| Poem for Friday |
[May. 9th, 2008|12:26 am] |
( She-Fox )
Let me begin by mentioning the awesomeness of the Platypus. And presales for Great Big Sea's Fortune's Favour start Friday at noon. And yay Wil Wheaton -- ![[info]](http://piktures.deadjournal.com/userinfo.gif) vertigo66, what shall we do the night the Star Trek movie opens? Go out to dinner, then watch "Amok Time" and "Requiem for Methuselah"? *g*
Today I had the pleasure of lunch with perkypaduan, followed by the first hour or so of the director's cut of American Gangster, though she had to hit the road so we will finish it next week. It was not immediately apparent what, if anything, was added in that first hour, but I only saw the theatrical version of the film once. I also helped son a bit more with his web page and captioned photos on Picasa and contemplated things I need to buy before we go on vacation at the end of next month, like another bathing suit and some shirts that are nicer than t-shirts but don't need ironing and hopefully an inexpensive skort. I loathe shopping for clothes.
( More Sheep & Wool )
We had jacket potatoes with turkey stew for dinner and watched Smallville, which would have been fun if it had embarked on this storyline while certain characters were still alive and had developed it over several seasons, but now seems to be playing "Canon? What canon?" with its own second season on top of chewing up and spitting out the previous history of Superman as I understand it. ( Spoilers. ) The Next Gen episode I watched to review is one I don't remember at all -- it was like brand new old Star Trek! Fun! Political commentary Thursday made me want to throw up all over people I like, far more than the opposition, so I am going to ignore everything until the Democrats have a nominee and then hold my nose and vote for him or her no matter who it is or who gets disenfranchised, insulted, underestimated, marginalized or misquoted between now and then. Sigh. |
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| Poem for Thursday |
[May. 8th, 2008|12:09 am] |
( The Water Queen of Jerusalem )
Not the most exciting of Wednesdays. I worked on html for a web page for my son, who has decided that he desperately wants his own domain for penguin photos and the like, but for some reason a photo that loads fine on a local html file won't work when I upload the file to the web (I think it's because his new domain forwards to a page on my web site, so there are essentially frames keeping the domain URL in place and the frames are somehow screwing with the tables). Then I took younger son to the orthodontist, where we got some bad news: not only do the braces need to go back on, but because it's considered a new phase in his treatment, with new molds and a new apparatus, we have to refinance and argue costs with our insurance. So it's painful for all of us! At least the braces won't have to go on till we get back from our long trip this summer so they won't affect what he can eat while traveling. He has one adult tooth that is refusing to budge from the gums because his mouth is small and it would just fit straight between the teeth but it's coming in at an angle, so there has to be more room. Sigh.
( More Lake Whetstone Geese )
I see that the Olympic torch made it to the top of Mount Everest...I have mixed feelings because of the Tibet situation but it's a neat idea to take the Olympic flame to the top of the world, though I was wondering how they managed to light it with so little oxygen. Climbing is one of my favorite sports to read about, though not people who think the 8000 meters plus mountains are the only ones that count and not wealthy amateurs who pay tens of thousands of dollars for the privilege of losing toes, limbs or their lives in exchange for possible bragging rights. I made it up Mount Washington in the White Mountains, but I don't dream of climbing on Denali, let alone the Himalayas, though I would dearly love to walk around Mount Kailas. |
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| Poem for Wednesday |
[May. 7th, 2008|12:31 am] |
( The Water-Fall )
I got to get out of the house and have lunch with gblvr, yay! We had grand plans to go to P.F. Chang's but it was so crowded that we said to heck with it and opted for the quicker pleasure of Texas BBQ (which cost a lot less and frankly I like as much as most Chinese, though now that I know about that vegetarian place, I have a new favorite restaurant). I also got to meet wojelah, who shares my adoration of Donna Noble and did not run screaming when I admitted that I like Sam Carter better than Rodney McKay. Somehow while we were in the mall we managed not to notice the earthquake that hit the DC region, though on the scale of disasters I keep being grateful that I live here instead of in a major hurricane zone, tornado zone, etc.
