...unless I get sick.
This time, I think I caused my own sickness. I overmedicated because I had a tooth that was worrying me, and spent a day unable to keep down anything. So after Sio's lovely graduation, the following day I varied in between feeling like I was going to pass out, vomiting, and sleeping.
The rest of the weekend was pretty uneventful, but today, I decided to stop worrying about the tooth and went to the dentist. Turns out it was actually two teeth that were causing a problem, so I had two, count 'em, two root canals today!
Worst. Vacation. Ever.
6/25/2007
6/21/2007
6/18/2007
Busy Weekend
Sio had her senior prom on Saturday, this is her and her "date" Tosin. They both had awesome shoes and matching French pedicures:
Of course today was Father's Day, and after a late start, we had a Father's Day breakfast at the Vernon Diner - here are Sio and Monkey picking Sio out of a picture of the senior class in her yearbook.
We got Loki two DVDs, Pan's Labrynth and Hero, but I knew what he really deserved for Father's Day: jugs
We drove up to the Barrington Brewery where Loki sampled three beers off their menu - Hopland, which was just as bitter as you would expect a beer of that name to be; Barrington Brown Ale, which was pretty mellow, and Black Bear, which had a whiskey-ish smell and taste, which is probably why it was my favorite of the three. (I only had a sample sip of each beer so Loki wouldn't have to drink by himself - my beverage was a Shandy Gaff (light beer, ginger ale, lime juice - girly beer is what we called it at our table).
We had a nice meal there, too - Loki and I had cod sandwiches, Sio had chili, and Monkey had baked potato with bacon. Oh, and the best pickles, ever. I think this was probably our best Father's Day ever.
6/14/2007
Dancin' Fool
One of my deepest regrets about having this gimpy leg is that I will never be a dancer. Since I can't dance, I do love to watch dance, and right now, I'm addicted to So You Think You Can Dance?
I didn't watch the first two seasons because I didn't even realize it was a show until this year. I'm not a big viewer of these competition shows. I love The Amazing Race because I love to see all the incredible places the teams get to go, but this is the only other competition type of show I watch.*
As a dance admiring non-dancer, I don't necessarily know what's good, but I know what I enjoy, and last night, my favorite pair of dancers were Sara and Jesus (aka Chuy):
Without Bob Fosse, there's no Wade Robson, but this was a really enjoyable piece of dance, and a terrific little piece of music from a movie I have on my Netflix queue but haven't seen yet.
I didn't watch the first two seasons because I didn't even realize it was a show until this year. I'm not a big viewer of these competition shows. I love The Amazing Race because I love to see all the incredible places the teams get to go, but this is the only other competition type of show I watch.*
As a dance admiring non-dancer, I don't necessarily know what's good, but I know what I enjoy, and last night, my favorite pair of dancers were Sara and Jesus (aka Chuy):
Without Bob Fosse, there's no Wade Robson, but this was a really enjoyable piece of dance, and a terrific little piece of music from a movie I have on my Netflix queue but haven't seen yet.
6/12/2007
Tony Awards
I used to love all awards shows, but now I don't have the patience or desire to sit through them. However, I will make an excuse for the Tonies, even if (like this year) I didn't see any of the productions nominated.
Just a few brief observations: there is a certain kind of annoying voice that is popular on the Broadway stage. I caught Raul Esparza's performance of Being Alive, and I just dry heaved a little. So much effort, but so little feeling - or so much manufactured feeling and so little genuine feeling...I just didn't like his voice. I'm sure he's technically excellent and has studied for years, but between his ridiculously fast vibrato and his horrific pronunciations and the nasal quality of some of his notes, I was quite pleased he didn't win.
There is another kind of annoying voice that doesn't bother me so much, and Christine Ebersole presented that one in her performance from the musical Gray Gardens. Her voice cuts through anything, and you can understand everything she's singing, and she's singing in character. I've loved her for years, I'm glad she was encouraged with her win.
