Bitzen Pieces

Football, fashion, and vintage advertising

2012-02-02T11:48:00.000-05:00

This vintage ad interests me.

For one thing, it's interesting to look upon: it's from 1969 and it's got that late-Sixties-psychedelic-take-on-Art-Deco thing going on.

For another, there's the bizarre text, which reads: "Is there a female NFL fan so unfeminine that she doesn't deserve to do her own thing? No, no."

What?!

Okay, so let's strip out all the negatives and see if it makes more sense that way. "Is there a female NFL fan so feminine that she deserves to do her own thing? Yes, yes."

Okay. Still doesn't make sense! What's femininity (or lack thereof) got to do with football?!

But it's still a cool piece of advertising, and I am hereby sharing it with you in honor of the upcoming Super Bowl weekend.

A long-ago tea party

2012-01-24T11:18:00.003-05:00

Long ago in the mists of time - maybe right around the Y2K apocalypse that never happened - five ladies gathered for a traditional High Tea at the Morita home.

As I recall, we did the whole bit, from clotted cream to "lemon crud." We served various tarts and fruit-filled pastries, fresh strawberries, and a variety of preserves. And cucumber sandwiches. And, of course, scones.

It was a pleasing event, and I was really pleased when Patsy found these pictures in the Morita archives! They called out to be blogged, so here they are.

"Where diversity is an understatement"

2011-11-16T08:55:00.001-05:00

Apparently, 20 years ago or so, I gave my sister my freshman dorm T-shirt from my stint at the University of Michigan. During our glorious visit to New York City a couple of weeks ago (from which I still plan to post pictures), she produced the tattered old thing from her suitcase and gave it back. I had forgotten all about it. I was thrilled.

Look at that! "East Quad: Where Diversity Is an Understatement." I wonder how many of my dorm mates from the third floor at that venerable dormitory in 1988 still have their T-shirt.

Those were exciting days. I'm glad Facebook has brought me back in touch with some of my old friends from that time, even if only in a Facebook kind of way. (Matt Diaz made paella! Maeve Sullivan likes this!) Everything was new and strange and American and exciting. I was in a certain degree of mental chaos and got in all kinds of trouble, but I don't regret it. I had good companions and exciting experiences. People and experience make us who we are, of course, and this shirt comes from an important Maeve-building era.

Thanks, Penny, for reuniting me with this old friend!

Penny!

2011-11-08T10:27:00.000-05:00

Well, it's been a whirlwind since book club - my sister and I spent a long weekend in New York, and then she visited me in thrilling Ypsilanti for a week. I have more photos, of course, but here's my fave. Look at the happy expression on Nigel's face!

Anyway, I'll get more pictures up when time allows. For now, here's to Penny - I miss her, as do both Scott and Nigel. It was great to have her puttering about the house, preparing snacks, making model airplanes, chatting. Can't wait for her next visit!

Happy Book Club Day!

2011-10-18T15:13:00.001-04:00

This past Sunday marked an occasion that comes but once a year: the day it's my turn to host book club.

So, of course, Saturday found Scott and me cleaning. Hoo boy. We were cleaning machines. By Saturday evening, the place looked fabulous. Too bad we can't keep it that way all the time. But clutter will eventually encroach. It always does.

Two unfortunate things happened, though. One: the glass in the back door shattered in the forceful weekend winds and had to be covered with a piece of cardboard. That looks classy, I can tell you. And two - which was far worse than one: the furnace stopped working.

For a moment, I panicked. I envisioned the book club ladies huddled in their coats, blowing on numb fingers. Should I cancel?! As far as I know, no one has ever canceled book club at the last minute. And - all this cleaning, for nothing! No! Book club would jolly well proceed!

And I'm glad it did, because it was a great one. It wasn't too cold once we had everyone in there and bustling around in the kitchen. Sadly, two members were unavoidably missing, and I was too busy focusing on not forgetting anything that I forgot something really important: calling our New York member for her commentary! I am so sorry, Deryn! However, missing persons, forgotten phone calls, and broken furnaces notwithstanding, it was a success, and I am very pleased with how it all turned out.

We read Erik Larson's In the Garden of Beasts, which provoked much spirited discussion.

We had all manner of delicious German food (in keeping with the German setting of the book, of course), and I was particularly happy about the lack of anything green or leafy on the table. My kind of meal! ;-)

And - as ever - we enjoyed each other's company.

Thanks for taking these pictures, Liza! And thanks to everyone for bringing such great food and excellent conversation to the table.

Next up: Ernest Hemingway's A Moveable Feast. I haven't read it in years, and it's one of the few books I still have from the dog-eared collection I brought with me from Denmark. If I can find it! If not, maybe it's time for a new copy anyway. It's worth it!

Accent sleuthing

2011-10-15T00:43:00.000-04:00

The other night, I was watching a re-run of the best thing that was ever on TV: Law and Order. I mean the original Law and Order. The one that was on for 20 years.

And I was listening to Lieutenant Van Buren, one of my favorite characters, delivering a rather annoyed volley of irritated criticism at her detectives.

She's tough, she's sharp, she's New Yorky. Well, New Yorky except for one thing. I suddenly recognized, beyond any reasonable doubt, that she and I share something: a Michigan accent.

I was convinced of it. That flat "a" was suddenly unmistakable to me. "What is the prablem, detective?" "He's a cap-killer!"

People from Michigan famously say, "We have no accent." I don't understand that statement at all. Everyone has an accent of some kind. How can we not? Each place and population is different, and the people of that place and population sound different from those elsewhere - it's as simple as that. And in Michigan, we have an accent that's flat and nasal. "Top" sounds like "tap." "Dawn" sounds like "Dan." Come on, fellow Michiganians - there's no shame in this! I'm always amazed at how annoyed and defensive people get about this stuff. We're nasal! So what? That's not an insult. It's just a regional vocal tendency, for heaven's sake. And I am a student of accents. They interest me. And I have one. A Michigan one!

So - I looked up my girl S. Epatha. It's true. She's from Saginaw.

Oh, my Gad!

;-)

I love being right.

Ode to a boombox

2011-10-14T09:47:00.003-04:00

I'm about to Freecycle an old boombox to a kindergarten teacher who needs a CD player in her classroom.

