I watched one movie while I was sick. The Shop on Main Street was a black and white Czechoslovakian movie from 1965. The Netflix disc had been sitting on top of my tv for literally months. But the film will stay with me even longer than the disk did. Read More
ByGD
A Song of Hate and Fear
ByGD
Problems with People
I grabbed Problems with People off of my stack of didn’t-read-before-publication review copies just as I was sliding into the infection that obliterated my entire month of November, so my impressions and memories of the stories it contains may be colored by illness. But it was a painful book to read. Let me be clear – the reading was easy. I finished the book in one evening. It was the stories themselves that were painful. In Problems with People, author David Guterson explores social awkwardness. Read More
ByGD
Wreckage
Eighteen days ago, I was ahead of my National Novel Writing Month goal; I had two weeks of blog posts pre-written to free up time for novel writing; had received nibbles on a couple pitches; and was feeling hopeful after interviewing for a part-time publishing position. My house was clean and I knew what was going on with my kids at school. Eighteen days ago, I felt like I was coming down with a cold. Read More
ByGD
A Childish Review of Director’s Choice at Pacific Northwest Ballet
The Director’s Choice program is always one of my favorite ballet performances of the year. I look forward to Peter Boal’s selection of modern, intriguing, challenging pieces all year. So when I ran a 102 F temperature the day before I was supposed to go, I hated the thought of missing it. Fortunately, as a season subscriber, I was able to call the box office and change my dates without any fees. Unfortunately, on the day of the final performance, I was still completely out of commission, so I ended up sending my husband and daughter. My daughter has been attending the ballet for half of her life. That’s only five years of ballet, so her opinions are not necessarily the same as mine. But her opinions (lightly edited) are the ones you’re getting today.