Elizabeth Gilbert's, Eat Pray Love - Highly Recommended

I'm only 18 sections in (out of 108) but have already recommended Elizabeth Gilbert's Eat Pray Love four times (five if you count the couple as two), strenuously. This is a book I'd been thinking about, both attracted to and avoiding since it was published. I'd flip though it on the bookstore display table, walking out without it. Earlier this week my sister emerged with one of her erratic wonderful emails. Complications in France but was I familiar with this book? Would I be interested in the audio version?

Not only was I familiar, I'd been tracking it before it existed. The writer showed up in one of my regular Garrison Yoga classes one day. Another writer excitedly pointed her out to me. She'd published at least two books and wrote highly regarded non-fiction for either GQ or Esquire - I can't remember which. I'd never heard of her, but always craving good non-fiction particularly in the neighborhood, I started reading her work. I thought about trying to meet her through some other mutual literary friends. Next thing I knew she wasn't around much, and I left for Fiji. For a year away. I often thought about writing while there. Well, I did write while I was there, just not in a publishable book form. I thought John had already staked out that claim. But I thought of it. And continued to mull further. Somehow I was aware of her book, aware of the genre of a woman away for a year, finding herself. Attracted and repulsed.

Nancy sent me the audible version (Happy 50th!) and I began to listen on what are now, finally, daily walks. At first a bit wary, not crazy about her Italian phrases. I worried she was too pretentious and full of herself. Within minutes that all changed. I was entranced. I got completely hooked by her fantastically articulate on-the-money description of love gone bad. The off-again, on-again nature. The pain and torture. Lying on the bathroom floor for hours sobbing. The desire for rationality, and easy exit coupled with that impossibility. Her language of course, the telling, much much better. (I'd quote something here but I'm listening to the audio version! Kind of great to hear it all in her own voice but frustrating in that I can't underline for myself or share with any of you here. I'll probably end up picking up the paperback too.) It's fantastic. For the heartbreak and clarity on depression alone. A must read.

YOWZA!!!: Knights 6, Barons 5

An exciting proud moment. I'm not a sports mom. I show up when I can, but I barely follow the game. For the most part I couldn't care less if they win. I worry about boys getting hurt and standing up to the pressure. More than once I've told my son, my son, "just quit the team - it's too much time." Perhaps this is his way of rebelling - not only by continuing, but excelling beyond all expectations. Surprising all of us, even himself. Doing so great! I'm so happy for him. Sweet victory!

You read it right, boys and girls. In a stunning upset, the amazing 2007 McCallum Lacrosse Team made team history with a first-ever win over perennial lacrosse power St. Mary's Hall on a hot afternoon at Noack Fields today. The victory advances the Knights to the District Championship game at Noack Fields Sunday, Apr. 29 at 4:30 p.m. vs. the #1 seed Austin High Maroons.
MVP of the game for the Knights was Daniel Steinman, who scored 2 goals, won seven face-offs, and led the team in ground balls with a whopping 13. The Game Ball went to goalie Wyatt Pierson, who had 10 ground balls and a season-high 20 saves, including 7 in the 4th quarter when the Knights held the Barons scoreless for the final 9 1/2 minutes to preserve their 1 goal lead.
Come out tomorrow and support this remarkable team as they take on their next quest: A place in the State Championship Final Four.
Full report to follow.
David

Have a great time at your fest Ebert!

This isn't a film biz blog but I can't believe that any of my normal stops didn't link to this essay by Roger Ebert on his current health situation on the eve of his Overlooked Film Festival. Maybe I'm just behind in my reading. In any case, am glad Lisa Rosman directed me to it today.

We spend too much time hiding illness. There is an assumption that I must always look the same. I hope to look better than I look now. But I’m not going to miss my festival.

Why do I want to go? Above all, to see the movies. Then to meet old friends and great directors and personally thank all the loyal audience members who continue to support the festival.

At least, not being able to speak, I am spared the need to explain why every film is “overlooked,” or why I wrote “Beyond the Valley of the Dolls.”

