the latest news
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We do love feedback!! In fact, I just checked email and it seems Sarah M. has already received her copies in the mail. She demanded a recount upon discovering that Ann Lee's "Two Times" from A&A3 didn't make the cut. However, always the celebrity enabler, she added, "I do get a sense of satisfaction that Brit Brit made it."
So happy holidays, dear readers and listeners of A&A, in all its forms. Keep the feedback coming!
[12.22.08]
I'm feeling a little better about my Twilight obsession. For one, I think the muckety-mucks at Little, Brown publishing decided to give Stephenie Meyer a better editor after the first book took off, because the subsequent books are chock full of complete sentences. But more importantly, I got this email from my friend Theresa:
"Oh, I am totally with you on the Twilight saga….I don't know why but I can't stop either…it's like crack…or what I imagine crack to be ... it's clearly not good for you but something just keeps pulling you in. I am sad to say I just finished th e third book….and I know it is inevitable that I will soon own the fourth, and at this point, resistance is futile!"
Now, for those of you who don't know Theresa, I'll tell you that she is one of the top-five smartest people I know. Like, wicked smart. Like, ace her tests, nail the dream job, convince her employer to give her four months off to drive around Europe smart. And she's addicted to the teenage vampire romance, too. I feel vindicated.
To keep the feeling going, I've goaded and guilted Sarah G. and Annie D. to read it, too. You might be next.
Ashley: you might have to read twilight. and the other 3 books.
Annie: so i can join the twilight book club! i might have to.
Ashley: AND WE CAN TALK ABOUT IT
Annie: i am almost done with my current book, so i could be persuaded.
Ashley: you will love me and hate me. give me credit and blame me.
Annie: so it will even out.
****ADDENDUM****
I was remiss in not mentioning that another very smart friend of mine, Keya, is also reading the Twilight series, is also sucked in against her will, and--get this--is a professional student of literature! She's thisclose to getting her PhD at WashU. Oh, and Potter is about to start reading them, too. So though I'm wallowing down in a pit of despair (that is quickly becoming less about self-loathing and more about unabashed enthusiasm), I'm in good company. :)
[12.11.08]
I really don't want to write about this, but I think I have to. Here goes: I've been reading the Twilight saga. K-dawg made me do it! I'm one-and-a-half books in. So far I think the books are poorly written and the main character is unlikable in an uninteresting way, while also being frustratingly passive--never acting, but rather having things happen TO her. Her obsession with the vampire dude is unhealthy to the point that I think if she were real, she'd marry a wifebeater. And did I mention she's unlikeable? But the worst part is that I CAN'T STOP READING. I am hooked. I don't even want to be updating A&A.com right now because that means I'm not reading about annoying Bella and cracked out Edward! No matter that the plot is circular and drags on, and the adjectives are repetitive and unimaginative. I must keep reading. I'm fascinated with whatever it is that has sucked me in--and how not okay it is! Sure, the story is about teenagers (one of which has been on the planet for over 100 years), and teenagers can be mopey, melodramatic, and misguided, but this book is no role model for young readers who are still forming their idea of what a healthy relationship is. Being controlled and stalked by a guy--no matter how hot--is bad, bad, bad. Anyway, if you wonder what I'm doing and why I'm not answering your calls, it's because I'm contemplating all of this...and feverishly reading the rest of the series. :-\
P.S - This is a hilarious post by someone I don't know on how bad Twilight is--check it out!
[12.03.08]
Obama will be in the 'burg this Thursday, dropping in on the House Dems, and Biden will follow Friday. We didn't plan it that way, but try as I might, I cannot shake these guys! So I'll be in chillin' with Mom and NANNA, dodging Secret Service and counting member pins at the Leafe. They really should let me plan the social activities for these retreats, or at the very list put me in charge of meal times. Cheese Shop, CHECK; Aroma's, CHECK; and last but not least, late-night Wawa with Nanna in tow, CHECK!!!!!
[02.04.09]
Things change. People change. Heck, D.C. is awash in so much change that the change is falling from the sky, dripping down our faces, and freezing on the ground, making it unsafe to walk or drive anywhere. I often talk about fearing change, but as an Army brat sometimes I thrive on it, too. I learned this week that Facebook has rendered me obsolete in terms of reminding my friends of other friends' birthdays. That used to be my job. Not being on Facebook myself (because, HELLO, I already have a home on the internet--you're visiting it right now), I didn't know how redundant my services had become. But it's cool, I'm moving on.
You can see by the new photos below that, clearly, when it comes to Sign of the Whale, we ladies have NOT moved on. Although we did have a lengthy discussion distinguishing SOTW from any bar in Adams Morgan, a place to which, exactly a year ago, I up and declared I would likely never return. The conversation prompted a memory from Annie D. about her last stand in Georgetown. She was at Rhino Bar with the usual suspects (read: Maggie and Clarissa) when, all of a sudden, everything went into slo mo. She looked around, saw the scene of 22-year-old desolation and desparation for what it was, and high-tailed it without nary a goodbye or a backward glance. It seems when it comes to bars, we can handle change just fine.
[01.28.09]
To continue our awesome record of seeing each other all the time despite the fact that we live 1000 miles apart, Annie D. will be coming to D.C. for the inauguration! And I'm very glad she is, otherwise I don't think I'd be looking forward to it at all. I hate to be a whiner--after all, residents of the D.C. metro area are getting a front row seat to history, and we don't have to shell out thousands of dollars (or sleep on the street) to do it. But I'm still kind of stressing out about it more than I should, like I'm personally having millions of people over to my house. The slow drip of information about how it's all going to go down isn't helping either. I have coworkers emailing, friends emailing--heck, Obama's been emailing!--to let me know what roads will be closed, that I should plan to be crushed on the metro, and that there are a ton of balls I won't be getting into. (The WashPost has taken note of this influx of don'ts and can'ts for inauguration day.) Then there are the emails from groups trying to sell me things. PEOPLE! Stop exploiting the president-elect for your financial gain! It's unseemly! It's tacky! And it's getting really irritating! No I don't want a commemorative poster, metro card, or frisbee! Even Ms. Magazine, the supposed last outpost of feminism in journalism, is doing an "inaugural issue," complete with a mock-up of Obama as Superman. Talk about touching a nerve--the feminist blogosphere is salty! But hey, even feminists have to try and make a buck in this economy.
[01.15.09]
I think people are on to me. At least 60 percent of the birthday cards I received last week were kitty-themed. The belated birthday email I recieved today was also kitty-themed. To say that my fave birthday present was kitty-themed would be an understatement: it was a tote bag with a picture of my own two kitties on it. I will carry my other fave birthday present in it (a TUB of House dressing) when I picnic on the Ellipse after using my OTHER fave birthday present, a membership to the Corcoran. (Consider this to be your thank you note, people.) Strangely, I also recieved a PediPaws (AS SEEN ON TV!) from a friend of mine. She explained the gift by saying that when she saw a commercial for it, it reminded her of me. Why?? I asked. Because there were cats in it. That was her only explanation. Of course, this is from the girl who thinks that I should be able to do riverdance because I have red hair.
But all of this in the aggregate, while it should beg the question, "Am I a crazy cat lady?", instead simply makes me sublimely happy. Kitties everywhere! Nuzzles for all! LOLcats across America! Though I still think that just to be on the safe side I should state for the record that I'm not interested in getting a subscription to Cat Fancy for my next birthday or anything. I still prefer to have a copy of Vanity Fair in hand when I nestle in to my cat-tapestried pillows for a good read.
[01.06.09]