Wednesday, October 31, 2007
Our neighborhood is a dead zone, in many ways, but especially when it comes to Halloween. Nothing but dark houses up and down the street (which makes it even spookier). Just two blocks over though, that’s where the party’s at. I nearly talked the little man out of trick or treating altogether, in favor of going to the Barebones Halloween Show, As Muck Would Have It. No such luck. I haven’t done anything really fun on Halloween since the 90s (just try finding a babysitter on All Halllows Eve). Maybe sometime in the 10s. Or early 20s. Sigh.
Bonus: I had a feeling I wouldn’t be getting out tonight (to see the Mountain Goats, or Vampire Hands, or go to the annual Triple Rock event, or…or…) so I planned ahead. And saved The Professor’s Daughter. I’ll be reading that shortly.
Plus: Speaking of reading…the little man is just getting up and running with that. So I think we’re going to have to stop looking at LOLcats together. It’s too confusing and could totally screw up the poor kid’s spelling.
And: Thankfully we can still look at cute overload together. Tonight we both marveled at this pup-getting-eating-by-a-croc costume. Wow.
Tuesday, October 30, 2007
The little man was hesitant. He said he didn’t want to break his hands. Any knowledge he’d acquired to that point had come from movies and cartoons. Hopefully things will be a little clearer now, since he’s had his first Tae Kwan Do lesson. Now if he can just remember to call his instructor Sa Bu Nim. Oh, and stay in the room until the class is really over. Last night he strolled out at 8:00pm on the dot, because that’s when class was supposed to end. But the others were still going strong. Oops.
Bonus: I’ve always found Bollywood movies to be mesmerizing, but now the choice bits are readily available on YouTube. And by choice bits, I mean the large scale dance numbers. Though the outfits and dance moves seem to be more modern/western now…and I really don’t know about this Buntee Aur Bubli gangsta rap.
Plus: My toothpaste tube sustained puncture wounds. From the cat. Not quite as dire as the damaged small electrics, but annoying nonetheless. Then he tried to chew the buttons off my shirt. While I was wearing it. Ugh.
And: I totally need one of these cards - Eye-Fi Adds Wi-Fi to Almost Any Digital Camera.
Yes, I did wear the Wonder Woman costume…but just because photos exist of me wearing it does not mean said photos need to be seen. Like, ever. The rest of the party pix are here. It was a most excellent time. Good company, good food, at my house - how could we go wrong? Oh, well, there was that point with the little man…when he was ordering our party guests to “put your legs up and say quack!” Not sure what that was all about, but thankfully it didn’t scare anyone off. Phew.
Bonus: Been hearing about Flock, the social web browser. I’ll check it out, but maybe tomorrow. For now I’m planning to put down the powerbook and crack open a real book.
Saturday, October 27, 2007
It was a rough week but I need to quit the kvetching. I’m on the mend (again), I’ve got the internets back (my desktop is still out of commission though, the monitor is fried), and we’re having friends over tomorrow (who will see me dressed as Wonder Woman). So five other good-ish sorts of things:
- Today I finally partook of Cupcake Saturday, with friends. The little man and I had the vegan chocolate ones with cream filling and skulls. Yum.
- At work yesterday Meghan and I had mustaches drawn on our fingers. We held our decorated fingers to our faces for photographs. Her mustache is bigger, but that’s because my fingers are smaller. So there.
- Scrabulous. As always.
- The trailer for Wristcutters: A Love Story looks good.
- I’ve got a hot Saturday night ahead of me. Baking pumpkin pies.
Bonus: On the crafty tip, my old friend Jody has started a new blog. Fabricate is off to a good start.
Plus: I am most skeptical about this Star Wars live action series. The last three movies were dreadful (though I did quite like the animated Clone Wars). I think George Lucas should get on with his life. Maybe just sit back, and enjoy MIT’s Star Wars musical.
And: So creepy yet cool… promachoteuthis sulcus. Such lovely tentacles.
Wednesday, October 24, 2007
The day started off so well. I was in an excellent mood, despite a mild sore throat. We made it to the school bus with time to spare. I was productive at work. I met a friend for lunch. And then. I started feeling feverish. And, alternately, the chills kicked in. By the time I got back to the school bus stop for afternoon pick up I was shaking and barely able to drive home. I downed a can of ginger ale for dinner, but that came right back up. Nearly gagged while making the kid’s meal. Been laying in bed with the powerbook, but that jerkface Freddy has finally done it. He has destroyed the adapter cord so thoroughly that electrical tape cannot save it (earlier I had been chalking up his new chew toys as a small success - how wrong I was). I am now down to 27 minutes of juice left. And falling.
Bonus: On a lighter note, I am a big fan of parkour, and have been aware of how it is slowly being co-opted by the mainstream. Like Mr. Barrett Chase, I enjoyed its use in the pilot episode of Chuck. It was also the only interesting thing in that overhyped James Bond movie (its use in The Bourne Ultimatum is another story - love that series). But now? The American public is going to be clobbered over the head with it in the oh so creatively named Parkour. Starring Channing Tatum, who is:
…slated to play a renegade New York City cop who must infiltrate the underground world of free running, known as le parkour, to bust a seemingly unstoppable gang of bank robbers in an untitled movie for New Line Cinema. Le parkour is an extraordinarily athletic discipline where a person utilizes their environment as a sort of jungle gym, traversing the landscape - urban or otherwise - in the most efficient method possible.
