Wednesday, January 23, 2008
Five you-make-the-judgment-call things:
- My passport expires this year. Can’t believe I’ve had it nearly a decade now. I should leave the country again before I need to renew it. We’ll see if that happens.
- An article popped up in the paper’s Home & Garden section about…Punk Houses.
It’s definitely not a “new” trend, especially in this town. But it had some of us old-timers reminiscing about the great house shows we’d been to (thankfully there are still decent ones happening). Curious to see the coffee table book.
- Lately I’ve been nursing something of a James McAvoy crush.
- Kent Rogowski / Bears: “ordinary teddy bears that have been turned inside out and restuffed” - amazing and somewhat terrifying.
- There have been no more phone calls from Wichita.
The end.
Tuesday, January 22, 2008
These are the times when single parenting sucks the most. When the little man is sick. And I am the only who can comfort him. Which means everything else comes to a halt. He has pretty much been glued to my side since Sunday night. And to my powerbook. The DVD player died and he doesn’t want to be downstairs anyhow. He wants to be in my bed, watching movies on my laptop, cuddled up next to me. When I’ve attempted to get up to take care of other things, like, oh, my own personal hygiene, he’s croaked pitifully and coughed and cried…which stops me in my tracks.
This afternoon I couldn’t take it anymore. I just felt so icky. I hadn’t showered in two days. I’d considered cleaning myself up after he’d gone to bed, but didn’t want the shower to wake him. Or have him wake up and need me while I was in the shower. Can’t win. Anyhow, I finally decided enough was enough and hopped in the shower while he was watching Castle in the Sky. As soon as my shampoo was all lathered up the doorbell rang. I tried to shout to the lad to ignore it, but no, with more energy than I’d seen from him in days he raced downstairs to answer it. When he came back up he reported that it had been some stranger, a man, asking to speak to his mom. Ack. (Still no idea who that was). He then crawled back into bed. I did manage to get some dinner into him, which he kept down (breakfast had come back up). But I didn’t get any work done today. And it’s looking like I might not tomorrow either. It’s turning into a disappointingly wasted week.
Bonus: This weekend’s weather is supposed to be milder, so I’m really hoping the lad feels well enough to hit up the Art Shanties at Medicine Lake on Saturday, when there’s a free afternoon show. Though Dark Dark Dark is also playing a free show around the same time, indoors, at Hosmer Library.
Plus: Speaking of icy art projects, Norway’s annual Geilo Ice Festival, with all musical instruments made out of ice, has just wrapped up.
And: Is it wrong that I love these socks so?
The weekend was a blurry blur involving lots of high quality hanging out. That Saturday brunch I mentioned? It went on for 9 1/2 hours! Longer, really. But eventually I left to hit up the Midwestern Dandies show at Fox Tax, which was fabulous, with the added bonus of seeing Amy Rice in her studio upstairs. Then I went on to the Turf Club to see STNNNG, Haunted House, Child Bite and Sarah Johnson and to hang out with friends. Yesterday the lad and I did some more lounging at J’s place, which mostly involved the boy playing video games while J and I transferred my site from a VM to Dreamhost (still getting used to this newer version of WordPress). And last night I made dinner for a friend. Busy busy.
Five more good things:
- The little man is sick, again, which is not good. But he’s coping well. He made the cutest board game. Roll the dice to advance around the board. The first pass you receive a slice of bread. Second time peanut butter. Third time jelly. And lastly another slice of bread to top off the sammich, that you then have to pretend to eat to win.
- Came across the work of Corky somewhere or other. The octopus necklace is great, but the carry monster has stolen my heart (not literally, but I bet he could).
- Natalie Portman has made a line of vegan shoes. They’re too fancy and expensive for me but it’s neat that she’s doing it.
- Punch Pizza has launched this “Capture Our Fire” Photo Contest. I do love Punch Pizza, and love taking photos of food, so I’m all over this. Props to Aaron for inspiring it.
- Another nod to Aaron, who made it out to Cupcake Saturday when I didn’t. I was too cozy and warm at the all-day brunch. But I did partake, when some intrepid brunch-mates were sent off to retrieve cupcakes.
Thursday, January 17, 2008
Trying to fight my own personal winter doldrums. This crazy cold snap sure isn’t going to help, but five good things might. Well, a teensy little bit. Maybe.
- Superheroes in Real Life
- Audience of One: “A documentary following a Pentecostal minister who receives a vision from God to create an epic science fiction movie.” Wowza.
