weapons of massdistraction

Friday’s word-of-the-day was frustration. For so many reasons. Mainly dental. The little man’s followup appointment didn’t go very well. First off, we showed up on time only to be told they’d had some scheduling snafu. After much hand-wringing we were asked to come back in two hours. When we did, the little man was wrapped up in a special blanket (he looked like a big burrito) so his hands would be restrained. He had both novacaine and nitrous but this did little to calm him. During his last dental ordeal he had to be put under, all the way, due to acute situational anxiety. This time he was alert enough to struggle during his sealants, which had to be re-done. Then the poor kid puked up his PB&J while they were taking an impression of his teeth (one of the hygienists remarked that she wouldn’t be eating peanut butter again any time soon). The worst part came at the end, though, when the dentist told him “you’re going to feel my fingers for a second” while she swooped in and yanked out one of his teeth. He was understandably upset, but the poor little man was inconsolable for a long while afterwards and cried himself hoarse. But back at home we spent the afternoon cuddling in the comfy chair with the cat. Glad that’s over with, but we have to go back soon - for space maintainer installation. Wheeeeee!

Saturday was a better day. I made blueberry pancakes. The lad’s swimming lesson went well. I reviewed my exterior painting bids and selected a contractor, and paint colors. Then friends came over. Two of them (which equals 1/2 of Charles de Gaulle) stayed to hang out with the little man while the third joined me for the Geek Prom. The evening was going swimmingly. A little OmniTheater action - though that did make me motion sick - the Gonzo Gong Show/Geek Talent Show, a science experiment, the spaz dance contest, the coronation. And then. We got maced. An annual part of the Geek Prom is the geek-streak. Yes, naked geeks, running around. Sadly an overzealous cop must not have gotten the memo because he pepper-sprayed these nude dudes. Yasmine and I didn’t bear the brunt of it, but we got hit with enough of the stuff to feel seriously icky. I found another eyewitness account, and Chuck is gathering video and photos and will be posting something to MN Stories before long.

Oh yeah, and Happy Mother’s Day to me. This is the first time in years that we haven’t had actual Mother’s Day plans, but no one proposed any. So the little man and I are just lounging at home. And that is a-ok.

Bonus: Foosball used to be my game, but even when I was in top form I was never good enough for this.

The weekend was eventful, but less so than it could have been. I scaled back our activities as the little man and I were both feeling a bit fried. We skipped the Walker’s Family Day and the Cinco de Mayo celebrations and most of the May Day festivities and all of Mondo. What we did attend was enjoyable. Highlights included Naked Raygun, a kid’s birthday party, and a potluck with friends.

Random noise:

• Being quiet is hard.
• There’s another new episode of Heroes tonight. Just three more to go!
• Sometimes the little man tries to sniff my feet. I don’t know why.
• I’m liking the new flickr uploadr for OSX. More filtering options and all.
• Just found out about these MOO notecards. I already have a serious stationery fetish. The ability to create notecards from my own photos is only going to make this worse. Much worse.
• The real computer monster.
• The first of the His Dark Materials movies, Golden Compass, will be released in December. As with the release of Stardust I am equally excited and nervous. I love the books so much, what if the adaptations don’t hold up? But still. Seeing the teaser poster gave me a little thrill. And at the official site? I found my own daemon (via Pop Astronaut).
• Less than two weeks to go before I head down to Chicago, and get to meet James and Emily in person. Squeeeee!

Bonus: Just because I was in need of bonus warm fuzzies.

We’re in the red zone right now, pollen count-wise, and it’s pure hell (according to the map Vermont is the place to be, stateside - otherwise Iceland would do nicely). The little man and I have been feeling both crappy and crabby, so we skipped yesterday’s Craftstravaganza and didn’t make it out to the roller derby either. So sad. But it hasn’t been all bad.

