My Favorite Klimt

WTC The Movie

Well, Oliver Stone has produced a well balanced and touching film, without overdoing the drama or hinting at any conspiracy theory with World Trade Center. I was afraid it would be a real weeper, but actually wasn't too bad, although there are some very emotional moments. The pacing between the families and the trapped men was well done and seeing some of the sights from 9-11 while disturbing, after time you're able to look at the event with more of a historic perspective. The way the film opens with no opening credits, just a few notes of locations is very fitting. Well done.

The Swans of Hyde Park

Friday Notes

Back to Normal
Four weeks ago today we flew off to London. I guess it's time to get back to the routine and finish that painting I started about two months ago. Actually it's almost done, I have to pick a sunflower from the yard to use as the model, then a few touch ups and I'll be done. Next I have to decide if I buy two more canvases, which I think I should. The less fun task will be actually tackling that bare kitchen floor that I tore the gruesome carpet up from last summer. The bare wood is still nicer than the carpet ever was, even with the giant pesto stain from when the blender bottom fell out, oops! But it's a weird shaped kitchen and if I just lay down linoleum myself, it should be a chore getting it cut out. The ideal is ceramic tile, but not sure I'm ready for the expense yet.

No Thanks, I Already Have a Stalker
Been playing around on My Space, which I had never really checked out before, and it's strange. Still not too many local area men that I'd want to meet, but have been corresponding with a couple nearby. I thought it would be different than the online dating sites, which is all meat market vibe, but really My Space is pretty similar in that respect. And the formats, even the custom made ones, are not that pleasing to look at. I'll keep at it for awhile longer, and then probably chuck the whole idea. Besides, blogging is a lot more fun than worrying if the guy who wants to be your friend suffers from a major mental disorder. And another aspect, I'm really at peace with my life as it is, so why fix the unbroken?

I See Live People
One of the starkest differences between Paris and US cities I've visited is the total awareness and engaging nature of the Parisians. A city where people look at each other, watch each other and wonder about each other is pretty refreshing.

Double Feature

Okay after spending a couple of hours pulling up the dead sunflowers that baked while I was away, I decided to catch a couple of movies I've been wanting to see, even though the summer weather had returned. So, I'd heard Woody Allen's new one, Scoop, again had Scarlett Johansson and even Hugh Jackman. Seems every actor wants to work with Woody. Now if you're one of those people who doesn't like Woody when in his own movies, you'll especially not like this one. But, if you're like me and you really like almost all of his movies, this one is definitely entertaining. A little silly, but with Ian McShane (Al Swearingen of Deadwood) it's worth viewing. Scarlett's character is a little ditzy, but it's actually nice to see her play other than the usual smoldering sex symbol, which of course she is.

Speaking of sex symbols, I had to go see Miami Vice, Colin Farrell alone was reason enough for me. And it's actually good, the photography is a lot of hand held action, and luckily not overly violent, which I usually avoid. Not just an action flick, the added dimension of Colin hitting on the enemy plays well with some nice scenes, the speed boat in particular. I wonder how Jamie Foxx liked sharing the screen with Colin, as when he's up there, you just have to watch him, you can't help yourself. Colin has that magnetism that not too many actors own, I can think of only a couple off hand: Clive Owen and Brad Pitt. I smell sequel.

Europe, the Highlights

The trip was a complete success and I feel such a sense of accomplishment that we went and had such a great time. One of the major things that contributed to this, is the amount of preparation that went into the trip. When everything is planned out it allows you to relax and just enjoy the sights and share the experience with people you love, family. The European flavor is so different than the US and seeing things for the first time, especially when you've heard about them and seen pictures your whole life, is quite amazing. How many movies, pictures, etc. have I seen in my life showing the Eiffel Tower, and yet it was spectacular in real life. And Paris, the land of scooters, the streets are like nothing I've ever seen, although the yellow colored buildings did remind me of Stockholm, another city I hope to return to in my life. I think the value of traveling can not be overstated, to see other places and cultures and the different attitudes of each are valuable to give more perspective on life. I think of my siblings, parents and grandparents who would all love to see England at least, considering the family heritage connections, and yet I doubt many will travel there in their life. The barriers that keep people from taking on adventure, money, fear of flying or whatever, can be broken through and makes life so much more rewarding. I'm thankful my daughter moved to Sweden which prompted me to finally take the plunge and get on an eight hour flight. It scares me to think I might otherwise never have made it over to Europe. Now I'd like to make the trip annually, if possible. So much more to see.

"There are no hereditary Kings in America and no powers not created by the Constitution."

Judge Anna Diggs Taylor, from her scathing Detroit district court decision striking down the legality of the NSA spying program. Specifically she found the program unconstitutional and in violation of Fourth Amendment rights against unreasonable search and seizure.

Blue Dali & Big Ben

More Europe

London-Hostel & Paris-Louve & Sweden-Zoo

Escaping the Chaos

Well when I woke up this morning and heard NPR talking about the latest terror threat, in London no less, I was quite relieved that I wasn't stuck in Heathrow. That we just flew back Sunday quite effortlessly from there seems like a lucky stroke. Europe was so fun to visit and London was so easy to navigate it's hard to believe they're under lockdown now, NO WATER OR SHAMPOO, relinquish all liquids!! Seems a little silly that the best defense against terrorists, instead of actually tracking real terrorists, is to make all travelers submit to stupid practices, such as taking off shoes before flying and giving up the coveted water bottle. And that French wine you thought you'd take back to the folks back home, forget it! Flying is bad enough without all the HIGH ALERT madness. So, very glad to be back home instead of waiting in line for hours to board a flight.

Girls in Paris

Wrapping up Europe

last night in sweden, it's really beautiful here, green and clean and the people are so civilized. no drought here by the looks of things. back to london tomorrow for one last day with the brits, and hopefully some serious shopping, still have some gifts to buy for the folks back home. this time i'm thinking i need to come back next year instead of waiting two years, we'll just have to pick a couple of other places to see as well as another visit to sweden. pre=planning the trip has meant all the difference as to how smoothly it's all gone, thank God for the internet; plane, train, hostel/hotel and bus reservations all booked ahead of time. Paris, the land of scooters was very friendly, all that crap about the french not liking americans is a myth. We had so many people trying to assist when we were a little lost and all the service people were as pleasant as could be. And they're so observant of the people around them, not like NY where everyone is on their cell phone or nose in the paper. The Eiffel Tower is an awesome sight, as well as big ben from the london eye, which itself is a magnificent feat of engineering. Will be kind of a let down getting back to the regular work week routine, but what a great success the trip has been.

LA Adventure

So, two nights of Pearl Jam in a row is not too much! Eddie and the boys have really perfected their shows, packed full of favorites and new tunes, there was something for everybody. A couple of suprises, Jeremy for one, and Man of the Hour, and a bunch of real treats, including Baba O'Reilly before they finished off night one with Yellow Ledbetter. And the pre-show tune they'd been listing on their web play lists, which confused me, turned out to be Ed with an acoustic at the very start doing a tune, then introducing Sonic Youth. So all those late arrivers were clueless what they'd missed. And Sonic Youth were thoroughly enjoyable too. Each night had it's own personality, both nights had Tim Robbins who can almost sing. But it was nice seeing him anyway. Being a member does have it's privledges, seats were good both nights. The give and take between the band and audience reminded me of U2 shows, Eddie letting the audience sing the first verse of one Better Man, and it was sweet to hear it again on night two. The crowd was mostly civilized, a younger group than when they play in Montana, but we didn't see any famous faces in the audience like I thought we would, being in LA and all. The Forum has a good set up, no overhangs or balconies, just a big swooping bowl. PJ is at the Gorge this weekend, I'm trying not to think about it as I can't run over to Seattle, but I downloaded the two LA shows, and it's been fun reliving the moments. These special times are definitely worth the time, cash and effort it takes to follow through and make it happen.

