just couldn't resist

something nicer to look at

By request, here's something nicer to look at than the freakazoid picture that was up before.

I want this kitty so bad! (But sadly, I know that we're at our limit right now.)

Isn't he ADORABLE though?!

(Many months of cheerleading seems to have temporarily killed my blogging mojo, but hopefully I'll be back soon.)

Hooray for kittens!!

Introducing the two newest members of our family:

Toulouse and Daisy

(Click on photo for better resolution. More photos over on Flickr.)

nurturing my inner punk

We're going to the Lagwagon show tonight. I've wanted to see them for a long time so I'm pretty stoked! I know most people prefer their earlier stuff, but my personal favorite is Blaze. I hope I never get so old that I stop enjoying this type of music. Ha...that brings their song Falling Apart to mind:

Hello, welcome to the show
Thought we broke up years ago
What's up, I just shit my pants
Gambled and I lost
Good times, I just blew out my knee
I've fallen and I can't get up
Oh shit, I think I broke my back
Where's the wheelchair?
I'm old school, I'm played out
Osteoporosis, glaucoma and neurosis
The vultures circling above our balding heads
Second verse, the same as the first
I forgot the words again
Railer, lost my inhaler
Who's got a smoke for the Caper?
Hold on let me catch my breath
All right, I feel better now
Take it to the bridge
I'll never be Ozzy
On stage when I'm fifty
I'm gonna look like Elvis
By the time I'm forty
We're already bogus
We're already fading
We'll never be The Rolling Stones
I'm staying home
Dementia and senility
My failing muscles atrophy
I've lost all ability
Falling apart
Blue hair, brown teeth
Failing livers, defeat
Maybe we will try to pull it off
For another year

Most people don't realize what a closet country music lover I really am.

Brad Paisley's The World (see the video) makes me feel happy and wistful, all at the same time, and reminds me that there's a little girl from Texas still alive and kickin' in me.

love letters

As I’m sure we all do, I will occasionally receive an email from one friend or another (almost always female) containing some little inspirational message or story, which closes with something along the lines of “you have received this message because someone cares about you, please pass it along to the people that you love”. While I sometimes find the story or message touching, I also generally feel a little bit of a groan (‘oh no, not another one’) and I almost never pass these things along.

But yesterday I received such a message in my mailbox. You may have read this one, the story about the teacher who asked her students to confidentially write something nice about each of their classmates, which she later compiled into individual lists and distributed to the children. The story goes on to tell a poignant story of how one of the children was later killed in Vietnam, and how he had carried his ‘list’ in his wallet all his life, and at the funeral it was revealed by many of his former classmates that they too had cherished their lists…yadda yadda. (I’ve received this one before. ;)

The thing that was different this time was that the sender’s email address was that of a MALE friend of ours. We have been friends with this couple for many years, first only peripherally due to the fact that our sons were best friends, but as the kids have grown into adults and mostly gone their separate ways, our friendship with them has grown closer and closer. I did a double-take on who had sent it, then checked the ‘To’ line to see who all the email was sent to (assuming I might be part of some big distribution list). It was sent to only two email addresses, mine and my husbands. I immediately felt so touched by the gesture…and then a bit skeptical, thinking that perhaps his wife had inadvertently sent it using his email account instead of hers. So I sent back a generic reply: ‘Thank you. That was lovely.’

I got such a kick this morning when I opened my email to find a response back from him: “Please don’t tell anyone that I sent that to you – it will hurt my macho image!” (So naturally I shall blog about it for the whole world to see...muahaha) ;)

It’s funny how that one small, uncharacteristic gesture could mean so much. I think the next time I receive one of those types of emails, I’m going to make it a point to remember that no matter how cheesy the content, the intent of the sender is the real message.

if only...

Boy, if only my life afforded me the ability to whisk myself off to New York on a moment's notice...

I just adore the work of Emily Hubley (who some might recognize as the artist who created the animation sequences in Hedwig and the Angry Inch). Tomorrow night, the IFC Center in New York will be hosting An Evening with Emily Hubley:

"Emily Hubley presents an evening of her animated shorts, selected shorts by her parents, Faith and John Hubley, and TACTICAL DESIRE (2006), animation-in-progress from Hubley's feature THE TOE TACTIC, accompanied by live music composed by Sue Garner, performed by Ms. Garner, Rebecca Gates, Megan Reilly, and Doug Weiselman.

Working in a deceptively simple hand-drawn style, Emily Hubley's subtle, wistful films explore personal memory and the unexpected turbulence of emotional life, veering in a heartbeat from the lighthearted to the melancholy, and back again, as girls morph into fish, volleyball practice leads to unexpected motherhood, and a musical scale reveals itself to be a font of anxiety."

PROGRAM LIST:
Tender Game (1958, John and Faith Hubley)
Windy Day (1967, Faith and John Hubley)
Octave (2006, Emily Hubley)
The Tower (1984, Emily and Georgia Hubley)
Tall Time Tales (1992, Faith Hubley)
Her Grandmother's Gift (1995, Emily Hubley)
One Self: Fish/Girl (1997, Emily Hubley)
Pigeon Within (2000, Emily Hubley)
Tactical Desire (work-in-progress) w/live performance by Sue Garner and others

After the screening, everyone will be heading over to the Waverly Restaurant at IFC for drinks and a Q&A session with Ms. Hubley.

Gawd, I wish I was going! How fun would that be?!!