prly true

I am pretty sure I am the only person in the world who wonders if Harold Bloom is any relation to Orlando Bloom?

Tom

I am a huge Tom Waits-head. His voice in all its gravel-ly glory goes right to my spine. This reaction prly has nothing to do with the fact that Pete made me a mix tape (remember those? Now kids share playlists) back in the day. I am sure I would have been arrested or at least institutionalized if not for that tape and the sense of calm and emotional support it gave me. It was all Rain Dogs, Small Change, ClosingTime and a little Van Morrison to mellow it all out. I don't know how many times that tape really saved me from a mental breakdown. Then..when I saw Tom in Chicago...well yeah. I still have the glitter in a little package. he was throwing glitter and screaming through a megaphone. F-ing brilliant. The way he side stomps his leg to the back beat. I later wrote a poem. I know Eric has one hard copy I don't know if I have an electronic file or not... have to dig around a bit.

The only other more significant musical experience in my life was Van at Guinness Fleagh, also Chicago, also Eric. Bowie's Serious Moonlight Tour was cool--So was Never Let Me Down--but Tom..well he is the shit.

Yeah so anyway Tom has a new album out. Guess what Pete is getting for Xmas!

Linen Bombette

Well, I have finished another knitting project. I think it will be my last. I much prefer weaving or crochet. Despite following the instructions this "capelet" seems to be more of a "scarf". Okay, there were two big deviations from the instructions--I chose a different yarn than recommended (this is hemp--I liked its color)
and used needles (obviously size matters)
I already owned. A very oddly shaped scarf. I am pleased with the edge the beads were fun.
I do like beads.
But can you see how horrible this is??
My only hope is that it can be blocked
and then will hang properly
--but lordy there are some tangled
spots of doom.Can you tell I only go to knitting
for the conversation? and the coffee?

The Turkey Derrick

After the Punkin Day false start—we had to veto that adventure on the grounds that: (fire+propane) x alcohol +high winds=BAD IDEA --we finally got to deep fry a turkey in our brand new deep fryer ensemble! We have accomplished fried bird on previous occasions but we always used Jim & Gwen’s fryer kit. Now we have our own! BEAMING w/Pride.

Pete also decided he needed to construct AB’s turkey derrick. Other than realizing that we need a taller ladder and having a little premature turkey ejaculation-- The bird took about 30 minutes to cook fully… not the 20 AB suggested. I had the same problem with the brisket on Punkin Day. It seems that air temperature has more of an influence on outdoor cooking than I would care to admit. At least non-actual fire cooking. Electric smoker took longer, propane burner took longer. I have never had a weather related problem with actual fire—hmmm Science…It’s what’s for dinner.

We also noticed that skipping the center top o'the ladder pulley was perhaps an error on our part. We just ran the rope through a manufactured hole in the top rung (the part where it says DO NOT STEP) which then resulted in a slightly alarming list during the lowering procedure. All in all well worth the fuss.

Izzy's "first" pie

I helped Izzy make her first pie. We used the Queeze to make butter crust. She dropped the butter into the chute. We peeled apples and she gauged how much spice to use. We cooked the apples and brown sugar, I helped her fill it and I actually placed it in the oven as that makes her VERY nervous. She once burned her wrist removing some choc. chip cookies. Despite this very rational hesitation by the oven I would say she did a good 75-80% of this on her own. She was quite proud and it was delish.