Side notes: Saw the worst car crash scene I've ever seen about 7 minutes after leaving the parking lot on the 405 - three cars very mangled, a bloody man laying beside one with a woman attending to him, but otherwise it seemed the other occupants had escaped. If there had been back seat occupants I don't think they would've made it. Very eery sight, it had just occurred only moments before we came up on it, auto debris and glass strewn across the highway lanes. We tried dialing 9-1-1 but lines were busy, as every other car slowly creeping by was probably doing the same.

Visited Universal Theme Park and though most rides were okay, or pretty good, Back to the Future was a blast. They seat you in a Delorian which remains stationary but tilts and pitches so the effect of speeding through the wide open landscape whizzing by all around you gives you an amazing sensation. I laughed and screamed the whole time (and lost my car keys, which thankfully were retreived a little while after) and was ready to jump back in line, except two of the four with us got car sick...oh well.

Did view the new Pirates at Universal which has some charming, funny parts but in general doesn't really add up to the first one. Still worth it to see however.

They Were Awesome!

What a Heartbreak

Except for Roger Federer of course, who won his fourth straight Wimbledon. Just didn't seem like Rafa had the usual fighting spirit, maybe it was nerves about his first final at Wimbledon. Roger played fantastically though and really deserved to win. I was rooting for Nadal though, so it was a shame to see him get the 2nd place silver platter trophy. I guess there's always the US Open in a few weeks, and hopefully the same matchup in the final. If time and funds allow, I may try to go, but seems unlikely at this point with Europe and this latest Pearl Jam extravaganza. Speaking of which, the 2.5 hour show last night at the Forum was excellent, and once again Better Man brought tears to my eyes, there's just something about that song. More tonight at show two....

Whirlwind Month

First things first, keep your fingers crossed that it will be another Nadal-Federer showdown this time on the grass at Wimbledon. Tomorrow Rafa plays in the semi-finals and the only down side is I'll be in LA should the Sunday final indeed be another dream match. If so, it will be another nail biter no doubt, just a little worried about reception with no cable at the LA locale....

Okay, so LA will be busy, busy, Universal Studios on Saturday, and Pearl Jam at the Forum Sun and Mon. Then back to MT for more travel around the state. Thank God it's a couple of more weeks before London/Paris/Stockholm.

Johnny Depp is his appealing pirate self on the cover of this Rolling Stone, I believe the film's out this weekend, should be a blast. Haven't seen Superman, but now I have to as I found out the student film grave robber I got to work with has a minor roll in it. Now living down under, he has real star power and I have no doubt he'll go far.

The Devil Wears Prada is Meryl Streep at her evil best as a ball-busting boss that never shows mercy. The story wraps up in a bit of a tidy bow, too tidy, but still worth seeing. Stanley Tucci gives the film a little depth, although Adrian Grenier from Entourage (a great show) seems to fill only the part of pretty boyfriend character. Hopefully he'll get better roles in the future.

I love four day weekends, I even have time to do a little house cleaning when I have that much time off. Mostly gardening, painting (it's going pretty well), lots of tennis viewing, Game 6 - a twisted film that Red Sox fans can appreciate more than the general public. Michael Keaton and Robert Downey Jr. star in a worlds collide kind of story when a playwright's nervous opening night falls on the same night as the fated 1986 World Series Game 6 when poor Bill Buckner caused the series to slip between his legs on an error at first base. (I heard he even had to move to Europe because he was so tormented when he went out in public after that fated night.) Good movie, I like the way that the two stories intermingle.

ART.....sort of

Well, I finally let inspiration take hold and bought a couple of canvases, an assortment of brushes and some sampler size acrylics. (Boy are they expensive in the industrial size!) I have always wanted to paint but the only thing I've ever done with acrylics is put quirky shit on my jeans when I was a teenager. So now the big test. I took art in high school, and pottery in high school and college and the most memorable items I created were a pencil drawing of my shoe, not bad, and a batik with a geometric design that I actually wish I still had. As for the pottery, I threw a pitcher that my ceramics teacher said looked like the one in the Kool-Aid ads, but I did use it for years to cook Boston Baked Beans in. The longest I've ever worked on a project was on a massive macrame wall hanging I started in Durham NH when I was in college, using a beaver-chewed piece of musclewood that was at the house I lived at, brought it out to Idaho for the semester at UI, then to Bozeman for a few months, then to Yellowstone Park for year, then on to Missoula where I finally finished it about three years later. Thing is, it's the coolest wall hanging and I really love the way it turned out, so it was worth the wait, even though it sat for months at a time while I decided how to do the next part. I always drew as a kid, horses mostly as I was obsessed with horses. I still harbor a far off dream that I'll fall in love with a Montana rancher who has a bunch of horses and I'll quit my day job and just work on the ranch, mucking out the stalls and riding every day. But I digress...so it's always safe to just assume that the first few (dozen) items you produce will be pure crap, just accept it and keep on plodding along. The questions I keep coming back to: do I have the vision and patience to actually work on a project for the time required to make it halfway interesting to look at? I do feel like I've observed all kinds of art mistakes, things that people decide to paint/draw etc. that are just plain boring. I'd rather have bizarre stuff than mundane. Another note, I'm doing this to be a creative, relaxing activity, correct? So if I get stressed out because I don't have the skill to make anything that looks better than a 6th grader's work, do I have the faith to keep trying in the belief that I actually will improve if I practice? As an ADD person, I jump from project to project and get bored quickly, but can concentrate for hours if it's something that captures my interest. I guess the answer is to set out goals as to what I actually want to accomplish if I perservere for the long haul. It could be as simple as having fun mixing the pretty colors or as complex as really planning a project step by step and carrying it to fruition. So, here's where I am so far: the first canvas I got all excited about and whipped up a semi-abstract which turned into poppies amidst a weird abstract. Some aspects came out satisfying, it has layers which give it depth, and the poppies look good, but some of the background almost looks like the doodles I draw when I'm talking on the phone. I've been resisting the urge to do a complete makeover on it, I want it to just be done and keep it as is and learn from it. The colors are nice and it does have some sort of appeal, although not a very strong one, and I haven't seen anything like it elsewhere. So the next question is, are paintings the kind of projects where you always like some aspects and dislike others, so that you're never completely pleased with a result? That could be depressing. So I'm working on the 2nd canvas, also with flowers but I can already see problems, although the color and brushstrokes of the focal rose look fine. I should probably let it set for a couple of days before I get back to it. So, here's hoping I don't get easily discouraged and shit-can the whole idea.....stay tuned.

