Kat's Rantings, Ravings and Whatever

Post #2 of 2012 - So Exciting!

2012-01-24T17:41:00.003-05:00

Oy vey, work's killing me. I'm not happy about it at all. Another 11 hour day and I could still be there I have so much work to do. I didn't even have time to eat my lunch today. I brought it back home and ate it for dinner.

For the first time ever, I made a New Year's Resolution...which I'm failing at miserably. My resolution is to knit for myself more. I have a ton of yarn that I've bought specifically for me, bought/found patterns which I want to make for me, etc., and so far, not so good.

Part of the issue is work. The other is all the people in my life having babies. I've already finished one baby blanket (co-worker's baby was due today). The second baby is due at the end of February (another co-worker) and I'm waiting for the pink yarn to show up (I don't generally buy pink yarn, as I don't like pink). Then there's my cousin's baby shower in March (it won't be done by then), and then a co-worker whose baby is due in May (yay, a boy, so I don't to knit with pink yarn), and then one more co-worker whose baby is due in July. *sigh*

I've told some people pointblank that they're not allowed to get pregnant, because I just don't have time to knit for them, dammit.

I have yet to finish my SIL's scarf from 2010 Christmas. *sigh* I hope she's forgotten about it and it'll be a surprise when I do finish it.

I signed up with my Knitting Guild's Sneaky Sheep (think Secret Santa, but not at Christmas) which means I'll have to knit something for someone. I think it's due at April's meeting. Let's hope I have time to complete whatever I end up knitting.

This past weekend I went to the Redford Theatre to see Forbidden Planet with a bunch of friends. I had never seen it, and I'm glad I went - I liked it. Only $4, plus reasonable prices at the snack/candy counter...and real butter for popcorn. The weekend before that I went to the Detroit Film Theater (DFT) at the Detroit Institute of Arts to see a restored "Director's Cut" of Touch of Evil with Orson Welles and Charlton Heston. This coming Saturday I have plans to head back to the DFT, this time to see Andrei Rublev, which is a film I've wanted to see for a long time! It's 305 minutes long!!! I'm pretty sure there will be an intermission or two. And since it's a matinee, it should only be $4. Gotta love economic prices.

Okay, I'm giving up on this post, as it's really difficult to type with Igor laying across my arms. Good thing he's cute. I hope you're all well.

Happy New Year - 2012

2012-01-07T13:15:00.002-05:00

Greetings, all (or none). I can't believe it's been a year and a half since I last posted. Where does the time go? I know that in my case it seemed to go to work. 2011 was insane, work-wise. Other than Mondays during the first half of the year, I don't remember leaving the employer's building on time. And from the first week of this year, it appears 2012 is not going to be any better. Yay...not. I'm a peon working manager-like hours without anywhere near manager-like money. I can't even keep up with the shows on my DVR - hard to do when all you do is work and sleep.

Oh yeah, I bought a house in 2011 as well...which was bizarre as I have never wanted a house. I never wanted to cut grass, garden, etc. And now I have one. It's a bit surreal to me still. It's a gorgeous 1920-built Sears Craftsman house which somehow has a maximum of gorgeous woodwork with a minimum amount that has been painted over the years. MIRACLE!!!

The living room had been painted a cobalt blue but had beige curtains, so that had to change. My furniture is olive green with burgundy/maroon flecks. It's now painted a very soft sage (with the beige curtains, it looked beige) and I have sage green gauzy curtains which my friend Joi made for me. It's the room in which I spend the most even though the bigger TV is in the second bedroom - I like looking out my front windows, especially when I have put peanuts out on the front porch ledge for the squirrels. I have a fabulous front porch which once spring comes will have a swing (it had one when I bought it but the previous owners took it ;-( ) as my sister and mother are getting me one as a housewarming gift. I was hoping to have it last Fall, but it didn't happen. Today's so nice I could actually sit outside (almost 50F) - crazy weather for January in Michigan. And I'm not complaining. In fact, it could stay in the 40s until about March and then start getting warm and I'd be a happy camper.

I could show you pictures, but I'm not sure I've taken any. I'll put it on my list of things to do. In the meantime, I think a short post is a good way to get started....let's see how long this lasts.

Sweet Video

2010-08-04T07:13:00.001-04:00

This Year Can't Get Any Worse

2010-04-12T17:40:00.003-04:00

I was really really really hoping to give you all good news, but my beloved Grandma aka Shortstuff passed away last Wednesday morning early. I knew she doesn't doing well when I left Tuesday night (around 1:00 a.m., so I guess it was really Wednesday morning), but I wasn't expecting the phone call from the YS around 3:35 a.m. saying that Grandma was going...her breathing was shallow. Not even five minutes later, she called me to say that Grandma was gone.

The rest of the week is pretty much a blur of family, funeral home, airport, church, cemetery and condo (Grandma's). I'm exhausted and beyond sad.

Thank you for all your prayers and hugs and good thoughts. They meant the world to me.

My Beloved Grandma

2010-03-25T08:02:00.002-04:00

Dear Friends,

I honestly had meant to be a more consistent blogger, but life keeps getting in the way. On February 22nd, we had a massive snowstorm here in the metropolitan Detroit area. The snow was super wet and heavy. And we all know what that means. A former co-worker (who took the buyout 2-3 years ago, but was working for a supplier) dropped dead of a heart attack. I had just seen him at the end of January at our Haitian Earthquake Relief Bake Sale and Craft Show. He had thrown $20 into the jar and took a scarf that I had made. I got the phone call Tuesday morning and I heard what Charles said but it wasn't computing, so I made him repeat everything. I couldn't deal with it so soon after Ed, so I made him go to our resident from that supplier and verify (he had gotten a phone call from a former supplier who was in Texas, of all places, so I was hoping he got his wires crossed or something). Harry verified it and I just put my head down on my desk and sobbed. My two cube-mates were quite taken aback and just gave me a hug.

Once again, I had a sympathy card at my desk and was collecting money for flowers and his 12-year-old daughter's education. Jim was truly one of the good guys – just like Ed – it seems so unfair. I can name three people off the top of my head who have proven by actions that they don't give a rat's ass about their children and they're still walking around while Ed & Jim who loved their children, as a father should, are now gone.

Turned out that Jim had stayed home from work that day because his daughter didn't have school and his wife had something going on at work that she couldn't miss. And even though they owned a snow blower, Jim decided to shovel. He had finished his property and was helping a neighbor lady. They had actually finished and the neighbor was putting the shovels away when she turned around and Jim was on the ground. At the funeral, there was a lady sitting in the third pew who just lost in when the priest talked about how Jim was always helping someone, whether it was his parents, siblings or the neighbors. I felt so sorry for her.

I was writing up something about Jim when I could do it without crying (still can't, for the record), but then last Monday (March 15th), I got a phone call from my Mom at work around 7:00 a.m. She was crying and could barely talk, but she said that Grandma was in the hospital (she had gone in Saturday) and was in respiratory distress and had signed a DNR (do not resuscitate). Now, I know Grandma's 91, but to me she's not old. She's still cute as a button and none of the nurses or hospital staff believed she was 91 and all commented on how beautiful her skin is (she swears by Estee Lauder).

You guys all know how much I love my Grandma as I wrote an entire post about her a few years ago. So, I called my boss in tears and he could barely understand me as I told him that I was heading to the hospital. By the time I got there, she was doing much better, although she was on a BiPap machine. It's similar to a C-Pap machine that people who have sleep apnea wear at night. There's a mask that sucks to her face and blows oxygen into her nose and mouth. Turns out that she had had a respiratory distress episode on Saturday morning (which is how she ended up in the hospital) and then again Sunday morning. The decision was made that she wear the BiPap machine at night since that's when her breathing is the worst.

Oh yeah, Grandma's problem is that she can't breathe properly because due to her osteoporosis she's lost a good 8" in height which leaves that much less room in her chest cavity for all her organs, and her lungs can't fully inflate. Essentially, as the doctor told us that morning, there is nothing they can do to cure her, all they can do is treat the symptoms. He suggested that we talk to the palliative care nurse. She came by a bit later and talked to Grandma, asking what Grandma's goals were. Grandma said, "I'm not ready to leave these people yet."

She spent most of the day telling us to go to work. We told her that work was getting along fine without us. Then when evening came she tried to tell us to go home. We out-voted her on that one.

By Wednesday, however, she was planning her funeral and had told the same nurse that she was tired and ready to go. Thursday she told us that she hadn't expected to still be here, because she felt so poorly on Wednesday. And while she was still planning her funeral, she was still planning on being here for my YS's wedding in May. She said, "YS, I don't think I'll be able to walk you down the aisle." YS is planning on my Mom and Grandma walking her down the aisle, since we all know the FF isn't even invited. I told her that that was okay because we had a contingency plan for that. The middle Terror Child would push her down the aisle in a wheelchair. Grandma was cool with that, and said, "Oh good."

It was such a scare, though, that all the out-of-towners flew in and we had a mini-family reunion at the hospital. The YS and AP flew in Monday. The LB and AC arrived on Tuesday. BE was supposed to come in the same day but she was flying stand-by and got stuck in Chicago. Thankfully, I have cousins in Chicago, so BE stayed with her nieces, nephew-in-law and grand-niece, and she finally arrived on Wednesday. AK wasn't going to come in because she had bronchitis and a sinus infection, but UJ called her on Wednesday after the second meeting with the palliative care nurse and told her that she should think about coming. AK had talked to Grandma on Monday and explained that she couldn't come, but if Grandma was ready to go that she could go. Well, Grandma kept counting her children and coming up one short and she really wanted AK there.

Of course, trying to get an airline ticket at that short of notice was impossible unless AK and UD wanted to pay around $2000 apiece. Someone finally called Southwest (at my urging, because I love Southwest) and the Southwest agent was able to get them here via a most circuitous route for less than $700 apiece. They flew all day Thursday and got in late Thursday night. I managed to get the bronchitis I had been fighting all winter by this point and felt pretty rotten on Friday. I went to work for three hours (I had a few things to do), then went home to an hour nap before going to my 1:45 dr.'s appt. which was conveniently just a few miles from the hospital where Grandma was. I had to wear a mask, so that I wouldn't get her any sicker.

She's so cute that she was constantly yelling at my brother to go home (he's been suffering from some mysterious lung ailment for the past two months and just feels awful all the time) and when I came down with bronchitis, she kept telling me to go home.

We had Mass in her room on Saturday morning with Fr. Bob. He was a boy in the neighborhood where my Mom and the older siblings lived when growing up. He's kind of the family priest. He said a lovely Mass including an anointing of the sick and Grandma was very moved by it and thanked us all.

I spent all last week Monday through Sunday at the hospital whenever I wasn't at work. Monday she went home to hospice care and I stopped by. I called on Tuesday but she was sleeping and I needed to spend some time at home. I'm, of course, regretting that right now. I went by yesterday after work and spent the majority of my time there rubbing her legs and feet gently. She liked it and said it helped her to relax. When I got there she was talking to AC and while AC is usually the talker, it was Grandma who kept her on the phone. She snoozed a little bit and then the YS called and she woke up so she talked to the YS for awhile and when Grandma handed the phone back to me, the YS was sobbing and said, "She sounds so weak." I didn't know what to say to make her stop crying and since I didn't want to cry around Grandma I passed the phone to AJ and had AJ calm her down.

I'm afraid that if I start crying, I won't stop. I told Grandma yesterday that I loved her (as I do anyway) and that I always appreciated her, because I knew she loved me (unlike my paternal grandparents who couldn't stand me and let it be known, although every member of my immediate family would argue the point, but I know what I know). She mentioned to me that whenever we would go to the paternal grandparents' house they'd always give us a cookie. Now, they moved to Arizona when I was 6 or 7 and don't remember that, but Grandma said how she didn't believe in that. She just treated us like kids (her youngest is only a couple years older than my brother) and didn't think we needed a cookie. I finally had the alone time with her yesterday that I never got last week and then didn't know what to tell her, other than that I loved her and I knew that she loved me, even when she'd come upstairs at her house and tell me to put the book down and come downstairs and join the family party. She laughed. I teased that even though she never gave us cookies like I knew she gave UJ's kids cookies, that I still knew she loved us. I think they were more real as grandchildren to her as they weren't the same age as her youngest. When I called yesterday to see if Grandma were awake and wanted visitors, I could hear her in the background when AP told her that I was on the phone "That Kathleen is a character." I'm sure that's a compliment. ;-)

So, in case you thought I was just being a slacker about blogging, now you know that this time I had a valid reason. And please pray, send good thoughts, etc. to my Grandma and family. We really could use it. And if you want, I'll try to keep you updated. I'm wondering if I pissed off the gods when I said that I was having a rotten 2010…and they're now showing me how horrible it can get.

A 1959 car vs. 2009 car in a head on crash.

2010-03-23T06:43:00.003-04:00

This is an amazing video to watch. 1959 Car vs. A New 2009 Vehicle in a Collision: Interesting video to watch. You know how we always think about what big tanks the old cars of the 50's and 60's were. And how we talk about how there is so much plastic on the new cars that if one of the old tanks ever collided with a new car the new car would be demolished? Someone in the insurance industry put that theory to the test and after watching this video you may change your mind...

For the record, I weep for that 1959 Chevy. What a waste of a beautiful classic car.

September 2009's Books & Movies

2010-02-20T18:57:00.001-05:00

Okay, enough of being sad. I think I've gone on long enough about Ed and being sad. I still have my moments, but I actually laughed at work on Thursday which was a huge improvement. I didn't think I'd ever laugh at work again. So, onward.

I believe that the last time I listed the books I had read and the movies I had watched was September which means I have a lot of catching up to do. Let's get to it.

September's Books & Movies

I was a bit of a slacker and only read two books in September.

43. Fordlandia: The Rise & Fall of Henry Ford's Forgotten Jungle City by Greg Grandin (2009) – 402 pages – Click the link…they have a photo gallery which is pretty sweet. (If you look the book up at amazon.com, they also have pictures.) The book was hard to read, not because it was written poorly or too erudite, but because it was such a complete cluster f*ck. Henry Ford was a brilliant man about many things, but didn't realise that the differences between Michigan and Brasil were so vast and that the peoples wouldn't respond to the same incentives. I think the really frustrating thing was that it didn't have to be such a mess and probably could have been successful, except for Henry's way of doing things.

44. Even Money by Dick and Felix Francis (2009) – 350 pages – Someone commented at sfgate.com in the article about Dick Francis' death that the last few books written with his son weren't as good. I disagree wholeheartedly. Everything I know about horse-racing I've learned from Dick Francis (I'm one of those rare women who didn't have a horse-phase as a girl, in fact, I don't like horses, they're big and scary and I've never ever ridden one and don't plan on ever riding one), and this one explained the intricacies of the betting industry in England. This one was little guy vs big corporation with the big guys trying to drive out the little guy and how the little guy fights back. As always I recommend anything written by Dick Francis.

Book of September: Even Money because I know I'll read it again. Is it a better book? Probably not, but I enjoyed it more.

I did a lot better movie-wise in September (which I hope makes up for the fact that I watched ZERO movies in October). Stupid DVR. Please note that I choose my links very carefully. I don't just go with IMDB. I make sure the link coincides with my thoughts on the movie. Just so you know.

51. (9/7) Frost/Nixon (N) – 2008 - Being a young girl when Watergate happened, all I remember is the front of the Detroit Free Press with the headline NIXON RESIGNS in huge font. To me, David Frost has always been a respected journalist/interviewer. I had no clue that him interviewing Nixon was the modern-day equivalent of being interviewed by Ryan Seacrest. I found the film quite fascinating and thought Michael Sheen was fabulous as David Frost and Frank Langella eerily quite Nixon-like.

52. (9/7) Quai des Orfevres (N) – 1947 – I have absolutely no idea now why I added this movie to my Netflix queue, and truthfully, if it weren't for the synopsis, I'd have no idea even what it was about. Ah, I figured it out. It's because it was directed by Henri-Georges Clouzot who also directed Wages of Fear which is a movie I appreciate. It's described as a "police procedural" movie vs a classic whodunit, although the audience doesn't know "whodunit" until the police do. If you like old black and white classic films, give it a go. If you hate subtitles and the lack of Technicolor©/VistaVision©/etc., then I probably wouldn't recommend it for you.

53. (9/12) Dial M for Murder in 3-D (Redford Theater) – 1954 – While I own this movie, who can pass up the chance to see it in the theatre and in 3-D? I thought the 3-D portion was minimal, but it did make the red dress Grace Kelly wears in the beginning really stand out (to the point where I question my copy of the movie as being in black-and-white, because the dress was GORGEOUS and I honestly don't remember it from watching it at home. Oh yeah, and of course, the part where she's reaching toward the camera to grab her sewing scissors to ward off her murderer. Reasons to see this movie: 1) Grace Kelly, 2) Alfred Hitchcock, 3) Robert Cummings (whom I love from another Hitchcock film, Saboteur (1942).

54. (9/13) Houseboat (TCM) – 1958 – Cary Grant and Sophia Loren. Need I say more?

55. (9/13) Serendipity (WE) – 2001 – John Cusack. What can I say? John Cusack is my age group's Boy Next Door. I don't know many women my age who don't love him as Lloyd Dobler in Say Anything. And therefore, I will see damn near any movie with him in it. I will admit that I wasn't expecting much, which I find helps any and all movies, really. I think I was the only person not disappointed with the first Batman movie (the one with Michael Keaton and Jack Nicholson) because I didn't want to see it and was expecting absolutely nothing from it. I'm not saying I loved it, just that I wasn't disappointed. Now back to Serendipity. It's weird, as I get older and more set in my ways, i.e., not into dating, happy staying home with the cats and knitting (yes, at some point I got old), I find that I like chick flicks.

56. (9/17) Please Believe Me (TCM) – 1950 – The link will take you to a review by the New York Times back in 1950 when the movie came out, which I think is cool. In this movie, Deborah Kerr plays an English girl who had been a pen pal with some guy in Texas who ends up leaving her his "ranch." It shows her trip across the Atlantic with people thinking she's an heiress and men fighting over her. It was amusing, but I'd have to say a tad confusing (at least for me, I might have been knitting more than actually watching, but it seemed that they could have picked men who didn't all look a like to play the three suitors – I couldn't keep them straight). I wouldn't recommend going out of your way to see it, but if it's on and you have nothing better on the DVR, go for it. Even if it's just to tell me that it was really quite easy to tell the three men apart and that I really need to pay better attention. 

57. (9/19-20) Crisis (TCM) – 1950 – Once again I watched a movie solely because Cary Grant was in it. As the link points out, it wasn't the usual Cary Grant-fare (i.e., romantic comedy), but it was interesting enough to keep my attention (even if five months later, I couldn't remember what the hell it was about). I think that if someone were to describe the movie to me, I'd say, "Oh yeah, I saw that movie, but I have no idea of the title."

58. (9/20) Goya's Ghosts (Encore) – 2006 – Having been a Spanish major in college, I feel a special affinity for Spanish artists, so I watched this movie solely because it referred to Goya. Yeah, yeah, ranks right up there with judging a book by its cover, I know. While not as horrible as Quills, which I watched in August, I'd say that I won't see this movie again. It was "meh." Oh, unless you like to see Natalie Portman naked.

59. (9/21) Bogus (Encore) – 1996 – This was a cute movie, not spectacular, but cute. Haley Joel Osment (who I unashamedly love, hell, I own Pay It Forward) plays a little boy who is orphaned when his mother dies in a car accident (no father), and then shipped off to live with Whoopie Goldberg who was his mother's foster sister. As the review states, Whoopie's character is not in touch with her inner child, and has trouble relating to the little boy. She especially doesn't understand when he talks to his invisible friend, Bogus, played by Gerard Depardieu. I don't always like Monsieur Depardieu (he did NOT portray a starving coal miner very convincingly in Germinal, as he lost NO weight for the film), but he was very lovely in this.

Movie of September: Dial M for Murder

2010 is sucking canal water

2010-02-17T07:57:00.002-05:00

I had honestly thought that 2010 was going to be better than 2009, but it has proven me wrong already. In 2009, the problem was seeing friends being laid off. This year, well, we already know what this year has wrought. And trust me, when you add them all up, I'm way over my requisite "happens in 3s." The latest being Dick Francis. No, I didn't know him personally, obviously, but he has been one of my favorite authors for over 25 years. *sigh*

I had to clean Ed's desk Tuesday morning. I got most of his personal belongings together, but have a few questions for his supervisor before I can finish that up completely. And I haven't even looked at his professional files or binders yet. I was told the day before that his supervisor and possibly our manager are setting up a meeting with Ed's wife to get his computer, cell phone, etc. from her and I figured I couldn't be a wuss any longer, as she'll want his personal items. I did it first thing as I didn't want too many people around to see me cry, even though I thought I was going to be able to get through it. Yeah, I was mistaken. And I discovered that my new waterproof mascara isn't very waterproof…or at least tear-proof.

I think that two hours of cleaning a deceased friend/colleague's desk should equal eight hours of regular work. I was emotionally drained and tired and just wanted to go home to bed. Crying is unbelievably exhausting.

It took everything I had to get out of bed this morning. I just wanted to stay home, but I had to go through the questionable items from Ed's desk with his supervisor, which we just did. And I'm right back to feeling as I did yesterday - eyes burning, wanting to curl up under my desk and doing nothing.

I'll try very hard not to be depressing/depressed on my next post.

I am heartbroken.

2010-02-02T13:26:00.000-05:00

Good-bye, Ed. You will be missed more than you can possibly know.

I've had better weeks

2010-01-29T19:39:00.005-05:00

I know, I've been missing for quite a while. My excuse is that in December I was busily doing my Christmas knitting...then I was catching up on the knitting that didn't get done by Christmas and then the earthquake in Haiti happened which inspired one of my friends from work who is a fellow knitter to want to have a bake sale/craft show at work to raise money for Haitian earthquake victims, so I spent the past two weeks knitting my little fingers off and conning a number of my knitting friends to do so as well.

The bake sale/craft show was yesterday and we raised over $2,000 (it's not all in yet). The best part is that my friend who had the great idea wasn't even in town for it as her son got invited to the Hollywood screening of the movie Flipped since he's in it and has a speaking line. Which means that I kind of had to run it myself yesterday, as much as I could leaving others in charge while I got some work done and attended my usual 2-hour Thursday meeting. We had people giving $20 for a brownie and at least one wanting change from his dollar for a cupcake (FOR HAITI!!!). We didn't say anything or give him The Look he deserved, just gave him the two quarters he wanted and then rolled our eyes. I had a guy claim meetings for the entire day when I asked if he was going to support our bake sale. Really? Meetings from 8:00 to 3:00??? It was a lie, but a better lie would have been, "Yes." I wasn't there all day, I wouldn't have known. People are pathetic, I find.

I had been planning on getting more knitting done for the sale, but I lost two days this week when I got the news at work on Monday that one of the truly great guys at work collapsed at home on Sunday and was in the hospital with swelling of the brain, in a coma and unresponsive. I spent Monday and Tuesday crying. Especially Monday when I got a phone call telling me that my co-worker who is a true friend was given two days to live. I simply didn't feel like knitting and even went to bed at 7:00. Tuesday wasn't much better and I went to bed at 6:00 - oh yeah, I was fighting bronchitis all week, too. Wednesday we heard that he opened his eyes briefly when his wife stroked his head, so I managed to keep it together Wednesday. We got no news yesterday (besides, I didn't have time to cry with as busy I was with the bake sale/craft show), so I went home with all mascara intact for the second day in a row. I know that I'm praying for a miracle and am unproud enough to ask absolutely everybody I know to also pray for a miracle. Last night one of my co-workers went to see him and today she said to me, "Kathleen, he's not going to get better. We have to accept that he's going to pass." She wasn't meaning to be harsh, I think it was her way of dealing with it and not crying. She's a much stronger woman than I am.

Honest to God, I can not imagine losing Ed. My heart breaks at the thought of never seeing him again....never going out to lunch for sushi with him, never stopping at his desk just to chat. When we first got the news on Monday, I looked at Mary (my knitting abandoning for Hollywood friend) and said, "I love Ed." She hugged me and said, "You love everybody, Kathleen." "No," I said...she replied, "Okay, you love everybody but John." And we both laughed sadly, because it's true, I don't love John. I don't even like John. While I don't wish ill on him, I wouldn't be sad if he got laid off. I even told J who sits next to Ed that I can't stop by and see him anymore because seeing Ed's empty desk saddens me too much. All week long people have stopped by my desk for news, because I'm that person in the department...the one everybody goes to when they want to know what's going on. Not because I'm the busybody, but because I'm the closest thing there is to a secretary who binds the different sections into one department.

So, even though I've been a complete slackass in the blogging department (not because I'm not totally fond of you guys, but because I suck), I am asking for prayers for Ed (or if you don't believe in such things, good thoughts), because we (his wife, two kids, brother, sisters, parents, co-workers who love him sincerely) need a bloody miracle. We need and want Ed back the way he was, sitting at his desk and making me smile because he is such a lovely person, and I truly love him as a dear friend...a few times this week when I said, "He is one of the good guys." I got "He's a great guy." in return. One of the engineers in his section said to me, "I love him." I replied, "I know, A, I love him, too." And we cried.

Another of our engineers was going to the hospital tonight (or this weekend) to see him, and she's supposed to call me with information. She's with me on the hopeful but practical side of things. Desperately hoping and praying for a miracle, but supposedly preparing ourselves for the worst...but I know that I am not and will not be ready for the worst, if (or when) it happens.

Please pray for Ed. Thank you.

Word of the Day

2009-12-06T17:48:00.007-05:00

I signed up a while back for the word of the day from dictionary.com...today's (or at least I read it today) is "nonplus." And that's EXACTLY how I'm feeling right now. NONPLUSSED.

Now I know most of you have decided that I'm not blogging that much because I'm spending too much time on Facebook (trust me, I am not). I just don't feel like spending a boatload of time on the computer once I get home from work. I'd rather knit....it's that time of year. Anyway, the Saturday after Thanksgiving I went to a High School All Year Class Reunion. Those of you have been reading me for a couple of years know that I went two years ago and declared that I was done with such bullshit. *sigh* And so I was. Then a close friend from high school found me on Facebook and while I was reluctant to go there, her message seemed genuine, so I replied and then she asked me if I would be attending the reunion. *double sigh* I responded, "Honestly? Only if you're there." *triple sigh* She was making the trip from Happy Valley and said she wanted to see me.

I contacted Marianne, the only person from high school with whom I still speak or spend time, to see if she could go. She had her kids that weekend but was going to see if the boyfriend could watch them. Turns out he had to spend time with his mother and I couldn't, in good faith, make Marianne leave her kids alone for a couple of hours to hold my hand. They're old enough, but she doesn't like doing it if she's not close to home. *quadruple sigh* I told her I was an adult and could go by myself.

I had made sure in the meantime that a few other people I knew were going to be there (a guy from work and his sister Mary from my class). The OS asked if it were okay for her to go, which I thought was a ridiculous thing to ask as it was being held in a bar and she had gone to the same high school. Mary showed up as I was about to walk out because I'm really a wuss when it comes to high school. She's much more self-assured than I am, apparently, so she decided to go for it and I followed her. We found John S standing at a table along the outside windows. He told us that he had laid claim to the same table the year before and didn't leave it. I decided that was good enough for me, and I stuck with him. We chatted with each other and others as they walked past. Finally, the girl I was there to see showed up and it was good to see her. She told me that I look great (I scoffed) and that I needed to gain weight as I was too skinny in high school. She really did look fabulous and she introduced us to her husband who was very nice. All in all, it wasn't the hell I had expected it to be.

To get back to why I'm nonplussed...one of the guys from high school who made my life hell just sent me a Friend request. ARE YOU FUCKING KIDDING ME???? This guy is the reason NONE of my supposed friends talked to me through most of senior year and ignored me completely at the five year reunion (my supposed best friend and locker partner - she moved out of our locker halfway through our senior year without telling me - walked away from me at the reunion after I walked up to her and said Hi. Literally, she looked straight at me and walked away.), and he sends me a Facebook Friend Request!!! The reason I blame him? Just after senior year I remember asking Judy (the one who walked away from me) why I was never invited to events that the group was doing and she said, "Well, Norm and Dan usually set things up and they don't like you, and we just don't think about it." As if an insecure 17-year-old needs to hear that. And it doesn't matter that I'm no longer 17 wondering why people who are supposed to be my friends don't like me, because part of that 17-year-old still exists. Which is sad and pathetic, I know, but doesn't change the facts or the way I view the world.

So, should I be a wuss and Friend him or Ignore him and let him know that all these years later he got to me?

I Wanna Be Your Dog

2009-11-02T18:43:00.002-05:00

I Wanna Be Your Dog from LEGS on Vimeo.

By Legs' Georgie Greville (whoever the heck that is)...I haven't decided how I feel about it.

According to the website, "Georgie won the Samsung Grand Prix for this piece at Diane Pernet's festival 'A Shaded View on Fashion Film.'"

I'm off to Vegas until Monday, so I'll have a good excuse for not posting for the next week at least.

Time Flies...

2009-10-28T09:43:00.002-04:00

Wow, where has the time gone? I can tell you! At work. I've been working stupid hours for the past month and am just exhausted. Now, I realise that LL normally works 12 hour days, but I think (and I could be wrong) that 12 hours of physical labor, while physically tiring isn't as mentally exhausting as 12 hours of office work, especially when you take into account the lack of daylight. Zone D for Dungeon is so not a good time. I honestly don't have a clue what is happening outside ever. Summer, fall, winter, spring – it's all the same in this crappy area.

Now, you might think that once I got home I could write a blog entry, but I was so tired, it was all I could do to get a beer out of the fridge. Yes, I've been eating oh so healthily, too. And with it being October, I've been trying to knit as much as possible. On my trip to Atlanta , I met a young man from my hometown on his way to Afghanistan , and I told him that I would knit him a hat since Afghanistan can be bloody cold. I finished the hat last week, but am waiting on his father to call me back with the address. I have some of the yarn leftover (hoping half) and I'm thinking of making another for him to give to someone in his unit. It only took me two days (once I got going – had the damnedest time joining in the round w/o twisting it), so I could whip one out and that makes me think about knitting a bunch for the South African AIDS orphans. I started knitting for Knit-A-Square a few months back, but they need more than just 8" squares (to be sewn into blankets once they get to South Africa) and are happy to accept hats and pullovers. The idea behind the squares is that they're easy and quick and not as imposing as knitting a whole blanket. I mailed mine a while back right in the middle of their mail strike and so far, they haven't gotten them. I'm getting worried, although I'm sure they'll get there and help to warm up so poor child.

I'm home sick today. I don't know what is up but I'm nauseous all the time. I left work yesterday around 12:30 and went straight to bed. I've been up a whole hour and a half and am ready to go back to bed. I hate being sick. And with that, I'm signing off...because you don't really want to read about me feeling like puking.

Vacationing in a Flood Zone - Part Deux

2009-09-27T16:03:00.004-04:00

Happy Sunday, all and sundry.

I made it home from GA earlier today. Way earlier than my original flight, too. I tried to stay awake since I knew taking a nap would make the whole sleeping tonight process much more worthless, but I just couldn't. I completely unpacked(!!!) and then just needed to sleep. I set the nap alarm, but my body would NOT get out of bed (and I don't blame it all). It was a very exhausting Wednesday-Sunday kind of weekend.

Due to the flooding in Atlanta, we didn't do the tourist-y things we had planned (MLK museum & some civil war site - I was bummed about missing MLK, not so bummed about missing Civil War stuff) and it didn't matter anyway. I'm one of those anal travelers. Airlines tell me to get to the airport two hours early and I get there two hours early (the time I don't will be the time I miss my flight), so I was sitting at my gate waiting for my 10:30 am flight on Wednesday when a NorthWorst/Delta employee comes over and tells the few of us sitting there to go and get on that plane over there (if we were 10:30 flight ATL passengers). He said something about a mechanical problem, but I was really not sure what was happening. Turns out that the plane for my 10:30 was the plane with the mechanical problem and that flight out and out canceled. He had said our luggage probably wouldn't make it, but I decided what matter was that I get to GA. I land in ATL right around the time as HRH and we get the rental and head out to get some food as my luggage wasn't going to arrive until 3:00, which would have put paid to our tourist schedule if we hadn't already decided not to play tourist.

We head for our hotel in Lawrenceville and on the commute I said something about making dinner to meet college friends of mine. And she says, "Didn't you get a hold of her yesterday to cancel?" "No, I tried to get a hold of her to see how things were, but I never did and I didn't know I was supposed to cancel?" Turns out that when HRH had suggested just heading straight to the hotel and getting settled, she had just meant canceling the MLK & Civil War stuff, she met canceling dinner with my friends. I called my friends and there was no flooding there and even though there was flooding in L'ville (or so we were told), we never saw a bit of it. We checked in and ran and made it to my friends' house before the "man of the house" even got home from work.

We had a lovely evening with my friends, HRH and Man of the House and his mother (who was visiting to babysit the 3 daughters this weekend so my friends could go to Florida to hang with friends) got along famously bitching about health care. I heard the words "health is a privilege, not a right" spoken. I had already abandoned the table to help clear up, because I was not getting sucked into the conservative discussion. I knew the opposition and was not prepared to engage and heat up an evening with friends I don't get to see very often. Of course, just to set the stage - I was sitting in a 9000 ft house with secret doors and granite countertops the size of my bed.

