Killing ants

I have an ant problem. A relatively frustrating ant issue. Now I'm a big believer in letting things live. I try not to hurt bugs in general but these ants have made things personal. The worst part is that that they are not even in the house. Yes I'm killing ants outside. 

Before you start asking no there is no magnifying glass. No poison. I'm using water. The problem is that I have started feeding hummingbirds. Hummingbirds eat sugar water, as do ants. I had absolutely no problem when they just came to the feeder, ate from the outside and went away. I even told people that I didn't mind feeding everyone. Then they started climbing into my feeder. Literally into the little whole in the feeder and dying in my sugar water. Let me tell you there is nothing more disgusting then coming home to find a layer of dead ants floating on the surface of my sugar water. I have to clean out the feeder, along with the ants still alive inside the feeder. It's awful. 

So I'm waging war. I have added a bit of water to a cup that sits above my feeder. An ant trap. The ants go into the water and drowned trying to get to the cord. No more ant problem. My hope is that the water will simply scare away the ants and I won't have all those tiny ant souls on my conscience. :-) 

Movie Review: Transformers

Okay so I grew up with Transformers. I watched the cartoon religiously every day. I had most of the cars, although my preference was always for autobots. Strange since I seem to love the villains in almost everything else. My favorite was the bright yellow VW bug called Bumblebee. These were real metal models that transformed into robots. The new toys are just plastic and somehow lose some of their appeal for me. 

So I was a bit hesitant sitting down to watch this movie. My older brother absolutely loved it which should be a sign that I'll hate it. He and I don't always agree on films. But I didn't hate it. The movie was campy and silly in places (imagine autobots tiptoeing over a lawn to keep from crushing the grass) but it also had tongue firmly planted in cheek. There were some great scenes where the movie made fun of the series. The early scene with Bumblebee and the VW bug, the tag line repeated throughout the movie. It had a couple lines that made me laugh out loud. I was surprised. 

The action was well done although a little dizzying. The acting was fun, nobody tried to hard to be serious. Even Optimus Prime's over the top sentiment was possible to overlook. Some of his dialogue was terrible though. 

My only real issue with the movie was the glaring plot hole I found in the end of the movie. First why would the military attempt to take this hunted object to a crowded city. If I were them I would want to be as far away as possible from innocent civilians. And these were some seriously naive civilians. You would think that when the entire worlds communication system shuts down the people wouldn't treat it as a normal day. When they reach the city there are still people driving around like it is a typical day. If all of the world lost cell phone use, that city would have known about it in seconds. Trust me I've seen how many people are on their cell phones at the same time. They would know. 

All and all fun. Good popcorn movie as long as you don't think too much about it. I would still claim that Iron Man was a ton better and I'm excited to see Hellboy 2 which I have high expectations for. But I could easily watch Transformers again. After all Shia LaBeouf is amazingly cute. And yes I feel dirty saying that. 

Book Autopsies

First I have to tell you that as a librarian I gasp at what Brian Dettmer does with books. I'm the kind of person who hardly ever writes in my own books much less treats them the way Dettmer does. Jeff gets in trouble for losing dust jackets or breaking spines. So imagine what should have been my surprise and horror when I saw this.

Or the completely broken spine on this book. 

But the art lover in me is absolutely amazed and adores these fantastic sculptures of paper. I love how Dettmer tries to use the subject of the book to guide his art. The dictionary leads itself to a multiplicity of images, almost too many to comprehend. The history of the english language is taken up entirely by words, no pictures. The technical manual on boilers below shows the machinery in question. And the broken spine title makes me think it was a classic fantasy novel. You can see the escapism in that fantastic work. 

Dettmer does what he calls Book Autopsies. He cuts and paints books to make works of art. I could not find a website by Dettmer but here is one of the more complete websites dedicated to his art. http://centripetalnotion.com/2007/09/13/13:26:26/#more-550 And I am a big believer that books can be art. Take a look at amazing art piece below which is housed in the University of California library at Berkeley. 

And even as I say that I know that one form of books as art drives me up the wall. I hate to go into houses that have display libraries. You know the ones I mean. The house has bookshelves covered in leather bound books just put there for show. Few (if any) of the titles have been read. You can actually buy books that way. My bookcases are filled with durable hardcover books, ratty paperbacks, tattered children's books, and large coffeetable books. And everyone of them has been read. And loved. The number one rule of library science is that Books Are for Use. (S.R. Ranganathan) For reading. For enjoyment. And sometimes for art. 

OOOOklahoma

As I mentioned earlier we went up to the cities to see a play. We have two friends doing community theater and the play was Oklahoma. Now I haven't seen this play in years, since high school and now I realize that my high school may have tamed down their version. It was a classic Rogers and Hammerstein but I forgot how dark the play was in parts. And how sexy. Naked pictures and about 12 on-stage kisses. Any play that can mix old french pornography with gunfire is an interesting thing. This was Jeff's first time seeing it...like most plays. (not much a theater guy)

First and foremost I have to say that it is a totally different experience seeing a play where you know people acting. You pay far more attention to minor characters and catch lines that may have passed you by before. If you're like me you spend a good chunk of time trying to grab semi-decent photos (at which I failed. Sorry guys only a couple came out). There was no flash photography and we didn't have the tripod out there. Most everything was blurry. 

