Tomorrow marks the end of an era. It will be my son’s last day at Fraser Academy. He’s been in their inclusion based program since kindergarten but it is time to move on. Their school year isn’t officially over until the end of next week but we have transitions to make. Fraser has been a year-round program (which is the way to go, in my opinion). With the move to a mainstream classroom, one with larger class sizes, we are also moving to a standard school year. This has meant struggling to find a good solution for summer child care. Next Monday the boy will kick off his first summer camp experience. It’s a day camp, most of the week, but one night per week will include a sleep over. Giving me an evening off (and out) and hopefully giving the boy some memorable and fun experiences. I have some anxiety about this, fearing it will backfire and he will utterly hate it, but these fears are unfounded. I hope. Guess we’ll find out soon enough. And after that I can begin worrying about his transition to the new school in the Fall, for fifth grade. One major stressor at a time, please.
At least my aforementioned Science Museum mystery has been solved. After blogging and tweeting about it I discovered the mysterious firebender in question was actually the lovely Leigha Horton. Hi Leigha!
Five other good things:
- Oh that John Waters. Apparently he is at peace with his neurosis (me too, with mine). I want to read his new book, Role Models.
- Next month two entertaining musicians are teaming up: Thao and Mirah with The Most Of All at The Cedar Cultural Center.
- This could be entertaining. A Comedy About The Female Orgasm Coming to HBO, based on Mara Altman’s memoir, Thanks for Coming: One Young Woman’s Quest for an Orgasm.
- Do you want to be a photographer? Or do you NEED to be one? “When I walk down the street I compose people, color, shapes into a frame that makes my eyes happy.” Yep, me too!
- It’s all about biking in the upper midwest right now. Last week’s launch of Nice Ride MN, last weekend’s MS 150, and now, right in my neighborhood, the Nature Valley Grand Prix. A little more info: Bicycle tour coming to St. Paul.
Last night I took the boyfriend out for his very first pizza farm experience (in Stockholm, WI) which we both enjoyed. But tonight I’m cooking at home. And today’s Heavy Table recipe roundup seems to be directed right at me! I plan to make at least two of these recipes. First the tasty looking chickpea cutlets (paired with some Pimm’s + lemonade - that would be delicious). And perhaps the pecan pie for dessert. My son would rather have me make this vegan twinkie recipe but as long as I’m the one doing the baking? Pecan pie will WIN.
The kiddo and I have been in need of some quiet time so we’ve been taking it easy this mellow Sunday. I’ve been alternating between lounging, baking, cooking, catching up on correspondence, reading (in the middle of The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo and declaring it to be “meh” so far), and devoting myself to my latest five minute crush…Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall. He is “a British celebrity chef, smallholder, television presenter, journalist, food writer and ‘real food’ campaigner.” I haven’t been watching much TV lately but I have gotten caught up in watching episodes of his River Cottage shows. Smallholdings are already of interest to me, but Hugh is especially entertaining. With grand schemes to convert an old dairy farm into a kitchen/café restaurant/teaching center or capturing a wild swarm of bees to begin bee-keeping or hang-gliding around his property searching for mushrooms by air…the man is equally crazy and charismatic. I learned about him through an old friend’s blog - a friend we happened to visit yesterday. Rick and his lovely wife Jessica hosted an outstanding dinner party in a pole barn at their home/hobby farm. They’ve got a great combination of green thumbs, patience and perseverance - and it shows.
Other recent highlights? Thursday morning I joined a few of my fellow Clockworkers to celebrate the launch of Nice Ride MN, a new public bicycle sharing program. My photos are here (I was particularly drawn to the folks in the bright yellow Equal Exchange banana costumes). Thursday evening the boyfriend and I had a grown-up evening out which included flipping through used vinyl at Extreme Noise Records (I purchased Voivod’s Dimension Hatröss), stopping by an art opening at the new-ish and fantastic Cult Status Gallery, having a snack at the recently revamped Aster Cafe and enjoying the hell out of The Good, The Bad, The Weird at St. Anthony Main.
