a99kitten's Musings

I’ve been thinking about getting an e-reader for awhile now. I love reading. It’s been one of my favorite past times since I was a kid. When I was about 12, my best friend’s Mom loved me because she was a voracious reader and saw it in me too. So she gave me tons of classics to read. Both of her kids weren’t readers so she sort of adopted me. And I discovered reading War and Peace at the age of 12 is not as common as I thought.

And I’ve been reading ever since. I always seem to have a crazy busy schedule but definitely need to find “me” time to read. In the summer I love to read out in the sun for a couple hours on the weekends. In the winter I love to curl up in my chair in front of the fireplace when the snow is coming down in Tahoe.

I love having nice books fill up my bookshelves. I would love a whole room in my house dedicated as a library with built-in bookshelves and the ladder you roll across to get up to the highest shelves. Darker wood than in “Atonement” but that was a great library (great book, great movie, great actors, GREAT dress!) :)

At the same time, not all of the books I read need to be kept on my bookshelves. I keep all of my leather bound classics there. My Greek and Roman mythology is there. All of my Arthurian tales. My Ayn Rand, my philosophy books, books about wolves & nature are there. My Siberian Husky training books have a spot (they are…ahem…dusty.) My husband’s Porsche and surfing books occupy the bottom shelf :) But I don’t need to keep my James Patterson, Janet Evanovich or Candace Bushnell books up. I do love to read them but I usually pass them on to others or trade them in at a used bookstore. The Twilight series…well..yes, I believe those will go up too :)

So I thought an e-reader would be great for books like this. Silly to waste the trees on me. But I have put it off so far because:

a. They are all fairly pricey
b. Something newer and “better” comes out a month later
c. I have 3 stacks of real-life bound books on my nightstand calling my name each night.
d. What I *really* want is a reader with a color screen that has comic book downloading/reading ability

And yet…I go to the Amazon homepage every day to see if they have lowered the Kindle 2 price. With the Kindle DX out, Sony’s readers shipping 8/26 (2 of them priced at or lower than the current K2 price point of $299), Barnes and Noble releasing their e-reader soon AND school starting any day now (isn’t that a reason to lower prices on everything!!) I keep hoping I might just open the AMZN home page one morning and see it for $249 (or less!) Wishing and hoping and thinking and praying….come on Jeff…

BUT…I am now reading about the other e-readers and am thoroughly confuzzled as to what I should buy. There are actually a few of them available (I had no clue) but I am only considering the Kindle, Sony or BKS ones as I want it to be seamless and easy with the e-bookstore associated with it. My take on these 3:

Kindle 2:
a. I love AMZN. And I am an extremely brand loyal girl if I like you.

b. Wireless purchasing. I will use this feature. I hate having to sync my iPod and iPhone with my home computer so having another gadget I’d have to sync is NOT what I’m looking for. BUT – is it worth the extra $100 compared to Sony’s Pocket Reader? Hmmm….

c. iPhone app. The idea that I can read a few pages while sitting at the vet, or getting my oil changed or waiting for my husband somewhere sounds awesome. B&N has a nifty app too though. Not sure about Sony. The touch screen function of turning pages is very nice..Kindle 2 does not offer this.

d. The screen/glare. I do a lot of my summertime reading outdoors so I need to know I can read the screen with NO glare. None. I tested a friend’s DX in the sun and it was perfect. From what I’ve read online, this is not entirely true of Sony’s (although this applies to the touch screen ones only & not the Pocket Reader.) This is actually one of the larger decision-making factors for me.

e. Built-in dictionary. I refuse to go past words I don’t understand so I need a dictionary handy. Kindle has it built-in. Sony Pocket reader does not. B&N has a downloadable Merriam-Webster dictionary for free for the iPhone app. Not sure on their planned Plastic Logic e-reader. Another large factor.

f. Can hold up to 1500 books. The DX can hold 3500 but by the time I read the 1500, my color one capable of comic book reading should be out for me to purchase :) The Sony holds 350.

g. Large e-book selection. And let’s be real, even if B&N’s offering is larger when their e-reader comes out – I feel AMZN will catch up quickly. Every new book that gets published for e-reading will go to all 3 (or whoever lives.)

h. It’s Whisper-Sync operates on Sprint. But this is built in to your reader cost. No monthly subscription fees. I believe the larger Sony reader coming out will be on AT&T but with a monthly fee. The Pocket Reader has no wireless at all. Not sure about the new B&N one.

i. CON – is kinda ugly…(ummm..why is that AMZN?)

