On Occasional Fridays, I point you towards some recommended reading around the blogosphere:

1. First, a superb account of teenagers and depression by Tracy Thompson at The Broad Side.

2. Here’s a really inspiring explanation for why teaching is worth it from the Opinionator blog at the New York Times.

3. Equally inspiring is A.S. Jacob’s keynote address at the American Society of Journalist and Authors this year. Somehow he manages to be both funny and profound. (Hat tip: Practicing Writing)

4. Help! I resemble Sylvia Plath! Take a look at how famous authors outline their work over at Flavorwire.

5. And speaking of writing, if you need to take a break and just laugh, check out Nicola Morgan’s suggestions at her Heartsong blog. (Whatever you do, click on the goats…)

6. Via the amazing Lisa Belkin, all married or long-partnered folk will want to check out Johanna Stein’s Let’s Make Parental Love video.

7. Finally, where would any of us be without The Oatmeal? Check out his ideal vision of a movie theatre.

Have a great weekend folks!

Hi All.

In honor of my upcoming move, I’m going to take a short break from the blog to pack boxes and get my change of address forms in motion.

Have a great week and I’ll be back in touch shortly.

See you on the other side…

Image: Boxes by brixton via Flickr under a Creative Commons license.

My mother is visiting this week so we are going to take a short holiday up to England’s storied Lake District, traveling by way of the Peak District.

One of my few regrets of having lived in the U.K. for five and a half years is that we haven’t done nearly enough travel within the country, mostly going to the Continent – or the US – when we take a vacation. So, per this year’s New Year’s Resolution list, I am trying to redress that imbalance.

I’ve got lots of catching up to do with you when I return. But in the meantime, let me wish everyone a glorious Easter, Passover and/or Spring!

See you next week.

Image: Lake District 2010_D13703 by Ennor via Flickr under a Creative Commons license.

Hello everybody.

Just popping in to let you know that I will be in Argentina for the next two weeks – don’t cry for me (sorry couldn’t resist!) – so I won’t be hanging out at RealDelia.

I wish everyone the happiest, merriest, jolliest, whatever-est holiday of their choice.

I look forward to exchanging many more thoughts, insights and laughs with all of you in the new year.

Until then, and in the immortal words of Tiny Tim: God Bless Us, Everyone.

Image: Tango Porteno by formfaktor via Flickr under a Creative Commons license.

Hi Folks!

My mother is visiting from the States this week so I’ll be off playing tourist in my home city…which is actually one of my favorite things to do. We’ve got a host of things lined up, including museums, theatre, concerts and a few free craft workshops around town. I’ll give a full report next week.

Enjoy the last week of October!

Image: London by Moyan Brenn via Flickr under a Creative Commons license.

I will be on vacation this week and will resume blogging in early September.

I hope everyone has a great end to their summer!

Image: Gone Fishing by Chase Lewis via Flickr from a Creative Commons license.

Hello there from Boston!

I had to travel unexpectedly to Boston this week so I’m afraid that I won’t be back up and running here on RealDelia until next week.

It’s a long story that I’ll recount another time, but suffice to say that we returned from Barcelona around 1 a.m. on Saturday night, went home, slept for six hours, and turned around and flew to Boston.

A few jet-lagged impressions from this latest leg of my travels:

*Dinner For Schmucks is surprisingly O.K.

*Emma Donaghue’s Room is a must. Only half-way through but: Wow.

*My friend Barb would like you to know that her kitchen no longer resembles a Bavarian beer garden. (Inside joke)

*My daughter woke up at 4:30 a.m. Boston time. Coffee machine in friend’s home miraculously switched itself on at 5 a.m. Deeply appreciative of the automatic coffee machine.

Thank you, America.

Image: Boston, 2002 by Sea Turtle via Flickr from a Creative Commons license.

Hi there. Just popping in to say that I’m in the States for the next two weeks visiting family and friends so will probably not be materializing on this blog too often.

I felt guilty about this, until the splendid Nicola Morgan over at the Help! I Need a Publisher! blog gave me (and all bloggers near and far) permission not to write during this holiday period. So because I always listen to what Nicola says, I’m going to heed her advice and take a break.

I look forward to catching up with you in January.

(P.S.: Image is from the Nutcracker, which we saw last night at the New York City Ballet. Soooo fabulous!)

Happy Holidays!

Image: Adam the Nutcracker Prince by LCPhotog via Flickr under a Creative Commons License.

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Every Friday I point you to some recommended reading for the weekend.

1. I feel about Michael Kinsley the way I feel about Michael Lewis:  if he’s writing, I’m reading. Here’s Kinsley in his debut Politico column writing about that rare commodity in American politics and journalism: intellectual honesty.

2. I loved this touching essay about marriage, parenting and what we learn from our kids’ drawings by Cecilia (of the fabulous Only You blog), which was featured in the Minneapolis-St. Paul Star’s Cribsheet column. We’ve all been there, I think.

3. For a beautiful visual history of modern art, have a look at the Modern Art Timeline. Way Cool.

4. Also in the department of visual – and funny – here’s a slide show of “Chinglish” (Chinese meets English) at The New York Times. I must say, it’s really hard to top “Fragrant, Hot Marxism.”

5. If you want another really good laugh, check out the “If You Do This In An Email, I Hate You” comic strip at The Oatmeal.com. (Hat Tip: ‘Cross The Pond)

6. Then be sure to go and read the entire entry – “Snakes In A Bar” – at Dating Experiences Of A Woman…In Hollywood. It brings whole new meaning to the concept “bad date.” (Hat tip: Communicatrix)

7. Finally – and definitely not for those who dislike profanity – here’s a mock Twitter Feed for Chicago Mayor Hopeful Rahm Emanuel called @MayorEmanuel. I think they’ve managed to nicely capture Rahm’s…um…voice.

Enjoy your weekend!