Thursday we went to the track (Road Atlanta) and met up with one of our old racing buddies, DH1 whom we hadn't seen since Cleveland 2007. Even though the forecast had been rain and thunderstorms and cloudy, it cleared up and got damn close to 90F. And even though I put on my sunscreen (SPF 55) as soon as I sat down and again later, I got sunburned in interesting locations. *sigh* It was bad enough that on Friday I wore a regular t-shirt instead of my tank top. DH1 and I walked the entire track on Friday - saw the spot where Scott Sharp had a massive shunt on Thursday and put the entire schedule behind as they had to repair about 900 ft of catch fencing which had done its job of catching the car and throwing it back on the track instead of it ending up in the spectators.

We were all exhausted by the hot sunny day and didn't stay on Thursday for the combined night practice (we figured we'd see them race in the dark on Saturday). Oh, were we wrong. The weather prediction for Saturday was for rain all day to which HRH was looking forward, but I was not yet. It never fails that when she wishes for rain, we get a friggin' deluge and they "race" in the yellow which means running behind a pace car which means no passing - essentially a parade of race cars in the rain. This time, however, we got red-flagged which means they stopped the damned race, because of thunder and lightning. I had made a new friend, Liam (19 year old Brit whose father works for Panoz), at the race track (as I usually do) and was sitting with him down at the fence just before they disappear under the tunnel to go into the last turn of the racetrack. As much as HRH says she loves racing in the rain, she really hates the outdoor elements and she was watching in the van (rental, of course) and DH1 was watching from his truck. Anyway, Liam and I were being diehards and sitting the rain (in our rain ponchos and under Liam's umbrellas until the thunder and lightning came, and they red-flagged the race. We sat in the van drying to get dry and watching the rain run down the straightaway and carry red Georgia clay with it across turn 10a. We stayed for a few hours, but when they announced that the rain was supposed to let up in about an hour and half and that they would then start to prepare to re-start the race and this was 6:00 p.m., we figured if they ever did go racing it would be at 8:00 p.m. at the earliest and it would be an hour and half race at the longest. We decided it wasn't worth it and maneuvered our way around the freaking Honda minivan that was blocking us in. Liam called his parents to come and pick him up (at one point, he said, "I'm sitting in a car. pause with my buddies.") and we said we'd wait until his father got there so that he wasn't sitting in the rain with all of his stuff, and then we made straight for ATL as HRH had a 6:30 a.m. flight out to Toronto this morning. Our incredibly icky hotel room was directly under the flight path and I don't mean a few miles away, I mean planes flying about 50 ft overhead as they prepared to land. Good times.

I was up at 3:15 today to get HRH to the airport on time, and to deal with NorthWorst/Delta (whom I am never ever flying again - if Southwest doesn't fly to a destination, I don't need to go to that destination - that's my new rule) who had sent me an e-mail on Thursday telling me that my 2:30 p.m. flight was canceled and that they had moved me to a 10:30 a.m. flight - which in actuality was better for me, but I was still annoyed because if HRH didn't bring her laptop everywhere she goes, I wouldn't have been able to check my e-mail and find out about the change and in theory could have shown up at ATL at 12:30 for my canceled 2:30 flight). Anyway, I go to check in and it says I can't, so I find a real live person and she tells me that I'm on the 2:30 flight, I explain that I got an e-mail saying it was canceled, she checks again, etc. In the end, I gave the nice lady (she really was pleasant, but her charming personality doesn't make up for NorthWorst's shitty policies) my Southwest credit card to pay an extra $50 so I could get the bloody hell out of the Atlanta airport earlier than 2:30 p.m. (it was at that point 4:50 a.m.) I shall be calling Northwest, sending them a copy of the e-mail which said my flight was canceled and getting my $50 back. Fuckers. At this rate, I can pay an extra $100 for a Southwest flight and still be ahead when you take into account the ridiculous $15 baggage fee and the aggravation of dealing with the world's shittiest airline - Northwest/Delta.

And now it's time for me to get ready to go for dinner. A friend is moving to Atlanta and he leaves tomorrow. I shall miss him but wish him much luck.

I hope you all had a less eventful weekend - or at least less stressful, i.e., didn't have to deal with air travel! ;-)

Vacationing in a Flood Zone

2009-09-22T20:03:00.005-04:00

I have proven my drought-breaking abilities once again. I have an airline ticket to Atlanta tomorrow...and if you've been paying attention, you'll know that they've been getting shitloads of rain and been suffering from floods. I'm so excited to be spending my vacation in a flood zone and more than likely a quagmire of mud at Road Atlanta.

You're probably wondering about my claim of drought-breaking. Well, a good 20+ years ago California was suffering from a drought. I made plans to go and visit my aunts in SoCal and NorCal....and it rained the entire freaking time I was there. It started in Los Angeles (where I also started) and it followed me to San Francisco. It rained the entire time I was there, after a few years worth of drought.

Essentially, I'm just letting you know why I won't be posting - all three of you readers who are left. ;-)

Have a great weekend and please pray that somehow Road Atlanta dries up really quickly and I won't be traipsing through mud for the entire time I'm there.

Oh, and the ENTIRE TEN HOURS of Petit Le Mans will be broadcast live on Speed Channel, so check it out for a few minutes on Saturday.

I love live music.

2009-09-12T01:38:00.006-04:00

Earlier this summer I received a phone call from the Detroit Symphony Orchestra asking me to consider subscribing to a concert series as I had in the past. As there had been no new rumors about lay-offs at work, and thinking about how much I had missed going to the symphony, I went for it (fewer concerts for about the same amount of money), and tonight was my first concert, and Opening Weekend. I waited until the last minute to find someone to go with me, because when I got the tickets, it just seemed so far away. Oops. I sent an e-mail to my friend RE on Tuesday, but never heard back from him (figuring he's on vacation and doesn't use that handy Out of Office message supplied by most e-mail software programs). Next I tried my friend Carol, but she couldn't (can't remember why), third was my other friend Carol (she thought she had to babysit her granddaughters). I then had the brainstorm to ask one of the engineers from Mexico. He's returning to Mexico in three weeks, and although he's done a lot (hell, he knows how to get downtown which is something my mother can't do although she's lived her entire life) and taken advantage of his time here in Detroit, he hadn't gotten to the symphony.

In my last two years of missing the symphony, the DSO hired a new music director (Leonard Slatkin) to replace Neeme Jarvi (who is irreplaceable in my book) and he was the conductor this evening. As is normal, we started with the national anthem. It's the most amazing thing. How many sporting events have I gone to with tens of thousands of people where everybody is too damn cool to sing the anthem? Not so at the symphony. Everybody stands (of course) and sings proudly. It really is quite moving, at least for us wusses.

After the anthem, the orchestra played Dvorak's Carnival Overture which was spectacular. That was followed by a Sibelius Violin Concerto with soloist Midori. It was fine. The woman at the end of my row, however, was quite impressed because the second it was over she was on her feet yelling Bravo and clapping madly. I have nothing against Sibelius, but he's not my favoritest composer ever. In fact, while listening to it, I was making up a list of My Favorite Composers (mostly in order) which I'm going to share with you...otherwise, that Sibelius was completely wasted. ;-)

1) Mahler - I know he's not universally beloved, but I think he's utterly brilliant. Check out his Symphony #5.
2) Shostakovich - Have you heard his Symphony #7? It's been much too long since I've heard it. I'm getting it out to rectify that problem.
3) Prokofiev - I have two words for you - Alexander Nevsky. Netflix the movie, buy the CD. It's stirring.
4) Tchaikowsky - I like bombast, percussion and, in case you couldn't tell, Russian composers, particularly late 19th Century/early 20th Century Russians.
5) Dvorak - Symphony #9 "From the New World" is special, but don't limit yourself to only that one.
6) Beethoven - Hey, look! Late 18th C / early 19th C and not Russian (yes, I know Mahler and Dvorak aren't Russian). He was my first classical music love.
7) Mozart - I know people who don't like Mozart and I can understand (to a degree), but he has written some beautiful violin concertos.
8) Haydn - I really like his so-called "London" symphonies

After the Sibelius and the intermission, we were treated to Copland's Symphony #3 which is very Copland-esque, which isn't necessarily a bad thing. I figured it was a nod toward 9/11 by having an American composer as the main piece of the night.

I don't love all 20th Century music, just for record. Have you heard Messiaen or Boulez? Kill me now. When I lived in SF, I had a six concert series and the SF Symphony likes to play a 20th century piece as their first piece for every concert - at least, that's the way it seemed. Anyway, they all sucked, except for the Benjamin Britten work. I heard a Messsiaen, a Boulez - one of which was described as "repetitive and clangorous" - doesn't that make you want to run out and buy it? - a timpani concerto which was godawful and a viola concerto which wasn't much better.

That said, we were treated to an encore just like Maestro Jarvi used to do, except that Maestro Slatkin actually used a microphone to talk to us (I never could hear a word Neeme said) and he told us that he was going to continue the tradition, except that we wouldn't always get an encore (we always did with Jarvi) and we wouldn't know when we would be so treated. He said he was being humble by playing his own piece as the encore. He got the appropriate laugh and applause with that line. The piece played was called Fin and he said he wrote it when he was in Florida and saw a pod of dolphins swimming. I quite liked it.

Not only did I get to listen to great live music, I got to see Norbert who sits across the aisle from me. He said that he spent the past two years looking for me wondering if I were ever going to show up again. We were both happy to see the other person, even though we only know each other from the symphony and only talk briefly. He knows where I work and was happy to hear I was still employed. I know where he works and was also happy to hear he was still employed. All in all, it was quite a lovely day.

It's now 2:30 a.m., the bar is finally quiet and all the loud, yelling drunks should have gotten to their cars by now, so I'm going to go to bed.

Happy Labor Day Weekend! August Books & Movies

2009-09-04T14:36:00.003-04:00

Happy Labor Day Weekend!

I hope everybody has fabulous plans for the last real weekend of summer. The weather here in Michigan is finally supposed to be nice. 70s and sunny all weekend long! Woohoo!!! I'm going to sit outside Sunday and Monday.

Saturday is Yarn Fest Aught-Nine (that's what a co-worker named it) which means heading up to Port Huron to Mary Maxim's for the end of their August Tent Sale (better sale prices than at the beginning of the sale) for our third straight year. I have a list, so I'm not buying all willy-nilly (which will probably still happen – sigh – because I have ZERO self control when it comes to yarn), theoretically.

Last night I crawled into my lovely warm soft comfy bed at 9:00 p.m., got all settled with both cats cuddled with me in their preferred locations (Boris at the knees, Igor at my upper arm) when we all got the ever-livin' shit scared out of us when fireworks started going off about 3 blocks from my apt. The cats lost their minds and were gone before the first firework faded. My heart started racing from the adrenaline of the cats rocketing off the bed, and it didn't stop for an hour.

To me, it looked like they were going off from my "favorite" bar, Crave, and I was secretly hoping one would backfire and burn the fucking place down (while not affecting any of the adjoining businesses or hurting anybody). I texted Urs to find out if she had a freaking clue why there were fireworks on Thursday, Sept. 3. She, of course – being the in-touch person she is (she follows the city on Twitter) – knew that the City was setting off the fireworks that had gotten rained out during Homecoming (first weekend of August). I believe my response to her text about settling in with a cup of tea because it was "promised to be the biggest of the year" was "Oh, for fuck's sake! My heart's still pounding from the initial shock." She laughed and said she could hear me saying "Oh, for fuck's sake" and that it was appropriate because her house was shaking as if we were having an earthquake and her dog was barking like mad.

After they were finally over I went looking for the kids. I never found Igor, but Boris was under the couch as low to the ground as he could go and looking out at me with HUGE eyes. Poor sweet pea. I told him it was all over and okay to come out, but he chose not to believe me and figured he was safer under the couch. I petted him for a bit and then went to bed where I had to practice deep breathing exercises in a worthless attempt calming myself.

Honestly, a Thursday??? What was wrong with any of the nights of this coming weekend? Bloody stupid decision making. I'm guessing City Council didn't work today.

My August Books and Movies follow…

Books

40. The Eight by Katherine Neville (598 pages) – This book should sound familiar because I'm pretty sure I've talked about it previously. It's my favorite book which is saying something since when I first read the back cover of the book way back when in the mid-90s I thought to myself, "Dear God, historical fiction about chess. This is going to suck." The premise was that there was a mystical chess set that had belonged to Charlemagne and had been buried in a convent in the Pyrenees because it was so dangerous, but the nuns dug it up during the French Revolution because the Bishop of Autun had passed a law which allowed the government to acquire all of the church's belongings. The chess set ends up dispersed across the lands and the story switches from the time of the French Revolution to early 1970s New York & Morocco. It's called The Game and there is a white team and a black team (the Black team is the good guys). At any rate, I started reading it (it was a Monday, I remember, because my plan was to start it that night but return it to the friend who had lent it to me the next night at the bar and back then Tuesday was bar night) and it hooked me immediately. Now, I do not enjoy the game of chess, although I technically know how to play in that I know how each piece moves, and a book about chess could not be good obviously. I was so wrong. I've now read the book three times with each subsequent time me wondering if it was going to stand the test of time. It does. I re-read it this time because Katherine Neville had finally come out with a sequel and I wanted to refresh my memory before diving in.

41. The Fire by Katherine Neville (451 pages) – The thing that struck me about reading The Eight this time was how prescient she had been about oil consumption, etc. And oil raised its head in The Fire. I enjoyed The Fire, but wish it had been longer and dealt with the historical aspect a bit more. I don't want to give away too much but suffice it to say that The Game starts up again with descendents of The Game played in the 1970s and a few players who are still around. It's a perfectly good book, but just not as good as The Eight.

42. The Kindness Handbook: A Practical Companion by Sharon Salzberg (172 pages) – This is a book I got from one of my book clubs by not stopping the stupid automatic shipment. It's about treating yourself and others with lovingkindness which in this book is one word. It was okay, but required more effort than I was willing to put forward right before bedtime (which is when I read this).

I wasn't a complete slacker book-wise, although it looks it. I'd also read about 180 pages of Fordlandia and 200 pages of Sophie's World. I could have finished Fordlandia if I had concentrated on it, but I'm finding it a bit difficult to read because that project was an incredible bit of cluster-fuckededness.

Book of the Month: I'm going to break my own rule here and choose The Eight (not that I don't think you should read The Fire as well).

Movies

I did much better on movies than I did books.

38. (8/1) Sands of Oblivion - 2007 (Sci-Fi) – I had DVRd this movie because it has Morena Baccarin and Adam Baldwin of Firefly in it. Wow, did it suck. If you want to read a synopsis, click the link. I'm not wasting my time.

39. (8/7) America - 2009 (Lifetime) – Another movie watched solely because it was filmed in metro Detroit . This one has Rosie O'Donnell working as a psychiatrist/social worker with at-risk youths in a group home. The title character was just a Detroit kid that Rosie saw in a downtown Detroit restaurant that had the look she wanted. My favorite trivia from the interviews were when she went over to his family having dinner, they said, "You're Roseanne Barr, right?" And she responded, "Close enough." I thought that was hilarious. The movie was what you'd expect from Lifetime – a tear-jerker and a bit overdone, but I thought the actors did a really good job.

40. (8/7) Witness for the Prosecution - 1957 (TCM) – From the TCM website was this synopsis, "A British lawyer (Charles Laughton) gets caught up in a couple's (Marlene Dietrich & Tyrone Power) tangled marital affairs when he defends the husband for murder." This is the movie where I first heard/saw Marlene Dietrich singing which had me in stitches thinking about Blazing Saddles and Madeline Kahn. I had always thought she exaggerated the singing style, but she didn't. Elsa Lanchester (you'll recognize her from Murder by Death and Mary Poppins) was very funny as the annoying nurse trying to take care of Charles Laughton's character.

41. (8/9) The Breakfast Club - 1985 (K) – I'm pretty sure I don't need to tell anybody about The Breakfast Club (or the following two movies). This was my John Hughes Retrospective Sunday.

42. (8/9) Pretty In Pink - 1986 (K) – Same as The Breakfast Club. For the record, having been a teenaged girl, the ending is what a teenaged girl would have wanted, so anybody who argues that she should have ended up with Duckie, stop thinking like an adult and try thinking like a teenaged girl.

43. (8/9) Ferris Bueller's Day Off - 1986 (K) – I have nothing fabulous to add, although I think there is some interesting trivia re: this movie. 1) the house where Cameron lived was put up for sale within the past few months. 2) The actor that played the principal had a run-in with the police re: child pornography. Try watching that movie now knowing that and think how much ickier it makes him.

44. (8/10) Quills - 2000 (N) – I have to say that I did not really enjoy this movie. I don't think it was as bad as Sands of Oblivion, but I still wouldn’t recommend it to anybody. The people at Yahoo! Movies gave it a rating of B…no way in hell it would get a rating that high from me. The acting was quite good, but I think it was a bit over the top.

45. (8/16 & 17) Coraline - 2008 (MKJ) – I love Neil Gaiman and I enjoyed the book. The movie is very well done, but as is usual it didn't follow the book and although I did listen to the commentary and the director/writer explained away his differences, I want to go on record that I do not pronounce "Pontiac" that way. I did enjoy looking for the teeny tiny knitted items she wore… ;-) The funny thing is that I borrowed this from a woman at work whose daughter loved the movie, but hadn't read the book. I gathered up all my Neil Gaiman and lent them to the daughter who read Coraline but didn't really like Neil's writing style, so wasn't even going to try the rest of the books. Does anybody else wonder if Neil is generational, i.e., appeals to those of us who are about his age, but teens/young adults don't get him?

46. (8/22) To Catch A Thief - 1955 (TCM) – Yes, I own this movie, but I have lent it to a girl from work and when I was over visiting some friends, I noticed they had it recorded on their DVR and I said what a good movie it is. Amy asked if it were appropriate for her second oldest (13?). Heck yes! It's 1955 and Hitchcock. I covered his eyes during the kissing scene (which he probably didn't want to see anyway). Her oldest son (16?) had been the one who recorded it, so I'm excited that kids these days appreciate old movies. Amy thinks he has an old soul. So, next time I go over, I'm going to take some old films.

47. (8/22) Flushed Away - 2006 (Amy) –Yeah, I know I just watched this, but the younger kids had come home by the end of To Catch A Thief, so we picked a kids movie. What can I say? I like this movie.

48. (8/23) Perfume: The Story of a Murderer - 2006 (N) – Another movie, like Quills, that I picked because it had some good actors in it and I thought the premise sounded intriguing. Not so much in actuality. I think the murderer was supposed to come across as sympathetic, but he didn't. Even though he was supposed to be some sort of perfume genius, he came across as slow and I don't mean like a turtle or a snail.

49. (8/29) Religulous - 2008 (N) – I enjoyed the movie, although I have to say that I thought the Catholics came across as the most with-it of the religious people interviewed, which probably helped my feelings toward it. If you're religious and believe the earth is only 6000 years old, you'll hate it, so don't waste your time. I can't argue with someone who takes on the Creationism museum.

50. (8/29) RocknRolla - 2008 (F) – If you liked Guy Ritchie's Snatch and/or Lock, Stock and Smoking Barrell, you'll like this movie. It's your typical Guy Ritchie British caper film. It was fun with excellent actors (Thandie Newton, Tom Wilkinson, Gerard Butler), and a set-up at the end for a sequel.

Movie of the Month: I'm following my own rules for this pick (meaning I have to pick something I haven't seen before): RocknRolla.

I hope you all have a great Labor Day!

Quote of the Day

2009-09-01T12:39:00.001-04:00

"I’m going to go out on a limb here and say that the general public never harbored any fantasies about one day owning a 1985 Dodge Diplomat." JM, 9/1/2009

I laughed out loud sitting at my desk.

More of Nothing - including too close to home school bombing

2009-08-25T18:03:00.001-04:00

Let's see, how will I bore you now? I have no news on my medical issues – couldn't get in to see the doctor for the more invasive tests until after Labor Day – so I'm guessing that's supposed to indicate a "no big deal" kind of thing…still, do we ever feel it's no big deal when it's happening to us?

I had a lovely birthday, thanks for all the well wishes. Actual day of I went to my favorite bar after work and had a boatload of work friends show up. The weather was decent (didn't rain, although it threatened later in the evening) and I decided to celebrate my birthday with margaritas. Yum.

I've been working for my current company for 9 years, but it's a pretty big company, so I don't know everybody. Anyway, someone said to me, "So-and-so came to your party." Now, I had zero clue who So-and-so was, but turns out he's kind of high up. Whatever, besides he wasn't there for my party, he was there with his own department. One of my friends is fairly high up (it's all relative at my company as the hierarchy is a bit insane) and knew this man. He talked to him and then brought him over to say Hi. So-and-So asked what the occasion was and I said it was my birthday, and these were my friends. He asked what department, and I said, "Well, that group's from this program, these here are from this department, blah blah blah." He then asked, "Well, what department are you?" So, I told him, but I could tell he was a little thrown by the diverse group. It's normal to go out with your own department, but to make friends in other departments?? That's weird. That's what I get for working with a bunch of engineers. ;-)

Every morning (or most), I go to www.freep.com to check on Detroit news and then I go to www.sfgate.com, mostly for the Day in Pictures, but also to see what's going on in the Bay area. This morning, I got quite a shock. Did anybody outside the Bay area hear about a bombing at a local high school? I know I didn't.

The reason it was such a shock is that it was at the high school near my aunt's house which means that I was pretty sure it was my cousin's school. I jumped on Facebook (See? It is useful.) to check my cousin's status. Sure enough, it was her school. I damn near had a heart attack. Nobody was injured and my cousin didn't even know about the bombing until she was evacuated because she was on the other side of the school, but still. This 17-year-old apparent drop-out had made ten pipe bombs (he detonated two, before being rushed by two teachers into another teacher and the three tackled him to the ground), a sword and a chain saw. Supposedly, the plan was that as students came running out of classrooms to escape the bombs that he would attack them with the sword and the chain saw. Thanks to quick acting teachers and the principal, he was swiftly subdued and we have a happy ending.

Does anybody want to come to Detroit and go to the Zoo with me? I want to go, but won't go alone – it's too boring not to have somebody with whom to share the zoo and the animals' antics. Complete strangers think you're a weirdo if you talk to them and I need someone to whom I can say, "Oh, look how cute the rhinos are."

Really Nothing - Revised

2009-08-18T19:28:00.005-04:00

Hey all, it's been too long since I've blogged. I'd like to say it's because I've been doing something fabulous, but that would be a bald-faced lie. I haven't felt like doing anything at all. I've barely done any knitting. I've made a few rosaries (with two more to make), but I've actually been watching TV without doing anything else at the same time. That is so not like me.

I write great blog entries in my head when I'm nowhere near a computer, but now that I have the time and inclination, I can't remember those great blog entries in which I'm brilliantly clever and funny.

I just read this story and dammit! It makes it really hard to hate the Yankees organization. It made me cry - I'm a wuss, I readily admit it.

This morning I heard on the radio something that had me scratching my head, questioning whether Americans really are this stupid. The report was that GM had done a study where they found out that people didn't know that Chevy and Cadillac were brands of theirs (apparently Chevys and Cadillacs are selling, while anything with a GM badge wasn't – I'm thinking GMCs), so they were going to start NOT badging their GMCs – no clue what they're going to call them, but to those of you who don't live in southeastern Michigan, is this true? People don't know that Chevy and Cadillac are GM brands? Along with Pontiac and Buick? Even if they are killing off the Pontiac brand (something they should have done before they killed Oldsmobile, IMHO).

One of my co-workers was pregnant, due at the end of September, so I made her some cute little booties and then started a sweater to go with the booties as I chose red yarn and I figured babies don't get a boatload of red clothing. Anyway, I say she was pregnant because she gave birth Friday night – six weeks early – and the darn sweater isn't done!!! Because as I pointed out earlier I haven't been doing a damn thing, not even knitting. So, now I need to finish the sweater, and then make a preemie hat. I'm thinking that if I could find an adorable dress in white with red swiss dots that the red sweater and booties would be perfect. Hmm.

Hmm is right. I reached a point in the sweater where I don't know what the hell to do, so I packed it up to take to work tomorrow, so my friend Mary can help me. She's an amazing knitter and doesn't let little things like Cast on 2 stitches in the middle of a row worry her. So, I've started a hat.

My birthday is tomorrow and I have to tell you that I got the most amazing present from a group of my friends...a hand-painted picture of Ian Curtis by someone I actually know. She's a very nice young woman (that's how you can tell I'm old - I have a good 20+ years on her) and I'm honored to have her art in my house, as corny as that sounds.

I received some not so fabulous medical news today. I won't know anything for a few weeks, but in the meantime, if you could keep me in your thoughts and prayers (if you're so inclined), that would be greatly appreciated. Thanks.

And because it has been requested...CATBLOGGING!!!

16 Books - July Books & Movies

2009-07-31T21:01:00.003-04:00

Happy last day of July, everybody! Sorry about no post last week, but we had a funeral to attend which brought the LB to town, so Saturday was spent watching le Tour and then heading to Grandma's condo for a big family get together. It was nice. I got to see some cousins that I haven't seen in quite awhile and aunts and uncles.

I enjoyed the heck out of the Tour de France this year, especially since it's the last sport I truly enjoy, sadly it only lasts three weeks. I wish Versus would show the Vuelta a Espana.

Here are the books and movies I read and watched in July.

Books

32. Harry Potter & the Order of the Phoenix by J.K. Rowling - 870 pages - 2005 - I wanted to re-read book 6 before I saw the movie and thought it would be smart to re-read the fifth book, before the sixth one.

33. Harry Potter & the Half-Blood Prince by J.K. Rowling - 652 pages - 2007 - Ditto.

34. Harry Potter & the Deathly Hallows by J.K. Rowling - 759 pages - Well, after I had re-read the previous two, I had to finish the series, didn't I?

35. Fade by Kyle Mills - 344 pages - 2005 - I had read Kyle Mills' previous books and this had been out for a while (as you can see), but I finally picked it up. If you haven't discovered Kyle Mills yet and you like thrillers you are missing out. His books are meticulously researched and his characters are flawed but likable. In this one the title character, Fade, is an Arab-American who had been a Navy SEAL and ended up injured on a mission. The US government wouldn't pay for the very complicated surgery he needed and he ended up angry and embittered. However, the government now needs his special skills, but he won't play ball.

36. The Second Horseman by Kyle Mills - 339 pages - 2006 - In this one, a career thief, Brandon Vale, is busted out of jail by the person who put him there (for a crime he hadn't done), because he needs Brandon's special talents. There are WMDs, millions of dollars, behind-the-scene string pulling, and Israel-Arab tensions.

37. A Darker Place by Jack Higgins - 337 pages - 2009 - I've been a Jack Higgins fan since The Eagle Has Landed. I've read everything I've been able to find. It seems he's phasing out Sean Dillon (it's about time, he's got to be at least 65 by now) and Charles Ferguson (he's got to be at least 85), but I'm waiting to see where he's going with it. In this one, we had a Russian defector who wasn't quite what he seemed. It was less formulaic that I thought his previous few had been. He's still a classic thriller writer.

38. Darkness Falls by Kyle Mills - 299 pages - 2007 - This was very much a doomsday type scenario book. It scared the ever-livin' shit out of me. Again, the research done by Kyle Mills was extraordinary, this time into oil wells, production, fields, etc. I was especially happy to see that he had brought back Mark Beamon (from his first few books). Previously he was an FBI agent, in Darkness Falls he's the head of the energy department of Homeland Security, and he needs to find out why some major oil wells have stopped producing.

39. Finger Lickin' Fifteen by Janet Evanovich - 308 pages - 2009 - This might have been the one that pushes me over the edge on reading anymore of these. She blew up at least four cars in this one. I don't know why Ms. Evanovich think it's necessary for her plot line to blow up cars so regularly, but I'm really over it. The YS has bought the last two books, so at least I'm not wasting my money on these.

Movies

33. (500) Days of Summer (Theatre) - 2009 - I loved this movie. I had wanted to see it after I had gotten my VSL newsletter. I laughed out loud a lot, as did most of the crowd at the Detroit "premiere." My friend Katie had free passes and asked me to go when she watched the trailer and saw the lead actor wearing a Joy Division t-shirt. When she asked, I said, "Oh yes, I've been wanting to see that movie." The best part of the movie was that he wore THREE Joy Division t-shirts in it. Two were Unknown Pleasures but one when he was a teenager and another as an adult, along with a Love Will Tear Us Apart t-shirt.

34. Harry Potter & the Order of the Phoenix (K) - 2007 - I had to rewatch the movie before seeing the sixth movie. It sucked just as much as it did the first time around. Read the books, people, they're so much better than the movies.

35. Harry Potter & the Half-Blood Prince (Theatre) - 2009 - I already gave my opinion on this movie at Zombieslayer's place. I have to agree with ZS's assessment that the director sucked. It's the same director as Order of the Phoenix and when a certain character dies and I don't cry...that's a problem...same as in the fifth when another major character had died. I sobbed my way through the end of the book (every time I read it), but the movie was so badly done, I didn't cry. I'm highly annoyed. We won't even discuss the bizarre addition of the burning of The Burrows. WTF was up with that???

36. The Children's Hour (N) - 1961 - Audrey Hepburn and Shirley MacLaine own an all-girl's school and are working hard to keep it going. There's a mean, vindictive girl there who spreads a story about them because she had been disciplined. All the parents take the girls out of the school and the women are destroyed. It was friggin' depressing, but it was really well done.

37. Momma's Man (N) - 2008 - I thought this was going to be a comedy and watched it after I watched The Children's Hour thinking it would cheer me up. Yeah, not so much. This was another recommendation from VSL, but I have to say that I did not love it. In fact, I would say that it fights with HP & the Order of the Phoenix for last place in Movie of the Month.

Book of the Month: Fade by Kyle Mills (it was hard since I had read three Kyle Mills and they were all great, but I loved Fade most). Please give him a chance. if you don't want to spend money, go to the library. He really is a brilliant writer and super nice as he responds to every e-mail - I've written to him twice now (last time after I had finished Smoke Screen a good 3-4 years ago and this time after Fade).

Movie of the Month: (500) Days of Summer - There's a line in this movie that is so worth watching. It made giggle for a good five minutes after it was said. It might have been a little juvenile, but it was still stinking funny.

Rules: Don't take too long to think about it. Sixteen books you've read that will always stick with you. First sixteen you can recall in no more than 16 minutes. Tag 16 friends, including me because I'm interested in seeing what books my friends choose. (A friend tagged me on Facebook, but I figured what the heck I'd share with you kids, too.)

As this took me over a week to do, I'm obviously not big on rules.

1. The Eight by Katherine Neville
2. Stealing Jesus: How Fundamentalism Betrays Christianity by Bruce Bawer
3. In Cold Blood by Truman Capote
4. Three Cups of Tea by Greg Mortenson
5. The Sewing Circles of Herat by Christina Lamb
6. Our Endangered Values: America's Moral Crisis by Jimmy Carter
7. Sweet Jesus, I Hate Bill O'Reilly by Joseph Minton Amann & Tom Breuer
8. Alex Zanardi: My Sweetest Victory: A Memoir of Racing Success, Adversity & Courage by Alex Zanardi, Gian Luca Gasparini & Mario Andretti
9. The Eagle Has Landed by Jack Higgins
10. A Prayer for Owen Meany by John Irving
11. Aztec by Gary Jennings
12. The Three Musketeers by Alexandre Dumas
13. The Dante Club by Arturo Perez-Reverte
14. The Rule of Four by Ian Caldwell & Dustin Thomason
15. The Historian by Elizabeth Kostova
16. Torn Apart: The Life of Ian Curtis by Mick Middles & Lindsay Reade

Cat Scratch Saturday - Igor

2009-07-18T13:54:00.004-04:00

Happy Saturday, everybody.

I've been busy already today. I got up late which happens when you're tired, but can't go to bed before 2:30 a.m. because of the stupid bar district. I got my fat butt on the treadmill this morning and then walked to the pharmacy to pick up a prescription and since I was only a block away I continued on to the fruit market. Once I got home I did dishes and even though I haven't eaten I just don't feel like cooking anything. It's not hot or anything, I just have reached the point where I don't feel like doing anything resembling housekeeping, so I kind of blew it all on the dishes.

I knitted four whole rows last night on my sweater after not knitting at all for over a week. It's not because it's summer and it's too hot to knit, because it's not hot at all. Today's high is supposed to be 68F...it's July, dammit!!! I want to be outside sitting in the sun!!! Perhaps napping. I think I have too much yarn now, because I'm overwhelmed with everything I have to knit, so I choose to do nothing. Hmmm, not good.

I'm very bummed re: le Tour de France as my favorite guy, Levi Leipheimer, broke his wrist on Thursday, which means he had to abandon le Tour. Bums me out, not that he really had a chance since Lance and Alberto are considered the true GC guys of Team Astana, so unless something drastic happened to either of them, Levi wasn't going to win, but hope springs eternal...or did.

Well, it's Saturday and that means Catblogging. I realised that the last five catbloggings (at least) have been of Boris. It's not that I don't love Igor, it's just that Boris is much more photogenic. Igor, being black, is much harder to photograph, but here he is.

Last weekend, I drove to Pittsburgh. HRH wanted to get the heck out of her town since the Icky Racing League were there and she hates them even more than I do (nominally). I also had to get some very cool Champ Car memorabilia to C&C and it was something that I couldn't mail or take on a plane as it would look fairly bombish. Turns out that Pittsburgh is about 4-4.5 hours drive for all of us. We all travel well together as we're easy-going about doing this, that or the other thing. HRH found vintage racing at BeaveRun race track. It wasn't a great day for racing as it was wet and a tad chilly, but we had fun nonetheless, once the rain stopped and the cars came back out on the track. Old race cars are cool and I love seeing them race. Heck, I got to root for a Pinto!!