Which makes me happy - it's only collecting dust - but suddenly I'm nostalgic about it. I mean, we've been together since the 90s. If I remember correctly, my dad got it for me in my twenties during one of the first times his singing group, the Three Royal Tenors, were on tour in the States. It was on a high shelf at the Radio Shack at the mind-bogglingly massive Mall of America in Minnesota. I was thrilled as the box was hoisted down and placed in my arms! Or at least that's how I romantically remember it.

Over the decades, the antenna broke, one side of the tape deck started to stick, and the CD lid developed a habit of occasionally popping open in mid-play. (And yes, I did warn the kindergarten teacher of these these little idiosyncracies.) Ah, but these were merely the injuries of love! It performed loyally for us year after year. Highly-anticipated new CDs twirled for us. Favorite cassettes spun. (I honestly think we listened to cassettes long after others had consigned them to the dinosaur heap.) Languid NPR voices purred and urgent sports broadcasters screeched. We did our part and listened to it all.

Well, farewell, old friend. Prepare for a new life in your dotage. Alas, it will probably a short one. Good luck with a room full of six-year-olds, poor old rickety thing! I should probably have donated you to an old folks' home, really, but I know you will gamely blast "Old MacDonald" for the kiddies until your final note sounds.

I salute you!

The importance of providing visual perspective

2011-10-11T17:26:00.003-04:00

My poor mother fell and broke her ankle last week. She was in the hospital for a couple of days and has now returned home, but she's not allowed to leave the house for three weeks, and she must totter about with the use of a walker. I feel awful for her - my mother's very active and energetic. She doesn't like being inert, unlike her lazy daughter. I could spend all day in my 'bassinet,' as I call my loveseat in the living room - and indeed there are a few Sundays where I do just that, accompanied by my three Sunday papers! But my mother tirelessly bicycles all over Copenhagen, darts about the city on errands, visits exhibits, attends events, works out daily, and just doesn't stop. Well - she has stopped, temporarily, and I know how hard that must be for her! Luckily, Dad has been taking wonderful care of her, so I'm not worried. Just sympathetic.

So I decided to order something from a florist to cheer her up. It couldn't be flowers, because Dad is allergic to them, so I looked online and found what I thought was a small, elegant bowl with a small, elegant cactus arrangement in it. Here it is:

Now, I suppose if I knew anything about cacti, I would know the general size of the plants in the picture. But I don't. To me, it looked like a pretty little decorative item, perfect for a tabletop. As you can see, there's nothing in the picture to indicate scale. So - how was I to know?

How was I to know that it would arrive looking like - this?

Look at it! It's huge! For one thing, that is a tub! Not a decorative little pot. For another, what on earth are those tall triangles sticking out of it? And those big, knobbly - what are they, branches? And - I'll say it again... it's huge!

I mean, of course it's fine, and Mum is smiling, as you see, and she says she likes it, which I hope is true. I'm sure it is (thank you, Mum!)... I just wish there had been some item in the picture to give the thing a little perspective, that's all.

In any case, the whole thing is sort of funny, which is why I am sharing it here.

Behold the importance of providing visual perspective!

An exercise in psychology

2011-10-09T17:30:00.005-04:00

Is free too free? I may be about to find out!

My friend Wendy gave me two pretty pieces of furniture a couple of years ago when she moved, and now, for the sole reason that I'm ready for a change, I'm passing them along to the next lucky person. There's nothing wrong with them except for one slightly wobbly leg on the coffee table, which we could do something about if we had an Allen wrench.

They're lovely. I mean, look at this picture of several of the book club gang gathered around the coffee table at Wendy's old condo back in February of 2008. It's a great table.

So - thinking to provide joy to my Ypsilanti neighbors - I decided to put both items on the Ypsilanti Freecycle site.

No one even wrote to request a photo.

I mean - are the denizens of Ypsilanti better off than I thought? No one needs attractive, matching, free furniture? Really?

So - I put them on the Ann Arbor Freecycle site, too.

No response.

Well, I did receive one completely blank mystery e-mail. I wrote back and sent a photo, just in case it was an inquiry, but I never heard back. No one else responded.

I mean... really? Free furniture. Cute free furniture.

So then I thought, okay. Maybe I need to charge money for them. And maybe I need to say they need to come get it within the week or lose their chance. Maybe it's all about psychology. Make it urgent. Gotta make people want them!

So here's the Craig's List listing. I'm asking eight bucks for both! If someone does come to get them, I'll tell them I'll take five.

Think it'll work out? Is free too free? Stay tuned.

Oh - and if you happen to want a cute pair of tables - come get them! They're yours! :-)

Update, two days later: Guess what? I'm eight dollars richer! :-D Yep, I got a hit on the Craig's List post right away and made arrangements with a nice U.M. graduate student to come get them, which she did. Now, to be completely honest, I did get two responses from Freecycle after the Craig's List arrangement has been made. But still, where were they when I posted the tables two or three days before? This is Freecycle, people! Chop, chop! Make your move!

Indian summer in Ann Arbor

2011-10-08T20:31:00.003-04:00

Well, normally I'm a grump about warm weather in October, but, okay, fine, sometimes it's undeniably pleasant.

Take last night, for instance.

A crisp signature cocktail and dinner at Sava's with Christine and Liza was followed by a leisurely stroll up to the Power Center, where we saw Vienna Teng perform a rare and exciting show. As a grad student at U.M., she doesn't play much, so this was a special opportunity. (I Spotified her all week in preparation, so I was ready!)

Click here to visit Vienna's site and listen to a few of her super-catchy ditties. In particular, check out "Whatever You Want" and "Harbor." And here's a video.

Then we sauntered back to Sava's in the balmy evening, where Liza and I had another glass or two of wine - sitting outside, no less, and enjoying the people-watching.

So - okay. Fine.

This whole Indian summer thing has its good points.

Farewell, Bert Jansch

2011-10-05T18:48:00.001-04:00

In memory of the great Scottish folk singer Bert Jansch, who died today, I'm urging you to read the lyrics to his beautiful song "The January Man." I posted them here back in February of 2010 and they are the more poignant on this sad day.

I first heard Bert's distinctive voice when I became a Pentangle fan in about 1990. Over time, I came to prefer his interesting, introspective solo songs.

