I found a writer to read

My children are frequently puzzled by the fact that I don't like to read fiction all that much, especially since I'm an English professor with a special interest in narratology. I love to teach fiction, but I don't like to read it. I'd rather read about history or politics or medicine (best of all: the political history of medicine!), or about how to make things.

As part of the research I'm doing on body image, motherhood, and DIY culture, though, I have been looking at some creative nonfiction by women writers. This morning, I came across the writing of Susan Ito, a blogger and the fiction co-editor at Literary Mama magazine. (I ask myself why I've been assiduously avoiding Literary Mama for so long---is it my busman's holiday thing [I don't want to read literary stuff when I'm not officially working]? Is it my sense of inadequacy at being an academic writer rather than a "real writer" [a distinction that my mom made back when I was in graduate school. I don't think she still sees my work that way, though I haven't asked her]?)

Susan Ito is a wonderful writer, and Literary Mama is an excellent publication. I'm very glad that today I found both of them.

Enough with the beach volleyball

We've been pretty excited at our house about the Olympics starting. Elliot, in particular, has been looking forward to them all summer. I always enjoy them, too---but I have to say that this time around, my anticipation has been mixed with equal parts dread of....

(Cue scary music)

WOMEN'S BEACH VOLLEYBALL

I'm willing to concede that volleyball played on sand is a qualitatively different sport from volleyball in a gym, and having two players on each team changes the dynamic--so it doesn't drive me nuts to see WBV televised during the Olympics. But when over-the-air evening coverage of the Olympics is so limited, do we have to have so much of the broadcast devoted to the sport of Teensy-Weensy Bikini Adjustment? Are the viewers of the U.S. as obsessed with this sport as NBC seems to think we are?

Sigh.

But don't think for a minute that we're going to let the parade of microscopic bikinis ruin our Olympics. Elliot and I spent much of yesterday cooking for our Opening Ceremonies Feast. The centerpiece of our feast was tofu eggrolls garnished with fresh mint and accompanied by a hot dipping sauce that Elliot made....wow, were they good. We made some less elegant treats, too: Jello Jigglers in the colors of the Olympic rings (except that we had trouble cutting the things into ring shapes, so they were pretty ragged-looking, but they were still refreshing), and Gingerbread Popcorn. Elliot and Astrid made pretty fruit kabobs out of Granny Smith apples and strawberries. I didn't get pictures of any of the supporting players in our feast, but I'm happy I got pictures of the egg rolls. Food really does make for happy memories.

Back to WBV for a moment (I know. I'm driving everyone in my house crazy with this. It's making me crazy). Because we don't have cable, we've been switching between NBC and Telemundo so that we can, well, avoid some of the WBV. But sometimes it's on Telemundo, too. The difference we've noticed (well, Elliot noticed it) is that the Spanish-language announcers come right out and comment on how the women look in their bikinis. The American announcers never say a word about the women's outfits or the constant wardrobe adjustments....which actually makes the whole thing weirder.