Little Fishies

The Joy of Summer

Time to get one of those new high-tech digital cameras, would avoid the quadruple exposure collages.
Fancy pink Iris, I think they're Beverly Sills















Old fashioned yellow iris. The rain has really made a difference this year. Planted 8 tomato plants, a hill each of yellow crookneck and zuchini squash and green beans. We'll see if I have any luck with the beans, this is the only place I've lived where I haven't been able to get them to do anything. I'm trying a different spot so we'll see how it goes. The spinich is starting to go to seed but did really well. While the yard looks like a wildflower garden I really like the variety. The bachelor buttons are all starting to bloom, but don't see any white or deep purple yet. And the clematis which I had given up on is starting to grow. I went nuts and ordered 24 new iris, now I just have to figure out where to put them.

Old Friends

Got the urge to e-mail an old friend from college on his birthday. The only reason I remember the day is because it was my due date, June 12, but I was born three weeks late on July 1, all red and wrinkled. I always told my mom it was because I refused to be a Gemini. So, I haven't seen this guy for over 20 years but I was in love with him in college. Unfortunately he didn't have the same romantic ilk that I did, plus I had an out of town boyfriend all through college, who I eventually moved west with. We were close friends though, and shared a love of music and corresponded through letters after I moved away. Of course I raved to my room mate about how terrific he was so she decided I was right and they hooked up for several years but it ended badly when she dumped him. I could've predicted it would end as such. So the suprise, when I finally spoke to him last year after connecting with a Christmas card was that he'd never married, never had kids either. But, he said he was still hopeful. Men definitely have more options as far as the family thing goes, he could meet a 33 year old, her biological clock's loud ticking keeping her awake nights and bang, just like that he could be a dad at age 49. And he would make a great dad. So, the funny thing is, when I did finally send the e-mail, was that he'd also been thinking about me lately, having come across the card and a picture I'd sent him of my three wonderful kids last year and he'd vowed to drop me a line. It would be extremely weird to see him after all this time, although I'd love to, if we could both realize, before hand, that now we're middle agers, while when we knew each other we were barely 20. That first shocked look seeing each other this age may be a hard hurdle to get over. He's one of those people that I think of on a fairly regular basis, wondering how he is and what his life is like. There are a few people in your life, too few, who you connect to on a deep level and even when you don't see each other for years, or even ever, you still have that deep bond. I often wonder when I have the vivid dreams of people from my past, are they having the same dream, are we sharing time in some alternate reality together? Or when I think of someone, am I picking up on their thoughts of me, or if I think of them first, do they then pick up my thoughts? Obviously recently we were on the same wavelength, so it proves my point, at least this time.

Rafa

Weekend Notes

A Thing of Beauty

The dream showdown realized, it was a joy watching Rafael Nadal retain his French Open title, beating Roger Federer in four sets. But it was a scary start. Both looked to be nervous, so much on the line for each. Roger’s chance to attain the four grand slams in a row, Rafa defending his title and increasing his clay court record to 60 matches in a row. But in the end the Raging Bull prevailed. Now Nadal has beat Federer six of their seven meetings and in the end I think it was the psyche-out that doomed Roger. He looked pretty disheartened during the last half of the match and made a ton of unforced errors. With Nadal, Federer doesn’t cast the “#1” spell that he does over other competitors. But if he can manage to bring his “A” game and Nadal has anything less than his best, Roger can surely beat him in the future. After all he beats every other player, consistently. But it’s like anything else, the longer the pattern continues, the harder it is to break free. Rafa is an intriguing fellow. Only just turned 20, he showcases more OCD tendencies than most, lining up his water bottles exactly so in front of his court side chair, pulling up his socks, tugging on his tighty whities about every other serve. Most endearing however is his climb into the stands upon winning to embrace the several family members in the crowd, mom, dad, brother and coach Uncle Tony with tears welling in his eyes. Only upon winning to you glimpse anything but dogged determination on his face, a quality that surely contributes to his amazing run. Barring any more injuries like the one that kept him from the Australian Open early in the year, he’s got what it takes to go on to win the next three grand slams. The grass at Wimbledon should be a great challenge for him and a treat for the spectators, but with the talent, confidence and sheer physical power he brings to the game, he’s got a shot. Roger’s consolation prize, he’s still #1.

Other Notes

Don’t bother with The Break Up until it’s on video, and maybe not even then. Jennifer and Vince may be hooked up in real life but unless you love the feeling when you’re out for a couples night and one couple just won’t stop the bickering, forcing their friends to take sides in each fight, you may want to skip it. Both characters are losers, him because he’s a juvenile, a cheesy tour bus guide who is devoid of any understanding of women and she because with her looks, body and career she wouldn’t even be with this guy, she’d be with some terrific fellow who can appreciate the female point of view and has half a brain. Side note, they seem to be getting along in their real romance, as there they were in row three watching the French Open. Ahhh, the life of the rich and famous. On the other hand, Friends With Money, the other current film featuring Jennifer Aniston was very entertaining with a fun script. Bickering couples are also a feature of this film, however here the dialogue is wicked and enjoyable.

On a somewhat related topic, from the one picture I saw of Brad and Angelina’s baby, the kid’s got her mommy’s lips. Having a baby may change everything, but since they were already a family, chances are they’ll make it, for awhile at least. I think Brad is a natural born father, and Angie’s obviously got a big heart with all her good will ambassador work. They’re the polar opposite of Tom Cruise and Katie Holmes who I predict will not be so lucky. Katie makes the perfect Stepford Wife while Tom is the most self absorbed guy in Hollywood, and that’s saying a lot.

The more I listen to Pearl Jam’s new cd, the more I like it. Tour play lists show they’re doing several of the new ones at each show. The LA shows should be amazing.

The hot ticket I’d love to see is the Eric Clapton/Derek Trucks collaboration. Layla is one of the top ten songs of all time and the lucky ones who get to see this duo in action will have a lifelong memory, no doubt.

Not really too sad we’re not going to make it to Bonnaroo this year, last year’s lineup was so terrific it would only have been a let down. I do notice now however, especially since we’ve had a ton of rain, when I smell the moist earth it brings Tennessee mud to mind.

Art in the Big City

This Monet was one of my favorites when we visited the LACMA art gallery in LA. From a distance it's not overly impressive, but when you get up close it comes alive. How such a simple subject can translate into such a beautiful soul stirring painting is a mystery to me. There were a couple of other Monets at the gallery which were also very striking. Even among the big boys, which includes all pieces in the big city art museums, some stand out as ahead of the rest and Monet definitely does. My little Montana town is promoting itself these days as the Biggest Small Art Town in America and last week was the semi-annual "art walk" which I actually went on. This time was a suprise though, usually it's just a bunch of what I like to call "cowboy crap" but I saw some moving, creative pieces. However there is always a bunch of stuff from "artists" with as much talent as the rejects on American Idol. You wonder how they can display their "art" in public and still hold their heads up. The one thing it accomplishes for me is an urge to actually start creating art of some kind. After all it can't be any worse than a lot of the stuff I see from the small time folks. Next big art viewings will be Tate in London and Louve in Paris, I hope.

Pearl Jam in the Studio

Chili Peppers too!

I survived the 5 and the 405!

