We've Moved

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www.theharperproject.com 

Read More: The Secret History

Kaye's friend Ellen recommended Donna Tartt's The Secret History, and I'm so glad she did. It was a really fun book--hard to put down. It's a thriller set in the classics department of an idyllic northeastern liberal arts school. It really brought me back to my college days, although of course I did not experience the murder and intrigue. It made me want to break out my old Greek flashcards.

I read some reviews that faulted this book because they thought it was unrealistic. A bunch of undergrads who are so obsessed with the classics that it leads to ruin... who think they're brilliant but seem to drink and do drugs all day... who squander lots of money and spend unreasonable amounts of time cultivating personas that seem out of place in this century. To those people, I say, "You, my friend, have never spent time at Reed College." Or probably any other small liberal arts college peopled with impressionable young classics dorks. How many times did we sit in the commons room of the dorm talking about how fun it would be to reenact the Bacchae? Well, what I learned from this book is that it is probably a good thing we did not.

Anyway, I would recommend this book. I would highly recommend it to anyone who has studied the classics, because I'm sure they will get a kick out of it. I think Megan would dislike it because none of the characters are particularly likable. But her standards for behavior are much higher than mine, in real life and in books, so all of the characters' personality flaws were A-OK with me. They kind of made the book.

-Kristin

Must See: The Increasingly Poor Decisions of Todd Margaret

Not feeling like watching anything in particular, I decided to peruse the selections stagnating in our Netflix instant queue and stumbled upon The Increasingly Poor Decisions of Todd Margaret. The description: "This sardonic sitcom focuses on Todd Margaret, a clueless American manager sent to London to promote sales of an energy drink called Thunder Muscle." I thought "Well this could be bad," remembering that awful show about the guy who gets sent to India to manage a telemarketing center. But I decided to try it anyway. After watching an episode of Babar where his mother is killed and he loses his way from the herd, anything would do.

The first actor to pop on screen was someone who looked exactly like David Cross (Tobias). Then Will Arnett (G.O.B) appeared and I knew David Cross was really David Cross, but how in the world had I not heard about a show with these two powerhouses? Maybe it was a flop?

Nope. It was a win. The perfect mixture of slap stick and wit! We've only watched one and a half episodes, but there were laughs enough for days. Poppy laughed so hard we were unsure at first whether she was crying or laughing.

- Megan Leigh

The Great Churro Hunt: La Churreria

I've been thinking about churros non-stop since I got back from Spain. I've tried quieting the craving by stuffing cupcakes down my gullet, but to no avail. I'm a churro addict. Kristin also became addicted by reading our blog posts. We couldn't sit idly by hoping our churro desire would dissipate on its own, we had to do something about it. So today we began the Great Churro Hunt.

Luckily Cat didn't have to work today so we all got to take part in the hunt together. We met down in SoHo at a place called La Churreria. We figured a place named after churros would be our best bet and it got good Yelp reviews. While waiting for a tardy Cat we witnessed three young boys skipping school to get churros. "This is it! This is it!" They yelled, smiling, pointing at the churros in the window. Had they been a bit older I might just have fallen in love today.

First we ordered food. Me and Kristin shared a mediocre sandwich, in true Spanish fashion. Cat got a few tapas, which were no extravaganza for the taste buds, but okay. Then for the churros. The excitement! The expectations! The dipping chocolate was good, no pudding, but that was quite an exceptional treat. The churros, however, were not so good. They were too chewy and dense.

The churro hunt continues...

- Megan Leigh

The churros made my mouth feel funny. They were so chewy. They made my mouth feel itchy in a not-so-itchy kind of way. I was not very impressed! Also, the place did not have a bathroom. And it is a sit-down-restaurant. C'mon now. And the place was only rated B, which we realized AFTER we ordered our food. Not to be a gloomy gus, but I was not super impressed! I did like the dipping chocolate though.

