Why I Love Amy Sedaris

Strangers with Candy began its run on Comedy Central in 1999. My recent viewing of the insane 2006 movie, based on the series, prompted me to buy the three-season DVD . The movie and series have a preposterous premise about Jerri Blank, an ex-con, ex-drug addict, ex-prostitute “runaway.” At age 46, she returns to high school as a freshman to turn her life around. The humor is tacky, wacky and politically incorrect.

Although “Jerri,” played by Amy Sedaris, stands out as a nerd and a loser, the kids and teachers don’t seem to notice her age. The writers
--Paul Dinello, Stephen Colbert, and Amy Sedaris--may have started with the show After School Special and thought, How can we take each episode and seriously scr*w with it? In a story with a lesson, each shallow character learns something. We're not sure what.

This movie trailer shows a taste of what I attempt to convey:

Trailer to 2006 Movie

Amy Sedaris’s transition to Jerri Blank requires her to freeze a pathetic expression on her face, like Billy Bob Thornton did when he played Karl Childers in Sling Blade.



The real Amy is adorable. She appears as the cat lady on My Name is Earl tonight (May 31). Below she attends the Bewitched premier (2005).



This is what fascinates me about Amy: She has figured out how to combine her talents in a unique way. Not only does she act, write, and perform demented comedy, but she has expertise and creativity as a homemaker. She has created a beautiful, but kooky book about entertaining. Someone (maybe Amy) coined her as “Martha Stewart on crack.” I Like You: Hospitality under the Influence features photos of prepared foods and completed crafts, shot in Amy’s funky apartment. The book has a campy look to it with Amy wearing vintage clothing. She also runs a business out of her kitchen called Dusty Food Cupcakes.

I Like You includes several Greek recipes, like Koulouraki and Kourambiethes (cookies) that are part of my family tradition (my family name is Tahtaras). Besides delicious food, the book gives advice about having guests. My favorite tip is: "Try filling your medicine cabinet with marbles. Nothing announces a nosy part-goer more successfully than an avalanche of marbles striking a porcelain sink." This sample page shows the flavor of the book:



Amy Sedaris should have her own show on HGTV, the Food Network, or Comedy Central. I Like You is something that has never been done. In plain words, it is awfully darn funny, and would make a great gift.

I only write reviews about things I buy. If you find SNL funny (Amy is from Second City), you will like Strangers with Candy, available as a TV series and movie. I Like You doubles as a useful cookbook and pretty coffee table book--it is large with 304 pages of color photos, drawings and recipes.

The Secret

We usually think of a secret as information known by some but withheld from others. Previously known as positive thinking, the law of attraction (the secret) has been around for as long as I can remember. Well-known books with similar messages are Think and Grow Rich, The Power of Positive Thinking, and Creative Visualization. In a book called See You at the Top (1982), the author Zig Ziglar recommends consistently programming ourselves with positive thoughts to counteract the negativity that comes at us from all directions. With CNN we can see and hear bad news 24 hours a day. No wonder everyone is depressed.

Ziglar suggests reading motivational books and listening to audiotapes as a regular routine. I have taken his advice. I believe what he says. I am happier when I surround myself with happy people. I avoid naysayers. We all have difficulties in life. It is the inner workings of the mind--or what we think about each day--that determines whether or not we are happy.

As someone who has benefitted from positive messages, I will take all the good stuff I can get. The Secret presents positive thinking with a new spin that gives me a deeper understanding. I have the four-CD unabridged audio version of the book. I don’t have time to reread the book, but I have played the CDs several times in my car. I still have light-bulb moments.

The central theme of The Secret is that like attracts like. We reap what we think about. Thoughts are powerful. Positive thoughts have more power than negative ones. If we believe in something, we can make it happen.

Some people object to The Secret, but its principles follow the teachings of Jesus, minus the Christian element. Ask and you shall receive. Is this idea only for Christians? Does it only work if you pray through Jesus?

Having faith, belief, or hope always improves my own life. If I’m filled with hope, my life is already improved during that minute, during that hour, or during that day when I feel hopeful. When I feel hopeful, I notice goodness around me. How can thinking this way possibly hurt me?

Besides changing our thoughts and feelings, The Secret is about the vibration that we emit into the universe with each thought. And we attract this same vibration back to us.

Critics of The Secret are bothered by its focus on material possessions. Why? Is something wrong with money? Gratitude and giving are emphasized more. Money satisfies no one, unless they have gratitude. Others take issue with the book’s ideas about illness. Sometimes attitude makes a big difference in our health. I think everyone has made this observation. Should we blame ourselves if we are dying of a terminal disease? Of course not. My personal view is that the lessons that I’m here on earth to learn--including those in The Secret--expand my soul and help me cope with death more easily. I have had to face my mortality more than once. I have earned this opinion.

The Secret is a gift for anyone who wants to receive it. My advice is to take what you can learn from reading the book, listening to the CD or watching the DVD. Each time I play the CD, I hear something new. I grow a little. I feel happy. I feel hopeful.

I suggest that everyone take this message and use what you can. Here is something from The Secret to try: If your marriage is unhappy, make a list of all your spouse’s good qualities. This might take some thinking. Peel away your partner’s defensive facade and remember the reasons you fell in love. Review your list each night before bed. Do this for a week. Be focused and committed for one week. Something great will happen.

The way to understand the principles of Rhonda Byrne and the other contributors is to take their suggestions. Just try. Make that list. If you humor me, and focus your mind and energy on just this one exercise, you will find that the law of attraction is working. Take what you can use from this book, and leave the rest. Use prayer with these principles, if you wish, to honor God while you honor yourself. But be careful. You may have to adapt to getting what you want and wanting what you get.