Re: Spring Awakenings....I don't feel qualified to make a judgement on this one. The songs I heard are kind of catchy, but....how do you say Rent in German? I didn't understand exactly what the snippets of songs I heard were about, and the use of hand mikes is jarring. I may be too old to appreciate this one.
Oh, the little introductions for upcoming numbers didn't work too well for me. Particularly the guy who introduced Gray Gardens - he was using a Boston accent to introduce a story that takes place in Long Island. And the guys from the Jersey Boys were behind the beat in the music, it was distracting.
Anyway, one thing I do love about the Tony Awards is the unabashed liberalism and all the uncloseted gays. William Goldman wrote a book in the late 60s (I think) called The Season, and one line I that he wrote was "there would be no theater without the Jews and the gays." (paraphrased). You could be forgiven for accepting that as absolute truth from watching the Tony Awards.
Just a few brief observations: there is a certain kind of annoying voice that is popular on the Broadway stage. I caught Raul Esparza's performance of Being Alive, and I just dry heaved a little. So much effort, but so little feeling - or so much manufactured feeling and so little genuine feeling...I just didn't like his voice. I'm sure he's technically excellent and has studied for years, but between his ridiculously fast vibrato and his horrific pronunciations and the nasal quality of some of his notes, I was quite pleased he didn't win.
There is another kind of annoying voice that doesn't bother me so much, and Christine Ebersole presented that one in her performance from the musical Gray Gardens. Her voice cuts through anything, and you can understand everything she's singing, and she's singing in character. I've loved her for years, I'm glad she was encouraged with her win.
Re: Spring Awakenings....I don't feel qualified to make a judgement on this one. The songs I heard are kind of catchy, but....how do you say Rent in German? I didn't understand exactly what the snippets of songs I heard were about, and the use of hand mikes is jarring. I may be too old to appreciate this one.
Oh, the little introductions for upcoming numbers didn't work too well for me. Particularly the guy who introduced Gray Gardens - he was using a Boston accent to introduce a story that takes place in Long Island. And the guys from the Jersey Boys were behind the beat in the music, it was distracting.
Anyway, one thing I do love about the Tony Awards is the unabashed liberalism and all the uncloseted gays. William Goldman wrote a book in the late 60s (I think) called The Season, and one line I that he wrote was "there would be no theater without the Jews and the gays." (paraphrased). You could be forgiven for accepting that as absolute truth from watching the Tony Awards.
6/11/2007
Funny things they say
Yesterday, we celebrated my niece Grace's 4th birthday, and my sister told us that Grace had recently been through pre-school screening. At the screening, Grace drew and colored in an apple, and the screener asked "what's that?"
Grace said, "it's an apple."
The screener said "oh, it looks delicious! Can I have a bite?"
And Grace said "Okay, but it tastes like crayon."
Grace said, "it's an apple."
The screener said "oh, it looks delicious! Can I have a bite?"
And Grace said "Okay, but it tastes like crayon."
6/07/2007
Two Justice Systems
So Paris Hilton served three whole days before the kindly sheriff sent her home with some new jewelry - an electronic monitoring device - because of medical issues.
I suppose its better that they keep herpes away from the general prison population.
But I was thinking about this story as I was reading over the love letters that the many friends and acquaintances of Scooter Libby sent to the judge. I kept reading that Scooter is a well-loved man, helpful to all, a man of the highest integrity. And I just couldn't quite figure out why that should give him a lower sentence. If anything, the leaders of society, the movers and shakers, the public servants - if anything, those pillars of the community who breach the public trust should get sentences even more severe.
I'm glad that Scooter got a hefty sentence - hopefully he won't develop a rash and have to serve his sentence at home, too. It would be just terrible if people got the idea that there is one justice system for the regular man, and another one for the wealthy and connected.
Citing sources close to Hilton's family, the syndicated TV show Entertainment Tonight reported on its website that the health problem was a rash that she developed on her body.
I suppose its better that they keep herpes away from the general prison population.
But I was thinking about this story as I was reading over the love letters that the many friends and acquaintances of Scooter Libby sent to the judge. I kept reading that Scooter is a well-loved man, helpful to all, a man of the highest integrity. And I just couldn't quite figure out why that should give him a lower sentence. If anything, the leaders of society, the movers and shakers, the public servants - if anything, those pillars of the community who breach the public trust should get sentences even more severe.