Structuring your day around driving is a new concept for me. Planning hours of lead time to actually make it to your destination on time leaves little time for other aspects of life. I'm so spoiled, my drive to work takes 3 minutes as work is .9 miles from home. And my parking garage, right next to work is paid by my employer. Montana is a cheap place to live, at least in my town. Seeing LA for the first time is really thrilling though. Funny how familiar so many things are. Our first night we ate at this great place at Venice Beach with an open air view of the Pacific. Sweet. And we traversed into the hills close to the HOLLYWOOD sign where the houses and windy roads and thick jungle growth create a very inviting atmosphere. If I could live in one of those areas I'd move here in a minute. I'm not ashamed at being a total tourist. We walked the Hollywood Walk and checked out all the stars, and even caught the last 5 minutes of the ceremony for Nancy Sinatra's new star. Not sure she really deserves it as the only thing she's really known for besides her icon dad is the "Boots" song. But I don't think the criteria bar is especially high these days to attain your own star. But I did recognize the majority of names on the walk. So it's off to the famous farmer's market and then to Craig Ferguson tonight.

NYC-Optical Illusion

The Culpret

Can you tell it was pepperoni? This is what happens when you come home at 3 a.m., pop a pizza in the oven, (400 degrees) then fall asleep. Six hours later this cinder disc is waiting for you.
Bucking Bronc by Capitol

Friday Afternoon Random Notes

Three cheers for Neil Young, Bruce Springsteen and Pink for speaking out against our current political mess. It seems like it's taken too long for the artists to start speaking publicly to proclaim that things have gone awry in this country. Pink's song Dear Mr. President cuts right to the bone. It is an honest and genuinely moving performance.

For years I've admired the fact that Pearl Jam, besides kicking ass in general, records their shows and offers them as official bootlegs. There's something really special about seeing them live and then owning the show to listen to at will. Doing different shows each night is essential and lots of acts don't do it. Well Tori Amos does and now she offers some shows as official bootlegs too. The results are true treasures.

To See or Not To See. I've never been a fan of flying and that's only one of the reasons I hesitate to see United 93 which opens this weekend. Brian Williams of NBC told of attending the premier this week, which a lot of the families of victims attended, and hearing the sobbing from the back of the theater at the end of the film when it suddenly goes to black. Which brings me to another reason I may not be able to attend as I'd be blubbering all the way through just knowing the outcome. It's not fun to cry in public, although I can be assured I would not be the only one with hankie in hand. Yet I feel I should see it, as 9-11 is such a part of our national identity now and it touched us all. Upon hearing of the flights originating from Boston's Logan I thought, gee I wonder if I knew any of the people flying that day. Well, I didn't, but I did watch Garnet "Ace" Baily, #14, play on the Boston Bruins hockey team as I was a rabid fan in my youth. He was still a young man and died along with another hockey scout that day. So sad. The night of 9-11 when I went to bed I remember having such a sickening feeling about what kind of horrendous acts humanity is capable of. To be so hateful and disrespectful of life seems incomprehensible to me. Maybe seeing the heroes of Flight 93 will restore some faith in humanity.

The Geriatric Cat

We had both cats and dogs when I was growing up, but none of them died of old age. They didn’t live long enough. Living on a four lane road, most came to their end in traffic. I remember one cat got wedged between a split rock for two days before we found her and had the vet put a metal framed cast on her. She lugged it around pretty well while it healed. We had one cat named Spastic, named for his epileptic-like state. He only lived about a year and one sunny day when I returned from school he was lying by the front door dead. We also as a family viewed helplessly as one cat choked to death on a chicken bone. A pretty disturbing experience and we could do nothing. So for anyone who tells you it’s okay to give poultry bones to pets, I wouldn’t recommend it.

Our Chinese police guard dog, a German Shepherd named Hoshee, was a great dog to have for protection for us small kids as living in a suburb of Boston a lot of the riff raff tended to venture out from the city. Unfortunately she also bit every person who came to our house in a uniform, mailman, milkman, you name it. She used to kill the garter snakes and prehistoric looking snapping turtles that would venture up from the swamp nearby our house. She also killed the chickens of our neighbor vet. When she disappeared we suspected the vet had had enough. Really as an adult I wonder why my parents kept such a dog. When I see lunging, aggressive dogs now I don’t usually think much of their owners.

So now I get to watch the old age process and declining state of Abraesca, our 22 year old tabby. She’s had a few close calls, a rotweiller grabbed her by the back once and two times we had to pay ransom to the humane society to retrieve her. She learned at a very young age not to cross the street, any street, and so she has reached old age. I’m told feeding her dry cat food all her life has also probably added to her longevity.

My kids would tell you I’m detached from reality for not putting her down long ago. They say she’s miserable and would be happier dead. Well I don’t know what it’s like to be dead, and I don’t even know if cats have souls, so I’m not convinced. My problem is that I think of what I’ll be like in old age and how I’d feel if someone got tired of taking care of me and decided to put me out of their misery. She is decrepit, no doubt, and can’t do much except sit around and sometimes cry. But when it’s warm and sunny and I see her through the kitchen window lounging on the patio, I have to think she enjoys it. I know I enjoy lounging in the sun. So the saga continues. I keep hoping one day I’ll find her dead of old age, going in her sleep peacefully, but somehow I don’t think I’m going to get off that easy. Not that’s it’s easy. We’ve had to barricade her in the kitchen so when she doesn’t quite make it to the litter box it’s not a big deal to clean up. But it’s not pleasant. I think it’s a real moral dilemma, a test for which I’ll be judged. How many more years could she possibly live? Well, I worked with a woman who had a cat that lived to be 25, so it doesn’t bode well for me.

Heron

Random Thoughts

Now Bush wants to delare NUCLEAR war on Iran. Some people never learn from their mistakes. And we think Islamics love us now, just imagine the backlash, worldwide, if he's stupid enough to carry it out. And it's apparent THE EMPEROR HAS NO BRAIN!!

Speaking of which, CNN had an excellent piece on documenting the falsity of the WMD case for war, the lies and arrogance were/are so outrageous. I think the public is in denial that the fraud and deception could be as bad as the facts say. Who could be that corrupt?? Easy answer.

Just finished 1st season of Deadwood, anxiously awaiting the release of season 2. Very good dialogue, really well acted and shot. This show will make stars out of all of the main players.

Also viewed the final season of Six Feet Under. The way they wrapped it up, fast forwarding to reveal the demise of all our favorite Fisher's was a really fitting way to go.

Almost Easter, the darkest day in the realm of Christianity, 3-3-3 Gods in One!! Funny thing is if the pictures hanging in the churches around the world reflected Jesus' true likeness, he'd look more like Osama bin Laden than that white bread character you see everywhere.

Paradise

Sweden

Strange, good movie

Stay with Ewen McGregor, Ryan Gosling and Naomi Watts is the most twisted, creative, artsy film I've seen since Memento and just as good. As you try to figure out the wild ride, what is dream, what is reality and who is who, it's easy to think you'll see a Fight Club moment where two characters are really fused into one. But the final scene reveals all bets are off as to where fantasy leaves off and reality begins. I'd be interested to hear other viewers' interpretations of what the plot really portrays. I think it reflects the journey between the living and the world beyond and how narrow and blinded to reality the human view really is as we plod along in our daily lives. There is so much beyond our comprehension we only scratch the surface of the true reality. The film seems to take the dying moments of a character and expands it to a 90 minute montage of life, dreams, hopes, regrets and fantasies. It's worth the viewing just for the cinematography alone.