RIP Mr. Altman

22 November 2006
Director Robert Altman will long be mourned by the movie world. The news of the death of honored American director Robert Altman 81, has brought a series of accolades from actors and writers who have worked with him over the years. In fact Sandcastle 5 Productions in New York just said "He had lived and worked with the disease {cancer} for the last 18 months," Robert Altman's thinly veiled Vietnam War satire is indicative of when the spirit of the 1970s went mainstream, with Elliot Gould, Donald Sutherland and Tom Skerritt as rebellious, sarcastic and endearing Army doctors fighting military (read corporate) bullshit while healing wounded soldiers during the War. He hated the sitcom that it spawned calling it "that series" and I read in the Freep this morning that he only put the disclaimer that it was Korea and NOT Vietnam after pressure from the producers to make the film less aggressive. I don't know..I kinda like aggressive--at least in film directors. Pete Travers said this In Rolling Stone "Here was a director who spawned his own adjective, Altmanesque. That meant overlapping dialogue -- think of all the characters talking at the same time in M*A*S*H. That meant movies that fit no existing mold -- think of McCabe and Mrs. Miller, Three Women, Images, The Long Goodbye, California Split, Thieves Like Us. That meant large ensemble casts -- like the hordes of actors in Nashville, The Player, Gosford Park, Short Cuts and what turns out to be his last film, A Prairie Home Companion, who came together under his direction to create a teeming sense of collective life that no director has been able to match since." I am sad.

false friends

gentle readers--Warning English Teacher Mode--
Some of you are aware of my desire to be fluent in spoken French. I can read it well enough... but to conjugate verbs on the fly in a conversation...oh mais non mes amies. In an effort to keep these undergrad skills honed I subscribe to a really sweet web page called ABOUT.com. Laura La Nazi grammaire sends me French homework-- which depending on how bored I am (or how difficult it is) I ignore. Today's homework had to do with Thanksgiving (which is not usually celebrated in France as it is an American thang.) She had a big ole list of vocab. words that have to do with T-day and one of them was la farce Which means stuffing. Which cracked me up no end. You see there is a whole genre (ooh-- did ya see that mot francais? of words called cognates which are our friends; as they have very similar spellings and meaning for example...difficile means difficult in English--not too bad right? BUT there are FALSE FRIENDS such as our little bread crumb buddy--if you read the word in French and assumed it was similar to FARCE in English it could make for a lovely Monty Python sketch. Or even better--if you are a really horrible cook your side dish could be a huge joke--like way too many over cooked oysters, or really just a bowl of slightly soggy croutons. OH look another mot francais! Je suis tres amuse!

Local Shopping OP

oh Tony!

wrinkledmind.blogspot.com

One of my dear colleagues, Tony-- has a very entertaining blog; but friends this is not funny. This is terrifying--I can't count how many times that I, as a student, went to the library w/out ID--example? ok here's one--running in JUST to photocopy the last (forgotten) page of a critical essay on Spencer. ~Or~ to see if a friend was ready to eat yet, or to use the phone...but obviously times have changed. Look what students do on the phone now...I do not know the whole story behind this but please take a look.

remember kiddies--the police are our friends

Squirrel Squad goes to the Dairy

Good morning freaky darlings--

Many of you are familiar with our rebellion against corporate scouting--The Squirrel Squad! A bunch of families from the neighborhood hookup and do fun kidstuff (like play dodgeball) without paperwork or fundraising. We meet on the first Tuesday for crafty/planning meeting and then the second Sunday we go on a road trip. Yesterday was our trip to Calder Dairy. Many pictures (two albums worth!) can be seen by clicking on the My photos link or pasting this addy into your browser http://homepage.mac.com/wgouine1/PhotoAlbum165.html

This pic is of the gorgeous wooden and glass front cabinets at the little store. They sell all the dairy products produced there. Many adults were wondering about purchasing the geese and pigs. As Sean pointed out they probably have some sort of meat processing off site becasue they prly aren't milking the pigs! I never did get that question asked! The wonderful thing about Calder is they DELIVER MILK to MY PORCH in GLASS BOTTLES!! Yummmm. No hormones or antibiotics--now granted if a cow gets sick she is quarantined and modern science helps her get well but her milk doesn't get sold while she is on meds. The other thing I truly love about Calder's is that they are uber local. The trip took the caravan less than a half hour to drive out to the farm. As an exBrownie leader it was sooo nice to not have to worry about one driver with six little kids in their car. We had 26 adults and 18 kids...nice adult to child ratio!