Pittsburgh is a beautiful city built as it is at the confluence of three rivers and surrounded by high hills/small mountains covered in trees. They were having a street art festival. It wasn't overly large, but the first booth I saw was a woman who handspins and hand-dyes her own yarns. I supported her and picked up a very pretty hank of wool dyed in blues. I like to support independent artists and stores.

I hope everybody is having a good weekend. I want to go for sushi, but it probably won't happen. *sigh*

Hodgepodge to annoy LL & the Good Doctor

2009-07-06T20:09:00.006-04:00

Along with consistent catblogging to annoy LL to the nth degree (no, I haven't forgiven you for the whole Crosby thing yet), I've decided to tell you what I've been up to...my friend Stephanie (from work) told me that I should occasionally knit for myself (I rarely do) and I was telling her about Beth and she said, You two need to pick a month when you knit only for yourselves. It was an idea that piqued my interest. So, I wrote to Beth and said that during the month of June we needed to knit something for us. And since we are who we are, we still knitted for others, but we had to work on something for ourselves more.

I had bought a number of knitting books in June and I chose this sweater (I liked the pattern, but even better, I had the necessary yarn) from them. In case that link doesn't work perfectly, it's on page 30 and it's pink - while mine is most definitely not.

I have finished the back and have started the front and I could have probably come close to finishing the knitting part of it this weekend, but I spent it re-reading Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, in preparation of re-reading Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince prior to seeing the movie next week. It's going to be an exciting month of movie watching as I've already seen one in the movie theater, and with HP6 coming out, that'll be TWO movies in one month in the theatre. It's craziness...and it'll probably be it for the year, unless I can catch HP6 at the IMAX.

Is anybody watching le Tour de France? I love it and am excited about this season and hoping like hell there's no bloody stupid doping scandal(s) this year. I'll be happy with any number of winners - the only one I don't want to see win is Cadel Evans. Anybody but him and I'll be pleased as punch - unless he's improved on his personality since last year - which I doubt.

Happy Canada Day (plus One)

2009-07-02T23:19:00.007-04:00

Sorry to abandon you all so abruptly (especially you, LL, I know how much you appreciate Catblogging), but Thursday was spent packing and downloading pictures to my computer (from the February Vegas trip) and then putting 2007 pictures on disk to save up room on the computer hard drive. I left early on Friday from work for Baltimore where I was until Tuesday. I was visiting my friend Rebecca and her family, and on Sunday I got to visit with my friend LT and his family, including my beloved Tyler.

Apparently, Boris doesn't just love boxes, but anything of a particular beige color. How can you not love catblogging, LL???

Wouldn't it be crazy if I listed June's books and movies early in July instead of waiting until August or September, as I seem to be doing of late?

I did really well book-wise.

Books

21. Wicked Prey by John Sandford - 402 pages - John Sandford is one of those authors whose books I buy as soon as I see it's available (and then lend it to a friend, after I read it). His books can include some violence, but I find them enthralling and I read them pretty quickly. You don't really need to read the Prey books in order, so you can pick this one up w/o worrying about really missing anything, but I think you'll want to read them all once you start.

22. Fables: Legends in Exile #1 by Bill Willingham, et al - 125 pages - My friends Katie and Dan own Green Brain Comics and since I like to support my friends in their businesses, I asked Katie to recommend some comics/graphic novels that I would enjoy. I have never been much of a fan of short stories, which is kind of how I view comics, but I love fairy tales and I loved The Sandman series way back when, so I was willing to try something different. Fables' main theme is that the fairy tales characters were chased out of their own lands by something called The Nemesis (I think) and are now living in New York City. In this volume, someone seems to have killed Rose Red and Snow White puts the Wolf (who looks human for some reason - which is interesting since all the other animals are still animals) on the case to find out who did it. I thought it was quite well done, although I'm still in novel mode as I don't always remember that I'm supposed to look at the pictures. DUH.

23. A Moveable Feast by Ernest Hemingway - 213 pages - A friend from work bought me this book after she had told me about it and I thought it sounded really interesting, especially since I was reading Shakespeare and Company already (only at night, so while I started it before the Hemingway book, I finished it afterward). Both are about Paris in the 20s and about all the ex-pats, mostly writers, who lived there.

24. The Graveyard Book by Neil Gaiman - 312 pages - I love Neil Gaiman and this book is no exception. While it might sound gruesome, it was really a very sweet story about a boy whose entire family is killed one night (he was supposed to be as well), but he had crawled out of his crib and found himself in a graveyard where the "ghosts" of the inhabitants took him in and kept the assassin from getting to him.

25. Serenity: Those Left Behind by Joss Whedon - 87 pages - This is volume #2 in the Serenity graphic novel series. I'm enjoying these and I think the artists have done a great job in capturing everybody's likeness - some better than other, but still, enough to make me happy - old guy love and all.

26. Shakespeare & Company by Sylvia Beach - 220 pages - I liked this book better than the Hemingway book even though it was about the same period. I didn't know anything about the Paris bookstore when I bought this book, but it sounded quite interesting. Sylvia Beach owned the English-language bookstore in Paris until WWII. It was also a lending library for people who couldn't afford to buy books. She was also the first publisher of James Joyce's Ulysses which was banned in the U.S. and Great Britain. She also supported (it seems) Joyce, money-wise, but she didn't seem to mind, even though it seemed to me that he took advantage.

27. Fables: Animal Farm #2 by Bill Willingham, et al - 127 pages - The animals, save the Wolf as I've already mentioned, from fairy tales are stuck living on The Farm because, I guess, talking animals living in New York City would freak regular non-fable people out. Anyway, the animals revolt lead by two of the three pigs (a tad reminiscent of Orwell). It was quite good. I'm proud of myself for branching out into comic books, even if I am limiting it, so far, to Fables and Serenity.

28. The Tales of Beedle the Bard by J.K. Rowling - 111 pages - I think J.K. Rowling is awfully clever to write fairy tales for witches. Maybe I'm easily impressed, but these are the stories she mentioned in the Harry Potter books. And if you go to that link, you can even hear her read one of the tales.

29. The Sorcerer's Companion by Allan Zola Kronzek & Elizabeth Kronzek - 274 pages - This was written in an encyclopedic way, but I read it in order. It was interesting, and was well-researched, I thought. For example, it discussed dragons and how they were scary in Europe, but considered good luck in Asia - with a bit more information than that. ;-)

30. Things I Learned About Knitting...Whether I Wanted To or Not by Stephanie Pearl-McPhee aka The Yarn Harlot - 160 pages - Stephanie Pearl-McPhee is an absolutely hysterical writer of knitting books. If you're not a knitter, you might not appreciate her writing fully, but omigod, I laughed out loud a lot while reading this book.

31. Facing the Extreme: One Woman's Story Of True Courage And Death-Defying Survival In The Eye Of Mt. McKinley's Worst Storm Ever by Ruth Anne Kocour with Michael Hodgson - 273 pages - I needed a book to take to Baltimore with me and this one won out because it was small enough to fit in my purse. I read it Tuesday and it proved to me that while I love reading mountaineering books, I have no desire ever to climb a mountain, especially one where it snows. It wasn't the best mountaineering book I've ever had, but it was pretty good.

Book of the Month - The Graveyard Book by Neil Gaiman

Movies

27. - 6/6 - The Paradine Case (TCM) - 1947 - This movie was unavailable for a while on DVD, so when it came up on TCM (last June 26 - yeah, it was on my DVR for damn near a year), I DVRd it. After watching it a second time, I realised that this is a Hitchcock film I don't need to own. It's not that it's bad. It's just not a very happy film and it makes me sad to see Gregory Peck so pathetic.

28. - 6/7 - Bell, Book and Candle (TCM) - 1958 - I remembered seeing this movie many many years ago and wanted to see it again as I remembered liking it. Tastes change as we get older, I've discovered. It wasn't bad, it just wasn't extraordinarily fabulous. I wasn't in love with Kim Novak and Jimmy Stewart together in Vertigo, and it didn't work for me here either.

29. - 6/7 - The Last Metro (N) - 1980 - This is about a famous Jewish French play director during WWII who goes into hiding (supposedly left the country), while his wife, Catherine Deneuve, continues to run the theater with a very young Gerard Depardieu as leading man in the new play. It was told as a true story...no clue if it is. It helped keep me in my WWI/Nazi theme of the past couple months. *sigh* So uplifting.

30. - 6/26 - Flushed Away (RR) - 2006 - When you visit friends with a 5-year-old you end up watching animated films - not that I'm complaining, because I love animated films, and I got to see two (see #32) new ones (okay, new to me). I love Aardman and this came from them. It was very cute. Premise: Roddy is a pet rat who gets flushed down the toilet by a pretty disgusting rat and he spends the movie trying to get back to his cushy life as a pet. He meets up with the usual cast of characters - bad guys with an evil plan, normal rats living their lives, love interest, etc. And, of course, learns what is actually important in life.

31. - 6/26 - After The Thin Man (K) - 1936 - I had sent my DVD excel spreadsheet to my friend Rebecca on Thursday to see if there were any movies she wanted me to bring and she asked for a Thin Man movie. The first one is lent to a friend from work, so I brought the 2nd one. I love the Nick and Nora movies and this one has a very young James Stewart. If you haven't ever seen one, please do yourself a favor and watch them. They are quite clever and what is funnier than a police detective getting all angry and swearing heartily by saying "Phooey."

32. - 6/27 - Robots (RR) - 2005 - This was my second children's movie of the weekend (and better than my other option of Madagascar 2 which I had seen and wasn't overly fond of). I quite liked this...I thought the main character robot was cute and it was a lovely story appealing to my socialist heart. ;-)

Movie of the Month - The Last Metro (although I'm more likely to watch Flushed Away again, as it was a tad happier)

Cat Scratch Wednesday

2009-06-24T20:05:00.002-04:00

How adorable is Boris in this picture? With his little chin resting on his elbow. So sweet!

Cat Scratch Tuesday

2009-06-23T22:27:00.000-04:00

This is my very beloved Tikal shortly before I had to have him put to sleep because of a tumor underneath his tongue which wasn't letting him eat.

First off, LL, Derian Hatcher was never The Face of the Red Wings, much less the preferred face of the NHL.

But if you want to root for somebody like this...

I guess that's your prerogative.

Cat Scratch Monday

2009-06-22T19:29:00.005-04:00

I find it a lot easier to take pics of Boris as Igor is so dark and he fades into the background...but here he is, oh so relaxed, and you can see his cute six-toed paw(s).

Really, LL, you root for this guy???

Cat Scratch Sunday

2009-06-21T13:49:00.003-04:00

LL will learn not to say shit he really knows better about saying...I'm keeping my threat of catblogging for a week. ;-)

This is The Libertarian's cat, Carbon.

Cat Scratch Saturday (just for LL)

2009-06-20T14:07:00.003-04:00

I don't know if Boris sits in the suitcase to try to keep me home or if it's just another box to him...but he's so darn cute, how could I not share him with you, LL?

April and May Books and Movies

2009-06-19T13:19:00.001-04:00

So, I've been contemplating blog entries for oh-about-two-months now. ;-) First off, I don't know if you're getting this commercial in the rest of the country, but I'm ready to throw my radio out the window (the DVR has spoiled me as I never watch commercials on TV anymore, but still have to suffer through them on the radio – most of the time). It's a Kroger commercial – which is bizarre to me. They never advertised when they had competition from Farmer Jack (which closed all its stores a year or so ago – selling some to Kroger – in fact, in my neighborhood, they bough the Farmer Jack that was RIGHT ACROSS THE FRIGGIN' STREET – so yes, there are two Krogers facing each other). Anyway, now that their only competition is Wal-Mart (do people actually buy food there? I refuse to shop there, so I don't know) and Meijer (I finally got one near me, but it's in this new complex which is a bloody nightmare to get into and out of, so I don't go there), Kroger has started advertising non-stop – radio and television.

The one that bugs me the most is the commercial for their meat department. Now, it doesn't bug me because I'm a vegetarian, it bugs me because it's annoying and stupid. They are interviewing supposed real customers (they sound ignorant enough to be real customers) and one woman says how the meat is so great it just makes you want to go home and cook and then says, "It's awesome." NO! It's not fucking awesome, it's a G-D meat department. The Himalayas are awesome. The Grand Canyon is awesome. I'll even concede that Mount Rushmore is awesome, but the Kroger meat department does NOT fit the definition of awesome. In fact, I'd like to declare a moratorium on the word. Never ever fucking use it! Very few things in this world are truly awesome and the word has lost its true meaning. My mother uses it all the time and it drives me up a wall. No, the scarf I made her was not awesome…it was attractive. It was nicely done. It's pretty, etc., but it wasn't awesome. The yarn was fabulous, but NOT AWESOME.

Okay, now that I've gotten that out of my system. I seem to have not listed my books and movies for April and it's now time to do May. I think I’m doing pretty well for the year, as I finally got smart and copied Heather (who hasn't blogged in more time than me) and number them as I go along.

APRIL

Books

16. Eichmann in Jerusalem: A Report on the Banality of Evil by Hannah Arendt - 298 pages – 1963 – I bought this book a good 20 or so years ago (when I was transcribing a Holocaust survivor's story for the premier Holocaust historian in the country), but trust me, transcribing that was depressing enough. I finally decided to read the book because I had bought the book Becoming Eichmann (TWICE – which I took as a sign). I gave away the 2nd book to my former boss' son who is studying the Holocaust and is even going to Germany/Austria this summer to visit concentration camps. He was very excited about the book and after I finished the Arendt book, I lent that to him. Anyway, it's not a difficult read and was very interesting. I've started the Becoming Eichmann book, but it's a bit denser of a read and there's really only so much Holocaust/Nazism I can handle at a time.

17. The Soul of Baseball: A Road Trip Through Buck O'Neil's America by Joe Posnanski – 282 pages – This book was a birthday present and I loved, loved, loved it. I don't care if you're not interested in baseball, this book is simply lovely. I'm sorry that I didn't ever get to meet Buck O'Neil. I also want to go to Kansas City and visit the Negro Leagues Museum. This is definitely a feel-good book w/o being schmaltzy.

Book of April: The Soul of Baseball, hands down.

Movies

15. (4/10) – The Nun's Story (N) – 1959 – As much as I love Audrey Hepburn, it wasn't until I read the biography in March that made me want to watch this movie. I'm Catholic, even, and I wasn't sure I really wanted to watch a movie about a nun. It, however, was so much more than that. It was based on a book by the same name and about a real nun who left her well-to-do family to join the convent as a nurse and how hard it was on her and how all she really wanted to do was go to the Belgian Congo, but to show her humility (she was the smartest nurse/nun), they didn't send her there. And then they brought her back to Belgium and during the war she discovered that it was much too hard on her to treat the Nazi soldiers needing care the same way she treated the Allies soldiers. It was Audrey's favorite movie that she starred in.

16. (4/10) The Lavender Hill Mob (N) – 1951 – Alec Guinness and Stanley Holloway made this an enjoyable romp of a crime movie. Alec Guinness plays a steady, bank employee who plans to rob his own bank's armored car with the help of a couple of real crooks and someone he met in his boarding house. It had moments of silliness, but was a good time.

17. (4/11) Kate & Leopold (K) – 2001 – I went to a friend's house to hang out and she had requested that I bring this movie because the last time I had gone to watch movies with her she was surprised to find a "chick" flick in my bag of movies. She wanted to see what kind of "chick" flick I liked. She still has it, in fact, and has watched it at least once more. So, she liked it, too.

18. (4/11) The Stranger (K) – 1946 – This was the 2nd movie of the night that we watched (we started early as we are old). My friend loves Orson Welles and didn't know this movie. Very film noir with Orson Welles being sufficiently creepy as the Nazi war criminal hanging out in a small New England town but without overdoing it. It even has Edward G. Robinson as the Nazi war criminal seeker-guy.

Movie of April: The Nun's Story – Honestly, this is absolutely worth the time.

May

Books

18. Plum Spooky by Janet Evanovich – 309 pages – 2009 – More of the same. Good escapism…even better, no car blew up in this one. She's still having ridiculous car issues, but at least it didn't get blown up. Maybe Ms. Evanovich has figured out that she was stretching even fiction's bounds of realism.

19. Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance: An Inquiry in to Values by Robert M. Pirsig (with New 1999 Intro by author along with the 1984 Afterword by author and A Reader's Guide) – 449 pages – 1974 – This is one of those books that I've heard about for half my life and people just love it. It was a common book for Comp 105 back at University, but my Comp 105 teacher (I don't think he was a professor, i.e., had a Ph.D.) chose a different book. Anyway, I absolutely and positively hated ZMM (as it's apparently known). I liked the actual motorcycle trip, that was interesting, but his "Chautauquas" sucked. I started calling them soliloquies. My eyes would glaze over and it started early on when in answer to his son asking him if he believed in ghosts, he talked about the Law of Gravity being a ghost. I was, however, bound and determined to finish the book, if only to know how the trip ended. One statement in the book struck home to me (from page 322) "Anxiety, the next gumption trap, (don't ask) is sort of the opposite of ego. You're so sure you'll do everything wrong you're afraid to do anything at all." My aunt used to say this about my family all the time, because we were all so scared of the Former Father and disappointing him by failing at something that we just didn't try. To that end, I've started my own first sweater…we shall see how that goes. Baby steps, people, baby steps.

20. Serenity: Better Days by Joss Whedon, Brett Matthews & Will Conrad – 73 pages – 2008 – This is a prequel to the Serenity movie (obviously to anybody who reads it and has seen the movie). I haven't read a graphic novel since V for Vendetta and before that it was the Sandman series a very long time ago (pre-1996), but my friends own a comic book shop and I like to support my friends' business adventures. There were three separate "comics," but I bought the all-in-one version. I'm not good at waiting to find out what happens next. There's supposedly another one for which I'm waiting. The characters look like their actors which is cool. If you're a Serenity fan and didn't know that Joss had branched out, here ya go, although I'm betting I'm the only one who didn't know.

Book of the Month: Serenity: Better Days

Movies

19. (5/2) Sophie Scholl: The Final Days (N) – 2005 – The Libertarian lent me this and as I had just finished the Hannah Arendt book and started the other Eichmann book, I figured what the heck on more rampant Nazism. Now, I had heard about the White Rose movement, but didn't really know anything about it, until this movie. Sophie Scholl and her brother as part of the White Rose movement were arrested in 1943 for distributing leaflets at University that were against the Nazi regime, which the Nazis didn't look upon too kindly. They were interrogated and finally put on trial, found guilty (of course) and execute. While not exactly an uplifting film, it was an excellent movie which showed human strength and dignity in the face of evil and inevitability. Please see this movie.

20. (5/2) Paris When It Sizzles (N) – 1964 – I saw this because Audrey Hepburn was in it. She's marvelous…the movie, itself? Hmmm, not so much.

21. (5/2) Faraway, So Close (N) – 1993 – I had seen this movie when it first came out (or close to it), but wanted to see it again. Sadly, it's prequel (Wings of Desire) is no longer available from Netflix for some stupid reason, so I couldn't watch it first which had been my plan. ;-( Peter Falk is in it, in a much smaller role than he had in Wings of Desire – from what I can remember. And Lou Reed. I think it could officially be called "an art house" film, if you're so inclined to put things into categories. However, it's a beautiful movie, cinematographically and plot (although there are some ugly scenes – if that makes sense). Click the link – it explains it way better than I could since it's Wim Wender's (director) own website.

22. (5/2) Transformers (F) – 2007 – I hadn't seen Transformers when it first came out, because, quite frankly, I didn't care. But Pamela mentioned that she owned it and was going to re-watch it before the new film came out and I questioned her about the 2007 film. I.e., "Really? You liked it?" I was incredulous, truthfully. I honestly didn't think it appealed to women over a certain age and was basically geared to teenaged boys. She lent it to me (and it took me forever to watch it) and I have to say that I quite liked it. You really can't go wrong with the classic "Good triumphs over Evil" storyline.

23. (5/9) The Iron Giant (K) – 1999 – I point blank love this movie. It occurs back in the 50s when everybody was scared to death of the Red Menace and nuclear holocaust. The Iron Giant lands on earth (Maine) and eventually befriends Hogarth who does what he can to keep the government official sent to find the thing that fell from space from finding the Giant. Great movie.

24. (5/19 & 21) Castle (9 episodes – I missed one, dammit – OOOOOHHHHHH!!! However, it appears I can DVR the one episode I missed this coming Saturday. WOOHOO!!!) 2009 – Thankfully, Fermi's and NYPinata's love of Nathan Fillion brought this TV show to my attention, so I could continue my own "old man" love (as LL likes to call it). It's a good show with him playing a famous author working on a new series and he's learning about police work by following around a female homicide detective. He's got the good teenaged-daughter, the off-the-wall mother and an even crazier ex-wife, but it all works – at least for me. I still prefer him in Serenity, but I can watch that whenever I want (to say nothing of seeing his comic book/graphic novel character).

25. (5/25) Untamed Heart (Movieplex) – 1993 – I had DVRd this movie quite some time ago, because I had been wanting to see it and had contemplated buying it, but it had been a number of years since I had seen it and wasn't sure I really wanted to buy it (even for $9). It's not what one would call a happy movie, but there's something very uplifting about it. I think Christian Slater does a great job in it, playing the busboy everybody thinks is slow, but is really just more of a loner due to being raised in an orphanage and having a weak heart. Marisa Tomei is perfect as the young woman who keeps falling in love with the wrong guy, but eventually falls for someone who treats her well. I would say this is an unadulterated chick flick (even with the hockey game scene).

26. (5/25) Ladies in Lavender (Enc) – 2004) – Maggie Smith and Judi Dench play sisters who live in the late 1930s and find a young man half-drowned on the beach in their small English town. He doesn't speak English, but they manage to communicate in German. The sisters' relationship with each other becomes strained as they both have different ways of dealing with their guest. It's not action-packed, but it was very well done and worth the effort.

27. (5/31) Prayers for Bobby (Lifetime) – 2009 – I DVRd this way back in January when it aired, but I'm really slow on the movie watching these days (in case you hadn't noticed). I wanted to see it for the topic and because it was filmed in Detroit. When Bobby and his brother walk along the railroad tracks there's a bright turquoise building behind them that says Flair. A former co-worker's sister owns that shop and I helped them on Opening Day (pricing earrings). And the final scene during the gay pride parade was held on a street where I drive every Monday on my way to see Maureen. I remember driving it one day last year and wondering what the hell the banners and tents were all about. Who knew metro Detroit could pass so easily as Walnut Creek, CA and Portland, OR? I recognised it as Detroit, as I think any Detroiter would (just like all Detroiters laughed their asses off during Bird on a Wire which supposedly took place in Detroit, but very obviously wasn't filmed here at all). I think Prayers for Bobby could easily have fallen into being too much, but I feel it was poignant w/o being over done.

Movie of May: Sophie Scholl: The Final Days

Well, this post only took me three weeks to write. *sigh* I'm a horribly slackeresque blogger, aren't I?

Ginastera's Estancia

2009-05-28T07:05:00.003-04:00

Yes, I've been missing in action...been too busy knitting and working to blog. Besides, I was being nice to LL by not Catblogging. ;-)

In the meantime, enjoy one of my favorite pieces of classical music. The first time I heard it I was on my feet the second it ended yelling and applauding madly as was the rest of the Detroit symphony crowd. I turned to the YS and said, "That was fucking brilliant."

Cat Scratch Sunday

2009-04-26T17:17:00.004-04:00

Oops, missed annoying LL yesterday. Tragic!!!!

This seemed like a perfect picture considering the weather here has been fabulous - windows open and everything! So, in honor of spring (although it's more summery the past three days than spring-like) here's Boris sitting in an open window.

Cat Scratch Saturday

2009-04-18T21:47:00.005-04:00

This is Igor's favorite place to hang out when I'm in the shower. Directly to the right of where he's sitting is said shower. Schneider built the shelves in the wasted space between the end of the tub and the wall (my old apt. directly below did not have these handy-dandy shelves) and we all appreciate them. Boris likes to climb up on the very top (just above Igor's spot) and you can see where Igor likes to sit. I use the purple towel to protect the ones I actually use from becoming covered in black cat hair.

Today was as GORGEOUS day here in Michigan. I went out for Sander's hot fudge cream puffs with the OS, Mom and the Nephew's girlfriend (nephew was going to a geek fest). After the hot fudge decadence, we went to Grandma's condo to check out the stuff that was left. I hadn't gotten to go through her stuff the first time around because I was in SF and Vegas. I got some cool kickass old time ash trays that don't look like ashtrays but sweet glass sculptural bowls. I'll have to take a picture sometime to show you. Childhood memories.

I'm not feeling 100% so I'm going to bed. I do not need to get sick AGAIN! I'm tired of being sick.

Another Tribute to The Bird

2009-04-15T21:51:00.003-04:00

NPR's story on the Bird. There's a nice comment at the bottom of the story telling yet another story about Mark's modesty, but there's a button at the top where you can listen, including a snipped of The Bird is the Word.

Go, Bird, Go!

2009-04-14T14:05:00.000-04:00

I'm taking a page from the good doctor and telling you all about someone very important to Detroit who died yesterday. I'm talking about Mark "The Bird" Fidrych. He was the personification of joy and ebullience back in 1976 when he was The Rookie of Major League Baseball. If you never heard about The Bird, then you are missing out.

He was the reason I became interested in baseball. He was known for his quirkiness – talking to himself with the ball close to his mouth so it was generally accepted that he talked to the ball, grooming the mound with his bare hands between pitches, *running* to the mound, refusing to step on the white line. Stories are told that in the minors when the centerfielder would make a great catch, Mark would run out to centerfield to high five the centerfielder (or slap him on the back or in some other way thank him). Tigers management had to explain to him that that was not acceptable in the majors. Too bad, really. I would have loved to have seen him do it at Tiger Stadium.

The Tigers sucked in 1976 (they lost 103 games), but he won 19 games! He started the All-Star game. He went 7 innings on Opening Day. He pitched SIX complete games in a row (probably a good reason why his career flamed out so quickly as in 1977 he had shoulder and knee issues).

While he was an instantaneous star in Detroit from Opening Day, the nation didn't discover him until he took down the mighty Yankees during a nationally broadcast game on Monday Night Baseball in June. It didn't matter where he went that season, games sold out. Somebody told me earlier today that they remember when the team went to KC that summer, he wasn't scheduled to pitch, but they put an autograph table out there at 3rd base and he signed autographs for as long as the fans wanted…REMEMBER: this was NOT in Detroit. Unlike the high-priced ball players of today he never ever charged for appearances or autographs. And in his rookie year he made the league minimum - $16,500. However, the Tigers did give him a bonus of $25,000 at the end of his rookie season. They then signed him to a three-year contract worth $255,000 – not really an impressive sum of money when you think what players are paid now. It's sad how people like Mark Fidrych and Gordie Howe struggle to make ends meet when players in this day and age could retire after one friggin' year. (Sorry for the editorialising.)

He even had his own song here in Detroit – "The Bird is the Word" by the Trashmen. His picture was on every t-shirt in Detroit, to say nothing of the Sports Illustrated covers - with Big Bird (for whom he was nicknamed) and one from 1978 – even 30+ years ago SI sucked in knowing what was important – freaking Rookie of the Year in 1976 and they don't put him on the cover until he was already hurt in 1977.

Everybody who ever had the opportunity to meet The Bird only has good things to say about him – how friendly he was, how he would talk to anybody, especially about baseball, he'd sign anything, and how much he loved life. The quintessential story about Mark is how he said one time that if he hadn't made it in baseball at all, he would have been happy pumping gas back in Massachusetts. And after his short-lived baseball career was over, he went back to Massachusetts where he drove trucks and had a farm.

He was found yesterday dead under his dump truck, apparently, the truck slipped off its jack and crushed him. A friend found him. His career as a Detroit Tiger was over much too soon, as was his life. My prayers and thoughts to his wife and his daughter.

Here are a couple of good columns about Detroit's most beloved Tiger of all time:

From the Detroit News, about his serious side.

This story by Joe Lapointe of the NYT is one of the best. It takes registration at NYT, but it's free and it's worth it.

And while I'm mad at MLB.com right now (all their official merchandise is made in China), they have a tribute page.

Another blogger has written his own very personal tribute about what Mark meant to him.

Happy Easter

2009-04-12T19:00:00.001-04:00

Happy Easter, everybody. I've ODd on Tootsie Rolls and deviled eggs. But I figured what the heck, I only get them once a year.

Cat Scratch Saturday

2009-04-11T15:28:00.003-04:00

This is my favorite picture of my beloved Tikal who I had to put to asleep back in May 2003 due to a tumor that attached his tongue to the bottom of his mouth so he couldn't eat. The day I put him to sleep was one of the worst days of my life. He was so sweet and a complete lap cat. At night he would sleep under the covers in my bed. When he'd want to go under the covers, he'd head-butt me until I lifted the covers. I was always worried that he was going to suffocate, but obviously never did. One time the YS stayed at my place when I went somewhere and after a couple of nights, she told me that Tikal was head-butting her at night but couldn't figure out why. "Oh yeah, he wants to be let under the covers." After that, she had uninterrupted nights of sleep.

Back in 2000 when the YS and I were driving my belongings and me back to Detroit from San Francisco in a big rented truck with Tikal in a carrier - at least to start. But we couldn't keep the poor sweetie in the carrier the whole time, so we let him out, hoping he'd sit on my lap, but he was a bit freaked out by the noise of engine and spent most of the first few days of the drive on the floor next to Aunt YS's feet (there was a separate little area in the wheel well on the driver's side). By the time we reached the Plains states, however, he was sitting on the seat between us and looking out the windscreen. Aunt YS played the license plate game with Tikal, and he won. He was excellent at spotting license plates and almost got all 50 of them. ;-)

The funniest part of the trip, however, was one time when he was sitting up looking out the windshield, we were approaching an overpass and as we passed underneath it Tikal totally ducked. It was hilarious. At the next overpass, he still ducked, but not to the extent of the first one. After that he figured it out and realised that the overpasses weren't dangerous, but that initial duck was so darn funny. I still miss him, even as much as I love Boris and Igor, Tikal holds a special place in my heart. He was a sweet boy.

Stand By Me

2009-04-08T11:08:00.001-04:00

This moved me.

Stand By Me

Although there was an "embed" button, I couldn't get it to work. Trust me the click is worth it.

Cat Scratch Saturday & March Books & Movies

2009-04-04T17:39:00.003-04:00

Igor and Boris looking like they get along...silly boys.

Books

11. Enchantment: The Life of Audrey Hepburn by Donald Soto - 340 pages - I love Audrey Hepburn. She was an unbelievable woman - living through WWII, dealing with the abandonment of her father, the coldness of her mother, etc. All she ever wanted in life was to be loved and to be a mother of many children. She ended up married to two men who did not appreciate her or love her the way she wanted to be loved. Such a sad story.

12. Mystery of Crocodile Island by Carolyn Keene (#55) - 180 pages - Nancy and friends left River Heights and its myriad mysteries for the Florida Keys and some bad guys owning a crocodile farm and smuggling illicit goods. I know this will shock you but she solved the mystery and avoided great danger to her and Ned.

13. The Thirteenth Pearl by Carolyn Keene (#56) - 179 pages - This is the last of the Nancy Drew books. She leaves the country with her father, Carson Drew, for Japan where she dresses in disguise as a Japanese girl (somehow the people she comes into contact with fall for it), figures out the key that will help her solve the mystery of the missing pearls once she gets back to River Heights where her friends help her once again. Whew, I was worried on this one. ;-)

14. The Rhino with Glue-On Shoes and Other Surprising True Stories of Zoo Vets and Their Patients Ed. by Lucy H. Spelman, DVM and Ted Y. Mashima, DVM - 311 pages - The title of this book caught my eye as I do love rhinos, the subtitle convinced me to buy it. It contained great stories of vets figuring out what was wrong with their animal patients and how they cured them - at least most of them. It also had pictures of all the animals. I would definitely recommend this book to any animal lover, especially LL.

15. A Walk in the Woods By Bill Bryson - 274 pages - Somebody gave me this book years ago and told me it was very funny, but I had just never gotten around to reading it. After I read his Shakespeare book last month, I finally took it off the bookshelf. The person (whoever it was) who gave me the book did not steer me wrong. This book is one laugh after another and is about Bill Bryson's attempt to hike the entire Appalachian Trail from Georgia to Maine. I actually know someone who has accomplished this particular feat and I've also hiked the last bit in Maine myself where I saw people who were finishing the AT themselves (some were nice, some were a bit snotty, as if they are better than day hikers). Whatever. I'd definitely recommend this book, even if you're not hiker (I don't consider myself to be a real hiker).

Movies

11. A Night To Remember - 1955 - Retroplex - I read the book that this movie was based on when I was in grade school (multiple times). I was fascinated by the Titanic story. While I hate the James Cameron/Leonard diCaprio movie, Titanic, I loved this movie, as it's based on the book by Walter Lord and he had interviewed many of the survivors to get as true a story as possible. I cried throughout The Night to Remember which I did not do at all during Titanic.

12. Ratatouille - 2007 - Encore - I have a thing for animated films, but I hadn't seen this when it came out. I thought this was very cute. The concept is a rat that has a thing for cooking shows and ends up in a Paris restaurant where he helps the true owner (but we don't know that yet) take over the restaurant from the mean guy. If you haven't seen it, and it's shows up on cable, definitely check it out.

