Battle Hymn of the Tiger Mother by Amy Chua

Solo by Rana Dasgupta

Petty Magic by Camille DeAngelis

(Photo Credit: Shifu Wei Lung)

2/3 cup of quinoa

2 cups of water

(I’ve used as little as 1/2 cup and as much as 1 cup of quinoa, and I’ve found that 1 part quinoa to 3 parts water works pretty well.) a chunk of ginger

oil (I’ve been using canola)

salt

1 small/medium or 1/2 large sweet potato

1 carrot

1/3 cucumber (I used an asian pear when I was out of cucumber, and it was quite good.)

1. Soak the quinoa in water in a bowl for 15 minutes. Rinse using a strainer and place in a clean bowl.

2. Peel the ginger. I find that scraping the skin off with the edge of a spoon works rather well. Mince half of the ginger. Put a large pot over medium heat. Pour a small amount of oil in the pot and add the minved ginger. Pish the ginger around with a spatula for a few seconds until the ginger is fragrant.

3. Add the quinoa and water and stir.

4. While waiting for the quinoa to come to a boil, preheatthe oven to 350 degrees.

5. Slice the sweet potato and place in a mound in the center of a sheet of aluminum foil. Mince the other half of the ginger and place on the potato slices. Pour a capful of oil on the potatoes. Sprinkle with salt to taste. Toss the potatoes, ginger, oil and salt with your hands and spread potatoes in an even layer on the sheet. Place onthe top rack in the oven.

6. When the quinoa comes to a boil, give it another stir, put the heat on its lowest setting, and cover the pot.

7. Slice the cucumber and carrot.

8. When the quinoa has absorbed most of the water, salt to taste. Stir the quinoa and spread it evenly in the pot. Turn off the heat. Place carrots evenly across the top. Evenly place the cucumber on top of the carrots. Cover the pot.

9. Turn the oven off but don’t remove the sweet potatoes.

10. Wait 10 minutes.

11. Take the sweet potatoes out of the oven and uncover pot. Place sweet potatoes evenly on top. Scrape any ginger bits off the sheet and sprinkle in the pot.

Makes about 4 portions (or 2 if you’re really hungry). It’s also quite good with a piece of fish or turkey burger on top.

(Photo Credit: Shifu Wei Lung)

“Alter the Ending” (acoustic) by Dashboard Confessional from Alter the Ending

I love this whole album.  It’s the latest from Dashboard Confessional, one of my top five favorite bands who I finally got to see live last year.  The deluxe version of the album comes with all the songs recorded acoustically, and I find that I like this version better than the original.  The emotional content of the songs feels like it’s better suited to the acoustic.  The title track has had me rocking out while walking down the street and dancing while cooking.

Rockefeller Chapel, the venue, is truly beautiful.  I worked across the street from it for like six months a few years back, but had never been inside.  They host all kinds of cool events, so I may be going back.

Gaiman was introduced by James Kennedy.  I believe he is a local writer who has published one young adult novel called The Order of Odd-Fish.  It was like no other introduction that I’d ever heard.

Kennedy  was shaking, out of nervousness I supposed.  But perhaps it was out of anger.  Because you see, Gaiman isn’t exactly  who everyone thinks he is.   He’s not even British.  He’s from Saginaw, and he totally ripped off Kennedy, down to his leather jacket and tousled tresses.

There was this whole bit about how Gaiman was this pathetic kid who used to follow Kennedy around.  One day Kennedy snubbed Gaiman in the lunchroom or something.  Gaiman exacted his revenge on the 4th of July to the backdrop of a sky exploding with fireworks.  He kicked Kennedy’s ass, took his jacket, and cut off his hair.  That hair was used to make the very wig that Gaiman still wears.

Hilarious.  Much funnier than I thought this would be from the outset.  And it got extra special ridiculous when Kennedy sang to Gaiman.  Yes, sang Firework by Katy Perry (Gaiman’s wife in this scenario).

When Gaiman took the stage, or pulpit rather, he said that he’d been introduced many times before; that was the best.  He instantly had the crowd, as if he didn’t already.  I had a feeling that I was the only person in the audience who had yet to read any of his stuff.

He laid down the format for the evening.  He would read, some about London followed by some about Chicago.  Then there would be a question and answer period.

He read from Neverwhere first.  Oh my.  I could listen to him read all day.  That voice…and the writing was so good.  Good looks.  Good voice.  Good writing.  I’d say that definitely makes him pantyworthy.  But I digress.