The trip was a fabulous success. We got to bottle feed the babies, we visited the transitional barn (pre teen cows) and then in the milking parlour we saw EXACTLY where our milk comes from. It was awesome. 129 cows--this one was my fave-- isn't she pretty? I couldn't help but remember when T-rex had to get up at 5am and milk the moos in Bath. He let Matty pet the cows once--but this was quite the learning experience for ALL of us. I think the thing that sticks out in my mind the most was the fact that the mechanized suction devices release when the udder is empty. Having nursed three kids and waking up in a fountain of mother's milk because the little putz ate till he/she fell asleep--and then just let the letdown continue--yeah...I was kinda envious of being completely empty. The nightmarish memories of learning how to "pump and dump" all came back. I have total sympathy for those cows. I think they should all get names. Many of Calder's Cows have names but the teenagers just get numbers till they have a baby. The babies get tagged and numbered but until they join the workforce--they are just anonymous creatures with the most beautiful eyes. Cows are cool. They can pick their noses with their tongues!

sweet tater pancakes

When Gretch & I were down south I tried a new thing--Sweet potato Pancakes. They were fluffy and quite yum-- but being the little foodsnot that I am I couldn't wait to tweak the recipe (which constant reader--you should note--I did not have). The first thing that had to go was the Log Cabin syrup flavored Maple Syrup. I of course needed MICHIGAN PURE Grade A Maple syrup and I thought maybe a little pecan action might be nice. My base recipe for panic cakes and waffles is the back of the bisquick box (course now I often add a little whole wheat flour or just flip over to KRUSTEAZE (tm) whole wheat--but as usual...I digress) My instincts said to take out some moist from the recipe to cover for the sweet tater puree so I left out an egg. Now what was produced was edible, (in fact Zoli edibled three of them)--but the batter was VERY heavy and difficult to flip. Next time I am gonna start from scratch and up the gluten & b.powder quotients--see if we can get fluffier. Does anybody have a tried and true recipe to share??

I HEART YPSI!!

What wonderful fun!! Fun for me! Zipped out to the library to pick up a request (if you must know--a Charlaine Harris novel--on advice of my clansister 'Venna") and realized as I turned left onto Michigan Ave to come home, that there was NOTHING stopping me from checking out Ypsi's new store! The parking gods co-operated with a lovely spot up the block and in I went. The ever enticing aroma of fresh popcorn wrapped around me. The guys were so sweet and it was just awesome! I got the tour. Candy, toys and fridge magnets. Ypsi T-shirts and this great little store is DOWNTOWN! Not Depot Town (which I love-- but we need businesses down town. I was thrilled. All sorts of kitsch for boxes to Baldwin and Fargo. PARTY SUPPLIES!! Everybody needs a screaming harpy bendy doll! I replenished our depleted stock of pirate band aids, talked about the children's bookstore I will never be brave enough to open. And just had a super time! Oh I can't wait for everybody to check it out!

bloody unitasker

I know Alton says not to buy a gadget that only does one thing. BUT I love cast iron and the concept of cute little corn shaped cornbreads was just too irresistable. SO freaky darlings-- I have this thing. I have used it twice. The first time was a miserable failure. "Self" I said to myself, "Obviously we didn't season this properly." Attempt two went down last night..a little better but the corny muffins still did not just JUMP outta the pan. In an effort to follow my mentor's advice--I preheated the oiled pan in a 425F oven...just like Alton. The results were better but still not camera worthy. Does anybody have one of these things? How do they work? I want to twist it like a ice cube tray, but seems how my femininimum Wonder woman bracelets are at the cleaners--I am kinda at a loss. I need help!