13. Coffee and Cigarettes - 2003 (N) - This marked the end of my Jim Jarmusch phase and I have to say that I bloody well hated this movie. It was all I could do to finish watching it. And it had Iggy Pop, Tom Waits, Steven Wright, Roberto Benigni and Kate Winslett in it. Premise was a series of vignettes where people meet over cigarettes and coffee, not a horrible premise, but it was horrendously boring and I wanted to slap people. Honestly, it had Iggy Pop in it and I hated it.

14. Slumdog Millionaire - 2008 (Star-Sfld) - I don't see many movies in the theatre, but I really wanted to see this one, so I went one Sunday with Pamela after she cut my hair. I didn't know much about it (i.e., the violence and torture), except that it was about a slum kid in India who gets on their version of Who Wants to be a Millionaire. I quite liked it.

15. Velvet Goldmine - 1998 (N) - I had been wanting to see this movie again for some time, especially after reading the Iggy Pop biography. I have to say that knowing more about Iggy gave me a new perspective on the movie. It's not a bad movie, but it didn't work for me as well as it had before. Sometimes too much knowledge can take away the enjoyment of a thing.

16. MacGyver - Season 2 - I love MacGyver.

Book of the Month: This is tough...the Audrey Hepburn book was great, but it was sad. The Rhino with Glue-On Shoes was fabulous, but Walk in the Woods was hilarious. I'm going with A Walk in the Woods.

Movie of the Month: A Night To Remember - See it...especially if you think DiCaprio's Titanic was good.

Off to Vegas

2009-03-24T11:49:00.000-04:00

I think I've been traveling too much over the past decade or so as I'm leaving tomorrow morning for Las Vegas and I have yet to pack a thing. I got the suitcase out, but that is literally the extent of what I've done. I have a lot to do to get ready to go, too. I HAVE to paint my toenails. I refuse to wear sandals w/o painted nails and I don't bother in the winter as I wear shoes and socks constantly here in Michigan. And it'll be warm enough in Vegas for sandals which will feel quite decadent in March. I like to let my nails breathe the winter months. I also want to finish the red mohair scarf that I'm knitting for my friend Lisa. It's close to being finished, I think.

Last night I did the dishes that were sitting in the sink. I refuse to go on vacation and leave dishes in the sink. I figure it would be bad form to do so just in case the plane crashes. The apt. is enough of a mess, they don't need stinky, dirty dishes in the sink, too. I should vacuum since Anna, Schneider's wife, will be taking care of the kids while I'm gone.

Over the last two weekends, I got the majority of the yarn stash organized into plastic tubs that I picked up from Bed, Bath & Beyond (made in the USA) using my multiple BB&B coupons. Did you know that there are people out there who don't know that they never expire? Tragic.

Lent started a good month ago and I never shared with you what I was giving up. Along with the usual junk food deprivation (absolutely no cookies, cake, chips, etc., except for Knitting Night because angel food cake isn't junk food) for the forty days, I've also given up buying yarn, books, CDs & DVDs. SK was not pleased when I said I was giving up yarn buying for Lent because she wanted to go to The World's Greatest Yarn Store. I told her that I would go with her, but she thought that it would be too cruel to have me go to TWGYS when I couldn't buy yarn. I told her that I could buy patterns, but she said, No. I thought that was awfully sweet of her…that and I think she's pretty well aware that she could give up yarn buying for Lent, too, if she were Catholic and not Buddhist. ;-) I.e., she has an even more impressive yarn stash than I have.

Let me put it another way for you. If, for some reason, money were to become worthless and we had to resort to some other form of currency and if that form happened to be yarn, I'd be the Bill Gates of the yarn currency to SK's Warren Buffett.

I've decided also (for now, we'll see how long this lasts) that I can't buy yarn unless there is space in my plastic tubs (meaning I have to knit from the stash and free up room), except for one last order from knitpicks that I have to place once Lent is over – specific yarn chosen by a friend for whom I said I would knit a scarf, and this sock yarn that I wanted but wasn't available until Lent had started. And then that's it. I better do a ton of knitting over the summer if I want to be able to go to Mary Maxim for their massive end of August/Labor Day Weekend Sale.

We have specific plans for Vegas, our trip out of Vegas proper this year will be Death Valley. HRH has a burning desire to go to Death Valley. The really funny part about this is that HRH simply hates being out in nature – but maybe our trips to Zion and Valley of Fire in the past year have made her slightly less queasy about it. Nature gives her the heebie jeebies. She just asked via e-mail if we want to go to Red Rock Canyon on Thursday and I questioned that she wanted to go. She said not really. She would go to the Red Rock casino while we went "snake-hunting." That's what she calls being out in nature – mostly because we hunt for things that will skeeve her out. ;-) What are friends for, if not to laugh at your fears and encourage them? Hell, the LB took a picture of a snake somewhere when he was out hiking and mailed it to both of us and even though she was sitting in her office in TO, she was still freaked out. Wuss. ;-)

Oh, I also need to update the iPod before heading out. There are songs I need to take off and other stuff (I:Scintilla) I need to put on. When will I find the time?

This all means that LL will only have to put up with catblogging this Friday at Fermicat's place as I won't be taking my computer with me. Enjoy it while it lasts, LL!

Cat Scratch Saturday

2009-03-21T17:37:00.004-04:00

I was out earlier running errands, meeting the sisters for lunch (and the nephew) and I would have sworn there was a full moon out there because people were driving incredibly stupidly. It was as if I were behind only brand-new drivers who had no clue where they were going, besides not knowing that the pedal on the right made the car go forward.

Then I got home and discovered the 12 Hours of Sebring was on and a light went on! Well, obviously, anybody who knows how to drive a car properly was at home watching sport cars taking on a super tough old WWII air base turned race track where I should have been. Go Allan McNish and Audi!!!

Here is Boris pretending he's a Vampire and Igor giving me a look that says, "Please rescue me."

Silly kids.

Cat Scratch Saturday #2(3)

2009-03-14T14:34:00.005-04:00

I've been debating about today's picture - one of Boris and Igor (the wallpaper on my phone) or a picture of Tikal or Zapata (my previous beloved cats).

And I still haven't decided...I'm going to search for a picture and see what appeals.

I decided on a picture of Boris with a cameo of Tikal.

I know you're all anxiously awaiting the books and movies of February, so here it is. I'm also watching Top Gear, so we'll see how well I summarise them when I'm not completely concentrating.

Books

4. The Supernaturalist by Eoin Colfer (267 pages) - If you haven't yet discovered Eoin Colfer (then you haven't been reading me for very long, or you've ignored my recommendations - and I'm crushed). He's an Irish writer for the Young Adult genre and he's utterly fabulous. This is (possibly) a one-off (i.e., not part of the Artemis Fowl series, which is supposedly done) and was a little sad (orphans a la Dickens but in the future), but there is, of course, upsides. The premise was that in the future there are no real countries, just areas controlled by different corporations. For some reason, there were lots of orphans who were essentially guinea pigs for the resident corporation - information which comes in handy when the hero orphan escapes and hooks up with a fringe element of three people who are actually the good guys. It's much more novel than I have explained.

5. Airman by Eoin Colfer (412 pages) - This is the latest book by Mr. Colfer and took place before the time of flight on some little island off the coast of Ireland which was its own little country. (Oh, kickass, I love Top Gear, they're playing Joy Division as background music - as if that would ever happen here.) The country had a good king who wanted his citizens to have a good life (vs. the older kings who wanted everything for himself). The king had a daughter, his head of army had a young son who were best friends. Good king is killed by bad element who also kills the tutor of the princess and her best friend. The boy sees it happen, so bad element throws him into the country's smaller island prison (mining diamonds) by pretending he was part of the assassination (but as a different person - it was all very convoluted, but in a way that made sense). He escapes eventually (think of the title of the book) and fixes everything.

6. Iggy Pop: Open Up and Bleed by Paul Trynka (354 pages) - I was very disappointed with this book, because although it covers Iggy's life up until 2006, it didn't discuss AT ALL the triumphant return of The Stooges to Detroit in 2003. I was already annoyed with Mr. Trynka for calling a lake here in the Detroit area as St. Clair Lake when its name is Lake St. Clair. It's a small editing issue, per se, but if I caught something that BASIC, who knows what else was wrong.

7. The Secret of the Forgotten City #52 by Carolyn Keene (180 pages) - This one was cool because the Forgotten City was in Nevada, not far from Vegas and she even went to The Valley of Fire, which I thought was pretty cool, considering I've been there and could picture some of the locations in the book. I hate to give away the ending, but Nancy finds the Forgotten City with the help of Bess, George, Ned, Dave and Burt. Yes, shocker, I know!

8. The Sky Phantom #53 by Carolyn Keene (180 pages) - We are getting VERY close to the end of the Nancy Drew books and it's making me sad. This is one that I didn't read a jillion times as a child, so I didn't remember what happened. It was one of the more outrageous Nancy Drew books as Nancy (at the tender age of 18) is taking flying lessons and proving herself to a brilliant pilot (along with her skills as a dancer, drawer, painter, actor, horseback rider, skater, skier, etc., from all the other Nancy Drew books). *eyes rolling*

9. The Strange Message in the Parchment #54 by Carolyn Keene (180 pages) - A thought came to me while re-reading the Nancy Drew books over the past few years. And that thought was "Nancy Drew was the precursor for Hart to Hart." What? You're thinking. Yes, you know how the Harts knew everybody in the world - especially those mixed up in some sort of crime or mystery - well, that's Nancy and her father.

10. Shakespeare: The World As Stage by Bill Bryson (196 pages) - I'd say if you want to know about Shakespeare, read this book. Bill Bryson is HILARIOUS and he pulls no punches and tells you what is actually known and even discusses the discrepancies between other books on Shakespeare - essentially, stuff people made up - not out of any real sense of maliciousness or anything, but stuff that just isn't proved out by the evidence. It's short and sweet.

Book of the Month: You know, I really want to pick the Iggy Pop book, but I'm still pissed off, so I'm going with Airman by Eoin Colfer.

Movies

6. The 49th Man (1953 - TCM) - This movie was about the smuggling of an atomic bomb (in pieces) into the United States. I thought it was very interesting and well done. I won't give away the ending because that would be wrong. If you like older movies (b/w), definitely check it out.

7. Down By Law (1986 - N) - I was still in the midst of my Jim Jarmusch phase here. This one has Tom Waits, John Lurie and Roberto Benigni as cell mates (the movie starts off showing how they all end up there individually) in a New Orleans prison and shows their adventures of escape and their bid for freedom. It was better than the one I just watched last week (which will be discussed next month, of course - trust me, it won't be the movie of March). In fact, I'd say that of Jarmusch's older films, I have liked this one the best.

8. How to Steal A Million (1966 - K) - For Valentine's Day, I went over to my friend Marianne's house (we got Thai take-away) with other friend Susan to watch movies. I took a bunch of movies and they chose a very fun Audrey Hepburn romantic comedy. I love this movie wholeheartedly. Audrey is gorgeous and sweet and lovely. Peter O'Toole is incredibly handsome and funny. It definitely asks you to suspend your disbelief mechanism and I have no problem. If you have never seen this movie, once again, you haven't been listening to me. Watch it. You will love it.

9. Murder By Death (1976 - K) - I had not seen this movie for many, many, many years, but I remembered the gist. However, as I had no knowledge of The Thin Man movies 30 years ago, some of the spoofs were lost on me back then. I kind of object to Neil Simon making Nick and Nora British - just for the record, that's just wrong. How can you object to a movie with Truman Capote, Alec Guinness, David Niven, Maggie Smith, Peter Sellers, Eileen Brennan, Peter Falk, Nancy Walker, Elsa Lanchester and James Cromwell?

10. Hammett (1982 - N) - I'm starting my Wim Wenders (as well as I can since Netflix is no longer carrying Wings of Desire - pissed me off) film retrospective. The premise here is that Dashiell Hammett has to solve his own mystery using what he knows from writing mystery books. It takes place (obviously) in old San Francisco. It was nicely done and fun to watch with Marilu Henner and Peter Boyle. I would say that it's not Wim's best, but I still liked it.

Movie of the Month: I probably can't pick How To Steal A Million, eh? I'm going to go with The 49th Man. It kept me on the edge of my seat and surprised me at the end.

Now, it's time for Top Gear to have my full attention. James and Richard are racing in Italy - Richard in a 40 year old Ferrari Daytona and James in a fancy ass boat of some sort.

Cat Scratch Saturday (Thanks, Red)

2009-03-07T23:12:00.000-05:00

I tried to post this this morning, but blogger was misbehaving.

I'm off to Autorama, but here is Saturday Catblogging. I started an entry this week, but didn't get very far.

This picture of Igor was taken by my friend Rick.

For LL - Catblogging Saturday

2009-02-28T14:48:00.001-05:00

I'm Bbbbbaaaaaccccccckkkkkkk!!! Be very scared. ;-)

2009-02-18T15:36:00.004-05:00

So, I've been remarkably absent, haven't I? I have any number of reasons. 1) Super busy at work where I was working more than 8 hours a day. 2) Super busy at home knitting scarves for visiting California-based family members who were coming in for Grandma's 90 Birthday Party in the midst of the coldest weather of the winter. 3) I was sicker than a dog with bronchitis for 2 weeks (and I actually haven't fully eliminated from my lungs quite yet – 4 weeks later). 4) Two weeks ago I joined Facebook.

And I've, somehow, managed to create a list a mile long of knitting I need to do. And the funny thing is that none of the knitting that "I need to do" is for me. Sometimes I'm just too darn Catholic. I have a boatload of yarn that I've bought for ME, but I never get that far. I'm working on three scarves right now: 1) Knit Picks Felici Sock Yarn in a very pretty feather & fan scarf for my cousin, 2) red mohair lace patterned scarf for one my Mexican family members (the others have been done for months, but the mohair lace is taking a LOT longer), and 3) scrap yarn scarf for the nephew's girlfriend who likes crazy things (this is almost too crazy, but nephew insists the GF will love it). Oh yeah, and a baby blanket for my friend Julius' new baby who was born in December. Dang it!

Both of those scarves have grown since I took those pictures.

At one point, I know I typed up the list of movies and books from November and December, but I have no clue where it went. I'm not sure how much of a synopsis I'll be giving, but I do at least want to maintain my lists.

January Books

Rough Justice by Jack Higgins (326 pages)

Fidelity by Thomas Perry (357 pages)

Heat Lightning by John Sandford (388 pages)

My favorite authors came out with books in December, which made for a large Borders bill, but they're so worth it. I loved all three books so I can't pick one for Book of the Month.

December Books

The Invisible Intruder by Carolyn Keene #46 (175 pages)

The Mysterious Mannequin by Carolyn Keene #47 (178 pages)

The Crooked Banister By Carolyn Keene #48 (179 pages)

The Fourth Crusade and the Sack of Constantinople by Jonathan Phillips (320 pages)

The Secret of Mirror Bay by Carolyn Keene #49 (178 pages)

The Double Jinx Mystery by Carolyn Keene #50 (180 pages)

Mystery of the Glowing Eye by Carolyn Keene #51 (181 pages)

Silks by Dick and Felix Francis (338 pages)

I love Dick Francis, so when it came time to choose which of my favorite authors' new books would be read first, there was no contest. The Fourth Crusade book was a birthday present and it was extremely interesting. I know damn near nothing about the Crusades, so I feel enlightened. The cool thing about the Nancy Drew books this month is that The Mysterious Mannequin ends in Constantinople so there was a theme.

Book of the Month: I have to go with Silks, just because it was the only non-Nancy Drew book (save for the Fourth Crusade book - and while it was good, nothing beats Dick Francis).

November Books

The Moonstone Castle Mystery by Carolyn Keene #40 (178 pages)

The Clue of the Whistling Bagpipes by Carolyn Keene #41 (177 pages)

The Phantom of Pine Hill by Carolyn Keene #42 (176 pages)

The Mystery of the 99 Steps by Carolyn Keene #43 (176 pages)

The Clue in the Crossword Cipher by Carolyn Keene #44 (177 pages)

The Spider Sapphire Mystery by Carolyn Keene #45 (176 pages)

I also read 176 pages of The Fourth Crusade book in November – academic treatises take me a tad longer to read than Nancy Drew books.

Book of the Month: Oy vey...I'm going with The Clue in the Crossword Cipher because it taught me a few Spanish words way back when. Can't really pick The Fourth Crusade since I didn't finish it in November.

January Movies

1/4 – Stranger Than Paradise – 1984 – (N) – Jim Jarmusch's second film (watched his first in December) and like most of his stuff, it's truly independent (unlike those pretend Coen Brothers) and different. I'm terrible at summaries, so go read and the link – although let it be known that the person who wrote the first summary didn't seem to watch the movie. The second summary is much more true to the movie.

1/4 – Forgetting Sarah Marshall – 2008 – N – I forget why I moved this to the top of my list and got it in the middle of my Jim Jarmusch film retrospective, but something made me do it. Oh yeah!!! Russell Brand I had seen him a few times on The Graham Norton Show and found him extremely entertaining (and a tad attractive).

1/24 – Anatomy of a Murder – 1959 – (Redford Theatre) – From the Redford Theatre's Calendar of Events, "Filmed in upper Michigan 50 years ago, this exciting small-town courtroom drama with James Stewart as the easy-going but cagey defense lawyer gives the audience first-rate fare with sterling performances by George C. Scott, Ben Gazzara, Arthur O'Connell and Eve Arden. I had seen this movie a few years back but when there was the opportunity to see it on the big screen, I took it. At the end, I queried, "Why did we want the wife-beater to beat the murder charge?" I think it's solely because Jimmy Stewart is his lawyer. The judge in the case is not an actor, but the attorney who took down McCarthy – Joseph Welch. If you go to IMDB, you'll see that someone started a discussion thread talking about how bad the actor playing the judge was. I have to say that I disagreed wholeheartedly with that person.. I thought the judge was great. Watch it and let me know what you think.

1/31 – Wit – 2001 – (N) – This is an Emma Thompson made for TV movie, but not of the bad Lifetime variety. For some reason I think it was made for HBO, but I can't find that information anywhere. This is not what I would call a light movie, as it deals with cancer, and in fact, by the end I had tears streaming down my face. I read at imdb.com that medical schools show this movie as an example to doctors-to-be of how not to treat patients.

After that, I needed something to cheer me up, so I broke into my MacGyver DVDs and I made it through the rest of Season 1. I love Richard Dean Anderson as MacGyver.

Movie of the Month: Anatomy of a Murder - I mean, really...I couldn't really pick Forgetting Sarah Marshall over Jimmy Stewart.

December Movies

12/1-6 – Firefly & Serenity – I was in the mood for some Nathan Fillion and a little futuristic sci-fi-western. You all know it. If you don't, I'm sorry for you, because it is so worth the time investment.

12/7 – Saboteur - 1942 –(K) - I love Hitchcock as you all know and this is one of my faves – with the Statue of Liberty ending and Vaughan Glaser telling our young hero as he goes off to save the country "and practice that triangle." That part just makes me laugh.

12/7 – Ocean's 11 (K) – What can I say? I was in the mood for something familiar.

12/6 & 9 – 27 Dresses – 2008 – (N) – I watched this over the course of two days because the bloody disk was messed up and I had to return it halfway through. I don't watch a lot of chick flicks (I'm not completely averse to the, but there are just other movies to watch that normally interest me more), but occasionally, you need a little frivolity in life. I have to say that I liked this movie. I thought it was cute. I laughed my ass off at the scene where she tries on every single one of her 27 dresses. I laughed out loud at the first wedding (and all subsequent weddings) when the bride said, "I picked that [bridesmaid] dress, because you'll be able to wear it again." Every single bride (or damn near) has said that to their bridesmaids as they're foisting some ugly-ass taffeta number on them and it's never ever been true once.

12/21 – National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation – 1989 – (Friend's) – This is an annual Christmas event with my friends from the University (colleagues from when I worked there, not fellow students from when I studied there). Even though I think it's a tad silly, it's growing on me and I laughed out loud at parts this year that I didn't laugh at previously.

12/28 – Madagascar 2: Escape to Africa – 2008 – (IMAX) – I walked across the street to watch this with my friend Marianne and her two kids. It was cute, but the first one was better. And it made me sad seeing Bernie Mac's name up on the screen.

12/28 – The Librarian: Quest for the Spear – 2004 – (TNT) – As some of you might know, I watch Ellen every day (she makes me laugh) and one day Noah Wylie was on plugging the third of the Librarian movies. They sounded fun (besides the clip they showed of the 3rd one had him sword-fighting and I love sword-fighting). TNT played the first two that Sunday that they showed the new one, so I DVRd all of them in that one day. While not exactly Oscar worthy films, they are enjoyable. Besides, they have Jane Curtin and Bob Newhart. I enjoyed all three of them.

12/28 – The Librarian: Return to King Solomon's Mine – 2006 – (TNT) – See above.

12/29 – The Librarian: Curse of the Judas Chalice – 2008 – (TNT) – I think TNT played them against this past weekend, so if you happen to be home one day when TNT is showing them again, you might consider them worthy of a peek.

12/29 – Permanent Vacation – 1980 – (N) – Jim Jarmusch's very first film which was from his film student days. I liked this better than Stranger than Paradise (January Movies). PV follows a young man around New York City where he meets interesting characters.

12/29 – The Diving Bell and The Butterfly – 2007 – (N) – Based on the book by Jean-Dominique Bauby who has a stroke while driving one day and ends up paralysed from the neck down, but unable to speak and able to move only one eyelid by which means he dictated his book – assistant would recite the letters of the alphabet in order of frequency and when she got to the letter he wanted, he would blink and she would writ the letter down and repeat the process. While a depressing topic, it wasn't a completely depressing movie as it showed what you can accomplish if you try.

12/29 - Bonneville - 2006 – (N) – The link contains spoilers, so don't click if you don't want to know. I saw the trailer for this on the 27 Dresses DVD and thought it looked like fun. Middle-aged women on a road trip in an old Bonneville – and thankfully, it didn't end with them driving off a cliff. I have to say that I really really really really liked this movie.

12/31 – Atonement - 2007 – (GG) – A work friend lent me this movie because she just loved it. I didn't. It was unbelievably depressing, and no, writing a better ending than real life because you fucked up does not make up for the fact that you ruined people's lives. I wanted to slap the little sister. The high point of the movie for me was the green dress Keira Knightley wore at one point. Dear heavens, it was a GORGEOUS dress - that picture does not do it justice, I have to say.

12/31 – MacGyver: Season 1 – (K) – After suffering through Atonement, I had to cheer myself up, so I put in Richard Dean Anderson. I still wanted to slap the shit out of the little sister from Atonement, but it helped me to put it aside long enough to go to sleep.

Movie of the Month: The Diving Bell and the Butterfly - Although I really did love 27 Dresses and Bonneville, almost as much. I'd recommend all three of these, but for different moods.

November Movies

11/14 – Patti Smith: Dream of Life - 2008 – (DFT) – A cinematographer followed Patti Smith around for a good number of years and then edited it all down into this movie. She was followed on a visit her parents and essentially, just being a regular person. I'm not really a fan of Patti Smith, but I have to say that I liked this movie.

11/23 – Un Chien Andalou – 1929 – (DFT) – While I had seen Un Chien Andalou years ago (college), BST hadn't seen it and the DFT was playing it along with two other films of similar vintage - Entre'acte - 1924 – and L'Age d'or - 1930, which I hadn't seen. L'Age d'or is in my 1001 Films You Must See Before You Die book, so I took the opportunity to check it off. They were all surrealist films (Buñuel and Dalí) and therefore, no real plot. I remember fighting to keep my eyes open during Un Chien Andalou (none of which was familiar except for the slitting eye scene). L'Age d'or was completely insane as it followed this couple who apparently were in hormonal overload and couldn't keep their hands off each other, especially in public places. And I believe at one point there was a huge cow in a canopied bed.

11/23 – Henry Rollins: Uncut from New Orleans – 2008 – (IFC)
11/26 – Henry Rollins: Uncut from South Africa (IFC) – I love Rollins, but after watching this I loved him even more because he declared Iggy the King of Rock and Roll.
11/26 - Henry Rollins: Uncut from Northern Ireland

11/26 - Mr. Smith Goes To Washington - 1939 – (TCM) – I had never ever seen this movie, and instead of going dancing on the Wednesday before Thanksgiving, I stayed home and watched Jimmy Stewart instead. I loved this movie and wish the Democrats would make the Republicans filibuster like this now!

11/28 - Seventh Seal - 1958 – (TCM) – Like Un Chien Andalou, I had seen this film many years ago, but didn't really remember anything about it except for Max von Sydow playing chess with the Devil. I know some people LOVE Bergman and others LOATHE Bergman (Ingmar, of course), the latter calling the former pretentious. I'm in neither category as I haven't seen many of his films, but I have to say that I quite like Seventh Seal. I wouldn't say it always makes sense, but who cares, especially since it made way more sense than the surrealist films I watched earlier in the month.

11/28 – Juno – 2007 – (N) – Yes, I was the last person in the world to see Juno. I loved it. It was so cute and dealt with teenage pregnancy w/o making light of it or making it seem as if the world is coming to the end either.

11/28 – Death Becomes Her - 1992 – (N) – I never watched this movie when it came out because I've had Meryl Streep issues ever since Kramer vs. Kramer, but when Goldie Hawn was on The Graham Norton Show (yes, it's a trend), they talked to her fans some of whom were OBSESSED with this movie. For some reason, they made it sound appealing and I added it to my queue and moved it to the top. Was it utterly brilliant and profound? Nope, but it was funny and worth watching. And I might have gotten over my Meryl Streep issues. I'm glad I watched it.

11/28 – Goth Cruise - I found this on On Demand and had to watch it. I want to go on a goth cruise!!!! The possibility of being on a cruise and dancing to good music instead of complete dreck is such a draw! Some of the people seemed a tad over the top, but generally, most of them were just normal people who like to wear black and listen to Goth music.

11/29 – The Queen - 2006 – (EGC) – My dear friend EGC lent me this DVD and I finally got around to watching it. I wasn't sure I was ready to live through Princess Diana's death all over again. I'm of the age that I watched the wedding on TV and thought she was utterly beautiful, to say nothing of her charity work over the years. While showing the Queen in a slightly more human light (at some points) than we usually see her, it didn't make me think of her as a good person. In fact, I had always liked the Queen Mum and if the way this movie portrayed her was even slightly accurate, I'm sorry I wasted that affection over the years.

Movie of the Month: It was a toss-up between Mr. Smith Goes to Washington and Juno - do I go with the classic or the clever, new movie?

November Events

I had one event in November…The Crüxshadows in Detroit ( Hamtramck , really) on 11/8. I dragged Marianne with me (everybody else bailed on me that day). I still loved I:Scintilla (first opening band) and even bought their CD after the show and got the entire band to autograph and then got my picture taken with them. I'd link to the picture, but that would require me to have downloaded the pics to my computer which hasn't happened yet. I want the dress the lead singer wore that night. Ayria was interesting solely because I was watching the water that the stupid bitch next to me spilled by putting her drink on the stage and then knocking it over and doing NOTHING about it. I was scared Jen (lead singer) was going to slip and fall and kill herself. It turns out that Rogue and most of the Crüxshadows (and a good number of the other two bands) all had the flu.

I was right up close – right up against the stage – much to the stupid bitch's dismay next to me who spent the first two bands and the hour or so before they even went on stage trying to get me to move because a friend of hers showed up after me and wanted to squeeze in on the other side. After the second band, I finally called her out and told her that she might as well stop elbowing me because I was going fucking nowhere. She tried to protest that everybody was pushing and I said, "No, they're not. It's just you. You want me to move because your friend showed up late and you think that I'm going to move if you're annoying enough, but I won't, so you might as well stop." Amazingly enough, she and her stupid boyfriend finally did stop trying to get me to move. Honestly, I might be old, but that just means that I've been to more concerts than you, honey, and I can hold my own.

The stage at Small's was significantly smaller than the stage at the DNA in San Francisco and I worried that they weren't going to have room , but they made it work. Of course, the stupid bitch next to me kept putting beer bottles on the stage (right where all the lead singers were going to be standing) and I kept picking them up and passing them out of danger's way. I swear I wanted to slap the shit out of her and her stupid boyfriend. Inconsiderate, poorly raised assholes.

After the concert, I got to meet Rogue and got my picture taken with him (I look fat in it, so you won't be seeing it). The poor thing was absolutely sicker than a dog and you could tell – but not during the concert. I think it was a better concert than the San Francisco one. I was ready to drive to Cincinnati or Pittsburgh the next weekend to see them, but couldn't find anybody to go and the weather was complete shite and I wasn't going to drive I-75 in the snow. I'm nuts, but I'm not insane.

And there, you've caught up with the last three months of my life.

Ron Asheton, The Letter O

2009-01-06T16:21:00.000-05:00

Happy New Year, one and all! Which now officially sucks. I just got the really bad news that Ron Asheton, lead guitarist of The Stooges, was found dead this morning on his couch in Ann Arbor. His personal assistant contacted police last night after not being able to get a hold of him for several days. No definitive cause of death yet, but they're thinking heart attack. I'm really bummed. I took the iPod of shuffle mode and I'm now listening to The Stooges first album The Stooges.

Holy crap! Somebody's already updated Wikipedia with his death. I don't know why, but some reason that just strikes me as a little sick. As if someone is much too anxious to share bad news….wants to be first.

I had a whole bunch of stuff to post about, too…November and December Books & Movies (I know how you all look forward to that so much). And I signed up for a Letter O doohickey from Urs way back before Christmas. But right now I'm just too depressed (sitting at the office dabbing at tears).

I'm so thankful that I took every opportunity that was available to me over the past 5 years to see The Stooges perform live. And that I bought the DVD of their first Detroit concert in 30 years – 2003 at Pine Knob – postponed due to the big blackout. I confess that when Iggy came out on stage that night, I cried. It was such a rush. And it was the same both times I saw them last year (was it just last year – or was it 2007?). I think it was 2007…damn, time really does fly when you get old. I wore my Iggy Pop is from Ypsilanti t-shirt on Christmas Day. Mine's red, so it was appropriate.

I was a complete slacker during my time off and barely got on-line at all. I'd get on the computer to check e-mail and then would go right back to knitting. Much to do and not enough time to do it. Oy vey.

The Letter O Doohickey is actually called “Brought to you by the letter…” game. Here’s how it works…

You leave a comment on this post, and I’ll assign you a letter. You write about ten things you love that begin with your assigned letter, and post it at your place. When people comment on your list, you give them a letter, and the chain continues on and on.

Without further adieu, here’s my list, all starting with the letter O, as bequeathed to me. (Note: Everything written after "The Letter O Doohickey is actually called" is a direct quote from Urs.)

Organ – A number of years ago (ten or more) a good friend headed off to Duke to study graduate level Economics. This was when I was still working at the Univ and we had a professor there who was not the brightest bulb ever. In fact, she wasn't even close – we all questioned her getting a Ph.D. Anyway, when she found out that RE was going to Duke, she went on and on and on about its "big organ." It was all we could do to stifle our laughter – childish? Perhaps, but this was a person who wrote the exact same letter for every student attempting to get into law or grad school and used the words "good oral skills." Should I have fixed it for "verbal skills?" Possibly, but she had the Ph.D., not me…and I don't think she would have appreciated it anyway. So, I let it go and we still roll our eyes and laugh about it to this day. It might technically be correct, but really…

Oleo - Back when I was a tyke, this was the word we used in place of margarine. I have no clue where it came from or why it fell out of use, but I think only people over the age of 70 still use it. I don't actually love oleo, but I like it as a word. Okay, I looked it up…turns out the full term used to be oleomargarine and had to do with the combination of oils or something like that. Like good Americans, we shortened it to save time, apparently.

Orion - Quite literally, Orion is the only constellation I can find on a regular basis with no trouble. Sure I know the Big and Little Dippers are up there, but they're much more difficult to spot. I think that Belt of Orion's is way cool – mostly because that's how I spot it. I'm such an astronomer. Not.

Oriol - My favorite race car driver of the past 8 or so years. Sadly, last year he finally signed a contract for a full-time (he was the Super Sub – brilliant – for a good number of years) ride and then everything went to hell in a handbasket – hence that ugly red, white and blue logo in the corner of his website. Okay, I'm amused – I google-imaged Oriol and the first picture that showed up was obviously from the current year (i.e., ugly uniform, ugly car, etc.), but I saw one that showed my Oriol in a firesuit that was very familiar…and it turns out that it's from my good friend Row's website. I wonder if he knows! If you're good, you might even be able to look through Row's pics and find me at my happiest – at a Champ Car race with good friends. Damn, going through those pics made me melancholy.

On-line - Which of us doesn't love "on-line"-ness? It gives me access to people, knowledge, shopping, etc. It's almost all good.

Oh crap, when I started this I thought I only had to come up with FIVE O words…hmmm. Time to get out the dictionary.

Obelisk - I equate obelisks with ancient Egypt which I find utterly fascinating and I look forward to the day I get to return to Egypt and see more of it, as I really only got to see Cairo and Saqqara when I was there back in the mid-90s.

Oboe - If you have never listened to Vivaldi's Oboe Concertos you are missing out. They are incredible.

Occasion - I love special occasions, especially if they require one to dress up. I do not feel people dress up enough anymore. Hell, when I see people at the symphony and opera in jeans or cargo shorts and flip-flops and t-shirts, it's obvious that nothing is an "occasion" anymore. And it makes me sad.

Opal - Opals are my all time favorite gemstone – particularly, black opals. A while back I had made it a goal to have an opal ring for every finger. I succeeded (with a couple extra) and now I rarely wear them.

Oscar - Specifically, Oscar Wilde. I have two favorite plays – Cyrano de Bergerac and The Importance of Being Earnest. He wrote the latter. I have a whole book of his writings and find him quite an interesting person. I can read or watch "Importance" at any day or time. Love, love, love it!