( Samson the Baby Elephant )
Finally we watched The Golden Compass, which I liked well enough -- it's probably my favorite Nicole Kidman role ever, she's so much better cold and insincere, heh -- but I could also see why it didn't catch on as the next Lord of the Rings, Narnia, etc. I started to feel a bit Farscape about all the talking animals -- give us more Asriel, even if his name is ridiculously pretentious, already -- and I was really looking forward to the alleged Church-bashing and was sorry it was so subtle, and that the world was still so hierarchical and aristocratic in many ways. Just like in C.S. Lewis's books, there's a rightful hierarchy and a wrongful hierarchy even among bears! And I'm kind of embarrassed at what Pullman obviously thinks American stereotypes are like. ( On which note...election stuff. )
The pictures from Myanmar are so upsetting, but it's almost as upsetting that only now does the world media seem to notice that there are thousands of refugees already -- more than in Darfur, according to some reports -- and the government is actively blocking humanitarian aid. It's a nightmare situation on top of a nightmare situation. |
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| Poem for Tuesday |
[May. 6th, 2008|12:29 am] |
( Executive Shoeshine )
Not a very eventful Monday; I mostly finished laundry, caught up on phone calls and tried to learn how to use my new speedlight -- an early Mother's Day present so I'll have it on our trip this summer and can hopefully take better photos of relatives, indoor scenery and the interior of the HMS Surprise. *g* Younger son came home from school all excited because he had found several caterpillars on the way; later, son's best friend came over excitedly to tell me to bring the camera because a bird had laid eggs in one of the nest boxes on their deck (received and painted as party favors a few days ago -- on Tuesday I am going to Michael's to get one of them!).
( Maryland Sheep and Wool Festival 2008 )
For dinner we had Mexican food to celebrate Cinco de Mayo (well, Tex-Mex, since I doubt anyone involved in that victory over the French had hard-shell chicken tacos and mini cheese quesadillas). Then we were going to watch The Golden Compass which apaulled brought home on DVD last week -- he enjoyed the book -- but older son took forever taking his shower, so we postponed that. Fannish comment: ( 'Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince' film spoiler. ) I'm so irritated that they're making two movies out of Deathly Hallows that I'm not feeling any particular desire to see Half Blood Prince, though finding out that the filmmaker may have more sense than the novelist about certain things makes me feel somewhat better.
Hope everyone is keeping safe from tornadoes, cyclones and all the other disasters that seem to be whirling around the world. I'm sad that Mildred Loving has died and still astounded that her lawsuit demanding the right to intermarriage took place during my lifetime. I'm hoping my kids are just as shocked and horrified one day to realize that gay marriage wasn't legal during their lifetimes. |
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| Poem for Monday |
[May. 5th, 2008|12:27 am] |
( Opera Night at Caffe Taci )
Daniel was still recuperating from his upset stomach on Sunday morning and Adam was fed and entertained at the Hebrew school's birthday party for Israel, so those of us at home had a quiet morning and a relatively small lunch before deciding it was too gorgeous a day not to go out somewhere. Since Daniel was feeling much better, we went to Lake Whetsone Park in Gaithersburg for our annual look at the goslings produced by the goose colony there (previous years here and here). Lake Whetstone also has a great blue heron colony at the top of the tall trees in the center island, plus ducks and ducklings, cormorants, turtles, cardinals, red-wing blackbirds, barn swallows living under the boardwalk and many other animals. Adam found a caterpillar that accompanied up on our walk for a while on his arm. It was gorgeous and cool in the woods and there were birds singing everywhere.
( Lake Whetstone Gosling Tour 2008 )
For dinner Paul made jacket potatoes with chicken tikka masala -- Daniel doesn't eat that anyway, so he didn't mind having plain chicken and noodles -- then we all watched Doctor Who's "The Poison Sky" which I liked much better than its prequel for a whole lot of reasons. ( Spoilers! ) Then we watched The Tudors, which surprisingly dropped the opportunity to suggest that Anne had Catherine murdered -- I was so sure she was going to convince her brother or someone to poison Catherine, since she's talked about wanting her and Mary dead so often. But I was really glad they didn't go that route, even though they offered no explanation why Catherine died so young, apart from a broken heart. They're back to Henry being over Thomas More's death and turned on by Anne (son, who was in the room reading, asked why Henry liked to be choked during sex; I had no good answer immediately ready), so even though Jane Seymour is very pretty, it's not clear to me how they're going to work Henry into the murderous frenzy necessary to bring her to her well-known end.