Bonobo's fight back

I am glad that Stopid dawg doesn't have thumbs--she would try to pull the stunt that this Horny lil monkey tried.
I am fond of Bonobo monkeys; as is my sweetie--who, at lunch today pointed out the escape Miss DrillmebecauseI'mstressed Monkey attempted. My dog asks to go out pretty much every two hours because she hopes I will get up from the keyboard and play soccer or tug of war w/her. yyyyeaah. Bonobo Monkeys are cool because rather than bug the shit out of whatever human is in charge of feeding them--they relieve their stress by getting it on. I know this scintillating information not from a book or even a Animal Planet program-- but because several years ago a certain North Dakota-ian family and my family all went to the zoo together..and we SAW the mighty Bonobo Monkeys gettin it on. At first I was appalled--crazy little monkeys gettin jiggy with it... all over! EVERYWHERE just random couplings--they were on the jungle gym, on the floor , hanging from fake vines--crazy monkey orgy--but upon reflection (and giggling like a lunatic)-I had to admit--sex does seem like a pretty good stress reducer, maybe if a few more uptight humanoids swung from the monkey bars we would have less war?

autumn rain

When clouds appear wise men put on their cloaks;When great leaves fall, the winter is at hand (R3)

swish and flick

Oh freaky darlings! Brooke said I could play with Sean's Wii whenever I wanted! *beaming* Of all the buzz on the playground...I could care less about the UoM/OSU game this weekend, or that James Bond is old...we knew that. But what a fine excuse to add Dr. No to the netflix queue. What I am geeked about is the new gaming platform! Sean (aka Lily's dad) is gonna try and get a Wii--the very hip and new uber slim and massively powerful game console. AAAAND..do good Pottercast Pirates KNOW what game is gonna be released for that platform??/ Hmmm?? NO? take a guess--YES! "HP and the OoP!!

YEEEEE F@$!*^# HA!!!!

They won! jumping up and down they won! I fell asleep but they won! I am doing a little happy dance...oh yeah...Go Wings! It's yer birthday--Go Wings!

Wings get record-tying win, 3-2

By The Associated Press
November 14, 2006

VANCOUVER, British Columbia -- Johan Franzen's tiebreaking short-handed goal helped Detroit beat the Vancouver Canucks 3-2 on Tuesday night, and give the Red Wings a franchise-record matching ninth-straight win.
Franzen was killing off the final seconds of a Canucks power play when he pulled up atop the right faceoff circle and wristed a long shot between the legs of both Vancouver defenseman Patrick Coulombe and goaltender Roberto Luongo with 6:19 left in the third period.

Henrik Zetterberg and Valtteri Filppula also scored for the Wings, who haven t lost since Oct. 21 in Edmonton.

Dominik Hasek, who blanked Edmonton and Nashville in his last two starts, extended his shut out streak to a career-best 181 minutes, 17 seconds before Henrik Sedin scored on a power play 7:49 into the second period.

Detroit was outshooting the Canucks 16-4 and leading 1-0 before being penalized for too many men on the ice. Hasek stopped Naslund's wrist shot from the top of the left circle, but couldn't glove Sedin's sharp-angle shot on the rebound.

It was the first goal given up by Hasek in 10 days. But the 41-year-old made 18 saves to keep another streak alive with his seventh straight win.

After Franzen put the Wings ahead, Hasek got a little help when Alexandre Burrows goal was waved off immediately by referee Bill McCreary, who instead called a goaltender interference penalty on Jan Bulis for bumping Hasek in the crease.

Kevin Bieksa also scored, and Luongo finished with 30 saves as the Canucks lost for the sixth time in the last seven games.

Filppula's shot from the slot ricocheted in off the shoulder of Coulombe at the side of the net 4:36 into the second. Zetterberg put Detroit ahead early in the third when he was left alone behind the Vancouver defense and outwaited Luongo before lifting a backhand over the fallen goalie.

Bieksa tied it 30 seconds later on a one-timer from the slot.

