This page contains suggestions that I deem worthy of your consideration and/or trying (if you haven’t done so already). These items vary from objects to ideas to places – anything that inspires, awes, and sometimes, comforts the belly. Feel free to send me your own suggestions!

(thanks McSweeney’s for the inspiration. please don’t yell. Dave, you drew an angry fish in my copy of A Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius. You may not remember, but we are friends. )

…….

• green tea ice cream (a refreshing treat in the spring/summertime. try it at Teaism in Dupont Circle, but I’m sure others’ are just as good.)

• all things National Geographic (the magazine, the “Photo of the Day” collection, the museum on 17th & M Streets)

• buy yourself flowers (they’ll perk you up AND you’re doing a good deed for others – they’ll perk up when they see them. who isn’t happy to see flowers?)

• films by Hayao Miyazaki (they are the most beautifully animated films – thought-provoking, delightfully imaginative, and always feature cute little creatures with the cutest expressions. watch the excerpt from My Neighbor Totoro on YouTube)

• Japanese author Haruki Murakami’s website is as intriguing as his novels – the pages captivate all senses just as his characters  seduce us readers with paranormal existences and equally human tendencies)

• Korean Film Festival DC 2008 (April 4 – June 12, 2008 at various locations, including Freer Gallery and AFI Silver Theatre)

• concord grapes.  mmm…delicious.

• swaptree.com (finally, bartering for books! I love it – have I said that already?)