- The Library of Congress Pilot Project on flickr, The Commons. Most awesome.
- Monsters Need Love Too - I’m a sucker for cute, and for stop-motion.
- The weekend! So much going on, despite the brutally cold weather. My dear friend Maria returns for her family’s annual “Christmas in January” gathering. And Persepolis opens. And we’re having a brunch gathering at the home of some friends. And there will be cupcakes, of course. And there’s the Midwestern Dandies art opening thingie at Fox Tax. And more.
Wednesday, January 16, 2008
The little man automagically wakes up between 6am - 7am daily. Yesterday I was surprised to open my eyes and see that the giant red digital numbers were at 7:20. Doh! I actually went into his room to wake him up. A rarity. And he was still peeved at me about it after school. This morning he went the other way, waking up at 5:20am, all bright-eyed and bushy-tailed and raring to go. For a time I laid in bed, baffled, listening to him shout “FIRE IN THE HOLE!” downstairs.
Thankfully I went to bed early last night. Not so Monday. Then I procured the services of the new babysitter, and met up with co-workers for the Cloverfield screening. I won’t give anything away, other than it was a trifecta of awful for me. I’d knocked back an ill-advised serving of soda, and was sitting next to a man wearing some seriously overpowering stinkyass cologne. Those two elements, combined with the SHAKY CAM style from start to finish? Yes, I threw up. About halfway through the movie. At least I made it to the restroom, unlike someone else in the theater. On the plus side, the movie was co-written by Drew Goddard who I do adore. (Note: if you simply must have a spoiler, try searching for Blair Witch Monster.)
Afterwards I considered going home to crawl into bed, but a friend’s text prompted me to continue on to the Triple Rock, to see other friends’ bands play. And I’m glad I did. Even though there is no photographic evidence of the show (I was in hanging-out-with-friends mode more than documenting-the-show mode).
Five good things:
- Distortion by Magnetic Fields came out yesterday. Not sure how I feel about it yet. Need to give it a few more listens.
- Yesterday a co-worker brought in Mouse Guard Volume 1: Fall 1152 for me to read. Basically it’s “mice with capes and swords defending themselves against their predators as if they were the Knights of the Round Table.” I’m intrigued.
- Stan Lee Tribute Artwork. The toast’s heroic dreams piece is particularly cute.
- Came across the fabulous artwork of Isabel Samaras via Drawn. She has a lovely blog too.
- I totally want a Fatboy, or two. But I already have enough furniture.
The other day, when I was having such a rough time of it, I grabbed a book at random for the little man’s bedtime story. It just so happened to be Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day. That bit of serendipity made me smile.
Five other good things:
- I love it when people see strange things that make them think of me, and go on to send me messages about ‘em. From Valerie? The love story of Louis the Octopus and his Mr. Potato Head toy. Made my day.
- From Mathew, a movie suggestion. Why yes, Six-String Samurai does look like my sort of thing! Can’t believe I’d never seen/heard of it until now.
- My fave web cartoon, Making Fiends, is getting closer to being a bona fide teevee show. Some behind the scenes type stuff here and here. Lately the little man has been getting more interested in the voices behind characters in cartoons. But I think he was weirded out by seeing the voice actors for Vendetta and Charlotte in real life.
- Too bad I’m too lazy for photogamer. Many of my flickr friends are involved, and I love these sorts of collaborative projects, but lately I’ve felt like I’m already overextending myself.
- Persepolis opens in Minneapolis on Friday!
My return to the gym wasn’t exactly triumphant. When I started stretching my tailbone sent out a few sparks of shooting pain. I worked out anyhow, because I’m kind of dumb like that, and it mostly felt good. Though I predict a telephonic conversation with a triage nurse in my near future. The gym visit was prompted in equal parts by an angry exchange with an ex yesterday (such a shitty shitty week) and also by this Nick Cave workout video - Dig, Lazarus, Dig!!! That man is so much fun to watch. Seriously, seeing him live? That’s at the top of my all-time best shows list.
This weekend we’re back to the usual cleaning, Cupcake Saturday (vegan flavors this week are cookies and cream and mocha hazelnut!) and sledding, if there’s still enough snow for it. If not the backup plan is to hit up the leisure pool at the YWCA. Ooh, and the hot tub. Yeah.
Bonus: Deleted scenes! Additional footage! Commentary! Battlestar Galactica season 3 comes out on DVD March 25th.
