ode to my husband

If Pete ever wanted to (PLEASE!!) stop practicing medicine he could easily be the hottest Barista at Starbucks--okay the dude makes good coffee. (he pours a mean Black & Tan also). Except for the occasional weekend when I pull the bean canister down on my head and spill beans across the kitchen in a not so subtle ploy to arouse him from his Sunday morning slumber, he makes the first pot of coffee everyday. For this alone I would follow him off the edge of the Knowne Worlde. I can stumble from the bed to a perfectly timed mug of java just waiting for me. He is a good man. I found this image a couple of days ago and finally can use it to pay due homage to my lord husband, grinder of beans.

and what dear reader goes better with coffee than a nummy "everything" bagel? We had a stunningly beautiful house guest this weekend--a duchess I have admired for several years, and she joined me in my happy husband praising. For as I excavated the kitchen from under the mountain of post party debris he zipped off to Zingerman's and fetched home a couple dozen bagels. I told ya he is a keeper. So by the time our "graceful" friends all descend from their crash spaces there was coffee and bagels and juice where previously there was only the remnants of the Guinness VS Cider Bottle Battle... said hottie houseguest was ecstatic--apparently in her neighborhood they have no bagels. She had partaken of the Z. place on previous occasions and was pleased to see the spread. Point for Petey!!

second series

Now that kiddies, is a pretty hunk of man meat. A big ole meat with meat flavored meat sauce hunk of hockey god.
#40 Henrik "Hank" Zetterberg

wanna be a porn star? or go for a swim?

It doesn't have quite the same ring as my tag line "This morning in the Freep" so I won't say "the last couple of afternoons in the Ypsilanti Edition of the Ann Arbor News" okay? But I do want to share the fact that I seem to be surrounded by crazy folk.
here is the intro from an article in Monday's paper...
"Ann Arbor distance swimmer Liz Elling has an unusual trip planned this summer.In July, she'll swim the length of the Huron River, from its headwaters area, starting at Proud Lake in Oakland County, winding through Livingston and Washtenaw counties and finishing at Lake Erie. Swim the mighty Huron? The same river beleaguered by E. coli, algae, runoff and other pollutants, into which multiple wastewater treatment plants discharge? The watercourse that slows to a trickle in many sections during summer's heat? Swim?"

Is she nuts?? Okay, first of all-- she can't actually swim the *whole* thing because at some spots it is only like ankle deep! and at other bits the pollution could be fatal. This reminds me of the pioneering wife of Asa Dow who after traveling from Detroit in a canoe with her milk cow got out in what would be come Riverside Park and kissed the ground. Can you imagine? And yes she wore full skirts and petticoats (I've read her diary at the Bently) I don't even want to ride from Detroit to Ypsi in a canoe let alone with a cow. I understand and support Ms. Elling's mission statement (which is to point out how bad the environment actually is) but I think I would wear a haz mat suit.

sheesh

Then yesterday Petey took great pains to stop laughing long enough to share this tidbit written by Amalie Nash News Staff Reporter --
"People stumble upon racy photos Cross-dressing exhibitionist gets attention of Ann Arbor police with pictures left around town" The photos show a man in a platinum blonde wig, dark sunglasses, long formal gloves and women's lingerie - sometimes leaving little to the imagination. On at least four occasions in the past two months, such pictures were left in two Ann Arbor parks and two residents' yards. The photos depict the man in at least two different outfits and varying poses.
Ann Arbor police say they suspect the man in the photos is leaving them around town himself, hoping to shock the people who find them.

Oi vey! Don't we have dance clubs for that?

YAY Red Wings!

HA! suck it Flames!! (sorry Mac, btw what the f were you thinking with that mohawk? Dude your hair is curly!?!) I hate Amonte. I am so glad they won!