I'm glad that Scooter got a hefty sentence - hopefully he won't develop a rash and have to serve his sentence at home, too. It would be just terrible if people got the idea that there is one justice system for the regular man, and another one for the wealthy and connected.
6/03/2007
RIP, Steve Gilliard
I was off the computer for the weekend while I searched the state of Connecticut for a car that I could afford, and I just found out today that Steve Gilliard of The News Blog passed away yesterday morning. My condolences to his family and friends, he will be missed.
6/01/2007
5/31/2007
Music Post
Last night was Sio's last choral concert of her high school career. It ended on a high note (pun sort of intended): their own auditorium is currently under construction, so they performed at the Belding Theater at the Bushnell Performing Arts Center, which has much better acoustics than the auditorium at MHS.
I only wish I had captured the first number of the evening, it was an arrangement of Bridge Over Troubled Water, and it left me with tears pouring down my face.
The first number I recorded is the MHS Jazz Choir singing Satin Doll. The female soloist is none other than Sio! Unfortunately, something goes slightly wonky with the sound part way through:
Up next is the Song That Goes Like This from Spamalot!:
The next 3 numbers were performed by the MHS Roundtable Singers, a venerable institution at Manchester High School - next year will be the 70th anniversary of this award-winning, nationally top 10 ranked a capella choir.
Up first is Locus Iste by Bruckner. Sadly, the end of the song is marred by some asshole who didn't turn their cell phone off:
Le Rose Complete by Morten Lauridsen. I've only performed one other song by this composer, a beautiful composition of O Magnum Mysterium. He's definitely found some signature, sweet chords. This is gorgeous:
The last number I recorded is Gospel Train:
I only wish I had captured the first number of the evening, it was an arrangement of Bridge Over Troubled Water, and it left me with tears pouring down my face.
The first number I recorded is the MHS Jazz Choir singing Satin Doll. The female soloist is none other than Sio! Unfortunately, something goes slightly wonky with the sound part way through:
Up next is the Song That Goes Like This from Spamalot!:
The next 3 numbers were performed by the MHS Roundtable Singers, a venerable institution at Manchester High School - next year will be the 70th anniversary of this award-winning, nationally top 10 ranked a capella choir.
Up first is Locus Iste by Bruckner. Sadly, the end of the song is marred by some asshole who didn't turn their cell phone off:
Le Rose Complete by Morten Lauridsen. I've only performed one other song by this composer, a beautiful composition of O Magnum Mysterium. He's definitely found some signature, sweet chords. This is gorgeous:
The last number I recorded is Gospel Train:
5/30/2007
1973 Gil's Pub; 1970-1982 Irish American Home
Shiltone recently had a post up at If I Ran The Zoo , waxing nostalgic about the music in a jukebox from his (her?) childhood.
There are two jukeboxes that figure in my childhood. The first one was at Gil's Pub in Hebron, CT. When my parents moved to Hebron in 1969, it was a dry town, but sometime between 1969 and 1973, Gil's Pub opened up on Main Street. Every now and then, my dad would take me to Gil's with him. There wasn't much for a kid to do there - the pool table was usually in use, and the dartboard was off limits to me, but I do remember getting quarters for the jukebox, and even then, I was obsessive compulsive in the way I listened to music. I remember a couple of songs that I listened to, but the one that really leaps out is Tanya Tucker's recording of Delta Dawn. I would listen to that one over and over and over again. I learned all the words, and I would sing it when I went home to my mother.
The second jukebox was at the Irish American Home, which was a lot more fun. In addition to the bar, they had a big field for sports, playing cards, snacks, and drunk men who would give me money because I was Billy Howley's daughter. When I was very young, my favorite bar snack was sardines and crackers (cue my children: Ewwwww!), and I would listen to The Unicorn over and over again. Yes, my tastes as a child were not refined. I thought it was so sad that the unicorns never made it onto the ark.
