Lazy last day of the year afternoon

I won't call them resolutions (cause that's just asking for trouble and, usually, failure), but there are a lot of things I want to change and accomplish in 2009. I'm excited.

So on this last day of 2008, let me post a couple of things that please and amuse me (my Top of 2008 list will be up later, just for you).

First, I adore this short piece about a 5 year old chef with a television show. I sent a link of it to a few of my favorite people and Mamma Mia! wrote back in an email: "I would probably give it a test run. He looks cute. Your dad and I watched that angry chef that goes to restaurants and helps them turn them around and the chef acted like a 2 year old most of the time." Which made me laugh so hard I scared a few people. I have to assume she's talking about Gordon Ramsey.

Checking out Living With Music today, I'm reminded of how much Norah Vincent rocks. A while back, I read her Self-Made Man and I continue to believe that every American man needs to read this book. Also, women and non-Americans. But, having met quite a few guys with Peter Pan syndrome who struggle to know how they're supposed to be MEN in this day and age, I think they need to read a book about how a woman managed being a man for a year. We're all a bit confused these days about what it means to be a woman or a man, to be ourselves and our genders. It helps that Norah Vincent's a very good writer. (I met her when she came to LSU to promote S-MM, but I'm not posting the picture, sorry). Here's my favorite part of her LWM playlist: "Here Comes the Sun, Nina Simone. I had to put Nina on this list, because, to my mind, her voice, her music, is proof of the existence of God. She makes me feel less alone in the world, which is why, even though she’s usually singing the lowest of the low down dirty blues, I feel better when I listen to her. Her cover of this Beatles classic is just about the only even vaguely upbeat song she sings that isn’t about sin, heartbreak, injustice or all of the above. Still, be warned, she’s not for the unalloyed. This is a long-steeped melancholic’s brand of sweet tart, so don’t try this at home. There’s always a bit of bite to the sugar in Nina’s bowl but, for my money, that just makes the pleasure last longer." Looking forward to reading her new book, Voluntary Madness.

And we can't forget GalleyCat and their Year in Publishing (wish, wish, wish, there was one link I could give you for all of them, but here's January and December, just to get you started).

Look for the Top of 2008 List later today...