I will never pan fry pork chops again

Slow Cooker Pepper Pork Chops
Recipe courtesy Alton Brown, 2006
See this recipe on air Wednesday Nov. 15 at 7:00 PM ET/PT.
Show: Good Eats
Episode: Major Pepper


2 cups vegetable broth
1/2 cup kosher salt
1/2 cup light brown sugar
2 tablespoons black peppercorns, slightly crushed
1 pound ice
4 (1 to 1 1/2-inch thick) bone-in pork chops
2 teaspoons kosher salt
3 ounces dried apple slices
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 large onion, julienned
1 1/2 cups chicken broth
1 tablespoon coarsely ground black pepper
1 teaspoon dried thyme
Combine the vegetable broth, 1/2 cup kosher salt, brown sugar and peppercorns in a medium saucepan and set over medium-high heat. Cook just until the salt and sugar dissolve, then remove from the heat and add the ice. Place the pork chops into a 2-gallon zip-top bag along with the mixture and seal. Place in a plastic container and refrigerate overnight.
Remove the chops from the brine, rinse, and pat dry. Season on both sides with the kosher salt and set aside

Place the apples in the slow cooker.

Heat 1 1/2 tablespoons of the olive oil in a 12-inch stainless steel saute pan over medium-high heat. Saute the pork chops on both sides until golden brown, approximately 5 to 6 minutes per side. Once browned, place the pork chops into the slow cooker atop the apples.

Add the remaining 1/2 tablespoon of olive oil to the pan followed by the onions and saute until they begin to brown, 3 to 4 minutes. Add the chicken broth to the pan to deglaze. Add the black pepper and thyme and stir to combine. Transfer this to the slow cooker, set to high, cover and cook for 1 1/2 hours. Decrease the heat to low and continue cooking for another 4 hours and 30 minutes or until the pork is tender and falling away from the bone.

giggling madly

penguins and Pottercast

Pottercast.com is the subject for today. Epi 63 concerned the fact that Friday night the new kiddy flick Happy Feet opens; and thank god it isn't Scooby-poo! You see freaky darling-- Last time we were anticipating a new HP film I actually *paid* for four tickets to that pile of pabulum. Just to see the trailer for GoF. Ack.
Well I am excited this time because at least this happy dancing penguin thing looks palatable. The peeps on Pottercast were trying to decide what would or would NOT be included in the teaser. I wonder-will auror Dawlish be there??
Will McGonagall get some stylish robes? I need to see my Snapey-poo. There is much discussion concerning both Neville and the Harryhair. Apparently somebody in make up decide to comb those boys out. They did read the books?

I have to agree with one point that I believe her Anelli-ness pointed out--very soon WB is gonna have to stop promoting these films w/ the PG-13 rating. HBP was dark. I truly doubt JKR is gonna make the final volume cheerful and light--not so much. I and a few thousand Snape fans could spin it so daRk (note the capital "R") you would need a flashlight just to buy the ticket!

Turnips & Lutes or return of the bomb

Sometimes things tell me directly--a moment will occur and I will understand that this is a bloggable thing. It maybe an obsessive reaction to a book, a film or a news article. Maybe a new band entered my realm of consciousness and i NEED to SHARE!! Or maybe, a brilliant friend--(a certain Queen of Milwaukee) will mention that she enjoyed a new album... and then as fate would have it another friend stretches to change the background music at her garb workshop and lo and behold I need to be downloading some music! It seems one of my favorite "stingers" has done it again. Songs from the Labyrinth Which should not be confused with David Bowie's wonderful film The Labyrinth which does have a great soundtrack but I digress--of course--isn't that why we are here? Oh freakey darling imagine my knees turning to jelly (I know not a difficult task) when Sting's ubervelvet voice slides around my spine... I do humbly beseech you... SIGH
Okay the new Sting album explains the lutes but I'll bet somebody is wondering why I mentioned turnips--consider a bleu cheese gratin. NEW RECIPE ALERT!! Creamy smooth and tangy all at the same time! I had never eaten turnips before, at least not knowingly, and I had certainly never prepared them; but in honor of clan sisters who actively seek out new veggies I tried this odd little root. It smelled like radishes. I expected it to cook like a tater--hmm not so much-- 1 hour 45 at 375F and they were still crisp. The mouth feel was kinda like jicama. The kids ate them tho Izzy did pronounce them "terrible". Pete loved it but he will eat anything that is accompanied by bleu cheese. yes..you little smutmongers..anything...