I went through a phase of listening to Horse With No Name, You Are The Woman That I Always Dreamed Of, and one of the last songs I remember playing on that jukebox was My Sharona - after that, I deemed myself too old to hang out at the boring club with my father on Sundays after church.
There are two jukeboxes that figure in my childhood. The first one was at Gil's Pub in Hebron, CT. When my parents moved to Hebron in 1969, it was a dry town, but sometime between 1969 and 1973, Gil's Pub opened up on Main Street. Every now and then, my dad would take me to Gil's with him. There wasn't much for a kid to do there - the pool table was usually in use, and the dartboard was off limits to me, but I do remember getting quarters for the jukebox, and even then, I was obsessive compulsive in the way I listened to music. I remember a couple of songs that I listened to, but the one that really leaps out is Tanya Tucker's recording of Delta Dawn. I would listen to that one over and over and over again. I learned all the words, and I would sing it when I went home to my mother.
The second jukebox was at the Irish American Home, which was a lot more fun. In addition to the bar, they had a big field for sports, playing cards, snacks, and drunk men who would give me money because I was Billy Howley's daughter. When I was very young, my favorite bar snack was sardines and crackers (cue my children: Ewwwww!), and I would listen to The Unicorn over and over again. Yes, my tastes as a child were not refined. I thought it was so sad that the unicorns never made it onto the ark.
I went through a phase of listening to Horse With No Name, You Are The Woman That I Always Dreamed Of, and one of the last songs I remember playing on that jukebox was My Sharona - after that, I deemed myself too old to hang out at the boring club with my father on Sundays after church.
6 days
I have 6 days to buy a car. I have $4100. If there is a Flying Spaghetti Monster, please let His Noodly Appendages help me find something before the insurance company stops paying for the car rental.
(P.S. I traded in the behemoth. I was hoping to get a regular car, but all they had to choose from was a couple of minivans and a couple of big SUVs, so now I'm driving a minivan.)
(P.S. I traded in the behemoth. I was hoping to get a regular car, but all they had to choose from was a couple of minivans and a couple of big SUVs, so now I'm driving a minivan.)
5/29/2007
I'm a sell-out
You will notice the prominent advertisement at the top of my page. I'm selling out, baby, looking for any source of income that is available to me. I will make sure to click ad links on all my favorite blogs from here on out, because I never really understood how it worked before.
I was wrong
My car is not fixable, I spoke to the insurance adjuster this morning, and my car, she is totalled.
I was thinking that we weren't under quite enough financial pressure yet, between paying for college and my choir job ending for the summer and Loki feeling desperate to get out of his job, so this should help.
I was thinking that we weren't under quite enough financial pressure yet, between paying for college and my choir job ending for the summer and Loki feeling desperate to get out of his job, so this should help.
5/28/2007
I'm a bigger part of the problem...for now
I mentioned in an earlier post that my car had brief fling with a jersey barrier and came out the worse for wear. Well, on Friday, Loki and I took the car to the body shop, and we picked up the rental car provided by our insurance company.
Except it wasn't a car, it was a fucking behemoth SUV/pick-up truck mash-up. This, my friends, was a vehicle that says something about the man driving it, and what it says is "the man driving me has a micro-penis".
We asked if we could exchange it for something normal sized, but this was all they had, so we took it home.
I have to confess that it is nice to be up so high, and that my hip really appreciates the comfortable seating. My hip isn't so keen on how hard it has to work to hoist my fat ass into the truck, though. And the best mileage we've been able to achieve thus far is 14.7 MPG. That's criminal.
We should find out tomorrow if the car is totalled or fixable (I think it will be fixable), and I can't wait to get back to my normal car. In the meantime, I have a call into the rental agency to see if we can exchange this monstrosity now that the holiday weekend is over.
Except it wasn't a car, it was a fucking behemoth SUV/pick-up truck mash-up. This, my friends, was a vehicle that says something about the man driving it, and what it says is "the man driving me has a micro-penis".
We asked if we could exchange it for something normal sized, but this was all they had, so we took it home.