I'm trying to find decent coverage of the British election, because our press isn't covering it for shit and the UK press is presuming more knowledge of British party politics than I have. Yesterday at the Sheep & Wool Festival, I told my mother-in-law that I wished someone was covering the Zimbabwe election controversy instead of garbage like Barbara Walters' love life, and a Muslim woman patted me on the back and said she was glad to hear someone who cared about real issues and then started lecturing about Rachel Corrie's foundation and the situation in Gaza. I almost bit my tongue off not arguing point for point... |
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| Poem for Sunday |
[May. 4th, 2008|12:48 am] |
( Memory )
Saturday we took our annual trip to the Maryland Zoo's Breakfast With the Penguins, for which we had to get up very early and at which we got a bit sunburnt but it was worth it as always! This year there was a lot more food...in addition to all the breakfast meats and eggs and pastries, they had about eight varieties of bagels from a local place with several different flavored cream cheeses, plus fresh fruit and fruit juices as well as coffee for the adults and penguin squeeze bottles for the kids. (The penguins get smelly cold fish, so it's just as well there was no lox. *g*) There were two penguin ambassadors waddling on the grass and most of the zoo's 45 African penguins swimming around the penguin enclosure, along with some greedy gulls and a cormorant. This year, instead of bidding on a penguin painting, we bid on a private tour of the penguin enclosure to be held at a later date, and even though someone outbid us at the last minute, they offered to let us do it too for our bid price so we will be going back to see the inside of the enclosure soon!
( Breakfast with the Penguins )
We walked around the zoo a bit because there is a baby African elephant, Samson, who only just began appearing in public this week, as well as a young giraffe and lions, cheetahs, cranes, a porcupine, chimpanzees, rhinos and lots of other animals in the Africa section. We stopped by the Arctic zone, but we didn't see much of the rest of the zoo because we had plans to meet my in-laws at the Maryland Sheep and Wool Festival. I had never been before, and was expecting a bunch of local sheep and a couple of craft tents -- I had no idea of the size of it, and it's entirely free, even parking! We walked through four enormous barns of sheep, alpacas and llamas, several of which were being sheared and primped for judging, as well as dozens of craft displays and at least three musical stages, on one of which Maggie Sansone was playing. My in-laws are just back from three weeks in the UK and brought us Cadbury, Scottish souvenirs and a bunch of little Vikings in honor of their Swedish heritage.
On the way home we stopped at Ikea to get a bookcase -- now that we know where it is in College Park, we can't seem to stay away -- and had an early dinner there since the food is so inexpensive and we'd skipped lunch due to the size of our breakfast. It would have been a perfect day except that against my better judgment I watched the Kentucky Derby when Paul put it on, though I'd said after Barbaro that I was through with horses racing, but I didn't stick to it after we visited Churchill Downs two summers ago. Now once again we have had to watch an animal die for a big-money race, this time on the track after coming in second -- "It's not supposed to happen," the trainer said, but it happens far too often and I'm done watching the sport and supporting that kind of treatment even passively from my living room. Older son ended up with an upset stomach from our crazy eating and hectic hours today, so it was a quiet evening at home with the kids. |
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| Poem for Saturday |
[May. 3rd, 2008|12:29 am] |
( Pre-War )
My day was mostly chores -- laundry and reviewing "The Price", one of the Next Gen episodes that soured the show for me the first time around even though I'm enjoying it more on nearly every level this time through...amazing what several years of mediocre sci-fi TV will do. The kids had friends over after school since it's a weekend and therefore video games are allowed, plus they took part in a big water gun battle with half the neighborhood kids that left them soaking wet. We had dinner with my parents (salmon, mmm) and I captioned and organized photos. What was I going to do, read the British election returns and mourn the Wizards' playoff loss and fret about tornadoes?