Spike Lee's new flick

The Inside Man is an entertaining flick with some new twists to the usual bank robbery caper. Although I enjoyed it and would recommend it, the after effect left a lingering sense of what was missing. The most obvious thing, I'm reluctant to admit, was the face of Clive Owen which was covered in shades and white cloth throughout. It's just simply a shame to have him in a movie and not have his striking mug on the screen in every scene. Aside from that, Jodie Foster seemed to be in it to show off her great legs and not much else. The part seemed to be written just to get her into the movie as her character was really a throw away part. Denzel's character was the great redeeming factor, he plays a firecracker of a cop, a likeable, lively character who you couldn't help but care about. But the plot took a convoluted journey of unlikeliness and a necessary suspension of reality was required. The how's were explained, but not the why's. Don't get me wrong, I love to see the downfall of the Nazi War Criminal as much as the next person, but a little back story would've been nice. Still, it's a romp worth viewing.

Wings of Justice honors Boston Legal

This show rocks, and has from Day 1. This clip shows one of the best moments so far this season, in case you missed it. And they were just honored with a Peabody Award too!

Voter's Remorse

When George W. proclaims that he NEVER said there was a connection between Sadam, Al Qaeda and 9/11 and then you see the reams of clips from past speeches where he indeed inferred over and over again that they WERE all connected, and in fact led us under totally false pretenses into a war that is a disaster, how many of the 51% who voted for him think to themselves "gee, i guess I helped vote that liar into office"?

Keith Olbermann

If you've never seen this guy on MSNBC he's terrific. He's opposite Bill O'Reilly at 8 p.m. and Midnight EST and has the most informative, intelligent news program on cable. He's bright, quick witted and always approaches the issues from an original angle. Apparently O'Reilly feels pretty intimidated by him: if you mention his name when calling in to O'Reilly's show you get immediately hung up on followed by a call from the Fox Police, no shit. Talk about paranoia!!

E-mail to Annie Proulx - Re: Sour Grapes

Dear Ms. Proulx,

I was sorry to hear of your rant in the British press about losing the Oscar to Crash. I saw most of the nominated films, including Brokeback Mountain, which I wanted to win Best Picture, and Crash which was also a high quality film. In fact I was thrilled to see so many excellent films this year, not so in many years. I too gasped when Crash got the nod, however I felt Best Adapted Screenplay and Best Director, plus score did show that the Academy recognized the quality of the film. To denigrate the academy members for their choice is not a classy move, they are entitled to their opinion and get to vote on what they want. It's always better to take the high road, don't tarnish the reputation of a beautiful film, as well as your own reputation, by whining about your loss, for that is what people will remember.

Yours truly,

Dana

READ Annie Proulx's rant in The Guardian:

http://books.guardian.co.uk/comment/story/0,,1727309,00.html

Something Has Shifted in the Universe

I've always had cats. Nothing against dogs, it's just that cat's are so self sufficient. Since I've installed my kitty door so they can come and go as they please it's no problem to go away for a weekend. Just load up the food and water and off you go. Cats, besides being good companions, keep the rodents at bay which I always felt was a good fringe benefit. Until yesterday. Chewy my little "millennium cat" (born 2000) has a habbit of bringing birds, mice and butterflies in through the kitty door. We save who we can, but if it's too late we dispose of the carcasses. Yesterday she brought a field mouse in which promptly hid behind the piano. Then I watched as Chewy tried in vain to catch it again while the mouse ran from couch, to entertainment center and back under piano. As I went to bed I figured I'd have to pick up the dead body in the morning as I had full faith she'd catch and kill the little thing. Wrong! Maybe it's that extra 3 pounds she's gained but Chewy is still watching as the mouse runs free and definately has the upper hand. So much so that the mouse has amassed a stash of cat food behind the piano so he's definitely in it for the long haul. So now I'll have to intervene, and I'm not nearly as fast as the cat, so this oughta be good.

3-31-06 Epilogue: After a week of random sitings, and Chewy losing all interest in the fact that we were sharing our space with a chewing, pooping mouse, it was time for action. But not before scaring the shit out of me. Max says, "hey this speaker isn't working", I say "I'll look at it" and start to re-adjust the speaker wires on the stereo, meanwhile Max goes upstairs. It only takes a moment to get the speaker back working, at which point I pull open the bottom drawer to replace a couple of CDs. Pulling open the draw, on top of the CDs is our little friend staring up at me. I scream, twice, Max comes bounding down the stairs, thinking I was being electrocuted from working on the speaker wires. Enough already. SO, we put up a few barriers, open the front door and poke under the furniture until our little mouse bolts for the door. Though last seen heading for the door, I didn't actually SEE him leave the house, but I do believe he returned to nature, unharmed.

The Party Animals

Hey, check out Madge's new cd Confessions on a Dance Floor, pretty catchy stuff. Poor Jennifer, rumour has it the ex is getting hitched in Italy this weekend at Clooney's place. Where has Brittany Murphy been? She was great in 8 Mile, it's about time for another movie.

Oscar Night

“All right, so I'm not winning director.” George Clooney foretold the future and set the tone for the night while accepting his Best Supporting Actor statue for Syriana. Tonight would be share and share alike. It was a good year at the movies and a split between Best Director and Best Picture usually indicates a year of stellar performances. Lots of good moments, a few great. Lily Tomlin and Meryl Streep did a wow job of the intro for Robert Altman’s award. I love seeing him get an Oscar for his years of great films. He’s most known for M*A*S*H* and Nashville and Gosford Park but just in the last two months I’ve watched Three Women which came out in the 70’s, one of Sissy Spacek’s first films, and Vincent and Theo with Tim Roth. Altman has produced a treasure trove of gems.

John Stewart seemed a little out of his element but I laughed out loud several times. The lead-in showing the Hosts of Years Past was amusing, although I expected Letterman to say, “I won’t do it because you didn’t ask!” I would love to see Letterman host again, but I don’t think it will happen. The joke Stewart didn’t do was introducing Jessica Alba. He should’ve said something like: Just because she’s out here on stage fully dressed, doesn’t mean you’ll see her back stage naked! Ben Stiller, bless his heart, was almost funny as a Green Screen. One of my favorite rolls from Ben was Bwick Elias, a quirky painter in the little known If Lucy Fell with Sarah Jessica Parker. There was life before Sex and the City.

I truly wanted to see Brokeback Mountain win Best Picture, a beautiful film which packed a strong emotional punch while exposing the restrictive mindset we live in. Crash was equally deserving and it’s nice to see such a talented ensemble cast get their recognition. But if Montana is indicative of the Academy members, where only gay men and women flocked to see Brokeback, that would explain the votes going to Crash. I don’t know of one man locally who’s actually seen Brokeback. I guess the sight of two men embracing in a passionate kiss and more is just too much for most men to bear. Brokeback Mountain did receive lots of recognition both for Ang Lee as Director and also for Best Adapted Screenplay. Hopefully that’s some consolation for Heath Ledger and Jake Gyllenhaal who walked away empty-handed.

