For the hopeless romantic

I watched High Fidelity the other night...it was not my favorite movie, but it had me thinking about the way we evolve, the relationships we once had, etc etc... As someone who still believes in sappy fair tales (that is, the way we think of them these days, rather than the gruesome Grimm ones), I LOVE hearing about others' cutesy, sweet stories. I like to know that it's not just in the realm of fiction that such stories exist. I'm always curious about how couples end up together--how that initial journey began... Do you have any favorite stories to share of sweet first dates? Or favorite stories of how someone else or you initiated that first kiss?

Translated prose

Since I am a literary dork and couldn't resist being at least a bit of an adult, we have a bonus edition today. What is the most recent book that you loved and was originally written in a different language?

My vote goes out to Blindness, by Jose Saramago...He did an absolutely remarkable job of portraying the human condition in a hypothetical situation...it was a chillingly realistic and thought-provoking read...

I'd love to read some of his other books too. He won the 1998 Nobel Prize in Literature... Here's the link for those of you who may be interested: http://nobelprize.org/nobel_prizes/literature/laureates/1998/presentation-speech.html

Some of Borges' short stories are amazing as well... I have a few books of translated Proust I have yet to tackle so the verdict's still out on those...

With a click click here and a click click there... here a click, there a click, everywhere a click click... today's topic: Children's Songs

First of all, many thanks to the people who clicked on the ads on this page yesterday! Wheee! I made a little over two dollars! ...the fastest way to fund grad students...who needs to submit pediatric grants to study diabetes anymore?

Back to the task at hand... I was going to dedicate today's entry to the logophiles out there but decided to hold off a little longer on the dorkathalon...but all you statisticians and historians should rest asured that your day will come and we will have all sorts of fun discussing favorite words and equations and the like. But for today, being Saturday and everything, I decided to take us back to the good old days instead, when reading Curious George or getting a piggyback ride was enough to make our day... Think back upon those days now and tell us, what was your favorite song as a child? the one that you couldn't wait to sing over...and over...and over again and always put a big huge smile on your face? and what's your favorite song to sing with children as an adult? ...the one you don't mind singing everytime the child says "Again!" And do you know of any 'Saying Goodbye' songs? I've been on a hunt for the last few months but have come out empty-handed. The Barney I love you, you love me song just doesn't do it for me...

Happy regressing!

Spa on a budget (<$20)

Scary women from a spa company were walking around the psych department yesterday trying to sell a package spa deal. They were definitely pushy... but what can I say, they were also succesful. I am very much looking forward to my four visits for $13 each.

I'm sure that many of us would love to get full-body massages every time we were stressed but alas, that pesky little thing called money (and for some of us, singledom), tends to get in the way. The question for today is how else can you get a totally rejuvenating spa experience? (without being harassed by spa salesreps during a time-limited offer)

Do you know of any great products?

To get us started...
-Pier 1's biscotti-scented candles...a bit strong, but pretty heavenly
-Sunshine Spa has a Tangerine salt scrub with ginseng and dead sea salts that is wonderful as well (I found it at Wild Oats while looking for an alternative to spending an arm and a leg at Origins for their ginger scrub)
-and in Miami, of course there's always the possibility of hopping in the ocean...mwahaha

Cinnamon recipes

I decided to make this a participatory blog centered around things that make me and others happy... (in contrast to my myspace griping blog)...that includes cooking, music, books, poetry, outdoors, travels, art, and nerdy topics like mathematical formulas, science, and other things... we'll rotate.

Today's question centers around cinnamon ...which was mentioned as early as 2700 BC in Chinese texts...and later in the Bible as a token of friendship. It was also used for some less pleasant purposes as well but we'll forget about that.

Do you have a favorite recipe that calls for cinnamon? If it's not a secret recipe, please share! =) It could be someone else's recipe :) Just credit so I don't get sued or something ;) ...stayed tuned for a music question next...

Here's mine that I made up based on some experiments and tweeking of other brownie recipes. Based on the guinea pigs on third and fourth dot, my practicum site, lack of crumbs at the end of the day, and the fact that eating these cheered me up, I'm keeping the recipe in my list of Bad Week 101 solutions.

Olivia's Brownie Recipe

1 1/2 sticks of butter
3 oz semisweet chocolate
3 oz unsweetened chocolate
1 1/2 cups of sugar
2 tbsp vanilla (I tend just to poor...my guess it amounts to about two tablespoons)
1 cup flour
4 eggs
1 tsp salt
three generous shakes of cinnamon (maybe the equivalent of a teaspoon...shaking the bottle without measuring is easier and more fun)

Preheat oven to 350. Melt butter and chocolate together, either in the microwave or over low heat on the stove (microwave tends to be faster...just make sure it doesn't burn)...stir until smooth. Stir in vanilla and sugar. Then stir in one egg at a time and then add the flour and salt. Pour into greased 13x9 pan and bake. Check brownies at 18 minutes...most likely, they'll be done in 20 minutes.

I've had this blogspot since 2003 and have yet to post. I say it's time for the ocean to wave for real and say helllloooooooooo world! Now that I've given my super duper fashion model wave, I really must go and do important things, like go to bed.