Yeah, Yeah, I'm not done yet defending the Big Three

2008-12-17T06:18:00.002-05:00

Autoblog #6 - I realise that by this time I'm preaching to the choir, but this is just pissing me off. Especially when friends send "jokes" about how the Big 3 don't make cars you want to buy so now we'll just take your money in a bailout - which we all know is a LOAN!!!!

This article is copyright protected, so I don't want to post all of it, just the bits that say what needs to be said and you can click on the link to read all of it. Okay, I posted most of it, because it was too important to cut up.

Big Three battle comes down to party politics
Senators carping about tax subsidies should look at plants in their backyard
COMMENTARY
By Ed Wallace
Business Week
updated 3:34 p.m. ET, Mon., Dec. 15, 2008

... Somewhere along the way this debate seems to have overlooked the fact that Detroit, for all its blunders, is still a viable economic engine, providing jobs to millions and creating some of the world's best cars. For example, the best-selling vehicle in America, even in this downturn, is still Ford's F-Series truck, and second place goes to the Chevrolet Silverado. Even the Dodge Ram continues to hold a strong position in the Top 20 vehicle list, while sales of the Toyota Prius are down substantially with the fall-off in gasoline prices. (We assume that the Prius is the type of car the left wants Detroit to build.)

And speaking of Japanese cars, I hate to point out the obvious, but car sales in Japan are lower today than they were 15 years ago, down over 30 percent just last month. Yet you won't see the heads of the Japanese auto companies on the carpet in front of their government officials, being drilled with questions like, "Why don't you build cars the public wants to buy?"

What's amazing is that Senator Richard Shelby (R-Ala.) is such a huge critic of using taxpayer money to bail out Detroit. Amazing because the state of Alabama has provided hundreds of millions of taxpayer dollars to lure foreign auto companies to build factories on its soil.

... Again, these were considered wise investments because the promise was that they would create more jobs for the chronically underpaid Alabama workforce. However, in the summer of 2003, Mercedes brought in Polish workers on questionable B-1 work visas to expand the factory because they could be paid far less than the local workforce.

So you had Alabama gifting state tax dollars to Mercedes' factory, only to discover that some of the jobs it created went to much cheaper labor imported from Eastern Europe.

Look at Senator Bob Corker of (R-Tenn.). The former mayor of Chattanooga was one of those responsible for winning the new Volkswagen factory at a cost of $577 million in tax incentives. Moreover, Tennessee got that factory only because Alabama offered the Germans a mere $385 million.

Mississippi paid $284 million for a new Toyota plant; Kia got $324 million from Georgia. Texas had to fork over only $133 million for Toyota's Tundra plant in San Antonio, while Tennessee gave $197.6 million not for a new Nissan factory but simply so Nissan would move its American headquarters to Nashville. There are other factories — BMW in South Carolina, Nissan in Mississippi, and so on — but you get the point.

The Republican senators from these states see no problem whatsoever with paying to bring new automobile production to their states, and the media always quotes them gloating about how smart it is to spend that type of money because it creates jobs.

... The fact that many of these companies' brand-new, state-of-the-art American plants — nonunion plants, low cost-benefit plants — are also struggling seems to have escaped the notice of these same elected officials and the media.

Mercedes recently offered a buyout to its entire workforce in Alabama, and Hyundai has never gotten its Alabama factory up to full capacity. Toyota will not use its upcoming Mississippi factory to build its Highlander SUV, and Nissan is converting its factory in that state to build commercial vehicles. Toyota has been forced to shut its Texas truck plant because of scanty orders for the new Tundra, and so on. So Senator Shelby's statement that Detroit "doesn't innovate. They're a dinosaur," while his partner Senator Jeff Sessions (R-Ala.) brags about the "very large and vibrant automobile sector in Alabama," doesn't exactly ring true.

So we find that nonunion, low-cost, state-subsidized, state-of-the-art auto plants in America are having their fair share of problems, too. But according to Senate Republicans, the only part of the American car industry that isn't working is in Detroit.

Other governments aren't being so stingy — or mercenary. Sweden gave $3.5 billion to stabilize both Volvo and Saab on Dec. 10. Volkswagen has applied to tap into the bank bailout fund set up by Germany for that nation's troubled financial system — our Treasury and Fed may be compelled to offer similar help. And China just lent Chery Automotive $1.5 billion to continue operations.

That's right, other industrialized countries around the world will be stepping in to ensure that their own automobile industries will still be working when whatever financial downturn we are looking at is finally over. Moreover, they understand that the world's economy is precarious right now, so they aren't demanding that corporate jets be sold, they aren't demanding new business plans to save the individual companies, and they aren't publicly embarrassing the heads of Honda, Toyota, Mercedes, BMW, VW, Nissan, Renault, and others by demanding that they explain why their profits and sales have dropped suddenly. In the rest of the world, elected officials understand serious downturns in the economy and that the automotive industry is cyclical in nature.

As for Congress, shame on you for playing politics when so many jobs and, in many ways, the future of American manufacturing is at stake. But then again politics is all you know. Maybe you should let American carmakers get on with what they know how to do: build cars.

Copyright © 2008 The McGraw-Hill Companies Inc. All rights reserved.

Autoblog #5

2008-12-16T08:03:00.003-05:00

I'm sorry, but I have to do it...I was just reading comments at the Freep from some exceptionally ignorant people (not my readers, of course), but just in case one of them wanders by...

Watch CBS Videos Online

What Kind of Cat Are You?

2008-12-09T07:28:00.001-05:00

Sorry, autoblog #4 - Thank you, Ben Stein.

You Are a Siamese Cat

You are a very communicative creature. You're eager to express yourself - and do so often.

You are very dependent and love attention. You will complain if you are not getting enough affection.

Even though you are very loving, you can seem aloof, unpredictable, and stubborn in relationships.

A relationship with you takes a lot of patience.

What Breed of Cat Are You?

Intermountain Letter to the Editor - Elkins Fordland

2008-12-05T06:19:00.001-05:00

Incredible editorial from one of our Dealers in the Pittsburgh Region.

Attached is a well written "Letter to the Editor" from Elkins Fordland.

Editor:

As I watch the coverage of the fate of the U.S. auto industry, one alarming and frustrating fact hits me right between the eyes. The fate of our nation's economic survival is in the hands of some congressmen who are completely out of touch and act without knowledge of an industry that affects almost every person in our nation. The same lack of knowledge is shared with many journalists whom are irresponsible when influencing the opinion of millions of viewers.

Sen. Richard Shelby of Alabama has doomed the industry, calling it a dinosaur. No Mr. Shelby, you are the dinosaur, with ideas stuck in the '70s, '80s and '90s. You and the uninformed journalist and senators that hold onto myths that are not relevant in today's world.

When you say that the Big Three build vehicles nobody wants to buy, you must have overlooked that GM outsold Toyota by about 1.2 million vehicles in the U.S. and Ford outsold Honda by 850,000 and Nissan by 1.2 million in the U.S. GM was the world's No. 1 automaker beating Toyota by 3,000 units.

When you claim inferior quality comes from the Big Three, did you realize that Chevy makes the Malibu and Ford makes the Fusion that were both rated over the Camry and Accord by J.D. Power independent survey on initial quality? Did you bother to read the Consumer Report that rated Ford on par with good Japanese automakers.

Did you realize Big Three's gas guzzlers include the 33 mpg Malibu that beats the Accord. And for '09 Ford introduces the Hybrid Fusion whose 39 mpg is the best midsize, beating the Camry Hybrid. Ford's Focus beats the Corolla and Chevy's Cobalt beats the Civic.

When you ask how many times are we going to bail them out you must be referring to 1980. The only Big Three bailout was Chrysler, who paid back $1 billion, plus interest. GM and Ford have never received government aid.

When you criticize the Big Three for building so many pickups, surely you've noticed the attempts Toyota and Nissan have made spending billions to try to get a piece of that pie. Perhaps it bothers you that for 31 straight years Ford's F-Series has been the best selling vehicle. Ford and GM have dominated this market and when you see the new '09 F-150 you'll agree this won't change soon.

Did you realize that both GM and Ford offer more hybrid models than Nissan or Honda. Between 2005 and 2007, Ford alone has invested more than $22 billion in research and development of technologies such as Eco Boost, flex fuel, clean diesel, hybrids, plug in hybrids and hydrogen cars.

It's 2008 and the quality of the vehicles coming out of Detroit are once again the best in the world.

Perhaps Sen. Shelby isn't really that blind. Maybe he realizes the quality shift to American. Maybe it's the fact that his state of Alabama has given so much to land factories from Honda, Hyundai and Mercedes Benz that he is more concerned about their continued growth than he is about the people of our country. Sen. Shelby's disdain for "government subsidies" is very hypocritical. In the early '90s he was the driving force behind a $253 million incentive package to Mercedes. Plus, Alabama agreed to purchase 2,500 vehicles from Mercedes. While the bridge loan the Big Three is requesting will be paid back, Alabama's $180,000-plus per job was pure incentive. Sen. Shelby, not only are you out of touch, you are a self-serving hypocrite, who is prepared to ruin our nation because of lack of knowledge and lack of due diligence in making your opinions and decisions.

After 9/11, the Detroit Three and Harley Davidson gave $40 million-plus emergency vehicles to the recovery efforts. What was given to the 9/11 relief effort by the Asian and European Auto Manufactures? $0 Nada. Zip!

We live in a world of free trade, world economy and we have not been able to produce products as cost efficiently. While the governments of other auto producing nations subsidize their automakers, our government may be ready to force its demise. While our automakers have paid union wages, benefits and legacy debt, our Asian competitors employ cheap labor. We are at an extreme disadvantage in production cost. Although many UAW concessions begin in 2010, many lawmakers think it's not enough.

Some point the blame to corporate management. I would like to speak of Ford Motor Co. The company has streamlined by reducing our workforce by 51,000 since 2005, closing 17 plants and cutting expenses. Product and future product is excellent and the company is focused on one Ford. This is a company poised for success. Ford product quality and corporate management have improved light years since the nightmare of Jacques Nasser. Thank you Alan Mulally and the best auto company management team in the business.

The financial collapse caused by the secondary mortgage fiasco and the greed of Wall Street has led to a $700 billion bailout of the industry that created the problem. AIG spent nearly $1 million on three company excursions to lavish resorts and hunting destinations. Paulson is saying no to $250 billion foreclosure relief and the whole thing is a mess. So when the Big Three ask for 4 percent of that of the $700 billion, $25 billion to save the country's largest industry, there is obviously oppositions. But does it make sense to reward the culprits of the problem with $700 billion unconditionally, and ignore the victims?

As a Ford dealer, I feel our portion of the $25 billion will never be touched and is not necessary. Ford currently has $29 billion of liquidity. However, the effect of a bankruptcy by GM will hurt the suppliers we all do business with. A Chapter 11 bankruptcy by any manufacture would cost retirees their health care and retirements. Chances are GM would recover from Chapter 11 with a better business plan with much less expense. So who foots the bill if GM or all three go Chapter 11? All that extra health care, unemployment, loss of tax base and some forgiven debt goes back to the taxpayer, us. With no chance of repayment, this would be much worse than a loan with the intent of repayment.

So while it is debatable whether a loan or Chapter 11 is better for the Big Three, a $25 billion loan is definitely better for the taxpayers and the economy of our country.

So I'll end where I began on the quality of the products of Detroit. Before you, Mr. or Ms. Journalist continue to misinform the American public and turn them against one of the great industries that helped build this nation, I must ask you one question. Before you, Mr. or Madam Congressman vote to end health care and retirement benefits for 1 million retirees, eliminate 2.5 million of our nation's jobs, lose the technology that will lead us in the future and create an economic disaster including hundreds of billions of tax dollars lost, I ask this question not in the rhetorical sense. I ask it in the sincere, literal way. Can you tell me, have you driven a Ford lately?

Jim Jackson
Elkins

More Auto Industry Information

2008-12-03T05:30:00.000-05:00

Loan vs. Bailout.

More on the domestic auto industry

This guy should be in Washington today instead of the execs. This is audio, so you'll need headphones or speakers.

If you have noticed all the bad news the last 3 years regarding the falling sales of the domestic auto industry, you might be interested in the following questions, possible answers are listed alphabetically.
The correct answers, along with source, are given below.

1. Which country can boast that their brands occupy 2 of the top 3 spots for long-term reliability?
a. Germany
b. Japan
c. Korea
d. United States

2. As of August 2007, which manufacturer had the most recalled vehicles in the U.S. for that year?
a. Chrysler
b. Ford
c. GM
d. Nissan
e. Toyota
f. Volkswagen

3. Pick the brand from each group that has the highest initial quality.
a. Acura, BMW, Cadillac (all luxury makes)
b. Honda, Mercury, Nissan (all non-luxury makes)
c. Acura (lux), Chevrolet (non-lux), BMW (lux), Mazda (non-lux)

4. Which midsize sedan has the highest initial quality?
a. Accord (Honda)
b. Altima (Nissan)
c. Camry (Toyota)
d. Malibu (Chevrolet)

5. Which large sedan has the highest initial quality?
a. Avalon (Toyota)
b. Grand Prix (Pontiac)
c. Sable (Mercury)

6. Which midsize pickup has the highest initial quality?
a. Dakota (Dodge)
b. Ranger (Ford)
c. Tacoma (Toyota)

7. Which car is the most economical overall?
a. Aveo (Chevrolet)
b. Fit (Honda)
c. Prius (Toyota)

8. Which car did the LA Times describe as "a better car than BMW or Mercedes or Lexus or Infiniti"?
a. A6 (Audi)
b. CTS (Cadillac)
c. RL (Acura)

9. Which company makes the winner of the 2008 "Green Car of the Year" award?
a. Chevrolet
b. Honda
c. Toyota

10. Which car was selected by the North American automotive press corps as the "North American Car of the Year" for 2007?
a. Aura (Saturn)
b. Camry (Toyota)
c. Fit (Honda)

11. Which car won the same award for 2008?
a. Accord (Honda)
b. Altima coupe (Nissan)
c. Malibu (Chevrolet)

12. Which company had a luxury vehicle, a midsize sedan, and a large truck removed from the Consumer Reports recommended vehicles list in October 2007 because of mounting quality problems?
a. Chrysler
b. Ford
c. General Motors
d. Hyundai
e. Toyota
f. Volkswagen

ANSWERS:

1. Which country can boast that their brands occupy 2 of the top 3 spots for long-term reliability?

Answer: United States - Per J.D. Power Vehicle Dependability Study, Mercury and Cadillac are in the top 3, along with Lexus. And in 2007, Buick was tied with Lexus for the top spot. http://www.jdpower.com/corporate/news/releases/pressrelease.aspx?ID=2008115

2. As of August 2007, which manufacturer had the most recalled vehicles in the U.S. for that year?

Answer: Volkswagen - According to Business Week, Volkswagen had the most recalls at this time a year ago. The second worst was Toyota. http://www.businessweek.com/autos/content/aug2007/bw20070810_455098.htm

3. Pick the brand from each group that has the highest initial quality.
a. Answer : Cadillac (better than both Acura and BMW)
b. Answer: Mercury (better than both Honda and Nissan)
c. Answer: Chevrolet (better than Acura, BMW, and Mazda)

This is according to J.D. Power's Initial Quality Survey. http://www.jdpower.com/corporate/news/releases/pressrelease.aspx?ID=2008063

4. Which midsize sedan has the highest initial quality?

Answer: The Chevrolet Malibu has better initial quality than any competitor, including the Honda Accord, Toyota Camry and Nissan Altima. The Ford Fusion also beat all 3 Japanese competitors.
This too is from the J.D. Power Initial Quality Survey, which also reveals that above average are American brands Mercury, Ford, Cadillac, Chevrolet, Pontiac, Lincoln, and Buick. Below average are import brands Acura, Kia, Nissan, BMW, Mazda, VW, Subaru, and Scion (and several others).
http://www.jdpower.com/autos/articles/2008-Initial-Quality:-Midsize-and- Large-Cars http://www.jdpower.com/corporate/news/releases/pressrelease.aspx?ID=2008063

5. Which large sedan has the highest initial quality?

Answer: Again per J.D. Power, the highest quality large car is the Pontiac Grand Prix, beating the Toyota Avalon. Two other Detroit cars that beat the Avalon are the Mercury Sable and Mercury Grand Marquis.
http://www.jdpower.com/autos/articles/2008-Initial-Quality:-Midsize-and- Large-Cars

6. Which midsize pickup has the highest initial quality?

Answer: The Dodge Dakota has the best quality for midsize pickups, proving that Chrysler too can beat the imports. Both the Dakota and the Ford Ranger beat the Toyota Tacoma.
http://www.jdpower.com/autos/articles/2008-Initial-Quality:-Pickups-and-Vans

7. Which car is the most economical overall?

Answer: Per Edmunds.com, the premier automotive analysis site, the most economical car in America, taking into account not only mileage but all costs, is the Chevrolet Aveo. The Honda Fit is #3 and the Toyota Prius is a distant #34.
http://www.edmunds.com/help/about/press/127806/article.html

8. Which car did the Los Angeles Times describe as "a better car than BMW or Mercedes or Lexus or Infiniti"?

Answer: "Cadillac makes a better car than BMW or Mercedes or Lexus or Infiniti, and that car is the 2008 CTS. No other car in the mass market dares so much as this expressive and audacious bit of automotive avant-gardism." Dan Neil, LA Times.
http://www.latimes.com/classified/automotive/highway1/la-hy-neil12dec12- pg,0,5427133.photogallery

9. Which company makes the winner of the 2008 "Green Car of the Year" award?

Answer: The Chevrolet Tahoe Hybrid is the winner of this award. How could a full-size SUV defeat the media darling Toyota Prius? Read the link below and you will discover.
"What's equally eye-opening is that the Tahoe's 21 mpg city fuel efficiency rating is the same as that of the city EPA rating for the four-cylinder Toyota Camry sedan." Did you catch that? A huge, full-size SUV from Chevrolet that gets the same city mileage as a 4-cylinder Toyota Camry!! Chevy obtained this remarkable achievement through the use of its 2-mode hybrid system, a technology that Toyota does not have. http://www.greencar.com/features/2008greencar/

10. Which car was selected by the North American automotive press corps as the "North American Car of the Year" for 2007?

Answer: Not only was the Saturn Aura picked by the automotive press corps as better than the Honda Fit and the Toyota Camry, when a panel of 47 journalists named the Saturn Aura the North American Car of the Year over the Toyota Camry, the vote wasn't even close, 205-89." Chicago Tribune, 1/15/07 http://www.northamericancaroftheyear.org/news.html

11. Which car won the same award for 2008?

Answer: GM again crushed the Japanese competition in 2008 when the Malibu received 190 votes to the Honda Accord's 95. The Accord actually came in 3rd since GM's other finalist, the Cadillac CTS, received 165 votes. http://www.northamericancaroftheyear.org/news.html

12. Which company had a luxury vehicle, a midsize sedan, and a large truck removed from the Consumer Reports recommended vehicles list in October 2007 because of mounting quality problems?

Answer: Toyota's much publicized quality problems resulted in Consumer Reports actually removing from their recommended vehicles list the Lexus GS luxury car, Camry V6 sedan, and Tundra pickup. This demotion occurred in October 2007.

This Q&A list was put together by an employee of an American car company who just might lose his job because of public perceptions that do not match reality. If you are one of the many Americans who gave up on Detroit's cars because of a bad experience many years ago, it's time to rethink your position. Rethink Detroit.

Detroit automakers: 79 U.S. jobs per 2,500 cars sold in America.
Foreign automakers: 33 U.S. jobs per 2,500 cars sold in America.

Defense of the Big 3

2008-12-01T17:56:00.003-05:00

Happy December, first official month of winter which has already started here.

As many of you know, I work for one of the domestic automakers, for now. (I say "for now" because we've been threatened with 10% more lay-offs by the end of January – this after 25% lay-offs accomplished earlier this year.) I believe that there are a lot of misconceptions out there (hell, people here in Detroit don't know or care to know half this stuff either), so I want to help out.

First off, while I normally don't agree with Mr. McCotter on anything, he got this right!

Second is my pet peeve that the media (and apparently, everybody else) seems to forget the automotive companies are not made up just of union (blue-collar workers) and executives. There are those of us in the middle (or what I consider the middle), the white-collar non-executive types who design the cars for the executives to make decisions about and for the blue-collar workers to assemble. You'd think we might be considered to be relatively important, but obviously we're not. I've worked here for over 8 years and for the past five years we've been suffering through lay-off after lay-off after lay-off, not that you'd know about that, because it's not the big guys and it's not the union.

We're the easiest to cut because we don't have big ass compensation contracts that guarantee us millions if we don't leave of our free will (read: executives) and we don't have the union to protect us and keep us in our jobs. So, we've been regularly on the chopping block (more than once a year in those five years). I've watched friend after friend being laid off and the thing that pisses me off is that nobody gives a shit about us. The media swarms the plants when blue collars get laid off, but us? Who cares?

And two years ago we had "voluntary separations" where damn near everybody in the company was offered buy-outs. You probably heard about the blue-collar packages – it included things like $100,000 or a college education and it might have included more – Ours? 3 months pay and supposedly you had to sign something that said you wouldn't apply for unemployment. Now we all know you take a hit of 50% for taxes on something like that. Compare a month and a half's pay (very low four figures, i.e., barely four figures) vs. $100,000.

Now, I should explain that I actually support the unions – in their original iteration. If you have benefits, i.e., medical, dental, etc., you owe that to the unions, even if you're not in a union, because companies don't give those out of the goodness of their heart, but because they want to keep the unions out. Have the unions overstepped the boundaries of late? Yes, a good many of them have. When a company can't fire an employee for poor performance, then that's a problem, or if they institute a program where the employee gets paid 95% of their pay while "temporarily" laid off, that's a problem. But are they solely responsible for the problems of the Big 3? Hell no.

Here is an article that debunks 7 of the biggest myths about Detroit's auto companies.

And anybody who starts in on how the Big 3 only made SUVs, blah blah blah, what a load of shit that is. First off, we made them because people wanted them. I hate SUVs and prefer small cars, so I own a small car made right here in Michigan. I've been driving it for over 8.5 years and there is nothing wrong with it (save a few dents from shit in Michigan's roads getting thrown onto my hood). I'm close to 90,000 miles and that's with walking to work for the past 7 years (save that one year in Bldg. C for Crappy). People only decided this year that they didn't want SUVs because of the price of gas, but if it weren't for that, there would not be the clamor for smaller cars. At least, not this overwhelming sudden demand. The public can change their mind *this* quickly that they no longer want SUVs, but automotive companies can't stop on a dime and re-adjust that quickly.

Another take on the way Detroit was treated by Washington.

Were the executives stupid for flying to DC in the private jets? Probably, but the bigger crime was that they make all that money and weren't prepared in the least bit. Shit, I could have done a better job, especially when that jackass Senator or Representative from Alabama said he didn't care about the domestics because he has a Toyota plant in his state. Well, he'll care because if something happens to even one of the Big Three, it will affect Toyota and Honda because we share suppliers. That means that if GM goes under (or even files Chapter 11) the suppliers will take a huge hit and trust me, they're on the ragged edge as it is. And if a supplier fails that will affect that Toyota plant in the south because there will be no parts coming in to build those fabulous Japanese cars.

Sadly, I can't find one of the columns/op-ed pieces that I want you to read on-line. I got it in an e-mail and I'm going to post it here with all the information as I received it.

This letter from ex-Ford spokesman Jason Vines, found at www.autoextremist.com was too good not to share.

Katrina on Wheels This Week's "Last Word" from Jason Vines

We may never know the financial burden of Hurricane Katrina on New Orleans directly and to other Americans indirectly. Some have pegged it at between 200 and 300 billion dollars. While we cannot stop hurricanes, almost everyone now agrees that more and better "things" should have been done prior to the storm and certainly in the days and weeks after the disaster.

What would those "things" have cost? Let's take a wild guess and say 100 billion dollars or half of what eventually was spent in a totally reactionary mode. Would we have spent it in advance? I believe the answer is yes and if that is the case, we have another disaster headed to our shores that will prove considerably more costly in a financial sense and impact far more communities than did Katrina. Like Katrina, we know this storm is coming and the question is do we do so me thing preemptive or in reaction to the disaster.

Unless the Federal Government comes to the aid of the U.S. auto manufacturers, the waves from the failure of these large employers and the core of our manufacturing base, will take a large and destructive path across America.

The U.S. auto makers are on the verge of collapse. When our economy, and other economies around the world recover and they will, someday there will still be millions of people who want and need new vehicles every year. Is it important that U.S. auto manufacturers are a part of that market? Yes for historical, contemporary and future reasons.

General Motors and Ford, both 100 plus years old, helped establish what sets America apart as the greatest nation on earth our strong middle class. The late historian Daniel Boorstein called the car the "great equalizer" of the 20th Century for Americans. It gave all of us mobility and an ability to further prosper.

When the world was threatened by Nazi tyranny and Japanese aggression in World War II, it was the U.S. auto manufacturers that turned their car factories into the Arsenal of Democracy. Without their support, well, it really is unthinkable to imagine where we -- Americans, French, Brits and, yes, Germans and Japanese -- would be today as a freedom loving people.

The demise of America's car companies, woefully short on cash as we speak, means the loss of millions of jobs directly from the assembly plant worker to the secretary to the dealership mechanic and indirectly from waitresses at local restaurants, to store owners, etc. It means not just a ripple effect through the economy, but a potential tsunami.

In 1994, while I worked for the then-American Automobile Manufacturers Association and its president Andrew Card, we embarked on a study of the true value of America's car companies to our economy. Our study found that the U.S. auto companies accounted for one of every 13 jobs in this country. I have seen new studies today that state the number at one in ten. That is an enormous figure and a key reason why all other major industrial countries that have an auto industry cherish and support it. That is also the reason that emerging markets put a lot of stock into developing a vibrant auto industry. Just look at China and Korea of late.

If you want to see a region that has shut down its manufacturing base and is left with a services-based economy, look no further than the United Kingdom. It isn't pretty.

Jobs don't tell the whole story though. Hundreds, if not thousands, of communities across our country depend heavily on the auto plants and the auto supplier plants. The semiconductor and other parts of the computer industry enjoy these U.S. car companies and their suppliers as some of their best customers, as do steel companies, glass companies, plastics companies and chemical companies. All of these communities that depend on the auto industry and its partners will be devastated. Community charities, school programs, sports programs will be hit hard when that local go-to car dealer can't support the Little League or Girl Scouts or the breast cancer walkathon.

You say they've got it coming, right? They got themselves into this mess you know! How so? They supported communities with jobs and taxes. They provided employees and retirees with good wages and benefits for all their hard work. They provided excellent health care and pensions while their foreign counterparts (read the "smarter car companies") didn't have to worry about this as their federal governments paid for these benefits through higher taxes on all citizens. And when recent times got more difficult, all of America's car companies restructured with their union partners to limit benefits for employees and retirees for the good of the companies.

They should have seen this coming you say? Seen what? Gas jumping up to more than four bucks a gallon? No, they didn't see that, but neither did Toyota and Japan Inc. as they sold larger vehicles in the U.S. market into segments once dominated by Detroit automakers and are too paying for this bad bet today.

They didn't care about the environment? Really? Unquestionably, the most significant anti-pollution device in the history of the automobile industry (maybe all industries) is the catalytic converter. All automakers use one in every car or truck. So which Japanese or German company invented it? None, it was General Motors. And if you want to talk about clean manufacturing, America's car companies have facilities where the air and water that leaves the factory is cleaner than when it first came in.

The Detroit automakers don't care about fuel economy. Really? Get the facts. In the segments in which they compete, General Motors and Ford products in particular rate at or near the top in every one of them.

Insurance giant AIG's bailout has now grown to 150 billion dollars and Washington and New York didn't bat an eye. Meanwhile, America's car companies literally have to beg for a sum far south of those numbers.

And so, we see this storm getting closer by the day. The question is: do we do something about it before it hits the shores and devastates communities across our land; or do we say let 'em go broke and hope for the best. Ask the people of New Orleans what they wish had been done before the storm struck.

Jason Vines

Can someone please tell me why the banks get $700 billion BAILOUT (plus however much more) no strings attached (essentially) and no questions asked, but the domestic automotive companies are put through the wringer for a $25 billion LOAN? And being treated as if we caused this problem, instead of the banks?

I know it's popular to bash the Big 3 on their quality, but if you do that you're ignoring the facts. A year or so ago, Toyota had the LARGEST RECALL in history, not their history, all automotive history. J.D. Powers and Consumer Reports have both given Ford high marks (at least equal to Toyota) in the past few months. And I want to say that if you choose to believe those numbers when they're favorable to the Japanese automakers and unfavorable to the Big 3, then you have to believe those numbers when they're favorable to a domestic automaker.

One other thing on recalls, the Detroit automakers probably have more recalls historically, but one reason for that is that we err on the side of caution, while Toyota and Honda are well known within automotive circles for fixing their little recall problems when owners would bring in their cars for scheduled maintenance without the owners' knowledge. The Big 3 don't push for scheduled dealer maintenance, while Honda and Toyota do for that reason.

When it comes to Safety, just last week (or the week before), Ford had 16 vehicles with 5-Star Crash Ratings – the most of any automaker – including precious Toyotas and Hondas.

I have more articles to link to, but I'll save those for another day since I know this has become a shaggy dog of a story.

Just remember that when you buy a vehicle from Ford, General Motors or Chrysler, you're supporting tens of thousands of direct American jobs (not including suppliers, sub-suppliers, dealers, etc.) and the money stays here. If you buy a Japanese car, and if it happens to be built here, you've supported a few hundred workers and the money heads straight for Japan where we aren't allowed to sell ours in a free market manner as they can here.

I'm pretty sure this was not as well-written or organised as I would have liked, but I needed to get it off my chest. I'm just so tired of people bad-mouthing Detroit and the Big Three.

Dating Sucks Big Time

2008-11-25T18:26:00.000-05:00

I've been contemplating a number of different posts regarding the loan to the Big Three, but I'm so angry right now that I can't do it, especially if I got negative responses from my blogging buddies, because then I'd be more upset and I don't want to do that to myself.

For the past three months (I was surprised to figure out it was that long, actually), I had a profile up at a couple of different dating sites. One free and one pay (but I got a deal for 3 months – which ends next week – well, it did, until I canceled it this morning), and pretty much all they did was reinforce that I don't want to date. For the first two months I'd have guys who'd e-mail me through the free site and then just disappear after a few e-mails. Or I'd get an e-mail from the site saying You and So-and-So gave each other 4 (or 5) stars in looks (and/or personality), but then So-and-So would never e-mail me and I'm old-fashioned enough that I'd think the guy should initiate contact.

A few guys I'd notice something cool in their profile, so I'd e-mail them about it (obscure movie that we both liked, etc.) and I'd get no response at all, so I gave that up.

I'd get e-mails from fat, ugly, 60-year-olds with dead animals on the wall over their camouflage-capped heads saying crap like "like ur smile." Jesus, was the '"yo" that hard to type? It's not fucking text messaging (not that I approve of that, either).

Saturday night I met a guy from the free site for dinner. He was older than I really wanted, but I was trying to have an open mind. His profile stated that he was 5'8" which I thought was a tad short (I'm 5'6") but I decided not to be judgemental. That went out the window when he showed up and was shorter than me. For heaven's sake, WTF? Like I'm not going to figure out that he's 5'4" when I actually meet him? The problem here isn't the height (or lack thereof), it's the lying. Of course, most men claim they're 2" taller than they actually are, so maybe he truly believes it. Still. And then there was the Shrek-like beer belly. I work bloody hard trying to stay/keep/get into shape, and it's obvious he hasn't seen anything remotely exercise-like in years. *sigh* We won't even discuss his two Japanese vehicles.

Oh, and he took a phone call during dinner. I had my phone on silent in my purse. His was on LOUD ring and it took him a while to dig it out of his pocket. He looked at (I thought he had silenced the ring at least while he figured out who was calling), and said, "I have no idea who this is." which to me means, then don't freaking answer it...but he did in the middle of the second ring. Turned out it was somebody who was coming to the house the next day to refinance it. He was on the phone a couple of minutes which I thought was a tad rude in the middle of a date - to say nothing of a first date.

Then there was the guy from the pay dating site. It semi-fashions itself after eHarmony, so you have to go through Steps. First, you express mutual interest, next up you share "Relationship Essentials," and then comes short-answer questions. At this point, I was ready to give up. Then comes e-mail. This one guy sent me an e-mail telling me how handsome, mature, patient he was, along with the statement "I'm no boy, but a man and a big one at that." Dear God in Heaven! I responded, however, with a nice e-mail asking questions and what have you – try to keep an open mind. The next thing I got from him was a First Meeting request…well, it was Halloween weekend and I had plans the entire weekend, so I e-mail him back saying that and suggesting that more e-mails wouldn't be remiss (remember, he didn't answer any of my questions). That was the last I heard from him. I checked my profile a couple of weeks later and he had closed me out. So much for patience, eh? Or maturity.

After thinking about (and discussing) the whole mess Saturday night (went out for beers with the girls after dinner with the short Shrek), Sunday (movie with BST, then dinner with BST, Marianne and a friend o hers) and yesterday with Maureen, I sent him an e-mail saying thank you for dinner but I've decided against dating and dating sites and wished him luck in his search. And then I deleted my profiles at both sites and while I'm a little sad that I gave up, I also know that in the long run, it'll be better. It was so much like daily rejection, wondering what the hell is wrong with me that this guy or that guy couldn't be bothered to respond to thoughtful e-mails.

