Here are some of the books, music, TV shows and movies I've been into lately...

BOOKS

THE PERFECT RECIPE FOR LOSING WEIGHT AND EATING GREAT

by Pam Anderson

No,not *that* Pam Anderson... This is a lifestyle and cookbook by a woman who has written several other cookbooks, and after changing the way she eats and lives, she wrote this volume about losing nearly 50 pounds, not through deprivation or dieting, but by making smart, healthier choices, and simple moderation. The recipes aren't fat-free, artificially sweetened, typical "diet" food, but made with reasonable amounts of sugar and fat, and suggested portions that reasonable yet satisfying. I saw the author on a local talk show making her orange-glazed pumpkin muffins, and I was sold - and when I tried them myself, I wasn't disappointed. What's nice is that she focuses not just on food but on all parts of life, and treating yourself well in every way, not starving yourself into submission. A positive, sensible, and enjoyable book with beautiful photographs, wondreful recipes, and some rather tasty food for thought.

BEHIND A MASK
The Unknown Thrillers of Louisa May Alcott
I've barely started this volume, a collection of the "Little Women" author's early short stories, more thrilling tales that were sold to various publications to help support her struggling family before finding fame and fortune. Anxiously anticipating diving into these stories!

TV/MOVIES/MUSIC

I was really excited about finally getting to catch Tim Burton's big screen adaptation of the popular Broadway musical Sweeney Todd, starring perennial Burton star Johnny Depp, and Burton's real-life love Helena Bonham Carter, since I missed it in the theatre. And while it definitely had the director's trademark playful sense of gothic darkness, it was quite a shock to experience the level of blood. Now, a Little Shop of Horrors-like tale of "The Demon Barber of Fleet Street" in Victorian London who offs his customers, which are then turned into meat pies by the baker lady downstairs, would naturally have some violent content. But this was more like slasher film gore than Burton's usual wink and nudge allusion to it (Sleepy Hollow notwithstanding), and the explicit slashing of throats and waterfalls of blood gushing from the various victims unfortunately took away some of the fun that I'd hoped for. I'd like to see Burton do what they did with Saturday Night Fever back in the '70s when they realized the strong content made it unsuitable for many viewers, and cut and released a toned-down version. Depp is brilliant as always, and Burton remains one of the greatest visual directors out there, and it was still a good movie. I just wish more of the unpleasant violence had been left on the cutting room floor.
Another film that I hoped would be better than it was is Atonement, starring Keira Knightley in a wartime romance that spans the decades, with Knightley's would-be love torn fom her life over a cruel lie that sent him to prison, then into the war. The problem with the film is that there really is never any sense of any deep, emotional, abiding love between the two characters. There's one passionate but fairly non-explicit love scene, which almost seems out of left field, because you don't really see these two people as being madly in love with each other. They're seen together a few times, talking, a few glances, but hardly anything transpiring that would make you care enough about them to weep over their tragic fate. It actually plays far better as a drama about family secrets and deception than as a heartfelt romance, and I would recommend it on those grounds, but not if you're expecting to sigh and swoon over a grand romance.
As for TV, I watch my longtime favorite soaps (General Hospital and One Life To Live), and as always, am completely obsessed with American Idol and Dancing With The Stars during their seasonal runs, and enjoy the crazy antics on Desperate Housewives, which, when you think about it, is really Twin Peaks for the new millineum - hey, it even has Kyle McLachlan! I'm also a big Food Network fan!

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