Save Charity Hospital!!!

Why We Should Save Charity Hospital from EA Hanks on Vimeo.

I promised more, and more I shall deliver!

I was so glad to actually GO to Charity Hospital, rather than just blog about it from afar.

Here’s more information on Charity Hospital, and why it shouldn’t be scrapped for a classic land grab:

A Visit To The Lower Ninth Ward, Four Years Later

Hey kids! WordPress is a pain in the ass, so I couldn’t embed my new video here — You can either click on the link below, or head over to the old blog (!) to see it

The Lower Ninth Ward 4 Years Later (EA Hanks & Jonah Evans) from EA Hanks on Vimeo.

I was really blessed to be able to go New Orleans over the weekend, and while I was thrilled to spend some time with some amazing World War II veterans, I’m also grateful that I got to spend time in New Orleans away from the madness that comes along with Hanks Cola — that is, with good friends who showed me their new home.

Jonah Evans, who you might remember from earlier in this blog, showed off his beloved new hometown, and since we were wandering around the Lower Ninth Ward, I thought I would take a chance and start filming.

Please forgive the general lack in quality in regards to: the audio, the visuals, the editing, my hair.

There’s more to come of Jonah talking further about the need to save Charity Hospital.

Cat Walk

Have you guys met Conan yet? He’s giving Maru a run for his money.

Ironically, this is also how I enter rooms. Every time. Particularly the part when I just go right up to someone so close we both have to go cross-eyed to still each other.

Dating, Soy Cheese, Mumblecore, Los Angeles, Parties, Paying Attention To The Healthcare Debate

I love the very clear moment when it obviously realizes this was a bad idea. “Oh, uhm, no. N-no, no thank you. I don’t want… No, no. NO! NONONONOSPAZ!”

Cat is to bath as I am to… Oh, many, many things.

My Useless Thoughts On: “Her Fearful Symmetry”

Her Fearful Symmetry: A Novel by Audrey Niffenegger

My rating: 4 of 5 stars
Holy Shit! Read this book!

I’ve written about this author before, but I’ll restate my thoughts briefly: I think she gets a lame rep because she a woman who writes about romance, so people talk about her like she’s pappy crap, but they’re wrong. After all, Romance is a “woman’s genre” and those don’t count! It’s for WEIRD PEOPLE, not the NORMAL PEOPLE who read “men’s genre” like Sci-Fi, Fantasy, and comic books! She’s ruthless in her examinations of character, and I’m stunned by her ability to made a story seem like it sprung out of her, whole and complete, with little to no effort on her part.

She’s a dang good writer who hits all her beats.

And this second novel from her shows off all her skills.

Elspeth dies in her 40’s, leaving her lover Robert, a historian of London’s Highgate cemetery in mourning. Having left her flat to her her two-identical twin nieces, the children of her own identical twin, Edie, Elspeth forces both her lover and her estranged relatives together. While haunting her apartment, Elspeth continues to manipulate the still-living, and lets the mystery of what happened to drive a wedge between her and her twin unfold… whether or not innocents get in the way.

It sounds dark and brooding, and it is (after all, the background for the story is the Victorian Highgate, a place that takes exquisite pleasure in the pomp and circumstance of death) but Niffenegger also has such a talent explaining the threads that slowly reach out between two people (lovers,twins, parents and children) and tie them together — it can either make you long for it yourself, or spark a panicked flame of claustrophobia.

This was a single-sit read for me,and it made me want to go back and re-read her other books which I have and love, The Time Traveler’s Wife and The Three Incestuous Sisters.

View all my reviews >>

FaceSpace! FaceLibro!

You’ll notice that to the left I now have a nifty FaceSpace badge. Now you and I can be Facebook friends!

(I have one already, but that’s for people who like to post pictures of me that I’d rather keep to a minimal amount of “public.”)

Think of this as a way for me to annoy you even if we didn’t go to highscool/college/the same job together!

Things are a-brewin’ as you can tell. I’m giddy to show everyone what the new website will look like (read: TOTALLY RAD).

Expect more this week from me as this week is BANNED BOOKS WEEK! I’m twittering like a maniac about it, so make sure to check out all that goodness as well.

What is everyone reading right now? IS IT A BANNED BOOK!?

Shmo Shmorry!

Hello out there, in internet land!

Sorry I’ve been so absent from my personal nook of the interwebs, but I’m happy to report that it’s for a good reason.

I’m still scared of jinxing the whole thing, so let’s play a little game. I’ll say something, and you can “interpret” it as you see fit, yeah?

Ok. Ready?

A smublishing house bought my shmook, and now I have a shmeadline that I have to shmeet, so I’ve been attached to my shumputer, trying to make sure my shmook gets done on shmedule.

GET IT?

(The shmook is not about cats, if you were wondering.)

So I hope you’ll be shmagiving for my shmabscence.

Scared And Challenged

This is horrible to say, and I wonder if I’m alone in this. You know, it took me about a year to start hating the 9/11 victims’ families [...] I don’t hate all of them, I hate about ten of them. But when I see a 9/11 victim family on television, or whatever, I’m just like, ‘Oh shut up!’ I’m so sick of them because they’re always complaining. And we did our best for them!

-Glenn Beck September 9, 2005

GoodReads Review: David Ebershoff’s “The 19th Wife”

The 19th Wife: A Novel by David Ebershoff

My rating: 3 of 5 stars
Part contemporary murder mystery, part historical fiction, and part history on the Church of Latter-Day Saints, and its infamous offshoot, the Church of Fundementalist Latter-Day Saints, The 19th Wife is a great read.

If, by any chance, you are like me and are a somewhat (read: raging) aficionado of Mormonism, then you will be intrigued to read Ebershoff’s fictional interpretation of Brigham Young’s so-called 19th Wife (she was actually probably around his 55th or so) Ann Eliza Young.

I will add here that my name is Elizabeth Anne. This makes my day.

This particular Mrs. Young is still a controversial figure in the LDS faith, not because she divorced the second Prophet (several women left Young, though not legally as ‘celestial’ (polygamous) marriage are not lawful) but because she went on to tour the US as a lecturer, and spoke in depth about what she saw as the evils of polygamy, which was (and for some still is) the mainstay and foundation of the Mormon faith.

All the historical fiction sections, which tell the story not only of Ann Eliza, but how both her parents came to their faith, are fascinating, particularly if you are the sort of person who, went confronted with some of the tenets of ANY religion, wonder to yourself, “Who the heck believes this stuff and why?” But more importantly, Ebershoff gives all his characters, even the historical figures who come loaded with perceptions, the sort of versatility of personality, grit, and hubris that I would hope any of my characters would show.

The contemporary murder mystery, played out by Jordan, a young gay Lost Boy — that is, one of the young men who are very frequently kicked off FLDS compounds so as to eliminate the competition for new young brides — is also interesting, (and, if you’re the sort of reader who cares about these things, I woulds say “likeable”) and adds to the general page-turner strengths of “The 19th Wife.”

I rec this book if you’re looking for a good, smart read that will keep you looking forward to your subway rides.

(HOWEVER! If you are looking to know more about Mormonism, I HIGHLY recommend Frontline’s two part documentary, which is available for free on their website. The first half is part of the “This American Experience” program, and covers the history, while the second is more “Frontline” and covers current controversies and life today in Mormon America. It’s fascinating, honest, fair, and unmerciful.)

View all my reviews >>

To The Left, To The Left

I would make fun of this total Dude for his crap camera work, ugly carpet, and laugh, but…

He managed to get this on film, so I can’t.

(Substantive post in the works! Love you! Mean it!)