Friday was St. Paul pride day. I worked from home, with a break to take a stroll in the rain. We heard the sounds of cheering from multiple World Cup parties nearby as we made our way to Jerabek’s, our neighborhood coffee shop, and on to a visit to the Riverview Library. The evening was spent with friends in the North End, along the Rice Street corridor. While at Unique Thrift the boyfriend found an amazing pair of cateye frames for me for 45 cents! (Now to get them fitted for lenses.) Dinner was had at E Noodle Cafe, where I failed to spot the juggalos in the parking lot, though our friends did. Afterward I ventured across the street to make use of my Merwin Liquors Groupon (yay Groupon!) before heading home for a little group Wii time. It’d been ages since I’d had anyone over for cow racing.
Saturday we were up and out early to get to The Fitzgerald Theater for MPR’s Magical Classical Cartoon Morning. It was worth it just to see and hear The Mighty Wurlitzer organ in action, but the cartoons shown were excellent too. Especially some great oldies from the 1930s like The Sunshine Makers (happy gnomes vs. grumbly goth goblins). Naturally I took a few photos.
The week ahead promises to be equally active, which leaves me feeling somewhat exhausted, but thankfully it will mostly be fun. Full steam ahead!
Yesterday was rough-going, with the hand-wringing about car/money problems (which go hand in hand) but the upside is I’ve got the car back. And it no longer feels as though it’s going to vibrate apart while I’m driving it. It’s a huge relief to know it’s in safe, reliable working order for our impending road trips which we will, thankfully, be able to do on the cheap.
Today’s five good things fell into place and all wound up featuring women artists. So all right then! Away we go:
- Swoon makes me swoon! I’ve been seeing her life-size paste-ups via flickr for years. Fantastic interview with her from The Run Up. And rumor has it she may be coming to the Twin Cities soon…
- An interview with another of my favorite artists, Kate Beaton, the genius (who has “that kind of bouncyness of flow”) behind the amazing Hark! A Vagrant historical web comics…and her clever conversations with a younger self. She also recommends Uterus Parade, incidentally.
- Local artist Amy Rice: Giving Age-worn Letters and Ledgers New Life Through Art
- Tomorrow night we’ll be stopping by the preview opening for an exhibition of five up-and-coming local female artists. Cult Sisters 5 will feature the new work of J.M. Culver, Louisa Greenstock, gina louise, Kara Hendershot and Erin Sayer. At Cult Status Gallery.
- And lastly, Amy Winfrey has announced her annual Making Fiends art contest. I swear, this is the year I will get my act together and actually submit my son’s artwork! Last year he made a most excellent depiction of the timid Mr. Milk but I failed to mail it in.
Due to the aforementioned car problems I had to miss my son’s school field trip (the one and only of the entire school year) yesterday. And it was to a favorite destination - the Science Museum of Minnesota. When asked he indicated he had, in fact, enjoyed himself. But also mentioned that some woman who worked there knew his name, and knew me. But he had no idea who it was. Getting any details out of him is like pulling teeth but after some persistence I learned that 1) she has black hair and 2) she is a firebender. Ok. So she was either a cartoon character or perhaps just the person giving the Fire Triangle demo. In other interesting interactions with adults…last weekend we attended a party. After the fact I received a text from one of my woman friends. It went something like this:
At the party Parker put his hands on my shoulders and said ‘I’m a gardener who is a stranger.” And I said ‘Oh, I’ve played this game with adults before.” But nobody heard me so I just sounded like a creep.
I’m still laughing at that.
Apparently this Thursday is National Get Outdoors Day. What better way to honor that than by getting out to the Walker Art Center’s Open Field? Unless it’s raining cats and dogs, of course, as it is today. Then maybe we could just go puddle-jumping instead. I do have the perfect wellies for that. And they are currently on my feet.
Five good things for this gloomy day:
Been on pins and needles all day waiting for word from the mechanic…about when my wheels will be ready for and that will depend on what the grand total will run me. Considering the paltry amount currently sitting in my checking account, I’m not sure I’ll be able to swing it. Wheeeee. Currently attempting to determine the perfect music to match my mercurial mood. Any suggestions for stress-filled rainy days?
Sometimes my brain is capable of connecting the dots. But it can take a little while. I’ve just realized something about my latest 5-minute crush. I knew that Henrik Ruben Genz, the director of Terribly Happy (which I have yet to see but really want to) - also directed 2005’s excellent Kinamand. But I hadn’t realized he was the same force behind one of my all-time favorite films, 2003’s indie gem Someone Like Hodder (En Som Hodder)…which is still absolutely impossible to find. As it turns out Terribly Happy is being remade in English already, with Genz at the helm. My initial knee-jerk reaction was one of disgust (Let the Right One In is also being remade in English BOOOOOO!) but then I read this interview with him:
IMO: Had you thought about allowing another filmmaker to take the film on, or was that out of the question?