Sony:
a. It’s CUTE! And I can get a pink one :)

b. Much sleeker and prettier design over all – even in basic black or silver (but yes I’d get pink.) Metal (not plastic) and still very light – under 8oz! Kindle 2 is 10.2 oz.

c. I assume Sony will make a great product and I base this on past performance overall. I wouldn’t buy a brand I didn’t know for this reason but trust Sony to be fine.

d. Did I mention it’s cute and comes in pink?

e. They have a full-ish bookstore. And thumbs up for giving Star Wars and Star Trek their own categories but I think they will have to make a deal to have access to either Amazon or B&N eventually. A Sony bookstore just isn’t their market (much like hardware isn’t your market AMZN…..AHEM….)

Barnes & Noble:
a. You can download the iPhone e-Reader app and read books you buy online right away. I tested out their iPhone app with a sample book. Pretty nifty. With AMZN you have to own the Kindle for the iPhone app to work with it/your e-books account. Clearly this was so you had to buy their Kindle hardware and not just use your iPhone for their content. But AMZN is all about content sales anyway so this seemed like a silly road to take IMO…

b. Really no solid reason I can see I’d choose this one over the first 2 other than the larger store content which I feel is a non-issue. Now if it comes out quickly, is less expensive than the Kindle 2 but as feature-filled and yet cuter than the Sony….but good luck with that…

I have blogged about my desire for the Kindle before: https://a99kitten.com/?p=877 and I’m still sure that I don’t want the Apple $600-$800 one with a monthly subscription, but thanks for asking…unless someone was going to donate it to me that is ;-)

At the end of the day – I will buy 1 of these 3 soon to use and love until someone comes out with the color screen version that will offer comic book and graphic novel reading. And if I can subscribe to my comic titles with it – I will buy it as soon as it comes out and sell my KindleSonyBarnes e-reader on eBay faster than you can say “Wonder Twin Power Activate”…

….yes please :)

Gustto Cala pleated leather medium bag in charcoal

Currently on sale at Bluefly for $322.49 (plus shipping of course.) This picture doesn’t do it justice – you need to see the close ups :)

http://www.bluefly.com

Couldn’t find this color anywhere else. LOVE this color. Silvers and greys are favorite colors (after pink of course.)

But even on sale it seems a bit excessive when the black version is selling for $299 at Amazon (by Smartbargains)….the same price as my Kindle! Doh!!!

But sure is pretty….sigh…

It was a cloudy and chilly day here today (very strange for Tahoe summers!) so between being sleepy from a late Saturday night and looking at a chilly outside, we weren’t jazzed about any outdoor activities. Staying inside wrapped in a blankie sounded very nice.  And a movie sounded good…but what? We narrowed it down to The Breakfast Club, Wall Street or Less Than Zero. My friend Helen had not seen ANY of them?!?!?! Such classics! She said she thinks she saw pieces of Wall Street in Econ Class but feel asleep in that class. :)

We decided on The Breakfast Club. A classic. And really – you need to see this movie at least once in your life. I can recite the dialogue for most of the movie. Not quite like I can for the original Star Wars trilogy but pretty close. I cannot count the times I have seen this movie. And I remember the first time very clearly – at a theater in Burbank. I loved the movie and can remember identifying/associating the characters with my friends as I watched it

Yes, I actually did have friends that fit these characters almost perfectly. I know the point of the movie is to see a little of each of these characters in you. That everyone has all or some of these (or other) qualities inside. And can’t just be put into 1 box. But sometimes the label fits too.

My friend Siouxie (yes, spelled like the “and the Banshees) fit the Basketcase almost perfectly. Not 100% but 90% at least. She definitely had a little of the Princess in her too…like when she would beg to do my eye make-up so that I would wear more than just lip gloss! She did like to wear that black sh** though ;-) I have never worn much make-up and my girlfriends have always tried to get me to wear more. And Siouxie was always the chief instigator of that. I still don’t wear that much makeup most days but did learn and appreciate how to wear more eye make-up and I owe that pretty much to her. I think she still likes to imagine herself the Basketcase even now but she is a ridiculously well-rounded, responsible and sane grown-up :)

