Reading Fortune Cookies

This fortune cookie seems to know me well.

Either that, or it doesn't know me at all.

I'm probably the last person a fortune cookie needs to tell to read a book and expand my horizons!

As this year heads to a close, I'm looking back over my year-long reading list.

I read more books this year than I am years old! And many of them had themes dealing with other cultures.

As I type this, I realize there's a smile across my face. I'm proud of my reading list. Once an English teacher, always an English teacher.

If you're curious about what I've been reading this year, you can check out my 2009 reading list here.

Brittany Murphy in Ramen Girl

Hubby and I were shocked to hear that actress Brittany Murphy died over the weekend. Just a week ago we rented a movie in which she starred -- The Ramen Girl.

We picked it up on a whim at Blockbuster. It sounded quirky and fun and we were both surprised by how much we liked it.

In it, Murphy moves to Tokyo. She goes to the city because she's following her boyfriend who is working there. Except as soon as she arrives, he decides he's feeling crowded, packs his things and leaves her there alone in his apartment.

After wallowing in self pity for a few days, she eventually plucks herself up and explores her neighborhood. She ends up in a local ramen shop eating what she thinks is the best bowl of ramen she's ever had.

Soon, she is deciding that her goal in life is to learn how to make the perfect bowl of ramen. She convinces the grumpy ramen chef to take her on as an apprentice and the movie unfolds from there.

We both agreed The Ramen Girl was more entertaining than the other movie (a Renee Zellweger flick) we'd rented along side it.

As winter sets in, perhaps you'll find yourself looking for a movie to help pass a cold Friday night. The Ramen Girl will give you several laughs and a taste of another culture to boot. Plus, you'll pause to realize the bright, smiley woman who starred in it is no longer with us.

My Haiku on Rick Steves' Radio Show

I’m a radio star!

Well, perhaps not quite. But I did get my name mentioned on air along with two of my haiku!

Many months ago, I submitted two of my travel-themed haiku to Rick Steves (travel guru extraordinaire) for inclusion in one of his future radio programs. Well, the future finally arrived. My haiku were read on Saturday’s show, which was December 12, 2009.

You can listen to the entire broadcast online. The first half of the program is about how Christmas is celebrated in Wales. The second half of the broadcast is all about sheep. Yes. Sheep.

The travel haiku don’t come in until the very end–specifically at minute marker 50:25. Once the program uploads, you can easily skip ahead to the best part, which is–of course–the haiku part!

My haiku are the second and third to be read.

Here is the link to the radio program.

And if you want to try your own hand at travel haiku to see if you too can get yours read on the air, this page will tell you how to do it: Travel Haiku with Rick Steves.

Stormtroopers Day Off

A friend shared this link with me. It totally made me smile. And now I'm passing it along.

Ever wonder what Stormtroppers do on their day off?

Now you know.

Photo (c) Stefan

Peruvian Fat Suckers

Many years ago I traveled to Peru and hiked through the mountains to reach Machu Pichu.

It was a three night, four day trek. At night, after hiking through the Andes all day, we slept in tents.

Each night our guide would tell us ghost stories around the campfire. His stories always freaked me out -- as good ghost stories always do -- and I've never been able to forget them either.

One was about these evil dwarfs that look like babies. At night, they cry outside your tent. You wake up, think it's a baby, go out to rescue it and then they snatch you!

Another was about these evil beings that sought out lonely travelers, grabbed them, bit their arms (sort of like a vampire) and then sucked out all your fat. Once your fat had been drained they dumped you and left you for dead along the trail. This story really gave me the willies. There was just something about "fat suckers" that totally grossed me out.

So imagine my surprise when this headline flashed across my screen this week: Peru's Murderous Fat-Stealing Gang: Crime or Cover-Up?

Of course I had to follow the link, and of course I had to read the whole thing.

Apparently, a police force in a remote region got itself into some trouble. When a story was about to break detailing their illegal doings, they distracted the press with this long-lost legend of fat-suckers.

They claimed they'd raided a fat-sucker hideout and had collected bottles of human fat supposedly drained from recently murdered bodies and sold on the black market for cosmetic surgery purposes.

The press was successfully distracted, however, now the entire sham is coming to light. Hmmmmm.

The Girl Effect

A woman will reinvest 90 % of her income in her family. A man will only reinvest 30-40 % of his.

Check out this video. It brings tears to my eyes every time. Then check out GirlEffect.org.