Destined to be a cult classic, Kontroll might just be the one film I see at this year’s film festival (aside from the kid-friendly choices, of course).

It is said that this Hungarian offering “succeeds largely on the basis of its mesmerizing surface” and…by “placing his lunatic ensemble of social misfits into a series of episodic story blocks with faultless timing, the director evocatively captures the look, mood, sounds and, most of all, the eccentric attitudes of this alien realm.” Works for me, especially after watching the trailer, which the husband was good enough to point out. We may even make a date of it. How novel.
Bonus: Too many fabulous fresh signals from Coudal to list…but if I were going to attempt it, they would include Treehugger, a ReadyMade interview with Brad Bird, and David Byrne’s new internet radio station.
Plus: Where the hell did this month go? I didn’t even attempt National Novel Editing Month (Flash to Bang is going to be languishing on my Powerbook’s hard drive for a while longer). Forget about Loobylu’s Month of Softies…maybe some day I’ll figure out how to operate our sewing machine. I didn’t submit any photos to LaLaLand either, even though I loved this month’s theme. But I did make my inaugral post to a collaborative blog, started by my new co-workers. Oh yeah, and I got a job.
And: I’ve lost my appetite…for anything but Advil Cold & Sinus, and orange juice. I seem to be sick. It’s been kind of a crappy week. At least misery loves company. In the next couple of months our very own Zophia may be both homeless and jobless. I hope things work out, my dear.

It’s shaping up to be one of those weeks. Yesterday morning there was the pink eye panic. The school nurse called. She suspected the little man was afflicted, as he’d been seen rubbing his eyes…and a classmate of his recently had it. So after work I walked in the door with just ten minutes to scarf down dinner before the lot of us piled into the car, bound for the urgent care clinic. Where we had ample opportunity to scrutinize the boy’s eyes, as it took until after 8pm to be seen for our 7pm appointment. His eyes were fine. The boy has seasonal allergies, just like his mama. This is a known issue. I’ve told the school nurse this before (in the beginning of the school year she once sent the lad home for excessive eye rubbing). We didn’t get home until 8:30pm or so. But at least we had some quality family time…trapped together in a small room…other than our computer room.

I think Lizette Greco is pretty darned cool, how she creates sewn art and artifacts based on her children’s drawings…but Mike Monteiro ups the ante by getting tattoos (that’s right, plural) based on drawings by his son Henry. Wow. Color me impressed.

Very soon the little man and I will be able to dine together at the hitherto smoke-filled Triple Rock…as the area’s smoking ban will take effect this Thursday.

Thanks to Jonathan for the reminder…this coming weekend the 23rd annual Minneapolis - St. Paul International Film Festival kicks off. So many enticing options. So few sitters. Thankfully there’s a “Childish” sub-fest, with a few decent options for the whole family. I’m thinking the ‘Cats and dogs, living together‘ shorts, including animation by Aardman, will be our best bet.

I’ve been trying to avoid the sneak peek excerpt of Anansi Boys, because I’m never content with having just a nibble…and the main course won’t be available until September 20th.
Bonus: “…the devil-may-care deliverator is something of a sex symbol…”
A Coder in Courierland is one helluva good read.
Plus: “totally just invented the best format for music EVER“
My favorite examples, the Ghostbusters song and A Horse With No Name.

The weekend has been a busy blur of activity. Highlights have included but are not limited to:

• The husband scoring a kickass new job (starting out contract-to-hire at the end of the week);
• Rearranging the furniture in the computer room;
• Zophia making the trek to Saint Paul, so we could help her set up a new domain (more to come on that);
• Playing outside in the mud with the neighborhood kids;
• Cleaning the house more thoroughly than it’s been cleaned in ages;
• Returning some long-overdue library materials;
• The little man acquiring loads of new Incredibles swag from gift-givers;
• Hosting a dinner party with family-like friends;
• Catching up on my web-slurfing;
• Raising the husband’s ire by giving the little man a “spring basket” (we’re not Christian, but recently I stopped by World Market to pick up a few necessities, you know, like imported vegan chocolate and Thai curry mock duck ramen noodles, and was assaulted by an onslaught of cuteness. I was powerless to resist).

Today’s agenda was going to include much errand-running, until I realized it’s a holiday so everything is closed. The plan has now been altered to sticking around the house to read and continue with the spring cleaning. The latter is less daunting somehow, now that the house is already in decent shape.

Bonus: James comes up with so many gems:

…paying off one more debt is a nice way to begin month four of operation: get my shit together. [insert sound of screeching eagle here]

We’re right there with you guy, though only on month one of our operation…so I don’t know if we qualify for special sound effects just yet.
Plus: Romanlily’s Easter Tree photo is a wondrous thing (best viewed large).
And: The below drawing was done by my very own Dad a few years back (before either of us had seen Donnie Darko). I love his quirkiness.

