"I live in 2 worlds"

One of my favorite television shows was the delightfully odd Gilmore Girls. The show was charming...hysterically funny with eccentric characters, lovely small town setting, beautiful homes and oddball stories. The show centered on quirky single mom Lorelei and her straight-laced bookworm teenage daughter Rory. Rory had one of the best quotes ever with, "I live in two worlds. One is a world of books". The quote continued with her explaining the characters and places she's experienced through books and ends with her discussing the charm of her real world which is equally full of interesting characters. For anyone who has seen the show you'll understand why the real characters in Rory's world were just as interesting as the characters in the books she reads.

Rory's quote has me thinking about the different worlds we live in. The real world of:

• Family
• Friends
• Work

and the other worlds where we escape to:

• Books
• Movies
• Video games

I've always escaped into books and movies and many of my "other worlds" have been documented here (Films of style and romance, books by Katie Fforde). But what about the world that can transcend the real and the imagination? For me it's my home. My little nest where I can hunker down, brew some tea or pour a glass of wine, linger over my Parisian decorating books, watch Bette Davis float down yet another grand staircase, enjoy my rare books or take out my jewelry, elbow length gloves and play dress up. For awhile I forget the real world outside my door and I can walk around in a home I'm building from my imagination.

The Gilmore Girls shared an amazing little world in the house that Rory shared with her mother Lorelei. You can see photos of it's eccentric, messy charm here.

So thanks Rory, for getting it. Book lovers live in different worlds.

Enjoy this short clip of some of Rory's best book moments, love when she smells the book. I'm there with ya!

Movie version of Robin Hood

On Monday evening I saw Ridley Scott's adaption of Robin Hood starring Russell Crowe. When the film was announced a few years ago, I was delighted one of my favorite directors was taking on one of my favorite legends. After all this is the man who brought us Blade Runner, Legend, Thelma and Louise, Gladiator, Kingdom of Heaven and A Good Year. As production news leaked into the press the story and the cast changed. For awhile the film was going to have the Sheriff of Nottingham as the hero. Then for the blink of an eye Sienna Miller was cast as Maid Marion. From the beginning, one casting decision never changed, Russell Crowe was going to star.

A few years ago I introduced my Kid to the cult classic British television series Robin of Sherwood. I was obsessed with the show when it aired in the US from 1984-1986 and thrilled when it was finally released on DVD decades later. My son and I have watched every episode and he loves them as much as I do. We often have Robin of Sherwood TV marathons. The show remains beloved to this day and it's easy to find Yahoo groups and fan sites on the web.

Because of our fondness for Robin Hood including some of the other films (who can forget the hilarity that was Kevin Costner's campy 1991 version) we were both excited to see the latest big screen adaption. Bottom line: the hype was better than the film. Ridley Scott's Robin Hood is terrible. How such an esteemed director could create such complete crap is a mystery. Maybe it's the story...we are after all talking about a legend. Scott shows us his version of Robin Hood before he became Robin Hood of Sherwood Forest. Here Crowe is a soldier fighting the French and then through a deliberate impersonation of Robert Loxley he ends up fighting for the British poor and romancing the dead Robert's widow (Marion played by the frozen face of Cate Blanchett). Toss in a few Merry Men such as Friar Tuck, Will Scarlett and Little John and Scott must have thought he had the makings of a new version of the legend. Ummm no. I'm not even sure where to start. Crowe and Blanchett are WAY too old to portray these characters, the movie is one battle after another and usually not on English soil, the real characters of Richard the Lionheart and his brother King John are tossed in with such inaccurate histories as to make it laugh out loud funny. As long as Scott was trying to throw in some English history maybe he could have tried to get something right like Richard the Lionheart's death or the real age of King John's wife who in reality was a 12 year old little girl but in the film was substituted with a lusty adult french actress. Maybe even remaining true to a large part of the legend would have been a start, that Robin was an archer, but as my friend Diana pointed out he only picked up his bow maybe 2 times in the film (and once was probably to get the promotional shot in the movie poster above). Sigh...

So if you are a fan of Robin Hood, skip this movie, it's really bad, not even Ridley Scott's lush settings, war scenes and imagery can save it. Watch Robin of Sherwood on DVD and enjoy the fun, the legend, the 80's bad but charming special effects and the amazing music by Clannad.

Lost in Austen-What would happen if your favorite book came to life?

