Into the Wild

"'You could tell right away that Alex was intelligent,' Westerberg reflects, draining his third drink. 'He read a lot. Used a lot of big words. I think maybe part of what got him into trouble was that he did too much thinking. Sometimes he tried too hard to make sense of the world, to figure out why people were bad to each other so often."' Chapter 3, pg. 18

I was really anxious to read this book for a few reasons. 1) I really enjoyed Into Thin Air by Krakauer, 2) I also really enjoy his writing style, very casual and as if you are hearing him tell the story, 3) Knowing the ending before reading it (it is in the summary of the book) made me very intrigued about what kind of person would do this and how he died doing it, 4) I wanted to read it before the movie came out.

It's a true story, covering the life and death of Chris McCandless. He was extremely intelligent and was raised by a well-to-do family in an upscale neighborhood in Washington, D.C. He ventured out on his own to live in the wilderness because he was so unhappy and unfulfilled in the life he lived up to that point.

The character is very frustrating. The good thing is that Krakauer lets your form your own opinion as to whether you think the main character is a tragic hero or a complete idiot. I flip-flopped back and forth a few times while reading the book, but by the end I knew what my sentiments toward the guy were. I think he was a fool. Ungrateful for the opportunties and lifestyle his parents were able to provide him. Unforgiving of his family for the same kind of mistakes that a lot of people make. He thought he was smarter and wiser than everyone who loved him, and didn't appreciate advice from the people who cared for him the most.


Overall, I'm glad that I read it, and I would like to see the movie now.

Roasted Shrimp and Orzo Salad

Roasted Shrimp and Orzo Salad
Copyright 2006, Barefoot Contessa at Home, All Rights Reserved

Last night I tried this recipe for the first time (finished product above). I had most of the ingredients already, so it was fairly easy prep-wise from the start. We ate it warm since we were hungry and it was our dinner, but I think it might be better to serve cold, as a salad. Owen and Lindsay said they really liked it, so hopefully they weren't just being nice =). I liked it, and would love to try it again. We watched the Cowboys defeat the Bills, and it was a great game. I tried to read a good portion of Into the Wild, but only got through about another 20 pages or so. I brought some orzo with me to work today, so that I can decide which way I think is better. Please see below for the recipe.

Ingredients
Kosher salt
Good olive oil
3/4 pound orzo pasta (rice-shaped pasta)
1/2 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice (3 lemons)
Freshly ground black pepper
2 pounds (16 to 18 count) shrimp, peeled and deveined
1 cup minced scallions, white and green parts
1 cup chopped fresh dill
1 cup chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley
1 hothouse cucumber, unpeeled, seeded, and medium-diced
1/2 cup small-diced red onion
3/4 pound good feta cheese, large diced


Preperation
Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.
Fill a large pot with water, add 1 tablespoon of salt and a splash of oil, and bring the water to a boil. Add the orzo and simmer for 9 to 11 minutes, stirring occasionally, until it's cooked al dente. Drain and pour into a large bowl. Whisk together the lemon juice, 1/2 cup olive oil, 2 teaspoons salt and 1 teaspoon of pepper. Pour over the hot pasta and stir well.


Meanwhile, place the shrimp on a sheet pan, drizzle with olive oil, and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Toss to combine and spread out in a single layer. Roast for 5 to 6 minutes, until the shrimp are cooked through. Don't overcook!


Add the shrimp to the orzo and then add the scallions, dill, parsley, cucumber, onion, 2 teaspoons salt, and 1 teaspoon pepper. Toss well. Add the feta and stir carefully. Set aside at room temperature for 1 hour to allow the flavors to blend, or refrigerate overnight. If refrigerated, taste again for seasonings and bring back to room temperature before serving.

Mama's magic

“I was in yoga the other day. I was in full lotus position. My chakras were all aligned. My mind is cleared of all clatter and I'm looking out of my third eye and everything that I'm supposed to be doing. It's amazing what comes up, when you sit in that silence....
'Mama keeps whites bright like the sunlight, Mama's got the magic of Clorox 2.'”

-Ellen DeGeneres


We finally had some sunlight in Houston; here is proof!

VIN

Owen, Joseph, Isla and I went to VIN last night for dinner. It's located in the theatre district, right next to the Verizon Wireless Theatre. None of us had ever been there and the food was really good, but the place was dead! We thought it was the restaurant but after bar hopping later that evening, we realized that the city itself was pretty dead last night. I guess everyone was headed to Dallas for the big football weekend.
We ordered grilled calamari and shrimp n' grits for appetizers, I thought both of them were pretty tasty. The dressing on the calamari was really good, and the shrimps were nice and tasty. I had scallops as my entree, and they were excellent. Very filling too. Owen and Joseph ordered the filet, which was very tasty, and the mashed potatoes that came with them were pretty awesome. Isla ordered the salmon, and I think she really liked it too. We had the this yummy cinnamon bread pudding for dessert. All in all, I thought the restaurant was really good. It was pricey, but I thought the quality and taste of the food was fairly commensurate compared to other Houston restaurants of that level. I think that if it would have been busy, we would have left with quite a different impression.
I don't see why I wouldn't go back, but there would definitely have to be more people there than last night. (Sorry, no pictures)

NY Times Q&A with Arthur Frommer

**Article taken from the New York Times online

Arthur Frommer Answers All Your Travel Questions, and Then Some
By Stephen J. Dubner (New York Times)


Arthur Frommer (founder of the Frommer's series of travel guides) Last week, {NY Times} solicited your questions for travel pro Arthur Frommer. Thanks for the strong response and thoughtful questions. As for Arthur’s answers, below — well, they are IMHO fantastic. Now I see why his books are so popular. He is opinionated, colorful, informed, passionate, and a few dozen other things. We hope you enjoy.