Pete stayed up. I died at the end of regulation. I was like-- I'll just listen but I was OUT--dreamland where Hank sweeps me off my feet and we drink champagne outta Lord Stanley's cup. Two overtimes later (that is 40 minutes for you heretics) my boys have completed round one. In celebration I made a thing. I am calling it "the puck"-- leftover ho-made chocolate pound cake on the bottom, chocolate custard, real whipped cream and raspberries (had to get some red in there somewhere.

so who is next do ya 'spose? Prly the Sharks. Ick.

celebrating Shakespeare's 443rd birthday

Shakespeare died 391 years ago. The symmetry of his birth/death dates is poetic. The baptismal register of the Holy Trinity parish church in Stratford, England (Not Canada!) shows this entry for April 26, 1564:

Gulielmus filius Johannes Shakespeare.

But assuming she had the kid a couple of days earlier--enh--imprecise at best, but, traditionally, April 23, that is today--St George's Day, has been Shakespeare's accepted birthday.

The house on Henley Street in Stratford, owned by William's father, John, is "accepted" as Shakespeare's birth place.

Not that I have ever visited this tourist trap. However, the reality is that no one really knows when my personal god was born, NOR can they substantially argue that he wasn't actually Edward de Vere Earl of Oxford (I actually got a new bio of him last week on sale at Borders! sweet! guess what i am doing today)

According to the Book of Common Prayer, it was required that babies be baptized on the nearest Sunday or holy day following their birth, unless the parents had a legit excuse. (like they had to make gloves or reconnoiter with Aliens) As Dennis Kay proposes in his book --
If Shakespeare was indeed born on Sunday, April 23, the next feast day would have been St. Mark's Day on Tuesday the twenty-fifth. and mebbe they didn't go into town because it seemed ominous--shit sometimes it snows in April, maybe the roads were bad

There might well have been some reasonable cause -- or perhaps, as it has been suggested, St. Mark's Day was held to be unlucky, & as it had been before the Reformation, when altars and crucifixes used to be routinely draped in black cloth, and when some seers had claimed to see in the churchyard-- the doomed spirits of those who died in that past year. . . .but that does not help us explain why the christening was held on the 26th.

Speaking of medieval church yards...Yew trees (Mmmm longbows..... No wait.. I am off topic)

Anywho--No doubt Shakespeare's true birthday will remain a mystery forever. Only his mom knows fer sure & I'll bet she forgot about 15 years later. But the popular assumption among we geeks is that the Bard was born on the same day of the month that he died--well it lends an esoteric blip to the missing details of Shakespeare's life. He died on 23 April 1616 at the age of 52, prly of the plague--or just...being old.

Seriously--Edward deVere--it makes more sense....

NeoFaustus

WMU does Faust in 3-D!!!
Kit Marlowe, because of his bar room associations with my boy, has always been a playwright I have enjoyed reading. I first read his play Faust in Dr. Ray's class at UoM-F. I didn't remember it being sooo smutty. But Dr Ray was a tiny little bowtie wearing guy and I'm not surprised he focused our undergrad asses on the more alchemic and socio/political aspects of the play then the "hiding" of one's goblet in one's trousers aspects.

So for multiple reasons-- last night we drove over to Kzoo and had a lovely dinner with Kate and Victoria, Cat and Kassia and Kelly and Ingrid (oh there were boys there too but they didn't seem to want to gossip about wedding dresses or oogle Victoria's beeeutiful engagement ring) then we split for the play.

Holy shit! What a wonderful production!

It was brilliant!! Kate was so excited about the grant the Western Mich. University theatre dept. received that enabled the stop motion photography. Remember the behind the scenes DVD stuff of LoTR and Gollum? They had that shit going down live!(Thus the 3-d glasses) SOO freaking cool--all the computer geeks were *very* impressed. The massive backdrop which was the "monitor" for some often very impressive animation that was performed by puppeteer Shannon McPhee. Ghosts and good/bad angels, swirling icons and scary montages. SWEET! Totally accessible for the kidlets...Zoli was in fact literally on the edge of his seat.