fridayfiver: ( I'm Still )
thefridayfive: ( Nice Things )
fannish5: ( Resurrections )
( Cat-Napping Spots )
Watched The Sarah Jane Adventures, Doctor Who and then BSG because it was there and none of us bothered to change the channel. Still not liking the latter much at all but I have little interest in the CBS vampire show, not having fallen for a vampire since I was a teenager, and anyway I think that's on in the earlier hour. Sarah Jane delights me in so many ways -- I love seeing a woman older than me, not tied to any man, attached to a faerie child she rescued, surrounded by kids whose intelligence she never underestimates and whom she treats like adults. ( Spoilers. )
I'm so pissed at Sci-Fi for the cuts they're making in Doctor Who; this time I'm seeing the US TV versions much closer to the uncut ones, so they're much more obvious, so as much as I love the Pompeii episode, ( spoiler. ) BSG...well, I've said from the get-go that I really don't like Starbuck, I don't like the way she's written, I don't like the edge-of-madness shit whether it's divine inspiration or just plain being screwed up, and I don't like watching a show where I'm regularly rooting against a major female character but this series rarely leaves me feeling like I have a choice. ( Spoilers. ) |
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| Poem for Friday |
[May. 2nd, 2008|12:23 am] |
( In the Junk Store )
I actually got out of the house for fun today! I met perkypaduan at the mall for lunch and very important shopping such as a glittery scarf at Hot Topic, bargain books at Borders and shampoo at Bath & Body Works (if they have discontinued the signature scent lines in favor of that Fekkai stuff, I am going to be so irritated!). Came home to get kids, my mother stopped by for a bit, I got my new Shutterfly books so read those and then played with photos for a while -- I have pretty much everything uploaded to Picasa that I want there, now I just need to organize and caption it all. apaulled decided he was in the mood to barbecue chicken for dinner, so we used the charcoal grill for the first time this season, then made s'mores because how could we not, really?
( Paradise at Brookside Gardens )
I thoroughly loved this week's Smallville; even without all the various people who are no longer with the show, it was my favorite in ages and ages. ( Spoilers. ) Also watched a bit of the Pistons-Sixers blow-out and the Star Trek episode I need to review tomorrow ("The Price," which makes Troi look really stupid, not one of my favorites at all), then tried to watch the news but it was all the death of the DC madam and Rob Lowe's nanny and Barbara Walters' affair with a senator. At least Ted Casablanca made me howl by suggesting that his readers write fan fiction about himself, Jake Gyllenhaal, Patrick Dempsey and Tobey Maguire, all of whom used to belong to the same gym. "Makes great reading material (and more)," writes Ted. |
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| Poem for Thursday |
[May. 1st, 2008|12:23 am] |
( To Hold )
Once again I have no exciting news of my own so I'll just link to stuff I was reading today (somewhere in the world there must be something people are talking about besides celebrity indiscretions, political candidate antics, consequences of the NFL draft and the fate of the Grand Duchess Anastasia but I couldn't find it). I am ever in Hawaii, I want to go to Surfing Goat Dairy where people get to feed and milk the goats and sample 20 different kind of cheeses made there. And speaking of animals, I was reading about the escaped pig balloon and Paul says the funny thing is that it isn't the first time something like this happened -- when Pink Floyd shot the original Animals album cover with the pig flying by Battersea Power Station, the pig broke free and eventually landed in a field near Canterbury. And I'm sorry, but when I first read about the Greek "take back 'lesbian'" lawsuit, I thought at first it was a joke by The Onion and when I found out it was for real, I kept snickering rather than being indignant.