Spotify him, Rhapsody him, or watch this video of his distinctive, haunting version of the Irish folk song "Blackwaterside."

Sigh. Goodbye, Mr. Jansch.

There is no please in Danish!

2011-10-04T22:16:00.001-04:00

I just read something tonight in an amusing little book my mother sent me, The Xenophobe's Guide to the Danes. It says, "The word 'please' simply doesn't exist in Danish."

!!!

I was completely floored by this. This fact has never occurred to me. The word 'please' simply doesn't exist in Danish! Think about that. There is no 's'il vous plaît.' There is no 'bitte.' How is this possible? I grew up there and yet I never once realized this significant linguistic omission.

Of course, when I shrieked Jeg vil ha' is! in kindergarten ('I want ice cream!'), I was sternly encouraged to rephrase this as Må jeg bede om is? ('May I request ice cream?'). I suppose that sort of counts.

But - wow. It seems like such a major element of everyday language never to have noticed. All those times in life when we automatically throw 'please' into a situation simply don't apply in Danish. If you're in a car hurtling toward a precipice or a tree or whatever on slippery ice, and you start muttering Oh please please please, what do Danes say?

How did I miss that?

Sometimes I worry about my powers of linguistic observation!

Kneeling trees

2011-10-03T15:08:00.000-04:00

Wow. Look at this.

Apparently, somewhere in western Poland, there are about 400 pine trees that appear to kneel on the ground. They're surrounded by a forest of normal (straight-growing) pine trees. They were planted in the early 1930s and were allowed to grow normally for a decade or so before someone, somewhere, for some reason, purposely altered their growth. No one knows why.

There's something very dramatic about these kneeling trees that fires up my imagination somehow!

Thought I'd share them.

Maeve's hospital adventure

2011-09-28T17:27:00.002-04:00

See these two pictures? They were taken the Saturday before last. Scott and I went for a walk at County Farm Park. It was a gorgeous day. I felt great.

When I visit this park, I always take some time to admire the farm plots people have been carefully tending all summer. If my sister lived here, I'm sure she would have one of these plots - she has one in Glasgow!

Anyway - a lovely day. Never felt better.

That night, I got a head cold. The next morning, it was a chest cold. By nightfall, it had sunk into the chest. By the wee hours of the morning, I couldn't breathe. I was panting just trying to get air into my lungs. Finally, I gave up, and Scott took me to the hospital.

At the E.R., I inhaled the vaporized albuterol treatments until I was starting to feel better. But then, just as the main doctor on duty came by to check on me, my blood pressure fell to 55/33 and I passed out. With a steroid drip, of course, I came around tidily and was feeling just fine not too long thereafter. But concerns had been awakened at that point. And instead of being sent home, I was, to my astonishment, admitted to the hospital.

They wheeled me up to the eleventh floor, where the view was fabulous, and where I was soon informed that the chest x-ray left no doubt. I had pneumonia.

I got cosy in my super-adjustable hospital bed, and Scott brought me my electronic gadgetry and a favorite blanket.

Once I was off the drip, I spent a good amount of time in one of these comfortable chairs, gazing out at the green expanses below. Scott spent time there, too, preparing classwork and just keeping me company.

I had a delightful flat-screen TV to amuse me, too. I'm telling you, this was a luxury spa weekend! If I didn't have a hospital gown on and a variety of shots, drugs, breathing treatments, and drips being administered every hour or so, I would have considered it a vacation.

In fact, it sort of was. It was a very peaceful place, and I spent time watching clouds and birds of prey drifting in the sky outside my window. The nurses and techs could not have been more friendly. They were also very patient. Jacked up as I was on oxygen, albuterol, and steroids, I kept assertively informing them that I would be going to work the next day! They smiled and nodded and somehow resisted telling me to shut up and stop making uninformed medical decisions.

As it happened, even after I was sent home, the doctor wouldn't let me go back to work until the following Monday. I went home with drugs of various stripes and even my very own nebulizer - oooo! I feel as though I'm in a hookah bar when I use that.

But I'm fine now. Feeling good. Feeling grateful.

Oh, and I can taste and smell things like never before. Seriously. I must have had a good amount of gunk in there clogging things up, maybe for years! Scott made basil and garlic spinach, not something I would normally get particularly excited about - and the flavors amazed me. I bought a peanut cluster at Kilwin's Chocolates and it sent me spiralling into tastebud bliss! And as for the margherita pizza at Mani Osteria last night, where we went as a special treat to celebrate my recovery... there are no words.

So - all is well. The adventure is over. (Until the bills start arriving, but let's not think about that.) I wrote a thank-you note to the fabulous staff members of my hospital floor, and I will remember them and indeed the entire experience with gratitude.

Here's a health!

Gi'r du et knus?

2011-09-27T14:10:00.004-04:00

It's been well over a year since I last posted. This is what happens when you have both an iPod Touch and an iPad. The idea of blogging drifts off into the corner of your brain, somehow, and there you are, gadget in hand, immersed in the Internet. It's hypnotic.

But - I'm back!

There's no point trying to summarize a year and a quarter, so I won't. I'm sure things will come up as I get back into the swing of things.

Instead, here's my current obsession. Let's just jump right in. And since you lucked out and missed my Eurovision mania this past May, let's have some nostalgic Eurovision mania in September instead!

When I was twelve years old, the Eurovision Song Contest changed the rules so that anyone could audition for inclusion in the national contests. Before that, they had to be invited by the judges. Well, this changed everything, of course, and applications streamed in American Idol-style competing for the 1983 Danish slot. Among these entries was a ridiculously peppy little song by two girls from a high-school chorus in Aalborg, an unpolished and enthusiastic duet calling themselves Snapshot. Their song was called Gi'r du et knus.

I was twelve. I was in a chorus, too, so I identified with them. The song burrowed into my brain. I danced around the living room singing it. I loved this thing! Well, most of Denmark did, really. It was all over the radio. When the time came, it didn't even win the Danish contest: some tone-deaf hottie did. But everyone was still singing Gi'r du et knus long after the hottie was forgotten.