It’s been a week of transition, getting used to our new routines (which, for me, seems to include blogging before work, and posting to flickr after work). So far the little man is taking it all in stride. The other day it was his turn for Show and Tell at school. The teacher sent home a big tote bag, and the boy filled it up with as much stuff as possible (two Buzz Lightyears, a Woody, a Jessie, and Mr. Potato Head). As we walked out the door that morning he noticed I was also carrying a bag. Mine was full of essential items for my new desk - like my blue dragon, a Pucca, a Maneki Neko, and a photo of the little man (natch). He looked up at me and asked “you have Show and Tell too?” Well, in a sense, yes.
(I just noticed I’d originally posted the Maneki Neko photo in my blog on 02/06/03…under the heading “Show and Tell”. Spooky synchronicity, no?)
Bonus: From one new co-worker I learned of a theater in the burbs that regularly shows Bollywood movies. Complete with popcorn and samosas. Yay!
Plus: The Rockarchive Gallery (via Rachel James). I’ll take one Siouxsie Sioux and one Nick Cave, thank you. And the portrait of Moby is amusing too.
And: One of my favorite flickr photos of the week…Chocomel makes us hyper. Makes me happy.
And another thing: Simpsons easter eggs…suitable for vegans?

Last Fall a friend of a friend made Battleground Minnesota, a get out the vote documentary about politics in Minnesota. And now it’s one of 10 finalists in an INdTV contest. Watch and vote here.

Speaking of politics in Minnesota…here’s a blog action alert via New Patriot.

Oppose Metro Transit Cuts
Everyone will be affected by the Metro Council’s proposed transit cuts, whether they drive or not. Please let them know about your opposition.

From Skyway News, comments can be made in the following ways until May 1st:

1. Comment cards, which will be made available on buses and trains;
2. E-mail to data.center@metc.state.mn.us
3. Fax to 651-602-1464
4. Mail to: Regional Data Center, Metropolitan Council, 230 E. 5th St., St. Paul, MN 55101
5. The Met Council will also be having public hearings on the proposed cuts in April.
6. Finally, contact your state senator and representative and ask them to support a dedicated source of funding for Metro Transit (if you live in the suburbs, this is particularly important).Plus: After a long day apart from flickr, I arrived home from work last night to find some fabulous comments had been left on my photos, and had just started to look at my contacts’ photos, when, not five minutes later BAM… flickr was down for the count. At least there was a funny post about it on the flickr blog (with the headline “Being Owned By Yahoo Fails to Prevent Harddrive Failures”).
And: Another disappointment. The shoes I won on ebay arrived. They are lovely little faux suede flats, and came packaged in a green shoe box with pink tissue paper (a nice touch) but…though they are marked a 6.5 they’re really more like a 7.5. WAY too big for my little feet. You win some, you lose some.

Congratulations to my boys. Scotty and Chuck both received Honorable Mentions in Coudal’s Crash Ballet, Part Deux contest (where a link was provided to an educational film from the 70’s called “Joyride: An Auto Accident” and participants were to take it apart and edit it however they saw fit). The top dog, Ronn Kilby, had a cracking concept…complete with professional sounding voice over talent. Stellar.
Bonus: Thanks to Moe I now know that an old favorite, Rosencrantz & Guildenstern Are Dead, is finally out on DVD. This is dangerous knowledge.
Plus: The news isn’t as big, to me, as the flickr/Yahoo business…but now Hewlett-Packard has snapped up Snapfish. Let the re-branding begin. Sigh.
And: I pointed Zophia in the direction of Alternative Outfitters, an online store selling only cruelty free products. Many of which we are both coveting now. I apologized for tempting her so. She replied with:
“s’okay, as long as you never tell anyone i like something in the pamela anderson collection.”
Oh, oops. Sorry! I’m also a sucker for cute things embedded with stars.

No rock rock rock for me last night. I phoned home after work to find that the little man wanted his mommy…and the husband wanted a nap. So I made a quick stop at the venue to say hi to my friend, fork over my ticket, and head home.
Bonus: I appreciated this post by James on so many levels, but mostly I’d just like to follow his example…by enjoying a good meal at the Early Girl Eatery on a mild Spring day.
Plus: Dreadfuldan (Daniel Boud) took some fabulous photos at SXSW, for both the Musical and Interactive portions of the festival.

Today is going to kick my ass. Soon I’ll be going in for my first full day of work at the new job. Immediately afterwards I’ll be heading to the Triple Rock, for the early all ages 7 Seconds show. There I will rendezvous with Anton and Sophie, who are visiting from Chicago. I’m sure the little man will be confused and dismayed when mommy doesn’t show up before bedtime. At least this will make my appearance by dinnertime (on subsequent week nights) seem spectacular by comparison.
Plus: It turns out that much of the Decemberists stolen equipment was, alas, uninsured. But if you are willing and able you can throw them a few bones to help replace their gear.
And: The wacky and wonderful craiglist posts keep on coming. Yesterday’s best? A call for a Vampire Actress, who must be “willing to wear skimpy, Vampire Nightgown”. Anyone biting?

I’m feeling antsy, but unmotivated.
A morning visit with family was tiring…and a tentative afternoon playdate hasn’t come to pass.
The snowman we made yesterday seemed to dismantle itself in a hurry.
Borrowed two books last night, and neither is grabbing me.
A short story idea popped into my head and is demanding to be written, but I’m too preoccupied.
Overall, I’m having a meh sorta day.
But this headline made me smile: URGENT Bear Costume Positions.
Plus: The rumors were true…Yahoo actually does acquire my beloved Flickr.