The Panda!

Because new blogger has made it much easier to change the template -- no more republishing the entire blog, which, for some of us, gets to be a bit much -- I'll be swapping out the photos more often in the top left hand corner.

Today it's: THE PANDA!

Gotta love pandas
Cute. Cuddly, and sleep in pails.
A bucket o' fun.

Easy thing to eat
Yummy eucalyptus leaves
but so hard to spell.

Which one is cuter?
Koala bears or pandas?
Ursine Sophie's Choice.


Via Cute Overload I discovered Pandafix, which has a bazillion panda pictures.

The Panda!

Because new blogger has made it much easier to change the template -- no more republishing the entire blog, which, for some of us, gets to be a bit much -- I'll be swapping out the photos more often in the top left hand corner.

Today it's: THE PANDA!

Gotta love pandas
Cute. Cuddly, and sleep in pails.
A bucket o' fun.

Easy thing to eat
Yummy eucalyptus leaves
but so hard to spell.

Which one is cuter?
Koala bears or pandas?
Ursine Sophie's Choice.


Via Cute Overload I discovered Pandafix, which has a bazillion panda pictures.

Oscar Update

So, after a weekend of cramming in video rentals whenever possible, I've now seen 12 nominated films. Granted, two are animated features and three are animated shorts, but if they've been nominated, they all count. This weekend's viewing included Little Matchgirl, Maestro, No Time for Nuts, Devil Wears Prada, Jesus Camp, Water, Little Miss Sunshine and Borat, and my conclusion after this first weekend marathon is that I'm old and cranky.

Now, direct to you from The Office of Redundancy Office,
is my opinionated opinion on the weekend films:

Little Matchgirl
Animated short. You can buy it on iTunes for $1.99 but if you bought the 2-DVD reissue of Little Mermaid it's already on there. So best check with that youngster in your life BEFORE you plunk down $1.99 like an idiot and buy something you already own. It's a well-done feature with some interesting art-work, especially the overall color of the entire piece. However, it still smacks of Disney and I don't think it will win.

Maestro
Animated short. TinyTuna proclaimed it "creeped her out" and I was sitting there thinking it was a little odd until the last 5 seconds of the piece, at which point I fell over laughing. I don't think it will win either, but the payoff was awfully clever.

No Time for Nuts
Animated short featuring "Scrat" that little squirrel guy from the Ice Age movies. Continued gags with Scrat trying to get (and keep) an acorn. Now he has a time machine. Humorous but nothing overly special here.

Devil Wears Prada
Nominations for Meryl Streep (Best Actress) and for Costume Design. TinyTuna kept saying the movie was "awesome" and I think it was...for a 12 year old. I didn't dislike it, and I thought Meryl Streep did a very good job. But really, the whole thing was quite fluffy, and when it finished I thought, "Eh. OK, I guess." Call it a decent rental film or date film, but overall it's like Lever 2000: it just sort of washes over you and then it runs down the drain. You're grateful you have it, but you know it has no lasting power and you'll just have to do it all again tomorrow.

Jesus Camp
Nominated for Best Feature Documentary. Creeeeeeepy! It was disturbing to see how malleable kids can be. It was also fascinating to read that aside from the former Rev. Ted Haggard (of the "no I didn't...no I didn't...no I didn't....ooops, yes I did), everyone in the film was quite pleased with the outcome. I suppose the hallmark of a good documentary is that at the end of the film each side is satisfied that it got their particular point across and it's the other guy that's wrong. I, of course, will not be sending TinyTuna to Jesus Camp, but let me tell you, if they ever came up with a Jesus Sez Make Your Bed and Clean Your Room Camp and got the same results, she'd be there in a heartbeat. Amen!

Water
Nominated for Best Foreign Film. This was quite good. It takes placed in India in 1938, and examines the lives of widows, who are looked at as untouchables once their husbands die, and are sent to live a life of chastity and poverty. The film was directed by a woman, and between her gender and the subject matter, getting this film made at all was a minor miracle. I'm thinking if people are that mad, you know you've hit a nerve with a good film. Good for her. Excellent movie.

Little Miss Sunshine
Nominated for a bucket of things, including Supporting Actor, Supporting Actress, Best Film and Original Screenplay. Well... I wanted to love this film. I really did. In the end, it was just quirky. It wasn't particularly funny (there were a few moments, but nothing huge), it was just quirky. And it seemed to be quirky just for the sake of saying, "look how independant film and quirky I can be!" Quirky is ok, but if there isn't any substance behind the quirk, it's like a big bag of cotton candy, which I do not like, Sam-I-Am. And did I mention I really, really wanted to like this movie?

Borat
Nominated for Adapted Screenplay. Well, I held out few hopes for this one. There were random clever Guffman-type moments where I chuckled, but it seemed like every 10 minutes someone realized they were getting too clever and yelled, WE NEED MORE RAUNCHY BATHROOM HUMOR and at that point the entire film went down the toilet. Pun intended. Keep the character, lose the 17-year old crude-isms, and it might be really good. Of course, the chances of that happening are slim and none, because nothing says big box office receipts like 17 year old raunchy humor.

And that's the weekend report. I sure hope the quality of whatever comes next takes a drastic upwards turn. The nicest thing I can say about this opening salvo of films is that all of them were under two hours, so it didn't prolong the agony. Otherwise, this was not an auspicious start to Oscar season.

Oscar Update

So, after a weekend of cramming in video rentals whenever possible, I've now seen 12 nominated films. Granted, two are animated features and three are animated shorts, but if they've been nominated, they all count. This weekend's viewing included Little Matchgirl, Maestro, No Time for Nuts, Devil Wears Prada, Jesus Camp, Water, Little Miss Sunshine and Borat, and my conclusion after this first weekend marathon is that I'm old and cranky.

Now, direct to you from The Office of Redundancy Office,
is my opinionated opinion on the weekend films:

Little Matchgirl
Animated short. You can buy it on iTunes for $1.99 but if you bought the 2-DVD reissue of Little Mermaid it's already on there. So best check with that youngster in your life BEFORE you plunk down $1.99 like an idiot and buy something you already own. It's a well-done feature with some interesting art-work, especially the overall color of the entire piece. However, it still smacks of Disney and I don't think it will win.

Maestro
Animated short. TinyTuna proclaimed it "creeped her out" and I was sitting there thinking it was a little odd until the last 5 seconds of the piece, at which point I fell over laughing. I don't think it will win either, but the payoff was awfully clever.

No Time for Nuts
Animated short featuring "Scrat" that little squirrel guy from the Ice Age movies. Continued gags with Scrat trying to get (and keep) an acorn. Now he has a time machine. Humorous but nothing overly special here.

Devil Wears Prada
Nominations for Meryl Streep (Best Actress) and for Costume Design. TinyTuna kept saying the movie was "awesome" and I think it was...for a 12 year old. I didn't dislike it, and I thought Meryl Streep did a very good job. But really, the whole thing was quite fluffy, and when it finished I thought, "Eh. OK, I guess." Call it a decent rental film or date film, but overall it's like Lever 2000: it just sort of washes over you and then it runs down the drain. You're grateful you have it, but you know it has no lasting power and you'll just have to do it all again tomorrow.