I haven't thought about any of this in thirty years. But two nights ago, coming off a hospital stay for pneumonia (I'll get into that story someday soon), I was lying awake, tortured by insomnia. And out of the swirling mists of time came a melody. Then a hook. Then the whole peppy, happy, hoppy, poppy song. And it ran around my brain for the rest of the night, which became a special kind of torture. After being suppressed for thirty years, this song was damned if it was going to back off now! It stayed front and center all night.

Well, I've recovered from that, and now I just want to share it with you. It's still adorable, and it brings me right back to my home at Ved Volden 13 in Copenhagen during the spring of 1982. Click and behold!

And it seems fitting that my first blog post from my extended absence is called "Gi'r du et knus," because it means, "Would you give me a hug?" To all of you who have spoken to me over the past 15 months or so, lamenting about the fact that this blog was on hiatus, thanks for the hug! It's fun to be back.

iLove my iPod

2010-07-16T09:45:00.000-04:00

Somehow I survived an impossible Dark Age after my iPod Touch drowned in coffee. But the Renaissance has come! To my astonishment, a new one arrived at my workplace, utterly unexpected. But I knew right away who must have sent it: my generous dad!

I once again have my alarm clock, Scrabble board, calendar, koi pond, Kindle, music player, newspaper, and flashlight.

How did I make it for so long without one?

How does anyone?

Book cub = WIN

2010-07-14T15:50:00.001-04:00

Well, I did it! Eight people around a big table at my apartment, chattering, pouring wine, eating Frogmore stew, snacking on date nut bread, desserting on plum cake, talking about the book...

It was fun! It's always fun.

Thanks, everyone! And thanks for taking pictures, Beth!

Here's a picture from last time, too. I love this one. We're just cool.

It looks like a band photo, doesn't it?

Look for Book Club's new album! In stores now!

My new office takes shape

2010-07-09T18:39:00.001-04:00

There they are - the skeletons of Aaron's and my new offices. His is closest to the picture taker; mine is beyond it, just before the carpeting turns to linoleum or whatever that stuff is called.

Exciting!

My own office!

I can sit in there and look very important and say things like, "I'm actioning that!"

Connected again!

2010-07-04T00:59:00.001-04:00

Forgive me, you guys. This time I had an excuse. My wireless router has been in its death throes for weeks, and finally it died. Could I have sat cross-legged in the corner of my living room where the cable modem is and go online via a plugged connection? I suppose. But I didn't. I like to be comfy on my couch.

All set now. I bought one of those idiot-proof Cisco "Valet" wireless routers and it was an immediate, unbroken, speedy, and perfect wireless connection the minute I plugged it in. Ahhhh.

So - what have I been doing?

I'm still mourning my iPod Touch, but it's been good for me to stop peering at that tiny screen all the time. (This is not to say that I will not buy one again eventually - believe me. I became too addicted to it to imagine a permanent life without it.)

Scott and I went camping last weekend for the first time in two years. It was wonderful. We got incredibly filthy and grimy after two days of camping, then went to the Frederik Meijer Sculpture Gardens in all our aromatic glory. And when it comes to glory, the Dale Chihuly glass sculpture exhibits there were completely astonishing. Perfectly placed and startling whenever we came upon them. I took pictures.

I've done various other things, too, obviously, in the last three weeks since I last posted. Busy days at work, and fun times out and about. Father's Day. Parties with coworkers. Dinners with friends. Good books read. It's been fun, and it's been busy, and the whole point of this blog was to keep track of all that. (Let's face it, it's really just a diary.) But for now, I've decided that if I get too obsessed about trying to "catch up," I'll never blog again! So I'm starting from scratch for now and boiling it down to yesterday, today, and tomorrow. Yesterday was my mother's birthday (happy birthday, Mum!) and we went to Cinematic Titanic with Sarah and Andy... tonight we enjoyed a fire in the firepit and listened to the pops and zings of local fireworks... and tomorrow is the Fourth of July.

Happy Independence Day, everyone!

Goodnight, sweet prince

2010-06-19T09:42:00.004-04:00

From the moment I first got my iPod Touch, it changed my life. I woke up to its delicate alarm-clock tones, read books on it, Googled, donated karmas to good causes, played online Scrabble, checked work e-mail, kept a calendar... oh, and occasionally listened to music.

Last night there was a severe thunderstorm. I grabbed a cup of coffee and my iPod Touch off the kitchen table to get them out of the way of incoming rain before hurriedly closing the window. By the time I picked up the Touch, it had been soaking in a perfect slosh of coffee inside its protective rubber sleeve for several minutes. It gave off intense heat as the circuits quietly fried.

Well. No more pretty new toys for me!

R.I.P. iPod Touch, October '09 - June '10

I've already realized that I can't live without one, though, and it can be an older, less sexy version if it has to be... so I've started trolling eBay for used and refurbished iPod Touches. If I get cheap stuff, it won't matter when I break it...!

Update, several hours later:

There was brief jubilation when the iPod Touch seemed to respond well to drying out in the sun. It turned back on, overcame a brief confusion during which it thought the year was 1969, and then came fully back online. Everything worked. I was deliriously happy.

Then I plugged it in - and discovered it will no longer take a charge. I realized that the current battery charge was only at 10 percent, and when that was gone, it would be lights out, permanently.

So we spent that last 10 percent well: one last sync to my laptop, one last Scrabble move! And then the screen just unceremoniously went black.

It's like seeing someone in a coma unexpectedly come out of it... just long enough to say goodbye!

My new office (eventually)

2010-06-17T22:38:00.003-04:00

I saw the blueprint and the sketch of my new office today. It'll be built in a month or two. I didn't really care about this new office business until I saw the picture, but now I'm all about it! Look at that - isn't it cute? There's a floor-to-ceiling window to the outside, and then there's a window out to the hallway so I don't feel as though I'm sitting in a lockbox. In my current office, there's not a windowpane to be seen.

The fact is, I will miss my current office. I will miss its location, closest to the people I interact with the most during my work day. I will miss my officemate - although he will in fact be in his own new office right next to mine. But now that I'm envisioning myself in that picture, I think I might not mind taking a walk to see my team or popping around the corner to visit my former officemate!

And see that thing under the desk? You know what that's called? A modesty panel! "So you can sit like a cowboy and nobody will care," explained the facilities manager. Ha!