Both of our friends did fabulously. Our friend Josh told us he had a couple lines, leading me to believe two or three. Not true, he had many lines and a singing line as well. All of them went great. He looked like he was having a lot of fun out there and even impressed me with his dancing. There were a ton of moves they had to learn. Our other friend Megan had only one spoken line and one singing line but she was dancing up a storm...on her torn ACL. Give the girl credit for getting her steps perfectly (and smiling the whole time) with an injury that would have sidelined most athletes. 

Here they are below. Josh is in orange and Megan is in purple. In the first shot Josh is a little tough to see. He's all the way in the back. 

Again most of my photos didn't turn out. Stupid no flash rule!! :-( But it was a ton of fun to see them out there dancing and acting. Makes me think that I should tryout for a show. Not likely but at least something to think about. There was only one equipment issue but I have to give the actors credit, they ad-libbed beautifully and the crowd found it funny instead of distressing. The theater group is Off Broadway Musical Theater for anyone who is interested. www.obmt.org. They put on a fun show with rather elaborate (and homemade) sets and every does a fantastic job of acting and singing. 

All in all it was a fantastic weekend. We had shopping at the Mall of America, Dave and Busters for games with some good friends, Dave and Busters again for drinks with more friends, swimming, visiting, dinner, and a show. A perfect weekend. 

Minnesota golfing

Jeff and I decided to escape this weekend. We both took Friday off and took a leisurely trip up to Minneapolis. We have some friends who were performing Oklahoma with a community theater so we came up to watch. But Friday we drove most of the way up and the stopped for golf. Jeff had wanted to play in Owatonna but when we got there we found that the course was a country club. So we decided to just drive up the cities to play. Well that didn't last. We got to Faribault and he made a snap decision to see if they had a public course. A couple minutes at the gas station and he had found one and gotten directions. 

The course was off a gravel road which should have told us something. We arrived at the course to find 8 people there. Two guys out playing, a father and son playing, one guy cleaning up the range, two guys at the bar, and a bartender/pro. We walk in and she looks at us questioningly, "You want to play golf?" As if that just doesn't happen here...at this golf course. We say yeah. 

"9 or 18". 

"18" 

"Okay that'll be..." and she turned around to the rates sheets tacked up behind the bar, "18 each?" She asked this like it was negotiable. Now I've never seen a course where you could haggle over rates. Then again, when we called and couldn't make a tee-time that should have been indication that this course didn't see a lot of traffic. 

We paid (cash) and went out to the course. Now for anyone who has read Rick Reilly's funny book "Missing Links", this was that course. There was no rusting 57 Chevy but it was close. The ball bounced on putts. The course was actually only 9 holes (with complementary 10th) so you played the holes twice. Sadly I was so dehydrated after the first 10 that we called it quits. The roughs were rough, the fairways were patchy and the greens were similar to fairways I've been on. But Jeff and I had a blast. The course was so informal that we didn't worry about doing regulation drops when the ball went into the rough. We played out of the water (okay the water was actually in the sand trap so we figured that was okay) We played fast and furious and didn't worry much about etiquette. It just didn't seem required at the course. And I have to admit while we replaced our divots most of the time it just didn't seem necessary to use the divot tool on the greens. Maybe it was that clump of clover. 

Longitude

I'm not sure when I became fascinated with naval history but it is something that I have grown more and more interested as I get older. As a child I always wanted to be a pirate and I think that started my interest in ships and navigation and the ocean. And when I finally learned that pirates still existed (and I could still join their ranks) I realized that it was the tall sailing ships and the unknown ocean that had really enchanted me. I didn't really want to be a pirate... I just wanted to sail. 

So when I spotted the book Longitude by Dava Sobel at Waldens I had to pick it up. This enchanting but concise book tells about the world's struggle to try to determine longitudes. I hadn't even realized that this had been an issue in the early naval days. But this was the equivalent of our modern struggle to find a cure for cancer. It seemed an impossibility. And this was a costly issue. Many a ship ran aground because they couldn't tell how close they were to shore. Many ships wandered for days without land because they didn't know exactly where they were. Anyone could determine latitude by the position of the sun but longitude escaped them. Lunar charts were tried but those only work with a lot of calculations and on clear days. Clocks weren't accurate enough. One group even suggested having ships anchor out at varying distances across the ocean to sound a cannon at noon each day. And one terrible theory suggested using wounded dogs to tell time. Yeah they were desperate. 

Some of the greatest minds of the day worked on the longitude problem as it was called. Galileo and Sir Isaac Newton worked on the problem off and on for decades. Edmond Halley, the astronomer royal who the comet is named after, worked feverishly all his life to find a solution. Captain Cook and Captain William Bligh were some of the first to test out possible solutions. 