Jesus Camp
Nominated for Best Feature Documentary. Creeeeeeepy! It was disturbing to see how malleable kids can be. It was also fascinating to read that aside from the former Rev. Ted Haggard (of the "no I didn't...no I didn't...no I didn't....ooops, yes I did), everyone in the film was quite pleased with the outcome. I suppose the hallmark of a good documentary is that at the end of the film each side is satisfied that it got their particular point across and it's the other guy that's wrong. I, of course, will not be sending TinyTuna to Jesus Camp, but let me tell you, if they ever came up with a Jesus Sez Make Your Bed and Clean Your Room Camp and got the same results, she'd be there in a heartbeat. Amen!

Water
Nominated for Best Foreign Film. This was quite good. It takes placed in India in 1938, and examines the lives of widows, who are looked at as untouchables once their husbands die, and are sent to live a life of chastity and poverty. The film was directed by a woman, and between her gender and the subject matter, getting this film made at all was a minor miracle. I'm thinking if people are that mad, you know you've hit a nerve with a good film. Good for her. Excellent movie.

Little Miss Sunshine
Nominated for a bucket of things, including Supporting Actor, Supporting Actress, Best Film and Original Screenplay. Well... I wanted to love this film. I really did. In the end, it was just quirky. It wasn't particularly funny (there were a few moments, but nothing huge), it was just quirky. And it seemed to be quirky just for the sake of saying, "look how independant film and quirky I can be!" Quirky is ok, but if there isn't any substance behind the quirk, it's like a big bag of cotton candy, which I do not like, Sam-I-Am. And did I mention I really, really wanted to like this movie?

Borat
Nominated for Adapted Screenplay. Well, I held out few hopes for this one. There were random clever Guffman-type moments where I chuckled, but it seemed like every 10 minutes someone realized they were getting too clever and yelled, WE NEED MORE RAUNCHY BATHROOM HUMOR and at that point the entire film went down the toilet. Pun intended. Keep the character, lose the 17-year old crude-isms, and it might be really good. Of course, the chances of that happening are slim and none, because nothing says big box office receipts like 17 year old raunchy humor.

And that's the weekend report. I sure hope the quality of whatever comes next takes a drastic upwards turn. The nicest thing I can say about this opening salvo of films is that all of them were under two hours, so it didn't prolong the agony. Otherwise, this was not an auspicious start to Oscar season.

Unconscious Mutterings

I say ... And You Think:

1. Limit :: Restriction

2. Voice :: Lessons

3. Change :: Alter

4. Expression :: Face

5. Tailor :: Made

6. Lemonade :: That cool, refreshing drink

7. Thought :: Idea

8. Phoebe :: Snow

9. Impression :: When someone says they want to do one, they're usually not very good.

10. Sister :: Sibling

Once again, a fairly disparate list. A bunch of these made me think of teaching, which isn't very nice to do on a Sunday morning. But then again, there aren't many days when singing isn't a part of The Tuna day in one way or another, and Sunday is no exception.

I found on YouTube -- what DID we do before YouTube? -- Eddie Murphy doing his Elvis Presley impersonation (Lemonade, That Cool Refreshing Drink) and James Brown impersonation (HEYYY!). I have to admit, Eddie was pretty darn good. It's HERE (rated H for hysterical, but R for language...just so you know).

Mutter along HERE.

Unconscious Mutterings

I say ... And You Think:

1. Limit :: Restriction

2. Voice :: Lessons

3. Change :: Alter

4. Expression :: Face

5. Tailor :: Made

6. Lemonade :: That cool, refreshing drink

7. Thought :: Idea

8. Phoebe :: Snow

9. Impression :: When someone says they want to do one, they're usually not very good.

10. Sister :: Sibling

Once again, a fairly disparate list. A bunch of these made me think of teaching, which isn't very nice to do on a Sunday morning. But then again, there aren't many days when singing isn't a part of The Tuna day in one way or another, and Sunday is no exception.

I found on YouTube -- what DID we do before YouTube? -- Eddie Murphy doing his Elvis Presley impersonation (Lemonade, That Cool Refreshing Drink) and James Brown impersonation (HEYYY!). I have to admit, Eddie was pretty darn good. It's HERE (rated H for hysterical, but R for language...just so you know).

Mutter along HERE.

A Scottish Birthday Blessing

Birthday dinners are a common tradition, and it is a hallowed one here in the Tuna Clan. Honorees get to pick their dinner and their dessert, which is ample enough explanation to why you'll never see a mince pie anywhere in the vicinity of my birthday. When GreenTuna celebrates the annual re-celebration of some birthday past, it's Blueberry pie all the way.

But it must take a very special someone to celebrate their very special day with a big heapin' helpin' of Birthday Haggis.

So here's a special Happy Birthday wish to The Boy: May your Haggis plate always be empty and your whiskey glass always be full.

A Scottish Birthday Blessing

Birthday dinners are a common tradition, and it is a hallowed one here in the Tuna Clan. Honorees get to pick their dinner and their dessert, which is ample enough explanation to why you'll never see a mince pie anywhere in the vicinity of my birthday. When GreenTuna celebrates the annual re-celebration of some birthday past, it's Blueberry pie all the way.

But it must take a very special someone to celebrate their very special day with a big heapin' helpin' of Birthday Haggis.

So here's a special Happy Birthday wish to The Boy: May your Haggis plate always be empty and your whiskey glass always be full.

No Rest for the Wicked

58 Films (I've seen eleven)
30 Days
2 Crossed Eyes
1 Sore Butt...
Pass the Popcorn and the Raisinettes!


After the Wedding
Apocalypto
Babel
Binta and the Great Idea
Black Dahlia
Blood Diamond
Blood of Yingzhou District
Borat
Cars
Children of Men
Click
Curse of the Golden Flower
Danish Poet
Days of Glory
Deliver us from Evil
Departed
Devil Wears Prada
Dreamgirls
Eramos Pocos (One Too Many)
Flags of our Fathers
Good German
Good Shepherd
Half Nelson
Happy Feet
Helmer & Son
Illusionist
Inconvenient Truth
Iraq in Fragments
Jesus Camp
Last King of Scotland
Letters from Iwo Jima
Lifted
Little Children
Little Matchgirl
Little Miss Sunshine
Lives of Others
Maestro
Marie Antoinette
Monster House
My Country, My Country
No Time for Nuts
Notes on a Scandal
Pan's Labyrinth
Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest
Poseidon
Prestige
Pursuit of Happyness
Queen
Recycled Life
Rehearsing a Dream
Saviour
Superman Returns
Two Hands
United 93
Venus
Volver
Water
West Bank Story


List of Nominations by FILM
List of Nominations by CATEGORY

No Rest for the Wicked

58 Films (I've seen eleven)
30 Days
2 Crossed Eyes
1 Sore Butt...
Pass the Popcorn and the Raisinettes!


After the Wedding
Apocalypto
Babel
Binta and the Great Idea
Black Dahlia
Blood Diamond
Blood of Yingzhou District
Borat
Cars
Children of Men
Click
Curse of the Golden Flower
Danish Poet
Days of Glory
Deliver us from Evil
Departed
Devil Wears Prada
Dreamgirls
Eramos Pocos (One Too Many)
Flags of our Fathers
Good German
Good Shepherd
Half Nelson
Happy Feet
Helmer & Son
Illusionist
Inconvenient Truth
Iraq in Fragments
Jesus Camp
Last King of Scotland
Letters from Iwo Jima
Lifted
Little Children
Little Matchgirl
Little Miss Sunshine
Lives of Others
Maestro
Marie Antoinette
Monster House
My Country, My Country
No Time for Nuts
Notes on a Scandal
Pan's Labyrinth
Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest
Poseidon
Prestige
Pursuit of Happyness
Queen
Recycled Life
Rehearsing a Dream
Saviour
Superman Returns
Two Hands
United 93
Venus
Volver
Water
West Bank Story


List of Nominations by FILM
List of Nominations by CATEGORY

Friday's Feast

Hey! It's a timely version of Friday's Feast
(New Blogger Edition...Thank God THAT worked!)

