Tidbits

I have lost my blogging mojo, so my plan is to get some sleep and stop eating desserts.  Ha!  Whatever.

Here are some things I've been wasting my time with on the interweb:

Back to the Future: I love this.  A photographer in Buenos Aires has a project where he recreates old pictures of people.  Like, exactly.  With those people as adults.  The school where I worked does this, as well, but this guy has truly got it down.

Love Carla from Top Chef?  As do I.  IVillage has a bunch of pictures up from her modeling days!  I always wondered what she looked like as a model.  That is to say, not wearing glasses.  I guess.  What makes a person look like a model, besides the obvious height and lack of weight?  Love Carla all the same.

The New York Times now has children's book reviews online, which will be more meaningful if they review one of my husband's upcoming books.  Seriously, this man has talent.  Check out his upcoming book with Lauren Thompson, Leap Back Home to Me.  It makes me choke up every time I read it to Romy.  You'll be hearing more about it when it's closer to release date, April 26.

In my laziness, I have not been keeping track of all of the wonderful (ie. inane) things I wanted to share from the internet, so I shall stop my list at three.  Today's goal is to use a Red Box for the first time and rent Winter's Bone.  Then I'll have most of the Oscar movies down before tomorrow night.  Monday, I'm speaking at a high school for their Writer's Week.  Hopefully I'll be out of my uninspired mood by that time.  I don't think the kids will want to hear all about how many Goldfish crackers I've eaten in the past week.  Or will they?

Election Day

I'm not talking about the Chicago mayoral race (although, I'm definitely interested in seeing what Rahm does for our city), I'm talking about the Chicago Tribune Comics Carousel.  I wrote about this a while back, when Broom-Hilda first came up for cutting.  It seems wrong to make a comic that has been in the paper for over thirty years compete to keep its spot.  The funnies are already tragic, seeing as they have turned into one folded sheet of paper.  I remember when they were two whole folded sheets!  I've been reading the Trib's funnies since I was a kid, and it would be sad to see Broom-Hilda go.  So here's the deal, help a witch out and vote:

The details say to vote by phone (312-283-7360) or online chicagotribune.com/comicsvote.
I have nothing against Free Range, but I can't get behind it when Hildy is on the line.  You can be sure that if she goes, I will be writing the newspaper a nasty letter.  Read about Russell Myers, the artists behind Broom-Hilda, and how he has created a stockpile of comics in case something happens to him.  That's dedication!  Join me, won't you?

Lucky

Last night we watched the documentary Lucky, made by the same brilliant peeps who made Spellbound.  Lucky is all about playing and winning the lottery.  It was crazy fascinating how each of the multi-million dollar winners spent their money and changed their lives.  And not necessarily in a good way.  Actually, almost all of them went downhill, except for one or two of them.  Interesting little lottery factoids were sprinkled throughout, and I really enjoyed it.  I think the point of the film, or at least what I got out of it, is that money, indeed, cannot buy you happiness and, in fact, may royally screw you up.  Be happy with what you have.  Another lesson learned was that I essentially have won the lottery.  I mean, not in the financial sense, because I have no idea, now that I quit my job, how long we can live the way we live without having to either a) change our "lifestyle" (which, totally, isn't a lifestyle, but more of just having things we have grown accustomed to) or b) me having to go back and get a job.  But otherwise, I sort of am living the lottery life in a weird way.  Quitting my job, doing what I want to be doing (taking care of my daughter and writing).  So, yeah, lucky.  I'm still allowed to be grumpy sometimes, though, right?

Speaking of grumpy, I updated my website a tiny bit yesterday.  It was a major pain in my ass, and Matt and I really need to get some less archaic web software.  That would require spending money on something we don't technically need, so, see above.  I changed up the links on the bottom of each page, changed a little on the home page, and added a page for my new novel, Don't Stop Now.  Nothing revolutionary.  I'm making a more interactive page for the book, with a map and links to all of the places the characters in the book visit, along with pictures from my own road trips.  However, with the way the web design is going, that may not happen until, well, I win the lottery.

The Aussie Connection

I don't know how much I've talked about my time living in Australia.  It was after I graduated from college, not quite sure what to do with my Women's Studies and Communications Arts (Radio, TV, Film) double major.  Australia popped into my psyche as a young child when I saw the cartoon Dot and the Kangaroo.  My family frequented an odd video store called The Video Joint, where you would tell the guy behind a counter the number of the movie you wanted, and he pulled a brown video box from behind him with your title.  More than once did my little brain remember the number incorrectly, and I went home with a porno by accident.  That's where I found Dot, and many other quirky, random movies (Pinocchio in Outer Space, anyone?).  Perhaps that video store led me to my film major.  Anyway, from there I always had a place in my heart for Oz, which expanded in high school when I started watching more Australian films.  The Year My Voice Broke also introduced me to one of major film crushes, Noah Taylor.  I still think he's amazing and wish he were in more films, at least those available here in the U.S.

So after college, I lived in my college town of Madison for the next seven months.  I quickly realized that staying in my college town was very similar to staying in college, and I was done with college.  So why not move to Australia?  I mean, what else did I have to do?  There's a big, long story of the visa application process and the waiting and the timing that's actually quite lovely and may someday make its way into an adult book I write, but for now I will just say that I got my working holiday visa (something they do not grant to Americans any longer, I'm told) and moved there. 

Aside: two more reasons I'm thinking about Australia a lot right now are that I just watched Animal Kingdom, for my Oscar rush, and I pulled out a bunch of my old journals to photograph for a Power Point I'm making to present at a high school next week.  One of the journals is of my time in Australia, and it's compelling stuff.  At least to me.