Until John Harrison invented a clock that kept accurate time. Up until then a clock could lose as many as 15 to 30 minutes a day. And those old clocks were subject to weather. In warmer temps they ran faster, in colder temps slower. So Harrison, a self-taught clockmaker, built the first chronometer, and was eventually awarded the prize for solving longitude. That was quite a personal fight but the thing that impresses me is Harrison's clocks themselves. The starts out with this one, which he calls H1. 

As you can tell this is a big clock. It weighed over 80 pounds. Not very portable. By the time Harrison created H4, his fourth attempt the clock looked like this. Much better. 

These are beautiful clocks with amazing mechanisms. I am just in awe of the work that has been done and the sheer beauty of them. All of these, except H4, have been refurbished and are still running. They have frictionless gears so that they can run smoothly. H4 has a majority of its parts made from diamonds. When people say they don't make them like this anymore this is what they are talking about. It took Harrison almost 20 years to build H3 and he build H5 in only two years. But for our mass-produced society that is an amazingly long time. But I have to wonder if there is still a place for works of art like this. 

The pirate in me is enchanted with these things. I am fascinated by the puzzle of longitude since for me latitude and longitude are simple. The GPS device in my phone gives me accurate lat and long up to a couple inches. I have to wonder what Harrison and the Board of Longitude would have thought of that. Still there had to be something to sailing into the unknown with just a sextant and a chronometer to point the way. 

Emergency Room

I had an emergency room trip this weekend. No it was not for Jeff, who tends to be a little accident prone. And it was certainly not for me, who has yet to visit the ER for myself (knock on wood). No this was for the third member of our family. The cat. 

I was sitting outside reading on Saturday when a couple neighbors stopped by to talk. We sat out on the porch while the cat wondered around the property. Mostly she stayed on the porch though. We were talking when I saw the cat get down into a crouch. I assumed she was hunting my hummingbirds, who have been making very, very regular appearances at my feeder. When I looked over to see what she was looking at I found not a hummingbird but a two inch wasp. And that's when the cat sprung. She batted at the wasp...and the wasp struck back. 

I saw her paw try to grab it. And then she pulled away quickly. She rushed to the front door and began to lick her paw. She wouldn't put the paw down. I went over and picked her up to look at her foot and she had a dark black mark in the middle of her pad. The stinger looked pretty embeded. 

So Jeff called the emergency animal clinic and we bundled her into a duffle bag (our cat carrier is loaned to a friend) and drove to the kitty ER. They got us in really quickly. We saw the nurse and then the doctor came in. He looked at her paw carefully. The conversation went a little like this.

"Well I'm not seeing a stinger."

"It's in her lower pad." 

"Oh okay." We flipped the cat on her back. 

"Right there." 

"That's pigment." 

"That's what?" 

"Just a bit of pigment. Like a freckle." 

"I've never seen in before." 

"See look how it doesn't move or rub off. I'm not even causing her any pain when I push a little. It's just pigment." 

"So no stinger." 

"Not that I see." 

So I had to go out to the receptionist and explain that I brought my cat in for a freckle. To the emergency room!! There is just no way to do that and not feel like an idiot. The vet was nice and explained that you should always come in for a sting but I still felt like a moron. We stopped for ice cream on the way home (the cat's favorite) but I still haven't lived it down that we took her in because she has a little pigment on her paw. But at least she's okay. (By the way, as I write this she's sitting on the table enjoying being petted. She's a bit spoiled.)

Golf

So I'm watching the British Open and am amazed to see Greg Norman leading the pack. Not that he is not an amazing golfer but that he is playing as well as he is in the weather that they have. I've become something of a duffer recently. I'm starting to enjoy the game and actually wanting to play. Jeff and I have been trying to play twice a month and I'm seeing steady improvement. That said I would not want to play in the weather that the British Open is enjoying. :-) 

The thing about golf is that if you are not a player it is a tough sport to watch. You have little idea of how hard it is to play at the level that these professionals play at. Before I played I kept thinking how easy it would be to do some of those chip shots. Now I look at those beautiful chips where they land two feet from the hole and am jealous. I only make those shots as a fluke. They make them on a regular basis. 

Now I am impressed the Norman is able to compete with the younger boys but that is the beauty of golf. You can actually get better as you get older. So many sports only have an upper age limit. A 35 year old football player is getting up there. A 40 year old baseball player is considered old. An 18 year old may be too old to be a gymnast. But golf you can play until you are 90 and no one bats an eye. 

Everyone tells me I'm old because I play both bridge and golf. I figure I'm just starting early. These are games I'll be playing decades from now. And the bonus is that I'll have a couple more years of experience. And since Jeff and I walk and carry our clubs I get a great workout out of 18 holes of golf. Win-win.  

