In my life I can recall (or not recall) two times I blacked out from drinking. One lead to vague consent issues and the other lead to me arriving at home- 20 miles away from where I started- with no recollection of my drive home… when I was the driver. (Hi mom!) Sarah Hepola spent 25 years having similar, and worse, experiences to mine. A person suffering from a black out may appear fine. The hippocampus is shut down but short term memory still works, therefore […]
“If you can affect someone when they’re young, you are in their hearts forever.”
Mara Wilson’s precocious lisp was everywhere throughout my childhood; looking back, and on imdb, she wasn’t everywhere but simply in two movies that played on a frequent loop in my house. Her breakthrough role as Robin William’s daughter in Mrs Doubtfire and the titular role in Matilda has guaranteed her spot in the pop culture annals of anyone alive in the ’90s regardless of her adult career choices. I believe a lot of people my age (Mara Wilson is only about 6 months older than myself) saw her as a peer […]
Say what you wanna say, and let the words fall out
I’ll be honest with you, aside from Love Song and Brave, my knowledge of Sara Bareilles song catalog is very limited. I did know she wrote the musical Waitress but it hasn’t traveled to my city (and my husband probably wouldn’t attend it with me anyway). Despite my limited exposure her memoir, Sounds Like Me, fit my criteria for “vaguely familiar public persona but perhaps not exactly A or B list” level famous. Those are usually the best surprises so I checked out her memoir. I downloaded […]
“She loves music,” he said. ‘If she loves music, why does she do this?’ I asked.”
Florence Foster Jenkins was a wealthy heiress who parlayed her financial means into a singing career despite her colossal lack of talent. She was philanthropic and had a large social presence resulting in minor celebrity and sold out concerts regardless of her skill. “The difference between Madame Jenkins and other artists is simple. Other artists occasionally hit a wrong note. Madame Jenkins occasionally hits a right note,” said George Marek. Madame Jenkins life has been turned into a biopic staring Meryl Streep; since my husband takes […]
“I wear my mistakes like badges of honor, and I celebrate them.”
Amy Schumer was born to upper middle class Jewish parents in New York; her parents lost their business when she was a tween and shortly after her father was diagnosed with MS. Her mother cheated on her father, who was probably fooling around on her too, and the couple eventually divorced. As a teenager, Amy idolized her mother but as an adult she has reflected on her past and has conflicted feelings about their relationship. Being the child of an alcoholic father and whatever my mom is has […]
Don’t count your chickens before they hatch
Finally, after a few misses, I read a winner. The Nest won’t be my favorite read this year and the convoluted plot probably won’t be one I remember in a few years but it certainly cleansed my pallet and set me back on track for the year. Leo Plumb is a rich, previously successful (married) playboy who finds himself in a car with a teenage waitress one evening. There is an accident and the Plumb family matriarch empties “the Nest” her late husband left her four children […]
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