Appetizer: If you could take lessons to learn any musical instrument, which would you want to learn?
Already accomplished: Piano, viola, violin, trombone, recorders of several varieties, kazoo, slide whistle, ocarina, dulcimer (not very good at), organ (if playing minimal feet counts). It seems I'm fairly lacking in the woodwind family, so maybe I'd like to learn flute (dizzy!), oboe (honky!) and bassoon (grandfathery!). That, and harp. And accordion. HA!

Soup: Have you ever mistaken a person for someone else?
I am the world's worst with people and names, so I try very hard to keep things very generic if I'm not sure. Still, I manage to get them wrong with alarming frequency.

Salad: On a scale of 1 to 10 with 10 being highest, how well do you keep secrets?
I can't tell you because you know...it's a secret.

Main Course: What's the closest you've ever been to a dangerous animal?
Please. I live with a 12-year old. It doesn't get any closer than that. However, if you mean non-human (and sometimes she falls squarely in that category as well), the closest I have been to a dangerous animal would be a couple of feet between me and a bear. My protection? A pup tent. Needless to say, once the bear was spotted, our entire family had the distinct displeasure of sleeping in the car all night. In the morning we got to play cleanup, as the bears opened the coolers and ate all the food and drank all the beer. No kidding. The only thing they left? Pickles and mayonnaise.

Dessert: When was the last time you lost your patience?
Please see above: I live with a 12-year old. Between TinyTuna, work and teaching, my patience has pretty much decided to take an extended sabbatical. I assume it's living the high life and enjoying fruity drinks with umbrellas somewhere warm. There's probably a bear or two there as well.

Friday's Feast

Hey! It's a timely version of Friday's Feast
(New Blogger Edition...Thank God THAT worked!)

Appetizer: If you could take lessons to learn any musical instrument, which would you want to learn?
Already accomplished: Piano, viola, violin, trombone, recorders of several varieties, kazoo, slide whistle, ocarina, dulcimer (not very good at), organ (if playing minimal feet counts). It seems I'm fairly lacking in the woodwind family, so maybe I'd like to learn flute (dizzy!), oboe (honky!) and bassoon (grandfathery!). That, and harp. And accordion. HA!

Soup: Have you ever mistaken a person for someone else?
I am the world's worst with people and names, so I try very hard to keep things very generic if I'm not sure. Still, I manage to get them wrong with alarming frequency.

Salad: On a scale of 1 to 10 with 10 being highest, how well do you keep secrets?
I can't tell you because you know...it's a secret.

Main Course: What's the closest you've ever been to a dangerous animal?
Please. I live with a 12-year old. It doesn't get any closer than that. However, if you mean non-human (and sometimes she falls squarely in that category as well), the closest I have been to a dangerous animal would be a couple of feet between me and a bear. My protection? A pup tent. Needless to say, once the bear was spotted, our entire family had the distinct displeasure of sleeping in the car all night. In the morning we got to play cleanup, as the bears opened the coolers and ate all the food and drank all the beer. No kidding. The only thing they left? Pickles and mayonnaise.

Dessert: When was the last time you lost your patience?
Please see above: I live with a 12-year old. Between TinyTuna, work and teaching, my patience has pretty much decided to take an extended sabbatical. I assume it's living the high life and enjoying fruity drinks with umbrellas somewhere warm. There's probably a bear or two there as well.

Realigning the Electronic Shui

Tonight I brought Bessie (my computer) home. She spent a week up north getting a general tune up and a few new and improved bells and whistles. Because the hard drive was not replaced, getting things "back to normal" wasn't as painful as it might have been, and somehow the Gods were smiling, because I didn't have to call India. In case you haven't had the pleasure, the conversation goes something like this: Hello. Please to call me BOB. Allow me to be for understanding you. You are saying that for my understanding you must register your software. Am I understanding for you to be correctly? There is nothing worse than trying to explain to Bob that while I have the same old legal software, I now have a new motherboard which thinks this is a new copy, and yes, I have my 357 Alpha-Numeric (Caps-Count-Too!) product key and registration code. Frankly, it'd be easier for everyone concerned if they just took my first born instead, but I don't have FRANKly, I have BOBly, and for him to be for understanding my problem, TinyTuna isn't going to be much help.

So, aside from one quick repair of my original copy, everything was working A-OK. And bonus points: my computer no longer does the bump and grind (minus the bump but with extra grind) every time it boots up. Phew. That was not a good sound.

It doesn't matter if it is computers, people, paperwork or calendars, it's a plain old pain in the butt when things get out of kilter and you have to work (sometimes harder) to get everything back into place. It's not that I'm a creature of unbendable habit, because in my world, going with the flow is generally the wisest advice one can follow. At the same time, constantly having to scramble can be tiresome, and soon it's hard to tell if you're coming or going.

So, I'm happy to have old Bessie back. The laptop worked great in her stead, but just wasn't the same. Now if I could only get Scout healthy, TinyTuna to understand her math, five last milk crates of papers filed, shredded or tossed, and a few days in my calendar with no commitments, I'd be all set.

Magic Eight Ball Says:
You can always keep dreaming, but please remember,
Crack is not a breakfast food.

Realigning the Electronic Shui

Tonight I brought Bessie (my computer) home. She spent a week up north getting a general tune up and a few new and improved bells and whistles. Because the hard drive was not replaced, getting things "back to normal" wasn't as painful as it might have been, and somehow the Gods were smiling, because I didn't have to call India. In case you haven't had the pleasure, the conversation goes something like this: Hello. Please to call me BOB. Allow me to be for understanding you. You are saying that for my understanding you must register your software. Am I understanding for you to be correctly? There is nothing worse than trying to explain to Bob that while I have the same old legal software, I now have a new motherboard which thinks this is a new copy, and yes, I have my 357 Alpha-Numeric (Caps-Count-Too!) product key and registration code. Frankly, it'd be easier for everyone concerned if they just took my first born instead, but I don't have FRANKly, I have BOBly, and for him to be for understanding my problem, TinyTuna isn't going to be much help.

So, aside from one quick repair of my original copy, everything was working A-OK. And bonus points: my computer no longer does the bump and grind (minus the bump but with extra grind) every time it boots up. Phew. That was not a good sound.

It doesn't matter if it is computers, people, paperwork or calendars, it's a plain old pain in the butt when things get out of kilter and you have to work (sometimes harder) to get everything back into place. It's not that I'm a creature of unbendable habit, because in my world, going with the flow is generally the wisest advice one can follow. At the same time, constantly having to scramble can be tiresome, and soon it's hard to tell if you're coming or going.