Faustus was played by a talented senior named Seth Miller who did the mad scientist thing brilliantly. But folks, really the reason we were there (and dragged the kids along) our darling boy Dave Emmert was performing the role of Mephistophilis. Kate's costuming students had decided on a very cool Matrix-esque cotehardie, Black with buttons (yeah I was happy) and he had some sweet evil red glowy glasses and his hair all corn rowed into an evil V. The costume rocked in a very modernistic interpretation. when I had first heard they were going to add some "hip flav" to this classic text, I admit, I was unnecessarily nervous. Happily there was consistent and exquisite delivery...I am so glad they didn't fuck with the text. No corny slang interpretations or bastardization of the original text. I am a purist. I was pleased. One area that did improve mightily on the original was the music.

The soundtrack was awesome--Tom Waits,Van Halen (Running w/ the Devil!!! duh!) Bowie and NiN--totally rocking which allowed the chorus to writhe around in hot goth club garb being all "devilish" and college kid hard bods. Kate shared an anecdote of asking what piercings and ink the kids already had that they could complement and build off of. I want the alchemic symbol for copper tattooed on my arm!

The clowns were hilarious and the perfect counterpoint to the mind boggling philosophy with which Faust struggles. But Emmert stole the show. His casual chain smoking and acerbic comments as he skulked around the edges of Faust's fame and success we so perfectly on. A hitman in the shadows. Faust is partying w/kings and dead generals--but Mephistophilis just bides his time--hitting a flask or exhaling cigarette smoke at the perfect moment.

When we got to congratulate David afterward he said and I quote "It was nice to get to be a bad ass." and dude he did it sooo well. I know the few of you who know Emmert see him as our teddy bear kinda guy, all clowny hugs and sweet smiles..but he pulled this role off absolutely perfectly. Disdainful, hip, detached and elegant. Dark and evil gliding like the fallen angel he needed to be.

Well Done David. well done. I am so proud.

Girls Vs Boys

In that past when young boys have gathered in my house I have only slightly dreaded the "funk" that follows them. When they conglomerated after school in the living room, game controls in hand..I knew what to expect, a warm sweat sock sort of armpit hormone smell that demand the windows be opened. When my boys had sleep overs (that never included sleeping) I learned to kick them outside occasionally and managed the miasma of "boyfunk" well enough. I knew this enemy and could gird my self accordingly...

But last night my battle plans were thrown askew and a threatening "pinkhaze" settled in my living room.

One dad, after dropping off his guest, hovered. We discussed the upcoming terror of dating and joked about chastity belts and accompanying the girls on group "dates". Neither of us mentioned the "p" word but it was there skulking like a dark shadow in the bright pink cloud forming on the front yard. The girlies giggled and squealed harmlessly. Their beloved math teacher happened to drive by and unknowing launched a discussion of how handsome her new husband is. I listened and smiled. Finally--

Seven little girls--ages 7-9, all hopped up on soda and ice cream... were finally ensconced in their sleeping bags with enough new makeup to keep Tammy Faye glamorous for at least two weeks. Swirling between the scents of bubble gum, raspberry lip gloss, faux strawberry, cake frosting, and the freshly unbottled nail polish, eye shadow and the squeals of "Jesse MacCarty is SOOOOOO cUUUUUTe" there was a pervasive under current of something that is usually quite under-represented at Chateau Bain Chaud,...It was the smell of ..estrogen. A not yet ripe smell of feminine promise that grew steadily more terrifying as the evening wore on.

The only moment of unmitigated PINK relief was when the girls launched a burping contest that put awe into the gathered adults. How can 40 lbs of girl resonate so voluminously? Amazing.

check for "sleepover" photos in the album

deep breath-- with 1 hour to go

Pink balloons (inflated and beribboned) CHECK
cake (choc. w/white fluffy frosting and purple sprinkles) & rocky road ice cream (real ice cream not frogurt okay Mom? It melts funny) CHECK
six cute little baskets of beads, bracelets and spring timey favors--CHECK
six little RSVPS (with sleeping bags) CHECK
pink table cloth, festive flowery plates (pizza size AND cake size) & napkins etc-- mint green plastic ware CHECK
note: (I did *not* buy 60 lavender "beer cups" tho I picked them up and felt very clever for about two minutes until I realized that despite their being on clearance ($1.99 for 60 sturdy cups!) those of us who actually drink beer would probably NOT appreciate pastel cups... so I put them back.
Pizza --CHECK
"Flicka" and "National Velvet" on DVD-- CHECK
eight bottles of IZZI soda -- CHECK
Scotch guard the rug....errr I knew I forgot something!!!

