musical monday: 'all i want to do is to ex-it'

We've been having lots of fun with cars these past two weeks. Okay, so really it's been more like not-so-much-fun with a lack of cars. Something like that. That's almost wrapped up, I hope.

So, in that vein, here's a car-related song that's been stuck in my head thanks to one of my cousins. I had completely forgotten about this prior to earlier this month.

o spring! won't you come out and play?

Yesterday morning, as I was getting ready for work, I elected to leave my snow boots and thermals at home. "I'll probably be okay," I figured and I was just tired of wearing my boots and an extra layer of clothes every day.

Nine hours later, I was standing at the bus stop, watching big fluffy clumps of snow settle onto my mulberry-colored gloves. Another hour or so later, as Pic and I waited on another bus together, I rocked on my feet as the wind pressed the snow into the backs of my pants and jacket. By the time the bus came, fifteen minutes later, Pic and I were both pretty thoroughly wet.

So, I'd like to say that, yes, snow is nice and all, but I'm ready for a bit more sunshine and warm weather. Yes, please.

it's alive!...

...and it's just wrong.

I attempted to watch Kenneth Branagh's 1994 Mary Shelley's Frankenstein. Yeah, that didn't work so well.

Cardo and I watched just under an houhttp://www.blogger.com/img/blank.gifr of the movie and I finally had him turn it off. If I send it back to Netflix, how fast do you think I can get a different version?

And, seriously, suggestions? What version of a Frankenstein movie should I watch?

I get that it's a horror story, or, at least that's what Shelley set out to write, but the movie had me going from, "Um, no," to, "Excuse me while I throw up here" and back. I can't imagine that every movie version would be like this. I know that I watched some version of it in high school, but I don't remember what it was and the only part I even slightly remember was when the creature meets William...I think.

I have to say the Netflix reviews of the Branagh film were kind of funny. The first one I read raved about how close to the novel the movie is. Really? I'm wondering if the person thinks it's close to the novel or only close to what s/he remembers about the novel or only what s/he thinks s/he knows about the novel? Opinions vary widely about the closeness of the adaptation, but there are just so many wrong things going on.

Okay, I get that this is where I always have a problem with film adaptations. They're just that. It's not like Shelley wrote a script that can acted out exactly and it's great that artists take the liberty to adapt and morph as they see fit...I guess. I am just stubborn. Close-minded, maybe?

After all this rambling, suffice it to say I'm definitely not a fan of the film.

musical monday: 'swim with the current and flow away'

"Agnes Obel - Riverside (official)"

This makes me want to lay piano again.

here in the middle of the dark

I should probably be sleeping. I've been called and called to come to bed already, but I'm weirdly resistant to that. (Seriously, tell me it's time to go to bed and that's just about a guarantee that I'll be up for at least three more hours.)

So, what am I doing? Almost listening to a tv show on Netflix. (I'm not really watching it and I only have it on to drown out thoughts that might fill my head and make it impossible for me to read. Yeah, yeah, I have issues.)

I'm also reading some more of Q is for Quarry in snatches while I wait for blog pages to load. Over here in blogland, I'm catching up on dooce. This post on Leta losing her second tooth cracks me up. Oh, the joys I have to look forward to once Pic starts losing her teeth.*

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* We've recently had a Tooth Fairy conversation. Pic told me that some people don't believe in the Tooth Fairy. I told her the concept was the same as that of Santa Claus in that various people act as the Tooth Fairy/Santa Claus/whoever else for those receiving the benefits. Pic is adamant that there is, in fact, an actual Tooth Fairy. I left the conversation there. I love that she chooses to believe in the Tooth Fairy in the face of my "rational truth." (That so deserves the quotes, because, for Pic, the truth is that there is a fairy that lives somewhere else, maybe in another land she told me, who takes care of whisking away our unneeded teeth.)

what the what?!

I am lamenting that 30 Rock is not available on Netflix Instant. Also, I have to subscribe to Hulu Plus (whatever that is) to watch it there. Ah, well. I probably shouldn't be taking time out to watch that now anyhow. Give me a couple more months, though, and I'll burrow into the couch and probably watch the entire season in, um, a day.

I also just caught up on reading through angry chicken's archives and I loved every moment of it. I'm only sad that I'm caught up and now have to wait for current postings. I bookmarked about seventy gazillion posts to revisit in a couple of months. Pic and I will be mad crafters il quest estate. I love the blog beyond words.

Until then, I'll be getting by on required reading aplenty reading galore and not nearly enough sleep.

Oh, I almost forgot about Kinsey. (For shame, I know.) So, I do still have one good distraction. However, I'm currently reading Q is for Quarry, which leaves only four-and-a-half books before I'm caught up.

a bit of lit

From Zora Neale Hurston's Their Eyes Were Watching God:

"Some people could look at a mud-puddle and see an ocean with ships. But Nanny belonged to that other kind that loved to deal in scraps. Here Nanny had taken the biggest thing God ever made, the horizon -- for no matter how far a person can go the horizon is still way beyond you -- and pinched it in to such a little bit of a thing that she could tie it about her granddaughter's neck tight enough to choke her."

musical monday: rings 'n' things

"Ke$ha - We r Who We R (Sign Language)"
I've never/seen heard this song before, but I'm really liking the video.


