Where Else Would I Be?

Confederates in the Attic

In an attempt to bond with my husband I read the book Confederates in the Attic by Tony Horwitz. I just finished tonight and enjoyed it.

I found it to be an honest and curious look into how the Civil War has shaped the South - what real memories and consequences there were as well as what iconic ideas have been latched onto. Horwitz travels through fifteen pertinent southern states interviewing an interesting collection of people (each with their own vehement opinion) to report on relevant stories of prejudice and obsession and a certain way of life that continues to separate the North from the South to this day.

While the book made me really feel how close in history the Civil War actually occurred, it also shocked me when it led me to understand that this far-off, long-ago time of bloody heroism is still so present in so many different ways for so many people.

Next week I'm in Greenland, but for now it is all mango yogurt smoothies for me!

Enjoy the weekend! And if you'd rather not, go ahead and take the ABC News Match-O-Matic quiz to see which of the presidential nominees' politics you align with most. I came out split almost down the middle with only one more check in the Obama column.

Got a ticket for my destination

We can finally put that age-old (generation-old?) question to rest. In what part of the country do you use the term 'sneakers,' and in what part do you use the term 'tennis shoes' or 'gym shoes?'

Nah. I'm just kidding! Most of my readers are adults! We don't care about THAT! The real question is where do we use 'soda,' where do we use 'pop,' and where do we inexplicably use 'coke?'

Here is your answer:

And for those of you that are adult-enough to not be able to see this clearly, you'll be happy to know that the term 'martini' is (ab)used the same way in all parts of the country.

The Accidental Purple Dinner

Someone I don't know posted a blog a while back about a food/photography experiment of eating only one color food per day. I thought of this creative consumer tonight as I sat down to my mostly purple dinner.

Beets, blue mashed potatoes and wine. Not bad! Not a lot of protein, but at least it satisfied me!

In other news: It is hurricane season (no!); As it turns out, it is NOT more stressful to be rich than it is to be poor (see article); Wooden pencils are probably better for the environment than mechanical pencils; and Lindsay Lohan has thoughts on politics.