I have to confess that it is nice to be up so high, and that my hip really appreciates the comfortable seating. My hip isn't so keen on how hard it has to work to hoist my fat ass into the truck, though. And the best mileage we've been able to achieve thus far is 14.7 MPG. That's criminal.
We should find out tomorrow if the car is totalled or fixable (I think it will be fixable), and I can't wait to get back to my normal car. In the meantime, I have a call into the rental agency to see if we can exchange this monstrosity now that the holiday weekend is over.
5/25/2007
Things that are happening right now
1. I have insomnia...again
2. Something is burning
3. My left pinky is bleeding, but it doesn't hurt
Addendum: my left pinky was NOT bleeding, what appeared to be blood in the wee hours of the morning was actully red magic marker ink. I'm not sure how it got on my pinky, or why there was so much of it that it appeared blood was running from a wound, but it was not a stigmata, it was a marker.
2. Something is burning
3. My left pinky is bleeding, but it doesn't hurt
Addendum: my left pinky was NOT bleeding, what appeared to be blood in the wee hours of the morning was actully red magic marker ink. I'm not sure how it got on my pinky, or why there was so much of it that it appeared blood was running from a wound, but it was not a stigmata, it was a marker.
5/23/2007
18 years ago
18 years ago, my life changed inalterably for the better.
18 years ago today, I was in the hospital, eating the best meal I've ever had in my life - chicken on whole wheat bread, salad, chocolate milk, jello. It was the best meal I've ever had because for the 280 days prior to this day (18 years ago), I couldn't keep a bite of food down.
But that meal is not why my life changed inalterably for the better.
No, 18 years ago was also the day we welcomed Sio into the world. After a horrific pregnancy filled with constant puking, nausea, and fear*, out came this absolutely perfect, completely beautiful, sunny dispositioned infant. She was worth every horrible day.
This day 18 years ago started at 5:30 a.m., when I had my first contraction, which was followed 5 minutes later by my second contraction. Loki and I had a long drive to the hospital, although the person I spoke to in the doctor's office assured me that we had a long labor ahead of us, considering this was my first.
By the time we got to the hospital, the contractions were already hard enough that I couldn't sit still or speak during them. The hospital checked me and and moved me up to a labor room. Every now and then, a nurse would come in and check how dilated I was, announce a pathetically small number (3cm!) and then disappear. At about 9:55 a.m., a nurse came in, checked my cervix, and suddenly, it was lights, camera, action - the room filled up with people. There was the doctor, the physician's assistant, and lots of nurses. I remember one nurse in particular, Teri, who took my hands and told me to squeeze them as hard as I needed to. It was only a few minutes of pushing, and *pop*, there was Sio.
Loki followed her around while they did tests, I think he wanted to make sure they didn't mix her up with any other babies. All mothers think their babies are beautiful, and I was no exception, although to be fair, I was also right - she was perfection, with a curl of soft black hair on her head, rosy cheeks and chubby legs.
And she was also the easiest baby. When she was hungry or needed a diaper change, she fussed a little, but didn't cry. She opened her eyes and seemed to be drinking in everything.
When we took her home the next day, we really didn't know what we were doing. We were armed with a used carseat, some blankets and hats, and a nurse who told us that no matter what, if we show the kid we love her, it would all work out.
And it has. I have many flaws as a mother - I am not a naturally nurturing, caretaking kind of person, and I know that Sio would sometimes like a normal mom, but she was born with a kind of independence that fit my parenting weaknesses well.
So happy birthday, sweetie, and many, many more.
18 years ago today, I was in the hospital, eating the best meal I've ever had in my life - chicken on whole wheat bread, salad, chocolate milk, jello. It was the best meal I've ever had because for the 280 days prior to this day (18 years ago), I couldn't keep a bite of food down.
But that meal is not why my life changed inalterably for the better.
No, 18 years ago was also the day we welcomed Sio into the world. After a horrific pregnancy filled with constant puking, nausea, and fear*, out came this absolutely perfect, completely beautiful, sunny dispositioned infant. She was worth every horrible day.