( National Arboretum Koi )
Actually I don't need to get going on Clinton, Obama and the idiocy that is the Democratic Party at present because Boston Legal did it for me...and the side story was about cloned beef on the market, brought by a woman with whom Denny falls instantly in love and rides horses. So it was a really divine hour of television. ( Spoilers. ) Happy Beltane! |
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| Poem for Wednesday |
[Apr. 30th, 2008|12:44 am] |
( From 'The Prodigal' )
I did nothing but chores, so I have nothing exciting to report. Well, I did sleep kind of late because I had all three cats in bed with me, thus forcing me to contort into the kind of positions in which it is possible to sleep only if you have three cats in bed with you, but nothing besides that! I spent some time looking at The Old Bailey Online just because it's so cool that it's there (and after seeing the Sweeney Todd extras, I was really curious to see all the murder and robbery transcripts, not to mention Oscar Wilde's indecency trial. All of which makes me think of that father with the daughter in the basement in Austria -- if The X-Files had done that as a story, I would have said it was unrealistic and vile (I did say that about "Home"). There's no prison terrible enough for that guy. Ugh.
( Science Day Reptiles )
After he finished his homework, older son wanted to watch the Tenth Doctor Who devil episodes ("The Impossible Planet" and "The Satan Pit") because he was in an Ood mood, so that's what we did tonight...Doc and Rose threatening to become domestic and the awesome black hole. I'm so relieved Obama publicly told Wright where to stick it -- I have zero tolerance for anti-Semitic bigotry, I don't care if you're blathering in the name of Jesus or liberation theology or some massive US conspiracy theory. And I have never given a crap about Miley Cyrus or Hannah Montana, having boys with no tolerance for her or her music, but she'd seen the photos before she left the shoot and knew exactly how they made her look, and she is now trying to have it both ways looking sexy in Vanity Fair while claiming she didn't mean to look sexy...it's her prerogative to make money titillating pedophiles, but the one of her sprawled all over daddy with her belly exposed is more disturbing than the photo with the sheet and every adult handler knew exactly the messages they would send. Again, ugh. |
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| Poem for Tuesday |
[Apr. 29th, 2008|12:07 am] |
( From 'The Prodigal' )
I had a quiet morning playing with photos and a fun evening with dementordelta, who was passing by my house on her way home from Pittsburgh Comicon and agreed to subject herself to my entire family, including Daniel in full sulk mode because he has just been banned from video games until his chemistry grade comes up. Once he finished reporting us to the child abuse society for this act of cruelty, we went to California Tortilla, where Delta and I tried to discuss fannish matters in between bouts of Adam talking about roller coasters he wants to ride, having gone on one yesterday with the Hebrew school youth group that pleased him greatly. I know I am still boring but I am only having coughing fits once or twice an hour now, so this is progress!
( Science Day Vehicles )
Watched Doctor Who's "The Sontaran Stratagem," not one of my favorites of modern Who (it might help if I had watched the Tom Baker Sontarans in something resembling order, as opposed to whatever random sequence we get on late night PBS), but I continue to adore Donna and ( spoilers. ) Now I'm trying to pay attention to basketball playoffs but am having trouble staying awake again. Oh well, good thing I don't really care! |
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| Poem for Monday |
[Apr. 28th, 2008|12:22 am] |
( From 'The Prodigal' )
Adam went with the Hebrew school youth group to an amusement park for the afternoon and rain was forecast, so although the Folger Library was having their annual celebration in honor of Shakespeare's birthday (which usually involves minstrels, stage fight demonstrations, poetry readings and cake for all), we decided to stay in the suburbs and took Daniel to Rockville Science Day at Montgomery College. I missed this last year to go to a Beltane celebration and was then bummed not to have seen the baby emu. This year there was no baby emu, but there were lots of other birds, reptiles, amphibians, insects, a space shuttle model, student-designed robots, tai chi demonstrations, nutrition exhibits, electric cars and more.
