It has been brought to my attention that I’m working too much. Thank goodness for the people in my life who point out to me, now and then, that I have the tendency to work too much. This blog is not work. It’s fun, it clears out my head. So… here comes some randutiae!

I loved the Peter Gabriel Cover Story on Coverville last week. Covers by and of Peter Gabriel. It’s here if you want to listen.

The world map I’ve had on my wall for years has finally disintegrated, and here’s the one I got to replace it. Ever notice how most maps of the world stretch the far northern and southern latitudes out, so that Greenland seems to be as big as Africa, even though actually, Africa is more than 14 times the size of Greenland? There are, of course, understandable reasons why maps do this, BUT the map I got deliberately emphasizes the relative size of the world’s land masses instead. It also happens to be a nice, clear political map. I love it.

I have agreed to do an event at the Sydney Writers’ Festival in May. This means Australia is a definite yes. I just have to, like, FIGURE OUT WHAT THE HELL I’M DOING. But. Just wanted to put that out there. Also, I will post my Germany tour schedule (March 13-19) as soon as I have it. What? Why no, I’m not freaking out about getting all of my tax information to my Tax Czarina before I leave for Germany. Why would you think that?

*cries*

I just read and loved the book Unaccustomed Earth, short stories by Jhumpa Lahiri. Thank you, Marie Rutkoski, for praising it to me somewhere or other. :o)

Here is a song/dance I enjoy muchly from Dil Bole Hadippa! — and in this video, both the Hindi lyrics and English subtitles are shown, so if you want to, you can follow along. This song/dance reminds me that in addition to this movie being about women and sports, it’s also about westernization in India, the return of a Non-Resident Indian to India, and peace between India and Pakistan. All three are common themes in a LOT of the Bollywood movies I’ve watched. (Here’s my original post about Dil Bole Hadippa!.)

By the way, I read a scathing review of this movie somewhere that had to do with sexism in this movie and in the Bollywood film industry in general. I didn’t disagree with anything in the review, but I also believe that an opposite interpretation of this movie is possible. I SO do not have the energy right now to say any more than that about it. Suffice it to say that some of my favorite movies are movies with opposing interpretations, all of which I enjoy agreeing with simultaneously. Watch it yourself, and decide for yourself what you think.

Speaking of a man whom I ADORE, partly (though certainly not wholly) because of his tendency to love strong-willed, independent women (we were talking about that, right?), Angel, you were never my favorite vampire, but Seeley Booth, you are unquestionably my favorite FBI agent. In the following exchange, Booth has hurt his back and is loopy on painkillers while questioning a suspect in a murder investigation.

BOOTH: Did you give her a sword?
SUSPECT: [doubtfully] A sword?
BOOTH: [helpfully, with gestures] It’s a knife, but it’s only HUGE.

Coming soon, I hope: a trapeze post. Now, I need to go choose some nice passages for reading at my events in Germany. :o)