My crush Jason was Andrew Clark to a T. Even Emilio’s twin in looks.  I remember being out at the movies with him and being asked by girls if he *was* Emilio. Imagine the head inflating that occurs in a 17-yr old boy from that…I think he even had that exact same jeans/tank/sweatshirt outfit that Andrew/Emilio wore and he did wrestle in high school.  I wonder what he is doing now…

Donny was Bender. Actually, I think I knew a few Benders.  And Brains too. All my girlfriends loved Bender/Judd Nelson the most. I always thought this was strange. In no way did I see that. I’m sure this made my parents quite happy though :)

Me? Well…not entirely sure it’s that easy. But I did have Claire’s exact outfit :) Diamond studs even…from my Dad as a Christmas gift. LOVED those boots. I searched high and low for those! My skirt was suede.  Not sure if hers was? And I do still wear a lot of pink and brown as a favorite color combo. I have some Brain/Geek in me too. Probably much more obvious on the geek side :) But I never tried any drugs or went along with people because of peer pressure.  I guess maybe that was a teeny part of the Basketcase in me :)

I don’t think your heart dies when you grow up.  I do think you grow more cynical. But this isn’t always a bad thing. Not everyone is the world is deserving of your trust, or friendship. Even if you have an interesting few hours or interactions with them.  I liken it to taking your dog to the dog park.  They might not get along with all the dogs there.  Their tales start to twitch and hackles stand up. And that’s ok. Some dogs (or people) just smell wrong :)

My favorite song from a great soundtrack and one of my favorite scenes of the movie:

While watching the movie today, my husband told me this was his least favorite of the brat pack/teen movies. WHAT?! He said he didn’t identify with the characters at all as his school didn’t really have these same “types”. I counter that he just didn’t know them. Or see them that way. He went to high school in San Diego and hung out with the surfers. So he probably saw a fair amount of Spicollis :) but every school has a Brain, Athlete, Basketcase, Princess and Criminal…

“When a99kitten asked me to write a posting for her blog as a guest blogger I got very excited. Knowing that she loves all things fashion-related, especially shoes, I thought it might be a semi-interesting read about how I almost made fashion design my career path, instead of law.

To start, in the words of the Seinfeld cast, I am not gay, not that there’s anything wrong with that. I have a very healthy adoration for women, which sort of was the catalyst for the interest in women’s fashion. And no, I do not wear any articles of women’s clothing, thank you for asking.

I had a relative when I was in college who was an advertising/marketing executive with a large fashion house in New York. This relative was responsible for the launch of some of the most commercially successful women’s wear, specifically undergarments. The brand is still, apparently, wildly popular with the ladies, which is a testament to the relative’s advertising and marketing skills.

Anyway, I was always able to draw- starting at an early age, I used to draw my own comics from the superheroes that I created –charcoal and pencil were always my instruments of choice. I never thought that I was that good at it, but teachers and this relative, initially encouraged me to pursue drawing. The only problem was that I also had a fascination with the legal system and began to find myself being drawn there (no pun intended).

Anyway, during prep school (high school) I began drawing designs for dresses that I thought might be used by women for galas, premieres or for a truly special occasion. The designs were always different from what the current trends were as I tried to envision what the dress would look like with a specific person in mind, whether it be an actress, dignitary or the girl next door.

My relative invited me to join her department for an internship during college where I would be able to gain knowledge and experience with fashion shows, a brand launch and get to attend meetings and social events around the products. I also had the opportunity to present some of my work for consideration.

During this time, I had the opportunity of what every red-blooded boy in the country at that time would envy- an up close and personal interaction with some of the supermodels of the time. One takeaway from that experience is that there is little to no modesty during a fashion show. The models are required to change outfits so quickly, that dressing rooms are an afterthought. Most of them were actually very nice and kept in touch for a number of years after my time there. It’s funny to see who’s married, with kids and compare that to when I met them.

At the end of the term, my relative and a few other big wigs told me that my drawings were kind of amateurish – I was crushed. Looking back however, I think they were telling me that because the business is so fickle, that I should pursue my other passion as a career where I could better serve and assist others.

As time went by, I put away my drawing tools and focused on the law, until recently. I dusted off my tools and drew a couple of designs for people that have inspired me as a gift to thank them. It felt good and maybe I’ll do more in the future.

For now, the experience and lessons that I learned with my brush in the fashion industry have carried forward and influenced me today.”

