Last Action Hero

Apparently our governor wants his term to be a little bit more like an action movie. It seems he has learned from such films as "Terminator" and "Kindergarten Cop" that if he threatens people things will get done the way he wants them to be done. And ok, I see his strategy: be so outrageous something has to happen, but really, it makes all of us peons working for the state feel lame about ourselves. I don't actually think I'm going to lose my job but it's still annoying I have to worry about it at all. Anyway, good luck fellow dispensables!

State Facts

Alright, I know many of you have probably been waiting for me to post my answers to the California state trivia instead of look it up yourselves, so, finally, here it is!

State Bird: California Valley Quail
State Flower: California Poppy
State Rock: Serpentine
State Butterfly: Dogface
State Tree: California Redwood
and just for good measure...
State Fish: Golden Trout

For more fun facts about California symbols check out the State Library website.

Also, thanks to Jeremy for the New Jersey fast facts!
State Bird: Eastern Goldfinch
State Flower: Common Meadow Violet

Doesn't Everyone Know...

I was recently having a discussion with a fellow originally from New Jersey and I asked him what the state bird and state flower are. I figured those are the two random facts everybody knows about their home state, right? Not so in this particular case! Now, I understand that sometimes my fascination with certain things (Geography is a prime example) leads me to have a skewed vision of what other people know. So, I wanted to know how many of my faithful readers do in fact know the state bird and flower of which ever state they grew up in.

On a side note, I can name California's state bird, flower, rock, butterfly, and tree with a great deal of confidence. If anyone else would like to share their knowledge here of California or any other state, please feel free!

Happy Flag Day!

Do you know what Flag Day celebrates? Well, the American Flag, duh. But of course, I wanted to know the details so please, allow me to share them with you!

Betsy Ross is said to have designed the first flag with 13 stars and 13 stripes.

Flag Day commemorates the adoption of the Stars and Stripes (also known as Old Glory) as the official Flag of the United States on June 14, 1777 by the Second Continental Congress. President Woodrow Wilson proclaimed it a national day of commemoration in 1916, and it was adopted more officially in 1949 through an Act of Congress. Flag Day is not an official federal holiday but was made a state holiday by Michigan in 1937-- the only state to ever do so. In conclusion, Michigan is great and so is the American Flag. Happy Flag Day!

My Pastimes

Two of my favorite things to do are read good books and watch good movies. Lately I've been doing quite a bit of both. "Good" can mean very different things in this context. Sometimes it's just entertaining (like the movie Wedding Date), and sometimes it's actually quality (like the book To Kill A Mockingbird). This weekend I found a new favorite: Lars and the Real Girl. It's a sweet and funny story about a lonely guy who orders a fiance on the internet-- in the form of a sex doll. The movie is not in any way lewd though-- the small town comes together to show "Bianca," and in effect Lars, how loved and cared for they are. The music was lovely and whimsical, too. In fact, I liked the whole thing so much I watched it first on Friday and then twice today!


I'm currently reading Atonement by Ian McEwan, although I haven't seen the movie. I'll keep you posted on that one!

Extremely Beautiful and Incredibly Sad

I just finished the book Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close by Jonathan Safran Foer. The main character of the book is a nine year old boy who lost his father in the World Trade Center collapse of 9/11. I absolutely loved the book and read through it really quickly. Here is what I liked about the book:

1. The literary style. It was so creative and poetic! The book begins towards the end of the story and the chapters are interspersed with present and the distant past-- which adds a bit of mystery and entices the reader onward.

2. The main character. I read a review that called the main character, Oskar, "precocious" and "irritating," but I thought he was extremely hilarious! Children think and cope differently than adults so using Oskar's point of view made it so much more touching and emotional. Which brings me to my next point...

3. It made me cry! I don't think I've ever cried for a book as much as I cried for this one. This shows me that the author is talented enough to draw real emotion out of me. And ok, I tend to be a pretty empathetic person anyway, but if a story can make me cry, I tend to like it that much more.

Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close was a very touching and somewhat haunting book. At times I felt the style was so poetic and modern that it made the story a little bit unrealistic, but overall I thought it was just a prettier way to express deep emotions. I'd recommend this book to anybody, just keep a box of tissues with you while you're reading.

I Don't Know Why The Caged Bird Sings

As some of you may know, my sister and I have a new man in our life. He is very short, green, and sings when we run water. His name is Kiwi. He is a parakeet! We're still getting used to each other and I think he's a bit suspicious of us. He screeches at us and flaps his wings as hard as he can and bites our fingers when we hold him, but I'm sure, in time, we'll all be fast friends. He is a fun little addition to our apartment and certainly livens things up. So everybody, here is Kiwi (and Rachel)!