The guy from Saturday night is having some problem taking no for an answer...he's on his third e-mail. *sigh* My friend Lisa read his second message (I was a chicken) and said, "He's acting like a girl." LOL And in his 3rd e-mail he wants to be friends. He wasn't that interesting, I have to say.

Marilyn, My Bitterness

2008-11-18T16:56:00.005-05:00

I'm feeling the need to share - this one makes me dance in my chair at work while mouthing the words...I think I need to dance!!!! And I can't even tell you how much I love Lego Rogue!

For some reason Lego Rogue disappeared, so I'm giving you another version of Marilyn, My Bitterness that somebody put to Metropoiis.

October Movies/Events - Dinner with Jorge

2008-11-16T20:58:00.005-05:00

Okay, here is the list of movies I watched in October. I don't feel like linking, so you're on your own!

10/5 - Newsies (N) - I watched this with Sal & Coy while in SF. Coy had recommended it to Sal, and they started watching it Sunday morning when I was there. It was a musical which I wasn't expecting, but it was a good movie. If I remember correctly, it had a very young Christian Bale in it.

10/25 - Ghost Dog: The Way of the Samurai (N) - 2000 - This is a Jim Jarmusch film which I had somehow missed. Forest Whitaker was the Ghost Dog who was an assassin for a crime family - kind of a cross between Sho-gun (with an African-American samurai) and The Sopranos. It wasn't exactly a happy movie, but I still liked it...especially after the next movie.

10/25 - Before the Rain (N) - 1994 - This dealt with the tensions between Christians and Muslims in Macedonia (if I remember correctly). The lead character was an award-winning photograph who was living in England, but decided to return home to Macedonia and discovers that things have changed in the many years since he had left. It was a very good movie, but bloody depressing.

10/26 - The Good German (Enc) - 2006 - I had read the book a while back (May 2006, apparently) and have been meaning to see the movie and finally got around to it. They didn't follow the book as much as I would have liked (from what I could remember), but since I didn't re-read it, I can't really tell how different it was. Yeah, I should probably do this more often, so I wouldn't get so upset. I'd say read the book, though, if you're only going to do one.

10/26 - Reality Bites (End) - 1994 - Yeah, I know, I'm the only person of my generation who didn't see it when it first came out. I liked it. After the three previous movies (which were all a bit on the depressing side), I needed something a bit more light-hearted. I'd definitely watch it again. I liked it better than Singles (I think, but it's been a long time since I've seen that).

Events

10/7 - The Cruxshadows - DNA Lounge in SF - What an excellent night this was. I met the Zombieslayer and Badman that night. I had a lovely time with them. Zombieslayer is not the hardass he pretends to be. Badman is exactly as he puts himself out there, which is rare, I think in the blogging world. I:Scintilla and Ayria opened for The Cruxshadows and I have to say that I liked I:Scintilla better than Ayria. The lead singer for I:Scintilla is very sweet. Zombieslayer bought their CD and then got the whole band to sign it. If they're coming to your town, do yourself a favor and go see them. You get a kickass show for $15 ($12, if you buy ahead of time).

10/31 - Regis Philbin - Casino Windsor - Don't laugh. Yes, in one month I saw a goth/darkwave band and Regis. HRH *loves* Regis and since she's a gambler, she got free tickets and a free hotel room. She drove down from Toronto and I crossed the river. I have to admit that I laughed awfully damn hard but it was mostly *at* the people from the audience that he pulled up on stage to talk to. Other than the woman's granddaughter next to me, we were pretty much the youngest people at the show.

Movie of the Month - Hmmm, this is tough...I think I have to go with Ghost Dog: The Way of the Samurai.

Event of the Month - No offense to HRH or Rege, but I have to go with the Cruxshadows. I got to wear my kickass boots, which are fabulous, and relatively comfortable - I was even able to dance in them.

I just got home (okay, it was close to an hour ago at this point) (Oh crap, I forgot to call my sister-in-law back) from dinner with Jorge - which makes him my fourth blogging meet in a month (Knucklehead, Zombieslayer, Badman and Jorge) - and his lovely wife, Mona and daughter, Peanut. I had a very nice time and just hope that meeting a person from on-line didn't freak Mona out too much. I"m used to it, considering I've been meeting people from the Internet since 1995.

Have I told you that Thanksgiving this year is going to suck? No? Well, it is. It's my favorite holiday and it's going to suck. I'm ready to chuck it all in and just stay home, but I have a feeling that Mom, the BAB, SIL and Terror Children would be offended that they weren't good enough. Seven people does not make a Thanksgiving, although SIL said she'd invite her mother, brother, sister and BIL which will at least put us into double digits. Barely. *sigh*

Time to go to bed. Tomorrow is going to be a busy day. I really need to get to work by 5:30. I just hope I got enough sleep this weekend, so I can get up in the morning. I haven't been able to get up on time for at least two weeks. That has to change tomorrow!

Politics, Keith, Books, Grandma and Mom

2008-11-07T22:11:00.001-05:00

Bloody hell, I think Trina's posting more often than I am. And that's pathetic, since she actually told us she was taking time off…I'm just lazy and disappear for ages.

I started an entry last Wednesday but didn't get more than three sentences written, so I just scrapped it as not worth the effort. If you know me, you know I was thrilled by last Tuesday's results. I actually stayed up and watched the returns come in and the speeches. I was impressed by McCain's concession speech, typically described as the "old John McCain." Having never stayed up to watch before I was scared that I was going to be subjected to Caribou Barbie, but thankfully, there is no precedence for the losing VP to speak. Praise God. ;-) Of course, she's more than made up for it since then, hasn't she? I was so ready for her to go away!

How many of you watched Countdown with Keith Olbermann last Monday? The reason I mention it is because a woman here in the metropolitan Detroit area had made the news (at least, countrywide) for refusing to give small children candy on Halloween if their parents weren't voting for her candidate. Swear to God, she turned away 4 year olds!!!! Anyway, I just knew that Keith was going to make her the Worst Person in the World and I was right. The sad thing is that I'll bet she still thinks she was right to do it. Did she have the right to do it, heck yes, but was it the "right" thing to do? Hell no! What kind of evil person makes small children cry? Honestly.

Last night's Special Comment was brilliant as he takes on Prop. 8. You can tell that he's very upset, and I think he's *this* close to crying or getting very angry and trying really hard to maintain control. He asks the same questions I've been asking for years, but way better than I ever have.

It's the twelfth day of November and I'm just getting around to telling you what I read and watched last month.

Books

The Historian by Elizabeth Kostova – 642 pages - Heather read it a year or so ago and highly recommended it. Soon thereafter I found a hardcover first edition for $6, so I picked it up, but I never got around to reading it because it wasn't a good size for reading on the treadmill. I figured it'd be a good book for the trip to SF and Vegas and while I did do a lot of knitting on the plane, I also read a bit. Normally, I wouldn't say I have any great appreciation for Dracula books, but this book sucked me in and I quite enjoyed it. I've already recommended it to Beth because she talked about vampire books recently. Anyway, it was a very well written book, which is very important.

The Clue of the Dancing Puppet #39 by Carolyn Keene – 177 pages – Classic Nancy Drew and one that I hadn't read a thousand times, so the story wasn't completely familiar to me which was kind of nice.

Book of the Month - The Historian

I'll work on the Movie list soon...I have a stupid headache and just can't think that hard right now. I watched a good five or six movies and even went to a couple of live concerts. Tres exciting. I know you'll be looking forward to that - whenever I freaking get to it.

Grandma Update
She's pretty well ensconced in her old folks' home apartment and I think accepting it a bit more. She held bridge with "the girls" for the first time since March when she broke her tibial plateau this past Monday. Mom, YS and I helped Grandma set up on Sunday and she told me today that it helped immensely as she wasn't sure she would have gotten everything done in time.

Grandma's doing super fabulously, so now I need to ask for your thoughts and prayers for Mom. Her recent mammogram found a very small lump. She's having a biopsy on Monday and they say that if they extract liquid, it's all good and no big deal. If they are unable to extract liquid, they'll use a bigger needle and then if necessary (i.e., no liquid), they'll take three chunks (about the size of a grain of rice). She didn't sound worried when I talked to her, but the YS said that Mom is pretty worried. And then after Mom told me about that, she said, "And Tuesday, I'm having eye surgery." WTF? The woman is impossible! The surgery isn't serious or eyesight threatening, so that's good, but still...so, please keep my Mom in your thoughts, prayers, etc. this coming Monday and Tuesday. I greatly appreciate it.

And now it's time for some Aleve and my bed.

San Francisco, Part One

2008-10-28T05:43:00.002-04:00

In case you haven't seen David Letterman's Tribute to Paul Newman from 29 September 2008:

And this one that talks about his charity work:

They made me cry, but I'm a wuss.

As usual, it's taking me forever to write a post. I've been back from vacation almost two weeks (tomorrow night), but I came home sick and very tired. I had a great time in SF and Vegas, although I probably should have switched weeks as the weather was iffy my first few days in SF and it was FREEZING in Vegas. I packed for 90F since that's what was forecasted when I left. Not so much really. And SF had to have its stupid fog which is the reason I'm so prone to bronchitis in the first place. True San Franciscans love that fog. I hate it which definitely indicates that I was never a true San Franciscan.

Schneider pointed out to me last week that every time I travel I get bronchitis. And I agreed with him until I just looked at my calendar. Yes, I did have bronchitis in February, but it didn't happen until a good 2.5 weeks after I had gotten back from Vegas, so there goes that theory. My personal favorite theory is that my lungs suck canal water which is more appropriate than sucking rocks.

I, being completely addicted to yarn and having zero self control when it comes to yarn (and books and CDs and DVDs), should not have gone looking for yarn stores when I was in SF, but I did anyway. The very first full day I was there, in fact. I was heading out of the house on Thursday [I got in so late Tuesday night and then stayed up an additional few hours drinking wine with Suzy and talking and catching up that it was pretty late in the day (2:00-ish) when I finally got into the City on Wednesday] when I discovered that I didn't have a key to the apt. (I had one to the outside door), so I called Sal at work. In the end, his partner came home and we ended up going out to lunch at a vegan restaurant and then walking downtown to the yarn store on Sutter St. OMIGOD, this place was yarn nirvana. The yarns were incredible gorgeous in color and in texture. I was so mad at myself for going there as I did NOT need more yarn. And if you remember, I have ZERO self control, especially when it comes to gorgeous yarns.

They had this model prominently displayed and I had to have it (a tad overpriced I must say, pattern-wise) in this color (Color 09 of Tantra – just in case).

Right next to the Tantra yarn was Sylph which I had to have in color #14 (at least, I think that's the color – it's showing too red on my computer screen). I thought I behave myself pretty well considering I really wanted Kyoto in color #35

After I escaped from Pure Temptation aka Art Fibers, I called Soyon and left her a message saying "I've been really bad." She called me back and asked, "You were really bad? Or really mad?" "Really bad." "Were you just in a knitting store and bought yarn?" Ah, does she know me or what? So, I told her about the place and how they had a website which she immediately got on and I told her about Tantra and she asked, "How far are you from there?" "A few blocks," I replied, whereupon Sal's SO stopped dead, looked at me, and turned around to head back to the store. She wanted the Tantra in the yellow that the pattern is shown in (she can wear yellow, I can't unless I want to appear to be sans clothing). And then she wanted Tsuki (I was very proud of myself for not buying Tsuki for myself as I ADORE mohair) in a very light grey color. She cussed at me for calling her, but how could I not share such a fabulous yarn store with her? I'm very proud of myself for not buying more yarn when I went back the second time, especially Tsuki.

A week after I had been there, I got an e-mail saying they were closing their store and going to be a mail order business only. It's a bummer but understandable as I can't even begin to imagine what their rent in prime downtown SF must be. As nice as their website is, it doesn't do justice to the unbelievable sublimeness that is their yarns, as you can't feel them or really judge the colors properly. Sad.

Thursday night, we, of course, watched the vice presidential debate and played the drinking game. My aunt came by after work (she was leaving for Detroit early Saturday morning, so I wouldn't see her otherwise) and she watched it with us. Since she was driving, she drank iced hibiscus tea (yummy!), but I was worried she wasn't going to be able to make it home w/o peeing her pants with all that damned "change" and "maverick" –iness going on in the debate. I'm pretty sure we made up some rules as the debate progressed, but it was a good 3-4 weeks ago at this point and I don't remember what they were, although one of them might have been to drink whenever she would wink at the camera. Oy vey. That was freaking annoying.

There was a remarkable lack of true sightseeing happening in SF. I hung out with friends, ate at all new restaurants (except for Thai Stick because I had to have crispy crunchy tofu), although I did go to the brand new California Academy of Science with Knucklehead. It was very cool and while I didn't have the childhood memories she had, I did enjoy my time there.

Paul Newman & September Books and Movies

2008-09-29T20:49:00.006-04:00

I'm outta here tomorrow right after work and I'll be gone for two weeks. Woohoo!!!

Books

Fearless Fourteen by Janet Evanovich - 310 pages - As you obviously tell, this was the fourteenth installment in Ms. Evanovich's Stephanie Plum's hapless bounty hunter series. While they are enjoyable, I have reached the point of being somewhat annoyed by how hapless Stephanie is. I had announced before I read it that if another of her cars gets blown up I was done with the series. For the record, her POS car did not get blown up in this book.

Phantom Prey by John Sandford - 373 pages - While this is the 18th in Mr. Sandford's Prey series, it has not reached the formulaic point of Ms. Evanovich's. This one was particularly interesting because Lucas Davenport has to venture into the "goth" world. I kind of object to the impression the world has of "goths," since it's not all dark and evil. Mr. Sandford handled it with a light hand and that was nice. I will always recommend a John Sandford book as he's a very good writer.

The Sewing Circles of Herat: A Personal Voyage Through Afghanistan by Christina Lamb - 339 pages - This is a book that ranks up there with Three Cups of Tea which I told you all last December that you should read...in fact, that everybody should read. This is another of those. Ms. Lamb writes about her affection (my word) for Afghanistan gleaned from her years as a foreign correspondent starting from when she rode with the mujaheddin against the Soviets until she went back after the fall of the Taliban. The Sewing Circles of Herat refers to the way the women in Herat taught the girls in that city under the Taliban under the guise of sewing circles. Instead of sewing they were being taught literature, etc., but if the Taliban were making the rounds, they had a little boy playing in the street watching who would run in when danger was near and the books would go into hiding and a makeshift sewing project would come out. Please read this book (and Three Cups of Tea).

Conservatize Me: How I Tried to Become a Righty with the Help of Richard Nixon, Sean Hannity, Toby Keith, and Beef Jerky by John Moe - 313 pages - This book was not as funny as Sweet Jesus, I Hate Bill O'Reilly, but it was darn amusing, especially his footnotes. By the end of the book, he had discovered a bit of man-love for Richard Nixon, but still didn't love George W. Bush. The stories of his 4-year-old Sierra Club member son were very cute. I definitely recommend it.

Book of the Month: The Sewing Circles of Herat: A Personal Voyage Through Afghanistan by Christina Lamb (but you all knew that, didn't you?)

Movies

I See A Dark Stranger 1946 (TCM) - Not enough reviews at rottentomato.com for a percentage - This movie portrayed a young Deborah Kerr who was raised by an Irish father who hated the British to the point where during WWII she went to London to join the IRA, but was rebuffed as there was a truce (I guess) on. But she ends up recruited by the Germans. Watch the movie to see how it all ends up. You can't go wrong with Deborah Kerr and Trevor Howard.

Escape to Witch Mountain 1974/5 (TCM) 67% - I was flipping channels last Sunday (9/21) and found this. I hadn't seen it in a very long time, but always loved it, so I took the opportunity to do so. You've all seen it, you all know the story - and if you don't you're probably young. ;-) I thought it was interesting that supposedly some movie studio is going to make a new version of this movie but are going to call it Race to Witch Mountain or something like that. I'm not betting money on me bothering. I object to studios just regurgitating the same movies all over again. It's been done. Find something else to do.

The Water Horse: Legend of the Deep 2007 (N) 73% - I loved this movie, but I've always been a sucker for the mystery of the Loch Ness monster. I like to believe that it exists. I have no idea why the mystery enthralls me so, but it does, so there ya go. This was a cute movie.

Movie of the Month: The Water Horse

I'm sure you've all heard by now that Paul Newman died this weekend. Although I was expecting it, I wasn't really prepared for it, as I was hoping that him going home to die of cancer was untrue. He was 83 and while a former co-worker thought he was a "minor" actor, we all know better. I shall treasure my exceptionally cool jacket signed by PLN (on the orange vertical stripe) at Road America a couple of years ago. I shall also treasure this picture. I did not take it and I don't know who did or I'd give him/her credit. All I know is that it shows how much TFG wanted PLN at his shitty May race that he didn't stop PLN from wearing his ORANGE (which kind of clashes with the Icky Racing League's red/white/blue colors) Champ Car Championship hat while at that shitty May race.

Here is the article about Paul Newman that you probably didn't see, as it's all racing related. You all know about his movies, so I'm here to broaden your horizons.

God speed, Mr. Newman. All Champ Car fans everywhere thank you for years of complete support. I'm just sorry you had to see the demise of Champ Car, the racing series you loved. I shall never forget your Daytona 24 Hour GT class win in the Nobody's Fool Mustang in 1995 at the age of 70. You will be missed.

Trivia and Sadness

2008-09-25T05:30:00.000-04:00

I haven't been sleeping well of late, but did sleep Sunday night which was a nice change from my usual Sunday nights. I went to bed around 8:00 p.m. which was so necessary. I have so much to do and so little time to do it. I really need to do laundry, I need to figure out what I'm taking with me next week (I leave one week from tomorrow for San Francisco), I need to figure which pair of boots I'm keeping from Zappo's, I need to clean the apt. since I'm going to be gone for two weeks, etc.

Now I leave next Tuesday right after work which means I'll be packing on Monday, especially, since I have a full day of plans for Sunday. I told Grandma I'd come over and see her new place and teach her to knit since the knitting classes haven't been happening. And then my brother scheduled my nephew's birthday party for Sunday as well (since I won't be here for his actual birthday – oops).

There's no way in heck all the knitting I need to get done is going to get done either. I really need to get moving on scarves for people I'm going to be seeing in SF. I wanted to knit this cute lace skirt-overlay for the The Crüxshadows concert in SF, but it's just not going to happen. I haven't even finished translating the lace chart into English (charts give me a headache and make me want to cry). Here's hoping I can get it done in time for them to come to Detroit on November 8.

Friday HRH came down to Windsor, so I went over to hang with her for the night. This was planned a few months back, and then a month or so ago she sent me an e-mail asking if I wanted to see Air Supply that night as Casino Windsor was offering her free tickets. I responded with a "Heck yeah!" She thought I was joking and replied with "Really?" Yup, really. I loved Air Supply when I was young and how could I pass up free tickets, for heaven's sake? It was about as cheesy as you'd expect and the crowd was a lot of older than I had expected. The lady next to HRH had a cane, for heaven's sake, and was easily in her 70s. HRH lasted a whole lot longer than she said she would, mostly because she didn't want to disturb the lady with the cane.

On a whole other note, life can suck really badly sometimes. At work we got moved (not physically – YET), but organizationally to yet another department. Anyway, the Kathleen equivalent in that group sends out the department-wide e-mails re: births, deaths, etc. And lately, her portion has been having the births, while mine has had five deaths within the past month, and the fifth one was this week: a co-worker's 8-month old (or so) daughter. We have absolutely no idea what happened. Until this morning when he sent me the funeral arrangements, we didn't even know which daughter (he also has a 2.5 year old). He got a phone call while at work on Tuesday and left suddenly and in a great panic, from all accounts. I wasn't here as it happened after I leave for the day, but a friend called me at home and I was just stunned by the news. Whenever I would ask him about his daughters, his face would just light up as he'd tell me about them. A co-worker who's in Europe right now called the second he got the e-mail and said that when he was home back in August he had been talking to the co-worker and that the co-worker was all excited about his daughters and even said, "I caught up to you, I now have two children." And then they talked about their kids.

I can't even begin to understand his and his wife's pain and anguish at this, but I feel as if my heart is broken for them, as ridiculous as that sounds. Tears keep welling up in my eyes as I think about it and I used my last bloody tissue yesterday and forgot to bring a box in, and I really need to invest in waterproof mascara.

It seems petty to bitch about packing and boot deciding in the face of tragedy, so I'll end this now.

2008-09-16T16:51:00.002-04:00

Today is Mom's birthday and I'm due at Grandma's country club at 7:00 p.m. for dinner. Problem with the country club is the "no jeans" rule. *sigh* Makes Grandma happy though and isn't that what is actually important? I gave Mom her presents on Sunday after church when I took her out for breakfast - we went really high class and hit the IHOP. I knit her a fabulous silk/alpaca scarf in a very pretty blue. I told her that I wanted it to be her signature piece. She didn't seem to know what I meant by that.

Grandma moved into assisted living and somehow managed to get a two-bedroom apt after all. She moved into a one bedroom and then the following week or so a two bedroom opened up, so she moved right up into that and apparently it's the biggest apt. in the place. She has new furniture and she's looking forward to taking knitting class which they supposedly offer there, but they haven't had one since she moved in. I gave her some yarn and two pairs of my favorite knitting needles Labor Day weekend and now she's just waiting for the class.

This past weekend we, as in southeast Michigan, got rain the entire freaking weekend - 3-6" apparently. I thought about Fermicat the whole time wondering if we were getting Georgia's share. Sure we hadn't had rain since July, but nothing compared to them and I feel guilty getting rain when they're in such dire straits. Not that we don't need it, too, but I think they need it worse. Of course, I'd rather get the rain now and let them get the wet stuff in the winter when here it would be white crap falling from the sky.

Have I mentioned that I'm heading off to San Francisco at the very end of the month (late on Sept. 30) and spending 9 days there and then off to Vegas to spend time with my racing friends who I haven't seen since April (except for HRH who I just saw Labor Day Friday and will see again this Friday)? The plan is to go back to the Valley of Fire. Other than that, my only plan is to get my Champ Car tattoo with HRH. She wants hers on her ankle. I'm against the ankle as I hear it's really painful there. I discussed the tattoo placement with Ursula who is my tattoo guidance counselor. I want it somewhere which isn't too obvious, too painful, too white-trash or too tramp-stampy...which leaves the inside of my left wrist where I can hide it with my watch.

Oh, I never updated you on the Big Milk Issue. I hated the soy milk - had I told you that part? - so I went with rice milk/drink the next time around and I have to say that it's MUCH better. I haven't tried cooking anything with it yet, but it's working out fabulously with my cereal, which is 90% of my milk usage.

I have no clue what's going on in my city but there are police sirens going constantly! When I was walking home a police car went SCREAMING down Oakwood. And I had to walk *in* Oakwood to get home because of all the roadwork occurring on all the streets around my home - including my very own street which is torn to hell. In fact, I'm not sure there's a street in the western half of my city that's not under construction. I'm wondering if they'd be better off doing ONE street at a time and concentrating all the workers on that one street for a shorter period of time than disrupting a good number of streets and displacing numerous people's parking spots. Of course, if this helps the drainage issue (supposedly they're putting in much larger pipes for the sewage or whatever) and it's done quickly enough, I might regret my whining. I'll keep you posted on how long I have to fight for parking with the apts. dwellers on the other street.

See why I haven't been posting? You'd have been even more bored with the nothingness I have to report. ;-)

Have a lovely week!

August's Books & Movies

2008-09-07T14:16:00.004-04:00

I know I've been completely MIA of late. I just haven't had the wherewithal to blog. I don't know why but I've been feeling a little punky - not depressed, per se, but just not myself. I go to work, I come home, sit on the couch, watch whatever is on my DVR and play Rise of Atlantis. I have nothing to tell you about and don't even feel like e-mailing people I really need to e-mail. I just want to sleep - and to that end I went to bed at 6:30 p.m. on Friday night. How sad is that?

I got my hair cut this morning, so we'll see if my punky mood was just related to having too much hair on my head.

Here is the requisite book and movie list for the month of August.

Books

The Wrath of God by Jack Higgins - 248 pages - I had picked a copy at a church rummage sale for 25 cents not realising that I already owned it and had already read it. Oops. Still can't go wrong with a Jack Higgins, especially an old one before he got overinvolved with his Sean Dillon character - don't get me wrong. I love the Sean Dillon character, and the books, but I think he's gotten a little formulaic in the past few years (not that it'll stop me from buying his new book when it comes out in October).

Savage Arena by Joe Tasker - 264 pages - This is the last book Joe Tasker wrote before he headed off for the then yet unclimbed North East Ridge of Everest where he and Peter Boardman were last seen. In it he talks about how he got interested in climbing and describes a number of different climbs including his version of some climbs that Peter Boardman also wrote about (i.e., Changabang from The Shining Mountain). It was interesting to see how each of them approached the same mountain and viewed issues. And how they viewed each other. The power of words is very evident in this book where Joe describes an avalanche that hit while they were sleeping and I felt as if I were suffocating right along with him. I swear I gasped for air while reading it.

Sacred Summits by Peter Boardman - 258 pages - This was the last book that Peter Boardman was to write before he went off to climb Everest for a second time. In it he describes climbing three different peaks in one year (1979), starting with the Carstenz Pyramid the highest point in Indonesia, and one of the seven summits (the highest points of each continent) with his then girlfriend, eventually to be wife, Hilary. That was a fairly illegal climb since they had been told that they weren't to climb it, but they made it. The 2nd sacred summit was Kangchenjunga on the Nepal-Sikkim (India) border. It means "The Five Treasures of the Snow" (picture link) and has five summits. The third peak of 1979 for Peter Boardman was Guari Sankar which according to Boardman "has deep religious significance for both Hindus and Buddhists. Sankar (the North Summit) is the Hindu god Shiva, married to the goddess Guari (the South Summit). The Buddhist Rolwaling Sherpas living south of the mountain can only see the South Summit and call it Jomo Tseringma, Throughout Buddhist Lamaism, to as far away as Sikkim, Tseringma is considered the most holy mountain of the Sherpas." (p. 181, Sacred Summits, The Boardman Tasker Omnibus)

I'm not sure I can pick either Sacred Summits or the Savage Arena over the other as book of the month. Of course, you can only pick either of them up as The Boardman Tasker Omnibus, so if you're going to, you might as well read both of them.

I did better movie wise than I had done previously.

Movies

8/3 - La Vie en Rose (N) 2007 - This is not what I would call a happy movie. It was also very disjointed timeline-wise and a little hard to follow. It jumped back and forth and not between two different times or something semi-logical, but it was literally all over the bloody place. It intrigued me enough to do a little research on Edith Piaf, but I'm pretty much over it now.

8/3 - Notes on a Scandal (N) 2006 - 87% - I think the 87% favored rating this movie got from rotten tomatoes.com is a clear indication of why I should never ever listen to critics. I pretty much hated this movie. Judi Dench was incredible, as always. As was Cate Blanchett, but I just don't handle movies (or TV shows) where I can clearly see that someone is going to do something incredibly stupid. And another person is going to take complete advantage.

8/4 - Lewis Black: Screwed (Comedy Central) 2006 - I'm pretty sure I didn't see the whole thing as this was on Comedy Central and cut to hell with commercials, but this was pretty bloody funny.

8/6 - Keeping Mum 2005 55% - I borrowed this from the Libertarian (he offered) and I think this is another indication that I should go by my own judgement vs the critics as this was definitely a better movie than Notes on a Scandal, at least in my humble opinion. You just can't go wrong with Maggie Smith and Kristin Scott Thomas. And while I can't stand Patrick Swayze and never thought he was all that and a bag of chips, I have to say he was PERFECT for his part as the pastor's-wife-seducing-golf pro. The scene with him in bikini underwear is hysterical. It's definitely dark, as British black comedy can be, but worth it, I think.

8/7 - Stargate: The Ark of Truth (N) 2008 - It was 2 hours worth of Stargate SG-1...how can an SG-1 lover go wrong? Truthfully, it was so long ago, I barely remember it. A sign of the brain getting old?

8/9 - Stargate: Continuum (N) 2008 - Definitely the better of the two SG-1 movies, and some fantastic footage of a navy (real) submarine coming up through the ice in the ARCTIC! I've decided that Michael Shanks is a prime donna - from having to have his name last in the credits at the beginning with the whole "And Michael Shanks as Dr. Daniel Jackson" and how he refused to go to the Arctic to do the filming. Whatever. Get the hell over yourself. Bring back Corin Nemec! ;-)

8/10 - The Man Who Fell To Earth (DVR) 1976 86% - I truly think this is a movie I should watch a second time in order to understand it better. It's David Bowie, so you know it's worth watching, but I have to confess that I was very confused at first. And I'm not sure that the ending didn't also confuse me. I'm betting money a number of you have already seen it and can actually explain it to me. And if you would, that would be so greatly appreciated. ;-)

8/10 - In Bruges (N) 2008 81% - I had heard about this movie through the Very Short List daily e-mail that I get. While I normally am not a huge fan of blood-filled movies, this one sounded very interesting, and I have to say that I was glad that I followed the recommendation of the VSL because I quite liked this movie. It was clever w/o being over the top and parts were very funny. Other parts were enough to make you cry. All in all, I'd say this is definitely to be seen.

8/14 - P.S. I Love You (N) 2007 20% - Another movie which I liked a whole lot better than the critics did. In fact, I loved this movie, even though I cried my way through it. What can I say? I'm a wuss for sappy love stories (some days more than others). Any movie that starts with the Pogues' Fairytale of New York can't be all bad.

8/16 - The Dark Knight (Drive-In) 2008 94% - A group of friends went to the drive-in to celebrate two birthdays and to watch The Dark Knight. I have to say that Heath Ledger was definitely creepy. I thought it was very good and I want to see it again. Does Heath Ledger draw from Jack Nicholson's Joker? More than likely, but I think Heath gives it an extra edge of creepy with the snake-like tongue-flicking. I spent most of the movie trying to see Heath Ledger through the make-up and couldn't, while I never had that problem with Jack Nicholson's Joker.

8/24 - The Brothers Grimm (N) 2005 37% - An interesting take on the Brothers Grimm of fairy tale fame wherein they pretend to save towns from witches and such by manufacturing the witches themselves. Then one day they're forced to save a town which turns out to have a real witch, however, it takes them a while to figure that out. It's The Brothers Grimm, so you might figure on a happy ending.

Movie of the Month is a tie between In Bruges & P.S. I Love You - how's that for some disparate movies?

Quotes from the Olympics

2008-08-26T14:31:00.001-04:00

I got this via e-mail, but it was too damn funny not to share.

Here are the top nine comments made by NBC sports commentators at the Summer Olympics that they would like to take back:

1. Weightlifting commentator: "This is Gregoriava from Bulgaria. I saw her snatch this morning during her warm up and it was amazing."

2. Dressage commentator: "This is really a lovely horse and I speak from personal experience since I once mounted her mother."

3. Paul Hamm, Gymnast: "I owe a lot to my parents, especially my mother and father."

4. Boxing Analyst: "Sure there have been injuries,and even some deaths in boxing, but none of them really that serious."

5. Softball announcer: "If history repeats itself, I should think we can expect the same thing again."

6. Basketball analyst: "He dribbles a lot and the opposition doesn't like it. In fact you can see it all over their faces."

7. At the rowing medal ceremony: "Ah, isn't that nice, the wife of the IOC president is hugging the cox of the British crew."

8. Soccer commentator: "Julian Dicks is everywhere. It's like they've got eleven Dicks on the field."

9. Tennis commentator: "One of the reasons Andy is playing so well is that, before the final round, his wife takes out his balls and kisses them... Oh my God, what have I just said?"

Balloons, Birthdays and Chinese

2008-08-18T20:40:00.001-04:00

I signed up a while back for the Very Short List e-mail and I find most of the stuff they send me to be pretty darn interesting.

I really liked this little tidbit which shows a balloon in different famous movie scenes. I thought some of them were very clever, others cute. It's 6:33 minutes, but worth it.

I didn't get to the baseball game on Friday, but did manage to find someone to buy the tickets from me, so that was at least a step in the right direction. Saturday was a gorgeous day here, and although I had to do laundry (I had been way too lazy to do it last Saturday when it rained all bloody day), I sat outside and read my book between running in to check on the status of said laundry. Our stupid dryer will sometimes not turn on, meaning it's turning and all, but there's no heat and you have to beat on the side a la Fonzie to get the flames to come out and heat up the drum. Took three times to get my bloody towels dry. Stupid 70s era dryer.

That night my group of friends celebrate August birthdays at Cedar Garden (Lebanese food) and then headed over to the only Drive-In Movie Theatre left in the Detroit area where we watched Dark Knight. I enjoyed it, and thought that Heath Ledger was suitably creepy as The Joker (it was hard to picture his face w/o the make-up or to see past the make-up to his real face, however you want to put it). It was a little chilly for sitting outside and watching a movie, but thankfully I live in Michigan and keep a blanket (or two) in my trunk for wintertime breakdowns (not that I've ever broken down *knock on wood*).

Yesterday was very much family-oriented. Mom, YS and Grandma came to Mass and then we went for sushi where my nephew showed up (it's weird having a 20 year old nephew) wearing his Champ Car shirt. *sigh* After sushi, the YS asked me to give her a ride to Mom's, ostensibly to get my copy of the latest Janet Evanovich book. I told her, no problem on the ride except that I was planning on going to DSW (I had a coupon and a gift card). She had no problem going shoe shopping and then we stopped at Guernsey on the way to Mom's for some healthy ice cream (blueberry and pomegranate and dark chocolate – chock full of antioxidants). I dropped her off and then made my way home where I collapsed on the couch and did nothing (I did play Rise of Atlantis) until bedtime.