Just kidding--it'll be fun---wish me luck

When 'Harry Potter' books became famous, so did fans

This morning in the FREEP...
April 20, 2007 BY HILLEL ITALIE A.P.
Emerson Spartz remembers the good old days. It was Fall 1999, Spartz was 12 and he decided to create a little Web site about a hot new series of fantasy books, the Harry Potter craze was just beginning.

"The sites were very primitive, especially compared to modern Harry Potter sites," says Spartz, founder of www.mugglenet.com, one of the leading Potter sites. "The biggest Web sites were updated a couple times a week at most, and other than message boards, there was no interactivity between fans."
Like J.K. Rowling herself, Potter fan sites didn't start out to make history. They popped up like so many variations of "Wayne's World," operated on the cheap by "teenage kids out of their basements," Spartz recalls.
It's been 10 years since readers met the boy wizard in Rowling's first book, "Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone." More than 300 million copies later, the Potter series ends July 21 when Scholastic Inc. releases the seventh adventure, "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows."

Spartz and his many fellow Webmasters are looking back at their own place on the record-breaking ride. The story of Potter has all along been a story of its fans, and, like everything else about Potter, the fan sites are in a special class.
"The Potter sites set the standard," says Anthony Ziccardi, vice president and deputy publisher for rival Pocket Books, an imprint of Simon & Schuster that releases "Star Trek" paperbacks.
"The thing about the Potter phenomenon is that it has a huge, active fan base, both young and old, with a lot of teenagers. ... The Potter sites really stand out -- they're like a marketing machine."
The Potter sites have long advanced from the slow pace, simple texts and dull backgrounds of the early years, and now have all the latest accessories: blogs, podcasts, audio and video. They no longer just comment on the news, but participate. Rowling has praised the sites by name, granted them rare interviews, even used one site, the Harry Potter Lexicon (www.hp-lexicon.org), to check facts.

Warner Bros. has invited Spartz and others to the sets of Potter films and premieres, valuing their expertise and their access to so many fans.

Melissa Anelli, the Webmaster for http:www.the-leaky-cauldron.org, has been part of the Potter world since 2001, not long after Leaky started, "as a means for a few friends to keep track of all the news about Harry Potter." The first Potter film was coming out, as was the fourth Potter book, so they experimented with a relatively new Web tool: a blog.
"It was a one-page blog, with no other features but news. It had a blue background and Halloween orange text," recalls the 27-year-old Anelli, a freelance journalist who lives in New York.

Anelli estimates there are some 3 million to 4 million Potter sites in dozens of languages, including French, Spanish, Russian, Mandarin and Hebrew. Like a small town exploding into a vast metropolis, the Potter boom drove some of the pioneers out, including Mike Gray, an early member of Harry Potter for Grownups, a Web site founded in the late 1990s.
"Somewhere along the line, I noticed that participating in a list with more than 10,000 members didn't really ring my bell -- and that being responsible for people whose bells were thusly rung probably wasn't my calling."