So, I'm happy to have old Bessie back. The laptop worked great in her stead, but just wasn't the same. Now if I could only get Scout healthy, TinyTuna to understand her math, five last milk crates of papers filed, shredded or tossed, and a few days in my calendar with no commitments, I'd be all set.

Magic Eight Ball Says:
You can always keep dreaming, but please remember,
Crack is not a breakfast food.

Morning Drive Time

Every morning TinyTuna and I get to spend some time together as I drive her to school. It's a good twenty minutes to talk about school, life, boys, movies, or whatever is on her drama-filled middle school mind. Unless she's being a pain (which might not be all that infrequent, given her age), it's mother-daughter time well spent. And if she is being a pain, then she has no choice but to sit through twenty minutes of lectures, proving that on occasion, a moving car can be a wonderful thing.

Today we got into the car and she asked me if she could read me part of the book she was reading in school. I said sure, and off we went. We were driving along and she asked, "Do you want to eat your breakfast first?" "No," I said, "I can listen and eat at the same time."

The book? The Hot Zone.

The topic? Ebola virus outbreak in the United States.

Morning Vocabulary? Fever, vomiting, unconsciousness, coma, intestinal lining, total body evacuation, anus, dry-heaves, bleeding from all known orifices and death.

Next time I'll eat my breakfast first,
and suggest we talk about boys instead.

Morning Drive Time

Every morning TinyTuna and I get to spend some time together as I drive her to school. It's a good twenty minutes to talk about school, life, boys, movies, or whatever is on her drama-filled middle school mind. Unless she's being a pain (which might not be all that infrequent, given her age), it's mother-daughter time well spent. And if she is being a pain, then she has no choice but to sit through twenty minutes of lectures, proving that on occasion, a moving car can be a wonderful thing.

Today we got into the car and she asked me if she could read me part of the book she was reading in school. I said sure, and off we went. We were driving along and she asked, "Do you want to eat your breakfast first?" "No," I said, "I can listen and eat at the same time."

The book? The Hot Zone.

The topic? Ebola virus outbreak in the United States.

Morning Vocabulary? Fever, vomiting, unconsciousness, coma, intestinal lining, total body evacuation, anus, dry-heaves, bleeding from all known orifices and death.

Next time I'll eat my breakfast first,
and suggest we talk about boys instead.

And The Nominees Are

Oscar nominations came out this morning. Once again, I'm screwed, because I've seen exactly three films: The Queen, Cars and Happy Feet. Let's just say, I have a lot of work to do in the next 33 days. We'll run the usual Oscar pool when the time draws near. Until then, I might be paying several visits to the local video emporium or dragging GramTuna and Scout to a lot of movies.

Oy.

Nominees here.

And The Nominees Are

Oscar nominations came out this morning. Once again, I'm screwed, because I've seen exactly three films: The Queen, Cars and Happy Feet. Let's just say, I have a lot of work to do in the next 33 days. We'll run the usual Oscar pool when the time draws near. Until then, I might be paying several visits to the local video emporium or dragging GramTuna and Scout to a lot of movies.

Oy.

Nominees here.

Of Old Dan Tucker, Froggies and Shakespare

A couple of weeks ago I was surfing on the iTunes website because my Christmas gift cards were burning an almighty hole in my pocket. I was trying to decide between about a bazillion different things, and I kept going back to Bruce Springsteen's new album We Shall Overcome : The Bob Seeger Sessions. I had noticed the album was a part of the "best of" editor selections as well as a "best seller" among the iTunes paying public. I went back and forth on this album for a long time. Springsteen was a plus, but did I really want (or need) an album with Bruce singing stuff like:

Old Dan Tucker was a fine old man
washed his face with a frying pan
combed his hair with a wagon wheel
and died with a toothache in his heel.

Songs like this might be considered genius amongst the elementary school crowd, but I just wasn't sure. This album is full of stuff like this, including Froggie Went A-Courtin', and Buffalo Gals. There's no On Top of Old Smokey, but it wouldn't have surprised me if there was. All of these songs are a far cry from Shakespeare, and it sure didn't strike me as being very Springsteen. But I figured what the heck. I hoped it wouldn't suck, and I downloaded the album.

Later, while looking for a specific song (that I never did find) I found the album Tread on my Dreams by Melinda Stanford. Who? Yeah, that's what I said too. The entire album was based on poems by famous poets. Shakespeare, Auden, Dylan Thomas, e e cummings, Emily Dickinson, Elizabeth Barrett Browning and Robert Frost were all represented, among others. So I looked at this album by a singer I'd never heard (or heard of), singing some amazing texts. I figured what the heck. I hoped it wouldn't suck, and I downloaded the album.

Songs are a funny thing. You have this combination of text, music and performer. For a song to really work, all three have to be right. The music has to complement and enhance the text, and then the performer has to understand everything about both elements and then buy into the premise -- whatever it may be -- present it in a way that is believable. This is usually where things break down. Singers tend to have one style, and it's difficult to jump into a different genre and still sound credible. I have plenty of CDs of opera singers attempting to sing broadway and jazz, and there is always that indescribable performance of Aretha Franklin singing Puccini. *cough*

I'm so happy to say that both purchases have proven to be pure gold. The Springsteen album is one of the most infectiously fun things I have ever listened to. It doesn't have to be about the gritty streets of Philadelphia or a head-banging rock version of Born to Run. It can be John Henry who was a steel drivin' man. It totally works. As for the other album, all I can say is that since I've downloaded it, I've had a very hard time prying my poor iPod out of TinyTuna's greedy music-loving ears. It's good. It's that good. And while some of the poems were familiar to me, others were not. And I'm so happy to have stumbled across some unbelievably profound words set to music that matches it perfectly.

Aedh Wishes for the Cloths of Heaven
by W.B. Yeats

Had I the heavens' embroidered cloths,
Enwrought with golden and silver light,
The blue and the dim and the dark cloths
Of night and light and the half light,
I would spread the cloths under your feet:
But I, being poor, have only my dreams;
I have spread my dreams under your feet;
Tread softly because you tread on my dreams.

It's stuff like this that makes me glad I'm a singer.

Of Old Dan Tucker, Froggies and Shakespare

A couple of weeks ago I was surfing on the iTunes website because my Christmas gift cards were burning an almighty hole in my pocket. I was trying to decide between about a bazillion different things, and I kept going back to Bruce Springsteen's new album We Shall Overcome : The Bob Seeger Sessions. I had noticed the album was a part of the "best of" editor selections as well as a "best seller" among the iTunes paying public. I went back and forth on this album for a long time. Springsteen was a plus, but did I really want (or need) an album with Bruce singing stuff like:

Old Dan Tucker was a fine old man
washed his face with a frying pan
combed his hair with a wagon wheel
and died with a toothache in his heel.

Songs like this might be considered genius amongst the elementary school crowd, but I just wasn't sure. This album is full of stuff like this, including Froggie Went A-Courtin', and Buffalo Gals. There's no On Top of Old Smokey, but it wouldn't have surprised me if there was. All of these songs are a far cry from Shakespeare, and it sure didn't strike me as being very Springsteen. But I figured what the heck. I hoped it wouldn't suck, and I downloaded the album.