I cannot recall the name of the other book that he read from.  But there was something about a creepy clock museum in Chicago.

As people began to line up for the Q&A portion of the evening, Gaiman made a quick public service announcement.  First a definition: A question is an interrogatory statement ending in a question mark.  It is short and answerable.  If everyone follows that simple guideline, no one will get killed.

A few people asked about the episode of Doctor Who that he wrote even though after the first such question he said that he refused to give any details about the episode itself.

There was a question about whether there would be a sequel to Neverwhere.  Maybe.  He definitely has some ideas for it, but there’s so much other stuff to work on.  Gaiman said that confronted with the choice to work on something old or something new, he’d rather work on something new, even if the new thing isn’t necessarily what everyone wants.

There were lots of questions about things that I did not quite understand because I’m not familiar with Gaiman’s works.  But it was still interesting to hear about them.

Someone asked if a series that he wrote would be turned into a movie.  He told a story about a presentation he made to some movie execs who understood that the series was a big deal but didn’t know anything about it.  So the illustrator did up some storyboards or something, and Gaiman gave this whole talk.  When the execs returned from lunch they explained that they’d figured out why Harry Potter and The Lord of the Rings were so successful.  It was because they had clearly defined villains.  Does your series have a clear villain?  Answer: No.  Response: Well thank you for your time.  My assistant will show you out.

There were a lot of interesting questions and even more interesting answers.  I left with a desire to read Gaiman’s entire body of work.

Portraits of a Few of the People I’ve Made Cry by Christine Sneed

The Blind Contessa’s New Machine by Carey Wallace

All Is Forgotten, Nothing Is Lost by Lan Samantha Chang

Unbearable Lightness by Portia de Rossi

And it’s heartbreaking because I was doing so well and had gotten past a setback.  I’d lost a ton of weight, and I was in the best shape of my life.  I was finally getting my shit together.  For a few weeks, I was really happy with the stuff I’d been doing on my blog.

I lost my will to blog when the WordPress April Fool’s day joke made me feel so low.  My heart skipped a beat when I saw that I had 40 views.  But when I clicked on the bar for more details it only showed 4 views.  I thought it was just a glitch in the system, but when I logged in later that day my mouse hovered over the bar, and it said, “April Fools!”  I felt dejected.  It was intentional.  A group of people went through a lot of trouble to make me feel like an idiot.  I thought that all the work that I’d put into blog was starting to pay off.  I thought that I’d finally written something that resonated with people.  Silly me.

How did I fall off with my training and working out?  Gradually and then all of a sudden.  Without realizing it, I wasn’t eating very much.  That went on for maybe a week and a half or so.  The lack of food made me weak, so I was struggling to do my crunches and pushups.  It was becoming painful, and I wasn’t enjoying it.

I was working towards 600 crunches and pushups daily for 30 days.  And I started skipping days.  My teacher finally asked me if my heart was in it.  It was not.  So I stopped training.

The thing was that my heart wasn’t in anything.  I have some inspirational things taped to my wall.  One of them is a sheet of paper on which I wrote, “I WANT TO LIVE.”  But that wasn’t how I was acting.  I was acting like someone who wanted to die.

But that’s not what I want.  I want to fight.  I want to live the good life.  There’s so much that I want to do, and I can’t do any of that if I’m moping around my apartment stuffing myself full of cookies and pizza.  I have to get back to the things I love.  The things that matter.  I have to get back to living.

Insane.  Impossible.  Iconic.  To know her was to know that there was nothing small about her, to know that you were in the presence of complexity and greatness.  She was red in a world of beige.  She was poetry.

Teresa Ann Baity-Woodfork had three great loves: her God, her family and her work.

Her love for God was evident in her devotion to the Church of God in Christ.  Teresa’s impact started with her home, McGee Temple, and spread throughout the district.  Whether singing in the choir, teaching Sunday school, beating a tambourine, or serving as District Chairlady, she could always be found wearing an exquisite ensemble and the brightest smile in the room.

Teresa’s family was always in her heart and on her mind.  She was always there in whatever way she was needed–offering a ride, a hug, a friendly ear, a thoughtful gift, or the occasional thinly veiled threat.  She gave whatever she had.  She loved with her entire self.  And she only asked for your love in return.