Friday at the Races was wonderful even if I lost all my bets. I worked Saturday and Sunday and spend Monday in my garden, (if you are a friend on Facebook check out my garden pics), and today was my presentation on consumer websites that I co-presented to the RLA CE group. For information on the RLA CE check out their site here.
Now that my presentation is over I'm starting to get excited about leaving for London in 9 days. I will spend a few days in London before leaving for Oxford, the seminar begins on Monday May 18. Last evening after my busy weekend I relaxed with a cup of tea and watched a charming British television series Lost in Austen. This 4 part series is about the thoroughly modern Amanda Price, a devoted Pride and Prejudice addict who finds a portal back in time to a real life P&P in her London bathroom. Amanda switches places with Elizabeth Bennet and finds herself in the middle of Austen's novel. The entire series is only 3 hours long and is worth a watch for the hysterical antics of Amanda as she tries to fit her modern day sensibilities into Regency England. As she interacts with Austen's characters (yes Mr. Darcy included) the beloved story of P&P goes awry and Amanda tries desperately to conform the characters to the book.
What I particularly enjoyed about the series was watching some of Austen's most beloved characters get turned upside down. A villainous woman is a lesbian? A prim young woman a promiscuous liar? A rake is instead a hero? Loved it! What I didn't like was the writing in the 4th episode/final hour of the series which was completely ridiculous and not nearly as much fun as the beginning of the series. While the ending was satisfying it just wasn't as good as it could have been. This would have been a wonderful long term series but unfortunately it was wrapped up too quickly with unanswered questions. The young British actress who played Amanda Price (Jemima Rooper) in the series was brilliant as the "modern heroine" and the actor playing Darcy (Elliot Cowan) was physically spot on to how I picture his character in my head (no it's not always Colin Firth!)
Lost in Austen is a charming glimpse at the fantasy so many of us female Pride and Prejudice's lovers have dreamt about, what would happen if we were the heroine in Austen's book and Mr. Darcy was OUR Mr. Darcy? A must see for any Austen fan. I'm hopeful the movie based on the series will be even better, it will be produced by Sam Mendes the Academy Award winning director and husband to my favorite English actress and the perfect Marianne from Austen's Sense and Sensibility Kate Winslet.

Segment on Library Production Studio

A month or so ago Library Production Studio was at my library filming a "Do You Know" segment on libraries. The focus at our library was on the resources we provide for people who are job searching and one of our regular patrons was interviewed. Without much warning he asked me to participate and so I filmed a small section about my computer classes. FYI he has been a regular in my computer classes where we've worked on his computer skills and he was recently offered a new job!
I'm about 4 minutes 30 seconds into the video. For more information on LPS visit their website at: http://www.libraryps.com/

Must see show-Jose Made in Spain

Over the New Years weekend it was cold and nasty here in Chicago so I bundled up in front of our fireplace and happily watched my latest food show addiction. The first season of Jose-Made in Spain is out on DVD and in my opinion is one of the freshest and best food shows on television. During each episode chef Jose Andres takes the viewer to a different region throughout Spain and then back to his home kitchen in Washington D.C. to create Spanish dishes. If Jose is cooking squid, he hops on the boat with the fisherman catches a large squid and then takes it to a friends beach side restaurant on the coast of Spain and cooks it! Ever heard of gooseneck barnacles? I hadn't either until Jose throws on a wetsuit and goes diving for them before preparing them. After watching the first episode I made his very easy dish of tomatoes, soft Spanish cheese, greens and a delicious dressing of extra virgin olive oil, apple cider vinegar and honey. It was devoured quickly when I had friends over this weekend.
Jose has an easy demeanor with the camera and is charming and fun to watch, and his accent is lovely to listen to. If you are not a television watcher than definitely check out Jose's new book:
Made in Spain: Spanish Dishes for the American Kitchen
If your New Year's resolution includes healthy eating than Jose's delicious Spanish dishes are excellent. I'm a fan of the Mediterranean diet and Jose combines the freshest ingredients in simple and tasty ways.

Friday Flash Back #18

During this historic election week I thought I would post a flashback from another election, the 1st Presidential Debate between Bill Clinton, George Bush Sr. and Ross Perot in 1992.
Geez, I was only 21 and working on Clinton's campaign in Ohio at Ohio University. Feels like a lifetime ago.

Friday Flash Back #17

I'm going to be an Aunt soon, my sister will be delivering her daughter sometime today!
The baby made famous in the 90's tv show Ally McBeal, enjoy the dancing baby.