Plus: This afternoon I went back to Look + See Eyecare, the place that hooked me up with my current eyeglasses. But that was nearly two years ago. It was high time for a check-up, and a new pair of specs. I went with the same local brand - eyebobs - but this time selected the “barely lucid” frame in brown/aqua. Seven to ten business days and those suckers will be mine.
And: Human flying squirrels. I can only imagine how exhilarating that must be but those dudes are freaking crazy.
Lastly: A quick thanks for all the kind words last post. It helps more than you know.
Wednesday, January 9, 2008
This week has been brutal. I’m beginning to feel like Marvin, the paranoid android, from The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy. Both paranoid and depressed. But not with a brain the size of a planet. That’s where we differ.
But really, yesterday could not have been a happy one. It was the two year anniversary of my c-section. When I delivered my stillborn son, Felix. That’s a lowdown no-good kind of funk that is really hard to fight. Today was a better day. And despite the bumps in the road, this year really is starting out better than the last.
Bonus: When I watched the trailer for Wanted the action sequences reminded me of something. Of the Russian Night Watch and Day Watch (and before long Twilight Watch) tetralogy. And sure enough, it’s the same director - Timur Bekmambetov. That alone will get my butt into a seat at the theater.
Plus: Speaking of, today I tagged along with co-workers…to snag passes for a free screening of Cloverfield, the much blogged about movie (with the ominous tagline “Some Thing Has Found Us”). Unfortunately the passes are admit one only. Often the passes are admit two at these screenings. But who can argue with free? If it sucks, at least I didn’t pay for it.
And: Speaking of movies that do suck…I submitted to a viewing of the incredibly baaaaaad Batman & Robin this evening, to please the little man. The Dark Knight will be a far sight better, no doubt, but too scary for the lad to see just yet.
I can’t begin to count the ways today has gone wrong. Why is it always everything all at once? But I’ve had enough, thank you. I want off now. I plan to take a long, hot shower, and when I emerge I will pretend everything is a-ok. To that end…
Five good things:
- I’m way behind on my This American Life listening. I plan to remedy that this evening. That’s something to look forward to.
- I am a fan of The Knife and was happy that the Fabulist posted these awesome covers of Heartbeats.
- MonsterHoodies: so cute it’s scary.
- Weird fishes indeed…fishpering (like whispering).
- A new friend is hosting a dinner party soon, complete with fancy vegan options. And there will be desserts by Sheela!
Bonus: Amanda has been perusing some new blogs, which, in turn, is giving me plenty of fresh material to read.
Plus: Posting photos to 365 days is fun but I’ve also enjoyed paging through the pool. It’s interesting to see what others have done, and there are a few gems to be found.
And: American Apparel baffles me. This morning I saw a banner ad touting high waisted shorts and unitards. The hell? It’s like bizarro world stripper wear. Kids these days.
The weekend was mostly awesome, as predicted. Friday night the little man and I had dinner with J. The lad stayed behind while I ran over to Ericka’s art opening for a bit. Totally fun. Saturday was the usual cupcakes and sledding. That both have become regular occurrences in my life only proves that my life is good. The goodness continued when the new babysitter came by and I headed to the Turf Club. Apparently the show was A-listed by City Pages and sold out by 10:30. Sheela and I squeaked in around 10:20. The music was marvelous, as always (it was sort of a “best of” of some of my favorite local bands) but the socializing was even better.
The party was definitely over on Sunday. I was an unmotivated, sleep-deprived mess. Before and after spilling a full carafe of piping hot coffee onto the floor, and my foot. Little got checked off on my mental To Do list (I was too lazy to even write the list out). I do feel good about taking down the tree, though I forgot to queue up the Low song while doing so, and it left behind an xmas aftermath explosion in my room. The novelty of having an xmas tree in one’s bedroom does not outweigh the pain in the ass of removing it. There are now pine needles in nearly every room of the house. Other accomplishments? I actually folded some laundry and put it away, took all my recycling to the curb for pick up, located my missing fifty dollar bill in a holiday card (so glad I didn’t recycle that) and I’ve kept current with the 365 Days project so far, but that’s just one week down.
Bonus: Late to the party again, I just discovered Zero Punctuation. This guy’s Super Mario Galaxy review is amazing! You don’t even have to know anything about the game to be entertained (though I am intimately familiar with it).
Plus: Last Fall I picked up the first issue of The Umbrella Academy, which I enjoyed, and then somehow forgot about it. Note to self: get caught up.
And: Run Fat Boy Run is coming closer to release in the states. Yes, I would watch Simon Pegg in just about anything. But perhaps not on an iPhone, if David Lynch had his way.