The Face of Nordre Frihavnsgade

2010-06-08T14:44:00.008-04:00

You're familiar with Google Street View? In Denmark, the primary map company, KRAK, provides similar street-level photos to go with their maps. Apparently, one fine day, as they took the definitive picture of my parents' street address (home of my teenage years!)... Dad decided at that moment to poke his head out of the window.

Bright red shirt. Can't miss him.

No one else, in all those windows, looking out at the street. Just Dad.

He is now the Face of Nordre Frihavnsgade 13A.

Isn't that extraordinary? What are the chances?

On the KRAK site, you can see it larger and in context: blocks of buildings, rows of windows, dwindling picturesquely way down Nordre Frihavnsgade, and Dad absolutely unmistakeable in the middle of it all.

You can even see him in the photo they took one frame earlier:

Dad says he was looking across to see if the Brugsen grocery store was open. Which, he says, "if you click down the street, you can see that it was."

Wanna try it? Go to the KRAK site, click on the green tab marked "Kort" (Map) and type "Nordre Frihavnsgade 13A" in the "Hvor" (Where) field. Click "Søg" (Search) and click "Vis Gadefoto" (Show street photo) beneath that. There he is! You can even enlarge and angle the picture. It would be a good picture anyway - it was clearly a lovely day - but with Dad making a star appearance, it's even better!

Congratulations, Germany!

2010-06-01T08:49:00.003-04:00

Teenager Lena Meyer-Landrut, with her cute little German-Cockney accent, won the Eurovision Song Contest with the super-snappy Satellite. Click and listen. I dare you not to snap your fingers.

Last time Germany won (and I believe the only other time) was in 1982 (come to think of it, that was a teenage girl, too), and Stephanie and I were jumping around in excitement in her living room when it happened. We practically made a religion of the Eurovision Song Contest. We filled out score sheets and knew all kinds of facts about the songs and the singers. We sang along in fake Finnish or Greek. It was an event. And I have to admit: to me, it still is! I was thrilled to get an e-mail from Stephanie this weekend commenting on the winning and runner-up songs. It pleases me to think we were both watching, in 2010 as in 1982, even on opposite sides of the Atlantic.

Great stuff, Lena! I'll be watching the live stream from Germany next year!

My birthday

2010-05-26T09:32:00.003-04:00

I often joke about how it's not so much birthday any more as a birthweek. At least when it comes to celebrating it! In my case, I had a sort of a birth-fortnight, but that doesn't sound so catchy. So maybe I'll just keep the celebrations going for another couple of weeks and make it a birthmonth.

Last Saturday, I was wined and dined at the Melting Pot by five of my favorite people on earth. After the initial panic of not quite understanding how to order, and after the next initial panic of realizing I was actually cooking, which is not one of my fortes, I relaxed and thoroughly enjoyed every minute. Breads and veggies in molten cheese, various meats and seafoods dipped in bubbling oil and broths, and of course sheer chocolate happiness at the end! This was special, to say the least, and I am lucky to have such good friends. Thank you all again!

Oh! Not to obsess about restaurants again, as I seem to do a lot - but yesterday, Barb and I had lunch at Logan Restaurant: they had sent me a birthday coupon for a free lunch entree. (See, the birthday shenanigans never stop!) I had a muffaletta to die for. Go forth some lunchtime and try it.

And on my actual birthday, last week, Scott and I discovered that they have half off bottles of wine at Aubree's on Mondays! And here I was all irked by having a Monday birthday. Mind you, it was a twist-off and they just plunked it unceremoniously down on the table with a thunk, but hey, it's just Aubree's. Besides, it was half off, and it was my birthday!

As for gifts... all I can say is, I have generous friends, parents, spouse, and sister. I'm one lucky 41-year-old. Penny, the tiny GaJol små grå shots are still in my freezer - I marvel at my own self-control! And as for my brand new copy of Luftkastellet der blev sprængt (that's the third and final Stieg Larsson book, which I decided to read in Danish!), that'll be so much fun to plunge into. Thanks, Mum! Lots of books to finish first, but I'll get there!

Oh - and finally, the Eurovision Song Contest semifinals are underway, and the final is on Saturday. Wheeee! This, obviously, is also in honor of my birthday. My vote goes to Greece, with their song Opa!

See, now we're back to the molten cheese again.

:-)

Fun in D.C.!

2010-05-24T21:13:00.002-04:00

On the National Mall!

Vietnam Memorial

Scott and an X15 at the Air and Space Museum

The stunningly beautiful Museum of the American Indian

The Lincoln Memorial

Part of the Berlin Wall at the Museum of American History

An extraordinary stamp collection at the National Postal Museum

Gazing up into the atrium at the Hyatt Regency in Bethesda

Picture postcard perfect!

There she is!

2010-05-12T11:23:00.003-04:00

No longer nestled quietly in the Copenhagen harbor, here's the Little Mermaid, a true-blue celebrity at the World Expo in Shanghai.

Strange to see her so out of her element, but I must admit it's satisfying to see her on such a successful global tour!

She really ought to straighten up a little, though. That melancholy slump doesn't seem quite appropriate for such a world class star. I almost want to echo my mother's oft-stated directive from long ago in my childhood: "Maeve, sit up! You look like a question mark!"

Goings-on

2010-05-06T10:36:00.000-04:00

Sunday: "The Girl on the Train" at the Michigan Theater. It was okay. Always fun to see a French film even when it's a little iffy. The best part was having brunch at Cafe Zola first!

Yesterday: Cinco de Mayo celebration on Liza's patio. Burritos, guacamole, tres leches cake, and excellent company.

Tonight: "The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo," also at the Michigan Theater. Absolutely cannot wait.

In other news... the peonies are getting ready to pop in front of my porch. And the roses already have!

Bye-bye, Lala

2010-05-04T22:11:00.007-04:00

Things sure move fast these days.

Just two or three years ago, I discovered a CD trading service online called Lala.com. They sent me Netflix-style envelopes, I used them to send out CDs I no longer wanted to people who wanted them, and in return I got CDs I wanted, all virtually for free.

