Culture Check: 1,2,3 and 1,2,3

This weekend, I enjoyed a few cultural experiences that I have been putting off:

1) Reading The Old Man and the Sea.
I have been a huge Hemingway fan since eleventh grade, when I devoured For Whom the Bell Tolls and The Sun Also Rises. He's one of the reasons I'm moving to Key West once I become a famous writer (Hemingway + classic literary writer Meg Cabot). But the subject matter of The Old Man and the Sea never really interested me. It's an old man out in a boat, fishing. There's no doomed love affair. I was sure I wouldn't like it. But this Sunday, I took the book to the pool with me and read the entire thing in one sitting. The way to read that book is definitely in the baking sun with quick breaks in the cool water, floating, looking up at the sky, and thinking about the book. I should never have doubted Hemingway. I loved it. And now I really want to write a paper about Kierkegaard's Fear and Trembling, The Old Man and the Sea, and the myth of Isaac and Abraham. Yay, graduate school!

2) Watching She's the Man.
Do not mock. I wanted to see this in the theaters and made myself wait. I had hopes for another 10 Things I Hate About You. Teenagers have the perfect amount of angst for Shakespeare's comedies: oh, how they suffer, but you really can't take them seriously. While this movie wasn't quite on par with 10 Things..., everyone watching found it hilarious (the line that won the most laughter: How come when I wanted to ask Eunice out everyone made fun of me but when Sebastian likes her she's hot? No, screw you guys. I hate high school.). I was slightly disappointed that all the sexual edginess of Twelfth Night completely disappeared. Viola was introduced to Duke Orsino (that being his full name in the movie, not his title and name) early in the movie, at a kissing booth. Duke then became interested in Sebastian's twin Viola instead of having a very strange relationship with Sebastian himself. I love how, in the play, people just fall in love with each other without having any idea of their actual gender (of course, later, everyone ends up in gender appropriate relationships)...but this was a teen comedy. Also, there was a tarantula named Malvolio.

3) Salsa Dancing!
I went to a wine festival this weekend with some friends from Texas who have been taking salsa dancing lessons. They know the moves. I don't (it seems to be a lot of 1-2-3s and hip movements). But I'm trying to learn...it's a great workout and a lot of fun. And, I'm going salsa dancing next weekend, so I'll have plenty of opportunity to hone my skills.

In other news...

I've been finished Guilty Pleasures for awhile now, despite its continued presence on the blog side bar. Are the Anita Blake vampire hunter books any good? Well, I'm on the third one now, and I have a strong, persistent desire to start wearing a cross. Preferably a big, silver one.

It's hair cut time. Time to find the perfect style that is a) hip enough for New York, b) easy enough for lazy graduate student maintenance, c) compliments my round face and d) doesn't need to be touched up very often. Any suggestions would be more than welcome.

I found this article about the girl who wrote The Washingtonniene an interesting look at the legalities and purposes of blogs. Check it out.

Television Without Pity has started recapping the first season of Grey's Anatomy. Best work distraction EVER.