Fearless Readers ride again!

I consider myself to be one of the founding members of the Fearless Readers, a monthly book club that my friend Lynne started in 2000 or so. We had rules (Wanna pick the book? Show up and vote.), guidelines (Definitely have a drink or two; eat if you're hungry.), and some all-but-ignored protocol (Selections alternate between "classic" and "contemporary."). So-called members rotated every few months. We read lots of really great books (and just a few clunkers). We had some pretty fantastic discussions. We definitely had fun. Then about a year ago, simply due to packed schedules, the book club fizzled out.

But all hail Lynne - book club's back, baby! First meeting of Fearless Readers Redux is on Thursday, March 5. If you're in NYC and want to join, let me know! If you're out of town and want to read along, I'd love for you to share your thoughts and responses to my little review in the Comments.

Next up: In the Beauty of the Lillies by John Updike.
Join us... if you're not afraid!

Astonishing X-Men

My obsession for all things Joss Whedon is well documented at this point. It has taken me far and wide, from the Buffyverse to the 'Verse, from the future to 1997, from TV to the internet to... dare I admit it?... comic books.

In 2004, Whedon wrote a 24-issue run of X-Men comics called "Astonishing X-Men," which was collected into four graphic novels. Since I've consumed absolutely everything else of his, and since Joker has been a huge comic book fan since the days of yore, it was only a matter of time before I'd read it.

There were a three major hurdles to this endeavor. First off, I am not very skilled at reading comic books. It's a more complicated than I would have thought. Dialogue scenes I get. They make sense. But when there's action and explosions - especially if it's all very red, or all very fiery - I have trouble following the action. Secondly, I've never read any of the X-Men comics, which have been going on for decades now. There is a lot of history and backstory that I simply don't know. Myriad alien races, interaction with the Fantastic Four, the Hellfire Club, various love connections... there was a lot I didn't know about. And finally, I didn't realize that this 24-issue run (a) would not be self contained, and (b) would not be comprised of a single adventure.

Despite all of this, I really enjoyed the read. The storyline was really interesting, the art was great, and it was fun to be so far out of my element. Kitty Pryde has a lot of Buffy-esque characteristics, and she had more than a few lines that could have come straight from our favorite slayer. The plot got a little fuzzy to me in the middle - too many characters that can read and influence minds, I suppose - but all in all it was a great story. Who knows... more comic books may lie in store for me now!

My little sous chef

The Bug's desire to help out around the house is only expanding. Last night while I was making dinner, she tried to drag a chair into the kitchen. I told Joker it was fine for her to sit on it and watch, if that was what she wanted. Well, that was NOT what she wanted. She pushed the chair over to the counter, climbed up, and said she wanted to cook. Since everything was already in the oven, I had her put some lemon wedges into a cup, and gave her a spoon to stir them with. She couldn't have been prouder when she brought them out to the table.

Valley of the dolls

Continuing along the Just So Story of myself... I looked pretty normal through about 1982:

Ah, 1982. Normal looking kid with normal interests. Cabbage Patch Kids and Care Bears were all the rage, as evidenced by this picture I took of mine:


Unfortunately, when the permanent teeth arrived, the wheels began to fall off. Still kinda cute. Very suspicious fashion choices. I still remember thinking those purple sneakers and goofy-ass striped socks were totally hot. But wait... closer look at the book bag... is that... GARFIELD???


Why, yes. Yes, it is. I had a lot of Garfield stuff. And I apparently found it necessary to document my entire collection.

Another year, another February

I knew exactly why the snow came down so hard all day on Tuesday: I was going to Feb Club. The weather gods have an uncanny sense for when hordes of Yalies will alight on a common location. On Tuesday night, said destination was the NYC Yale Club.

Kudos to the organizers of Feb Club Emeritus, who even tapped into the AYA to spread the word far and wide. Judging by the crowd on Tuesday, they've done their job well. I hear they were expecting a thousand people; there were at least four of the Mory's Cups floating around, filled with gold and red deliciousness; and I totally underestimated both the time I would spend and the wine I would drink. I smiled the entire time. I mingled. I made bold promises to attend at least three this year. I felt lousy the following morning. A successful Feb Club party on all counts!

Whale go boom!

This is tremendous... Can you even imagine why the Oregon Highway Department (a) was called onto the scene in the first place, or (b) thought that blowing up the whale would do anything other than spread the whale around a larger geographic area?

Our nation's capital

What a whirlwind weekend! We drove down to Washington, DC to attend an engagement party for Uncle Shane and Ali, Joker's father in tow. My parents came into town, too, so the Bug got to spend the weekend with all of her biggest fans. Suffice it to say, the party was a lot of fun, and it was great to spend some time with Shane's friends, and to get to know some of Ali's.

Sunday was absolutely beautiful, so we spent the morning out and about, walking from our hotel to the Mall (where we met my parents and Shane and Ali). We stopped in front of the White House to say "Hello" to the Obamas, and the Bug practically ran from there to the Washington Monument. The open grass, warm springlike air, and lots of other kids was heaven to her! We saw the World War II Memorial, which I find incredibly moving, and headed past the reflecting pool and up the steps to the Lincoln Memorial.

I hadn't done that in years, and was amazed at how powerful it was. The magnitude of just what Lincoln had to do is staggering, and the place itself truly captures his spirit. Tears came to my eyes as I read the words of the Gettysberg Address and of his second inaugural speech. I know the Bug won't remember this visit to our nation's capital, but I certainly will.