Genz: To see another director doing it would hurt my heart.
Fair enough. So at least he’ll be the one responsible for whatever comes out of this endeavor. Hopefully it won’t hurt my heart. How about five good things for this Monday?
- Our Saturday plans wound up being scaled back a bit. But after accomplishing quite a lot at home (I made multiple meals in the morning while thoroughly cleaning out the fridge, snapped some macro shots of new toys, and the boyfriend made dinner in my kitchen that evening) and some errand-running we went into party people mode. Good times.
- Oddball Adidas/Star Wars commercial: The film is a creative re-edit of one of the most famous Star Wars movie scenes, the Mos Eisley Cantina, and features David Beckham, Franz Beckenbauer, Snoop Dogg, Noel Gallagher, Ian Brown, Ciara, Jay Baruchel, Daft Punk, DJ Neil Armstrong, and not to mention Han Solo, Chewbacca, C-3PO and Obi-Wan Kenobi. View it here.
- In other intergalactic news I give you “Marsâ€, an animated short about human interplanetary exploration by Joe Bichard and Jack Cunningham (via Laughing Squid).
- Stumbled across info about the first Chinese black metal band, Be Persecuted. From the Aquarius Records site: ‘Strange song titles like “Painful Assemble” and “Be Resented For Livelihood” barely hint at the strange mournful melancholia inside. Beginning with a very Eastern style synth intro, the band launch into some blasting buzzing super grim classic sounding black metal. But then the keyboards surface, and for the rest of the record seem to always be lurking in the background giving the sound a very creepy sorrowful vibe. And the distortion. Not sure what these guys use for distortion pedals, but holy shit, it’s some of the harshest and thickest fuzzy hiss we’ve heard in ages. Like Darkthrone and Burzum if they ran their guitars through a thousand hair dryers set on high.’ That is the best description ever!
- While exposing the boyfriend to Archer the other night (which he enjoyed) we saw an ad for a new horror-themed animated sitcom called Neighbors From Hell. “It revolves around a family of demons who move to Houston, Texas from the underworld on a mission to destroy a drill that can dig to the Earth’s core, and they face a culture shock trying to fit in with humans” - with the tagline Seem Normal Fit In. Looks promising, and it premieres tonight on TBS. Plus Patton Oswalt does the voice of the hellhound!
Friday night was a mild failure, but still enjoyable. The boy and I made it to the top of the Witch’s Tower, only to find my camera battery was fully dead. I did take one iPhone pic but will just have to try to remember the amazing view. Like my son says, “write it on your brain!” In other news, tonight’s Gastro Non Grata event is on the patio at Sea Change, with my friend Sheridan Fox playing the part of a strolling minstrel. Sounds fantastic, but I can’t afford a sitter these days, after ponying up for summer camp + bonus extra fun car repairs slated for tomorrow. Hoping that doesn’t totally break the bank. Maybe I’ll have enough leftover to catch a showing of the epic Korean western/action/adventure film The Good, The Bad, The Weird - showing this week at St. Anthony Main. And weekend plans will be done on the cheap. Thankfully it’s peak BBQ season in Minnesota! I’m always game for cheap (or free) outdoor fun, when it’s this pleasant out.
So much has been so very awesome in my life lately. I am one happy happy girl (see some of the fun, in a collection of photos from our Memorial Day, in three acts). Which is why I’m determined to remain annoyingly upbeat, even in the face of minor setbacks and nuisances that have been trying to rain on my parade. Like some tentatively planned trips that have been unraveling. But we’re trying to make the best of it. We’re still traveling to Des Moines in a few weeks, even though Interpol canceled their tour. We’d already booked a hotel room for the night so we’re finding other activities to occupy ourselves with. I recall being pleasantly surprised on my 2008 trip there. I plan to return to the most excellent Gateway Market. And to check out West End Architectural Salvage (looks awesome!), the Des Moines Art Center (where they have a “Kill Them Before They Multiply” exhibit?) the Raygun clothing store and maybe even a little bridges of Madison County jaunt.