Later, while looking for a specific song (that I never did find) I found the album Tread on my Dreams by Melinda Stanford. Who? Yeah, that's what I said too. The entire album was based on poems by famous poets. Shakespeare, Auden, Dylan Thomas, e e cummings, Emily Dickinson, Elizabeth Barrett Browning and Robert Frost were all represented, among others. So I looked at this album by a singer I'd never heard (or heard of), singing some amazing texts. I figured what the heck. I hoped it wouldn't suck, and I downloaded the album.

Songs are a funny thing. You have this combination of text, music and performer. For a song to really work, all three have to be right. The music has to complement and enhance the text, and then the performer has to understand everything about both elements and then buy into the premise -- whatever it may be -- present it in a way that is believable. This is usually where things break down. Singers tend to have one style, and it's difficult to jump into a different genre and still sound credible. I have plenty of CDs of opera singers attempting to sing broadway and jazz, and there is always that indescribable performance of Aretha Franklin singing Puccini. *cough*

I'm so happy to say that both purchases have proven to be pure gold. The Springsteen album is one of the most infectiously fun things I have ever listened to. It doesn't have to be about the gritty streets of Philadelphia or a head-banging rock version of Born to Run. It can be John Henry who was a steel drivin' man. It totally works. As for the other album, all I can say is that since I've downloaded it, I've had a very hard time prying my poor iPod out of TinyTuna's greedy music-loving ears. It's good. It's that good. And while some of the poems were familiar to me, others were not. And I'm so happy to have stumbled across some unbelievably profound words set to music that matches it perfectly.

Aedh Wishes for the Cloths of Heaven
by W.B. Yeats

Had I the heavens' embroidered cloths,
Enwrought with golden and silver light,
The blue and the dim and the dark cloths
Of night and light and the half light,
I would spread the cloths under your feet:
But I, being poor, have only my dreams;
I have spread my dreams under your feet;
Tread softly because you tread on my dreams.

It's stuff like this that makes me glad I'm a singer.

Oh, Pioneers!

After coming home last night and spending a half-hour chipping ice off my car windows and finally managing to bust open the doors, I went inside to find that we had no cable TV and no Internet. It was very Little House on the Prairie-ish.

TinyTuna was practically beside herself, until I explained that even though the cable didn't work, the television was perfectly capable of playing a DVD. Calm breathing returned and we had a lovely, Disney Channel-free evening.

Not a bad trade-off, I think.

Oh, Pioneers!

After coming home last night and spending a half-hour chipping ice off my car windows and finally managing to bust open the doors, I went inside to find that we had no cable TV and no Internet. It was very Little House on the Prairie-ish.

TinyTuna was practically beside herself, until I explained that even though the cable didn't work, the television was perfectly capable of playing a DVD. Calm breathing returned and we had a lovely, Disney Channel-free evening.

Not a bad trade-off, I think.

Friday Feast

Tinytuna is in the House!

Appetizer : What comes to mind when you see the color orange?
An orange!

Soup : Did you ever get into trouble while you were at school? If so what for?
Depends on what school you're referring to.

Salad : Which toppings make your perfect pizza?
Cheese

Main Course : Do you believe in UFO's/Aliens/etc. Why or why not?
No. I don't believe in people other than us in the universe. It's really hard to explain cause there's no way to prove I'm right.

Dessert : What color is your bed spread/comforter/quilt?
My bedspread is pink, checkered with blue and green stripes.

Friday Feast

Tinytuna is in the House!

Appetizer : What comes to mind when you see the color orange?
An orange!

Soup : Did you ever get into trouble while you were at school? If so what for?
Depends on what school you're referring to.

Salad : Which toppings make your perfect pizza?
Cheese

Main Course : Do you believe in UFO's/Aliens/etc. Why or why not?
No. I don't believe in people other than us in the universe. It's really hard to explain cause there's no way to prove I'm right.

Dessert : What color is your bed spread/comforter/quilt?
My bedspread is pink, checkered with blue and green stripes.

Unconscious Mutterings

I say ... And You Think::

1. Episode :: TV show

2. Source :: Code

3. Jerk :: Idiot

4. Introduce :: Say Hello!

5. Ralph :: Kramden

6. Stare :: Glare

7. Cast :: Of Thousands

8. Scenario :: Situational Setting

9. Flu :: I don't have it

10. Mad :: Cow


This must be the throw-the-dictionary in the air version of Unconscious Mutterings. It's not that words are required to relate to each other, but sometimes it makes it easier. I could have said "Flu-Shot" but I don't get flu shots. Then again, I don't have "Mad-Cows" either, so that blows that whole explanation (heck, I don't even have mildly irate cows). "Cast-Of Thousands" reminds me of Ten Commandments which reminds me that Mrs. Munster (who was formerly Mrs. Moses) died. If she had cows, I bet they'd be sad.

Unconscious Mutterings

I say ... And You Think::

1. Episode :: TV show

2. Source :: Code

3. Jerk :: Idiot

4. Introduce :: Say Hello!

5. Ralph :: Kramden

6. Stare :: Glare

7. Cast :: Of Thousands

8. Scenario :: Situational Setting

9. Flu :: I don't have it

10. Mad :: Cow


This must be the throw-the-dictionary in the air version of Unconscious Mutterings. It's not that words are required to relate to each other, but sometimes it makes it easier. I could have said "Flu-Shot" but I don't get flu shots. Then again, I don't have "Mad-Cows" either, so that blows that whole explanation (heck, I don't even have mildly irate cows). "Cast-Of Thousands" reminds me of Ten Commandments which reminds me that Mrs. Munster (who was formerly Mrs. Moses) died. If she had cows, I bet they'd be sad.

Hard Sell

In the old days you drove (or walked) to a certain store in order to buy a certain something. You entered the store, found your certain something, paid for it and left.

In time, numerous certain stores found themselves under the same roof. This, of course, was the mall. In the just slightly less old days you would drive (not walk) to the mall. You would park your car at the entrance that was nearest to the certain store you needed to visit to buy that certain something. You would walk in the mall and pass several other stores that (for this particular trip) didn't happen to be that certain store containing that certain something. But eventually, you would find that certain store, pay for that certain something, walk back through the mall again, passing several other stores that (for this particular trip) didn't happen to be that certain store, return to your car and leave.

Today, that is impossible.

Today there is no such thing as a store that is NOT that certain store. Today it is not possible to pass other stores on the way to that one certain store you wanted to visit all along. Honestly, I never got the memo letting me know that it was now acceptable behavior to work in a store and harass hard sell people as they walk by.

I was on my way to the land of things beyond (as opposed to the neighboring kingdom of 'n things) and as I passed yet another hallway storefront hawking cellphones and wireless plans, KioskBoy (KB) gave me a look and rather loudly started his sales spiel from the middle of hall, accompanied by a head-flip c'mere don't I have a deal for YOU! kind of thing, like he was going to try to sell me the letter "O". My inky black heart (IBH) rolled its evil eyes and I ambled to the center of the hallway.

KB: Hey! Can I ask you a question?
(IBH: Dunno. Can you?)
Me: What's that?

KB: Do you have a cellphone?
(IBH: Beeswax, None of Yours, Inc.)
Me: Uh, yes.