Web sites helped start the international Potter obsession and kept it going when Rowling took three years -- 2000-2003 -- to write Potter V, "Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix," driving fans to tear "their hair out in anticipation," Anelli recalls. She also cites the first Potter movie, "Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone," which came out in 2001.
"That's when fans needed a stronger visual fix of Potter; they wanted to see more pictures of the celebrities, they wanted to read about them and see clips from the films," she says. Potter sites have been counting down to the big night in July and will likely stay around well after Rowling moves on. Two more movies are planned after this summer's release of "Order of the Phoenix," and a thriving genre of Potter fan fiction remains, with readers not waiting for "Deathly Hallows" to imagine how they would continue the story.

beginning & end

by the way--In the second clip I am in the crowd to the far right. Just in front of Kassia

If you can't see Faust at WMU---

S U N D A Y , A P R I L 2 2 :
Earth Day Festival 2007
at the Botanical Gardens

Celebrate our natural world at Ann Arbor's annual Earth Day Festival on Sunday, April 22, from noon to 4 pm at U-M's Matthaei Botanical Gardens, 1800 N. Dixboro Road, Ann Arbor. This FREE family-friendly event features hands-on activities from local non-profit organizations, live animal demonstrations, alternative fuel vehicles, live entertainment, and an opportunity to explore miles of nature trails and breathtaking outdoor gardens.

Don't miss the 2 pm “All Species Parade.” Dress up as your favorite animal or plant or whatever (you can make a costume on-site at The Scrap Box activity table) and strut your diverse species stuff! Or, get your face painted and just watch the fun!

The day's entertainment lineup showcases the “Bubbleman” and musician Joe Reilly. Leslie Science Center will offer birds of prey presentations with River Raisin Raptors. Don't miss your chance to meet these healthy, non-releasable birds up close and discover what makes them hunters of the sky.

Earth Day admission is FREE due to generous grants from Whole Foods Market and Clif Bar. Pilar's Catering and Silvio's Organic Pizza will sell light concession refreshments. Make sure to stop by the registration table and pick up an orientation map and passport to guide you through the festival's activities.

The Environmental Education Network of Washtenaw, including coordinators from the Ecology Center and several other area non-profit organizations, co-sponsor and plan the annual celebration. Our goal is to make the festival an experience for youth and their families to enjoy while discovering new ways to make Earth Day every day! For more information, call Matthaei Botanical Gardens at (734) 647-7600.

How many black t-shirts does one girl need?

a tree house

On Minnetonka Ave in Minneapolis we saw this amazing structure. Apparently not only does the creator give tours but he actually wanted to live in this fantastic thing. I don't blame him at all--but I guess it wasn't up to code with some plumbing or something, so it is just a "play house".

Peanut & the birthday thing

LOOK!! at that hairbow. I had nothing to do with it! Yesterday was Isabel's 9th birthday. She made it to school despite the Birthday Fairy making the traditional Breakfast plate drop.

We took cupcakes (that matched her outfit!) with sprinkles into school at the end of the day. She made sure one got to the art teacher and her principal. Then after a couple more hours with her loot (including loving her very own Capt Jack Sparrow sound effect sword! Tom, you are a genius) She chose a restaurant for dinner (another Chez Bain Chaud tradition) and we headed out to Paesano's. I got the pork tenderloin stuffed with morels which was so incredibly delicious I ate the whole freaking giant fighter guy size portion. That was a massive mistake because I also had to get ginger lime cheesecake--for two reasons 1.) I gave birth 9 years ago and 2.) because they make their own desserts and that is gonna be a flavor I want to try and recreate. By the time we got home I was in a food coma. But not Iz--

It seems that being a foodiegrrl is indeed a hereditary thing-- as Isabel decide to forgo the suggested kiddy ice cream after her favorite spaghetti & meatball entree and headed into the "grown up" dessert zone. Girlfriend got flourless chocolate cake with raspberry sauce. And she literally lost her mind. I suppose that it didn't hurt that it came with a sparkler--but she was sooo funny!! It might have been a a moment that should have been private. She was bouncing up and down and absolutely writhing with happy tastebuds! She was trying to explain how the crisp edge of the creamy dark chocolate had the raspberry sauce "just on it--right there!". It was comical because her eyes were closed and her head was tipped sideways and she was kinda floating above the seat. Slightly discomforting and hilarious to watch--all at the same time!

whirlwind weekend

I'm so damn tired. I took a nap. (ME!! I never nap) It was Isabel's first plane ride. Friday we arrived in Minneapolis, there aren't that many differences between Detroit and MSP. Okay, they have a lot less pollution/litter and we get excited about one coyote wandering downtown while they are pretty blase about their wildlife, turkeys, elk farms (for pets or meat!) and I saw at least ten deer IN THE CITY!! Like on people's front yards.

