weapons of massdistraction

The week’s frustrations haven’t lessened much, but how about five (or so) good things for this hump day?

• I love Maru! Also, strap cameras on to various animals and you will have: The Museum of Animal Perspectives. And in the closer-to-home cute overload department, a friend adopted two kittens from pizza farm.
• I skipped pizza farm yesterday but tried Z Pizza instead. As far as I know they’re the only place in town that has Daiya vegan cheese, and they put it to good use.
• Love this BBC News headline: We are all mutants say scientists
• This has been circulating on the interwebs, but I want a poster of it: A Venn Diagram of Mythical Creatures
• Began listening to the audiobook of The Death of Bunny Munro, by Nick Cave.

And soon I will be departing to finally see District 9 with friends.

Thankfully I’m having a much better day. And a lot of it is due to my son. I know I gush about him all the time. The little man [insert gushing here] my son [more gushing] the boy [gush gush gush] but seriously, how awesome is this kid? His 10th birthday is right around the corner and he hasn’t even mentioned any presents he would like to be showered with. He’s just excited about the party we’re having and that’s good enough for him. But my thoughtful ex-husband inquired about gift ideas so I posed the question at the school bus stop. We had this exchange:

“Honey, is there anything you’d like for your birthday?”

“Hmmmm.”

*pause*

“My own mini-golf course.”

“Well I don’t think we’ll be able to do that. Is there anything else you’d like?”

*pause*

“Teleportation.”

Ha! I love the way his mind works (though he’s likely getting Mario Kart for Wii rather than a wormhole). And today Amanda serendipitously pointed out a post to me, by Jason Henniger, about neurodiversity and fandom. A post that got me a little choked up while thinking A THOUSAND TIMES YES.

It makes perfect sense to me that folks like me are drawn to genres that frequently investigate what it means to be an unusual human (on a quest, lost in a distant galaxy, prophesized, cursed, vital, altered, hunted, etc.), or what it means to be an alien, or a sentient machine…in short, what it means to be “other.” For those of us who have lived in the shadows of people’s assumptions of how we are “supposed” to be, it’s refreshing and empowering to see the so-called other win in the struggle for self-definition.

I’ve seen my son at his happiest and most relaxed when giving free reign to his imagination, be it playing/drawing at home or enjoying himself at Free Comic Book Day events (with adults and children alike in costume as their favorite characters). And he still waxes on about his first CONvergence just last month. Which has me determined to save and plan for our trip to next summer’s Comic-Con in San Diego. And who knows, maybe someday he could join his bio-dad at Burning Man. Whatever makes him happy. I’ve tried to instill in him the concept of friends as family, that it’s great to seek out like-minded folks to share a level of comfort, while not shutting out those with different perspectives. Like Mr. Henniger I, too, hope that “the general social trend toward tolerance and understanding continues and strengthens” and that the whole notion of neurodiversity - the idea that our brains might be wired differently, leading to advantages and disadvantages, but no better or worse, just different - gains acceptance.

Bonus: Love this car! But hate the fact that it is being marketed for women. And that I am somehow susceptible to this marketing strategy. Hrmph. At least “the type of woman being targeted according to the press release jargon are in pursuit of a ‘fun and laid-back’ lifestyle.”
Plus: Oh coffee. It is so true. I am your bitch.
And: Growing up my brother and I were very much into Sherlock Holmes. The books, but also the BBC series with Jeremy Irons. Kate Beaton’s recent comic brought back some happy memories.

I had a stellar weekend. But one in which I was constantly confronted with evidence…that my son is growing up. He’s changing. Transforming. My little boy is disappearing and being replaced by something other. Sometime this past Spring a switch was flipped and he can now stay up late and has started sleeping in. A boon, to be sure, except for weekday mornings when we have a school bus to meet. My human alarm clock may be gone but I have one helluva companion. And the inner workings of his mind are fascinating. Recently, before going to bed, he sleepily said to me “nothing comes out of your mouth, except for power.” Excellent. Then Friday night he was talking excitedly about our future plans, to attend San Diego Comic Con next summer. And it occurred to him that our friend Adam should join us. And acquire a Robin costume. To dress up as Robin to his Batman. Ha!

