Friday's Feast

I have been looking for a fun meme to use on this Blog but hadn't found one I really liked until today when a great gal named Nichole stopped by my Blog and commented on yesterday's post. When I visited her Blog, I had the pleasure of reading her answers to a meme called "Friday's Feast" and decided that I wanted to play along, too.

So, here's my first entry for Friday's Feast. Bon Appetit!

Appetizer
Name 3 things that you think are strange.

1. The "big buckin' chicken" BK commercial.
   
2. The BK commercials with the freaky looking guy who shows up at people's windows and other unusual places.
   
3. The ad execs who work for BK.
   

Soup
What was the last ceremony you attended?
My brother's wedding. It was a small ceremony for immediate family with a reception at a local university hall that was decorated with a large, gorgeous Christmas tree. There was good finger food, nice background music, and lots of catching up with some of our favorite relatives. It was lovely!


Salad
What is one lesson you have learned in the past year?
That disorganization can cost money, in terms of lost gift certificates and/or missed expiration dates. I'm a consummate bargain hunter and when I miss out on a deal due to my own lack of organization, it is hard for me to forgive myself. Organization is one of the big things I'm working on this year.


Main Course
Tell us about one of your childhood memories.
We had a creative writing assignment in fourth grade in which we were supposed to write something from the point of view of a well-known book character. I came up with a long and detailed letter from Alice in Wonderland that really impressed the teacher. Before handing the assignments back, she called me to her desk to tell me that she thought it was very good and to ask if I'd ever considered becoming a writer. I was so proud, and happily told her that that was exactly what I hoped to be one day. I'll never forget that moment. Or that teacher. If I ever win a literary prize of some kind I hope she is around and knows about it.


Dessert
If you could extend any of the four seasons to be twice as long as normal, which season would you want to lengthen?
Autumn, without a doubt. I love when the weather starts to turn cooler and I love the changing colors of the leaves. Also, two of the best holidays, Thanksgiving and Halloween, happen in the Fall. It's just a wonderful, cozy time of year!

Dinner For Five

One of my favorite things about Netflix has been "discovering" things (films, series, specials, documentaries) that I never knew existed. My latest discovery is the cool TV series Dinner For Five.

Each episode of Dinner For Five, hosted by Jon Favreau (Monica's millionaire boyfriend on Friends), brings five celebrities together at various restaurants for dinner and unscripted conversation about the entertainment industry. The show has an intimate feel to it and it is fun to listen in and learn more about not only the guests at the table but actors and directors they've worked with and about whom they have stories to tell.

It looks like the show enjoyed four seasons between 2001 and 2005. The first season is available on DVD. Those of you lucky enough to have a cable provider that offers The Independent Film Channel can watch reruns of the show on a weekly basis. The rest of us have to queue it up in our Netflix lists.

If you're looking for a little something new and different to watch, I recommend giving this series a try!

This Weekend's Netflix Pick

We watched Good Night, And Good Luck this weekend. It's a very well done film of historical significance whose themes, unfortunately, are still resonant in today's political climate.

David Strathairn's performance as journalist Edward R. Murrow is especially good.

Entering the Blogosphere

This is my first personal Blog, but I have been using Blogger to keep records of my telecommute work for years. Each time I make an entry there I'm reminded that I'd like to have a place like this online for my personal interests.

I am a planner. This is often to my detriment because I tend to over think projects and spend more time daydreaming about how to start them than actually getting them started. Such was the case with my Blog. I brainstormed about the kinds of things I might want to collect onto a Blog. I made lists. I did research (i.e. read a lot of other people's Blogs). I was quite happy doing these things and could have kept doing them ad infinitum, but then I might never actually get around to starting a Blog of my own.

My pre-planning brainstorming revealed several common themes. Each of these topics could easily be Blogs in and of themselves, but I don't have the time to maintain dozens of separate Blogs. A handful, maybe, but not a dozen or more. So, what I am planning to do is create a few specialized Blogs on topics that are especially dear to my heart. In the mean time, I will Blog about any and everything else - including commentary on the progress of the special Blog projects - right here.

The planning stage of Project Blog(s) is officially over. Less outlining, more writing from this point on. That's advice I plan to carry over into my professional life, as well. I hope you'll come along for the ride!