Suddenly - it was gone. Or rather, it transformed. Lala was no longer a trading service. The exchanging of physical CDs suddenly seemed like an archaic activity akin to sharing eight-track tapes. Lala was suddenly an amazing music site where you could stream entire songs (or entire albums!) for free, once, using a sort of try-before-you-buy system. After the free listen, you could pay a dime a song to have permission to stream them from the site as many times as you liked. And, if you really loved a song, you could buy it for 89 cents. Not only that: you could upload your entire music library and stream it from the web site anywhere you happened to be.

Suddenly - Apple bought Lala.com. Everyone speculated as to what they would do with it. And then, this week, just four months later, wham. Apple killed it.

It's no surprise, I suppose. It was too good to be true. Just yesterday, having discovered the quirky Mike Doughty over the weekend, I streamed all his solo albums once for free from Lala. I was thinking of buying the "web versions" of the albums to stream whenever I liked, but - ha! Why bother? It's shutting down on May 31.

Still, I should add that I bought three of his songs last night. On iTunes. Apple, take note: music discovery phase on Lala, cash payment on iTunes! Surely I'm not the only one...? And had you kept it going, you could have integrated all that, and in an interesting way. I suppose you might still be planning on doing that, but couldn't you have kept the web site around for us in the meantime?

Well, it's too bad. I have enjoyed a refreshed CD collection, online access to my music collection, and many interesting hours of music exploration through this innovative site.

I salute you, Lala folks. I'm glad Apple paid a hefty 80 million for you. You deserve it. I just wish they had had the imagination to let us enjoy you a little longer.

Maybe they don't think so different after all.

Postscript:Looks as though Apple is indeed planning something Lala-esque. Check this out. (Thanks, Zac.) Interesting. As I said earlier - things sure move fast these days!

This and that

2010-04-26T22:29:00.006-04:00

First of all, here are a couple more pictures from Scott's birthday. Thanks for taking these, Christi - I love 'em!

Fun times!

Another fun time was last Wednesday, when Liza and I dropped by Cafe Felix for a glass of wine or two and some chatter. (You heard it here first, folks - half off bottles of wine after 7 o'clock at Cafe Felix on Wednesdays. This way, you can order a really good one to share without breaking the bank!) As we were walking toward the cafe, we were passing Amadeus and I happened to mention that I had never eaten there. This was immediately and deliciously remedied! I'm puzzled about why I never ended up eating there, since it opened the same year I moved to Ann Arbor: 1988. Maybe it seemed fussy or something, I don't know. But I'll be back now for sure - I'm still daydreaming about that bitki!

I don't eat at restaurants day in and day out, much as this online record may suggest otherwise... but Scott and I did have his birthday dinner (I know, he already had one, but this was the just-the-two-of-us version) at the Macaroni Grill. Sure, it's a chain restaurant by the mall, but it's pretty scrumptious stuff, and we pretended we weren't in our forties by drawing pictures on the paper tablecloth with the provided crayons.

Hmm. Did I do anything non-restaurant related? Ah - yes! Sarah and Andy came over to watch the Red Wings game last week. They won, and we whooped and shouted. Things are not looking good for the Wings at this point, alas. But that was a great game!

And I read Russell Hoban's Linger Awhile. That was one weird book, but then, it is Russell Hoban. I scrupulously avoid vampire books, but this particular vampire was reconstituted from the light and shadow of an old movie, brought to life through sheer force of will and then fading to black-and-white without fresh infusions of blood. So more Frankenstein than Dracula, really. A wild premise and, like his other books, the story itself was both funny and sad. Next (after I finish the book-club book, of course) is Evelyn's copy of Louise Erdrich's new novel, even though Evelyn wasn't particularly crazy about it. Even a lesser Erdrich effort is something to get excited about, in my opinion.

And I dug up some weeds around the house - not very effectively, but hey, I'm new at this. It's my first spring at the "new" house (we've been here since August, so newish) and I'm determined to plant a thing or two sometime soon. Dig it!

Playing catch-up

2010-04-18T21:58:00.001-04:00

What?! I haven't posted in two weeks? Sometimes time just barrels by. Like a barrel over Niagara Falls.

Well, let's see. Scott and I went to a Tigers game - it was only game two of the season!

Since then, I've done plenty, just nothing particularly bloggable. You know - filed my taxes, took a couple of springtime walks, went to a farewell bash for Katy, bought a "Yellow Submarine" shower curtain. Bitzenpieces, basically.

This weekend, we spring cleaned. All the piles of clutter and all the winter grime - gone. It's amazing. You wouldn't believe the black water that came out of the steam cleaner, and now the carpet is beige once more. I'm in love with my apartment all over again.

Look at that tidy living room!

Also note the new Vaio on the end table, there - thanks, Dad! An early birthday present, and is it ever gorgeous.

Speaking of birthdays, Scott's was yesterday. Note - new hat!

The in-laws came and visited our super-tidy place, and everyone worshiped Nigel, who pandered shamelessly to the cameras and soaked up all the attention like a diva.

We had a scrumptious family birthday dinner at the ever-charming Haab's (forgot my camera at home, but Chris took some, so hopefully I can scavenge some of her pictures - even though her camera almost ended up in my cheddar soup!), and later Chris, Scott and I went to the Sidetrack for a couple of cocktails. Yeah Ypsi!

Tonight, we kicked back in our yard, where I read the Sunday paper while warming myself at the firepit.

That pretty much catches me up to the present moment, which is mere moments before the disturbing and fascinating "Breaking Bad" comes on.

I love Sundays.

Book club at Christine's!

2010-04-02T08:17:00.000-04:00

Christine's lakeside house turned into New Orleans last weekend as we discussed A Confederacy of Dunces and feasted upon jambalaya, muffalettas, and other relevant foodstuffs! Delicious, and it was great to catch up with everyone.

Ignatius J. Reilly would have approved. The whole afternoon exhibited proper geometry and theology, and nobody's pyloric valve closed up.

"A host of lovely daffodils..."

2010-04-01T11:58:00.000-04:00

Okay, maybe not a "host," per se. But some! Right outside my house!

They came up all by themselves! Magic! Amazing!

The Little Mermaid Goes to China!

2010-03-29T09:43:00.008-04:00

No, it's not some new Disney stage spectacular - it's the recent removal of the Little Mermaid from the Copenhagen harbor as she embarked upon her journey to Shanghai, where she will feature as the crowning jewel in the Danish pavilion of the World Expo.

