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Happy Thanksgiving to all. I love a holiday that causes one to pause and reflect on all of life’s blessings; we have much to be thankful for this year. A few of my favorite quotes, from some of my favorite authors:
10. All you need is ignorance and confidence; then success is sure. -Mark Twain
9. The great charm of all power is modesty. - Louisa May Alcott
8. It is the vice of a vulgar mind to be thrilled by bigness.-E. M. Forester
7. I have only got down on to paper, really, three types of people: the person I think I am, the people who irritate me, and the people I’d like to be.-E. M. Forester
6. A person who has not done one half his day’s work by ten o’clock, runs a chance of leaving the other half undone.- Emily Bronte
5. You know full well as I do the value of sisters’ affections: There is nothing like it in this world. - Charlotte Bronte
4. Life appears to me too short to be spent in nursing animosity, or registering wrongs. - Charlotte Bronte
3. We must be willing to let go of the life we have planned, so as to have the life that is waiting for us. -E. M. Forester
2. Don’t wait around for other people to be happy for you. Any happiness you get you’ve got to make yourself.-Alice Walker
1. Keep away from people who try to belittle your ambitions. Small people always do that, but the really great make you feel that you, too, can become great.-Mark Twain
Friday slipped by me. It’s just been one of those weeks…..I am certain I was not getting a good return on my time, a perpetual sense of 1 minute for every two I spent. Skipped lunches, home late from work most nights.
To relax this weekend, I will be cleaning and crafting and listening to music. And these are the Top10 albums that I can listen to over, and over and over until MP demands that I change the CD. Something about the composition of the album, the order of the songs (which is STILL important to me in this age of downloads) and the story that unfolds never gets old to me, much to MP’s chagrin. The key rule for this list is there is not one song on any of these albums that I would fast forward or skip and I would not tire of repeated listenings.
10. Say It With Fire, The Caulfield Sisters One of the greatest albums from a band you may or may not know.
9. Fear of a Black Planet, Public Enemy Immortal and untouchable.
8. Document, REM There’s good REM and bad REM…this is good REM.
7. Mermaid Avenue, Billy Bragg & Wilco I think Woody Guthrie was one of the greatest song writers of all time.
6. Lost In Space, Aimee Mann One of my favorite song writers, voices and talents of all time.
5. Hound of Love, Kate Bush A great story teller.
4. Good News for People Who Love Bad News, Modest Mouse Just love ‘em.
3. Skylarking, XTC amazing musicians and lyrics. This album is particularly sentimental because my father and I listened to this album in the car when we went looking at colleges for me, a lot of father-daughter memories.
2. The Garden, Zero7 a British band that has a very California-happy sound.
1. Fox Confessor Brings the Flood, Neko Case I like to blare this one in the car and sing my heart out. MP knows this album backwards and forwards. *evil laugh*
Where did this week go? Seriously, it was a blur. We are off for a long weekend in Maine….so, I thought that a Top10 Friday highlighting my favorite things about living in Boston might be order. Without further adieu:
10. The politics. Any town where I’m considered a moderate is just my speed. I’d rather life swung far to the left than far to the right. I also enjoy the perception of this state by others, as it saves us from all those insipid campaign ads during election season.
9. Nerds. Any town where I’m on the “hip” side of the spectrum, well – that’s also my kind of town. The nerd factor here is off the charts people, and I love it. Maybe it’s due to the proximity of MIT, or that massive amount of tech industries located here. I’m not sure. What I do know is they come here from all over the world, and it takes a lot of pressure off of me since being ‘cool’ is not usually within my grasp.
8. Smarty pants. There’s a big difference between nerds and smart people. But lets not split hairs, either way we have them in spades. One thing I notice about living here is the conversations overheard in local cafes….and the people you bump into (kind of like bumping into celebrities in L.A.). This town seems to attract smart people from all over the world, working on formulas and theories and saving us from ourselves. It’s fascinating and yet all of it flies well under the radar.
7. Ye Olde. If you like history, this is the region for you. Walking around, everything has a plaque or a memorial to some battle or building that was significant. Sure, it doesn’t go as far back as European history, but it’s pretty Ye Olde just the same. On top of colonial history, Native American history is integrated and emphasized which is a refreshing change.
6. The Accent. Ooooh, the accent. To be honest this item would also be on my list of Top10 worst things about Boston. It’s both fascinating and horrifying. Why do some have it and some don’t? Why does it have very specific regional sub-accents?