"ASL Version Music Video-Single Ladies"
[I thought there were other dancers in this video. So, apparently, did some of the YouTube commenters. I don't know where this "other version" is they speak of. Hmm.]

These bring back memories of learning a song in ASL to perform. Peecho and I were going to perform Bette Midler's "Night and Day" but then she broke her toe and couldn't sign. (Seriously.) So, I performed "Silent Night" instead. I wasn't thrilled, but we had each only learned a part of the other song. And, anyway, I got to wear my mom's white dress that looked like an oversized fringed shawl, which I dug.

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Oh, and, why not?


"Thom Yorke dances to Single Ladies"

One more note: I don't really think I get this song. The speaker (I'm not talking Beyonce, I'm talking the speaker in a literary sense) seems to be saying that she wants love and not things, but she's asking for a ring. I get the implication, but rings are things. Also, why the self-referential "it"? What's with the objectification?

happy birthday, al!

Today is the anniversary of Albert Einstein's birth. Just thought I'd mention it.

In honor of him, and as a note on unschooling, I'd just like to quote him, "The only thing that interferes with my learning is my education."

sunday strings

Oh-so-fun:


"David Garrett - Smooth Criminal"

Seriously, should I already know about David Garrett? Methinks yes.


"The String Quartet Tribute to Nirvana - All Apologies"


"The String Quartet Tribute To The Offspring - Come Out And Play"

O Mighty Interweb!, how you lure me into wasting so much time.

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P.S. Why does YouTube no longer allow me to choose the color of the frame? Hmm.

on that which (usually) eludes me

I am in an interesting place where sleep is concerned. I've realized that there simply aren't enough hours in a day for me to complete everything I feel I need to complete. I'm at that panicky stage where I nightly (early-morningly) have to tell myself to just let go and accept what I have finished.

On Sunday night, I slept three hours. Definitely not enough. As punishment, I was wracked with a headache of dizzying proportions. I felt nauseated and I couldn't hold a thought for long (not good at all). I went home and slept eleven hours. Not straight through, but close enough. Actually, I had asked Cardo to heat a burrito for me in the oven. He did and dutifully woke me when it was hot. I sat up, kind of, in bed and devoured my dinner and promptly went back to sleep. I might as well have been dreaming.

Then, oh, the dreaming. I dreamt I was on my college campus, coming out of what was the library when someone called my name. I looked over to see someone I had known (and had something of a thing for) in high school. He was asking me to sign up for some club. I did. And, what a fun club. He handed me a pamphlet which I had to do a close reading of. I looked it over and realized it was some kind of Christian tract and I felt I had to go back and explain to him that I would do the close reading but I wasn't Christian so they might not want me. Then, I left and walked across the snowy, icy parking lot.

Then, it was five and I got up to start working again. (This last sentence was real life again, although I kind of wish getting up at five was a dream. Usually I am going to bed so late that it just doesn't seem worth it to go to bed at all if my alarm is just going to go off so ridiculously early.)

It's so weird the way present and past mingle in dreams. And, how dreams like these make me focus so much on my past for several days. And, how they make me wonder if, really, I'm overworking myself.

sky castles

Next week, I have a bit more free time on my hands. I have many, many plans to fill all of this "free" time.

* spend time with friends and family
* make sure the thank you cards are finally, finally finished and sent
* bake?
* make more laundry soap (perhaps a double batch? but then I'll have to use a larger container)
* walk
* read
* plan
* walk
* catch up on blogs and actually comment
* sleep
* sort through the mess that is my podcast collection
* walk

a little look at language

I recently read Brave New World for the first time and, O, the terms I learned.

Among the words I had to look up:

* viviparous (which led to me looking up ovoparous and ovovivparous)

* brachycephalic (which led to me looking up dolichocephalic)

* hypnopaedia

on to bigger and better

This makes me happy for a number of reasons. Right now, the Coop (as it's referred to on Facebook, or least it was) is so small that I get a little panicky when I go in there. Also, while I love TJ's, I wish it offered more, especially items with less packaging and less processing. And, Whole Foods just makes me a little freaked out because of the prices. I'm more willing to pay more when I know I'm supporting locals. (Actually, I'm not that educated on WF practices. Do they buy from local farmers?)

a bit of lit (and a little look at language)

From Kenneth C Davis's Don't Know Much about Mythology:

"Most scholars believe that the Greeks translated the Egyptian word Hewet-ka-Ptah, which literally means 'Temple of the Spirit of Ptah,' as Aeguptos, and it was eventually transformed into the word we now use as Egypt."