Tomorrow is my birthday and if it weren't for my friends Windy and BST, I'd have no plans for my actual birthday, which is so not like me. I'm a Leo, for heaven's sake, I believe in celebrating my birthday to the maximum!!! Ah well. I was supposed to go to dinner with the YS today in Royal Oak, but then the OS invited us to join her and Grandma for dinner, so instead of Belgian potato truffle ravioli (completely decadent) I'm settling for Chinese food and my friend Soyon is joining us, as I picked her favorite Chinese restaurant in the Detroit metropolitan area (they apparently make a noodle dish which is Chinese/Korean and they're the only ones who make it perfectly). She's always a riot, so it should be fun. (And it was. Grandma was highly amused by her.)

Whining

2008-08-13T20:09:00.002-04:00

I've been a bit down this week, and I have no idea why. Okay, I know a little bit why. I have four tickets to this Friday's Tigers game and can't find a single person to go with me. My friend Marianne was supposed to go with me, and she even had two guys to go with us - kind of a pseudo date for my birthday - but last week she told me she couldn't find a babysitter, so I had one week to find three people for a Friday night. I originally was thinking a GNO with my friends The Two Carols and LK from work, but LK couldn't go because she had to drive three hours up north to pick up her daughter from camp and wouldn't get back to the Detroit area until well after the game start time (that was before said daughter destroyed her ankle at camp yesterday and LK has spent the past two days dealing with that). Neither of the Two Carols could go either. Then I tried two friends who actually like baseball, but they both have plans (as you'd expect this close to a Friday). Next up my cousin, but she can't go either. OS has a work party, YS doesn't get home until 7:30 on Friday night. LB lives in CA. I've asked the BAB and his two sons. No clue on what he decided because I had to bail out of work right at 2:00 because I had an appt. to pick up my new glasses at 3:00 (I've been told they look really cute - I'm not yet convinced).

I just called the BAB and he said, No, but you'll be able to find somebody else, won't you? Not so far. Ah well. I'm *this* close to asking Jorge. ;-)

I have a new boss at work and while I was apprehensive at first, I had a one-on-one with him on Tuesday and then a meeting with the rest of his supervisees today and it seems like it might be okay, after all. We shall see.

Tomorrow we have a three-hour All Hands meeting with the entire department (I'm taking TONS of knitting or my eyelids will be closing) and then it's off to Hines Drive for a mandatory department picnic (which reminds me that I have more water balloons to fill - I was having issues earlier - I'm not that good at the whole water balloon thing as we weren't allowed such frivolity growing up). I think it could be fun. Hmm, where are my frisbees?

I have a boatload of knitting to do, but just haven't really felt like doing anything other than potholders and dishcloths. Just a looksee at my To Do List:

Baby Blanket for Cousin A
Scarves for LK, CP, Knucklehead, Suzy (to whom I can't link, because I'm an idiot and only have her bookmarked at work), Cousin L, Cousin M, SIL, etc.

To say nothing of the rug I want to knit for myself, Grandma's sweater (which might turn into a shawl), and whatever I decide to knit for myself out of all the really pretty yarn I've bought because it was too beautiful to leave at the store. Oy vey.

It's sad, it's only 8:30 and I'm ready to go to bed.

Have a good weekend, just in case I don't get back - which we all know I won't. *sigh*

July Books and Movies

2008-08-07T05:11:00.002-04:00

Is there anything better in this world than super high humidity? Which brings along with it that nice sticky feeling when you're just trying to sleep? And makes putting on make-up extra fun because your face is sweating, to say nothing of your head. Oh, the joys of summer in Michigan. The good news is that it's supposed to be gone by tomorrow, and I have to say that the weather forecasters have been pretty darn good this year at guessing when the humidity would be leaving us, at least so far. And compared to the previous two summers, the humidity has been short-lived – a couple of days here, a couple of days there. This past weekend was absolutely perfect! 82F and low humidity on Saturday had me sitting outside (after walking up to Michael's to buy kitchen cotton yarn) for five hours. It was gorgeous! I put on my cancer-causing sunscreen and sat out on the front lawn (I don't have a backyard) knitting a potholder & dishcloth for my friend Marianne, occasionally stopping knitting to read a book. It was perfect.

So, you all know I'm a vegetarian and have been for many years, right? Well, I've never made the switch to soy milk, even though regular cow's milk isn't supposed to be good for you, to say nothing of it being "stolen" from the cows, etc. Now, I'm not a vegan and have no real intentions of becoming one as I love ice cream, pizza, grilled cheese sandwiches, etc., but the whole soy milk thing is supposed to be better for you. Well, I tried soy milk years ago when I lived in San Francisco. I bought the regular soy milk, poured it over my Cheerios, took one or two bites and then proceeded to pour the whole mess down the sink (I actually had a garbage disposal in SF – very exciting), including the entire half gallon. And didn't try it again until this past week. This time I bought the Vanilla flavored stuff, and while I have been able to get through an entire bowl of cereal, I have to say that I am not enamoured. It's too sweet. And if I allow myself to think about it, I think it could be gag-inducing.

I had talked to a guy at work and he recommended trying it again, but he apparently told me to try the Edensoy, but I had bought the Trader Joe's brand. What do you all think? Should I try the Edensoy or just go back to my non-fat, lactose-free milk? I'm actually also wondering what I should do about milk needed for a dinner type item – you know, Cream of Asparagus soup which needs a can of milk? I'm pretty that the vanilla flavoring isn't going to work there.

I have an addiction and it's getting out of hand…no, not yarn (although that has definitely gotten out of hand). No, my addiction is to blank books, of any type and size, but especially small ones which ostensibly will fit in a purse. At this precise moment I have THREE in the purse I'm carrying, one in the purse I carried for the past year, (remember my fabulous orange purse? That one.), and a whole bunch one bookshelves and in closets, etc. It's insane. Does anybody else have an addiction to something like this?

I won't be around tomorrow as I have signed up to do community service at the Detroit Zoo. I'll take any chance to be outside in August, especially if it's officially sanctioned by work!

On to Books and Movies read/watched in July.

Books

#32-#38 of the Nancy Drew Series written by Carolyn Keene: The Scarlet Slipper Mystery (179 pages), The Witch Tree Symbol (179 pages), The Hidden Window Mystery (179 pages), The Haunted Showboat (184 pages), The Secret of the Golden Pavilion (184 pages), The Clue in the Old Stagecoach (180 pages), and The Mystery of the Fire Dragon (182 pages). They're Nancy Drew books, you know how they are – nice, quick, easy reads.

The Shining Mountain by Peter Boardman from The Boardman Tasker Omnibus - 185 pages – This was an account of Peter Boardman and Joe Tasker's expedition to climb Changabang, a mountain in the Indian Himalayas. According to Wikipedia, "Changabang was first climbed on June 4, 1974 by an expedition led by Lt. Col Balwant Sandhu and Chris Bonington, via the Southeast Face, leading to the East Ridge. This is the easiest route on the mountain, and one of the few that is primarily a snow/ice climb, as opposed to a rock climb with some snow, ice, or mixed terrain.[2] Other notable ascents include some of the hardest climbs ever done in the Himalaya. The first of these is the ascent of the West Face by Peter Boardman and Joe Tasker in 1976. The route took over 25 days to ascend, and their use of big wall climbing techniques to overcome the serious, sustained difficulties was revolutionary.[2]" I found a book club on-line which read this book back in 2003 and part of the discussion was that it was a very technical book and that non-mountain climbers might have a problem with it. I don't remember having a problem with it, but I've also been reading mountain climbing books for a good 12 years.

Everest the Cruel Way by Joe Tasker – 165 pages – This was an account of an unsuccessful expedition made to Everest by a smallish British group of climbers in winter. It discussed the personality clashes that occur with close living over a period of months in an inhospitable area/situation. I found this story interesting because included in this expedition were the Burgess Twins who I had heard about, but had not yet come across in any of my mountaineering books. I really need to pick up their book(s). They are supposed to be simply outrageous.

Artemis Fowl: The Time Paradox by Eoin Colfer – 391 pages – I'm a big fan of the Artemis Fowl series, so I had to pick this one (book 6) up. I even let the YS take the latest Janet Evanovich book to Arizona because I knew I was going to read AF6 first. Apparently, Mr. Colfer isn't going to write anymore AF books at least for a few years, because all the loose ends have been wrapped up. Whatever. I hope that means he's going to work on his Half Moon Investigations series, because I enjoyed the one of those he has written so far. I won't compare AF to Harry Potter because a lot of people seem to diss HP w/o even having read them (simply because they were popular), but they are written for Young People, technically. Artemis Fowl is a brilliant 14 year old who somehow discovered fairies and interacts with them. It's not all fairy dust and rainbows coming out of …well, wherever…they're more intense than that. I'm terrible at describing books, obviously. I definitely think that they're worth at least checking out from the library, if you're thinking "Fairies? Eeewww." There's also a dirt-eating dwarf with an explosive backside, a mastermind Centaur named Foaly and all sorts of other evil and non-evil Pixies, etc.

This is getting ridiculous, it's taking me three days to write one post!!!

Movies

7/2 - The Holiday (DVR) – 2006 – This movie was cute, but I really didn't think that they developed the relationship between Cate Winslet and Jack Black all that well. I mean, it was obvious he was better than the twit back in England, but damn near anybody would have been. Schmuck. I think Cameron Diaz has Tom Cruise Syndrome (no, not that she's a crazy-ass Scientologist), but that she plays herself in every movie. She annoyed me in this movie, a little bit. But all in all, it's a cute, romantic comedy. Not sure I'd bother buying it unless I can get it for $5.

7/3 - Z (N) – 1969 – I don't think I was in the mood for a French political thriller about a Greek assassination on the day I watched this, because I remember not being very into it. However, as I look back on it, I realise it was a very good movie – just bloody depressing. Governmental corruption is just not a fun time.

7/3/ - The Double Life of Veronique (N) – 1991 – Polish director Krzysztof Kieslowski did an incredible job on this film, which is saying something since I couldn't stand his White of the Blue, White, Red Trilogy. Okay, here's where I confess that I never knew he directed all three movies of the trilogy. I liked Blue & Red, so I guess White was the aberration for me. The premise of Veronique is that there are two women of the same name and identical appearance, but one living in Poland and the other in France. They're both musical and somehow their lives are entwined psychically – but not in a cheesy way. The film first follows Polish Veronique and then goes onto French Veronique. I would say that this is actually a good French film and not too depressing (which is saying something).

7/4 – Rear Window – It was playing on TCM, so how could I not watch it? Yeah, I know I own it, but there's still something special about finding it (or anybody great movie you own) on TV. I'll stop every time I find An Affair to Remember, as well.

7/4 – The Music Man – This played on TCM directly after Rear Window. It had been a long time since I had seen The Music Man and it's still a lot of fun, even the annoying mayor's daughter with her "Egods" every time she opened her mouth.

7/6 - Contempt (DFT) – 1963 – The review in the link cracks me up with its first line about this being a "superlative film." Remember above when I saw that Veronique was actually a good French film, and not too depressing. This is an example of a bad and depressing French film. I have no idea why film critics love it. When I mentioned to my friend BST that I was going to go and see it and asked if he wanted to go as well, he said, "I'd rather eat glass than see that horrible movie again." Yeah, his remarks gave me pause, but I figured what the heck. I like to judge things for myself sometimes. I went with my friend Richard who is the sole subscriber to Katflix, what he calls the fact that I lend him movies to watch. The difference between Netflix and Katflix is that with Netflix you get to pick the movies you want and you have to pay while Katflix is free (I just like the idea of someone other than me watching my movies, although Richard usually pays for my dinner when we make the Great Katflix Exchange) and the CEO of Katflix picks what movies you get. Anyway, as we left the theatre, I just had to laugh because it was that horrible. Richard said, "I was really hoping that scene in the apartment could have lasted an hour." Honest to God, the best part of the whole movie was Fritz Lang playing himself. So, if the opportunity presents itself to you to see Contempt, I wouldn't do it, unless it's completely free and you had absolutely nothing better to do.

Postscript

Fermi pointed out that I forgot to list a Book/Movie of the Month, which goes to show you that I shouldn't do anything when I'm in a hurry.

Book of the Month: Artemis Fowl: The Time Paradox
Movie of the Month: The Double Life of Veronique

Morale couldn't be lower

2008-07-30T19:31:00.004-04:00

Sorry for being so absent of late. It's been, to be blunt, shitty at work and I haven't felt like doing anything when I get home. To illustrate how bad it's been, I haven't even felt like knitting! I "watch" TV (more listen) while playing Jewel Quest. It's been bad.

Last Thursday I was at Borders (I needed the new Eoin Colfer Artemis Fowl book) when I felt my purse vibrating against the side of my body. By the time I found my phone, I had missed the call, but my heart sunk when I saw the name of a coworker. I called him right back but it went into voicemail, and as I was leaving my message "You better not be calling me for why I think you're calling me," my phone rang again and it was him again. I answered it saying, "I just left you a voicemail saying 'You better not be calling me for why I think you're calling me.'" He replied, "I think I am. I just got the call." The Call is what happens when you work for my company but aren't a direct employee, but a contract employee. The contract people get calls at home on Thursdays (this Thursday is supposed to be the last) between 6:00 and 6:30 telling them not to go to work tomorrow, but to go to the contract house's office and turn their badge and whatever else they have. I was so upset, because this guy is a good engineer and a good kid (he's 23 and just got married, in fact, supposedly, it was to have happened the week before but he was on his honeymoon). I was more upset than he was. I cried all night, and most of the morning as I packed up his desk. He'd only been with us since January, but he had two boxes of stuff. That part was pretty amusing, actually.

He drove in that day for his stuff and we all went out to lunch with him. I asked him how his wife took the news (she's in grad school) and he said that she was pretty matter-of-fact about it. "So, I was the only one who cried?" "Um, yeah, sorry about that." I felt like an idiot, but I think he was the last straw. I had seen and heard of too many good people losing their jobs while everybody here has a list of useless direct employees who still have their jobs. I know nobody ever said life was fair, but really there is a limit.

News on the Grandma Front:

Turns out that her initial willingness to go to assisted living was short-lived, although she did change her mind again. She dilly-dallied so long that somebody else took the last 2-bedroom apartment. On Saturday she was going over to look at the one-bedrooms that remained and make her decision. Grandma is presently filling out the paperwork and my aunt is going to drop it off on her way to work. Then we have to work on packing Grandma up, and convincing my Mom to sell her POS cheap-ass, nasty condo and buy Grandma's, but Mom's objecting because she doesn't want a mortgage. *eyes rolling* While yes, I do understand that, to a degree, all my mother does is work! Constantly. She has NO LIFE whatsoever. She must have a boatload of money saved up. And this way, we still can have family functions at Grandma's and it would be like nothing has changed. Of course, someone pointed out that Grandma's style isn't exactly my mom's style and I said that's because my Mom doesn't have a style!!! My Grandma is so stylish and elegant and somehow that trait skipped my mother completely. But this way the aunts would have somewhere to stay when they come home, etc. It's just best for every one. According to my aunt, EVERYBODY is on board with the idea, except my Mom. You have no idea how hard it is to get my mother's siblings to agree on something. This is HUGE! I told my aunt to get the YS working on Mom, as she is the favorite child, and she agrees with the rest of us.

Okay, back to work stuff. One of my absolutely favorite people got walked out this morning. He had stopped by my desk earlier to say he heard "they" were doing his section today. It was obvious he was very nervous. My cubemate went to his desk to get him to sign a Get Well Soon card for another co-worker who is out on medical and when she was over there, she recognised the woman across from him as somebody she went to school with. A bit later, she got an e-mail from her ex-schoolmate saying, "I think the gentleman you were talking to was walked out shortly after. We were asked to leave." Cubemate got a look of horror on her face and I asked what was wrong. She forwarded it to me and I read it in disbelief. I had a brand new person (to our department) at my desk while we discussed getting a desk for her and I started to cry. I'm sure she felt uncomfortable, as we were all expressing our thoughts on this subject and how not happy we all were. I apologised to her for crying and she said, "No problem. I just had a baby, I'm used to tears."

A few minutes later we all got an e-mail from our former co-worker saying thank you for helping and teaching him, wishing us all (including the company) well, etc. It was a very nice e-mail – he was raised properly. This one hit hard. I saw someone he worked with program-wise come over and look for him (as Good Co-worker used to sit by me – I'm in charge of moves, so I put him by me on purpose because he's such a good guy). I called Program Guy's name as he turned around asking who he was looking for (although I pretty much knew). I gave him the details as I knew them, at one point, he looked to race away to find Good Co-Worker, but I stopped him and said, "He's long gone. They walked him out a while ago." PG was furious. "What is wrong with this place? Don't they realise these are human beings? We don't even get to say Good-bye."

I had been doing relatively better, after last week's stress and tension, but I'm back to Friday-mode. I can't stop crying, I have a headache and I just want to go home, take a valium and go to bed for a week. I don't feel like eating, in fact, I had to take an alka-seltzer because my stomach is so not happy. I want to throw up.

My brother sent me the following the other day, the first half consists of interesting facts about Michigan (even if you're not from here), the second half is old-time Detroit tidbits which probably won't mean anything to you unless you lived here.

MICHIGAN HISTORY

From 1910 to 1920, Hamtramck, Michigan grew from 3,589 to 45,615 residents, leading the nation in growth for that period.

During the lumber boom era, the row of saloons that lined Water Street in Bay City was known as "Hell's Half Mile."

In 1936, Escanaba, Michigan harvested and processed 100,000 sq. ft. of bird's eye maple to be used in the English Luxury Liner, the Queen Mary.

When the territory of Michigan was created on Jan. 11, 1805, Detroit was chosen as its capital.

Bagley's Corner was the original name of Bloomfield Hills. (This is amusing because Bloomfield Hills is super ritzy, expensive…and Bagley's Corner doesn't really sound that ritzy.)

The world's only marble lighthouse is located on Belle Isle. (Livingston Lighthouse)

Hog's Hollow was the original name of Utica, Mich.

There are over 11,000 lakes in Michigan.

The home offices of Life Savers Candy, Beech-Nut Gum, and Squirt soft drinks are in Holland, Michigan.

In 1870, Detroit became the nation's first telephone customers to have phone numbers assigned to them.

Charles A Lindbergh was born in Detroit on Feb. 4, 1902.

The Stars and Stripes first flew over Michigan soil on July 11, 1796.

In Sept. 1908, William C. Durant organized several independent automobile plants into what was to become General Motors.

Michigan began charging an annual license fee of 50 cents in 1905.

Michigan 's first police woman began walking the beat in Detroit in 1893.

In 1942, the Davison Freeway in Detroit was completed and became the world's first urban freeway.

The first soft drink, (Vernor's Ginger Ale) was introduced by a Detroit Pharmacist, James A Vernor, in 1866. Note: There were several 'elixirs' on the market at that time, including what would later be called Coca Cola. These contained alcohol, whereas Vernor's didn't. Hence, the name 'soft' drink.

The intersection of Woodward Avenue and Grand Avenue in Detroit proudly displayed the world's first traffic light in 1915.

In 1688, Father Jacques Marquette founded the first permanent settlement in what would later become Michigan .

The world's first shopping mall (Northland Mall) opened in the Detroit suburb of Southfield in 1954.

The world's first painted highway center lines were featured in Trenton , MI in 1911. They were used in other towns and was how Centerline, MI got its name.

Michigan ranks Number #1 nationally in the production of dog sleds.

The nation's largest indoor/outdoor museum complex is Henry Ford Museum and Greenfield Village . (Right across the street from where I live.)

Opened in 1904, the nation's oldest freshwater aquarium is the Belle Isle Aquarium. (I thought this was closed a few years back.)

The onion is Michigan 's largest fresh-market vegetable crop.

AND YOU ARE AN OLD DETROITER (OR JUST OLD) if ........

You took a 'moonlight cruise' to Boblo with Captain Boblo or went to Edgewater Amusement Park . (The cruise was the only way to get to Boblo. It was half the fun as they had a dance floor on the ground level floor and as a pre-teen/teenaged girl, you'd dance your way to Boblo. My Great Grandparents lived near Edgewater and you could see the roller coaster from one of the 2nd floor bedrooms.)

You shopped at Hughes and Hatcher, B Siegel, Peck and Peck, Himelhoch's, Robert Hall, Crowley's, Shoppers Fair, EJ Korvettes or Federals. (Definitely didn't shop at Hughes & Hatcher as it was a men's store, but I got my baseball mitt from Federals.)

You rode the elevator at J. L. Hudson's, which was 'run' by an elevator operator. (Once, near the end.)

You remember a Winkleman's and Sanders store in your neighborhood. (Heck yeah! The greatest day in Detroit history is when the new owners of Sanders opened up Sanders stores in DTW again. YUM! Sanders Hot Fudge Cream Puffs!!!!)

You remember the 'Big Snow', Buffalo Bob, Howdy Doody, Clarabelle, Phineas T. Bluster, Princess Summer-Fall-Winter-Spring. (Not that old, although I didn't think they were just Detroit .)

You remember Twin Pines Dairy delivered milk and juice to the chute on the side of your house and Milky the Clown performed magic with the magic words 'Twin Pines. (I love Milky the Clown. We did have a milkman when I was growing up, but I don't think he ever used the 'milk chute." What I remember most about the milk chute was having to squeeze through it to break into the house on the rare days we'd come home from school and mom wouldn't be there. The Former Father was not thrilled with us then.)

You watched Johnny Ginger! (no clue)

You remember the Good Humor man in a white uniform, ringing the bells as he drove down your street. (Again, I don't think this was just Detroit , was it?)

You remember Olympia Stadium. (To this day, I look up at the spot where it was when I drive past on 96.)

You remember when Vernors was made on Woodward Ave. , and a bearded troll was on the bottle. (Definitely the bearded GNOME, but we never went downtown as kids, so I don't remember where it was on Woodward.)

Your Mom got groceries at Great Scott, Food Fair, Food Town , Wrigley's, Chatham or A&P. (We were a Great Scott or Wrigley's family, whereas Grandma usually shopped at Chatham or A&P.)

Your Mom saved Holden Red Stamps, S&H Green stamps, or Gold Bell Gift stamps, and you licked them into those little books. (Again, this wasn't just a Detroit thing, was it?)

Kresge's and Woolworth's were 'Dime Stores.' (Oh yeah, I had a BMW t-shirt from Kresge's before BMW was so hot in the States. In fact, my college ID picture was taken in that t-shirt.)

"You had an uncle in the furniture business (Joshua Door)". (I remember stopping in a Joshua Door's parking lot one year to watch fireworks.)

You know who Bill Kennedy is. (Of course!)

You saw the Detroit Lions play football in Tiger Stadium. (I didn't really pay much attention to the Lions back then, but I was aware of them playing at Tiger Stadium. I also remember the Pistons playing at Cobo.)

You remember Black Bart and the Faygo song. Or how about "Which way did he go? He went for Faygo, old fashioned root beer." (I think I remember this.)

You watched Rita Bell's Prize Movies in the morning. (We weren't allowed to watch TV during the day, but my best friend was always inside watching Rita Bell.)

You remember Jack LeGoff and Van Patrick. (Not a clue.)

You remember Milky the Clown, Soupy Sales, Johnny Ginger, Poopdeck Paul, Captain Jolly, Sagebrush Shorty and maybe even Sergeant Satko Salute. (Three out of seven ain't bad.)

You visited the Wonder Bread Bakery and got to take home a mini loaf of bread. (Nope, but I do know where the Wonder Bread Bakery is – even before it got turned into a casino.)

Your address had a two-digit 'zone' before there were zip codes. Detroit 19, Michigan. (This is vague, as I was pretty young when the "zip" code first came into being.)

You remember "Get on the right track at 9 mile and Mack, to get the best deal in town. Roy O'Brien...it's the best deal in town."

You remember going to Detroit Edison with your Mom to exchange burned out light bulbs for new ones. (Oh yeah, we never got to go with them to exchange light bulbs, but we always had to save them, which I did up until about a year ago, because it was ingrained in me that we save burnt out light bulbs.)

Haircuts & Grandma

2008-07-21T17:03:00.004-04:00

Ah, life is good...no, I have no clue if I'm still going to have a job two weeks from now, but I did get my hair cut. It's the little things, isn't it?

I was very bad last week about updating you on Grandma's condition, wasn't I? Last I left you Grandma had a blood clot in her lung. She didn't get transferred to the main hospital until Wednesday because there were no empty beds (which I find fascinating considering how the health insurance companies don't let you stay in the hospital for anything). It was actually late Wednesday (rush hour-ish) by the time she got to the main hospital and I think it was Thursday before she actually got a room. Insane!

The medical professionals performed a Doppler test on Wednesday which found additional blod clots in her left and right legs. She wasn't allowed out of bed, until these professionals inserted a screen into her vein(?) on Friday which apparently is to break up any clots that work their way northward.

Today she got released from the hospital and is going back to the rehab place where she spent however many months a little while back. She'll be there for a while, I guess, until her blood pressure gets under control. She won't be going back home, though, from what I can tell. She mentioned a couple of weeks back that she wanted to move to an assisted living place not far from her condo. I guess the time she spent at the rehab place made her realise that it was fun to be around people her own age, people to talk to, and have activities in which to participate. I don't know when this will happen or what will happen to Grandma's condo, but as long as she's happy that's what matters.

Other than that, not much is going on around here. I'm enjoying the Tour de France (yesterday's stage, the first in the Alps, was fabulous with a first time American going off in the breakaway and lasting, even if he did finish 3rd) this year. I was very upset with the few announcements of people being kicked out for doping, but it's good they're catching them. They're doing a great job catching the cheaters and eliminating them immediately. I don't understand why there are riders even trying to cheat anymore, but I guess there will always be people who think they're above the law.

Time to fix some dinner...wonder what I have in this house.

Grandma likes to make us worry

2008-07-15T18:53:00.003-04:00

This has been a crappy week so far and it's only Tuesday. I got absolutely no sleep on Sunday night, first the bars (which I could hear over the sound of my window fan on high) and then I was so pissed off that my brain wouldn't shut off. Last time I looked at the clock it said 3:54 with the alarm scheduled to go off at 4:17.

Work was work, except that an engineer stopped by my desk to share what he heard from a manager who lives near him with whom he talked over the weekend. What he heard was supposedly the criteria to be used to figure out who is part of the 15% who are going to be laid off. Oy vey...I'm positive, that come August 1st, I shall be jobless and job hunting in southeastern Michigan (not a pleasant prospect considering our unofficial unemployment rate). I felt like throwing up.

I left on time to get to my usual Monday appointment and had a crappy time dealing with morons incapable of driving the bloody speed limit. I got boxed out of making my turn onto the second highway and ended up taking the slow boat to China which had me swearing. I finally get to my appointment (not late) and notice that Maureen's car is not in the parking lot, nor the people who have the appointment before me. I don't really think anything of it, because it's happened before and she had just run to the library. When my appointment time finally came around and it was obvious nothing was happening, I called her cell phone and got her message saying she was called out of town on a family medical emergency. *sigh*

I wasn't able to make my usual trip to Trader Joe's (there isn't one near me) because I had plans to pick the YS up at the car dealership and then go for sushi (which somehow became Red Robin) and it was too hot to leave groceries in the car for any number of hours. This means I'm now foodless, for the most part.

I get to the car dealership and there's no sign of the YS even though she was supposed to be there. I go in and find my friend Irean who I haven't seen in a while (she used to live in my building, but had to move out when her hours got cut at the dealership). She hadn't seen my sister, but I wasn't stressed because we had some catching up to do. When a customer stopped by I called the YS and she said, "How did you know to call me? I was just texting you." Turns out that she couldn't get her truck started (it hadn't moved since January, so not really a shock), and therefore was still at home.

For those playing at home, I've now driven a good 30-40 miles for no reason at all, and I was a good 12-18 miles from home. The YS was worried about Grandma because she had been having trouble breathing and the plan was to get her a dr.'s appointment or take her to the E.R. I was more than ready to just go home with a stop at the beer store. I wasn't needed, so that's what I did. Occasionally I regret living 20 miles from everybody else, but if I'm needed I'll be there. There were at least four people hovering over Grandma yesterday, she didn't need me there.

A few hours later I got a call telling me that Grandma has a blood clot in her lung (apparently came from her leg, made its way through her heart and into her lung - LUCKILY) and they were going to transfer her to the main hospital. I called the main hospital today and they couldn't find her. Turns out there were no beds at the hospital, so she was still in the E.R. They finally got her admitted to the hospital at some point this evening.

Once again, please keep my Grandma (cute and elegant) in your prayers, thoughts, etc. I'm really not ready for her to leave.

Thanks.

July Books & Movies

2008-07-06T21:11:00.003-04:00

This past week was what I call Forced Vacation. Now you'd think that meant I had time to read, comment and post, but I didn't feel like being anywhere near my computer really...and I did spend as much time as possible outdoors. I'm damn near golden brown...LOL! Okay, golden for me is more like off-white as a friend stated last night. Still, I won't blind you with the sun glaring off my legs right now and that's pretty darn good for me.

My tan would be even better if I hadn't had to spend Tuesday at a funeral. A dear friend's father passed away (or as people at my church say "had passed"), and she expressed a desire for me to be at the funeral when I was at the funeral home on Monday. I couldn't, in good conscience, miss it when I had nothing going on other than planning to sit outside.

The one thing I really wanted to do was get down to Hines and swing on a swing, but it didn't happen. You'd be amazed at the muscles you use to swing...and how old it makes you feel. ;-)

Thursday was a crappy, cold, miserable grey day, so the trip to Grandma's to sit by the pool and play with the Terror Children in the pool did not happen. I actually watched TWO Netflix movies that day. I don't even want to tell you that last time I watched a Netflix movie. I'm just hoping Netflix takes a note and doesn't throttle me the next time I watch 20 movies in one month.

Oh, that reminds me...my June Movie and Book list! I had thought I'd post them on July 1 (Happy Belated Canada Day to any Canadians), but yeah, we all know that didn't happen.

Books

Everest: The Unclimbed Ridge by Sir Chris Bonington and Dr. Charles Clarke - 199 pages - I told you last month that I was getting back into my mountaineering books and this month will prove it. This was a sad book because it was the 1982 expedition where Joe Tasker and Peter Boardman lost their lives. Nobody knows what actually happened, although Peter's body was found in 1991. To this day Joe's body is still missing.

The Climb: Tragic Ambitions on Everest by Anatoli Boukreev and G. Weston de Walt - 297 pages - I had read this book when it first came out back in 1997 as a rebuttal to Jon Krakauer's Into Thin Air book. The link of the book is to a review which is brilliant and much better than I could do. Suffice it to say, that if you read Into Thin Air at some point in the past and came away thinking that Anatoli Boukreev was a reprehensible human being, then you should read this book. I own both and won't lend one w/o the other. Anatoli's link takes you to an interview he gave in 1997. Don't judge the man until you read his own words.

Above the Clouds: The Diaries of a High-Altitude Mountaineer by Anatoli Boukreev, Collected and Edited by Linda Wylie, Foreword by Galen Rowell - 232 pages - This book was mentioned in Ed Viesturs' book (from last month) and I felt it was necessary to read Anatoli in his own words (translated from the Russian), as opposed to him trying to put words into English (see: The Climb). This was a beautiful book, as it gives the reader insight into Anatoli's heart and mind. It's much too sad that he died on Christmas Day in 1997 getting caught in an avalanche while trying to climb Annapurna.

Fragile Edge: Loss on Everest by Maria Coffey - 183 pages - Maria Coffey was the girlfriend of Joe Tasker who died on Everest (first book read this month) and she tells what it was like to be the one left behind when your loved one is a high-altitude mountain climber. It wasn't all "woe is me" or anything like that. She told it how it was. And she tells of the adventure she took with Hilary Boardman (Peter Boardman's wife) to Everest in an effort to say good-bye, and perhaps, to understand what drew them to the mountains. Of all the mountaineering books I've read, this one comes closest to explaining why people climb 8000 meter mountains at the risk of their lives. She went there not understanding how Joe was able to leave her so often and for so long, but came away with a new appreciation. It was an amazing book.

Movies

6/1 - A Funny Thing Happened On The Way To The Forum - 1966 - I watched this on the free movie channel, you know, the one where you pick what and when you want to watch...what the hell is it called...oh yeah, On Demand. I thought I was going to do really well on movie watching last month since I watched this on the first day, but I didn't. It was funny, silly and completely ridiculous. I'm sure everybody in the world has seen this already, so I don't have to recommend it or not, but if you like silly and haven't seen it, go for it.

6/22 - Stardust - 2007 - Okay, I can see how, if you hadn't read the book recently, someone could like the movie. I watched it so late in the month that I had sort of (but not completely) forgotten the nuances of the book. However, bloody hell, follow the fucking book. I understand having to leave stuff out because the movie would last a week otherwise, but then don't add in shit that didn't happen. I was doing relatively well with the changes until it got to the very end and that just pissed me off. One of these days I will learn NOT to read (or re-read) the bloody book before seeing the bloody film. It was very action packed and fun. Oh, and for the record, Robert DeNiro's character in the book was not gay and did not prance around in a fairy costume...and his crew wasn't scary in the least.

I also watched Good Omen: Making of Stardust...sadly, I don't remember much of it.

Hmmm...Book of the Month: I'm going with a tie between Above the Clouds and Fragile Edge as they both gave me a different insight into mountain climbing.

There was no movie of the month, really, but I guess I'll give it to Stardust, in a default.