Other Friday night fun can be seen here. And Saturday night in the suburbs, with mini golf, bumper boats and Space Aliens Bar & Grill. The boy wants to do that all over again next Saturday, of course but we’ll be busy hitting up the “Great Minnesota Get Together” instead. Yesterday we didn’t leave the house and I was a-ok with that. Spent the day working on the yard and, in the evening, grilling up more of our CSA veggies. Speaking of, recently there have been several locavore articles in various newspapers and blogs. This old-fangled idea seems to be catching on.

Bonus: The Raincoats will be playing a few U.S. dates in October. I’m most tempted to catch them in NYC, especially since I’m skipping ATP NY this year. Hmm.
Plus: Love this. Nick Cave reads from The Death of Bunny Munro.
And: True Blood art history shout out! Pretty neat. I’ve always thought production design, for teevee and movies, would be fun.

Well, that didn’t take long. We didn’t even have time to adjust to our new living situation. The roommate moved in toward the end of July, has spent most of his nights elsewhere, and just informed me he’s moving out by September 1st. It’s probably for the best that my ATP trip is off. I would have been counting on the rental income to cover it. And I’m barely keeping up with the bills as is. Ahh, yes, the vicious stress loop shall continue.

At least I’ve got some free or cheap stay-cation (gah, hate that word) options for next month. Low is playing a free show outside, at the Lake Harriet Bandshell. I swear there are other interesting goings on going on then, but memory fails me, as it often does. Anyone else?

Bonus: Hey, I already can cook tofu like a pro! But still, I’ll give this method a shot.
Plus: Love the Walker, really, but are they running out of ideas for their free family program? Performance: Flexing Force. Watch as local bodybuilders, Laurey Heinrich, Michelle Soldo, and Ponce Saysomphou show off their muscles. Umm, weird.
And: “Did You Even Notice The Popped Collars? Yeah, Didn’t Think So.”

I’m not always the best homeowner. Recent rain made my grass grow, a lot, very quickly. Fuzzy pumper Play Doh style. Last night I got home from work and took a good long look at it before shaking my head and retreating inside. The idea of mowing the lawn in this brutal heat and humidity, with air quality warnings and a lingering headache? Sounds absolutely dreadful. Instead I holed up, hiding indoors, watching yet another episode of Warehouse 13 and the pilot for Defying Gravity. Other distractions:

• We’ve already seen the original Japanese Miyazaki film, but the English dubbed Ponyo will be released in the states this weekend. The nasty weather is supposed to continue, so we will likely be seeing it.
• So excited for Gentleman Broncos! With Jemaine Clement doing his Ronald Chevalier thing.
• Lydia Lunch will be touring again with Teenage Jesus and the Jerks, but their only show in the Midwest will be in Chicago, in October. Tempting.
• Bryan Singer may be involved in a Battlestar Galactica feature film.
• “This animation is about realizing when you are in a one-sided relationship and deciding to do something about it.” Lovely.
• The Neverland Club by Molly Ringwald, a John Hughes remembrance.
• Vladimir Putin fan fiction = A THOUSAND TIMES YES!
• This was a real movie, that was made, by people, with resources. Why? Death Bed: The Bed that Eats People. Had to look it up after re-listening to Patton Oswalt’s hilarious Werewolves & Lollipops.
• Spike Jonze has an interesting blog.
• Hoping the weather improves soon so we can get to some mini-golf, and to the Minnesota Landscape Arboretum. We will play outside for sure this weekend, at least for a little bit. With Picnic Club, St. Paul style!

So some good times are in our near future. Tonight? We’re headed to an Open House at my son’s school. Hopefully it will be more fun than painful, but I’m not holding my breath.