House sitter extraordinare

So I'm house sitting this week for two people. I didn't realize when I accepted the first that I would have the second to think about too. At least neither of them require staying over. The first is for my parents. And that tends to be pretty easy lately. Pick up the paper, water dad's plants twice a week, and fill mom's birdfeeders. Not too difficult. I normally stop by on my way home from work. 

The other is for a neighbor of mine and this one proves to be a little more stressful. It's not that the place requires any real work, and her cats are very easy to take care of. No the stress comes from the facts that these are old cats. Old as in 16 and 18. The 18 year old feels like skin and bones. He's a loving kitty but I keep expecting him to fall over any minute. It makes me very nervous. I'm not all that comfortable with responsibility for other living things. Hell I worry about my cat's mental well-being. As I write this I'm sitting outside so the cat can enjoy some supervised outdoor time. Yeah she's spoiled. 

So I will spend the rest of the week and into next worrying about the cats. I'm sure I will check in on them so regularly that Jeff rolls his eyes. I can't help it. I'm a worrier. Particularly when something is in my care. Another good reason for me not to have kids. I would spend my entire life worrying about their physical and mental well-being. I would truly never have a moment's peace. 

(By the way, as I'm sitting outside the hummingbirds are coming regularly to the feeder. I'm sitting not ten feet from the thing and they just stop by perch and drink.) 

Now I am a great housesitter. I tend to take extra good care of things simply because I don't want anything to happen on my watch. We'll see how I do with this week though. Two might be more then my tiny little worrywart brain can handle. 

Snowglobes for Adults

My little brother used to collect snowglobes when he was a kid. He would bring them back from each of the places we visited on trips. He had almost a hundred of them when he finally stopped collecting. My mother just gave him his entire collection to take home with him. Hopefully I'm not embarassing him with this. But anyway, most of his snowglobes were the silly touristy ones that every gift shop sold.

I'm sure he would have loved to have these artpiece snowglobes from Walter Martin and Paloma Munoz. http://www.martin-munoz.com/.

I just found this site this afternoon while looking on Roadside Scholar. These snowglobes are definately not for children and some can be downright dark. But I think they are beautiful. Well crafted and innovative. Other than these two, who would have thought of using the snowglobe setting to make some wonderful dark art. I love the macabre sense of humor of many of them. If you get a chance go check out the pairs other works. Some are darker than these, others are lighter. But all of them are very creative, and all of them are haunting.

Book Review: Winkie

When I first saw the cover for Winkie I knew I had to read it. You see this funny looking teddy bear sitting in a metal chair in an interrogation room. And then you read the jacket and you just have to buy it. Winkie, by Clifford Chase, is the story of a little teddy bear that wills himself to life. He has been the plaything for six children and has finally been forgotten and left on a shelf. He decides that he can move and then does. He escapes the house and goes to the woods to live. 

...And then he ends up convicted of international terrorism. 

You start the book with Winkie's arrest and the story then follows him through the flashbacks of his life as a toy, his escape, his life with his child, and his trial. Clifford Chase tells a remarkably warm, funny, and sometimes silly story which you can love from the beginning. Winkie is a wonderful narrator mixing flashbacks with current times. You just want to be nice to him. How can you not...he's a teddy bear. Chase has fun with his supporting characters, the overzealous cops, the bumbling lawyer, and the family who is cruel and kind, sometimes at the same time. 

The plot is interesting and far from predictable but when Chase reaches his trial scenes he finally loses me. I could imagine the bear coming to life. I could imagine the fanatical cops. I could imagine the baby's story and the bomber in the woods. But Chase decides to pull out all the stops with the trial. He has actors (as witnesses) portraying characters from as far back as Socrates times. These are all set in a modern courtroom. The trial is a farce but not in a good way. It is far too unbelievable. I would have been more content with a rabid post 911 court that is just looking to punish. This pushes the boundaries to far and breaks all the rules. Chase writes a solid story but loses his audience at the end. When the poor bear gets to sentencing we no longer really care what he is being sentenced for. This would have been a great book about how post-911 fear of terrorism goes too far but somehow Chase just takes his story way too far out there. It is still an imaginative original story with great characters though.

How the Other Half Lives

I don't have a lot of meetings with my job and only a very few take me out of the office. If I do have to travel to other offices they are often state offices that have the same shabby decor and hand-me-down furniture as ours. Those people who say that the state wastes taxpayer money should see some of the state office buildings. Trust me when I say we don't waste much on decorations. 

But my meeting today took me out to our advertising agencies office. And I'm pretty sure I'm in love. First and foremost the office was interesting, with pictures on the walls and beautiful furniture. The environment was casual and the CEO even wanders around in jeans. I was introduced to him by name and then told he was the CEO. I thought he was one of the photographers. Jeans and a polo was the standard of dress. I felt well overdressed in my dress slacks and untucked dress shirt.

