We have just returned from baby Luna’s shower. We hosted this event at Liz’s boyfriend’s parents’ home in Hollywood since their location is central and their living room and dining room are huge. They were gracious to offer their home and we are grateful for their hospitality. We’re also lucky since we had at least…
Month: February 2013
A Great Make-Ahead Dish: Spinach Manicotti
This is one of those tried and true recipes that you can count on when you want something special. It’s slightly different from stuffed shells. A little prettier. INGREDIENTS: 1 (15 ounce) container ricotta cheese 1 (10 ounce) package frozen chopped spinach, thawed and squeezed dry 1/2 cup minced onion 1 egg 2 teaspoons minced…
Doctors, Pregnancy, and Daughter Sarah
I went with daughter Sarah today to two doctors’ appointments. One was to a cardiologist because Sarah’s heart has been beating a little too fast and there was some concern. The doctor came in – a grandfatherly man – and he assured Sarah (and me) that the tests had shown her heart was as healthy…
“How?” by Abraham Sutzkever
Today I helped Rachael with a paper for a UCLA literature course and I read some poetry by Abraham Sutzkever, who is considered by many to be “the greatest poet of the Holocaust.” The poem that we read and analyzed is called “How?” It reads: How? How will you fill your goblet On the day…
Good for Huck Finn
I spent the early part of the day with a student writing an essay about The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn. This is a book I have read several times since I’ve helped many an AP high school student and a few college students write analytical essays about various aspects of the plot, characterization, controlling irony,…
Ojai and the Orange Grove Today
We are heading back to LA from Ojai. It is 7:25 pm and the traffic is moving at a good clip. We’re about an hour from home. The trees at the orange grove have oranges that are still ripening on the branches right alongside white blossoms, many of which are just about to bloom. There…
Emily Dickinson: I Cannot Live With You
I have spent a good deal of today working with one of my students on a paper, which analyzes the poem “I Cannot Live with You.” Dickinson presents a systematic argument of why she cannot live a life with the object of her love. Most of us would go the other way, but not Dickinson…
An Evening with Ira Glass
Tonight we went with friends to see Ira Glass from NPR’s This American Life. This is the second time I’ve heard him speak and it’s always funny and inspirational. For those of you who don’t know This American Life, let me say that it’s one of the best “truth-life” programs on all of radio. We…
Lessons from John Steinbeck
I have just begun reading John Steinbeck’s Journal of a Novel: The East of Eden Letters, a compilation of Steinbeck’s letters to his editor and friend, to whom he addressed a journal entry every day before writing his manuscript pages for his novel. East of Eden is one of the first books I read years ago…
Jamie Lee and Me…
Tonight, while I was gathering up my computer and trying to decide what I was going to write about, I glanced at the bookshelf in our bedroom. There is a book there entitled Tony Curtis, The Autobiography and on the book is a picture of Tony Curtis as an older man. This made me think…
20 Minutes a Day 