The surprises were Good Night and Good Luck which I thought would get at least some recognition and Memoirs of a Geisha which took away three trophies even though the reviews were awful. So awful I didn’t bother to go see it. Go figure.

I hope the Crash victory gives Ryan Phillippe a boost, he’s a good actor in his own right and was terrific a couple of years back in Igby Goes Down, but I believe the last year of Reese Witherspoon Madness has really worn him down. He looked a little perturbed. Reese gave the most touching, genuine acceptance speech of the night. So gracious and I loved her nod to Joaquin Phoenix thanking him for taking that special journey with her on Walk the Line. Making that film was certainly a life-changing event for both of them. Joaquin doesn’t look like he enjoys the big crowd atmosphere and seems to be struggling with some demons judging by the look on his face. I’d love to know who he said “I love you” to when the camera was focused on him. I was rooting for him to win Best Actor, but Philip Seymour Hoffman deserved it too. I was happy to see Rachel Weisz get the Best Supporting Actress award; the Constant Gardner was one of the years best. Clooney’s speech noting that he’s proud to be part of an Academy where Hollywood has a history of taking the lead in exposing social issues was a breath of fresh air. If television and print media won’t investigate and expose the truth, someone has to start a dialogue about the massive injustice and corruption in our society.

A couple of technical notes, the stage was beautiful with the flowing visual so that each presenter made a grand entrance; Jennifer Aniston and Uma Thurman come to mind. Whoever thought playing music under the winners’ acceptance speeches was a good idea should be fired! What a lousy set up. And while some of the clips and “lobby” ads were appropriate and funny, cutting short the acceptance speeches was a poor trade off. You don’t want to see winners prattle on, but when they’re rushed it robs the viewers the chance to see a snapshot of what makes these people tick. After all, for many this is the one time they will stand in front of millions with an Oscar grasped in their hand, let them relish the moment and thank the legions who’ve helped them achieve this marvel.

So this year the Academy got it mostly right, for a change! No big sweeping winner just a lot of glory to go around. We should be so lucky as to have another such year in 2006. Question: Is it really hard out here for a pimp??

two days in new york

Everyone loves New York, or at least that’s what all the t-shirts proclaim. I hadn’t spent time there since the 1963 World’s Fair when my grandmother took my sister and me. I was six. On that visit we wandered around Fifth Avenue window shopping the luxurious diamonds and furs when not at the actual fair.

While the city is larger than life full of shiny perfect skyscrapers I am aware of the undercurrent of the dark side when I walk the streets this time around. I see the dual worlds living side by side: the affluent and the poor. That both sides co-exist in relative day by day peace is a miracle really. The glamour and the despair are odd bedfellows to behold. How can the haves be so content with their city when the evidence of the different reality of the have-nots is in their face at every turn? I wasn’t even in any of the “bad neighborhoods” but the inequity permeates all areas. The distress of our society is all around, a microcosm representing the whole of our country, if not the world. Witness New Orleans, the civil war in Iraq, and countless other examples.

The racial tension and economic barriers reveal the private little spheres each person holds around them like a protective coating but you know the coating is only an illusion, like a bubble on the verge of bursting at any moment. So living in your own made up reality while bumping up against the bubbles of the other individuals swarming all around you is perhaps the excitement and danger that draws people to New York, the ones who go there by choice that is.

The richer, more affluent don’t just surround themselves with their personal imaginary bubbles, they arm themselves in shiny ridiculously long stretch limos as they glide through the city streets. The better off you are, the thicker the wall of insulation needs to be to shut out those other realities. To reach your arm through the bubble and engage in the other realities crowding your bubble would be to wake from a dream of your own making. The stark realism would be shocking yet each individual houses an unconscious awareness already. A “we all know what’s going on here” kind of thing. To function each day and go forward with our lives we put on the blinders of tunnel vision and try not to turn our heads too often.

The shiny beautiful skyscrapers look awesome when you look up, but the accompanying stench of huge piles of bags of garbage sprawled around their bases like the exposed roots of an ancient oak tree show a truer complete picture. And the views, like the one from the 65th floor of the NBC Rainbow Room is spectacular. But a $20 martini is absurd no matter how wonderful the view.

So while Donald Trump’s New York looks fabulous and magical as portrayed on TV, it’s his own personal fantasy, a very darkly tinted pair of rose colored glasses indeed. I don’t hear of him visiting the aids clinics of his own neighborhoods, never mind South Africa, or donating half of his billions to aid humanity and bring the truly destitute up a notch. His bubble is not just limos and helicopters but the metallic looking towers he endeavors to build. I guess his chore of shutting out reality is a bit more strenuous than the rest of us.

Side Notes:

Young boy: “Mommy why can’t we ride in that spaceship?”
Mother: “It’s not a spaceship honey, it’s an airplane.”
Delta Gates, La Guardia Airport

While it is customary to stand at the curb with an arm raised to hail a cab, of the many people I saw doing this, I saw no cabs actually stop for any of them.

Rockefeller Center skating rink with the lights, flags and funny statue is magical late at night.

Up close, Times Square is pretty trashy.

If you have to have your period all over a public place, a noisy Turkish restaurant with bright red walls and seat coverings is the perfect place. Noisy because when you tell the waitress of your little accident, no one else hears, and red seats, well, for obvious reasons.

Our Sentiments Exactly

Garden Treasure

The Grammy Awards

Okay, I just have to comment on the Grammy Awards. First of all U2 won in each of the five categories they were nominated including Album of the Year and they deserved each one. They are so far ahead of most of the artists nominated, some of whom should fall off the face of the earth like Kanye West. Anyone who announces that since this is his 2nd year at the awards so he’d better win deserves to go home empty handed and have his career decimated. Now maybe it’s just his bad Karma for appearing on Rolling Stone with a crown of thorns (very bad taste) but he won in strictly rap categories which reflects the fact that he has no crossover appeal. Humility is a virtue that all artists should at least aspire to. Kanye opened for U2 when I saw them in SLC in December and besides having a really annoying back up gal who was jumping around like she had ants in her pants, upstaging all others including Kanye, he managed to make a story about his sick grandma going to the hospital all about him. He whined about a girl asking for his autograph and was so offended that at this time of family crisis she could ask such a request. Well, true, someone who exploits such a situation has no class, a point he made by telling the story.

As far as the performances, a few were terrific, the touching duet of Alicia Keys and Stevie Wonder, both class acts, Bruce Springsteen, U2 with Mary J. Blige, McCartney doing a roaring Helter Skelter; the background video of a roller coaster was a nice touch. However it’s unbelievable on an awards show which honors musical artists that so many lip synched. If you’re not good enough to do it for real, you have no business on the stage. However, I will give Madonna a little leeway on this count as she looked so damn good on stage and was at least doing the dance moves which almost justify it. Mariah Carey, who it’s nice to see has recovered from her meltdown a few years back, should’ve showed us that her Mimi deserves all the raves by actually singing live. Now the comic relief for the evening came with the Sly Stone tribute, seriously was that guy tripping or what? He missed most of his cues to sing, which apparently he can no longer do and then wandered off stage like a lost Alzheimer’s patient. Hilarious.

Green Day beating out Kanye was especially sweet. It does seem like the Grammy’s go crazy over some artists in fluke years and then you never hear from them again. In Kanye’s case we can only hope. At least we weren’t subjected to Ashlee Simpson.