Yesterday my MacBook wouldn’t boot up. After a morning of troubleshooting I brought it to the fine folks at The Foundation in the Warehouse District of Minneapolis. They confirmed that it was indeed ganked and in need of service. Thankfully the AppleCare warranty is still in effect and it sounds like I may have it back today (*fingers crossed*). In the mean time I have an old Windows desktop to use at work. I feel crippled but have been getting reacquainted with my sparse music collection on this machine. Which includes the likes of Bauhaus, Stiff Little Fingers, Yo La Tengo and the “Since U Been Gone” cover by Ted Leo. Memories of another era.
And lastly…my car has been producing ominous rattling sounds, mostly when I shift into neutral. And then stepping on my nearly worn away brakes only adds to the cacophony. I’ll be taking the car in though I’m broke (after shelling out for the kid’s summer camp) and the first appointment I could get is for Tuesday morning which means I’ll be missing the end-of-the-school-year field trip to the Science Museum. Doh.
How about five good things?
- Tomorrow night Caribou is returning to Minneapolis, with Toro Y Moi, in the 7th Street Entry.
- This next Free First Saturday at the Walker sounds particularly appealing for my son and I. There’s a drawing club thingie where he can sketch with local artists (pieces will be added to a pool of collectively created artworks on flickr) and for me there will be the “Bird’s-eye View” with a tiny camera attached to a balloon (I love the aerial photography).
- Sunday I will, yet again, opt to skip the crazy, sweaty drunken-ness of St. Paul’s Grand Old Day. But some people seem to really enjoy the gathering.
- Some amazing Mardi Gras designs.
- Interesting article, if you ignore the food safety issues: Their Future, Made by Hand
On Tuesday one of my son’s baby teeth came out (only two more to go!) but I was too exhausted to fulfill my role as tooth fairy after he went to bed. Thankfully he was too tired to notice it yesterday morning. So after school I was able to sneak into his room to make the exchange. After which I casually asked to see the new tooth that’s coming in, which prompted him to race upstairs to retrieve his dollar. He was all smiles. Phew. This kid who is growing up. FAST. Yesterday marked the first time he applied (and really needed) deodorant. And he used to be completely creeped out by Coraline but will now ask to watch the movie and was reading the book last night. And his first ever summer camp experience will begin in just a couple of weeks. Leaps and bounds, leaps and bounds.
It’s been a fairly fantastic weekend. Much of it, Thursday-Saturday, was spent in NE Minneapolis: Get Your Art Rock On at Heliotrope (I’d intended to post more about it before it happened - whoops). My photos are here.
Thrown into the mix was a pediatric dental appointment Friday morning. In general dentistry and autism do NOT mix well. My son’s last dental ordeal was THREE years ago. Oops. Then, even with nitrous and novocaine, he had to be immobilized in an emergency stabilization blanket. It was traumatic for us both. But this time? Things went smoothly. Surprisingly so. Sure, the little man is older now but he was so much more cooperative. Pair that with more compassionate dental staff and it was remarkably painless. And cavity-free! On the way home I treated him with a couple of cool Japanese toys from the Burlesque / First Amendment Arts garage sale. But apparently he’d used up all of his good behavior credits at the dentist because Saturday? We walked to Harriet Island for our annual Padelford boat ride down the Mississippi, which he usually enjoys, but this time out he inexplicably grumped and sulked all the way through. Go figure.
Our Sunday was chock full of extreme laziness. Never did make it to the store. Or shower. Or put pants on, really. So I either have to head over soon or figure something out from what’s in the cupboards. But we’re missing that most magical of ingredients. PEANUT BUTTER. It factors into my favorite recipes and there is no substitute. And we have three eating-related events to attend today.
Five good things:
Now to finish mowing the lawn before showering, cooking and heading out to hit up two BBQs and a picnic on this utterly gorgeous Memorial Day Holiday. Be safe out there today folks.
Oh the awkwardness in my life. Tonight I will attend the “Conversation Among Parents: Talking about Sexuality with our Children with Developmental Disabilities” workshop. Not exactly jumping for joy over it. In less disconcerting oddness…my ex-husband is a sweet but strange beast. He just bought my son a case of whoopee cushions. A DOZEN OF ‘EM. The man always has enjoyed buying in bulk. But now I’ll really have to look before I sit anywhere in my house! Other good oddness:
- How I didn’t hear of this sooner I’ll never know, but this genius-ness has been around since 2009: “IKEA Heights is a melodrama shot entirely in the Burbank California IKEA Store without the store knowing.”
