Monday, August 29, 2005

2005 Book List

I've always meant to start a list of books I have read over the course of a year. There's the 50 book challenge you see on some blogs and then just a regular list of books. I don't have exact dates for when I tore through most of these, but I assure you I'm not slipping in any from previous years:

  1. Harry Potter & the Half-Blood Prince - JK Rowling
  2. The Undomestic Goddess - Sophie Kinsella
  3. Can You Keep A Secret? - Sophie Kinsella
  4. He Loves Lucy - Susan Donovan
  5. Sixteen - Megan McCafferty
  6. The Body in the Attic - Katherine Hall Page
  7. The Body in the Basement - Katherine Hall Page
  8. The Body in the Belfry - Katherine Hall Page
  9. The Body in the Big Apple - Katherine Hall Page
  10. The Body in the Bog - Katherine Hall Page
  11. The Body in the Bonfire - Katherine Hall Page
  12. The Body in the Bookcase - Katherine Hall Page
  13. The Body in the Bouillon - Katherine Hall Page
  14. The Body in the Cast - Katherine Hall Page
  15. The Body in the Lighthouse - Katherine Hall Page
  16. The Body in the Moonlight - Katherine Hall Page
  17. The Body in the Vestibule - Katherine Hall Page
  18. Agatha Raisin & The Quiche of Death - M.C. Beaton
  19. A Highland Christmas - M.C. Beaton
  20. Death of an Addict - M.C. Beaton
  21. Death of a Bore - M.C. Beaton
  22. Death of a Cad - M.C. Beaton
  23. Death of a Celebrity - M.C. Beaton
  24. Death of a Charming Man - M.C. Beaton
  25. Death of a Dentist - M.C. Beaton
  26. Death of a Dustman - M.C. Beaton
  27. Death of a Glutton - M.C. Beaton
  28. Death of a Gossip - M.C. Beaton
  29. Death of a Hussy - M.C. Beaton
  30. Death of a Macho Man - M.C. Beaton
  31. Death of a Nag - M.C. Beaton
  32. Death of an Outsider - M.C. Beaton
  33. Death of a Perfect Wife - M.C. Beaton
  34. Death of a Poisen Pen - M.C. Beaton
  35. Death of a Scriptwriter - M.C. Beaton
  36. Death of a Snob - M.C. Beaton
  37. Death of a Traveling Man - M.C. Beaton
  38. Death of a Village - M.C. Beaton
  39. The Daily Show with Jon Stewart Presents America (the book) - The Writers of the Daily Show, Jon Stewart
  40. Lost - Gregory Maguire
  41. The Other Woman - Jane Green
  42. What I Wish My Christian Friends Knew About Judaism- Robert Schoen
  43. The Boy Who Loved Anne Frank - Ellen Feldman
  44. 44 Scotland Street - Alexander McCall Smith (It was sheer coincidence regarding the number 44)
  45. Rosie Dunne - Cecelia Ahern
  46. P.S., I Love You - Cecilia Ahern
  47. The Red Tent - Anita Diamant
  48. The Historian - Elizabeth Kostova

Tuesday, August 23, 2005

But Will They Actually Find School Spirit?

I heard via a friend, and then from an LJ post, that there is a movie being filmed that will feature a "football scene" at my old high school. I thought maybe one of the local filmmakers was doing another movie, but no director has been credited on IMDB (Cherry Crush). I will note that the cast list includes one actor. He even has decent experience to boot. I wonder how long it'll take the local papers to do a story on this?

Saturday, August 20, 2005

Semblance of Life

Matt and I are slowly getting back to a normal routine. Of course, we're immediately breaking it by going to visit friends in Buffalo for an overnight. I joked with my friend, Mike, yesterday when I called to confirm plans that our visit to see him and his wife, Londa, is our summer vacation. Possible plans range from touring Forest Lawn cemetery,



to taking in the new modern art exhibit at Albright-Knox,



or even dropping by the Erie Basin Harbor to check out the Waterfront Sailabration.



It all depends on the weather and pocket funds (Albright Knox would set us back $10 each).

Sunday, August 14, 2005

Friday, August 12, 2005

Many Thanks

I want to thank everyone who commented, sent email, or even came to my Grandma's funeral this past Wednesday. I think everyone in my family agrees that the service and party afterwards are just what she had hoped for. She even got a little more than she bargained for with Matt's eulogy. I will have to post that sometime because he caught the essence of my Grandma and what she stood for that day. All that and made people laugh. I was also fortunate enough and blessed to have Heidi and family friend, Ellen, accompany me on vocals and piano as I played "Amazing Grace" and "How Great Thou Art" on the violin.

I'm still having sad moments and I know it will get pretty hard when we finally sell her house and the holidays approach. I am grateful for the time we had with her over the past nine months, even though most of that time wasn't so great for her in terms of the pains of cancer.

Monday, August 08, 2005

My Grandma

I got the call just as I was about to step into my workplace this morning that my Grandma died around 3am this morning. While I'm sad, I feel relieved for her that she has no pain and can be with the family members she's missed for many years. She was a fun, strong lady.

I know some people have asked about funeral arrangements (Wake 2-4, 7-9pm tomorrow-Tuesday, and Funeral Wednesday morning). Call me on my cell phone or watch the Buffalo News/Jamestown Post-Journal. I won't have access to my email after this morning since my Grandma wasn't one to embrace new fangled things like those darn computers.

A Great News Reporter Gone



Of the people I admire and consider role models, Peter Jennings was high on my list when it came to news broadcasting. I was saddened to hear that he has lost his battle with lung cancer. It is suprising to realize that in a very short time, all the major networks have seen their long-time anchors leave, whether by retirement or in this case, death. My thoughts are with Mr. Jenning's family.

Full Coverage from ABC News

Thursday, August 04, 2005

The Coffeehouse that Sired a Blog

The coffeehouse that inspired this blog finally has a website. Even though I've hit a dry spell in visits to Rochester this year, I always try to make a stop by Java's Cafe for some of the best coffee I've ever tasted. Out of all the coffee shops I've frequented, Java's has the best coffee and best ambience.



Today's D&C has a review of this hot spot. I'm pretty sure the writer made a mistake though in saying that Mike Calabrese has been the owner of Java's since 1992, since I know that Joe Palozzi opened Java Joe's at the 16 Gibbs site in '92 and then sold it sometime in the late 1990s to Mike Calabrese. He still supplies the coffee though, hence why the coffee is still awesome.

Wednesday, August 03, 2005

Cutting to the Scene with the Pixie

Ten years ago, I decided to do one of the most drastic things I had ever done to my hair. I went from a long style (below collarbone) to a p...