Apparently there is also a much larger flock of fey folk than one would guess. Isabel and her older and wiser friend Ele (age 12.5) managed to get seven bites on their strawberry bait. AND these Minneapolis fairies?--they communicate with water splashes!!

Then the SCA event, Saturday. Besides seeing so many darling friends I haven't seen in over a year I finally got to meet Roz. She,Tariq and I have much mischief planned for Crown in Korsvag next month!!

We had a king&queen stepping down, a knighting, a court baroness and a well deserved laureling--AND finally a brand new King and queen stepping up. All very emotional and surprisingly exhausting.
THEN on Sunday a lovely parasite party--er... I mean baby shower that was absolutely silly & fun. There are a ton of pics at my .mac account.

unstuck in time

16 years

The Detroit Red Wings have made the play offs for the last 16 years.

I do love hockey. It is so ...simple. Get the puck in the net. The players are lithe, strong, smart, protective--loyal. The speed of this game is intoxicating. The grace and finesse of a perfectly executed play, makes me sigh with admiration. Each player must play his position--the team won't function with a bunch of cherry pickers, but there is room in this ballet for a stunning break away or some creative individuality. And the adrenaline rush of the defensive line--that has got to be my favorite thing.

Watch the defensive line. The big guys (fit powerhouses of aerobic energy--not giant fat asses like baseball pitchers or football linebackers) guard the goalie. They do this, in part-- by antagonizing the other team. Eventually there will be a fight, you can't get that much testosterone rolling without somebody blowing a fuse. A penalty doesn't get called, somebody implying that somebody else's mom wears Doc Martens for skates... and then... the dance--two players circling around each other. Chests heaving, sweat glistening (yeah Paula I said glistening)--eyes glaring into each other--like Prize fighters looking for the opening in their opponents guard. ex Wing Brendan Shannahan in particular is a joy to watch "settle a disagreement". This guy has an energy around him that was compelling--the anticipation of the first punch...the throwing aside of the gloves--bare fist in hockey baby-- the last quick lunge forward (on skates yet!) and the predator tears into the meat.

Or my boy Darren McCarty (also now an ex Wing) watching him fight the bad guy. What a freaking powerhouse of animosity, revenge and instinct. But sadly he has moved on and ironically we play his new team Calgary tonight. (I am pretty sure we can clear this round). I enjoyed being a Mac fan, and there was some trauma for me when he left. I questioned my own loyalty. I have no problem cheering for the Canadian teams and once the Wings are out (cuz I don't think we will make it this year) I will always chose a CA team over some crappy ass expansion team...poor Quebec. But I had to decide was it Mac the individual-- or my wings that I would follow.

The Red Wings which I watched all through high school? (one boyfriend became an ex boyfriend when he used the phrase "dead wings"--jerk. It was hard to be a WingNut in the 80's.) Fandom was not very pretty back then. Stevie was young and had to get his shit together. Then when Scotty retired. I was a little funky. But tonight-- Nick is a beautiful specimen of Swedish manhood, a warrior, a leader and god he has the most beautiful blue eyes. When he skates backward??, yeah-- all is right with the world... and my boy Hank should be back on the ice tonight.

I am a Red Wings Fan.