Side note on the dresses. Teri Hatcher: fabulous, Queen Latifa should’ve left the leather at home and Sheryl Crow doesn’t know how to dress! (Remember that yellow thing with the cut out circle?) When you have no chest, no one wants to see your bony parts exposed. Reminds me of Deborah Messing, always showing what you don’t have is bad form. For God’s sake, get a new stylist, someone who’ll tell you the truth before you make an ass of yourself in front of millions! And another thing, most women shouldn’t go strapless, they either bulge out the top or sag below the breast line so they hang just above the navel, or they’re loose fitting so it looks like a boob could pop out at any moment. Plus that blunt, straight horizontal line is not flattering. Only if it’s a terrific dress that fits perfectly and you have a killer body should it be attempted. And prints, usually a good idea to avoid them (Joss Stone take note). Very few can pull off a print like Gwen Stefani’s elegant leopard look.

Paradise Valley

Stockholm - Summer 2004

Hey check out this cool cowboy photo, my daughter took it.

February

February is my 2nd favorite month, no not because that LOVEly holiday Valentines Day falls smack in the middle, but because the beginning of the end of winter is so evident. The days are longer, the sun feels warmer, and even if we get cold and snow, it soon melts from the sun's warmth. Yesterday was a typical beautiful February day which I took full advantage of with my second ski day of the season. While the first day last month was a little rough after a couple of years off skis, spending half my time on my ass like the old woman "I've fallen and I can't get up" yesterday was wonderful. The sun was shining, the new powder was in great shape, and I actually spent most of the time on my skis, not my ass. Swishing around down the hill is the activity that most reminds me of being a child, all play and no work, ride up the hill, slide down the hill, repeat until your legs are fatigued. Being a weekday at our little ski hill the lift tickets are cheap and the lift lines are non-existant. Now I'm anxious to go out again. It's such a feeling of accomplishment I can't pass it up at least once more this season. Plus it's such a great interruption from the work week indoors. Happy trails...oh, and Happy Valentines to all of you who, like me, alas do not have a valentine this year....

Politics & Pink

It's hard not to be discouraged with the new supreme court justice and the latest, yet oh so repetitive tone of Bush's State of My Monarchy speech. He's like the pied piper blowing away while half the country merrily follows him down that slippery slope of America becoming a police state where peaceful dissenters are silenced for speaking out. I do not comprehend what people see in him. First off, I want a president who's smarter than me, can speak the english language and most of all tells the truth. Why the masses believe in him to me appears as a "daddy, you'll take care of me, won't you?" attitude. Then they don't have to think about worldly things, like war vets coming home in a wooden box or maimed, not to mention the thousands in Iraqi casualties, or a disease stricken Africa plagued with treatable ailments, or a loophole in the McCain torture bill where the president exempts himself from the law. So they figure, hey, trust the guy to steer us right, and if we're lucky we won't be thrown in jail, like Cindy Sheehan, or spied on when we call overseas. Just because someone claims to be a churchgoing Christian or says he's really spying on Americans to keep us all safe from the Evil Terrorists doesn't mean it's true. Saying something over and over again with the regularity of a jackhammer may be a tried and true technique for wearing down the defenses of otherwise intelligent people, but who's really buying this shit?

Family History

I think Missoula is reconnecting to it's roots. Used to be the city's personality was that of the modern, liberal, hip city in Montana, a well deserved reputation, but now several businesses display large historic black and white photo's from early in the century. Maybe it's a way to impress the tourists with the Western History thing. Anyway, while stopping off for dinner at MacKenzie River Pizza we sit in a booth with a photo of the brick streeted downtown showing the cable cars. Funny the Wilma Theatre looks exaclty the same today as in the photo. So when we're getting set to leave I spy the photo over the next booth which is dated "1930's" with the caption "The Circus Comes to Town". As I look at the parade converging on Higgins Avenue, it occurs to me that it may not just be Missoula history I'm looking at, but my own family's history as well. My ex-husband Bob's grandmother actually came to Missoula with the circus and stayed behind when they loaded up and moved on to the next town. Very little is known about her except that she met her husband and had Jeanie, Bob's mom, in September 1939. So my children's great grandmother may actually be somewhere in the photo with the circus. While I had heard this family tale of great grandma's history and had no reason not to believe, somehow seeing the picture solidified it in my being, a Wow it's really True moment.

Dating Etiquette

Dis me once, shame on you....dis me twice...well you don't get a 2nd chance. When I arrived Wednesday back at work, fresh from the freakish world of smalltownitis somewhere in Western Montana I receive an e-mail from a fellow I've been e-mailing. Gee I'm off work till saturday, if you're coming over my way let me know and we can get together. So okay, I'm game, I like the ride to Bozo and there are a few other things I can do, like check out Munich, still not playing here, and I had a day off coming so I e-mail back, I'll come over friday here's my # call me and we'll make plans. So, expecting that he wouldn't have e-mailed if in fact he wasn't interested in meeting up, I check my e-mail before leaving work at 6:30 p.m. Thursday, and still no word. Sooo, sure enough Friday at 11:00 a.m. I get the call, gee I wasn't near a computer, I was out doing "guy stuff" and I just got your e-mail. HOW LAME! If you weren't going to check your e-mail, why did you bother telling me you had free time off to get together? It's things like this that dampen my faith in civilized society. So we have a nice little chat after I state I have made other plans when I didn't hear back, and then agree that when he has time off from work later in the spring maybe we can work something out. NOT! After thinking about whether a person who doesn't even know you deserves another chance after blowing you off, the answer is a resounding NO. If someone doesn't even give you the consideration of actually checking their e-mail when you have a pending get together, what do you think their behavior will be later down the line? Not good I suspect. So back to square one.

Brokeback, Bang Bang

In a word, Brokeback Mountain is heartbreaking. To find your true love and yet not be able to spend your life with them because of circumstances beyond your control is the ultimate sorrow. Jack and Ennis spend their lives therefore playing a role in life that is not suited to them instead of realizing their true nature. The film itself is beautifully shot and the liberal use of close-ups is very effective. Just the outdoor shots of the rugged mountains and sky are wondrous. Reminded me a lot of my first year in the west, the beautiful scenery, the wild animals, the cowboy bars – just like the movie version. I also fell in love in Wyoming and having that surrounding environment somehow magnified the experience. Both Heath Ledger and Jake Gyllenhaal do terrific jobs. It’s certainly the most subdued, low key Heath we’ve seen and the most vivid portrayal of a character by Jake to date. The lingering feeling when it’s over though remains pain, the pain of separation, the pain of a society that won’t accept all of it’s citizens and the pain of the surrounding loved ones whose lives get caught up in the situation.

Switching gears, the 2nd feature I viewed Kiss Kiss Bang Bang, is very entertaining. I’ll see pretty much anything with Robert Downey Jr. and teaming him up with Val Kilmer is a real winner. The snappy dialogue between the two of them and Downey’s commentary are smart and funny. Good writing overcomes almost any obstacle in a movie. Downey as a small time hood turned actor in need of private eye training for a part and Kilmer as the gay PI join forces and end up solving an intertwining set of murders in the vein of the old fashioned spy novel. A must see for any Downey/Kilmer fans.

