Monthly Archives

April 2009

Utterly quiet weekend…

General Entertainment, Movies by
  • Comments Off on Utterly quiet weekend…

This weekend was absolutely quiet – and I liked it.

Spent most of it sleeping, to be completely honest. By accident and sheer force of (Kate’s) will, we didn’t get out of bed before noon either today or yesterday. And the waking hours were spent entirely with chores, writing, movies and reading.

I spent 3 hours on Saturday afternoon cleaning Kate’s car top to bottom – wax, leather cleaner, the works. The house is spotless and the fridge and cupboards are full. Birds were fed, windows tilted in and wiped down. Even the cats got fresh poop boxes…

Wholly domestic. Not good for blog fodder, but just fine during the worst months of the academic year.

P.S. Check out Conversations With Other Women if you like Aaron Eckhart or Helen Bonham-Carter.

JUSTICE!

Cars by
  • Comments Off on JUSTICE!

The universe does indeed listen to the cries of the auto lover. Jamiroquai’s vandalized Ferrari Enzo has been avenged!

Full story on Jalopnik.

Sweet justice for anyone who parks at the very end of the parking lot and watches closely all children walking past their car. (What? I do that.)

Dance, dance, dance.

Art, Books, Music by

My sister recently cleaned up big time with her dance company at the Pennsylvania Dance Masters competition, so I waned to offer up some congratulations here! And share a photo:


Hannah, second from the right, looking fierce. And deranged.

I was not fortunate enough to be there, but evidently this performance was about a mother letting go of her daughter to a dangerous world. Which would explain the hair and makeup.

It also ties in nicely with a conversation I was having with Kate over dinner about a book I just read. In a chapter of 334 by Disch, the narrative follows a group of affluent dancing teenagers hellbent on defining their own reality in a 1970s depiction of the future. I thought it would fit nicely with a paper Kate is working on…

…and seems to be elegantly depicted in this new video by The Presets. I caught “If I Know You” right after having said conversation and looking at Hannah’s dance pictures.

Strange how things fall into line like that.

3G?

Art, Food/Drink, Music, Technology by
  • Comments Off on 3G?

I spent yesterday evening in Philadelphia where I saw Ladytron and The Faint at the Trocadero Theatre. The show was excellent and dinner before at Penang on 10th Street in Chinatown (it was featured on Israel’s Top Chef, apparently) was even better (there was a Buddhist monk dining beside us!)

What’s more interesting is that, while looking up what rambutan fruit was, I decided I’d turn on my iPhone’s 3G. Normally, I leave it off as the Eastern Shore is the land that time forgot. Or so I thought – after arriving back, the little 3G indicator would not go away. A quick look at AT&T’s coverage map shows that the entirety of the Eastern Shore is 3G (where service is available, that is.) How neat!

Where was my memo on this one? “Dear Eastern Shore customers…”

Listen to this: Kingdom of Welcome Addiction by IAMX

Music by
  • Comments Off on Listen to this: Kingdom of Welcome Addiction by IAMX

Every once in awhile, Chris Corner sits down and decides he is going to construct a new album for the good boys and girls of the world. Last night, I was lucky enough to stumble upon his latest treat, Kingdom of Welcome Addiction. Of course, it didn’t finish downloading until this morning, so I slept fitfully last night as IAMX songs ran through my head.

The wait was worth it, though. The album is just as demented-carnival as The Alternative and just as twisted-Suburbia as Kiss & Swallow. It’s more, though. “My Secret Friend” brings us a duet with Imogen Heap. “You Can Be Happy” has honest to goodness strings (but a Sneaker Pimps-on-up-standard driving drum beat, too.) And “Think of England” – well, a better first single couldn’t have been chosen.

Music binge, 4/12 edition

Music by
  • Comments Off on Music binge, 4/12 edition

Last night/this morning was one of my music binges, this time to the tune (no pun, I swear) of thirteen albums. You’ve met IAMX’s Kingdom of Welcome Addiction but here are the others I’m listening to:

  • Jigsaw by Lady Sovereign
  • Kingdom of Rust by Doves
  • Fruit by The Asteroids Galaxy Tour
  • Ordinary Riches by Company of Thieves
  • Mesh & Lace by Modern English
  • The Sounds of the Universe by Depeche Mode
  • Micro-phonies by Cabaret Voltaire
  • The Sky’s Gone Out by Bauhaus
  • Blade Runner Soundtrack by Vangelis
  • Closer by Joy Division
  • Dance Mother by Telepathe

Weird.

General Entertainment, Internet, News by
  • Comments Off on Weird.

A woman’s third arm has been confirmed as actually existing – in her brain. Following a stroke, a woman in Switzerland can see, feel and use an extra arm that she describes as translucent and pale white. Doctors have scanned her brain and report activity that corresponds to an additional limb on the right side of her body. Very strange. If reality is only a consensus on what fits into a box, perhaps this is something that is outside the collective box but well within her private collection of real experiences?

Never order from ProFlowers.com

Internet by
  • Comments Off on Never order from ProFlowers.com

In July, I thought I’d be nice and order Kate some flowers from ProFlowers.com, as she’d ordered things for her mom there and they had nice products and a good selection. And then I didn’t really order anything else flower-wise again. However, this morning I discovered that the Visa card I stopped using a month or so ago was carrying a charge from “Easy Saver” for $14.95. I thought that I had perhaps seen these charges before, but always thought it was a gas station or maybe my EZPass charging me and never thought much of it. A closer look showed these charges showing up at a rate of one per month since August 2008 – totaling $135.

A stop on Google later revealed that Easy Saver has been scamming lots of ProFlowers.com customers the same way – and that ProFlowers.com knows about it but still maintains a partnership with this “discount and rewards program.”

I have to say, any company that charges you for something or enrolls you in a service because you had no opportunity to say “no” is completely fraudulent in my book. And any company that knowingly turns over their customer’s credit card information to a company that will only use it to rip off innocent people is even worse.

Never buy from ProFlowers.com. If you have, check your credit card statements for charges from Easy Saver. If you’ve been charged call 1-800-453-2894 and ask that an NTR form be filled out and that your money be refunded. Complain to the BBB about ProFlowers.com and spread the word. This is the worst kind of anti-consumer bullshit and it’s got to stop.

P.S. After I got off the phone with ProFlowers.com, Kate discovered that she, too had been charged since she last ordered flowers for her mom in August.

Goodbye, Zoe

News by
  • Comments Off on Goodbye, Zoe

My family’s pet labrador retriever for the last eleven years was put to sleep yesterday.  How did I find this out?  A soft-spoken phone call from someone at home?  A quick email or Facebook message?  A text?

No – I discovered this when Kate noticed that my brother had changed his Facebook status to include “Zoe” and “:(”

Apparently Zoe, the dog I have known for the last decade and then some, has passed away.  She was quite old and lethargic and I’m sure she was in a lot of pain, so she’s probably much better off now.

DSC_0052.JPG

Rest in peace, my fellow bigfoot-sighter.

Happy birthday!

News by
  • Comments Off on Happy birthday!

Foreword:  My mom is rocking 48 today like no one has before (I’m sure.)

Happy birthday, Mom!  Hope you have a great day at Seven Springs with the dance moms.