But the perks of being creative and working for a private company don't end with just casual clothes and nice furniture. They had a courtyard with wireless so the staff could work outside on nice days. They had  beautiful breakroom with many vending machines and a platter filled with fresh fruit. I was brought a Diet Coke as I sat down. Then after the meeting I got a tour of the exercise room, the idea board (place to hang creative ads), and the production areas. The offices had painted walls that weren't just white. And their lowly production area (where ads are matted and laminated) had better furniture and decor then my office will ever have. 

So needless to say I was enamored. I'm not sure if a librarian has a place in an advertising agency but I'm sure going to find out. So far in my job history I have only worked for one private company. The rest of the time I have worked for the county or the state. Now the pension is fabulous but the office conditions are certainly not top-notch. Most of the time I'm okay with that. Today well...I wouldn't mind having a nice chair once in my career. 

Falcons and Fits

I've had a great day so far. Jeff and I got up and had breakfast at one of the very best breakfast places in town, The Waveland Cafe. This is a pretty small local place right off University Ave, where you have to wait in line for a table. The place is busy from open to close. I've never been able to just walk in and get a table during breakfast hours. It used to be pretty smoky but since the smoking ban (Yay!!) went into effect, there are tons of places that we can now go back to.  I had their half breakfast special which is still a ton of food. They have the best hash browns anywhere. They top them with cheese and mix them with ham, mushrooms, green peppers, onions, and jalapenos. Trust me they are amazing. 

But the main reason we went out this morning was to look at the Peregrine falcons out at the state capitol. The capitol hosts one breeding pair every year and their little ones are fledging. We wanted to go out there to take a peek at the fastest birds in the world and see some first flights. We got plenty of views of the birds both adults and little ones. There was a brief rain but mostly it was a pretty day to be at the capitol. The birds seemed to pose for us and the views of the adult on one of the capitol spires were breathtaking. 

Here is our capitol for those who have never seen it. Love the gold leaf. Ignore the scaffolding.

A family of four stopped by to take a look at the birds although they had only brought a camera with. I let the kids and mom use my binoculars while Jeff and the father took pictures. At one point one of the adults was sitting right above the baby calling to it. There is not a huge difference in size between the adults and the babies which I was shocked about. You'll need to click on the picture below to see more closely. The bird at the top is the adult, the baby is below. 

After birdwatching Jeff and I broke down and went out car shopping. Now I hate car shopping but we were pretty upfront with the salesmen so somehow that made it easier. We won't be buying for a while but wanted some test drives just to narrow the field. We cut four models down to two. That makes it a little easier when we really get ready to buy. There are two more left to test drive. Jeff and I really like the Pontiac Vibe and the Honda Fit. We'll see what happens with the Toyota Matrix and the Nissan Versa. It will be a tough choice I'm sure. 

Queen of Caffeine no more

If you asked me what my favorite beverage is, it would be coffee. Of all the vices to have coffee is my biggest one. I can drink it all day. I tend to be the happiest when I have a fresh hot cup of coffee in hand. Jeff hates even the smell of it but it is one of those things I just can't give up. Leaded, decaf, doesn't matter as long as you don't add anything too it. I'm not a cream and sugar girl.

I recently switched to decaf because I can then drink more of it. I have decaf at both home and work and drink a pot of the stuff every day. I was starting to notice that after a pot of regular coffee my stomach felt bad and I was jittery. Decaf tastes just the same without the adverse side effects.

This morning though I stopped at Caribou on my way in for a large dark roast and a chocolate covered graham cracker. Heaven!! Apparently going decaf means that it is impossible for me to go back to leaded. I'm not even finished with my 20 oz and already I'm shaky. My stomach has the sour feeling that it used to get after a full 70 oz. I am apparently losing my ability to handle caffeine. So here I sit at work, with my hands shaking, my mind racing, my body trying to jump out of its skin, and a slightly sick feeling. I'm going to swear off the stuff. It is the only way to stop this terrible feeling. No more. Caffeine I mean. I could never give up coffee!

Disgusting Dinner Discussions

Warning: If you are squeamish you might want to pass this entry up. Or if you would still like to think of me as a normal sane person. :-) 

I grew up in a family of doctors so it takes an awful lot to turn my stomach. Dad would come home from work and tell us about all the organs he cut up that day. We'd listen attentively to the sometimes gruesome details while chewing on dinner. I remember the night he brought home pictures of the baby born without a skull. We looked at them right after dessert. Kind of icky but interesting in a bizarre way. My brother John would tell us all about his cadaver that he was working on in med school and my mother would tell us interesting serial killer stories. Needless to say I have a fairly strong stomach. 

My problem though is that I often forget how strong a stomach I have when eating with others. Jeff has gotten used to me. But others make strange faces at some of my dinner conversations. If you eat with me often enough eventually you will be grossed out by something I say. So I try really hard to remind myself not to talk about anything too terrible. Most of the time that helps. 

