Mojitos and More (Casey Affleck, too)

Well, back from a Regulars' Night at my favorite coffee bar. Got an invite for myself and a friend and while the first friend I invited got a dreadful allergic reaction today (she doesn't know from what but she's still sneezing), the other one was all rearing to go. Which was good as we had a fabulous night of free white wine, salad, olives (oh I love olives, black and green both), watermelon, crusty fresh bread and red onions. And mojitos. I really enjoyed it all. We dicussed politics, movies, books, all things interesting and I finally feel like I was on a vacation... I'd still rather work but unfortunately, the autumn term only commences in the middle of August. Oh well.

Anyhow, last night I saw a truly amazing movie, Gone Baby Gone, which is based on a brilliant novel by one of my all time favorite authors, Dennis Lehane. His books are simply wonderful, well-crafted and intelligent... it's no wonder that Eastwood's Mystic River and Marty's Shutter Island are also based on ones. I really loved the film, the gritty and real feel it had, the smartness and the honesty. It felt like real Boston. (I've lived close by for one summer.) Casey Affleck truly shines in this movie directed by his older brother Ben.

I must admit that one of the reasons I love Casey is that he's a vegan and an avid advocate for the animal rights... Here's a really wonderful interview

http://www.peta2.com/OUTTHERE/o-caseyspotlight.asp

He loves cats, too. :) Go Casey!! There are still some influential vegans in Hollywood, even though Casey's brother-in-law has started a career in music... There's Tobey Maguire, Daryl Hannah, Woody Harrelson, Jason Schwartzman, Alicia Silverstone, James Cromwell, and many more... James Cromwell turned vegan when filming Babe. :)

In any case, a wonderful and inspiring day. Casey Affleck will go far... I wish lots of luck to him and all the other vegan actors. And will go and see every one of their films.

Sunshine and strawberry coffee

Today, woke up to brilliant sunshine and the purr of my tortoiseshell cat Ramona. Been drinking strawberry coffee, and made a lovely sandwich of fullgrain bread, hummus, tomatoes and cucumber, and some rucola. An awesome way to start the day.

I'll be going to the library again today -- have some dvds and books I reserved waiting for me there. I'm thinking of freeing some books into the wild en route... Bookcrossing is such a great pastime, and it's fun for people to try and catch the novels. Of course there are several books I truly love and wouldn't ever let roam the streets, but quite a few just gather dust and would enjoy being read by someone, I'm sure.

I got some great news yesterday, at the RA clinic... My RA appears to have healed miraculously! At the same time that I started my vegan diet last year, I also stopped taking my medicines... And the vegan lifestyle has worked wonders on me. I'm cured! The doctor said there was of course no way of being sure but it does appear that I am in fact healed of what was supposed to be a chronic illness.

So, that calls for a celebration... I'll toast to the summer and sunshine with a glass of sparkling wine.