5. Sea Air. I do love flying into Logan and smelling the sea air. It’s come to mean “home” for me. But, I have a love/hate relationship with the ocean. I love water, particularly large bodies of water. I like to look at the ocean, and ride ON the ocean, but I will not go IN the ocean. Beyond rolling up my cuffs and letting the waves lap at my heels, you will never – ever – find me intentionally swimming around in the ocean. I like the creatures that live there, and am fascinated by what washes up on the beach. However, I am also aware of my place on the food chain, thank you.
4. Sea Food. Oh how I love seafood…..I don’t get it very often because MP hates seafood, but I take what I can get because it’s so fresh.
3. No Car Required. This city is small and very walkable. What isn’t walkable is ridable, and what isn’t ridable, you can take the T or a Zipcar. We do own a car, but barely drive it.
2. Small States. With the exception of Maine, these states are miniature. Teeny, tiny. You can drive the long way across Massachusetts in 3 hours. Coming from the land of Big States, this phenomenon never gets old. Want to drive to Maine and pick a fresh lobster? 1 hour. Want to go to a spa in the Berkshires? Hour and a half. What about a long weekend in Newport, looking at the Gilded Age mansions? Hour and twenty minutes, tops. NYC for the weekend? 3 and a half hours if you time the traffic just right. That’s a far cry from the 8 hours I used to drive to my parents house on a Friday night.
1. Maine. Everything about Maine is wonderful. The salty old Yankees, the fisherman, the rocky coast, the flora, the fauna, Portland…….
Things are tumultuous here….Lottie needs surgery on her eye. We see the specialist on Monday. Of course, if the eye heals itself before then, this black cloud around my head will lift and I will skip through the streets of Boston. Until then, coupled with the chronic gloom on the radio and my head cold (In summer? No fair!)- I am wrapped in a serious funk, so sewing has been replaced with the fetal position on the couch.
Enough sulking, on to the list…today’s list is top 10 Epics. My favorite movie categories are comedies and epic tales. I love the costuming of epic stories as well as the lighting and scenery. They add up and make for an incredible story that suspends my disbelief and transports my imagination.
Edit: I forgot one of my favorites!
11. The Painted Veil, Love Naomi and loved the scenery.
10. Amadeus, Tom Hulce’s performance is incredible, plus the music and costumes are amazing.
9. Marie Antoinette, interesting take on a classic tale – loved the music and loved the costumes.
8. Raise The Red Lantern, gorgeous scenery and Gong Li gives an amazing performance.
7. There Will Be Blood, outstanding tale that helps me realize how we got into this mess.
6. Jane Eyre, one of my favorite books and I love the dark, misty moors.
5. Elizabeth, love Cate Blanchett in this film, and I love to see the portrayal of strong women in history.
4. A Room With A View, classic fairy tale, dreamy scenery, ensemble cast.
3. Immortal Beloved, Gary Oldham at his best.
2. The Mission, the music……the music!
1. The Color Purple, without a doubt the best movie ever made. I’ve seen is at least 50 times and I cry like a baby at every viewing. The book and author are among my favorites, the music is outstanding, each actor gives the performance of a lifetime, and the storyline makes you fall in love with each character.
I thought I would start a new tradition here: Top 10 Friday. MP and I are always coming up with top 10 lists for our own entertainment, and we get a real kick out of it. Feel free to join in and leave your top 10 here. It’s a great way to kick off the weekend, and fun conversation around a summer campfire.
Today’s theme is movies, specifically comedies. These are my top 10 favorite comedies of all time, ranked. The top 5 were easy and untouchable, the bottom 5 I could argue.
10. A Fish Called Wanda, “Assssshoooole”
9. Pee Wee’s Big Adventure, “Good Morning….I’m Heeeere”
8. Christmas Vacation, “25,000 Italian twinkle lights. Joy to the world!”
7. Royal Tennenbaums, “Well, I wanna die”
6. Funny Farm, “That’s not a bridge. It’s termites holding hands”
5. Rushmore, “I like your nurse’s uniform”
4. Bottle Rocket, “You’re out. And you’re out too. And I don’t think I’m in either. No gang!”
3. Best in Show, “When mommy and daddy make love it’s a beautiful thing…..sometimes”
2. Flirting with Disaster, “Entomologist sounds like science to me”
1. I Heart Huckabees, “You can’t deal with my infinite nature, can you?”