• Friday we ate pizza for dinner on Punch’s patio as Critical Mass rolled by.
• I’ve found myself liking Lily Allen.
• Hot Fuzz was hot! Absolutely LOVED it and can’t want to see it again. Some discussion afterwards brought up a BBC show called Green Wing that I need to check out.
• Saturday morning we made it to the Oak Street for Flights of Fancy. The animated shorts were delightful.
• The little man has been pausing after his anecdotes…then tacking “for real” on to the end of them. So cute.
• Even more fond of Roger Ebert after reading this: “we spend too much time hiding illness“
• Borrowed The Last Witchfinder from J. It was written by “scientific humanist” and all-around interesting author James Morrow. Alas, we are not related.
• Planning to check out This Mango is Now an iPod at the Soap Factory.
• “The Right Number is a projected three part online graphic novella about math, sex, obsession and phone numbers presented in an unusual zooming format.” See for yourself.
• Mark Jenkins is an American artist who creates sculptures and street installations using clear packing tape. Amazing stuff.
• This is a book title I would’ve come up with: I Like Food, Food Tastes Good: In the Kitchen with Your Favorite Bands. Maybe I should make a Minneapolis-specific edition.

Tomorrow it’s back to school for the little man (he just had all of last week off - wacky year-round schedule) and back to the vet for Olive, to be spayed and have a tooth removed. Then next weekend will be another doozy. Celebrating a grown-up friend’s birthday and a neighbor kid’s birthday. Naked Raygun at the Triple Rock. Cinco de Mayo in my ‘hood. Free First Saturday at the Walker. The Heart of the Beast May Day Parade, and more. And right now? I feel like I could sleep for a week. Hopefully I’ll be feeling better before then.

Way too much going on. The Minneapolis/St. Paul Interntational Film Festival kicked off the other night (see Al Milgrom’s filmfest picks). I plan to take the lad to see the animated shorts next weekend, and I’d like to see The Seagull Diner, but who knows if that’ll happen. We’ve seen two movies in the last week, but instead of high-falutin’ films we went a little low brow with TMNT and Meet the Robinsons, in 3-D! I enjoyed the latter much more than expected. The former? So bad it was good. But why oh why were the females lacking rib cages? There’s no way women with ten-inch waists could live, let alone support such generous bosoms. Yeah.

Now for the random:

• I love our little Olive, but when it comes to this mouse problem she’s almost as bad as this useless cat.
• What is it with me and books about vampires? The Historian is next on my list, thanks to Michael.
• I’m totally intrigued by Opus and his All New Year (via The Fabulist).
• I blame Radio K…for getting me on a Big Audio Dynamite kick. I can’t help it. I’ve always loved them.

Don’t worry, I won’t let the blog wither and die. It was merely…napping. I blame twitter, and my perpetual busy-ness. Been pre-occupied with:

1. The little man’s return from The Magic Kingdom;
2. Getting our new cat, Olive, settled in;
3. Trying to get the mice out;
4. Signing papers at the tax lady’s office;
5. Wrapping up the Spring cleaning/Great Purge of ‘07;
6. Seething about the jerks in my neighborhood who started dumping their own trash into my rented dumpsters (I’ll be charged an extra $25 for a TV that’s not mine). Thankfully they’ll be hauled away tomorrow. The dumpsters, not the neighbors. Alas.

Amid all the chaos of the week, I made time for one magical evening. The opening night of Edward Scissorhands, where rrazor, surlygrrrl and myself were allowed to snap off photos, sans flash, during the first thirty minutes of the performance. It was beautiful. The sets, the costumes, the dancers, the music. Absolutely perfect.

Friday night I went out for a different sort of evening, one where I crammed in too much activity, and pushed myself to the very edge of exhaustion. Kicked it off with Irish Girl at a Spring Social at, of all places, my eye doctor’s office. Then it was off to Namaste for dinner (yum) and to finally see Pan’s Labyrinth, which I have mixed feelings about. There were aspects I enjoyed but I have always had a phobia of dangerously sharp implements, so maybe it isn’t the film for me. I then forged ahead to Big V’s for Nils and Dave’s 30th Birthday Extravaganza. I missed the first two bands, but arrived in time for Tornavalanche, a brief Rollins Band tribute, Total Fucking Blood and Vampire Hands. All were excellent. And then, when I should have been heading home to crawl into bed, I went to one of the after parties. Needless to say, I was pretty spent yesterday. But I still managed to get the little man to his swimming lesson, and out to a leisurely dinner at Midori’s.

Today? Keywords include gym, Caffetto, chess, playground and laundry.

Bonus: The incomparable Empress Eve is now involved in a new venture. I bring you (or she does, rather) Geeks of Doom.
Plus: Some distractions I’ve been saving up…

• Wreck & Salvage
• Ming & Ping
• Beautiful Agony (Not Really SFW)
• UFOs at the Zoo
• Will Ferrell in The Landlord

And: A few folks have sent me this article about the link between austism and testosterone.