Turtleboy

I hate Patrick WAAAA so much. How much do I hate him? I hate him sooo much I don't even TRY to pronounce his name correctly even tho I am desperate to be fluent en francais. I hate him sooo much I am not even gonna bother to transcribe his link into blue highlight code for you. If you want to learn about the evil one you can copy and paste into your browser.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Patrick_Roy

My boys were quoted in theFreep this morning--they were saying nicey nice things about how he can stop pucks standing on his head--but dude..ya know..sometimes..the enemy is just the enemy--the Avs can suck it--stupid expansion team
Nhl Top 5 Goalie Fights - video powered by MetacafeThe little wuss is in this clip TWICE--okay--um goalies aren't supposed to fight! And they are putting THIS whiney nancyboy in the Hall of Fame??? Poor Ozzie-- ack.

no more tickets

It was a fat little envelope, filled with tickets--now it is empty. tears welling up in eyes--No more RSC!!...all gone! upper lip trembling unhWAAAAAAA!!
Caesar was okay. It was warm and sleepy in the theatre and I have to point out that my belief that JC should NOT be the first Shakespeare kids encounter was confirmed. LONG speeches and last night they were performed rather monotonously--droning and zzzzzz
*head snap*
What?? No. I am good--quick glance at stage to confirm..yep Marc Antony is still talking-- and talking and talking--they did this weird thing with the assassination --the audience couldn't see it--they did this weird thing with the battles--they ran off stage--just talking and talking

There were rumors that this performance was to be especially bloody--well the blood packets didn't burst properly. Nope no Gallagher esque splatterings for us! In fact three little packs lay in the middle of the EMPTY stage- like sassy little leeches-glistening and ready to burst--but sadly whole. The other fun thing about the EMPTY set was when they pluck the "gaudy feathers" from the statue of JC--the prop was actually white streamers (feathers... streamers whatever)--like toilet paper--which then lay heaped on the stage for the whole first act, as if a naughty kitten had gotten in the pissoir; and YES--in classic slapstick form the TP was getting caught on the actor's shoes. So here are these conniving and distraught men pacing about Rome with blood stained TP stuck to the soles of their boots--it was menstrual at best... A menstrual show??

Tony & Cleo

Nicely done. I truly enjoyed seeing the RSC performance last night. The costumes were perfect. Suddenly I have this fondness for men in Roman Garb--better than kilts! Going in I thought perhaps the babe, Harriet Walters playing Cleopatra was gonna be too old, but then Patrick Stewart should up and they sizzled! Chris Jones of the Chicago Trib had this lovely paragraph which I shall share with my darling readers: "Harriet Walter's endlessly fascinating Cleopatra is no camp, gilded icon in the classic Elizabeth Taylor mode -- rather, she's a smart, decent, passionate woman who knows how to snare her guy, sure, but also offers her Antony a more burnished life than his sniveling Roman pals. But good intentions aside, she still turns Stewart's Antony into an unhappy man caught between two worlds and, by the second act, viable in neither. His descent is beguiling to watch."
mmmm good stuff

Novel Stimuli

Such a purist....

Prospero=Patrick Stewart, good—I like it-- but in the ARCTIC?? Ariel is a dude?? A hot dude??

There was a time in my life when If I heard live music that deviated from the recording I had memorized I would have little immature hissy fits. That same sense of discomfort is awakened when movies don’t stick to the text. I still have a niggling worm of unease in the theatre when massive setting costume changes take place—for example Richard as a Nazi-- or as I anticipate Thursday—Julius Cesar in samurai garb?? THEY better not F THAT up!) But now I can see Ian McKellan as brilliantly terrifying and I am okay with the irony of the Assorted Lords scrabbling through the ice pack and discussing the lush green grass. It was funny.