100 bottles of butterbeer

ONLY 100 more days till HP and The Deathly Hallows!! How long can it take to proof, print, bind, pack, and ship 12 million books??...come on people --hustle!!! Scholastic announced last month that is was gonna go green and use at least 30% recycled paper which is freaking awesome (it should be higher) cuz each book is 784 pages (the adult UK cover has 608 I believe). I'll bet my fellow HP fiend HotttCheryl and her boss Mr. Levine are bustin ass right now. Man, talk about a dream job. I am completely envious of Cheryl's position as Arthur Levine's right hand woman. Who wouldn't want to be involved in this project? wow.

and now for something only marginally off topic: Because of my incredibly generous and brilliant inlaws gift card--I was recently able to get the remainder of the first editions I needed to complete my collection of Adult UK covers. It was a bit of work though as there is now some newish sort of trade agreement that will not allow English language books to be shipped overseas to other English language countries. WHAT?? oh fer ...(this has to be W's fault) Amazon UK tried to explain it but I ended getting the four books from Canada instead. I now have all six adult Uk covers. YAY ME!!

I am only slightly bummed that my editions of books 5 & 6 are actually from Bloomsbury; and thus have ONLY the spiff little archer logo and that 1-4 (the new acquisitions) have the little umbrella from Raincoast as a n additional printer's mark on the spine.

I'm havin a moment

Hill?? or Barack?? He was on Letterman last night. He looked pretty good. She voted for the war. I used to think she was the answer.

Stoopiddawg

Bree is crazy. Most of my darling readers know she is crazy and are here because of her adventures hunting bats last spring. Bree is a Jack Russell "Terriorist"--a breed that was bred to "go to ground". which translates into American as--obsessively compulsive or fixated. She has an instinctual need to dig.
She also has apparently swallowed an alarm clock because she KNOWS when it is time to walk. Spring Break means nothing to her. If it is 8 am I need to be putting on my walking shoes and getting the leash or there is gonna be some serious high pitched whining.
Doesn't matter that 8 is when Isabel needs to leave for school or even that school isn't in session--or that it is currently raining. She will tug on my clothes and whimper most piteously. Damn it!! she is gonna go play in the woods!! Run like a little maniac and jump over fallen trees and dig out rabbits and moles. Splash in the swamp and burn out all of her little crazed doggie energy. Upon returning home the doggies get fed and they watch me do my yoga (imagine if you can two very confused little doggies w/the RCA head tilt thing going on) and then they take a three hour nap.
life is rough.

today's fan art find

Ah--the dark mark.
The only tattoo that communicates as a "come hither" alarm. Literally--Moldysnort uses it to tag everybody and command their immediate presence and all those cute Syltherin boys seem to have it. alas--I am still the only mom on the pool deck with no ink--but this dear reader is VERY tempting. The artist has a clever byline on TLC and I thought it would be fun to share. The screen name is Gondoline Oliphant -(1720 - 1799) Famous for studies of life and habits of trolls. Clubbed to death in the Cotswolds while sketching.

ooh... how lovely

In Chris Moore's vash novel, A DIRTY JOB which I highly recommend--there are some minor characters that have completely won over my twisted little heart. PLEASE go to this page and enjoy these fanciful little darlings.

They have such amazing detail, I am fond of the Edwardian and the Elizabethean in particular.

rational adult

Despite what several of you believe, I am a rational adult. Balanced (or at least aware that I am trying to be balanced!) mature...(rofl) capable of self control (unless a tornado is sucking up my tent) And...I am concerned. You see Darling Reader,

I know other adults who are obsessed with Harry Potter. MORE THAN ME. and these people are actually crying NOW. We still have over 100 days till we get our hands on Book 7!! The realization that the series is finished has them in tears, like sobbing and blowing snot crying jag tears. OVER THE COVER ART! Perhaps it is the cold cynical influence of my husband but I did not 'cry' persay, when DD got off-ed (one may argue I was perhaps too concerned with Buckbeak--Witherwings what ever the fuck his name is scratching my Severus). I did not weep when Sirius went through the veil. I DID have to shut the book and take a deep breath when Molly was trying to get the Boggart out of the writing desk and sees Ron's bod on the carpet. But I didn't cry.

I am worried that somebody who is openly weeping at this stage is going to be inconsolable when they finish Deathly Hallows. Like they may need prozac... or at least a 2-day drunk.

