My pitas page

kamikaze camel attacks

cd burner
it can now be revealed: c's birthday gift from moi, which he has already put to good use.

db bistro
it was c's birthday weekend, and of the three places we went for dinner to celebrate, this was the best. maybe it is my weakness for hamburgers stuffed with foie gras, truffles, and short ribs that makes me give this place high marks (i am a sucker for red meat). or maybe it was it's fantastic decor (i am a sucker for red walls). or maybe it was just a lot of fun, period. regardless, i would say go here for the next special occasion on your calendar. and get the burger--i swear you won't feel like a child for ordering it.

pearl river
i have never been inside this huge chinatown department store. and i am very much looking forward to this weekend when i will be inside it.

"american exorcism"
i gave up trying to read my novel "england, england" and have started in on this non-fiction number instead. this would have been a book for me to work on had i remained at doubleday, and it might have made such a move worth it. it's all about the totally weird resurgence of exorcisms--catholic and otherwise--in america today. so far i'm only on page ten or something low like that, but i'm digging it.

henckels
yesterday was quite the day in terms of packages received. got these knives and a steak knife set i'd ordered a while ago--so nice to have more than one piece of cutlery in the house. then some books i'd mailed myself came. then a christmas present i'd bought online (online shopping is the best) came. and some more christmas shopping was completed the old-school way last night. and the hamper is supposed to come today. and the armchair comes tomorrow. in all, it's like slowly moving into the apartment, one box at a time.

and, of course, george harrison
i wanted to cry when i heard this morning he had died, and i really couldn't explain to you why. i wasn't even born when the beatles broke up. i didn't really know about their music until around 12, when i would listen to my mom's beatle lp's and dance around and sing while dusting the living room. (i would pretend "i saw her standing there" was about me, and i was a tall leggy brit model like twiggy that wore the fab-est clothes and had a to-die-for accent. and yes, i know i have a rich fantasy life, thank you.) i think maybe the way to explain it is the absolute joy in their music, a sort of happiness flows out of them performing it into you listening to it. and even if the words are sad, it makes no difference, it touches you all the same. most of us will never have the capacity to make people laugh or cry through a few sounds hung together, and i can only be glad that others do.

john knowles dies
they say celebrity deaths happen in 3's, and thursday would appear to have started the latest chain. john knowles wrote a terrific book "a separate peace," which my dad used to assign to his high school english students and may still. it's about a teen rivalry, and one of the boys dies, and the other lives with tormented thoughts for his role in it. it's so good, in that brit lit, prep school kind of way.

stockings hung by the chimney...
ok, so i don't have a chimney. but soon these stockings will be hung somewhere with care. christmas is far and away my favorite holiday. this morning, walking from the apartment, c and i passed the first christmas-tree vendor of the season. the smell was just terrific. i think i immediately regressed when i inhaled it, too, because i got very, very excited at the idea of having a full-size christmas tree, the first ever in my adult life. so the moral of the story is that good things are happening this year.

bono interview
the smartest guy in rock. and i'm not just saying that cause he's dreamy.

BAM!
that's where i'll be tonight, seeing fritz lang's "m" for the first time. kind of excited, since it will also be my virgin trip to bam itself.

age of science
author soiree tonight for this book. imagine if you will: me and a room of people whose median age is 70. i think i shall be cutting out a little early...

my new guru
having put on some serious chunk since 9/11, this guy is now my fitness guru. his book, "the portable personal trainer," is good in a mini-motivation kind of way. and now that i have resolved to work out 6 days a week, cut out alcohol for the most part, and swear off soda and sweets (again, for the most part--it IS the holidays) i think i will meet the very realistic benchmarks i have set for myself for the next two months. very exciting, getting back in shape. though of course it would have been nice not to get out of shape to begin with.

happy thanksgiving
i am SO ready to eat tomorrow.

new year's eve plans made
it's not southern spain, but it's fun rock-n-roll, so close enough!

comfort food
the tone of this piece makes me laugh--all about "comfort food" of the stars and regular folks. which brings up the burning question: what is my fave thing to eat when in a pajama-like state? or yours, for that matter? mine the last two days has been cookies, which is Almost All I Have Eaten for the past two days and Boy Is It Gross. but i think overall what i like to eat in my pj's that is suitably decadent is vanilla ice cream and peanut butter, which is done by first dipping the spoon into the peanut butter jar to get some o' that, and then into the vanilla ice cream vat to get a bit o' that as well on the same spoon so the flavors are married in your mouth as you slurp them off. i haven't eaten this in quite some time, truth be told, because i tend to eat way to much of it when the two components are in the house at the same time. but if i were given the chance, that is what i would eat in my pajamas. your turn....

journalists killed
stories like these are just so heartbreaking. because while, yes, journalism on the whole is becoming more about entertainment than information, these people risk their lives to deliver the truth to readers/viewers/listeners around the globe. if they didn't take these types of risks, no one would ever know about a whole lot of the evil, wrong things that happen in the world. there was a time i wanted to be one, but now all i can do is admire them. they're a lot braver than i think i could ever be.

gabriel bryne
while sitting at lunch yesterday at cafe europa, c. saw mr. byrne (aka, dream boat) walk by with son. i saw only the back of said dream boat's head and a semi-profile, but i believe 'twas he. also seen this weekend (by c. but corroborated, sorta, by me): the host of "the mole" (wearing CAMOFLAGE pants! ew!) and some blonde girl that used to be on "er". verdict: new west '50s 'hood MUCH better for celeb-spotting than old financial district 'hood.

sunday afternoon
at the moma. saw the giacometti exhibit. love his sculptures, especially the one entitled "disagreeable object to be thrown away". (or something like that. i can't remember exactly.)

serendipity 3
went here for the first time on friday night with a. to talk about why sometimes some boys are just idiots. we had the forbidden broadway sundae. it should not be forbidden--we should all have one at least weekly. mmmmm....

my new favorite movie
amelie. it's a feel-good film, make no mistake about it, but it's also the most enchanting one i've seen in quite some time. she's adorable, whimsical, and i feel like half of her face is taken up by those gorgeous brown eyes. i'd see it again, paying full price and waiting in line for a good chunk of time for a seat. (and for those of you who have never seen a movie at the paris theater up on 58th street by the plaza hotel--you really should. it reminds me of the uptown in d.c., which is high praise indeed.)