Sounds cheesy. But I’m so bored and sick I’d totally watch it right now.
Five OK things:
- An interview with the immensely talented Marjane Satrapi.
- This Sunday there will be a free showing of the silent film Nosferatu (at a Minneapolis church, of all places).
- I didn’t get to see Justice perform here last week, but I did read a decent review of the NYC show.
- Indecision. Made me snicker.
- The No Coast Craft-O-Rama is right around the corner, and this year the sale is being held over two days - November 30th and December 1st.
Bonus: Bizarre Leonard Nimoy video + Bad Brains Pay to Cum = brilliant!
It was glorious to have such a warm, sunny Saturday. But the return of the sun brought with it hordes of Asian lady beetles and box elder bugs. They do usually appear in our neighborhood every October, but the recent gloom had been keeping them at bay. The same gloom that had been killing me. But now there’s an unpleasant pinging sound to contend with, as the stupid bugs fly into my lamp over and over again. It’s totally getting on my nerves. I can’t win.
Speaking of unwinnable battles…the little man is only human, true, but it always throws me for a loop when he gets stuck in an inexplicable funk. Which seems to be happening more often these days. At the most inopportune times. Like today, at his little pal’s birthday party. The lad didn’t snap out of it until it was nearly time to go. I am at a loss.
Thank gawd for friends who appreciate my dorky giggling fits. Last night I was able to get out for a bit with some folks, to see The Darjeeling Limited. And then to stand outside The Uptown afterwards, talking and laughing, made giddy by my temporary freedom. I’m hoping to get out again tomorrow night but the outlook is not so good. And there are, once again, two events to choose from. Friends are opening for Mount Eerie at First Amendment, but The Thermals are playing at the Triple Rock. I love The Thermals. It is an early all ages show, so I could theoretically take the little man along. But at the risk of sending him into a funk, and myself right along with him. Maybe I’ll just hunker down with Heroes instead.
Sigh.
Bonus: Cats are deceitful…had the little man cracking up and asking for more.
Plus: This lovely little animated short is fraught with peril and oh so nicely done.
And: The official trailer is now up for Control. So stoked. Sounds like it will be playing in town for just one week, starting November 2nd. I am so there. Anyone care to join me?
Saturday, October 20, 2007
It has been a ridiculously dull week. I am desperate for some good times, but the kid doesn’t want to leave the house. Where is the in-between?
Also? I am not a chew toy, even though I may squeak when bitten. Freddy can be so sweet and affectionate - but at times he is way too aggressive and ruthlessly destructive. After he chewed through the cord of my brand new $50 flat iron and then tore apart something of the little man’s the lad asked if we could maybe return the cat. That would be a no. I just hope he outgrows these behaviors. Soon.
Bonus: Tonight I’d planned to take the kid to the MN Rollergirls Trick or Beat season opener, but a co-worker is having a housewarming party at the exact same time. This co-worker has a dog. The kid is dog obsessed. I think we know which event will win out.
Wednesday, October 17, 2007
Yesterday I attended my son’s IEP review…and found out that he refuses to have anything to do with the Pledge of Allegiance. I think his teachers wanted to know if he was some sort of conscientious objector (we are the crazy vegans, after all) but it’s not like that. He isn’t against all authority. He thinks it’s hella cool whenever it’s his turn to be line leader or door holder at school. And he sure loves to be the boss of me. Oh yes, I caved. Again. For the third year running I’ve allowed him to choose my Halloween costume. I am gonna be one seriously short and chubby Wonder Woman.
Bonus: These cephalopodian playscapes make me happy. More here.
Plus: I’ve been a longtime fan of collaborative projects, in general, and 1000 Journals in particular. Now there’s a 1000 Journals movie!
And: Today someone gave me the heads up about Inkling Magazine (its byline? On the Hunch that Science Rocks) saying he thought I’d like it. Damned right I do. Especially this article attempting to demystify miscarriage. Human reproduction is a risky business, as I well know.
We woke up in Duluth and it was wonderful. The whole weekend was a delight. But the day was bittersweet, as I knew it would be. If my brother had lived he would’ve been 37 years old today. He loved Duluth too. On our last trip together there he bowled a 225 (at the age of 15). Focusing on those happy memories helps. It’s too easy to get hung up on the rough stuff, like remembering his last birthday…spent in the hospital, suffering the effects of his first round of chemo. Instead I’ll go further back, and think about the year he got his Big Trak. That thing kicked ass.
Bonus: Something else my brother loved…Halloween. And I still do. But The Soap Factory’s Haunted Basement (”the scariest public basement in southeast Minneapolis”) might be just a little too much for my wussy self. Still, I’m intrigued.