I went out for dinner tonight with a friend from my previous place of work. We try to get together once a month to have dinner, talk books, and share stories. She and I have some of the most interesting discussions about religion and family and children (she's childfree too). And then she brought up decomposing bodies. And I was shocked. She and I have talked a little about death before but this was a hard core what happens after you die talk. As we worked on a plate of Mexican food and beers, we discussed cremation versus burial, donating bodies to science, and the length of time needed to completely decompose a body. I was in my element. 

We tried really hard to talk quietly but I feel bad for any of the tables sitting near us that heard our conversation. Very few people can handle discussions about the Body Farm and embalming without at least getting a little green. And all I could think was here was a friend where I didn't have to pull any punches. I didn't have to censor myself. It was almost freeing. We sat at the restaurant and talked for 2 and a half hours (not all of it was decomposing bodies). The waiters probably hated us by the end. But the conversation was just too stimulating to leave. And it reminded me of growing up...well growing up and Chas Addams. 

Old arguements

So I got attacked today. Don't worry I'm fine. I wasn't attacked physically just verbally. Although sometimes I'm not sure which hurts more.  This one wasn't anything I found too terrible and now looking back I can see it as funny. At the time it got my blood boiling. 

One of the older women at work and I started talking this afternoon about family. I had asked how her husband was doing since I know he has cancer. She was asking me about my husband and of course that got around to children. Now my office is not a very chatty place. I have people that I work side by side with who have no idea about each others home lives. People who have worked together 15 years ask questions like "how many children do you have again?" or "are you married". It is just a strange atmosphere. 

So this question was nothing surprising. What was surprising was her reaction to my statement that I didn't have any children. That tends to be my standard answer for strangers asking that question. Most don't push and I avoid a confrontation. This woman looked at me and told me that I wasn't getting any younger and that I should start thinking about starting a family. I told her I already had a family, me and Jeff and the cat. But she insisted that I should be starting to think about children. And so I told her that I wasn't having any. 

First she didn't believe me. Then when I assured her she proceeding to give me every possible reason to have them that she could think of. For any childfree people out there, I could have called bingo four times during the conversation. Most of them I fended off easily. I have heard them all before. And then she told me I was selfish (heard it) and finally she told me that I was an ungrateful child. (that one is new) She told me that I should be thinking of my parents and how much they wanted grandchildren. Needless to say after all this I was glad when someone needed the copier and I was able to escape. 

Work tomorrow should be interesting. It will certainly be more talkative. I am not offended by my coworker but I guess I'm a little shocked. No matter how many people tell me that I am making a mistake I am still shocked by those who resort eventually to calling names. For the record I have only really had strangers who have attacked my choice. My friends and family have been incredibly supportive. I am just shocked at the strangers who feel it is necessary to change my mind about such an important decision. And not one I went into lightly. Strange. 

Trilogies and other crap

So I broke down this evening and watched the last of the Pirates movies. You thought I would have learned my lesson after the second but apparently not. I just had to finish the series. And it was actually worse then I thought possible. The jokes were forced and contrived, the plot was beyond stupid, and the movie just kept going on. I caught myself looking at the clock a couple of times to see how much longer it would last. I knew I was in trouble the first time I saw Jack surrounded by forty of himself. And it just went downhill from there. 

But maybe I should start by saying that I hate trilogies. Always have. Now I get that movie studios make a ton of money on series like these. The first film is almost amazing, fresh, funny, startling. It is because of its originality that we love it. The first time I watched The Matrix I was so in awe of the plot that I forgot that Keanu Reeves was in it. My whole impression of things was turned on its head. When I saw the first Pirates I was shocked at how funny it was. And how original and interesting the character were. Then they turned both of those series into crap. 

I once read a fantastic article about Walt Disney. His studio had just put on one of the first Silly Symphony cartoons, The Three Little Pigs. People were writing to him and asking him on the street when he would be making the next pig cartoon. They wanted a sequel. Disney supposedly answered the same time every time he was asked. He would ask, why do you want more pigs? I've already give you pigs. Now I want to do something new.

I wish some of these movie studios thought the same way. I won't even discuss the horribleness that is the new Star Wars. Now I love movies. I love a new idea to watch. I have a number of favorite films and many of them are new concepts or fresh approaches. They are often uncharted territories. I still claim that the best things coming out of Disney lately is Pixar. The Disney Company has been on a sequel kick lately. I can watch Peter Pan 2, Cinderella 2, The Lion King 3, or any other classics that have been remade as silly sequels with stale dialogue. Or I can find a new character, new plot, and fresh jokes through Pixar. 

So again I have finished a series of movies and been profoundly disappointed in the result. They have taken a brilliant movie and cheapened it for money and some quick laughs. Another title I won't be rushing out to buy. I say the same for books as well as movies. Avoid series. Remember that pigs and pirates are only funny the first time through. Give me something new. 

Relaxation and restlessness

I had the good fortune of having my little brother home this weekend. After golfing on Friday morning I came home to find that he was here for a concert. We had dinner that night with him and with my parents. But I wasn't going to the concert. After walking 18 holes carrying my clubs I was exhausted and frankly sick. After the fireworks I went home to bed. I was asleep at 11:00, which is earlier then I go to bed on weeknights. 