Being sick is no fun. But you can have fun while you’re sick. I wouldn’t miss the festival for anything! (complete)

Roger Ebert is a towering figure in the film world. A huge fan, a tireless writer, and at times a heroic champion. We've been wishing him well during this whole sorry process of illness, treatment, recovering and relapse. Today thrilled to applaud his can-do spirit and excitement to enjoy his annual fest - doctors be damned. A toast to you Roger!! Enjoy!

The Ultimate Identity Crisis

I was moved by this LA Times article by Mike Pennar.

I broke the news to Tim by beginning, "Are you familiar with the movie 'Transamerica'?" Tim nodded. "Well, welcome to my life," I said.

Tim seemed more perplexed than most as I nervously launched into my story.

Finally, he had to explain, "I thought you said 'Trainspotting.' I thought you were going to tell me you're a heroin addict."

Transexuals have the ultimate identity crisis, often involving decades-long struggles. My heart aches for the few stories I've come across. The doc Southern Comfort by Kate Davis is a brilliant look at a man who died of ovarian cancer. When she was finishing it, Kate thought she was making a film about the prejudices of the medical system against transsexuals. I didn't see it that way. Hell, everyone dies of ovarian cancer. To me, Southern Comfort was really about the deep search and struggle to be who you are, no matter what the odds. It's about how some people have to work so much harder to find their community and love. About what it's like to be shunned for just being who you are.

Years later I came across She's Not There, by Jennifer Finney Boylan, a wonderful book which has remained one of my favorite reads and which I still recommend constantly. Funny, desperately sad, and beautifully written; it's the first person narrative of Jennifer's transition from James. I love the book so much I figured out a way to contact her (isn't email grand? It's made real Holden Caulfield's old dream. ) And orchestrated a face to face meeting after a Reel Paradise screening at the Maine International Film Workshop some years ago. We didn't stop talking for hours. It was a true thrill for me.

I'm the ultimate what-you-see-is-what-you-get kind of gal. Bluntness and honesty are my trademarks. I can't imagine the torment of creating a public face at odds with an inner reality. Can't imagine how it's done or the toll it takes.

Glorious Spring evening

Just back from a walk on this glorious Texas spring evening. My east coast friends poorer for having no idea how lovely it is here. The fragrance, the cobalt blue sky, the low trees, college kids playing softball on the spacious UT intramural fields. I walk around the neighborhood as dusk descents into dark, the Hyde Park streets inviting and warm, the arts & crafts cottages a salve for the eyes. Utterly happy to be here. Happy to be walking these streets safe from the worry I've experienced everywhere else. Invigorated by the night, always invigorated by the night, and revitalized after this particularly tiring day.

Up way too early for an 8am breakfast meeting at local power spot Las Manitas, then 3 hours on a conference call, sequing into 3 hours with my daughter, then another 90 minute conference call, struggling the whole time with challenges and problems I'm don't know how to solve. Actively listening and learning, but really not sure of the solutions and my role. Volunteer work - film, nonprofits, growing up, and Texas Politics. One of the lobbyists an audio dead ringer for Coach Taylor on Friday Night Lights. It makes those 3 hours easier to take, a joy almost. I find the Texas accents appealing, the wordsmith refreshing. Listening all day to lots of others good at what they do. Speaking well. Making smart judgements. I listen and struggle with my role.

A nice (rare) home cooked meal with the guys. Exhausted, I decide to take a walk. My Thursday three-hour dance routine dislodged by the second call and dinner. The dusk is glorious. Feeling good about the people in my life. My neighborhood. Feeling for the young ones in my orbit who are learning to feel their way around. Feeling good about being there for them. Remembering how hard it can be to make your way. Wishing them all well. Feeling gratitude for my life and even for the little ipod that I enjoy so much, generously given to me as a gift.

Great New Yorker piece on This American Life

Love this Nancy Franklin New Yorker piece on the new TV version of This American Life.