Visitors

I can't believe I actually got the visitor counter to work. I guess I'll find out just how anonymous I really am. I started scrolling through the next blog and it's amazing how many folks post all the time. Of course at least half are not in English, but it's interesting to see the different styles. Next I'll have to figure out how to really customize my template, there are a lot of duplicates out there.

On a somewhat related note, I've been trying intermittently for weeks to get the macros to work on Word 2003. They wouldn't work after creating and closing out of Word. So after doing some microsoft patches that related to virus scan (thought that was the problem) talking to India (HP) and Microsoft - no help - I scanned the user discussions and found out that it's actually Acrobat 7 that screws things up. So after uninstalling it, as I don't really use it, miraculously the macros now stick. I'm sure this is a well known problem the folks at Microsoft are fully aware of. It would've been nice to talk to a tech weeks ago to supply me with this simple answer. It is nice now however to have it figured out.

Well off to Bozo tomorrow to see films not available here in town. Reviews to follow.....

Tennis, Travel & the Supremes

Bummer! Rafael Nadal is out of the Australian Open, kind of glad I didn’t buy those tickets when I thought seriously about it. Maybe next year. Agassi is out too. A rematch of those two would be priceless, but may never be realized. Have decided the way to go is LAX to Honolulu, stay a couple days in HI each way. Still a long, long plane ride from HI to Sydney or Melbourne, but certainly more doable. Figure I’ve always wanted to go both places, so could kill 2 birds with one stone and not be up 38,000 feet for 18 straight hours. Either that or just 6.5 hours Boston to Paris, and still make the requisite stop off to see family coming and going. Nothing solid yet, but it will be. Actually just a few clicks and a few bucks away, quite a few bucks really, but why the hell not. If not now, when?? Still young and willing and ready for an adventure. Of course there’s always Wimbledon for my birthday. Actually the possibilities are endless if I use my imagination.

Alito will be confirmed to the Supreme Court. I'm just hoping once he's actually sitting on the court he'll value the judicial more instead of supporting ways to subvert it's power. I think the constitution is magical and becomes a more sacred document once they know they're the gatekeepers of the document. Maybe the executive branch will appear too big for it's britches once he's looking down from the bench. I hope so.

Happy Kwanzaa!

Well another Christmas has come and gone, and truly one of the strangest as it was only Max and me. But I did cook a fabulous meal of baked ham, scalloped potatos, brussel sprouts and box bread, along with the pecan pie. Strung some blue lights and a few bulbs on my big 50 year old Christmas cactus, which while not yet blooming is covered with baby buds. Having 2/3 of the kids away is a little depressing, I doubt we'll spend another Christmas with the four of us again, unless Sadie moves back to the states, which I really doubt. But maybe LA next holiday, I can't wait to make a little trip down there to sunny CA. Felt a little couch potato fever coming on today so took a long run, haven't done that for about a year I think. Just 5.5 miles, but still a good work out. The weather was really perfect, about 42 degrees and partly sunny. Better start to focus on more activity to get fit and stave off old age. It's worth a try anyway! Rented the Bob Dylan film: No Direction Home and it was almost a history lesson of the turmoil of the '60's, the old footage of all of them, babies really, was amazing. Joan Baez's voice is like no other. And Bob was so uneven. Sometimes he was on key and very compelling, pure genius and sometimes you wonder how he could even call himself a singer. He was a poet really, the singing seemed more of a necessity to give the poems a forum. He deserved all the accolades though. The comment by one person who said you think Like a Rolling Stone is long now, the original had about fifty verses. I'll bet that was something to behold. The other movie I rented was one I'd heard about too, Rosanna Arquette's Searching for Debra Winger. It's basically a documentary inverviewing a lot of the great actresses of our time on how they manage family, fame and relationships and still keep their sanity. Very candid views, I thoroughly enjoyed it. Well it's on to 2006 next week. Not sure what the new year will bring but I'm sure it will be a political maelstrom. Keep hearing the "I" word, impeachment, which gives me hope that the American public is really smarter than they vote. This spying on citizens issue will take hold and become a huge shit storm for George Bush. Finally the democrats have some sure fire ammunition, I hope they use it wisely. I know this, a lot will be happening this year on the political front, more good than bad if we're lucky.

U2 SLC December 17, 2005

No Crumbs From Your Table, but wonderful show - although I think they’ve all aged on this tour and looked a little tired. Like seeing an old friend you haven’t seen in awhile, but when you meet up it’s like you just spoke to them yesterday. Bono doing Pavarotti’s piece was amazing, he’s taken it to a whole new level with that one. Bullet the Blue Sky, Edge showing off his guitar solo licks, very sweet. Even though I’ve known for months the gist of what they’d been playing each night, it still pleasantly surprised me. I will Follow, One, Mysterious Ways, Until the End of the World, Pride - made me think that guitar line is Edge’s signature. I’ve seen them do these tunes several times and they still bring tears to my eyes. Love and Peace with Bono and Larry on drum in front of me was exhilarating. Still Haven’t Found, With or Without You, started out with City of Shining Lights, I love that tune “oh you look so beautiful tonight!” They used the rolling lights less but to great effect, the flags of the world with Africa and the Edge really belting it out, Vertigo, Elevation, Beautiful Day.

Sometimes You Can’t Make it on Your Own, Bono took off his shades to sing his Dad’s song. The show has evolved more than I would’ve guessed judging from scanning their web page. I was amazed at how clear and strong Bono’s voice has remained after nine months on the road. He’s made the comment that when his Dad died he left his voice to Bono – It’s visible. They’re such a perfectly melded machine, a well balanced unit, very stable and that’s why they’ve lasted. Larry really is the hunk of the four of them, back behind them all pounding out the perfect beats, Bono mentioned he’s the flirt of the band prompting a shy smile from Larry. Bono had the Santa girl and another girl up with him on the stage. While not exactly copping a feel, pretty close….it seemed the touch of a stranger was a healing touch to ease the pain of life. You know Bono has seen pain and suffering in his travels that most of us will never experience.

The logistics of getting to the show were amazingly easy, plane is one hour, airport five miles, downtown bus to Delta Center four short stops and free to boot. Downtown is nicer that I would’ve thought, a double decker walking mall not unlike Helena, but much bigger. Surveying the crowd downtown it was as if no U2 show was about to happen, not a very hip looking group, but the crowd inside the arena was totally enthused and by the time U2 hit the stage, the place was packed.

No one doing things alone here though, I was noticeably the only person walking around on my own. Makes me wonder how many lonely folks stay at home for lack of a buddy to go out with. Probably more than a few. I’m glad I just dove in and decided to come by myself. I would’ve hated to miss this show. It’s sometimes hard to be the most enthused one about stuff, movies, Pearl Jam, etc. – the most excited one in the room, so sometimes it’s just more fitting to do these things alone. It would’ve been great if Wed could’ve come, I know she would’ve appreciated it as much as I did, but it was not meant to be. Lunch ran long and missed the boat on The Family Stone so went to see Harry Potter. I thoroughly enjoyed it. Plot was easy to follow – effects were creatively different – all magic wands and dragons, believable. To be swallowed by a maze, we’ve all had nightmares like that one. The next one should be a real kicker after the kids have all completed puberty. Herminie in love with Harry, and the red head in love with Herminie. So like real life.