Why I Love Elisabeth Hasselbeck

Where did the feminist movement go? When I was a young woman, the movement emphasized who we were on the inside. Our intelligence and determination took precedence over beauty, at least in the workplace. Showing some cleavage to get promoted was nothing I’d ever consider.

Have women made progress since then? Yes and no.

The tacky adventures of blonde celebrities infiltrates not only entertainment news, but network news as well. Attending parties. Driving drunk. Checking into rehab. Leaving rehab early. Serving jail time. Spending money. Dating someone new. Spending more money. Making a sex video. What?

I want some better role models for our nation’s young girls.

Enter Elisabeth Hasselbeck who turned 30 today. Happy Birthday, Elisabeth. Thank you for being a strong woman.

Before co-hosting The View, Elisabeth made it to the final four on Survivor: The Australian Outback. She completed the Boston Marathon in 1999, the same year she graduated from Boston College. She has worked with the Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer Foundation, Habitat for Humanity, and several other charity foundations. You can read more about her accomplishments at Wikipedia and at The Views Bios.

On a more personal note, Elisabeth is a wife, mother, and she is expecting a baby. She has Celiac Disease and can eat no wheat or gluten. Have you tried omitting wheat from your diet?

Before writing about last week’s unraveling at The View, I wanted to approach the subject without putting emphasis where it doesn’t belong. I enjoy the show. A half hour of Hot Topics rescues me from writer’s block. Since Barbara hasn’t asked me to co-host yet, I will put my two cents here.

Elisabeth is one smart, tough cookie. Anyone who speaks otherwise is a fool. She has held her ground all season, stating her conservative views, while the other women talked over her. Note: Women often talk over each other; it’s a cultural thing, but it doesn’t make for good TV. Barbara says she cringes when she watches the program from home.

One day on The View, the ladies discussed Christy Brinkley’s pending divorce. The conversation evolved--or digressed--to the subject of cheating. To my chagrin, Barbara, Rosie, and Joy took a lax position on adultery. All three of them thought cheating husbands (or wives) could still be good parents, while I yelled at the TV, waiting for someone to expect more from their partner. If children learn from example, how can cheating be tolerated?

Would you like to see a young woman with COURAGE step forward, when everyone else is jumping down her throat?

You can see the clip here.

This is why I love Elisabeth.

I often disagree with her conservative politics, and I do not share her position on abortion or the war, for that matter. What I do share--I would hope--is respect for myself and determination to stick to my convictions.

I have admired Rosie for years, and the fight between her and Elisabeth saddens me. No, I’m not posting the clip here. I would like to see Rosie take a step back and ask herself why people are criticizing her. She has perhaps let her passion turn into anger. Whether she means to or not, she is putting negative energy out there, and negative energy is like a boomerang that always comes back.

I am on a campaign to honor women who honor themselves. We need better role models for our young girls (and boys). I nominate Elisabeth.

Text Me

Welcome to Text Me Some Apple Pie, where baby boomers take on--or should I say, navigate, collide with, interact, or adapt to--the twenty-first century. I never thought of myself as someone who'd become an "old-timer" like grandpa. I vowed I'd always keep one foot planted in current trends and pop culture.

Naturally, I was raised with a black and white TV, without a remote, without a TV in my bedroom. A bedroom I shared with one of my sisters. We baby boomers were not raised with video games or flickering colored television screens. We had no CNN to watch war as it exploded before our eyes. We had three TV networks--ABC, CBS and NBC--that didn't notify us when children went missing.

We had one telephone mounted on the wall. For awhile we had a party line, an obsolete technology that disappeared with Tyrannosaurus Rex. Cordless or cell phones went beyond our imaginations. I had no cell phone or iPod to keep me company as I walked to school both ways uphill in the snow. Oh, wait. That was my parents' generation that did all that walking.

My generation has adapted gradually to the techie age. I read a book on how to blog that is five years old and already out of date. We've gone from music turntables that played 38s, 45s (singles) and finally LPs. Then came 8-track tapes, cassette tapes, CDs, iPods, and every time I update my music, a new technology outdates my collection.

In many ways I embrace change. I love getting text messages. I'm a techie nerd. I have a Myspace page, an iPod, a cell phone, and I'm in love with my digital camera, my fifth camera. In future blogs I will post photos I've taken, and I will describe the features on my camera.

I have read that narrowing my focus can make a good blog better. Well...no can do. I've decided to write what comes naturally to me. On some days I find myself in bitch mode. (I use the word "bitch" as a verb, not as a noun.)

I have special topics for my soapbox, like the greedy pharma companies. We once had a family doctor, instead of twelve different specialists, and our lives were not controlled by legal pill pushers and medical insurance providers. I will address dis-ease that allopathic medicine can only medicate but not fix. We need a paradigm shift in our view of medical practice in this "civilized" world.

Another topic that needs to shift is the lack of role models who influence our young girls. I'm tired of hearing about half-naked rich girls who get arrested or shave their heads or forget their wear their under panties. We should expect better. We are honoring bad behavior. We are enabling bad behavior.

I wish Oprah or maybe Tyra would create a substantial award--with money and clout--for deserving young women who demonstrate character and strength. Although I have no award money myself--at this time--I will feature women in this blog who deserve admiration.

As I alluded to in my opening sentence, I'm still looking for the ideal word to describe how I take on life in our current society. Do I conquer, acquiesce to, live harmoniously with, prevail over...life in the twenty-first century? My subtitle may be tweaked from time to time.

I look forward to receiving feedback. If you haven't figured out how to text me, please go ahead and send me some pie.