I have always read Ariel in The Tempest as a little waif fairygirl with this disturbed angry old man. And the RSC has now pushed all of that imagery right out my window. We start out on Titanic shipwreck kinda thing and end up with Inuits and dead seals. “So people who think they're going to get an elderly man with a long white beard sitting on a rock, talking about his life, are in for a surprise.'' (Mckee A2 News)

The bizarre unfamiliarity of the frozen Arctic, coupled with a Peter Murphy-like Ariel and a Caliban who is drop dead gorgeous provided a magical if lusty--space for Shakespeare's last drama to unfold.

"Ultimately, it's a play about finding forgiveness in the most unlikely place,'' said Stewart. "For me, an act which resonates very powerfully ... is how much of a difference it makes to both the interior as well as the exterior life if you can, if only for a few minutes, put yourself in another's shoes, see the world through their eyes." The Tempest asks a single quiet question, one that Shakespeare has posed in many of his other plays and what Mr. Bloom just finished writing a book about-- What is a human being?

YEAH BAY-BY!

Hot damn! that was Awesome!
a. NO parking spaces!! I freaking love it!
b. There was a line that had to "snake" at 8am
c. OUT with the incumbents (Not you Bill yer okay!) in w/ the Green party. That was a fantastic feeling. So many Greenpeeps running! We are EVERYWHERE, the senate the congress, the state board of education, UoM, MSU, WSU. My freak flag is flying high and proud. LOVE IT!
d. and a nice simple paper ballot where ya fill in the dot--right next to your write in candidate!

Now what shall I wear to the RSC tonight?? Tempest and then fly to the idiotbox for results.

GO VOTE!

Get off your ass and go vote! NOW. Shut off the 'puter and go to your poll. If you live in Ypsi write in Steve Pierce for mayor. If you don't like the idea of a successful business man in charge of a struggling downtown, wait scratch that, if you don't like the idea of a historic district getting rehabbed by somebody who has already accomplished just that (saving/restoring a historic home) write in yourself, write in anybody (Jon Stewart? Tom Waits? Oprah? Pedro?) just please don't support the old school status quo--It isn't working. VOTE GREEN!!
This campaign ad was paid for by the citizen for more coffee and less bullshit.

memphis TN

This city is known for it's amazing music. This theatre is famous for blues. We saw the Handy Awards (like the Grammy's for Blues) here back a couple of trips ago. But this weekend was a little more mellow. The house band at BB's was a rocking funk band they played some classics including two songs that are guaranteed to get me on the dance floor--Brickhouse and Play that Funky Music. I tried out some of my new bellydance skills-just slipping them in where they fit. Couple of guys bought me drinks--that was fun. Gretch, Smokey and I had a lot of fun snarking on white folks who can't dance-- no matter how drunk they are. Really it is kind of embarrassing--you know the white guy shuffle? Girls in heels shouldn't do that--not so much.
Found a new CD--you know me wherever I go funky little indie bands appear--This month's special selection is one of three volumes called Fried Glass Onions. Check out insidesounds.com if you are really interested--it is a bunch of blues artists doing the Beatles--right up my alley. I picked up mine at the Center for Southern Folklore where we did NOT get to see Daddy Mack play.

Schwabs

Well, our sorry bedraggled butts are home from Beale St.. We found a little trio of new shops down by the Arcade Diner, yes the one where Jim Jarmusch filmed Mystery Train. The new shops are called Muse, home of the blue and brown paisley suitcase, Delphinium, home of the $450 tweed & patchwork coat that only came in a small (DAMN) and uh...the one that they were still putting out the stock. They were all little indy boutiques-- kinda like my beloved Henrietta Fahrenheit (RIP).