I recently participated in a conversation wherein we debated the question:
"Can people call in sick (mental health day) because they finished a book?" Oh come ON! Cowboy Up people. It is a book.

A lovely book true, but you don't get to call in sick because you are sad. I predict that therapists across the world are going to have to create a new syndrome. Post Potter Grief Disorder. These readers are somewhere between the stages of grief (denial anger acceptance etc) and a complete lack of common sense. Their WHOLE WORLD revolves around these books. I mean I am having a lot of fun, but I am blessed to have too much free time coupled with being a professional Lit.Geek,(dude I have a degree! I am trained to analyze literature.) I am excited to realize that we are alive during a very significant time in the history of children's literature. Rowling will be right up there with Milne, Tolkien and E.B. White.
You bet yer ass I am protecting the first editions. Who wouldn't want their grandma's first edition copy of Pooh Bear? I am a book collector tho--and I can understand that other people do not get wet panties at the sight of a first run hardcover signed by the author. I'll own that the label of "over enthusiastic fangirl" would be applicable to MY HOBBY, but I do not anticipate a need for medication or time off work.

I'm a little scared for these people. Be kind to them.

Chris Moore=VASH god

What a funny guy! He has written several books that really appeal to me. I found him because of a prominent ad in NY Times book bit (my fave part of Sunday). The bright blue cover art of "YOU SUCK" caught my eye and I promptly purchased it with my loverly border's b-day card. I heart my dad in law--he is a smart&generous man.

This "Vash" (faithful readers will recall *I* termed the phrase to indicate a beloved new genre of Vampire oriented fluff. A category that does not include Bram Stoker nor even Anne Rice (she takes herself waaay too seriously... I think she would be offended by our application of Vash to her style) but does embrace authors such as Charlaine Harris or Mary Janice Davidson. Their fellow-- Chris Moore, has a new spin on this story telling. His main character is not a spunky adult female , but is indeed a 19 year old boy. "YOU SUCK" was hilarious and sent me down the obsessive trail of too much time and I have pretty much devoured 3/4 of his canon. Pete too has become enamored as I would read the best of the funny bits out loud, more often that not with tears streaming down my face. A DIRTY JOB, seems to me to be the best by far and BLOODSUCKING FIENDS is just so-so. I just finished LAMB, last night. Just in time for LOST (whew!) After watching this clip last weekend I was surprised to see what disconnected space cadet he is. It gives me hope for my own book.

girl after my own heart

I swear I didn't write this ( I should have..but sadly I didn't) this article.

RIP Mr. Shine

My hero.

snapey-poo

I think I am in love! SWEET SHIT.

more fan art from tlc

Zoli's awesome Sunday

It isn't every kid that gets a parade on their birthday! Sunday was of course April Fool's Day and Z takes his personal holiday very seriously. Much to all of our delight, so do the Street Art People. The first ever Festifools was a roaring success! It was as if Steve Pace and a Renfairy had a bastard love child who was raised in a papier mache factory. It was a giant puppet dance. A party complete with two live bands. (well a plastic bucket drum line & the world's tiniest brass line).

My archery buddy Wendy, She too is short, shoots a long bow, likes to play dress up and has a house full of men w/ one named Peter. AND! She likes Chinese food!, so she had tipped me off ...and actually tried to get some volunteer time out of me- but ya'll know I got no volunteer left. Anyway-- we went into Asquared to support her (she was one of the fencing fairies--all in black I might add) and to check out this new thing.

One of my favorite participants was the flying trout. He was stuffed with helium balloons and wafted quite nicely in the breeze. I ended up taking over 150 shots of that lovely sunny afternoon. Izzy was having an "artgasm" (her father's term not mine!) and it was such a stimulus overload that Zoli and Evan were temporarily jarred out of their faux cynical/pretend disaffected attitudes to smile and clap. So, next year if Wendy asks for help I am all over it! Click on the link to my .mac albums to see some spectacular shtuff!