- I am so behind in my teevee-watching (and I am a-ok with that since real life has been pretty grand as of late) but I am curious about “Neil Gaiman playing god with Doctor Who.”
“I don’t know what it’s like to be God – obviously. Until that very first moment when you get to sit down and type the words in your script: INTERIOR. TARDIS. Suddenly I got a very good idea of what it must feel like. I went: ‘I’m writing it now this scene in the TARDIS. I’m writing it!’ And that was amazing, it was wonderful.â€
- This sounds like a bad comic book premise but it happened nearby on Monday: Rescuers battle bees at deadly I-35 pileup. Speaking of comic books…The Loft is hosting a Graphic Novel & Comic Book Writing and Illustrating Conference (via readcomics.org) next month on Saturday, June 19. Free registration through the library.
- Old school nerdery. G.P.S. - circa 1600: “With today’s Global Positioning Systems, Google Earth and Yahoo! Maps, it’s hard to imagine living in a world in which your exact location was a mystery. But a very rare map now on display at the Minneapolis Institute of Arts provides a picture of a time of great exploration and discovery.”
- Igor Vovkovinskiy of Minnesota (originally from Ukraine) has been declared the tallest man in America. He is, indeed, a big’un.
- Miniature Murders Come to Life on the Big Screen: more about the hand-crafted crime-scene dioramas known as the “Nutshell Studies of Unexplained Death” - used to teach police detectives and investigators about solving murders with forensic science.
- ROBOTlove hosts a swap meet this Sunday, before the store moves from Uptown to NE Minneapolis (because NE is the new Uptown). And, already in the NE area, Burlesque is having a “garage” sale in their space on Friday.
As I’d mentioned before, I’ve really been enjoying my son’s Sculpey clay creations. If only he understood their fragility. He’s been leaving them all over the house, directly on top of other daily use objects. Like my hairbrush. Or a stack of my bedside books. Like the rest of his art he distributes it all throughout the house where it then falls apart. I try to salvage my favorite pieces but I can’t save it all. Entropy wins. In the end much of his art feels so temporary. Guess I should be laminating more of it. Or tattooing it on my person.
My Monday has been a bit rough around the edges, despite having had another crackerjack weekend. But it can’t be terrific all the time. A quick round-up: Thursday night’s Clockwork Spring Party 2010 was a complete success. And at the party someone dropped off a big bag of Sculpey modeling clay for my kid, who then spent much of Friday making more of his amazing creations. Friday night was the art opening at BlackBlue which was pretty much packed all evening. Part of Saturday was spent driving 30 miles away in a downpour, up and down a dirt road, to get the kid to a classmate’s birthday party (with a magician). Saturday evening was considerably better than the morning. Dinner at Kinh Do, a quick hello at a housewarming BBQ, then much lounging at home. Sunday wasn’t exactly fun but left me feeling more accomplished…after finally taming my Land of the Lost-style lawn, with some much appreciated assistance, and tackling other domestic chores. Currently I’m focused on pushing the anxiety (about a great many stressors and disappointments) deep deep down and getting things done.
Five good things:
Given that it’s only Monday it’s probably bad form to be looking ahead to next weekend already. But it will be a long one. With the Memorial Day Holiday (and the return of picnic club!) and the Heliotrope Festival and our annual corny trek down the Mississippi on one of the Padelford boats. Much to look forward to indeed. And that is what will, hopefully, get me through this brutal week.
Been slogging through your everyday wear-you-down sort of life stuff this week, but in and around all of that there have been plenty of highlights. Like making home-cooked meals. And enjoying excellent weather from the safety of my back deck (my weedy, overgrown yard is looking like Land of the Lost). And spending quality time with my boyfriend. And spending quality time with my kid, of course. Yesterday morning in the car he began cackling Crispin Glover style. Not sure if that should be filed under good or bad but it was as entertaining as it was alarming.
Other excellent things excelling in the field of excellence:
We have yet another busy weekend ahead. Tonight is Clockwork’s big bash (many compromising photos to come, I’m sure). Tomorrow night is a very special art opening in St. Paul that everyone should get to (this means YOU). Saturday the kid and I have a birthday party to attend way way out in the burbs, followed by an acquaintance’s housewarming BBQ closer to home. And Sunday? Still on the fence about a Taco Farm journey. Hermitude in the coming heatwave may just win out.