For years people have been encouraging me to tune into This American Life. Friends have been sure I would love it. I was sure I would love it too! Had no doubt. But somehow I never actually got around to listening, (except for the hilarious How's Your News? segment) even when I was given a CD. It's only recently, when my local NPR station switched from broadcasting Selected Shorts (which I had grown to love) to This American Life, on my weekly drive down to yoga, that I finally got a listen. And I didn't love it. And felt terrible about it. This Nancy Franklin piece really spoke to my discomfort.

An excerpt:

Glass begins each show with an introduction to the day’s theme—which might be something like lost love, or what power and powerlessness do to people, or what it’s like to be a teen-age girl—and then he returns to provide commentary between the show’s segments, or “acts,” as he calls them, and to close the show. (He also does segments himself.) He describes the show’s structure this way: “There’s an anecdote, that is, a sequence of actions where someone says ‘this happened then this happened then this happened’—and then there’s a moment of reflection about what that sequence means.” He goes on, “It’s the structure, essentially, of a sermon; you hear a little story from the Bible, then the clergyperson tells you what it means.” Well, no wonder my head is exploding—meaning is being forced into it. When it comes to meaning, I prefer to grow my own. Sometimes, after reading certain magazines or watching certain TV shows, people speak of feeling as though they needed to take a shower; after listening to “This American Life,” sometimes I feel I need to roll around in the dirt. (complete)

Daily Texan writer Alex Navissi faces the Bravo music

Highly amused at the writing voice of this Daily Texan writer Alex Navissi.

From his blog:

Now the crazy. Let me quote an excerpt from my TV column today...

"Finally, this week was the premiere of the BRAVO hairstyling series, "Shear Genius." The pun department at BRAVO is, well, shear genius. The development folks, on the other hand, need to come up with something other than this lame attempt at "Project Runway." They failed with "Top Chef" and "Top Design," but "Shear Genius" is a whole new brand of bad television. Contestants like "Dr. Boogie" (I'm not making this up) styled hair with twigs, feathers, and in the case of the winner - yes the winner - a treasure chest that opened when the model pulled her ponytail. The old cliche about watching paint dry also applies to blow drying wet hair. No one cares. I miss Tim Gunn and Heidi Klum."

And let me quote an e-mail from John Pierson...

"Hey Alex-

How have you been? Saw the "This Week in TV" column
today. But more importantly, Lauren Zalaznick read
it.

Who is she? President of Bravo and, as it happens,
guest in the Master Class tonight at 6 pm. I was
planning to hide the DT, but somehow she found it on
her own despite the fact that she didn't land until 4
pm.

You should come by Studio 4D since I'm sure we'll be
joking about you later.

best.
John"

Uh-oh! I had actually planned to go to the lecture anyway because I love BRAVO, but now I was nervous. I didn't know she was coming to campus until last night after I left the DT and I didn't figure she would read it. Plus I was kind of drunk when I showed up to the thing. Sho' nuff, Lauren Zalaznick brought it up and we discussed my review/she kept bringing it up and kind of teased me a little. Well first Pierson asked if I had the balls to show up. My balls = huge and I made my presence known via the good ol' hand raise.

It went well. I really do love BRAVO, just not those three shows. And really, I kind of love to hate them. Todd Oldham's voice, for example, is a great source of humor. After the show a few kids came up to me and lauded my handling of the situation. Then I talked to Pierson and Zalaznick. I think we're BFF now. Then, to make it crazier, we all went to dinner. Us three + Janet (John's wife) + four or five other students. It was surprisingly chill, considering she playfully ribbed me for the past couple hours and I trashed her latest show of which she was immensely proud. She answered all my questions, she was very kind, she knew a ton about the TV industry (duh), and at the end she said it was a "pleasure" meeting me. This was a rare victory in my life. I'll remember this for a long time. This also is exactly why I don't wanna be a journalist. You never know who is reading. It's kind of flattering she read it, really. Man all of it was so cool and surreal!

