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Welcome to the Critic's Corner The following are my recommendations for books, music, etc., for the month of May. None are particularly May-like, just things I have recently encountered and wanted to share with the rest of you. If you have any reviews of your own, please send them to me and I'll try to print them in an upcoming issue. |
Want to share your opinion on a book, movie, cd or eatery? E-Mail me your review and I might include it next month! |
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REVIEWS |
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The Road From Coorain
by Jill Ker Conway Vintage, Paperback - 238 pages Reprint edition (September 1990) |
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Jill Ker Conway, the first female president of Smith College, grew up in New South Wales, Australia, on
a sheep ranch called Coorain. In this autobiography of her youth, she tells of the loneliness
and hardship in the Bush and her later life in Sydney. She gives us not only details of
life on the outside, but also on the inside, as she explores
her emotional and spiritual growth while facing tragedy and
change.
Some passages are poetically written, particularly the opening pages describing the scenery of her home land. But it is a pleasant and absorbing read as we follow Jill from her childhood into her life as an adult. There is also a glimpse into the mores and ideals of Australian society in the first half of this century, which is particularly fascinating. While reading this book, I got the most peculiar sense of deja vu, as if I had read this book at least once, maybe twice before. If you can think of a book with a similar story, please let me know and put to rest my brain-wracking. |
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The Beauty Myth : How Images of Beauty Are Used Against Women by Naomi Wolf Anchor, Paperback - 348 pages Reprint edition (July 1992). |
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In this book, feminist Naomi Wolf argues that images of the tall, emaciated,
mannequin-like models that push the latest miracle cosmetic make the most
confident woman question her appearance. Everyday, new products are
introduced to "correct" inherently female "flaws." Ms. Wolf
urges us to embrace the naturally distinct beauty of all women and
avoid falling into the cycle of trying to attain the impossible
beauty standards that are being set in today's society.
As a woman who has always had issues with her appearance, I benefitted from reading this book. It helped affirm that I did not need to aspire to look like Cindy Crawford to be an important member of society. Indeed, the "beautiful" people seldom are anything but mannequins...and although they make good salaries, what else do they have to show for it? For every woman with insecurities about her appearance, and any inclination towards feminism, this is a must-read. |
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Barbie : Four Decades of Fashion, Fantasy, and Fun by Marco Tosa Harry N Abrams. Hardcover - 152 pages (October 1998) |
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In honor of Barbie's 40th birthday, I thought I'd include this
book in celebration. I have long collected Barbie and her pals
and was lucky enough to find a group of the oldest dolls while
I was pretty young, and before their prices skyrocketed.
Back in the early years, Barbie was a fashion maven, with costumes based on designs by Balenciaga and Givenchy. Now she has evolved into a bubblegum pink glitter-coated teen dream, quite a change. This book chronicles her life; it is a biography, if you will. There are sections on how the doll is made, photographs of the original packaging, even information on the new upcoming more anatomically-correct version of Barbie. Barbie fans and collectors of every age will appreciate the thoroughness of Tosa's research and want to keep this on their bookshelf. |
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REVIEWS |
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Cole Porter Songbooks
Ella Fitzgerald Verve. |
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After watching the Eddie Bauer commericals featuring Ella Fitzgerald
crooning over an ad for t-shirts, I decided to get back into listening
to her music. I have been an Ella fan for a while now, and periodically
get into a mood in which I must play her cds ad nauseum. Some
of my very favorite of her recordings are in the Songbooks series,
most especially the Cole Porter one.
These two cds are full of classic Porter hits, all masterfully sung by one of the greatest voices that ever lived. "Too Darn Hot" is one of the tracks on Volume One. If you have seen the commercial and want to hear the rest of the track, this is the album to get. These days, all we have to listen to as far as female pop singers are concerned, are the screetching likes of Whiney Houston and Pariah Carey. Ella puts these bimbos to shame with her smooth, sexy vocals. |
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REVIEWS |
 Buy it now! |
Star Wars
Directed by George Lucas. Edition Details: NTSC format (for use in US and Canada only) Color, Closed-captioned, THX, Special Edition, HiFi Sound, Surround Sound, Digital Sound, NTSC Number of tapes: 1 |
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Cant't wait for the prequel to come out? In the meantime, re-live
the original series, starting with the first movie, Star Wars.
For those of you who have never seen the original series - what rock
have you been living under? Or are you that young? For a lot of
us, Star Wars was part of growing up - we saw the films, collected
the toys, pretended to be the characters. It was the only sort of
sci-fi/fantasy I enjoyed at the time, and although I wasn't a
fanatic, my little brother was. But that was 20 years ago (hard
to believe!)...and we still find the series to be as exciting and
enjoyable as ever.
Watch it again - see Harrison Ford as a young stud, Mark Hamill when he was still cute, and Carrie Fisher before her substance abuse problem. Hiss at the evil Darth Vadar and cheer on the Rebels as they battle the Empire... (for those of you who haven't seen it, I won't give any more of it away ;)) |
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REVIEWS |
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The Ambassador Dining Room
39th Street Baltimore, MD |
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Situated in an aparment building populated largely by the elderly
and Hopkins students is an amazing treasure. The space which once
held the old dining area now houses an Indian restaurant. Seems
like a strange location, and maybe it is. But everything else
about the place is right.
The dining room matches the rest of the building - glazed windows with diamond-shaped panes, half-timbered ceiling - all very English Tudor touches. So how is this right for Indian food? Well, if one pretends to be either a member of the British Raj, or to be in England dining at one of that country's many Indian restaurant, it works. I wonder if the tablecloths were as heavy on the lap back then though.... As in most "non-ethnic" dining rooms, a basket of bread was brought to the table. Hot flatbread speckled with peas was yummy to munch on with some of the tomato-based condiment. I expected the usual lemon pickle, but was satisfied with this Indian version of tomato sauce. My companion, still a novice to Indian food, had been pleased with the Mulligatawny soup he had eaten at another establishment, so ordered that for his appetizer. This was a different, yet still pleasing version, tomato-based, and had a light lemony flavor. I had the chicken shorba soup - a delicate lemony chicken broth with diced tandoori chicken. It was slightly bland and could have used a shot of salt (although there were no salt shakers on the tables) but otherwise a nice melange of flavors. We were both in a lamb mood, so I sampled the lamb biryani while he went for the classic lamb saag. Unlike typical Indian restaurants which serve the entree in a boat-shaped bowl and rice on a separate platter, these entrees were served on a single plate. My biryani was mostly chunks of fork-tender lamb hidden amidst a small pile of fluffy and flavorful basmati rice. There was a sprinkling of sliced almonds and chopped green onions which added texture to the dish. There was also the accompaniment of a puddle of decadently creamy rich saag - pureed and lemony spinach. The saag was more of the chunks of lamb, blanketed with the spinach sauce. It was partnered with some basmati rice and lentils. The basket of naan we ordered was the best I ever had - it positively melted in my mouth. In fact, this was probably the best Indian meal I had ever experienced. The complexities of flavor found in Indian food, sometimes muddied in the hands of unskilled cooks, were masterfully layered in the kitchen at the Ambassador. We finished the meal with mango kulfi (Indian ice cream) and cups of sweet and creamy chai strongly flavored with cardamom. The combination made for a "fruity Pebbles" aftertaste, strange, but not unpleasant. Each was delicious on its own; I would order plain tea next time however, to avoid this sensation. |
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