The McDonald's between 16th and 18th St. on Blue IslandRahm Emanuel's response to being razzed by former colleagues at the inauguration...brilliant!!
The cab I was in was in a 3-car pile-up on Dan Ryan (go figure, I didn't want to stand around in the -30 degree weather waiting for a freaking bus and I ended up hanging around while the coppers went round getting everyone's statements etc.) I am thankfully okay, just pissed off since I have to get up way early for work tomorrow. Yeah, it's that kind of night, so if you're driving the next couple of days, please be careful!
Sometimes all you want to do is watch tv in bed, especially when it's like minus 50 degrees outside. Which is fine, except I chose to watch the second part of Masterpiece Classic's Tess of the D'Urbervilles (now there's a depressing adaptation!) which left me, well, slightly depressed. But flipping through the channels, I came across another made-for-tv movie on another PBS channel, 2005's My Family And Other Animals, a complete 180 from "Tess". I recall watching the movie quite a while ago, what caught my attention was the delectable Matthew Goode, playing Larry Durrell. He was of course, in Match Point, last year's movie remake of Brideshead Revisited, he was Inspector Lynley's heroin-addicted brother Peter in the Inspector Lynley Mysteries and he will also be in the upcoming Watchmen. I have a bit of a crush on him, I suppose, watching him present Masterpiece Contemporary...(those lips...yummy).
Mmmmmatthew Goode
Yes, check out my new 80,000 pound, diamond-studded Hermes bag, bitches!! What, you don't have one? Too-effing-bad!! It 's only nearly a week's pay for David, no big deal. There are only three of these in the world, and I will have to kill whoever owns the other two. Diamonds, everywhere!! I have a Birkin in every color, so why not diamond-studded too?? I'm single-handedly keeping Hermes afloat with all these purchases, aren't I? Aren't I?? Huh, haters.
Source: dailymail.co.uk
Pardon the silence eh, but I'm a bit sick at the mo'. Just lounging on the couch with a book "The Reluctant Queen" and some hot tea (and watching reruns of 'Lost'). I'll be back soon!!
Here they are in no particular order..I've read a lot of them at least twice..yeah I'm weird like that. They're not necessarily published in 2008, but most of them were published at least in the last ten years.
Careless In Red by Elizabeth George: The much anticipated EG book dealing with Inspector Lynley's life after the death of Helen Clyde. I skipped the book before it, What Came Before He Shot Her as it didn't really deal with Lynley. I also recommend the brilliant With No One As Witness...
Thursday Next: First Among Sequels by Jasper Fforde: The fifth Thursday Next novel. Friday is now a teenager and Thursday has to convince him to join the ChronoGuard to save the world. This is the first of a four-part series...I cannot wait for the next book!!
A Rose For The Crown by Anne Easter Smith: The fictional account of one Kate Haute, thought to be the mistress of Richard of Gloucester (later Richard III), the last Plantagenet king. (Interesting fact: Richard III was the last English king to die in battle).
The Girl With No Shadow by Joanne Harris: The continuation of Chocolat. Vianne and Anouk are in Paris with an evil presence between them. Full of magic. But I can't taste the chocolate in this book. I could in Chocolat.
Innocent Traitor by Alison Weir: The fictionalized story of Lady Jane Grey "The Nine Day Queen". Yes, she gets beheaded in the end. At 16.
The Boleyn Inheritance by Philippa Gregory: The story of Henry VIII's fourth and fifth wives, Anne Of Cleves And Katherine Howard. (Do you know how to memorize how all his wives fared? Easy...Divorced, beheaded, died, divorced, beheaded, lived!)
Chasing Shakespeares by Sarah Smith: The story of two scholars searching for the real Shakespeare, revolving around the theory of Edward de Vere, 17th Earl of Oxford as the author of Shakespeare's plays.
The Courts Of Love by Jean Plaidy: The story of Eleanor Of Aquitaine, her crazy husbands and equally crazy kids. Plaidy kept mentioning hair shirts when talking about Thomas Becket, which drove me nuts!
False Impression by Jeffrey Archer: My favorite author since forever. Art theft is at the heart of this book. I also recommend his books As The Crow Flies and Not A Penny More, Not A Penny Less.
The Stupidest Angel by Christopher Moore: Classic CM complete with clueless angels, zombies and crazy townspeople on the eve of Christmas. And a talking bat. I highly, highly recommend the brilliant Lamb, The Gospel According To Biff, Christ's Childhood Pal, one of my all-time favorite books.
Crap, ten books already?? As you can see I was quite into the Tudor time period especially towards the end of the year, and the books mentioned above are all fiction. I don't do so well with non-fiction or self-help. So over chick-lit. I wish Peter Mayle would come out with another book on Provence. I'm also resolving to read more Irvine Welsh.
So, these are some of my favorite books of 2008. Can anyone recommend other good books?
I have had this hankering for Italian beef for about a week now, and only today did I act on it. Bundled up in my warmest jacket, two hoodies, two pair of gloves, a thick woolen scarf, two pairs of socks, a legwarmer and canvas shoes, I and Mr. Bex (who had wisely put on an aviator-style hat thing) braved the bitter cold on this first day of the new year and headed downtown to Portillo's for a bite. It had been ages since we went there last, sometime early last year perhaps, and I don't think I've had better Italian beef elsewhere. I hear there's a place on Taylor Street that has amazing Italian beef, but we'll get to that some other time, preferably when the weather warms up enough for me to come out of the house and actually visit said establishment to test-drive the Italian beef.
Anyhow, I digress. I was just glad to be inside again, out of the cold and howling wind. The place was crowded, but not crowded enough for me to wait in line to order a regular Italian beef with hot peppers and a small soda. Mr. Bex passed on the Italian beef and instead chose a salad! The last time we ordered the Italian beef sandwiches, we accidentally ordered a couple of HUGE ones, which were 50% bigger than the regular-sized (8 inch?) ones and had to take home doggie bags. Trust me, the regular-sized sandwich is more than enough!
Mr. Bex ordering a salad.
It looks scary, but it's awesome!!!!!
Hmmmm...Italian beef......
I made short work of the sandwich, and it was good. But next time I'll order it with cheese!