( Science Day )
After retrieving Adam, we had dinner with my parents; my father had asked us to bring a movie over, so since it's a school night and we didn't have time for Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End, we opted for the kids' recent favorite Goldmember. Which is still one of the silliest movies ever. And still cracks me up, though I don't think my mother was at all impressed. I was therefore quite amused that The Tudors had a scene focused on the venerable English theatrical tradition of fart jokes -- I like that Cromwell rather than Henry is getting the credit for the rise of the theatre, and ( spoilers. ) |
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| Poem for Sunday |
[Apr. 27th, 2008|12:01 am] |
( Sea Grapes )
Saturday was Maryland Day at the University of Maryland and our original plan was to go to the physics and agriculture and manga exhibits, but it's over a hilly mile from the parking lots to the various buildings and between my lungs, the pollen count and the possibility of rain, I bailed out and the rest of the family followed. Instead we returned to our household cleaning projects, which included putting together a new chest of drawers for Adam, whose room is now cleaner than mine, and sorting through Daniel's closet, where we discovered several ancient stuffed animals that have now moved onto Adam's bed -- including the trio of dragons that lived on my dorm room bed in college, and a musical dinosaur given to Daniel as an infant -- as well as four bags of baby clothes we had never given away, where I found two sweaters made by my mother's mother that will be saved for my grandchildren. Even at this late date it's sad to be giving away all those cute little velour baby outfits, and I put the Chicago Bears onesie on a stuffed bear so we could keep it for posterity. I also yanked something for someone who's reading this who may need it in a few months, heh.
( Cats In Ridiculous Positions )
Watched Robin Hood: Men in Tights because we were all in silly moods and the kids hadn't seen it -- not even close to Mel Brooks at his best, but it has Cary Elwes, Roger Rees (proving that he's no Alan Rickman) and a very young Dave Chappelle whom I hadn't even realized was there last time I saw it more than a decade ago -- I didn't know Brooks discovered him! Plus Brooks does his usual rabbi schtick and Patrick Stewart gets some hilarious digs in at Sean Connery's expense, which is really sufficient reason to watch the movie. My in-laws called; they have made it home from Britain, where it sounds like they had a lovely time and saw more of Scotland than we have. And I ordered my Shutterfly stuff with a combination of coupons that it less than half price, so all in all a reasonably successful day even if I never left the house. |
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| Poem for Saturday |
[Apr. 26th, 2008|12:03 am] |
( Cotton Candy )
The pollen count today was over 2000. Between that and the not-yet-recovered condition of my lungs, I spent a lot of time coughing, wheezing and gasping. So if you're hoping for new neighborhood photos or something like that, sorry. I did get a review of "The Enemy" written, probably more enthusiastic than I meant to sound because it's an interesting story to think about after though frustrating while watching. (And possibly incoherent due to lack of oxygen but that's how it goes.) Had dinner with my parents, couldn't eat much -- if bronchitis is good for anything, it's weight loss -- and folded laundry, which was much excitement as I could muster.
fridayfiver: ( The Air's So Heavy )
thefridayfive: ( Randomness )
fannish5: ( Despised Romances )
( Puffins & Stuff )
Speaking of penguins, Adam tells me that Friday was in fact World Penguin Day, and I should report that I loved the penguin wet suit story. Watched the Sarah Jane Adventures/Doctor Who lineup on Sci-Fi and then left it on for BSG, which my kids watched attentively, to my dismay. Sarah Jane just delights me -- ( small spoilers. ) I'd seen "Partners in Crime" before but I enjoyed it on the big screen...I adore Donna and her attitude, both wanting to believe and see there's more in the universe and at the same time taking no crap from anyone, particularly not the Doctor. BSG...sigh, everything I said last week is still very much in effect with a double helping of the Bimbos of the Death Sun cult. Maybe Saul and Gaius could date; they'd be a dream couple on this series. |
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| Poem for Friday |
[Apr. 25th, 2008|12:38 am] |
( Here, Bullet )
Let's just write off this week as a loss, okay? I still have bronchitis. I still have no energy to contribute anything intelligent to any current debate. The most exciting thing that happened to me today was a raccoon on our deck after dark that made all three cats puff out their tails and thunder around the first floor in a panic. Am absurdly pleased that The Tudors will be back next season, considering that it's as historically absurd as ever -- it has really grown on me, though without Anne Boleyn (oops, is that a spoiler, heh) I am not sure that will continue. I was also pleased to see that UC Santa Cruz will get the archives of the Grateful Dead -- the school's mascot is a banana slug, and since Adam adores banana slugs and Paul adores the Grateful Dead, we can't wait for the tie-die banana slug t-shirts.
