![]() ![]() Hughart clearly knew a lot about Asian culture, and it is obvious that he loved it dearly, too. I must have a slight flaw in my character, too, as I suspect the horrid Duke of Ch’in to bear more than a passing resemblance to the Chinese real-life exalted genocidal maniac, Mao Tse Tung – at least, the Duke’s proficiency in burning books, destroying pantheons and traditions, killing peasants and levelling villages has certain historical precedent. Equally righteously angry at inequity, law of might, exploitation, greed, and other human foibles, and equally hopeful with its belief that humans can transcend their nature and become better, and that all the wrongs can be ultimately righted – maybe not in this generation, not in the next, but at some point karma will return. ![]() Absolutely wonderful, on par with some of the best Pratchetts. I really didn’t know how much I needed such a book – until I read it. This story is advertised as “a novel of an Ancient China That Never Was.” It’s a very subtle claim, one that gives an insight into what type of novel Hughart wrote: wistful, whimsical, full of wonder, benevolently sarcastic, witty and self-aware, and most importantly, incredibly optimistic. ![]() ![]() Series: The Chronicles of Master Li and Number Ten Ox #1 ![]()
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![]() Osteria Il Principe e Il Pirata, PantelleriaĪt the eastern edge of Pantelleria, a Sicilian island visible from Tunisia, Osteria Il Principe e Il Pirata serves dishes merging flavours from volcanic land and tumultuous sea in specialties such as spaghetti with tuna bottarga, fennel and pistachio, and busiate pasta with sardines, fennel, raisins, pine nuts and fried breadcrumbs. I pair it all with an age-worthy white wine like those that have enticed connoisseurs to Irpinia for the better part of two millennia, or a pleasantly fruity red made by the proprietors’ son. ![]() I always follow this up with handmade cicatelli pasta with a bright tomato sauce spiked with a minty local herb, then roast grass-fed lamb. My order begins with a huge spread of regional starters such as frittata, salami made from local n ero casertano pigs, and fried courgette flowers. The Di Pietro family cook soulful dishes from Campania’s Irpinia region, a place so ancient the locals call themselves Samnites, after a pre-Roman tribe. ![]() ![]() It is through the Second City that Tina realized just how much she loved the art of improv, because it forces people to use their intelligence, to be creative, and to work without a script, props, or anything else. ![]() Tina also relates her difficulties in finding dates or feeling like she truly fit in through college, as blonde girls were the “in-thing.” Following college and having earned a degree in drama, Tina moved to Chicago where she took work at the local YMCA before being signed on with the Second City, a well-known improv and comedy group theater. ![]() Tina explains that this sort of behavior–of females hurting females–is unacceptable. There, she helped sabotage another girl’s acting in order to get revenge on her for stealing Tina’s boyfriend. Among the reasons is having such a strong presence by way of her father, who was firm but loving in raising Tina.Īs a teenager, Tina was exposed to acting while working at a local summer theater camp. Born in 1970 in a suburb of Philadelphia to two loving parents, Jeanne and Don, Tina remembers enjoying her childhood. She also explains that her book is about the child growing into an adult who still wants to be a child. Tina welcomes readers and explains that everyone will find something of relevance in her book. Bossypants is a memoir by Tina Fey which recounts episodes from her life in conjunction with her career as a comedian and writer for Saturday Night Live and 30 Rock. ![]() |