Teresa was fond of saying that she could have done anything, but she chose to be a bus driver.  She was a talented and charismatic woman who had her choice of careers.  But she chose to drive a school bus because she loved children.  She worked with children with special needs to serve as a compassionate caregiver in their lives.

Teresa went on to join her husband, Leon, and her father, Guy, who went on before her.  She leaves to mourn her loss and celebrate her life and memory:  Her children, Sharon, Russell, Dion and Shera.  Her mother, Eddie.  Her siblings, Henry, Carmen, Patty, Deborah, James, Linda and Michael.  Her grandchildren, Juanita, Shantel, Troy and Tiara.  Her great grandchildren, Kenneth, Savannah and Tra’vel.  As well as a host of aunts, uncles, nieces, nephews, cousins, church family, friends and co-workers.

Housekeeping vs. the Dirt by Nick Hornby

The Intuitionist by Colson Whitehead

Without Reservations by Alice Steinbach (via Mother Etc.)

The Professors’ Wives’ Club by Joanne Rendell

I missed four days of training.  It started when I hurt my shoulder (I slept on it wrong).  That was a valid reason for maybe the first day or so.  But the rest of it was that I’d slipped into a funk.  I tried to convince myself that I didn’t want to risk hurting my shoulder even more.  But it wasn’t just the crunches and pushups.  I’d stopped my training entirely.  I even ordered Domino’s, which was my food of choice during my major depressive episode of late 2009/early 2010.  I was sinking.

I wasn’t pleased with some aspects of my life, and I wasn’t feeling like I would be able to get it together.  Money was tight.  My business wasn’t doing so well.  I was thinking a lot about the mistakes I made in the past and the consequences that they continue to have today.  I was afraid of all of the changes I was making in my life.  And I was afraid that I didn’t have the ability to maintain them.

My teacher used the words of Edgar Albert Guest’s “See It Through” to motivate me back into action.

I’ve had the poem taped to my wall for weeks.  It was up there while I was going through the 4-day lapse.  But I hadn’t really read it, soaked up the message.

So today I stood in front of the poem and read it aloud five times.  I let the words wash over me.  I was feeling a little down.  But Guest showed me that I could get through this.  I’m not facing anything that others haven’t gone through.  And that there’s a chance for success just as there is a chance for failure.  So I may as well give it a shot.

See It Through

by Edgar Albert Guest

When you’re up against a trouble,
Meet it squarely, face to face;
Lift your chin and set your shoulders,
Plant your feet and take a brace.
When it’s vain to try to dodge it,
Do the best that you can do;
You may fail, but you may conquer,
See it through!

Black may be the clouds about you
And your future may seem grim,
But don’t let your nerve desert you;
Keep yourself in fighting trim.
If the worst is bound to happen,
Spite of all that you can do,
Running from it will not save you,
See it through!

Even hope may seem but futile,
When with troubles you’re beset,
But remember you are facing
Just what other men have met.
You may fail, but fall still fighting;
Don’t give up, whate’er you do;
Eyes front, head high to the finish.
See it through!

The program will close on April 15th.  I’m not pleased, but what can I do?  So I went on the hunt for a new affiliate program.

Borders: I like Borders, but I don’t think it’s going to make it.  They’re in serious trouble with all the store closings, and I don’t feel like switching all of my links when they finally fold.

IndieBound: I like the idea of shopping locally and online at the same time.  But I’m not so confident in IndieBound’s longevity either.  And I’m not a big fan of the site’s layout.

Better World Books: I decided to check if it had an affiliate program, and it does.  I like the idea of directing readers here because purchases support literacy efforts.  But another company runs the affiliate program, and the process to get links seems needlessly complicated.

Barnes & Noble: This was really tempting.  I like B&N, and everything was looking good.  I especially like that they have a marketplace.  But you have to have a Google AdSense account to be an affiliate.  And I’m just not willing to go there with Google at this point.

Powell’s: I love Powell’s.  I’ve discovered so many good books through its website.  They have new and used books, great staff picks, and a lot of original content.  Plus they’re independent.  They run their own affiliate program and signing up was very easy.  And I think they’re going to be around for a while.  I’ll be switching over all my links.

I was quite pleased with myself for finding a new affiliate program.  But then I remembered that I don’t blog about books exclusively.  I also talk about music and other things.  The great thing about Amazon is that they have just about everything.  I looked at the iTunes affiliate program, but the process is a bit…involved for my liking.  Not quite sure what I’m going to do about music.  Any suggestions?