( Brookside Orchid Show )
Smallville...I know it's very wrong of me but I want Lana to stay in a coma until the show is cancelled! Because Chloe-and-Jimmy-centric episodes with a side helping of Lex are so much more fun! ( Spoilers. ) Also watched a Next Gen episode I largely didn't remember to review on Friday and half-watched the end of the Wizards blow-out playoff game; they're still down 2-1 but hey, the Capitals are out of the playoffs entirely so it's a matter of DC pride. If I believed a city's pride rested in pro sports, which I don't. But it's not like DC has much to be proud of in terms of the things for which it's best known, and the Wizards' record is better than certain people's approval ratings! |
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| Poem for Thursday |
[Apr. 24th, 2008|12:46 am] |
( The City )
I have bronchitis. In many ways it is a relief to have this confirmed by a doctor (who had the misfortune of having his stethescope pressed against my chest when he said "breathe deeply" and getting an earful of amplified coughing), since it means 1) I have antibiotics and 2) I have a logical reason why I can't catch my breath after walking upstairs, rather than thinking I am just a total wimp with a cold. I had a fever when I got to the doctor even after having taken Tylenol, which he didn't think was a good sign, either.
So I missed Earth Day and Shakespeare's birthday and I think I might have missed World Penguin Day, and I cannot work up a proper rant about biased election coverage except to wonder when the entire blogosphere went so insane that they can no longer do math. It is embarrassing to be associated with the Democratic Party at present...between the superdelegate situation, the Florida-and-Michigan situation, the redrawing of the district maps and what have you, it is very easy to feel like the whole process has been subverted by a handful of party bigwigs and a few candidates with inflated egos. There are about 1800 things I wish the Democrats would fix. But that's so many fewer than the things I wish the Republicans would fix that it's simply not a contest for me and I get nauseous when I encounter "I'm not voting if ___ gets the nomination" as someone's solution. How will putting McCain in the White House help anything?
( Confederate Artifacts )
We watched "Planet of the Ood," which is far too wonderful for me to try to write about in my current oxygen-deprived state -- that's two weeks in a row the Doctor reduced me to tears and I bloody love Donna Noble! Then, for some inexplicable reason since I've sworn it off, we watched Battlestar Galactica: Razor, I think to see whether some of the things I'd heard happened in it would offend me as much as I thought they might (to my surprise, they did not...there's a lot I loathe about Cain but I completely understood her hatred of Gina and all the specific ways in which she wanted her hurt). More tomorrow when hopefully I will not be coughing up a lung. Those of you who know Adam will appreciate the significance of this, though: he found his Pokemon Leaf Green! In the mess that was his room but is now mostly cleaned up! Yay! |
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| Poem for Wednesday |
[Apr. 23rd, 2008|12:33 am] |
( The Russian Doll )
Icccckkkkkk. Yeah, I know you're sick of hearing me complain. Going to the doctor Wednesday to make sure it's not bronchitis. My chest rattles when I exhale and feels like someone is stabbing at the base of my throat when I cough, and I still have a fever, which makes me think something is infected even if it started as the flu. In other words, I have nothing to report on Tuesday except that election coverage gave me a bigger headache than coughing (they're going to find a way to hand the election to John Effing McCain, screw them all), and I don't dare comment on the Open Source Boob thing because my immediate reaction was not anything philosophical or outraged but more along the lines of, "Things like this are why the mass media can keep suggesting that people who go to sci-fi and computer conventions have no lives." Which is insensitive and not a proper feminist commentary at all, but it's all my brain could manage. Here, have some flowers from the US Botanic Gardens.