My parents were there with the camera as she was hoisted off! She was serenaded by choruses and speeches before her departure, which is exactly as it should be.

So strange to think of the harbor without her.

More info here!

An interesting family resemblance

2010-03-26T13:03:00.005-04:00

A couple of years ago, I happened upon a plea from a German woman on Ancestry.com, looking for information about her American relatives. I realized with some excitement that she was looking for the Schuers! The Ohio Schuers. My Schuers!

So I wrote back, she was thrilled to find her relatives, we exchanged some information, and since then we've been in touch. (Hi, Gerda!) She often posts interesting facts and photos on her Facebook page, and sometime I will post more about that, because I have learned lots of interesting things.

Now, usually, I feel that Scott generally looks more like his mother. But then Gerda sent me the above photo. That's Clemens Schuir (yes, it used to be spelled with an 'i'!), and I believe he's Scott's grandfather's uncle.

The fact is, he looks a whole heck of a lot like Scott! I was really startled at the resemblance. So was Scott, as a matter of fact.

It occurs to me that this would be a more effective post if I had a photo of Scott to post along with it, but I don't on this computer, so it'll have to wait. I'll add one later.

Meanwhile, I just wanted to post the picture - because I get such a kick out of it!

Downtime

2010-03-25T10:12:00.002-04:00

Oops! It's been a few days. Let’s see, what have I been up to? Not much, I guess, but I’ll write it up anyway!

I finally had the opportunity to go to Café Habana in Ann Arbor. I've been meaning to check it out for ages now. Liza and I sat in the window and watched the world go by. (Which was occasionally irritating. It may have been unseasonably warm for mid-March, but there’s no need to go jogging topless yet, fellas. Can we graduate from coat to jacket to T-shirt and then go jogging topless? What’s the point of having an interim season at all otherwise?) The Cuban sandwich was as delish as I have been led to believe, and I definitely want to go back and check out the groovy-looking downstairs lounge there, too. Who’s with me?

I went clothes shopping for the first time in God knows how long and bought about five million T-shirts. Hey, these days, if it fits, I’ll take it. Kind of fun to have a closet full of shirts.

Sarah, Andy, Scott and I went to the Tap Room Annex late last Friday night, and I realized I’m starting to like that place better than the usual two Depot Town suspects. Sure, it’s a little smoky, but not too bad now that the smoke has to waft all the way through two rooms to get to the Annex.

Scott and I went to see the Detroit Red Wings earlier this week and it was an all-around splendid night. We started out at Casey’s in Corktown, an old Irish pub with police and firefighter paraphernalia adorning the walls and locals sitting around in affable, mostly silent companionship. I love that kind of place. Then off to Joe Louis Arena, where the Wings resoundingly won against the current Stanley Cup champions, and the entire place cat-called and sang and shouted like a European football audience.

I tried cooking orange-glazed chicken in the oven the other night. As many of you know, I have this fear of cooking if it isn’t in a slow cooker, and I’m determined to work toward overcoming it by trying something on the stovetop or in the oven every now and then. Honestly, it wasn’t great. I don’t understand how you get the chicken all crispy and glazey: this was just gloppy. It was tasty enough, don’t get me wrong: I got the sauce right, and I even managed to get the rice and the green beans ready (relatively, after a microwave reheat!) at the same time as the chicken. So, not a complete flop, but again, true oven success eludes me. However, I will continue my determined efforts to overcome my fears! No mere glop will stop me in my quest!

And, honestly, that’s about it these days! Not a whole lot of activity, but so what, really? One can’t be rushing around living life vividly all the time, can one? Downtime is important, too!

A happy accident

2010-03-19T17:46:00.008-04:00

When I was in middle school, I was obsessed - obsessed - with the TV show Fame. I mean, these kids were creative, intense, living the life in New York, destined for greatness! They burst into song and dance at any moment! They were truly alive!
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I recently discovered that the first two seasons of the show are available for Netflix streaming. A few evenings ago, with Scott unexpectedly retired early for the night (he wouldn't watch "Fame" if you paid him!), I blissfully watched a couple of episodes.

Is this a great show? No. Can I sufficiently connect with my eighth-grade self to see it through her eyes? Yes!

So I hopped on eBay and found the soundtrack cheap - on cassette. Well, I have one of those handy-dandy digitizing deals, so I bought it. It arrived today.

Only - it's not the soundtrack. The cover says it's the soundtrack, but it is not. Oh, it is way better than the mere soundtrack. It's the rare, never-released-on-CD Kids from Fame: Songs recording! Including the classic song Mannequin, sung tunelessly and charmingly by the tonedeaf Leroy, with the memorable lyrics, "Mannequin, I love your frozen grin! Mannequin, you got it all over most humans!"

Are these great songs? No. Can I sufficiently connect with my eighth-grade self to hear them through her ears? Yes!

I'm happily listening to it for the second time right now.

I have e-mailed the eBay seller to thank him profusely for his error.

Be a Mindsticker, Part 3

2010-03-18T23:08:00.010-04:00

Okay, the obsession ends after this. I promise. But first, here's a third Mindsticker commercial from 1969.

This time, the guy in whose mind the woman is working hard to be a Mindsticker is a leering, greasy-haired fellow who can't seem to close his mouth. This time, they have added an additional phrase to the jingle: "Why don't you keep your shape in shape?" Seems a little confrontational, doesn't it? As in, "Look, we've been telling you! Keep your shape in shape! Why don't you listen? Your husband's going to dump your fat self if you don't listen!"

A decade later, that was all gone. Look at this one from 1979 (which is the one I was nostalgically looking for in the first place, before I fell down this rabbit hole!) or this one from way later in 1986. Men and women alike drinking Tab. No more creepy Stepford wives. I mean, sure, there were and are plenty of similar messages - I'm not pretending otherwise, just look at the 'Housewives' franchise! - but the message is generally not quite so - how do I describe it? - claustrophobic. Women are generally not depicted as sitting around in a walled garden or on a deserted beach, hungry, forlornly drinking Tab, waiting for their husbands to return and restore meaning to their lives.