Thank you for this squozed. And I will say that in the drawings I have seen, I personally do not agree that they are amateurish at all. And I would very like my dress in real life. So I too could be pretty in pink :)

My dress :)

Please visit for more: http://squozed.wordpress.com/

I always find it disturbing when people are hyper-critical. Being honest, constructive criticism, all that – sure. But just plain critical. Finding something wrong no matter what. I personally find this is very bad personality trait.

Do you look at a field of options, of opportunity, of suggestions and only see things to criticize? Only see what’s wrong with the picture instead of what’s right? That’s just not right.

Do you look at a portfolio of stocks and see the 1 that has had a loss and comment on it? Do you look at a clean and organized house and find the dirty spot? See a cute girl and see why she’s not beautiful? Do you look at anything and everything and only see what’s wrong? Well…you should figure out what the hell is wrong with YOU and it’s not the thing you see in others. Take a deeper look..

This past weekend I was relaying a good purse find to my friend and mentioned how much more I like accessorizing now with bags, shoes, scarves, etc. She looked at me quizzically and with a straight face asked if I just became self-aware recently….HA..HA….

Yes, I have always loved shopping. Not as much as some people – you know the kind…so spoiled they just shop and shop and horde things and have so much they don’t even know what they have or miss it when it’s not around because they have sooo much more.  They don’t have to be good quality items. They don’t have to be rich, or have good or expensive taste. Just quantity of things owned.

No, since I have paid for my own stuff all my life (no rich daddy or sugar daddy here), I do know what I have and appreciate it all – even though my husband might argue this. But what does he know – he thinks 1 pair of black shoes is sufficient. :)

Watching Meryl Streep last night in Julie & Julia made me remember her in The Devil Wears Prada (great movie and even better book!) and then of course this brings back memories of all of the great clothes in that movie…

My closet does NOT have such a plethora of designer items. But really – where would I wear them anyway? To the beach? To the mountains? On hikes? A few select designer pieces are nice but the rest of my clothes should be able to take husky wear :)

I do have a fair amount of cashmere. But this is my “thing”. It’s been my thing since my first cashmere sweater from Trillion in Palm Beach that I got years and years ago (my old company gave out nice Christmas presents – although when you are 20, a Hermes scarf isn’t really appreciated.. but hedge fund money = very nice.)  I’ve been in love with cashmere ever since.  So yes, I do buy it a lot and I don’t apologize or care that I have cardigans in *almost* every known color or shade. I say almost because I know there will be more for me to buy :) Like the elusive perfect shade of chocolate brown in a v-neck and a cardigan. Downside = must dry clean and I have doggies who I lift in and out of the car and skoosh all the time. Oh well. Not giving up cashmere or husky skooshing :) Thankfully they are pretty darn clean dogs.

So yes dear friend who scoffed at me (you know who you are!), I do think I’ve taken to accessorizing more lately. Maybe it’s because of all the good deals that are around right now.  But adding a cute hat or a scarf can change the outfit. Same with different pieces of jewelry or a funky bag. And of course…shoes…

Kellie puts it best – take a listen :)

Interesting…I’ll see it for sure. But she better show Red for the lying little tramp she was – the wolf was soooo unfairly maligned in this tale! :)

http://www.eonline.com/uberblog/b140525_catherine_hardwicke_on_team_taylor.html

Had a girls’ night tonight! Dinner and a movie – nothing crazy :)

Very yummy dinner at Kingfish in San Mateo where you eat like a King and drink like a fish. Hey – that’s their motto…and I did NOT drink like a fish! I yelped about it tonight – cannot believe I hadn’t already!! It’s one of my favorite local places for sure. I had their Big Eye Tuna (now renamed the ever so creative “Fresh Grilled #1 Ahi Tuna”.) It’s sashimi grade tuna seared over sushi rice with sesame spinach and garlic sauce. Otherwise known as “Yum”.

Ahi Tuna

We started with tuna tartare and cheesy garlic bread (yes, they do too pair quite well!) I had a glass of sparkle – Roederer Brut. Also quite yum.

I get the Ahi almost every time I go. I have tried other things there (the Po Boy roast beef with fries is very tasty) which are all delicious but this entree is simply too yummy for me to pass up. Perhaps if I ate there more often I might dare to try more new things but really…why? I like to stick to something good once I find it!