It is now time to go to bed, as I need a good night's sleep since I have to go back to work tomorrow. Supposedly, layoffs will be continuing throughout the month of July, so if you wouldn't mind praying, thinking good thoughts, lighting candles, crossing your fingers, etc. that I keep my job, I would greatly appreciate it.

How Racing Changed My Life

2008-06-23T19:49:00.009-04:00

As you probably noticed in my last post, damn near everything reminds me of racing and what I lost this year. Even if it's just that there is no racing on certain weekends when there had been for the past 12 years.

I had a rough time this weekend, because I should have been in Cleveland with a whole bunch of my racing friends. We would have gone out to eat on Thursday as a group, catching up on everything since we last got together and discussing the racing and how the season was going. Friday, Saturday and Sunday would be been spent at Burke Lakefront Airport from gates opening until after 6:00. My sunscreen always got a workout at Cleveland, which is why I ignore those reports that say SPF 30 is as high as you need. I get burned when I use SPF 30, but not when I use SPF 55. That's all the proof I need.

Friday would have been excellent because it's less crowded and that was the day we'd head into the paddock and the pits, after first visiting our friend Rick in the merchandise trailer and trading hugs and hellos and howareyous. I would have stalked Oriol until I got his autograph on some new item, as well as my Catalan flag. If it were last year and Katherine were still around (she's in DTM this year – go Katherine), we would have found her and her cute little dog and petted the dog and chatted with her about how things were going. We'd run into various people we run into at every race, hug, exchange pleasantries and then chat about this, that and the other – all technical racing terms.

Then we'd take our annual trip through the pits and watch qualifying from the pits, even though you couldn't see shit in them and would spend half the session in front of a team's big screen TV which showed drivers' times and speeds.

Saturday would have been a bit busier and while we would have gone to visit Rick (and spend more money on Champ Car gear), we wouldn't have gone into the pits. Depending on everybody's moods and the temperature, we might go into the paddock.

Sundays, however, were never paddock days (except for Mom, Roadrunner and me, as we'd run through the paddock after morning warm-up to get to Mass). Sundays were usually too stupid busy in the paddock and the pits, so we'd stay in our grandstand and hang with our friends for one last day until the next race, whichever and wherever that may have been.

2001 at Cleveland was slightly different for me, though. Friday at the fan forum I answered the question "Who won last year's race and for which team did he race?" correctly. My hand wasn't the first in the air, but the person's who was didn't know the answer, he just figured it was probably Juan Pablo Montoya as it seemed he had won every race that year. As soon as I heard his answer, my hand shot into the air and Scott Pruett picked me. I answered correctly, "Roberto Moreno driving for Pat Patrick." I wanted to say "My Pupo!" but decided not to do that. ;-) Anyway, I won the chance to be a "CART Fanatic" which I already was, really, but this meant that I got to be teamed with a driver (in Detroit that year, the Fanatics actually got to ride in the parade car with their driver, but they cheated the Cleveland Fanatics). The people running the forum handed me a bag and a kid who answered the other question another bag. My bag contained stuff for Paul Tracy, his had Alex (Sandro) Zanardi. (Do yourself a favor and watch those two clips of Alex on the Letterman show, it shows what an absolutely great guy he is, and just one reason why I loved CART/Champ Car, because most of the drivers were that unbelievable.) Now, if you know me in my racing form you know that I hate Paul Tracy and that I've called him PFT since the 1992 season. The other kid, on the other hand, was a huge PFT fan, so we traded bags.

As a CART Fanatic I got a t-shirt that declared me as such (I still wear it to this day), a lanyard of some sort, and I don't remember what else, but the big thing was that before the race, during the drivers announcements that I got to do what I called the "geek walk," which was walk across the podium stage with my driver. I was disappointed there was no driver parade which would have kicked butt, but Sandro was lovely. As they announced his name, I waited for him to mount the steps to the podium, but he was too much a gentleman, and insisted I go first. I was thinking, there's no way those people want to see me, they want to see Sandro!!! So, when I got to the top of the steps, I waited for him and let him walk across first. My mom has pictures and I'm pretty sure I look extremely embarrassed. As we walked off the stage, he said to me, "Well, that's it, short and sweet." He was talking about the driver introduction portion. After that, I got to go out on to the grid and stand by his car while he got into it and the usual pre-race stuff was done. When the PA guy announced that all unauthorized personnel had to leave the grid that did NOT mean me! Woohoo! I got to stand next to the car while the call was made "Gentlemen, start your engines." I think I was a little too worried about getting off the grid in time to appreciate being there and feeling the rumbling of the engines go through my body as 20 turbo-charged engines started at the same time. I'm pretty sure there were tears. I was able to get Sandro's autograph on my friend Patty's hat. She's a HUGE fan of his and while I loved him, he was HER driver and I was more than happy to get it for her.

Three short months later we almost lost Alex Zanardi in a horrific accident where he lost his legs. Honestly, I wouldn't recommend clicking on that link. I don't use "horrific" lightly. I would recommend clicking on this one however, where he finishes the 13 laps from the year when he lost his legs. I cry every time I see that video. The first two minutes are a little cheesy, musically, but it's worth watching because there is just something special about watching everybody in pit lane run to the pit wall when he drove past the first time...and then the picture of the crowd cheering for him. The cheesy music pops up again at 4:20 or so, but again the video is worth it - just hit the mute, unlike you enjoy Sheena Easton.

As summer continues and weekends that would normally see me leaving the state come around I'll probably be thinking more about this...and telling you what I'm missing. So be prepared. ;-)

Thanks for listening this time.

Red Wings Parade & Niece's Graduation

2008-06-18T17:30:00.000-04:00

Greetings and salutations, all! I have had so much going on and so much to write about, but no time to write and now I have no clue what to tell you. If I include everything done over the past two weeks, this entry would be a novel. And a not very interesting one.

I think in my last post the Red Wings were on the brink of winning their fourth Stanley Cup in 11 years. LL was rooting for the Pens (bastard), while I was obviously rooting for the Wings. The Wings came through in Game 6 (whew!) and I took that Friday off from work to attend the parade in downtown Detroit. I had missed the Cup parades in '97 and '98 because I was living in SF. I remember calling my friend Debbie in '97 who had my old job at the U and asking her if she was planning on attending the parade. She wasn't sure. I told her she should go, because if I were still living there, I would be going to the parade and she wouldn't be able to – as we worked in the same office and one of us would have had to be there and since I was the boss, I would have pulled rank.

I wanted to go in 2002 but couldn't find anybody with whom to go. This year, however, it worked out perfectly. The Game 5 triple overtime loss was actually advantageous for the YS and LB, as the YS doesn't work Fridays and the LB was flying in from SJ late Thursday night (early Friday morning). I went into work on Thursday, June 5 and told my boss I was taking the next day off. "Going to the parade?" "Yup."

Friday morning, the YS and LB show up at my place and we transfer their crap into my car (it was hard getting ready for the parade because I was doing all the things I normally do to prepare for a hot day at the race track). Parade day was forecasted to be HOT and HUMID – 90F with an insane stupid humidity of 70% or something ridiculous like that. It was bloody hot. Actually, the YS and LB showed up with an extra person which meant I had to move my crap out of the back seat of my cute little Focus and into the trunk – coolers, spray bottle with battery run fan filled with ice and water, knitting bag (hey, we were heading down early and I had a tank top to finish for the niece's graduation present – no need to waste precious time), sunscreen. YS had the water, I had the soft-sided portable coolers.

I always have to drive downtown because the YS got her truck broken into once (parked on the street – I always pay to park in downtown Detroit). I told her that I'm going to get a new car just so I don't have to drive all the time. She just laughed.

We decided to go to Hart Plaza and stake out a spot for the rally which would take place there after the parade. It turned out that that was probably not the best decision, but only because the rally was not as long as the one in 2002. I swear EVERYBODY on the team got a chance to speak to the crowd in 2002 (I taped it), but this year only a few players spoke (Nicklas Lidstrom, Chris Chelios & Brian Rafalski, Kris Draper & Chris Osgood, Darren McCarty, Tomas Holmstrom and Jiri Hudler). It was a little disappointing. In hindsight, I think I would have snagged a good place on the curb along Woodward and had a chance to see everybody as they want by. We were far enough back (yeah, there are pictures, but you know how good I am at downloading them) from the rally stage, that there was no way anybody would have heard me if I had yelled.

I developed a habit at the races that during the driver parade I would yell for every single driver as he (or she – love and miss you, Katherine) would go by. I hated that drivers like Paul Tracy and Michael Andretti (back in the day when he wasn't a complete loser-traitor) would get massive cheers and hollering, while other drivers were barely acknowledged. I always hollered for the drivers, but when it became de rigueur was after Toronto 1996. I'm not normally very loud, but that's the first race where I remember the drivers actually hearing me, because after I would yell their name, they would look up into the stands, and I always sit as high up as possible (well, except Toronto, because the top 3 rows in my grandstand were blocked by one of the Exhibition Place buildings, so as high as I would go there was Row 4 – road courses are counted from the top down).

Two weeks earlier I had met Jeff Krosnoff in the paddock at the Cleveland race. I was nervous and didn't know what to say after asking for his autograph on my racing shirt, but he asked me how I was doing and if I were having fun, etc. He was so nice that I rooted for him that race (even though in the POS Toyota he didn't have a chance in hell of doing anything but finishing) and so as he went by my Toronto grandstand I yelled extra loudly for him and he turned and looked up and waved. Two hours later Jeff was dead in an absolutely hideous accident I will never ever forget. That night at dinner my friend Ottawa tried to comfort me by saying how I had probably made Jeff's day knowing he had a fan in the stands (he was new to the series as he had come up the ranks in Japan, and had therefore only run 11 races (including Toronto). Back then we had a fair number of drivers, which meant it could take some longer to make their way into our hearts (unlike the past few years), so Jeff didn't have a lot of people cheering for him in Toronto. Ever since then I made it my duty to cheer for and welcome every single driver in my own loud and annoying (to the people sitting in front of me) way. And I didn't give a damn if the people in front of me didn't like it, because I simply thought of Jeff and realised it was more important to show my support for every driver, even the 'king Hiro - who, for all his faults, was exceptional at getting out of the way – for the most part. While Hiro might not have been a great driver, he was rarely a "moving chicane" (Hi Dennis Vitolo).

Anyway, all that was to tell you that the next time the Wings win the Stanley Cup I'm going to watch the parade and yell for every single player and then force my way into Hart Plaza like all the parade-watchers did that Friday.

That Friday was exhausting and very busy. After the rally, we went and got food at Cheli's Chili Bar and then we all raced home because we had to be at the Niece's graduation commencement exercise at 6:00. And we all had to shower away the nastiness of 90F, humidity, and sunscreen. And you'dt hink that after a high school graduation of nearly 500 kids, the day would have been over, but you'd be wrong. Since the LB was in town, HRH drove down from Toronto and the plan was to meet her over in Windsor that night. It was probably close to 11:00 p.m. when we (Mom, YS, LB and I) got across the border and found our way to the Windsor Casino, which means it was around 2:30/3:00 a.m. when I got home and to bed.

I would have slept in except that HRH was coming across the river that day for the party the LB's friends were having for him, and was going to crash at my place. This means I had to clean (hide yarn in the closet, vacuum, etc.). I was also getting my hair cut (Whew, it was LONG) at 12:30, so that took time out of the day which could have been used on the apt., but in the end, it was all good.

HRH showed up, we watched F1 qualifying from Montreal, the Euro Cup game between Portugal and Turkey and then headed to the far western suburbs to meet Mom and YS for sushi. YUM! I ate WAY too much. The original plan was for HRH to spend the night and then attend the Niece's graduation party on Sunday, so that she could meet Grandma. We've been friends for 13 years and while she's met a few members of my family, she hadn't met Grandma. As has been the case for the past few trips we've taken, however, someone died (her high school best friend's father) and she hadn't to fly back (not actually, but the way she drives…) to TO then next day to get to the funeral home. This means that instead of heading straight to the party, we had to make a side trip to my Uncle's house, as that's where Grandma was (she rarely turns down dinner invitations, especially when my Uncle's cooking).

So, while HRH got to meet Grandma, various cousins, and an extra aunt, we almost missed my older brother, SIL and the Terror Children who were leaving the party as we arrived.

We take a break from the regularly scheduled program with the following public service announcement.

WOOHOO!!!! My Igor will be inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame!!!! WOOHOO!!!!!

Okay, I'm bored telling you about stuff that happened two weekends ago. I can't imagine how bored you are reading about it, so I'm not going to tell you all about the graduation party and how bloody hot and humid it was and how I needed a shower after helping my sister set up in my party dress. It was pretty, oh so, pretty. Nothing quite like sweat dripping off your nose.

Why can I think all of sorts of stuff to blog about until I sit at the computer and then it all disappears? I need to learn to write stuff down. I always think I'm going to remember it, but never ever do.

I want this car.

I'm *this* close to having my niece's tank top finished, but now I'm thinking that I need to rip it back to where the shaping for armholes start and make it longer. I don't know this for a fact or anything, because I haven't measured it, but that's what I think. You would, of course, think that I would have gotten it out of its bag and measured it last night, but I just didn't feel like "frogging" it last night, so I ignored its existence. (I have absolutely no idea why ripping out your knitting is called "frogging," but it is…normally, I refuse to use that term as I think it's stupid, but as I already had used "rip" I was trying not to use it again. Oh wait, I think it's called "frogging" because when you say "rip it," it supposedly sounds like "ribit." I knew there was a reason I refused to use it.)

Work is quite stressful these days as for the fourth year in a row (and sometimes multiple times in a year), we're having workforce cuts/layoffs. At some point, you have to figure your luck is running out and this time it might just be you that's cut. I'm ready to throw up thinking about it. Oy vey. Please keep your fingers crossed, pray, light candles, etc. that I make it through once again. Moving home with my mother is so not an option if I want to remain sane, and not kill her.

My Igor and the HHoF

2008-06-18T09:45:00.005-04:00

WOOHOO!!!! My Igor will be inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame!!!! WOOHOO!!!!!

May's Books & Movies

2008-06-02T19:43:00.000-04:00

First things, first: Let's go, Red Wings! Let's go, Red Wings! Let's go, Red Wings! Let's go, Red Wings!!

I will not even comment on how much Sid the Kid is disgusting me with his whiny-ass attitude and poor loserness to say nothing of his incredibly lame-ass play-off beard. If you can't grow one, SHAVE!!! You look stupid.

Now, on to our previously scheduled programming:

It's the beginning of a new month and we all know what that means. I bore you with my reading and movie watching lists for the previous month.

I did a LOT better in May than I had in April (which was beyond pathetic).

Books

Paper Lion by George Plimpton – 374 pages – this was the 40th anniversary edition with photographs never before seen. I couldn't care less or know less about football, but this book was quite enjoyable. When he would describe plays that he had to learn, my eyes would glaze over, but thankfully, they were rare, indeed. I'm sure I appreciate this book more because it was about the Detroit Lions, as opposed to any other team, but I think it's a book worthy of being read. I wanted to watch the movie, but it's not out on DVD yet. DAMMIT!!!

The Friday Night Knitting Club by Kate Jacobs – 368 pages – I was absolutely loving this book and already predicting its nomination as Book of the Month, but then (HUGE SPOILER ALERT) the main character died and it pissed me off so badly, it wasn't even funny. A woman in my own knitting club also read it and at our monthly get together two weeks ago she mentioned it and how much she hated it (it was particularly bad for her because her mother had just died). Honestly, it could have been writing by Danielle Steele, the ending sucked so much.

You're Wearing That? Understanding Mothers and Daughters in Conversation by Deborah Tannen – 248 pages – Darn near every woman who stopped by my desk while I was reading this book picked it up and read the jacket and expressed interest in reading it. Obviously, it struck a chord with them. I don't know how helpful it was for me, because darn near all the examples in the book didn't apply to me or my mother. Figures that I have to be different even in that regard. My mother never says "You're wearing that?" Although she hates my haircut, she's learned not to say anything. And she's never ever ever ever said anything like "When are you going to get married?" So, while my mother might drive me crazy in some respects, she knows where NOT to go.

Stardust by Neil Gaiman – 336 pages – I had read this before, but with the movie out on DVD and a copy from Netflix being in my house, I wanted to read it again, so I can be appropriately ticked off when they change the story to suit some BS reason. I still liked it even after a second read. You'll notice that the movie didn't get watched, but it wasn't from lack of trying. The DVD that I got from Netflix was unplayable, but I have to say I saw enough to know that I'm going to be highly annoyed when I do finally watched it.

Into the Wild by Jon Krakauer – 203 pages – That link takes you to the original Outside magazine article on which Krakauer based the book. Even though I have read other books by Jon Krakauer, I had never read his first. I picked it up sometime last year and finally got around to it. I haven’t seen the movie yet, but I think I might be adding it to my queue soon. I felt sorry for Chris/Alex, the young man about whom the article and book are written. At the same time, I was very much impressed at all he did in the short time he tramped around the continent. I know that do not have the wherewithal to survive in the circumstances he created for himself. And I don't just mean his final trip to Alaska, but all of it. I feel very sorry for his family who had to suffer with not knowing where he was for those 2-3 years of his tramping, but also not knowing why he was so angry with them that he would take off and not tell them where he was. A very sad book.

No Shortcuts to the Top: Climbing the World's 14 Highest Peaks by Ed Viesturs and David Roberts with new postscript from the author – 356 pages – A good dozen years ago I got into reading mountain climbing books, including Into Thin Air by Jon Krakauer. In that book, Krakauer talked a bit about Ed Viesturs and all he had done (along with his team) to help the survivors of the '96 Everest tragedy. In all the other books I've read, nobody has ever had anything bad to say about Ed Viesturs, so when I saw he had finally written his own book about being the first American to climb all fourteen 8000 meter mountains without supplemental oxygen (and only the sixth person in the world to do it), I had to get it. Ed Viesturs is a man whose hand I would like to shake. He seems like one of the truly good people in this world. His mantra is "Getting to the top is optional (or great or something like that), getting down is mandatory." He talks about the friends he has lost in the mountains over the years, including the two guides on Everest in '96, which made me tear up all over again. So sad. (if you're going to say something negative about how they do it to themselves and how it's not necessary to climb mountains, or some such BS, I don't want to hear it – just for the record – do it at your own blog.)

Movies

5/5 – Ocean's Thirteen (K) – What can I say? I like the Ocean's movies – all three of them. I think they're fun and smart.

5/11 - The Sandlot - 1993 – We watched this at my sister's house on Mother's Day (in an effort to get my brother-in-law's nephew to shut up about his video game – if I could remember the name of the game, I could tell you all about to beat it, because this kid talked for HOURS about it). The YS and I were the only ones in the house (except for Mom and Grandma, who don't really count because they never see movies) who had never seen this movie. Everybody would walk into the room and say, "Oh you're watching The Sandlot." It was pretty darn funny. I have to say that I quite enjoyed it. I could see at one point where the plot was going to go and I dreaded it, but in the end I quite enjoyed the movie.

5/18 - Waitress (N) – 2007 – I rented this because of my Nathan Fillion obsession. The YS watched it a month or so before me and didn't know who Nathan Fillion was (sad, so sad) and asked me "Is the bad husband?" so I was all worried that he played someone icky and that would have made me sad. Thankfully, he didn't play the icky husband. Whew! I have to say that I loved this movie. I even watched it a second time right away with the commentary. It's a sad movie, not in plot, but in knowing that the director who also wrote it and acted in it was murdered shortly after it was finished and before it appeared at Sundance, and that the little girl at the end with Keri Russell was the director's actual daughter. It makes me sad thinking about it.

5/26 - Because of Winn-Dixie - 2005 – My boss lent me this book a good 3 years or so ago, and I quite enjoyed it, so when I saw the movie was showing on TV, I DVRd it. I should learn from this, because I didn't re-read the book and I quite liked the movie, even though I'm pretty sure there were things in the movie that weren't in the book. I thought Jeff Daniels was perfect as the preacher father and the little girl who played Opal was amazing. I would definitely recommend this movie, especially to people who have children.

5/26 & 27 - Flying: Confessions of a Free Woman (Sundance) – 2007 – My DVR only captured Chapters 1-3 & 6 of this mini-series and it bummed me out a little bit. I'm not quite sure what I think of this show. It's not really a movie, per se, but a female director basically films herself talking to her girlfriends, about her relationships, etc. I found it quite interesting, as the director is a single woman about my own age, but, perhaps, it's the difference of living in Detroit vs. New York, or maybe it's just the differences between the two of us, but her life is vastly different from mine, and I don't mean in general terms, but more in how we view relationships with the opposite sex, etc. I had a little trouble relating to her, but that could be my Catholic upbringing… ;-)

5/28 - Garbage Warrior (Sundance) – 2007 – The Garbage Warrior is an architect who has used garbage to build houses in the deserts of Santa Fe, NM. The houses are self-sustaining – no electrical or water hook-up – and made from bottles (plastic and glass) or tires, etc. It was utterly fascinating, especially watching him fight the New Mexico legislature trying to get laws passed that encourages people to be creative and try new things (after losing his architect's license). The film showed him in the Andaman islands after the 2004 tsunami where he was asked to build houses that can withstand another earthquake/tsunami. The whole villages turns out to help and are thrilled with what he shows them (the children of the village collected plastic bottles to be used as construction material and were paid a few rupees per bottle). After the Andaman islands, he's next shown in Mexico after Hurrican Rita where he discusses how countries ravaged by natural disasters are more willing to learn new ways to do things. After these events, the NM legislature finally sees the benefits of his bill and gives the green light for his experimental area. I would definitely recommend this movie, especially for those people who like the whole idea of living "off the grid" or new ways to put garbage to a good use.

Book of the Month has to be No Shortcuts to the Top: Climbing the World's 14 Highest Peaks by Ed Viesturs and David Roberts. It was a toss-up between this book and Paper Lion, but while Paper Lion didn't make me want to read more books about football, No Shortcuts has me going through my bookshelves picking out the mountain climbing/adventure books I haven't read yet.

Movie of the Month is Waitress - and not just because it had Nathan Fillion in it. ;-)

Even less worthy of an entry

2008-05-29T10:43:00.000-04:00

I'm taking a bunch of heat for my last entry, and since so few of you read more than one entry at a time, I'm going to post something just to stop the madness. ;-)

One of the guys at work does woodworking, not carving, per se, but he makes beautifully shaped bowls out of wood. He gave me one last year and it's quite lovely. I keep it on my desk and at some point I actually started putting candy in it. I've never been the person with candy at her desk, but all of a sudden, my desk is the place for food. Lots of people bring stuff in, they just put it at my desk. I've decided that I need to start buying stuff I don't like, because I'm eating too much crap. I went to Target the other day (I was completely out of laundry detergent, but not out of dirty clothes) and while buying everything on my list (except Zud, which they didn't have) somehow a bag of Tootsie Rolls ended up in my cart. Yeah, you know it's bad when I indicate I used a "cart" for shopping. I *never* use a cart. I hate carts. But I knew I was going to buy the biggest jug of laundry detergent they had (I had heard a report that morning that sizes of detergent were going to be smaller, due to the price increase in EVERYTHING, and they were right, the jug I bought was definitely smaller than one I've bought in the past), along with fabric softener, spray 'n wash, etc., that the hand basket was not going to work.

The problem with the Tootsie Rolls is that I really like tootsie rolls…and I haven't been able to stop eating them, even when they make me nauseous. Sometimes I'm as bad as a kid at Halloween.

After I dropped a bundle at Target, I had to go to my local hardware store for the Zud. I'm pretty sure it's not environmentally friendly, but this stuff is the BEST! As some of you know, my apartment is quite old (built prior to 1925) and although the pipes in the building have supposedly been replaced, the water has a tendency to come out orange, if you haven't run the faucet in a while (let's say, because you went on vacation for a week or so). But it's more than that, too, because the bottom part of my shower liner (which is fabric for ease of washing and because it's long-lasting) is orange, just the bottom foot or so. And my sinks are original which means they're enamel over iron (?) and where the enamel has worn off, there's chance for rust ending up on my plates. A fingertip of Zud and a little pressure has removed many a rust stain from my dishes.

I do have some environmentally friendly cleansing powder, but it didn't do the trick the last time I cleaned my tub, so I had to break out the Zud and it did the trick, but I used up the last bit I had. A clean tub is a happy tub.

I have been pretty depressed all week, and I don't really know why. I'm just despondent and don't feel like doing anything, which is bad because I have two sweaters needing my attention. I actually did work on my niece's graduation present (a tank top) yesterday for a while, but then got sidetracked with absolutely nothing. Grandma's bed jacket/sweater has reached the point where I don't feel like dealing with the messed up instructions, so it sits there. The niece graduates next Friday night and her party is Sunday so I really need to get moving on it. I'm not even finished with the back yet and still have the front to do. *sigh*

I'm a little scared that I’m going to get them done and then they won't be the right size. I measured my niece, but it looks a tad big right now. I didn't measure Grandma, but when I finished the back I did hold it up to her back and it was fine, but the two front pieces look awfully narrow. I will not be happy if I do all that knitting and then they're all wrong. There will be a bit of head meeting wall.

I'm so bad that I just wanted to start a scarf last night. I need a little instant knitting gratification.

I'm wondering if my melancholia is related to the weather, somehow. The weather is nice (if still getting pretty darn cold at night – it was 37F when I walked to work yesterday morning), but I'm thinking sinuses/barometric pressure or something. My head just feels funky. Last night I would have bet good money that I had a fever, but the thermometer read 98.3…not exactly feverish. I haven't exercised at all this week, which seems to be taking its toll on my sleeping, so this afternoon I'm going home and getting right on the treadmill. I hate being tired, but lying in bed completely unable to fall asleep.

I'm really looking forward to next week. The LB shows up late Thursday night/early Friday morning and there are parties and such all weekend. HRH is supposed to come down, although I have a feeling she's going to bail. I hope she doesn't because I think my brother would be hurt. This weekend I have zero plans although I'm contemplating scheduling a massage for Saturday morning. We shall see.

Well, I think that's about it…

My Take on the Weekend, More San Jose, Twister

2008-05-27T13:28:00.008-04:00

The good doctor has asked my opinion of what happened this past weekend. Now I wasn't actually going to say anything since I didn't watch any of that particular event. I sat outside and finished reading Into the Wild (a little preview of what's to come in a week or so) and got some vitamin D. However, I've heard enough about it that I can declare Ryan Briscoe my new hero.

I'm a little giddy with the excitement of it all, as from everything I've heard has described *her* as "stomping down pitlane," "mean face," "whining." I'M LOVING THIS! I'm hoping that people are finally figuring out she isn't all sweetness and light. I've had a couple of the guys at work tell me that they're noticing her true personality coming out.

And really, what race car driver complains to their pits over the radio "this car sucks?" Most real race car drivers say things like "it's understeering as I go into turn 4" or for those less technically articulate "it's loose in turn 3." Saying the car sucks doesn't really tell the crew anything helpful, you know, in case they like their driver and might want the car to suck less. They need to know if they need to add wing to the car or take it out or adjust the tire pressure, etc. Dumbass b*tch.

One good thing about this past Sunday's event is that it's the ONE and ONLY event on their schedule which attracts media outside the usual people and they might have more journalistic integrity than those usual people who are worried about losing their hard cards, and therefore, willing to tow the party line and not report what a complete wench she is. That's my hope at any rate.

I really hope that there are more articles like this one, as well, showing how things at that series are all geared to help her win and do well, regardless of talent level and ability. Honestly, even NASCAR left the dark ages a good 5-10 years ago and weigh the entire car and driver together. It's the only truly fair way to run things. Rules should be transparent to everybody interested, not vaguely and unclearly explained, so that nobody, even those heavily involved in the series, understands how things are determined. Of course, I say that they get what they deserve considering, except for the Champ Car teams, they all went willingly into the quagmire of TFG's "vision."

On a happier note (because the whole mess still depresses me if I think too much about it), the Wings are up 2 games to none against the Penguins (Sorry, LL). Whew! I hope my boys continue to play brilliantly and bring the Stanley Cup back to Detroit. No offense, Pittsburgh, but I prefer red and white to gold and black.

Hmm, I was going to tell you something about my trip to San Jose. Let me think. Oh yeah!!! I played Twister. And kicked some serious butt, which just goes to show that old age and determination can take on youthful exuberance and still win. The first day I got there was the LB's actual birthday and his girlfriend's whole family was there, along with all members of our family in Northern California. The kids from the girlfriend's family broke out the Twister game and after watching the kids for a couple of games (and being the official spinner), I got into the game. There were either 2 or 3 kids to start, but pretty soon it was down to the LB's GF's 13 (or 14) year old niece and me. It was a tightly fought game, but I prevailed in the end. Woohoo! On Saturday at the big party, I played again (and after a couple of beers), this time against the GF's 9 (or 10) year old son. He had declared himself unbeatable or some such crap, but once again the out-of-shape, half-drunken old lady took no prisoners and kicked butt. There might be some pics on-line of the first game… ;-)

Not Really Entry Worthy

2008-05-21T14:23:00.002-04:00

I almost started an entry on Monday and then got side-tracked – with God knows what. I finally got my pictures from the two trips to CA uploaded to my computer, but sadly, not to flickr. Soon…or not.

I really need to update more often, because I don't remember where I left off. Did I tell you that my friends and I were in the May 5, 2008 issue of AutoWeek? Sadly, you can't buy AutoWeek at a magazine stand, but I do have a pdf of the page (which I can't find right now). If I remember, I'll include it with this post.

I'm a little annoyed with AutoWeek right now. TWO WEEKS ago, I ordered ten more copies of that issue (various people who don't subscribe need their own copies, you know) and I was told that I would receive them within 7-10 days. Yeah, still nothing. I called on Monday and the woman wouldn't do anything about it because she said Tuesday was the official date I ordered them. Whatever, it was still two weeks! They charged my debit card that day, so they're at least efficient there. The problem with that particular issue is that it was the same week The Bitch "won" her race, so I've had to glue a number of pages together in order not to see her every time I open my magazine. They arrived Wednesday, finally.

So, I called. I decided that instead of just bitching about it, I would call again. The woman I talked to today was a tad more helpful. She sounded aghast that I didn't have them yet and that I definitely should have. She's putting them in the mail today, so I hope to have them VERY SOON. I have packages to mail around the country and have been waiting for the magazines, so I don't have to make two trips to the post office. I hate going to the post office. The old people in my town (and there are lots) like to go, not during the day when other people are at work, but when we get out of work. The number of people who don't know how to mail a package is mind-boggling! I think the USPS gets an unfair rap. I mail a lot of stuff, not as much as some eBayers, but I go there fairly often and they're cheaper and faster than UPS. I can put a Netflix DVD in the mail on Monday and they'll have it in Lansing on Tuesday. Only once have I had a problem with them and that was when I mailed a book to my friend Rick in CT and used the book rate. It never got there, so NEVER EVER use book rate, it's worth the extra few dollars to mail it Priority. Just a little tip there for ya.

Grandma comes home today. I just talked to her and she told my aunt to come and get here at 11:00. My Aunt arrived from CA yesterday and will be here for a week or so. Then another aunt shows up, then the currently in Michigan aunt comes back in early June – in time for my niece's (her grand-niece's) high school graduation party. I'm pretty sure that by July Grandma will be more than ready for the aunts to go home and leave her the hell alone! I know I would be, as you get used to living alone and doing your own thing. Having people around can be darn annoying. Especially when they're your grown-up daughters who like to tell you what to do. I told Grandma that I had her back if she needed it against who try to tell her what to do. They had a real estate agent come through the condo last year and tell Grandma what needed to be done to make the condo saleable. I told Grandma she didn't have to do anything the woman said (take down the wallpaper and paint white, change this to that, etc.), and apparently, my uncle told Grandma the same thing. For heaven's sake, it's her house, let her have it the way she wants. Grandma told my uncle and me that she appreciates our support as "the girls" can be quite persuasive, i.e., willing to run rough shod over Grandma's wishes.

This past Saturday I had a bridal shower to attend – it was during the Wings' playoff game. I was pleased. I, of course, had been planning on them winning the bloody thing, but as we know they didn't. So, I didn't get to see the hockey game and I had to suffer through a bridal shower. Honestly, they are horrific. You know what? You're getting married? Just ask for the damn gift, don't make me waste 3-4 hours of a precious weekend standing or sitting around with a bunch of women eating chicken salad just for the privilege of giving somebody a present. I'd much rather send the gift and enjoy my day in peace. I feel the same way about baby showers, just for the record. The saving grace for this past Saturday's shower was that there were NO GAMES! Dear God, who invented bridal/baby shower games? Can they be shot? Strung up by their toenails? Waterboarded? Honestly.

I've managed to catch myself a sore throat. Not sure how this has happened, but I really don't feel all that fabulously. I took a two hour nap yesterday after work since I had a ticket to see Eddie Izzard last night and there was no way I was missing that. I contemplated taking the day off today and sleeping, but knew that would just mean I wouldn't sleep tonight, so I went to work and felt icky all day. I'm contemplating taking tomorrow off or Friday and resting. I have tickets to the Tigers game on Friday night, so I want to be well enough to attend that. I'm going with a friend from the Univ and she's a riot, and someone I don't get to see that often. Somebody at work offered me to tix to the Wings game on Saturday, but they weren't his to offer and the supplier who mentioned them to him is a creepy, in a "I'm so sexy women want me kind of way," but the sad truth is that he's not and women don't, so I said no. I don't want to be beholden to this guy for anything, not even Stanley Cup Finals tickets.

I think I need to gargle with salt water…and I think it's naptime.