Love his take. And it was a fantastic evening. Lauren was dazzling with her unpretentious smarts. Super quick in her listening and understanding skills, on top of everything current, yet able to distill all to its essence when speaking. I was so impressed with her great attitude: game for everything, no demands, no fatigue, just OK, I'm here, happy to be here, let's see what Austin is about, this is fun. Truly inspired by her example. And surprised too to really see the adoration of all things Bravo among the college age crowd.

my son turning 17

My son is turning 17 tomorrow. Funny, I don't call him "my baby" the way my mother still refers to me. I was the third of three. Her last. He's my second of two, and yes, my last child, but that still doesn't make him my baby. Maybe because he never seemed that. He was due on Cinco de Mayo and surprised me on April 16th. I still had last month pregnancy questions for my ob/gyn after the delivery. Early, not everything totally worked yet. He ended up back under lights 24/7 for several days to bring down the toxic billyrubin. I had a newborn but I didn't. Visiting him in the hospital, then eating out at a restaurant with John. It was sad, but it was so much less than the others were struggling with on the ward. He came home fine, able to nurse, just a wee on the cranky side for a baby. Relocating to Maine for 2 months when he was that age himself, one of us had to spend the daylight hours inside with him. He couldn't take the elements. He was a baby you couldn't over stimulate. We had to let him lie still, and just watch. Just settle. Not a big smiler, but adorable still. And big. As he grew, the NYC firemen I used to run into at the Jefferson Market loved to count the rings on his chubby thighs and arms. When I'm nostalgic I go more quickly to the toddler years. He had curly blonde hair and was irrepressible. Running joyfully trying to keep up with his 3 year older athletic sister. A truly adorable toddler. And not easy to handle. No easy library reading programs for me. He was a little wild but clearly an old soul. It was obvious. As was his compassion, particularly for babies smaller than he.

On his 5th birthday for some reason he calmed down and became incredibly focused. Still a lively happy active boy, but able to handle school well. By 6, he could subtract time backwards. Mostly to complain about my lateness. And so he's grown, year after year. Always wise. Always delightful. Really great company. A kid who seems to know who he is at the core. He can have fun. But he can also be patient when the fun's not readily apparent. Except for the allergy genes we like to blame on my mother, he lucked out with a great mix in the DNA crapshoot. On our kids' birthdays, we moms can't help but think about what our kids have given us. How they've made us more than we were before. The gift of motherhood. The gift of their company. Love given, and love received. My heart is swollen with pride and gratitude for this young man, I get to call my son.

John's UT Master Class on the radio (yes John Pierson)

For the second year in the row, Austin's highly rated NPR affiliate is broadcasting selected edited shows from John's fantastic UT Master Class. Today's show features Harry Knowles of Ain't It Cool News and Bob Hudgins, the Texas Film Commissioner. Listen here.

Back from Minneapolis, Boots and All

Just back from a great couple of days in Minneapolis, MN. My first trip there though I've several good friends from the area. Loved the look of the small bit of downtown we drove through. Big impressive buildings - substantial. Some wonderfully old, many new and beautifully designed. Had a lot of fun sharing what makes Austin such a great media/film town in the all day summit of media professionals and regional leaders. And had a particularly great later dinner out. Twelve of us. Smart, funny, highly entertaining locals mixed in with the few out-of-towners like Brian Newman of Renew Media, and Laura Ivey of Odd Lot Entertainment. Somehow the table dynamic worked perfectly - small enough for us to converse together, toast enthusastically, and also to enjoy quality one-on-ones. Really a good time! Particular thanks to Jane Minton of IFP North and Hafed Bouassida and his wonderful students at MCTC.

Going through security on the way out of Austin: my chock-full shoulder bag, my clothes bag, my laptop, John had the liquids, I bump into the detector pulling my boarding pass from my back pocket and have to go through again. They stop to check my boots. "Need to run a test on these..." Across the aisle the female guard runs them through a machine, and hands them back as her male co-worker exclaims, "Nice Boots!"