KB: Who is your carrier?
(IBH: The company I manage to hate the least. But it's a tough decision because I hate every single one of you, so very, very much.)
Me: Cingular, but I....

Then Kiosk-Boy actually made a MINCE PIE FACE at me and my Inky Black Heart took over so my calm, peace-loving personality could go to its happy place. Look. If I wanted a T-Mobile phone, if I needed a T-Mobile phone, if I was curious and just wanted to browse in the world of T-Mobile phones, I would have done so. And if I wanted to have a conversation with some teen-aged mall employee wearing an electronic headset like they were auditioning to be the next Lt. Uhuru in Star-Trek, I would have walked back to Bath and Body Works, where the young girl wearing an ENORMOUS head-set (why this was needed when you sell soap and pumice stones, I have NO idea) had the good sense to wait until I walked into the store before accosting me.

But fair warning -- if any company thinks they are going to win customers by having ear-piece wearing minimum wage grunts yelling at them as they walk down the hall, my inky black heart will have something to say about that. And then they'd better have some friends nearby to pick up the pieces.

Can you hear me now?
Good.
Shut up.

Hard Sell

In the old days you drove (or walked) to a certain store in order to buy a certain something. You entered the store, found your certain something, paid for it and left.

In time, numerous certain stores found themselves under the same roof. This, of course, was the mall. In the just slightly less old days you would drive (not walk) to the mall. You would park your car at the entrance that was nearest to the certain store you needed to visit to buy that certain something. You would walk in the mall and pass several other stores that (for this particular trip) didn't happen to be that certain store containing that certain something. But eventually, you would find that certain store, pay for that certain something, walk back through the mall again, passing several other stores that (for this particular trip) didn't happen to be that certain store, return to your car and leave.

Today, that is impossible.

Today there is no such thing as a store that is NOT that certain store. Today it is not possible to pass other stores on the way to that one certain store you wanted to visit all along. Honestly, I never got the memo letting me know that it was now acceptable behavior to work in a store and harass hard sell people as they walk by.

I was on my way to the land of things beyond (as opposed to the neighboring kingdom of 'n things) and as I passed yet another hallway storefront hawking cellphones and wireless plans, KioskBoy (KB) gave me a look and rather loudly started his sales spiel from the middle of hall, accompanied by a head-flip c'mere don't I have a deal for YOU! kind of thing, like he was going to try to sell me the letter "O". My inky black heart (IBH) rolled its evil eyes and I ambled to the center of the hallway.

KB: Hey! Can I ask you a question?
(IBH: Dunno. Can you?)
Me: What's that?

KB: Do you have a cellphone?
(IBH: Beeswax, None of Yours, Inc.)
Me: Uh, yes.

KB: Who is your carrier?
(IBH: The company I manage to hate the least. But it's a tough decision because I hate every single one of you, so very, very much.)
Me: Cingular, but I....

Then Kiosk-Boy actually made a MINCE PIE FACE at me and my Inky Black Heart took over so my calm, peace-loving personality could go to its happy place. Look. If I wanted a T-Mobile phone, if I needed a T-Mobile phone, if I was curious and just wanted to browse in the world of T-Mobile phones, I would have done so. And if I wanted to have a conversation with some teen-aged mall employee wearing an electronic headset like they were auditioning to be the next Lt. Uhuru in Star-Trek, I would have walked back to Bath and Body Works, where the young girl wearing an ENORMOUS head-set (why this was needed when you sell soap and pumice stones, I have NO idea) had the good sense to wait until I walked into the store before accosting me.

But fair warning -- if any company thinks they are going to win customers by having ear-piece wearing minimum wage grunts yelling at them as they walk down the hall, my inky black heart will have something to say about that. And then they'd better have some friends nearby to pick up the pieces.

Can you hear me now?
Good.
Shut up.

Why I Go To Church Choir Practice After a LONG Week

Because on Sunday, I'm playing COWBELL, baby.

It seems the Holy Spirit has a fever, and the only cure is MORE COWBELL and really, who better to answer the call?

The boy fell over laughing.
Scout turned a thousand shades of red.
Mensch wanted a picture.
The choir director looked at me and said, "I really don't want to know, do I?"

I looked at him and said, "I'm just partial to cowbell."

Why I Go To Church Choir Practice After a LONG Week

Because on Sunday, I'm playing COWBELL, baby.

It seems the Holy Spirit has a fever, and the only cure is MORE COWBELL and really, who better to answer the call?

The boy fell over laughing.
Scout turned a thousand shades of red.
Mensch wanted a picture.
The choir director looked at me and said, "I really don't want to know, do I?"

I looked at him and said, "I'm just partial to cowbell."

Friday's Feast

It's the "I-have-24-more-minutes-at-work" version of Friday's Feast.

Appetizer: What comes to mind when you see the color orange?
An orange.
Orange juice.
A not-ready-for-prime-time persimmon.
A spectacular oceanside sunset.
My sweater.

Soup: Did you ever get into trouble while you were at school? If so, what was it for?
My recollections of school are based on Mary Poppinsology. I was practically perfect in every way. That being said, at school is an awfully long stretch if you consider college and really, somebody needs to define get into trouble before I'll even begin to formulate a non -- I do not recall, Senator -- answer to this question.

Salad: Which topping(s) make up your perfect pizza.
Anything that does not include fish or olives. I am, however, particularly partial to ham and double pineapple.

Main Course: Do you believe in UFOs/Aliens/etc.? Why or why not
Heavens yes! Etc.'s are everywhere and are living among us. As for aliens, well, I have two cats that frantically chase nothing at top speed, so I'm pretty sure they see something I don't. As for UFOs, well, I'm sure there are lots of things flying around that I'd never be able to identify. After "plane" "big plane" or "copter" I'm pretty much tapped out.

Dessert: What color is your bedspread/comforter/quilt?
Funny you should ask. I just got a new one and it is a lovely reversible comforter in khaki and desert, which I believe is a fancy way of saying tan and brown. But what Land's End neglected to tell me is that this comforter is filled with catnip-laced down. Ever since I put it on my bed, the two of them have gone absolutely insane. Or more insane than usual -- which isn't necessarily a particularly long journey.

Friday's Feast

It's the "I-have-24-more-minutes-at-work" version of Friday's Feast.

Appetizer: What comes to mind when you see the color orange?
An orange.
Orange juice.
A not-ready-for-prime-time persimmon.
A spectacular oceanside sunset.
My sweater.

Soup: Did you ever get into trouble while you were at school? If so, what was it for?
My recollections of school are based on Mary Poppinsology. I was practically perfect in every way. That being said, at school is an awfully long stretch if you consider college and really, somebody needs to define get into trouble before I'll even begin to formulate a non -- I do not recall, Senator -- answer to this question.

Salad: Which topping(s) make up your perfect pizza.
Anything that does not include fish or olives. I am, however, particularly partial to ham and double pineapple.

Main Course: Do you believe in UFOs/Aliens/etc.? Why or why not
Heavens yes! Etc.'s are everywhere and are living among us. As for aliens, well, I have two cats that frantically chase nothing at top speed, so I'm pretty sure they see something I don't. As for UFOs, well, I'm sure there are lots of things flying around that I'd never be able to identify. After "plane" "big plane" or "copter" I'm pretty much tapped out.