( Spring Orchid Show )
So Boston Legal did "Alan and Denny Go To The Supreme Court," which was utter crack yet nonetheless more enjoyable than most actual Supreme Court transcripts I have ever read. I forgive David E. Kelley for producing an episode in which his Mary Sue said everything Kelley has ever wanted to say to Scalia, Alito, Roberts, Thomas and Kennedy even though he's perpetuating a ridiculous stereotype of big money prostitution in America (run by feminist lawyers and not mobsters, populated by beautiful, clean, affectionate, together women who've simply made a lifestyle choice, etc.) ( Spoilers. ) |
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| Poem for Tuesday |
[Apr. 22nd, 2008|12:04 am] |
( The Battle )
Tomorrow I will post something from The Washington Post Book World's poetry issue. Tonight, once again, I cannot see straight. Daniel came home from school around 11 a.m., this time with an upset stomach, and it's a good thing Paul could pick him up because I wasn't even recovered from the Nyquil yet or safe to drive, particularly in the pouring rain. My chest hurts from coughing and I am wondering if I could have gotten bronchitis even though the other members of my family cleared this thing out without needing medication. No fever, at least, at the moment...last night at this time I was shaking with chills.
( Ikebana at the National Arboretum )
I have nothing else to report except that Adam, delighted with his new bunk beds and in anticipation of receiving the new dresser to replace the one that's falling apart -- it's laminate over particleboard, we've had it for nearly 15 years, it was originally older son's changing table -- willingly cleaned his room for the first time in, well, ever. Those of you who have actually seen his room will appreciate the magnitude of this endeavor. *g* It still needs some work, but is an enormous improvement and he is very happy with it even though we still need to re-hang the penguin pictures. All the stuffed penguins are now living in the upper bunk along with stuffed dragons, cats, snakes, banana slugs, otters, turtles and the rest of the menagerie; the real cats thus far have preferred to hide under the bed or sleep on it. |
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| Poem for Monday |
[Apr. 21st, 2008|12:03 am] |
( My Galley Charged with Forgetfulness )
Had a miserable fever last night that had me alternately shaking cold and sweating hot, and have been coughing up my lungs today. apaulled took younger son to Ikea and picked up his new bunk bed, which they then put together (upper bunk is now entirely filled with stuffed animals, mostly penguins). So that older son would not feel left out, he got a trip to Best Buy to pick up the new Pokemon: Mystery Dungeon DS game. Both kids are therefore very happy, and right now husband is putting together his new desk chair, so if only I could stop coughing, things would be good all around. Have some dolphins.
( National Aquarium Atlantic Bottlenoses )
Went to my parents' for Passover leftovers -- for the second Seder we did the traditional "They tried to kill us, we won, let's eat" -- and watched the last episode of John Adams and the latest of The Tudors. The Adams miniseries ended as well as it began, terrific acting, terrific dialogue, but still, so depressing! The Tudors was more entertaining in a guilty pleasure sort of way -- I love that they let More be sanctimonious and full of himself and positively garrulous compared to the More of A Man For All Seasons, yet he's still sympathetic, and Henry is still such a petty selfish tyrant. Though it's interesting how Anne Boleyn's father is so often the real bad guy in retellings of her story -- the literal patriarch more than the patriarchy. He's repulsive! |
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| Poem for Sunday |
[Apr. 20th, 2008|12:03 am] |
( Beautiful Pesach Moon )
Feeling positively beastly from bug caught from Daniel so will keep this short. Went to the National Arboretum to see the azaleas, which aren't quite at peak yet but we were afraid we might miss them this year otherwise, given the iffiness of the weather. Walked probably further than I should have given how I feel and ended up completely exhausted. Slept in the car on the way to Ikea because we had promised Adam we'd go look at bunk beds for him; ended up getting him a dresser and Paul a swivel chair but we have to go back for the bunk beds because we can't fit them and the kids in the van at the same time. Didn't have much time to look at photos but here are a few:
( Arboretum Azaleas 2008 )
Went to my parents' for the seder, which was thankfully short (I've already documented my theological issues with Passover) and the food was fantastic: gefilte fish, salad, chicken soup with matzoh balls, potato pancakes, carrot souffle, chicken, lots of awesome kosher desserts and the usual eggs, matzah, haroset, etc. Plus I got a Tarot deck as an Afikoman prize even though I didn't look for it. *g* Came home and watched Atonement, which I suspect it was advantageous to see while slightly feverish because so much of it is dreamlike and leaps back and forth through time. The filming is gorgeous, the acting is terrific, I loved seeing England before and after the war...why was this movie not considered a serious contender for the Best Picture Oscar? I suppose I will have to watch it again when I can see straight! |
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