I have to admit…I had a frustratingly asstastic weekend. My timing was lousy, none of my plans panned out, and, just generally, there seemed to be a black cloud lingering overhead (which hasn’t entirely dissipated yet).

• The little man and I were excited about a neighbor boy’s birthday party. I had the time right, but the day wrong, so we missed it entirely. I feel like such a jackass.
• Intended to attend a co-worker’s college graduation party Saturday night, but instead fell asleep on a friend’s futon (where our little family was hanging out) just about the time I should have been heading out the door.
• Finally visited with my folks yesterday, after not seeing them for far too long. I knew that a coworker of my Dad’s had been murdered on Friday, and that was bad enough…but found out that a family friend also had a heart attack the same day, and died at the age of 52.
• Today is the 16th anniversary of my brother’s death.

Enough said. I’m not in a very good headspace today. Hopefully I’ll snap out of it shortly.
Bonus: Via the husband, found out that there is a staged adaptation currently running of Get Your War On (the “savage and hysterical internet comic strip” by David Rees). If you are in (or can be in) the Austin, TX area before May 14th, check it out.
Plus: I’m not the only one feeling low…looks like Low cancelled their tour because Alan Sparhawk has been battling depression. Best wishes to him and Mim.
And: Though I’ve been feeling cruddy, I still managed some brief bursts of creativity…by catching up on some photo-taking over the weekend. And there are still more pix to be posted.

I’m a big old wuss. This morning I woke up to find that a) I was out of coffee and b) it was raining. So my gloomy uncaffeinated self decided we would skip the Cinco de Mayo parade. And now I have guilt. We haven’t done anything fun yet today (but I hope to rectify that soon). Instead I left the guys at home, and struck off on my own in an excercise in futility. One that began yesterday. Here’s a little backstory. It’s been fourteen years since I’ve owned a bicycle of my own. Last year the little man’s grandmother gave us a tandem bike attachment, but I didn’t have a bike to attach it to. And in August of 03 and March of 04 I posted here, toying with the idea of buying a cruiser. Yesterday I finally followed through. With Zophia at my side we ventured to Nokomis Cycle, a nice neighborhood bike shop (not my neighborhood, but still). When I saw the Paul Frank/Julius Cruiser in person my heart went pitter patter. Here are her specs:

• Nirve “Galaxie” cruiser frame
• Full length black fender set w/blue pin stripes
• Special Julius blue grips
• “I Love My Bike” bell
• Black front basket
• Tractor style double spring saddle
• Welded kickstand
• Alloy rims w/stainless spokes

Taking her for a test drive sealed the deal. But I couldn’t get her home. The Honda’s back seat folds down, but I was on my way to retrieve the little man, who still needs to sit in the back. So I returned there today, hoping that it would be doable, but the shop owner knew better…and didn’t want me to scratch up my new toy before I’d even properly ridden it. Instead he graciously offered to deliver it to our house, at no extra charge. Now that’s service.

I am often amused by the little man’s point of view. Yesterday he announced he would like to have a baby sister…and that we could name her “Freakers”. I suppose that would be an appropriate nickname for any child of mine, but I’m not sure about a given name. After this random discussion of babies we started looking through the lad’s baby photos. He correctly noted that he had been much smaller and is now getting bigger. And he’s finally coming to terms with the fact that the husband and I were once children ourselves. He mentioned that the husband had since grown up, then looked at me and said “but you, you’re not done growing yet”. I asked “what, you mean I’m too small?” (he’s just noticed how short I am compared to other adults) and he thought about it for a moment before replying, “no, mom, you’re medium”.
Bonus: Before it’s too late, quick, get out to your local participating comic book store for Free Comic Book Day. Some fine folks on flickr have been getting in on the action.

Looks like a trip to Brooklyn will be in order, for the Fall of 2006. Stephin Merritt’s musical adaptation of Coraline, by Neil Gaiman, will be playing. Other Merritt news of merit, via Pitchfork, is purely operatic.

Yesterday afternoon the weather was simply gorgeous and, as such, a good time to be out and about running errands. Though they could only loosely be called such. At Breadsmith I picked up caramel rolls, and at Cheapo the new New Order, and Hot Hot Heat’s Elevator. Though I’d intended to grab Employment by the Kaiser Chiefs as well. Will have to go back and get it before their June 1st show at First Ave.