He has a lot of these fun notes in the book. (And, yes, I realize how nerdy I am for calling this bit of information "fun.")

musical monday: a bit of friday love

"Friday I'm In Love (The Cure Cover)"

So, how naughty-parent would it be for me to, um, borrow Pic's guitar and learn to play it? I prefer the plain wood look of the guitar in the video (like I'm remembering my own mom's guitar to have been) to Pic's hand-me-down (thanks, Cousin K!) turquoise guitar, but it's all we've got 'round these parts.

oops, my bad!

(That was my dad's favorite line from Clueless.)

So, yeah, about that NaBlo thing? Um... I'm online a lot less often now, so who knows what I was thinking. I'll try to post as often as possible for the rest of the month, but I'm disappointed to have lost the momentum so early in the month.

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Cardo and I were driving on the bridge over the river this evening and saw the following on a sign at the side of the road: Kayakers on the river. Slow down. 15 mph.

Okay, then. I should slow down so I don't drive into the kayakers on the water below the road? And, the speed limit is 15 there anyhow.

Huh.

pondering the paste*

Is it weird to brush one's teeth in a semi-public bathroom? I feel weird brushing my teeth in places I don't usually brush them. It's the spitting thing. I imagine others thinking it's gross, but I don't know why. It's not like they're going to scoop out the draining water and drink it. (Now, there's an image for you.)

I just don't want my breath to smell like scallions all afternoon, so I'll stick with the brushing and try not to think so much about what others think (unless everyone really does think it's disgusting).

(And, I suppose I should be much less worried about what others think in general. I've been thinking about that a lot lately and will write about that later. That is one of those ever-evolving, never-ending topics that I never actually get around to writing about because it feels to damned daunting. Oh, those topics torment me.)

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* Oh my, oh my, I've watched a certain movie entirely too many times because my post title makes me think "Wheeze the juice!" and I'm a dork, I know.

it's all relative

"Your Song (Ukulele Cover)"

I was listening to this song and thinking of Baz Luhrmann's William Shakespeare's Romeo + Juliet, but couldn't for the life of me figure out why. I finally realized I was actually thinking about Baz Luhrmann's Moulin Rouge but the other movie is more at the forefront of my thoughts right now. Oh, how young the actors are! Oh, how strangely older (not old, really, just not young) I feel watching that movie!

Oh, and speaking of Luhrmann, he's doing The Great Gatsby to be released next year, possibly with DiCaprio as Jay Gatsby. Why can't he have already finished that? And, I'm told he's filming in 3D. Um, alrighty then. I cannot recollect ever having been to a 3D movie, and I'm having a hard time imagining this. I'm not sure I want to be that in the mix with Gatsby and Co. Also, I think there's something a bit ironic about that book in 3D. Hmm.

And, I just looked this up to see what's out there in the ether. The comments on this crack me up, although that might be a sign that I'm entirely too tired to be functioning. Wow, are people all vehement about their Luhrmann and their Gatsby. Even more entertaining than all that, though, is the following reaction to someone saying something about yet another classic being ruined:

How is it ruined? The book is still there. Baz Luhrman isn't going to break into your house, go to your bookcase and cover every page of your copy in crayon scribbles and sparklies...

Instead of the ever-popular renditions of "rainbows and unicorns," I think I'll start using "It's all crayon scribbles and sparklies here!" Yes.

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Does anyone else ever think in terms of Jeopardy! categories? There are far too many people in the world for it to just be me.

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One more thing? Okay. I put a NaBlo button on the side there. I don't choose to join based on when I might have the most time to actually post daily, rather I choose based on whether I like the badges or not. (The badge I chose was made by a generous NaBlo member. I really like it. I have been a bit (more) word/language/book obsessed lately as I try to figure out exactly how I'm defining myself these days.

So, here's to the possibility of daily posts around these parts.

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Oh, oh, I lied. This is the last thing I'll share tonight: I'm a genius! (And, I just typed that "genious." Oy with the poodles.) I figured out how to make that badge small enough to fit my sidebar and how to get it to link back to NaBloPoMo's site when you click on it. And! And, I figured out (um, finally) how to make YouTube videos fit in the space I have available here. (That discovery process went something like, "Oh, look here at this handy little 'custom' box. I wonder what numbers I can enter to make the video-box-thing small enough to not cut off the right edge?" And, then there was some humming and entering of numbers, et voila!

So, who else is sleep-deprived?

a bit of lit

From William Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet:

O serpent heart hid with a flow'ring face!
Did ever dragon keep so fair a cave?
Beautiful tyrant, fiend angelical!
Dove-feathered raven, wolvish-ravening lamb!
Despised substance of divinest show!
Just opposite to what thou justly seem'st,
A damned saint, an honorable villain.
O nature, what hadst thou to do in hell
When thou didst bower the spirit of a fiend
In mortal paradise of such sweet flesh?
Was ever book containing such vile matter
So fairly bound? O, that deceit should dwell
In such a gorgeous palace!

-- Juliet, on learning from the Nurse that Romeo has snuffed out Tybalt

Romeo as book = fabulous