On Saturday we sat around eating heavily and then hung out to play Wii until all odd hours of the night. So this morning you would think that I would sleep in. Not happening. I was up early. I've been reading a lot lately so I started Neil Gaiman's Smoke and Mirrors. Only to discover that I have actually read it at some point in my not too distant past. I just assumed that I hadn't read it because I hadn't bought it yet. 

And now I'm sitting outside again blogging, just like last night, trying to avoid being inside and playing World  of Warcraft. It's not that I don't love the game. I'm just in an area where I die regularly and I don't enjoy that part. So far, since I have been in outlands, I have had to run for my body 10 times. That may be more times then I have done since I started the game. The experience is good, the loot is great, and the area is beautiful. I'm just tired of dying regularly. 

And this is the shameful part. I feel guilty when I play. The game takes up hours. Those are hours that I don't get anything else done. Lately I feel bad just sitting down for a movie. I feel like I should be getting something else done. I occasionally drag out my knitting so I won't feel like I'm wasting time. Plus I feel guilty that the cat is not getting attention, that my housework is not getting done, and that I'm not writing. One of things I love most about my lifestyle is the relaxation it offers. But lately that has been mixed with restlessness. I feel like I should be doing more. I should be reading more, writing more, creating more. But most likely I'll just log on and lose four or five hours. And wish I could write like Neil Gaiman. 

Guilt sucks. 

Book Review: V for Vendetta

In the last couple years I have become enamored with graphic novels. There are a lot of people out there who say that they are not proper reading but I disagree. I guess I have always been reading one form of graphic story since I was a small child reading Uncle Scrooge comics. I still claim whatever gets kids reading is a great thing. Plus there are some incredibly thought-provoking stories told in graphic form. For those who say that graphic novels aren't intelligent reading, I suggest Maus, Watchman, Sandman, and this novel. I started and finished the book this morning. And it is a modern piece of genius. 

V for Vendetta is written by Alan Moore and drawn by David Lloyd and is set in what was then the not too distant future. Since it is based in the late nineties readers may scoff at the disutopia presented by the book but for fans of 1984 or a Brave New World this graphic novel will feel very familiar. The story follows V a charismatic and mysterious anarchist who attempt to overthrow Britain's fascist government. V "recruits" a young girl named Evey who helps him with some of his tasks. These two are the main characters but there are many smaller characters whose lives are told in this. There is enough drama, politics and bloodshed to keep you flipping hungrily to the next page. 

This story, although older, is pure madness and genius and revolution all in one book. The characters of V and Evey are engaging. The drama is very real. And the images which tend to be on the dark side are captivating. And that doesn't even touch on the plot. Not often do you read a story that challenges how you think politically. This one did. A tribute in some ways to Guy Fawkes, this story shows how a government that does not offer liberty to its people needs to be overthrown. Now I'm not advocating anarchy. I am actually something of a fan of government but this presents an oppressive regime. As Thomas Jefferson stated "A little revolution, now and then, is a good thing." 

I cannot recommend this title enough. It is bloody and dark, but with a magic all its own. I'm not sure if I will be seeing the movie. I am always hesitant to see movies based on books I loved. And I can see Hollywood taking some liberties with this story that would be inexcusable. Plus with David Lloyd's fantastic pictures I already feel like I have seen  it. A quick read but an amazing story. One of the my favorite graphic novels ever. 

Happy Fourth of July

Okay for all of you who found the previous post as a little too much information, here is a cleansing post. Enjoy the fireworks tonight. Fireworks are one of my favorite things in the whole world so I will be out enjoying this evening. And since summer is my favorite season that makes today a very good holiday for me. Have a safe and wonderful 4th of July. 

(sorry about the stock photo, apparently none of my photos from last years 4th transfered to the new computer) 

Rubbers

I have two significant collections in my life. I have always been a bit of a collector but these two have been my most ambitious collections. The first is rubber duckies. For anyone who has ever seen my bathroom you know that I have quite a few. The whole bathroom is decked out in duckies but the cabinet is where I keep most of my actual ducks. As you can see below the cabinet is pretty full. I either have to find a better place to store those or stop buying them. 

The other collection is...well...rubbers. I'm not really sure how I started collecting condoms. I think it stems from the fact that I like buying things out of vending machines. I know that it is a collection that not a lot of people have. I get a lot of questions if I mention them. My family when traveling will often buy me condoms as souvenirs. My mother, bless her heart, gave me some old, old condoms that she had found. And I have picked them up all over the place. My favorites are the ones my sister brought back from Italy. Apparently Italian men are so...good...that you can only buy condoms in six packs there. By the way, before you ask, no I don't collect used condoms nor do I use them myself. I get those questions every time I mention my collection. And I mean every time.  