Dessert: What color is your bedspread/comforter/quilt?
Funny you should ask. I just got a new one and it is a lovely reversible comforter in khaki and desert, which I believe is a fancy way of saying tan and brown. But what Land's End neglected to tell me is that this comforter is filled with catnip-laced down. Ever since I put it on my bed, the two of them have gone absolutely insane. Or more insane than usual -- which isn't necessarily a particularly long journey.

More Later. I Have To Go To Tap Class

Which I totally skipped. I got caught up in 7th grade math, but truth be told, I didn't work all that hard to make sure we finished in time. Between work and work and home and TinyTuna, I just have too much to do these days. Love the class but I need an extra day in my week.

I know. Excuses all. It's the best I can do. But, to totally change the subject my brothers and sisters, let us discuss: spam and junkmail.

My Spam has gotten interesting of late. Not whatever is in the actual email, because Lord knows, I never look. But the subject lines have taken a turn towards the interesting and amusing.

God is my co-spammer
Some spam has taken a definate holy tone. Maybe they figure if you use lots of thees and thous and invoke the name of an Old-Testament Prophet, it won't end up in Spam Quarentine. This morning:

Thee Moab by day, (he hath commanded him)

Opening the email, it appears Moab hath commanded him to buy Viagra.

So odd, I had to keep it in my inbox
I couldn't help it. Even though it wound up in the land of quarentine, it made me laugh, so I let it live in my inbox for a couple days:

Department of Agriculture who stated the department views a sandwich
as a separate and distinct food product
from a burrito or taco.

Opening the email, it makes as little sense as the subject line, but I can tell you
it seems to have nothing to do with burritos, tacos or sandwiches.
Bummer.

You know how to enchant me
It's almost too easy, and I don't really care what the email is about, but thanks spammers for making my morning:

On television, Miss Coulter also stands out among her counterparts
because of an uncanny ability to suck out the intelligence
out of any topic.

Bravo. Whatever it's about, Bravo.

Last night when I got home, I opened a curious piece of mail that I was certain was of the junk-variety. Monday tends to be junk mail day, and everything else had already gone in the circular file. As I opened this last envelope, it contained a letter and a booklet that was probably about 30 pages long. The letter was telling me that all payments to Company X should now be sent to Company Y. Frankly, I had never heard of Company X or Company Y, so I opened the booklet. Inside was a single-spaced, double-columned listing of funeral homes. I started puzzling about payments and funerals homes and how this had nothing to do with me, TinyTuna looked at me and said a little too pointedly, "Maybe they are looking for reservations."

*Ahem*

I think I'll stick to Moab and sandwiches, thank you very much.

More Later. I Have To Go To Tap Class

Which I totally skipped. I got caught up in 7th grade math, but truth be told, I didn't work all that hard to make sure we finished in time. Between work and work and home and TinyTuna, I just have too much to do these days. Love the class but I need an extra day in my week.

I know. Excuses all. It's the best I can do. But, to totally change the subject my brothers and sisters, let us discuss: spam and junkmail.

My Spam has gotten interesting of late. Not whatever is in the actual email, because Lord knows, I never look. But the subject lines have taken a turn towards the interesting and amusing.

God is my co-spammer
Some spam has taken a definate holy tone. Maybe they figure if you use lots of thees and thous and invoke the name of an Old-Testament Prophet, it won't end up in Spam Quarentine. This morning:

Thee Moab by day, (he hath commanded him)

Opening the email, it appears Moab hath commanded him to buy Viagra.

So odd, I had to keep it in my inbox
I couldn't help it. Even though it wound up in the land of quarentine, it made me laugh, so I let it live in my inbox for a couple days:

Department of Agriculture who stated the department views a sandwich
as a separate and distinct food product
from a burrito or taco.

Opening the email, it makes as little sense as the subject line, but I can tell you
it seems to have nothing to do with burritos, tacos or sandwiches.
Bummer.

You know how to enchant me
It's almost too easy, and I don't really care what the email is about, but thanks spammers for making my morning:

On television, Miss Coulter also stands out among her counterparts
because of an uncanny ability to suck out the intelligence
out of any topic.

Bravo. Whatever it's about, Bravo.

Last night when I got home, I opened a curious piece of mail that I was certain was of the junk-variety. Monday tends to be junk mail day, and everything else had already gone in the circular file. As I opened this last envelope, it contained a letter and a booklet that was probably about 30 pages long. The letter was telling me that all payments to Company X should now be sent to Company Y. Frankly, I had never heard of Company X or Company Y, so I opened the booklet. Inside was a single-spaced, double-columned listing of funeral homes. I started puzzling about payments and funerals homes and how this had nothing to do with me, TinyTuna looked at me and said a little too pointedly, "Maybe they are looking for reservations."

*Ahem*

I think I'll stick to Moab and sandwiches, thank you very much.

Unconscious Mutterings - Totally Cheater Backdate Version

I said :: And you thought


1. Incomplete :: Not finished

2. Bobby :: Socks

3. Chopstick :: Chinese Food. But tough to do with only one.

4. Trauma :: Head

5. Hesitate :: Pause

6. Leap :: Jump

7. Magnify :: Glass

8. Yards :: Of material

9. Alexander :: Technique

10. Fracture :: Fairy Tales

Bobby socks. Who else is going to come up with that one? I was going to make a reference to killing ants with a magnifying glass, but thought better of it. Alexander technique is a posture thing especially good for musicians who carry all sorts of tension from twisting their bodies this way and that. And oh, how I love Fractured Fairy Tales. Those were the good old days of Rocky and Bullwinkle, Peabody and his boy Sherman, Dudley Do-Right and his horse.

More later. I have to go to tap class.

Unconscious Mutterings - Totally Cheater Backdate Version

I said :: And you thought


1. Incomplete :: Not finished

2. Bobby :: Socks

3. Chopstick :: Chinese Food. But tough to do with only one.

4. Trauma :: Head

5. Hesitate :: Pause

6. Leap :: Jump

7. Magnify :: Glass

8. Yards :: Of material

9. Alexander :: Technique

10. Fracture :: Fairy Tales

Bobby socks. Who else is going to come up with that one? I was going to make a reference to killing ants with a magnifying glass, but thought better of it. Alexander technique is a posture thing especially good for musicians who carry all sorts of tension from twisting their bodies this way and that. And oh, how I love Fractured Fairy Tales. Those were the good old days of Rocky and Bullwinkle, Peabody and his boy Sherman, Dudley Do-Right and his horse.

More later. I have to go to tap class.

New Year's Mutterings Tiny Tuna Style

I say... And you think


1. Resolution :: WAR

2. Happy :: Birthday

3. Bubbly :: Gut feeling

4. Kiss :: Your love

5. Leather :: Jacket

6. Fancy :: Dinner Party

7. Pages :: Books

8. Stupid :: Huh?

9. Apologize :: SORRY!!

10. Secrets :: Secret Garden

New Year's is a time to watch the TV until your eyes pop! A time to watch the ball drop in Times Square. A time to be with family and friends. Celebrate the New Year your way. How you want to spend it. Not how someone else wants to.

