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Casino Movies: Where’s Lady Luck?
There’s nothing better than a good-looking woman going on a roll at a crowded craps table and knowing what she’s doing. This happened in Vegas on Saturday night when my college roommate walked up to the table in a short black dress and red heels. On her turn, she took the dice and showed the boys how it’s done, placing the right bets at the right times. I heard a guy next to her say, “Wow, you really seem to know the game. How did you learn?” Her reply? “I like math.” I think we can agree that this is a sight everybody loves to see…unless you’re playing the “don’t…
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Book Club for Men
Statistics are often tossed around the literary world claiming that women read more fiction than men. I don’t know if that’s true, but I do know that my husband does not read fiction. Ironic, isn’t it? I write fiction (albeit for a mostly female readership), but I can’t get him to pick up a novel unless I stalk him with it–leaving it on his nightstand, on his side of the bed, in his briefcase. I also know plenty of women who participate in book clubs, but no men who do. So I got to thinking about a Book Club for Men (not to be confused with Hair Club for Men),…
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Geeking Out in Iowa City
I spent the weekend in Iowa City at a workshop on Food Writing at the University of Iowa Summer Writing Festival. Most of the time I was geeking out in class or writing on my laptop, but I had a little time to walk around and check out the city, which reminded me a lot of Madison, but smaller. To steal a line from a friend who went to law school there, it’s “like a cultural oasis in the middle of the heartland.” Here are the highlights, in case you ever find yourself in Iowa City: Prairie Lights Bookstore. A book nerd’s dream. Signed books, author readings, works by lots…