And lastly…I am desperately trying to stay unspoiled, but it’s so hard…especially with all the other Browncoats gloating and glowing after last night’s Serenity sneak peek. The next several months are going to be a bit rough.
Bonus: Photos from the lucky few.
Plus: Whoa, looks like local meteorologist Paul Douglas now has his own weather blog. It’s kinda neat.

The weather is finally turning around and becoming more Spring-like. A walk to the park with the little man is in order for this evening. Accompanied, perhaps, by some photo-taking. I fear my photostream is becoming sort of…stagnant.

If I can stay awake long enough, I’m also going to attempt to view my latest GreenCine selection this evening. I am ever so ambitious.

My inherently superstitious self worries that this could prove inauspicious, but I went ahead and booked the little man’s post-surgery followup appointment…for Friday the 13th. Keep your fingers crossed for us. We want the crowns to stay in, and cavities to stay away.

After last weekend’s calm and quiet we’re going to switch gears this coming weekend will see much activity.

• Kicking it off right in our backyard…the District Del Sol’s Cinco de Mayo celebrations run Friday 5-10pm and Saturday 10am-8pm.
• Friday night local band Arcwelder, who I listened to a lot in high school, will play the entry with friend of a friend’s band Falcon Crest.
• The all ages ‘Free First Saturday’ returns to the Walker, from 11:00am to 4:00pm, with “screenings of artful shorts by young Minnesota filmmakers, adventurous hands-on activities, and some very silly rhymes.”
• Saturday night will see El Vez headlining the main room while noisemakers Melt-Banana deliver their sensory onslaught in the entry.
• And oh yeah, on Sunday there’s that whole Mother’s Day thing too.

Bonus: The latest dispatch from James is full of gems. I particularly approve of his Sarah Vowell fantasy, and this inspired idea for his next tattoo, which will brand him a librarian for life.
Plus: The website for Tideland, Terry Gilliam’s upcoming movie, has added some new, behind the scenes videos. And Jeff Bridges has some behind the scenes photos on his own site. Now if we could just get a scheduled release date for the United States…that, or plan a trip to the Netherlands for the little man’s birthday. Hmmm.

Saturday afternoon I found myself flying solo, but at least I was able to see The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy. I’ll admit, I’d peeked at a few reviews. Most warned me to expect something…well…uneven. They weren’t totally wrong. But as a long time fan (of the radio series, books, BBC television series, etc.) I’m glad it was brought to the big screen, and still think it’s worth seeing. There are so many individual elements I fell in love with. Sam Rockwell captured Zaphod’s zaniness perfectly. There couldn’t be a better voice for Marvin than Alan Rickman. Stephen Fry was fabulous as the narrator. And holy flurking snit, Bill Nighy as Slartibartfast was just pure genius. As a whole though, there was something…hmmmm, a little hollow. While Martin Freeman did a fine job, Simon Jones will always be Dent, Arthur Dent, to me (definitely appreciated his cameo). I think a repeat viewing is necessary, for me to get a better feel for it. Or something.

My new motto should be never try, never fail. This year I signed up for the May 1st/CSS Reboot…hoping, in vain, that working under a deadline would be just the thing I needed. It worked for me during NaNoWriMo after all. But I didn’t count on two variables 1) my son’s medical/dental emergencies 2) the new job. The combination of crisis management mode with gainful employment created a sort of synergistic energy suck, one that thoroughly kicked my ass. So no more deadlines = no more excuses. Guess I’ll have to whip this site into shape only when the time is right, and I won’t be letting on when that will be.

And finally, we may have wussed out, due to the inclement weather, but other, more intrepid locals made it to yesterday’s May Day celebrations. Photos here and here.
Bonus: An article sent to me by the husband…which includes so many excellent quotes from some of our favorite authors, I couldn’t pick just one to highlight. You’ll have to read it for yourselves: Science Fiction writers savage Star Wars
Plus: Haven’t picked up New Order’s Waiting for the Sirens’ Call yet (it came out last week), but I think tomorrow will be the day to do so, in lieu of attending their Chicago show.