New Year's Mutterings Tiny Tuna Style

I say... And you think


1. Resolution :: WAR

2. Happy :: Birthday

3. Bubbly :: Gut feeling

4. Kiss :: Your love

5. Leather :: Jacket

6. Fancy :: Dinner Party

7. Pages :: Books

8. Stupid :: Huh?

9. Apologize :: SORRY!!

10. Secrets :: Secret Garden

New Year's is a time to watch the TV until your eyes pop! A time to watch the ball drop in Times Square. A time to be with family and friends. Celebrate the New Year your way. How you want to spend it. Not how someone else wants to.

Day-OH!

Today was my last day of holiday-endorsed vacation from work. Unlike those who get all sorts of upcoming paid holiday, I'm now high and dry until Memorial Day. MLK day? Have to work. Presidents day? Have to work.

And then there is:

January 3 is . . . . .Festival of Sleep Day

January 4 is . . . . .Trivia Day and Humiliation Day

January 5 is . . . . .Bird Day

January 6 is . . . . .Bean Day

January 7 is . . . . .Old Rock Day

January 8 is . . . . .National JoyGerm Day and Man Watcher's Day

January 9 is . . . . . Play God Day

January 10 is . . . . Peculiar People Day

January 11 is . . . . National Step in a Puddle and Splash Your Friend Day

January 12 is . . . . Feast of Fabulous Wild Men Day

January 13 is . . . . Make Your Dream Come True Day and Blame Someone Else Day

January 14 is . . . . National Dress Up Your Pet Day

January 15 is . . . . Hat Day

January 16 is . . . . Hot and Spicy Food International Day and National Nothing Day

January 17 is . . . . Blessing of the Animals at the Cathedral Day

January 18 is . . . . Winnie the Pooh Day

January 19 is . . . . National Popcorn Day

January 20 is . . . . National Buttercrunch Day

January 21 is . . . . National Hugging Day

January 22 is . . . . National Answer Your Cat's Question Day and National Blonde Brownie Day

January 23 is . . . . National Handwriting Day, National Pie Day, and Measure Your Feet Day

January 24 is . . . . Eskimo Pie Patent Day

January 25 is . . . . Opposite Day

January 26 is . . . . Australia Day

January 27 is . . . . Punch the Clock Day and Thomas Crapper Day

January 28 is . . . . National Kazoo Day, Clash Day, Rattle Snake Round-Up Day

January 29 is . . . . National Cornchip Day

January 30 is . . . . Escape Day

January 31 is . . . . National Popcorn Day and Child Labor Day

...and those are just in January. Do I get ANY of these days off? Nooooo! Granted, they may be bizarre holidays, but someone somewhere thought they were important enough to think of them, and how can I possibly celebrate National Answer Your Cat's Question Day when I'm stuck at work?

While I ponder how to adequately celebrate Rattlesnake Roundup Day, I've done a slight redesign to the left side bar in order to list books, CDs and movies I've read, listened to and watched in 2007. Today we went out and saw Night at the Museum which was amusing, and frankly, better than I thought it was going to be. It's no epic, but it was a good Christmas vacation diversion. TinyTuna thought it was awesome. The previews today were quite bizarre, and included something that I think is some Fantastic Four movie featuring the new bad guy "The Silver Surfer." After the preview, I turned to TinyTuna and said, "A bad guy called Silver Surfer? It doesn't exactly strike fear in your heart..."

The Tuna clan gave it a resounding thumbs-down.

The second preview started and it was chock full of explosions, more explosions, and loud heart-stopping music to accompany (you guessed it)... explosions. As these mutant robot things kept exploding everything, a horrible thought suddenly occurred to me. Turning to TinyTuna I said, "Do you mean to tell me.... are these guys Transformers?" Sure enough. Transformers. Starring in their own movie.

The Tuna clan gave it a resounding thumbs-down.

Just when hope was nearly lost, the last preview saved the day. Thank God for Homer Simpson!

GreenTuna and TinyTuna said thumbs up!
GramTuna told us to enjoy ourselves.

I can't wait to add it to my list.

Day-OH!

Today was my last day of holiday-endorsed vacation from work. Unlike those who get all sorts of upcoming paid holiday, I'm now high and dry until Memorial Day. MLK day? Have to work. Presidents day? Have to work.

And then there is:

January 3 is . . . . .Festival of Sleep Day

January 4 is . . . . .Trivia Day and Humiliation Day

January 5 is . . . . .Bird Day

January 6 is . . . . .Bean Day

January 7 is . . . . .Old Rock Day

January 8 is . . . . .National JoyGerm Day and Man Watcher's Day

January 9 is . . . . . Play God Day

January 10 is . . . . Peculiar People Day

January 11 is . . . . National Step in a Puddle and Splash Your Friend Day

January 12 is . . . . Feast of Fabulous Wild Men Day

January 13 is . . . . Make Your Dream Come True Day and Blame Someone Else Day

January 14 is . . . . National Dress Up Your Pet Day

January 15 is . . . . Hat Day

January 16 is . . . . Hot and Spicy Food International Day and National Nothing Day

January 17 is . . . . Blessing of the Animals at the Cathedral Day

January 18 is . . . . Winnie the Pooh Day

January 19 is . . . . National Popcorn Day

January 20 is . . . . National Buttercrunch Day

January 21 is . . . . National Hugging Day

January 22 is . . . . National Answer Your Cat's Question Day and National Blonde Brownie Day

January 23 is . . . . National Handwriting Day, National Pie Day, and Measure Your Feet Day

January 24 is . . . . Eskimo Pie Patent Day

January 25 is . . . . Opposite Day

January 26 is . . . . Australia Day

January 27 is . . . . Punch the Clock Day and Thomas Crapper Day

January 28 is . . . . National Kazoo Day, Clash Day, Rattle Snake Round-Up Day

January 29 is . . . . National Cornchip Day

January 30 is . . . . Escape Day

January 31 is . . . . National Popcorn Day and Child Labor Day

...and those are just in January. Do I get ANY of these days off? Nooooo! Granted, they may be bizarre holidays, but someone somewhere thought they were important enough to think of them, and how can I possibly celebrate National Answer Your Cat's Question Day when I'm stuck at work?

While I ponder how to adequately celebrate Rattlesnake Roundup Day, I've done a slight redesign to the left side bar in order to list books, CDs and movies I've read, listened to and watched in 2007. Today we went out and saw Night at the Museum which was amusing, and frankly, better than I thought it was going to be. It's no epic, but it was a good Christmas vacation diversion. TinyTuna thought it was awesome. The previews today were quite bizarre, and included something that I think is some Fantastic Four movie featuring the new bad guy "The Silver Surfer." After the preview, I turned to TinyTuna and said, "A bad guy called Silver Surfer? It doesn't exactly strike fear in your heart..."

The Tuna clan gave it a resounding thumbs-down.

The second preview started and it was chock full of explosions, more explosions, and loud heart-stopping music to accompany (you guessed it)... explosions. As these mutant robot things kept exploding everything, a horrible thought suddenly occurred to me. Turning to TinyTuna I said, "Do you mean to tell me.... are these guys Transformers?" Sure enough. Transformers. Starring in their own movie.

The Tuna clan gave it a resounding thumbs-down.

Just when hope was nearly lost, the last preview saved the day. Thank God for Homer Simpson!

GreenTuna and TinyTuna said thumbs up!
GramTuna told us to enjoy ourselves.

I can't wait to add it to my list.