Long story way too short, I know that Australia and I will meet again in some major capacity.  My dream is that my books will become successful in Oz (first they'd actually have to be published there), and my family can move there for a year, traveling and promoting my books.  It's been thirteen years since I've lived in Australia, and ever so often, I feel a strong pull to go back.  I wonder what and when will take me there.

Guess What Chicken Fat

They may be predicting sixty degrees today in Chicago, but that won't last and we'll be stuck inside for at least another month.  Because of that, I feel bad that Romy isn't getting up and about as much as she should.  That's why I checked out this little beauty from the library:

I'm trying to find some pictures of the guy who leads this gruelling workout (when was the last time you did push-ups?).  He had on those lovely little shorts from the eighties with the built-in undies, which Romy and I saw up close and personal during the sit-ups segment. 

I took this off my TV.  Awesome.

Then there's the weird song that goes along with the program:
"Go you chicken fat go!"

Something about this video made me really sad.  I know it's a nice, healthy way to bring exercise into Romy's life without making it about weight.  It's good to move around and laugh, and it's great we do it together.  I want exercise to be something normal, but nothing that we HAVE to do or hate to do.  I'm trying my darnedest not to project the bullshit in my brain onto my sweet daughter.  But I have to say that I loathe the title of this video.  Why does it have to have the word "fat" in it?  There are several words that I don't want Romy to know yet, or at least not use.  Gun is one.  Hate is another.  Stupid another.  And fat.  I don't want her to even think that weight is something to feel bad about, to ridicule others about, or to acknowledge that it matters.  Just as I want there to be books and dolls in our house of various colors, I want there to be happy, adjusted images of people of different weights, too.

Man, being a parent is heavy.

Writerly Stuff

My sleep has been so crap lately.  I took a Lunesta two nights ago, and it only gave me four hours of sleep.  What is wrong with my brain?  My sleep pattern is sleep a half hour, then I wake up.  A little maddening.  I am dreaming a lot, though, and the dreams haven't been too bad.  Last night I had one where I was wearing my wedding dress, and it was way too big on me.  Hmmmmm...

Here are some Julie Is an Author links:

Into the Wild Nerd Yonder has been nominated for a 2011-2012 South Carolina Book Award!  I find that very cool, especially because Matt and his entire fam are from S.C.  Side note: every year Matt's stepmom puts up a million blow-ups on their lawn for Christmas, and they have these Santa Clauses on motorcycles, each with an "SC" on the bike.  And every year I say to myself, "How cute that Santa has 'South Carolina' on his bike."  Then I remember it stands for Santa Claus.  Every year.

I am speaking at the American Library Association Annual Conference in New Orleans this summer about writing for reluctant readers along with, gulp, Walter Dean Myers!  (And others, of course, including Chris Grabenstein, but it is crazy to see my name next to WDM like that.)  I will also be one of the authors at the Coffee Klatch, which is chocked full of amazingness this year.  Yay for Gabrielle Zevin!  And tons more!

Author friend James Preller has a site up about fathers modeling reading, which is awesome (although, I must point out that the picture of the father on the top bar is not a good example of how to feed a baby with a bottle.  If you feed them on their backs, that is a good way to give them an ear infection.  In case you were also looking at the site for baby feeding tips).  Here is a link to Matt and a picture of him reading to a tiny Romy.  I suppose we could have taken a newer shot.  Sometimes Matt isn't as organized as all that.

On a final note, I am driving myself insane inside about the Nerd television show.  I have heard nothing in months, and that is with an email and a phone call out to the producer (not at the same time).  I feel this may not be a good sign, but I can't help but hold out hope.  I wish they would tell me something.  Do you think they'd tell me if it were bad news, or have they just forgotten I exist and moved on?  I need closure.  Or a television show.  Preferably the latter.

The Arts

Yesterday was a gorgeous day in Chicagoland, nearing a balmy 45 degrees (maybe warmer.  I am guesstimating).  We took Romy to the Art Institute.  It was her second time there, but the first she will probably remember.  Here is a picture of the two of us in front of the exquisite Marc Chagall windows (they moved them from their original, perfect, Ferris Bueller romantic spot, to a place that's very random.  The only cool side of it is that you can now see the windows from outside the museum.  Although, Matt and I were both like, "Are those real?" so I don't know if the impact was felt):

Isn't it lovely?  Right after this was taken, Romy and I got in trouble for sitting on the wood in front of the windows.  But the woman felt bad for telling us to move, so then she told me how cute Romy was and to have a good time at the museum.  A most excellent day.

Now I'm trying to decide if I want to take Romy to the Tripoli Shrine Circus in Milwaukee.  We've been watching (over and over) a Mr. Rogers where he goes to the circus, so I think she'd love it (plus, she is my child.  I don't know how many of you are aware, but I am quite the circus history buff.  Mainly of the sideshow variety, but I did extensive research on the topic for years.  Not that that has anything to do with this, except my love for the circus).  I am hesitant, though, because of the treatment of animals in the circus.  I wish I could find a fun circus that doesn't use majestic animals to perform tricks.  The Big Apple Circus looks like it could fit the bill, but that is, of course, in the Big Apple.  Not the big, um, cheese?  (Milwaukee, that is.)  The other thing that is putting me off about the circus is this (from their website):

Her name?  Ring Mistress Michelle Audrey.  That sounds a little skanky for a kids' affair.  Not to mention the massive, exposed cleavage.  I'm checking in with my Milwaukee peeps to see if they have any info on the circus.  Or that woman's boobs.