reading recommends – book, nook and kindle

I can’t believe this. I have stayed away from reading recommends because I was trying to delay the inevitable. But more and more, people are switching over to the nook, kindle and every other gadget out there as their choice for reading  materials.

I get the craze, but I am sad to see the paperbacks and hardbacks slowly disappear along with mom and pop bookstores.  It was nice to stop staring at a computer screen for a few hours and be able to curl up on a bed or a couch and read an actual “book” but these are the times and those are our choices and although I am having a difficult time accepting it, I know eventually I will become a minority with the way I feel about it.

Anyway, here are some interesting books I discovered while shuffling through the gadget category. Let me know if you have read any of them and what you think or if you would consider reading any of them sometime in the near future.

recommended reads and e-books for springtime

I haven’t bought books for a while because I am toying with the idea of  ”e-booking” – but only for the novels and nothing else (Just in case you are wondering – cookbooks, photography and travel books, collectables I still want in hardcover form).

I don’t know, I am not sold on it yet, the e-booking thing, but either way I have made my list of books to read and recommend (above) for Springtime.

I would love to hear from those who have read the above books or if they recommend others.

new years eve movie night

Just in case you have opted to stay home for New Years Eve this year and are tired of watching reruns or  reality shows on television, then consider renting some of the films I have listed below to keep you entertained.

So, grab a bottle or two of champagne, pop some popcorn, turn up the fire, snuggle under a blanket with a loved one or not and enjoy a movie or two or three

1.  The Apartment (1960)

2. Breakfast At Tiffany (1961)

3. La Dolche Vita (1960)

4. The Thomas Crown Affair (1968)

5. Holiday (1938)

6. High Society (1956)

ode to summer 2010

I usually get very restless and sad at the end of August because this is one part of the year I don’t really look forward to, transitioning into fall.  I think I have stated a dozen times before how much I appreciate warmer weather and worship the sun as a result of it and although we are just beginning “our summer” here in San Francisco, I still know it’s fall. The days are shorter, there is a certain crispiness to the morning air and the evenings are colder rather than cooler.

So, in my own strange way of saying goodbye to summer 2010, I have included my favorite reminder of summer in a  classic and old fashioned kind of way.

propertyofrawsilkandsaffron

propertyofrawsilkandsaffron

propertyofrawsilkandsaffron

propertyofrawsilkandsaffron

propertyofrawsilkandsaffron

propertyofrawsilkandsaffon

mad men official entry – please vote for me

Finally! I was able to select the best photo based on all my readers choice. I have been approved and posted on the AMC – Mad Men Casting website.  If you could find it in your heart to vote for me – once a day – I may have a chance to be selected.  Thanks again for your priliminary votes and any future votes as well.

Please click here to vote

mad men casting call – my personal challenge

I have included some photos of my preparation for the Mad Men Casting Call photo shoot, it was alot of fun and a great experience and although I don’t feel I am photogenic at all, we were able to take over 200 photos in order to vote for the best of the best.  So scroll down o see the best of the best and take a vote on which you think I should post on the AMC casting call for Mad Men site. 

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finally a casting chance for me – as i shout from the rooftops

Out of sheer excitement, I decided this year I would partake in the online casting call for one of my favorite TV series, Mad Men on AMC.  I actually wanted to do this last year but didn’t have the time nor the guts to go through with it. But this year, when I saw the pamphlets and the window displays in every Banana Republic store I visited over the past few weeks, I was pumped up enough to go through with it.

So last night I, in preparation for my own photo shoot,  scoped out the suits and blouses as well as shoes and jewelry from my mother’s closet which I feel would best suit me for the casting call challenge.

I am excited and hope you would stay tuned as I detail my own personal challenge of “fitting into ”   the “THIS COULD BE YOU”  empty photo slot on the back of the casting call pamphlet.

books i added to my to-read list

Here is a list of books I saw at Barnes and Nobles which I added to my to-read list for 2010.

1. Good To A Fault by Marina Endicott

2. Purge by Sofi Oksanen

3. A Happy Marriage by Rafael Iglesias

4. Lonely: A Memoir by Emily White

I would love to hear from anyone who has read any of the books. Are they a good read or not.

megapixel and hd nightmare

I understand advancement, enhancement, upgrades, more, much more, sharper, deeper, 3-D and all the jazz associated with making photos and film more appealing to the eye, but for heaven’s sake, these enhacement are really not good for the aging man and woman. It not only makes the photos clearer and sharper, but it also makes every wrinkle, blemish, scar, unwanted hair and other scary facial and bodily defects more visible and troubling, to the point where any person over  40 and some under 40, should probably avoid being photographed or filmed EVER.

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So what now? How do the inventors plan to address this MAJOR problem? Even celebrities are beginning to look scary on the screen. There is only so much that can be done to edit a film, or touch up a photo shoot before the person begins to look like something out of a wax museum display instead of a their natural self. What went wrong? Is more truly better than less? I mean I for one am probably going to retire from having my photos taken and will for sure hide behind a curtain when a family member decides to film a get together.

I am serious, I do wonder if this problem will ever be addressed, but for now, can we please stop enhancing the megapixel on the cameras and while we are at it turn down the HD on that television set will you, I am starting to have nightmares.

midlife crisis in film

I watch movies like it’s going out of style. I enjoy watching and reviewing them and of course often offer my two cents worth on a good movie which in my opinion go unnoticed as a result of all the 3D craze. Here is one I highly recommend for the woman over 40 and even some under 40, which in my opinion, although pretty predictable, is an eye opener for all of us who go through the crisis in either denial or in silence.

The film is called The Private Lives of Pippa Lee, which probably lasted in theatres about a week or so and since it was an independent film, it wasn’t marketed like Avatar and Alice In Wonderland and so not too many people have heard of it. The film stars the beautiful Robin Wright Penn, who at the time the film came out was going through her own personal struggles with Sean Penn. It is a simple film, very touching and one that alot of women can relate to one way or another. My recommendation for watching the film however, is to either do it by yourself or have a girls night out, just to not freak out your spouses with your choice of film for a couples night.

I loved the film and was actually hoping Robin Wright Penn would at least be nominated for her performance in the 2010 Oscars. Anyway, if you have seen the film, please let me know what you thought of it.