So last night I went to one of the only places where I can apparently buy for both collections. Yes, the adult bookstore. My sister was in a terrible mood last night so she called to see if I wanted to go. It's actually a lot of fun to go to just make fun of some of the products. It's always wonderful when you look at a box and have no idea how to use the "toy" inside. We laughed and by the time we left she was in a good mood. But while there I found this little toy. A vibrating rubber ducky. I had to add it to my collection. And of course I bought for my other collection as well. Sorry no pictures of that. 

Book Review: I Was Told There'd Be Cake

I just finished Sloane Crosley's essay book "I Was Told There'd Be Cake". I had gone into my sisters bookstore with the idea that I would help support her and buy some books. With the current economy bookstores are hurting and the one she manages might be closing. So I bought a good sized stack of books including this one. And before you ask, yes I bought this based solely on the title. How can you pass up a title like that?

And I was not disappointed. Sloane writes a number of great essays on everything from her secret pony figurine collection to accidentally calling the cops on her tunnel digging neighbor. Sloane's essay on her volunteer work at the Museum of Natural History is perhaps my favorite. There she is in charge of the butterfly exhibit which she knows absolutely nothing about. She develops a pathological fear of the Atlas moth, lies to children, and accidentally steals one of the butterflies. As she puts it, this would be her first and last volunteer gig. Her essay on accidently attending a Christian summer camp (although Jewish) and ending up playing Mary in the Christmas in July play is hilarious and insightful.

While the subjects are unusual and varied, the best part of this book is the writing. Sloane is witty and humorous in a way that reminds me of David Sedaris (one of my favorites). In fact she has been compared frequently to Sedaris. There is something about the neurotic, funny, and insighful essays of both writers that hits home. They make me wish I was funnier and more well spoken.

Outlands

For all you non-WOW players this post will mean nothing to you. For WOW players they'll understand my excitement. During a Dire Maul run with Jeff this week I finally hit level 58. Yeah I'm excited. Twelve more levels to go before 70 but now I can go to Outlands. But I'll admit I was a little nervous about going. I normally wait until I'm a level or two over before I head to a new area. Call me conservative but corpse runs are my least favorite things. So sue me, I hate to die.

Well I was just starting Winterspring when a friend whispered me with Hey you're a 58, why aren't you in Outlands? And Jeff informs me that the gear is fantastic and the experience even better so I figured okay. I left all my Winterspring quests behind (hard for me) and headed to the Eastern Kingdoms. It took forever to reach the Blasted Lands. But Jeff informed me that if I just headed south I would see the way to Outlands. Big glowing gate, yeah found it!!! Now I have to say, the Dark Portal is not a very friendly looking place. (the picture below does even really show the creepiness factor) I stood at the threshold for a second, debating. Then I walked in. And nothing happened. Nothing. I backed out of the portal and jumped in. Nothing. That's when I saw the little message at the bottom. "You must install Burning Crusade module to access this area." Damn!

But I had installed it, right after I bought the new computer. Needless to say I was not happy. After all the hesitation, now I wanted to be in Outlands desperately. After an appeal to the guild, (go SOTP) they informed that I just hadn't told Blizzard that I had bought the game. So with renewed hope I went to their site, only to find account management busy. Bleh. So no Outlands for me last night. Finally logged on this morning and let Blizzard know. So tonight, Outlands. I'm so excited.

Revelations

Have you ever noticed how inspiration comes from the strangest spots? I was introduced to the Cabinet of Wonders blog today and spent some of my morning looking through it. I glanced at pictures of interesting doorways and architecture and toys, and I realized why I hate my job. Yes inspiration in the strangest spots. By the way, check out cabinet of wonders. It is a wonderful blog that covers a broad number of subjects in detail. I find the whole thing fascinating. http://cabinet-of-wonders.blogspot.com.

But while I was looking through it I realized that all my life has been about imagination, art, architecture, and stories. That is what I have been interested in since I was a child. The art I like tends to be whimsical. The stories I like tend to be imaginative. My favorite part of being in a new city is looking at new architecture. And I am either reading stories, telling myself stories, or writing stories. And none of those things involve facts. None!!!

So I'm currently working at a job that requires facts. Definate answers. Numbers that can be leaned on. And I'm expected to give them. My job is to provide the definate answers. And I just don't believe that they exist. So I dislike my job. I go to work every day waiting for the day when I can't provide the answers or when the answers I gave are proved wrong.

In a library setting that would be different. A researcher would come in looking for information on Gaudi. I would provide them with books and materials on the architect. They would find their own numbers from those. There are a ton of sources to choose from. And no definate answers. It has been quite a revelation this morning.

This reminds me of a Brian Andreas print I have in my stairway. It is the first one I ever bought and the one I knew I had to have. Not suprising he does whimsical art that combines childlish drawings with very insightful text. I'll post a picture of it when I get home but the text says.

Place to Fly

She kept asking me if the stories were true. I kept asking her if it mattered. We finally gave up. She was looking for a place to stand and I wanted a place to fly.

Brian Andreas www.storypeople.com