everything that interests me. This blog will be eclectic. In it I hope to write about literature and food, among other things.

I will try to pattern my comments after other notable critics.

My favorite on books is Romona Koval. She hosts a daily Book Show for Radio National, Australia. I discovered her show on iTunes and have been listening via podcast ever since. Here is a link to The Book Show:

http://www.abc.net.au/rn/bookshow/

My favorites on food are Calvin Trillin, Jeffrey Steingarten, and Hollister Moore.

Calvin Trillin writes about local favorites, food that can only be found in its place of origin. These items he lists in a "Register of Frustration and Deprivation." I recommend starting with Trillin's latest food book "Feeding a Yen":

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0375759964/sr=8-1/qid=1145283732/ref=pd_bbs_1/002-9526396-6752027?%5Fencoding=UTF8

Jeffrey Steingarten is a bit stuffier, but equally enjoyable. He is the Vogue food editor known as the "Simon Cowell of Food." You may recognize him from Food Network's Iron Chef America. He has written two books: The Man Who Ate Everything & It Must've Been Something I Ate: The Return of the Man Who Ate Everything. You can buy both at Amazon.com.

Moore I discovered online at http://www.hollyeats.com/. Moore uses a grease stain rating system. He rates restaurants according to a grease stain rating--3 to 5 grease stains ranging from "great" to "outstanding." Restaurants meriting less than three grease stains don't get reviewed on his site.

Basically, I hope to provide information about lesser-known foods, restaurants and books. I have a flair for the eclectic, so don't expect consistency. Just know that it will be good.

Whether you like or hate my blog, please find time to do the things you love with the people you love. Find time to play ball, read books, and eat good food.