This day 18 years ago started at 5:30 a.m., when I had my first contraction, which was followed 5 minutes later by my second contraction. Loki and I had a long drive to the hospital, although the person I spoke to in the doctor's office assured me that we had a long labor ahead of us, considering this was my first.
By the time we got to the hospital, the contractions were already hard enough that I couldn't sit still or speak during them. The hospital checked me and and moved me up to a labor room. Every now and then, a nurse would come in and check how dilated I was, announce a pathetically small number (3cm!) and then disappear. At about 9:55 a.m., a nurse came in, checked my cervix, and suddenly, it was lights, camera, action - the room filled up with people. There was the doctor, the physician's assistant, and lots of nurses. I remember one nurse in particular, Teri, who took my hands and told me to squeeze them as hard as I needed to. It was only a few minutes of pushing, and *pop*, there was Sio.
Loki followed her around while they did tests, I think he wanted to make sure they didn't mix her up with any other babies. All mothers think their babies are beautiful, and I was no exception, although to be fair, I was also right - she was perfection, with a curl of soft black hair on her head, rosy cheeks and chubby legs.
And she was also the easiest baby. When she was hungry or needed a diaper change, she fussed a little, but didn't cry. She opened her eyes and seemed to be drinking in everything.
When we took her home the next day, we really didn't know what we were doing. We were armed with a used carseat, some blankets and hats, and a nurse who told us that no matter what, if we show the kid we love her, it would all work out.
And it has. I have many flaws as a mother - I am not a naturally nurturing, caretaking kind of person, and I know that Sio would sometimes like a normal mom, but she was born with a kind of independence that fit my parenting weaknesses well.
So happy birthday, sweetie, and many, many more.
5/22/2007
You rocked, Veronica Mars
Tonight was the two hour season and series ender of yet another show that I loved like a family member, but no one else seemed to watch. Ordinarily, I would just go to the forums at Television Without Pity to commiserate with my fellow fans, but the forums have been rendered unreadable by all the fangirls and boys who don't seem to understand that Logan Echolls is a fictional character. (Yes, Jason Dohring and Kristen Bell had awesome chemistry, and Logan was trying to redeem himself, but he was still a little bit of a psychotic jackass underneath all the moping.)
Veronica Mars suffered from having a nearly perfect first season. I resisted watching the show at first, because everyone I knew who liked Buffy said "you'll love this show" - and I wasn't ready to say goodbye to Buffy, really, so I refused to believe that anything could compare.
But my curiousity got the better of me and I picked up the first season on DVD. In the first episode, we learn that Veronica's dad used to be the Sheriff of Neptune, CA, but was forced out of office after accusing a grieving -and powerful- father of killing his own daughter, Veronica's best friend, Lilly. We learn that the shame of that sent Veronica's mom packing, that Veronica went from being popular to being shunned, and the kicker, we learn that Veronica was roofied and raped at a party. We also learn that Veronica does not take shit from anyone, and I love her so much for that.
These mysteries play out through season 1, and even end up being revisited in season 2, although we do get plenty of answers in the last episode of the first season. After a nearly perfect first season, though, seasons 2 and 3 couldn't quite live up to the hype (you might have missed the hype, but it was there, brewing, quietly).
Season 3 was like the current Democratic Congress - too much compromise rendered it unappealing to nearly everyone. (Note: I still support many of our Democrats that are in office, I will continue to vote for Democrats, and Republicans still are a horror show). But I had hope that it could make a comeback, and I felt like the last two episodes really returned to the noir feel of season 1.
But that's all we'll get. I'm sad, because Veronica was kickass and a feminist role model, and now she's gone.
Blow-up
Over the weekend, I noticed this film showed up in my Tifaux queue, so I sat down to screen it on Saturday afternoon. Blow-up was Michelangelo Antonioni's first English language film, set in London in the swinging 60s. I love a nontraditional narrative, and I was hooked, right up until the moment when David Hemming's fashion photographer hands Vanessa Redgrave the wrong roll of film, which is when my recording cut off. Filmus interruptus. I was not happy.
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