weapons of massdistraction

It was another overly active weekend, much of it spent at multiple locations with various family members. But the big news is…the little man has a loose tooth. Really loose. Last night he really started wiggling it and worrying at it. This morning he asked to be taken to the dentist. I tried to explain that this wasn’t like the tooth troubles he had earlier in the Spring (when a cavity-filled baby tooth had to be removed before its time)…that this was a normal thing, that as he gets bigger his baby teeth will come out and be replaced by new, bigger teeth. And I gave examples of some of the slightly older kids he knows, who currently have gap-filled grins. But he’s not having it. He’s also not having any terribly solid foods. Last night he tried to eat corn on the cob with his side teeth before giving up. This morning he stuck with applesauce. And, as I was leaving the house, he had his finger firmly in his mouth, wiggling away at the little guy that’s giving him grief. The time has come for this tooth. I’m just afraid it’s going to come out when he’s at daycare…and he’ll lose it. Or swallow it.

In not so breaking news, I’m a bad influence…on myself. Last Thursday evening the little man and I headed to Sister Fun (a favorite store, which, as I previously mentioned, is going out of business) ostensibly to buy birthday presents for others. Which I did. But I also bought myself some Astroboy stationery, among other things.

And speaking of birthdays…mine is this coming Saturday already. For weird. If anyone’s taking note, I wouldn’t mind a big bunny t-shirt, in girly large, please. Or one of Loobyly’s lovely prints. Or a digital video camera, with a quick tutorial in the use of some decent video editing software. Or an advanced copy of Neil Gaiman’s Anansi Boys. Or a ticket to this Thursday night’s preview screening of Serenity at Southdale. Ok, I’ll stop now. Ahem.
(Please note that I don’t expect any of these things…I’m just saying.)

Bonus: When I think of works of art, aprons don’t generally come to mind. But I’d say Hilary’s handiwork definitely qualifies.
Plus: We’ll be out of town this coming weekend, but not in the right town, apparently. David Byrne is playing with The Arcade Fire Sunday night, at the Hollywood Bowl. But seeing Andrew Bird on my birthday will be enough of a consolation prize for me.

Last night I was feeling a little tired and low, as I headed out to the Ted Leo show on my own. I needn’t have worried. The energetic performance would have been awesome enough, even by myself, but as soon as I secured my usual spot, at stage right, a gaggle of likewise aging hardcore kids converged on my location. So I got to rock out with the old gang, as we admired the indefatigable Mr. Leo (the guy should put out a rock and roll aerobics video, seriously). And at the end of the show we were all groaning about how achey and tired we were. It was funny…and sorta sad. Encore selections were entertaining too. First off, Bruce Springsteen’s Dancing in the Dark, which brought back memories of watching the world premiere of that video on MTV when I was eleven. Followed by another fabulous cover, of Stiff Little Fingers’ Suspect Device…though I will always associate that song with Naked Raygun. If the show had ended, oh, about a half hour earlier I may have been tempted to mosey across the street to Block E…for the midnight showing of Batman Begins. It’s all for the best. I’m tired enough as it is, and I’ll wait until the weekend to see it, when I’ve properly recuperated. Ah, the plight of the poorly aging hipster.
Bonus: In other movie news…the film Neil Gaiman and Dave McKean have been working on together, MirrorMask, now has a trailer online. For some reason it’s available exclusively through Yahoo, here. To be released stateside on September 30th.
Plus: Loobylu’s been working her tail off, getting her goods ready for a show. The pics look fabulous, but I wish I could see the display in person.
And: Ted Leo’s in-studio performance from yesterday. Mary Lucia was practially giddy and just gushing, but I don’t blame her.

Far too much to report. Not sure I’m even up for the CliffsNotes version of the weekend, but here goes. Highlights included, but were not limited to: the little man’s kindergarten orientation; a brief power outage; brushes with brainsucking aliens; Dave and Huey-Ling’s big move into their beautiful new/old house (built in 1904); the triumphant return, er, arrival, of the husband’s recumbent bike (which had been sitting in storage at his parents’ house for the last four years); my inaugral bike ride around the neighborhood (it rained yesterday, but not today, yet will rain again tomorrow); the purchase of plane tickets for the little man and I, for a trip in August; my step-niece’s 17th birthday party; and two meals eaten out at Evergreen.
Bonus: New to me…Keltech Strikes Back.
Plus: Reg alerted me to the existence of a Pac Man board game, circa 1982. Now I want one, even if game play isn’t all that.
And: A co-worker turned me on to LCD Soundsystem, but sadly I didn’t have any time for acquiring their wares this weekend.

After I put the little man to bed last night my evening took a surreal turn. The husband had gone out (I’m going out tonight, with Zophia, to the Neko Case show) so the house was especially quiet. I intended to compulsively check my email one last time…before going to bed to read myself to sleep. And I did have new email. From an old elementary school classmate who claims, oddly enough, that I was his first crush. Physically and socially awkward short little me, with the big big glasses (how little has changed). Sadder still, I cannot, for the life of me, remember who this guy is. So while I was pondering memory and rememory, it seemed like a good time to stay up late to watch The Final Cut, which the husband had gotten from GreenCine. It’s a quiet little sci-film, set in the near future, revolving around an implant that wealthier citizens have placed in their brains before birth…which will then record everything they see and hear throughout their lives. An interesting idea, but the execution wasn’t as engaging as it could have been (Gattaca got it right). I’m far more taken with the Takeshi Kovacs series, in which people have similar implants. Their “cortical stacks” also record all of their memories, their consciousness, their essence…or whatever. But instead of allowing this footage to be viewed after the death of one’s body, this cortical stack can be implanted into a new body (or “sleeve”), thus granting an immortality of sorts to those with implants…or rather to those who can afford to be re-sleeved. Naturally Hollywood has optioned this, but I don’t look forward to seeing what they’ll do to it if it’s greenlighted. Whatever happens I’ll choose to remember it my way.
Bonus: This post was partially written while listening to Sondre Lerche’s Stupid Memory. Such synchronicity.