Then we saw Julie & Julia. VERY much enjoyed this movie. I love Meryl Streep in anything she does. And I really like Amy Adams a lot. I thoroughly enjoyed Enchanted and NOT just because McDreamy is in it :)

This movie was directed by Nora Ephron who has definitely made some great rom-coms and chick flicks.  This doesn’t disappoint in that department. Solid films with good happy-endings. Yes – I like that. If I wanted horrific, heart-wrenching, sad or depressing – I’ll read the news.  When I go to the movies I want to be entertained and made to smile – not shocked.

I thoroughly enjoyed this movie. I assume when Julie wrote her book (that the movie is based on) she used letters or some other base of knowledge for Julia’s portion of the movie. Julia and her husband seemed to be so in love and perfect for each other. A very cute part of the movie. They were the butter to each other’s bread…very sweet. Or, to paraphrase a Beastie, the cheese to the other’s macaroni…

The reviews I had read praised Meryl/Julia’s part of the movie but didn’t have as many kind words about Amy/Julie’s portion. Dull was the most common theme. I would disagree. While watching Meryl Streep act is always a joy. And her part was great. I would say I enjoyed the 2nd story of Julie’s just as much. It was a journey for her. Not one I would necessarily take but this is supposed to be based on this girl’s year-long journey to cook her way through Julia Child’s cookbook and blog about it. And during this time discovered some things about herself as well as renewing her passion for writing. I feel they accurately portrayed this. Although I would have insisted on cuter hair if I were Amy Adams…:)

Funny side note was that Julie’s husband gets upset with her for spending so much time and energy blogging about these things. I think I’ve had this same discussion with my husband re: twitter/blog. “Why, what’s the use?” Etc., etc. Because I like it…that’s why.

Another thing I noted – both of these characters cook a LOT obviously. Julia didn’t start out her life as a chef but took it on as a challenge and enjoyed it greatly as part of her life. Julie took it on as a personal challenge and enjoyed it as part of her life (although not professionally as a chef.) The people who I have known in real life who are chefs or work in professional kitchens hate cooking when they are home. NEVER want to do it. Yuck. “They do enough of it at work.” I would say then that they do not have the love for what they do like Julia, that’s for sure. Perhaps why she seemed to be such a happy/stable person. Certainly a far cry from the cooks you see on these dumb reality shows.

I also think it’s fantastic that she worked for the OSS during World War II (long before her success as a chef/writer/TV star.) FUN! This is not covered in the movie. Other than to say that she used to work at the OSS.

Now I want to buy the book! But it’s not available on Kindle? :( Dumb. Now that I want a Kindle – I’m paying attention to these things…but maybe I’ll buy it paperback anyway!

I am considering buying her cookbooks..even though I’m not all that into French food (a foodie I am not.) It does seem like every kitchen needs one much like the Joy of Cooking (which I do have.) And some of the food in the movie looked delicious so maybe I could attempt a bit of French cooking as long as I am not de-boning anything or killing lobsters. You do need cookbooks in hard copy form for sure (no e-books!) Having a cookbook that shows drips and spills on the pages shows you have tested those recipes and can speak to their to yumminess (or blech factor.) Although it would be fun to have an old school copy of it…I do love old books….

So I highly recommend this movie. And I don’t think it’s strictly a chick flick at all. Just a good story where the the 2 main characters happen to be women. But since they don’t dress in bikinis, shoot things or have a pillow fight in their lingerie, some guys might not be interested :)

To quote a movie review I read (which maybe came from Julia? Sounds like something she would say):

“Sometimes a meal can be less than perfect but still so thoroughly enjoyable that a missed ingredient here or a bit of overcooking there doesn’t really matter.”

This nugget should be applied to life, love, the kitchen and movies :)

see more Lolcats and funny pictures

Received my newsletter from Gentle Giant today. Bastards…they know I will buy something!

But I have made a conscious effort to limit my collectible buying to several characters:

Han Solo
Chewbacca
Princess Leia
Millennium Falcon
All the peripheral character yet cool chicks they make!
An occasional obscure character (Blue Snaggletooth anyone?)

I always rush to buy the Slave Leia stuff because I imagine all the geek boys drooling and digging around for their credit cards as soon as they see it up for sale an then selling out! (I was wait-listed for the Sideshow Exclusive Premium Slave Leia for months – it happens!)

But this one is pretty darn cool:

Slave Leia bust by Gentle Giant

So I pre-ordered her. Not shipping until Spring 2010 so it won’t collide with my other pre-orders (doh!) I think I might need a new shelf though…