We drank and danced. We ate. I made fast friends with the Ambassador of Bling, Mr. Charlie-and he let me help him at the
door. We also hooked up with Smokey (happy b-day baby) and Tad. Tad drives the pink caddy. He is also responsible for the Memphis Mary, which is a uber yummy drink mix.

One of the highlights for me was shopping at Tater Reds and at Schwab's. Schwab's Dry Goods Store, in the family since 1876, (you can tell from the dust. It is the only remaining original business on Beale St. They literally fill three floors with voodoo powders, handcuffs, clerical collars, saucepans and the largest collection of kitsche anyone could ever need. Some prime examples follow:

Now constant reader I ask you--if these are "open leg panties" what exactly is a "closed leg" panty? perhaps for amputees??

All the way to MEMPHIS

Today Gretchen and I are escaping to Memphis. We are flying out of Flint and will be home Sunday afternoon. We are going to eat BBQ, get our nails done, listen to blues music, bitch about life, drink, giggle, shop, drink, eat at Issac Hayes (doing my best Chef impersoation--"well Hello children") and hang out on Beale Street. We are staying at The Talbot Heirs Guest House which is better than Toronto's Drake Hotel, but does not have it's own lounge--which now that I think about it would be redundant as it is about three blocks from Beale Street! Oh, did I mention that the weather is 60F and sunny? See ya'll Monday--I gotta git me some sweet tea.

My Scene

I played "Barbie" with my daughter yesterday. (I didn't break out is a rash) Because she was blessed with a half day at school (or the staff just didn't want to deal with the little darlings over excited for Halloween (did I mention my kids were awake and in their costumes at 6:12 a.m?) I figured we could do something she wanted. So we went to lunch at Tim Horton's and played Barbie. I have philosophical issues with Blonde malibu Barbie from my childhood. I have drawn a very clear line at her freaky disproportionate dye job-- But peer pressure has Isabel owning six 12" fashion dolls. One is Mulan from Disney. One is a scuba diving red haired scientist from Shedd Aquarium, the rest are all brunettes from the Barbie Collection called "Myscene" which describes the temper tantrums at Toys R Us more than it does the dolls. These six girls have a large wardrobe that they share--but they seem to only have one pair of panties and I am pretty sure they stole them from Madeline.
Some things I observed yesterday.
Their chins are either "coy" or "curious dog" mode. There is no grad student reading homework pose.
Sadly, they cannot hold the bowl of chips they came packaged with.

Which is just as well really, much like a Tyrannosaurus Rex; they can't quite get their hands to their mouth. My doll eventually became so desperate to eat the chips she went in face first.
They seem to have no ankle bones.
or toes. If you hold just their feet--the gravity of their boobs pulls them over like Charlie Chaplin in a windstorm.
They do however have impossibly long eye lashes.
Their clothes won't stay on if they move.
They own a hummer that only holds them if they lay down.
Their skulls are soft and hollow.
They come w/sunglasses sewn to their heads. Now admittedly that does seem handy.

It was a pleasant enough hour. I perversely enjoyed putting my doll into situations where her fashions (ie. winter coats that a.) have no buttons or zip and b.) do not even close?? Yeah my doll got hypothermia on the ski trip) or physique (those feet PLEASE!) were so absurd we about peed our pants laughing. Tho Isabel did mention that her friends Lily and Chloe were "more fun". Eh--I think she got my point.

Je suis mort

What a hoot not being Kirsten Dunst! I love Halloween. And I got to practice my French. Several neighbors of course asked if I had cake. When the little princess trick or treaters would show up I would tell them to be kind to their people or they would get (making the slit throat gesture) executed. I gave them all sorts of new vocab words like decapitated and executed. It was better than asking the Hunch Back of Notre Dame moms if they had read the book? I personally wouldn't let my daughter dress as Esmeralda. This year there was a new fad costume where the clothes are torn to reveal innards and skin bones, etc...I kept saying things like, "Oh you're an eviscerated werewolf." It is fun to mess with kid's heads.