-Kristin

Update on my street-gardens

Everybody has been asking me, "Kristin! How are those bulbs doing--the ones you planted last winter? I'm just dying to know!" So I'm giving you an update on my little gardens.

OK, nobody has actually asked me about my bulbs. But I'm still doing an update. Because these flowers make me happy every time I walk by them!

Here are photos of my two little flowerbeds. What do you think?

Apparently we have gotten a flower donation for the street, and we are going to try planting perennials. That should be exciting!

-Kristin

Read More: Nim Chimpsky

Last summer a few of my friends and I instituted a yearly book giving holiday. Josh's gift book for me was Nim Chimpsky: The Chimp Who Would Be Human by Elizabeth Hess. A few years before this, for one reason or another, I made a vow to make Josh cry. I'm assuming he secretly decided to reciprocate the challenge and that's why he sent me this book. We had previously discussed the heart wrenching This American Life episode with chimp island, so he knew exactly what gets this shriveled old heart aching. Although he didn't succeed in making me cry on the outside, my insides were shuddering in paroxysms of anguish.

Nim Chimpsky is the story of a chimp who is raised by humans and taught sign language for research purposes. He continually bonds with his human families, teachers and handlers who all abandon him at some point or another. After a few years the research project ends abruptly and sends poor little Nim back to the chimp farm where he was born. Having grown up in houses with furniture, brushing his teeth in the morning and wearing clothes, he is thrown into a bare, concrete floored cage and forced to figure out how to act like a chimp. At his new home he is again used for ASL research, until they run out of money and Nim is sent to a medical research facility. Eventually he is rescued (he is luckily a famous chimp by now) and sent to a sanctuary where he faces more troubles. His ending is better than I thought it would be, but still a far from desirable life.

Had Jane Goodall not already convinced me that monkeys and apes are not supposed to be pets, this book would have convinced me. Not even a little spider monkey for me, no matter how much I yearn for one.

All of this took place in the 60's and 70's, I believe. I figured biomedical research on apes had been illegal for some time, but I decided to go to the PETA website to check on that. And there on the homepage was a link to a video stating that the US and one other teeny country in Africa are the only countries in the world that still conduct invasive experiments on chimps.  Of course.

- Megan Leigh

Day Eleven: Barcelona

I'm sad that this is our last day in Spain. Although I'm getting tuckered out, I'm still not quite ready to go back to the real world.

We had a few things to do left on our list, so we woke up early and got them done. First we headed out to the Sagrada Familia. Now I understand why it's taken so long to complete. It's huge and incredibly intricate. It'll be amazing when all the windows have their stained glass in.

After that we crossed the street for our last churros con chocolate. Barcelona, or at least this place, does it different. Instead of hot chocolate we got hot pudding. We thought they couldn't get any better and then they did.

Next we headed up Montjuic. For a bit of the trip up we got to ride in an aerial tram and see some nice views of the city. It looks huge from above. Then we headed down on foot, exploring castles and gardens and playing gin rummy on the way. We happened along these big slides, which take home the prize for best slide ever. And I believe I saw my first Eurasian Magpie up there, which was exciting because I've been a bit sad seeing all of the same birds as in the US.

We ate at an Italian place that was the best meal we've had. Super pizza and cheesy noodle surprise.

We ended our night people-watching on La Rambla and having a mug of sangria. Unfortunately it was American style, so not quite a perfect end, but pretty good!

I decided every year Cat and I will take a long trip. I'm not sure if she agreed to this or not. Any protestations were ignored. Today I said 'One day we'll be old married ladies taking trips together'. She responded 'Maybe it will be enjoyable then'. I just spent two weeks with a jerk and only found out her true nature today!

- Megan Leigh

Pretty good end to a wonderful trip! I look forward to my own bed,but hate the thought of no longer waking to Megan's creepy/longing gaze. Maybe she'll spend the night at my place tomorrow- just to ease back into reality. Back to life...

- Cat