Q: As the dollar continues to fall against the euro, why aren’t more Europeans traveling to America?
A: Because of the psychological, bureaucratic, and political barriers that we have erected to hinder their travels here. In many of the countries that don’t enjoy our visa-waiver program, it takes three to four months simply to receive an appointment to apply for a visa. Once would-be travelers finally get inside one of our consulates, they are questioned about personal characteristics having nothing to do with security or terrorism, but rather with the possibility that they will overstay their visas and become illegal immigrants. One tour operator handling incoming travel from Poland recently said that half of the people he wishes to send to the U.S. are turned down for visas because they are young, single, without property or homes that they own, etc., and are thus more likely to stay in the U.S. illegally.
When people do travel here, they are treated like criminals upon arrival at customs, or, at best, received with cold discourtesy. The result of all this is that travel to the U.S. has fallen off by close to 20 percent since the year 2000, while most other countries are enjoying a rise of 20 percent or more in their incoming tourism! The decline of our own tourism industry creates a loss of more than $100 billion a year, tens of billions of dollars in tax revenues, and hundreds of thousands of jobs. The administration’s handling of the matter is a scandal. And, by creating the impression among people of the world that we are an arrogant, cold, and unfriendly people, we make ourselves less safe.

The Menil Collection

The Menil Collection opened in 1987 to preserve and
exhibit the art collection of John and Dominique de Menil. Considered one of the most important privately assembled collections of the twentieth century, The Menil Collection houses approximately 15,000 paintings, sculptures, prints, drawings, photographs, and rare books. Masterpieces from antiquity, the Byzantine and medieval worlds, the tribal cultures of Africa, Oceania, and the American Pacific Northwest, and the twentieth century are particularly well represented. Among the highlights of the museum are its Surrealist holdings, widely regarded as one of the world’s foremost collections of its kind. The Menil Collection displays selections from its permanent collection and regularly offers special exhibitions and programs to the public.

This is a really wonderful place to visit in Houston. The only thing I did not like was the rule about taking pictures. Pictures in the Menil building and in the Rothko Chapel are not allowed.

E. Barnett Newman
Broken Obelisk, 1963-67















D. Mark di Suvero
Bygones, 1976

Houston, Texas

A Thousand Splendid Suns

"One could not count the moons that shimmer on her roofs. Or the thousand splendid suns that hide beneath her walls."






Khaled Hosseini's second novel is even better (to me) than his first, The Kite Runner. A Thousand Splendid Suns is the heart-wrenching story of two women living in Afghanistan. The harsh experiences they each endure are shocking and eye-opening, yet Hosseini manages to turn this into a warm and inspiring tale. Above all things, love endures. A must read!

Left to Tell

"If you make a decision in your heart, just see if it is coming from a loving heart because most of the time, we make decisions from a heart that is angry, and then we realize that we have made a mistake."




Left to Tell by Immaculee Ilibagiza is an absolute MUST READ for everyone. Her recount of surviving the 1994 Rwandan Holocaust is as shocking and horrible as it is inspirational and positively moving. Please read this.

Thank you June, for bringing this book to my attention.

Our beautiful oceans

Water, like religion and ideology, has the power to move millions of people. Since the very birth of human civilization, people have moved to settle close to it. People move when there is too little of it. People move when there is too much of it. People journey down it. People write, sing and dance about it. People fight over it. And all people, everywhere and every day, need it. --Mikhail Gorbachev

Cancun

West Coast (Malibu, CA)

East Coast (NYC)

My Trip to...

SUNDAY.


I was so sad to wake up in the morning when I realized that our trip was coming to a close. We cleaned the house and packed our things in a hurry, since we wanted to get as much out of the day as possible. We had to do a couple of things before we could leave the house though...

Owen did a great job of impersonating Tom Hanks in Castaway. We even had Wilson, the volleyball with the hand print for a face on it!

Mark took me, Owen and Caty over the Getty Center in LA to see the spectacular views of the city. Wow! What an amazing complex!!


This is an absolute must place to visit if you are ever in Los Angeles. The architecture and the vistas are incredible and breathtaking.




Even though we were seeing such wonderful things, I didn't want to see the day come closer to a close. The time was passing too quickly, and we just didn't want to see the great trip end.

So after we took in the views of the city, it was off to Hollywood! The cast of Harry Potter had just been there the day before to imprint their hands and feet for the sidewalk at Grauman's Chinese Theatre. Apparently, to visit Los Angeles and not see this place, is like visiting China and not seeing the Great Wall.


Haha, I had bugged Mark all weekend to see the Hollywood sign, and I was ecstatic the moment it came into view! I'm sure he was relieved that this sighting below was close enough for me. =)

We closed our trip with lunch at the Chateau Marmont. Mark, Owen and I had tried to go into the Chateau after visiting the SkyBar on Thursday night, but security was so tight that they were turning away everyone unless you were a hotel guest. We are convinced that something huge, like a scandalous affair between celebs, was going down.

Lunch was fabulous, and the chateau is such a romantic and beautiful hotel. We hated to leave such wonderful company, but Mark had to take Owen and I to the airport in a hurry. We said our goodbyes to Jerry, Gail and Caty and to the Masseys as well, and we were off to LAX.
Thank you to Susan and Fred, Malibu and Los Angeles were so wonderful and charming, and thank you for having me.
Thank you to Jerry, Gail and Caty, it was such a pleasure to spend time with you all, and Owen and I are looking forward to seeing you soon at the wedding!!
Thank you Mark, for being such a wonderful guide of your amazing city. I had such a fabulous time, as I know Owen did too. I could not have had a better first experience in the city.