Bottom line: I am so grateful I was born into the generation I was! And I applaud the women who not only survived the Mindsticker era with their dignity intact but also helped to transform it. This means you, Mum!
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Enivrez-vous sans cesse!

2010-03-17T12:53:00.006-04:00

In honor of St. Patrick's Day, I give you - a French poem!

It's Baudelaire's Be Drunk (Enivrez-vous), in a translation used, appropriately enough for today, by the late, great balladeer Liam Clancy, in a recitation during a classic Makem & Clancy concert recording. It's one of my favorites.

One should always be drunk - that’s all that matters.

So as not to feel time’s horrible burden that breaks your shoulders and bows you down, you must get drunk without ceasing.

But what with? With wine, with poetry, or with virtue, as you choose - but get drunk.

And if at some time on the steps of a palace, or in the green grass of a ditch, or in the bleak solitude of your room, you are waking up when drunkenness is already abated, ask the wind, a wave, the star, the bird, the clock - all that which flees, all that which rolls, all that which groans, all that which sings, all that which speaks - ask them what time it is.

And the wind, the wave, the star, the bird, the clock will reply: "It is time to get drunk! So that you may not be the martyred slaves of time, get drunk! Get drunk and never pause for rest - with wine, with poetry, or with virtue, as you choose."

Be a Mindsticker, Part 2

2010-03-16T13:08:00.010-04:00

I found a magazine advertisement from Tab's "Mindsticker" era and had to post it.

No idea why I'm so engrossed by this whole thing, but I am. Look at the completely vacuous expression on the woman's face. "I have no thoughts in my mind. Why should I? I'm a Mindsticker, not a mind user. Wow, look at this fascinating stick. It reminds me of - well, me!"

Also, apparently, two TV commercials were made. Here's the other one. A little jauntier, not quite as unsettling as the reproachful twinkle-harp one, but still plenty nauseating. "She's stuck! Stuck in his mind! She's a Miiiiindsticker with a goooood shape!"

Yeah, she's stuck all right.
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Be a Mindsticker

2010-03-16T08:26:00.010-04:00

I ran into this Tab commercial from the very early 1970s. It shows a businessman dreaming of his slender young wife, who is then shown running around in a garden with her little girl, both of them exuding little-girl prettiness. The scene is accompanied by a twinkly harp and a high, sweet female voice trilling delicately about how all-encompassingly important it is for you to be a "Mindsticker" in the mind of your man.

"Don't you want to have a good shape? He wants you with a good shape," she coos reprovingly.

I suppose the message hasn't changed much over the years: we're still urged to be sticks. There's just something about the directness of the statement that I find so interesting. You have to be a Mindsticker or your husband will find someone who is.

Hmm. Maybe we've made some progress after all, eh?

I was actually very excited to find Tab in Atlanta. I've never liked sugary pop (I love sugary everything else, but sugary pop makes my teeth feel funny), so when I was a child on summer vacation in the States, I always looked for Fresca - and Tab. In Atlanta, I happily sipped the saccharine stuff out of the signature pink can and for a moment it was the 1970s again! (But was I a Mindsticker? Who cares?)

Atlanta!

2010-03-11T20:50:00.012-05:00

I spent an extended weekend with Barb and Evelyn in Atlanta. And it was wonderful. A few highlights:

Having a Rangoon Ruby at Trader Vic's

Princess Diana's wedding dress (yeah, the real one)

The CNN Studio Tour (I didn't take that picture - we were back there in that blank black spot at the top rear, peering down at the newsroom)

Attendees of "Cardboard Con," apparently occurring at our hotel

Chilling in Olympic Park on a beautiful spring day

Snacks for our hotel-room Oscar party

The dizzying vertigo of the atrium at our hotel

And of course great restaurants, fabulous weather, fun shopping, and excellent company.

I recommend a friends' weekend to Atlanta any time you can manage one! Well, maybe not in deep summer - it was already 70 degrees the day after we left, and this is early March. So I recommend a friends' weekend to Atlanta in early March. And if you do plan one, buy me a ticket, too!

True that

2010-03-02T23:50:00.003-05:00

This morning, Scott said, "I have come to the conclusion that Tim Burton's goal in life is to make Johnny Depp look as weird as humanly possible."

I have to agree.

Another great book club

2010-03-01T21:23:00.004-05:00

Good company and good food - steak, chimichurri, gnocchi, cookies, and cake. Who cares if the book was iffy? It's always great to catch up with the gang! Thanks for hosting, Beth! And there's no need to fire the photographer, either - it was nothing a little image editing software couldn't fix!

A bus moment

2010-02-23T12:08:00.001-05:00

Yesterday morning, I was parked in my bus seat, reading a book (on my iPod Touch, o' course), when a mournful-looking man embarked and sat down behind me. He was disconsolately clutching a Comcast cable modem and, oddly enough for a basic-looking dude in a baseball cap, he reeked of - well - flowers and vanilla.

Soon enough, he leaned forward and held the cable modem out to me, saying, "Ma'am? Do you happen to know how much these cost? Ain't it hundreds of dollars? Man, I am in serious trouble. My son broke it and now I have to take it in. They're gonna charge me hundreds of dollars. Man."

"It won't be hundreds of dollars," I said. "That's why they charge a monthly fee just to have it. Besides, you can just tell them it stopped working. They don't have to know your son broke it."

"Oh, they'll be able to tell," he said sorrowfully. "Take a whiff. He poured a bottle of Hannah Montana perfume into it."

It was all I could do not to burst out laughing. That would explain the flowers and vanilla!

I thought it was a bus moment worthy of sharing.

Toadily hilarious

2010-02-21T22:23:00.001-05:00

Voices from an old cassette

2010-02-17T19:43:00.021-05:00

[The widget has been removed. I can send you the MP3 if you want to hear the song. Just say the word!]

See that new Grooveshark widget over there to the right? It's only got one song on it. Let me explain what it is.

A lot of people don't know this about me, since I've lost touch with most of my stateside relatives over the years - but I come from a big hymn-singing family on my American side. I was raised entirely non-religiously, but during my childhood summers, my mother and I would visit my grandparents, and there would be a whole lot of old-fashioned hymn-singing, which I loved.

Sometime in the early 80s, when I was 12 or so, a bunch of Draper relatives gathered around Grandma's rollicking old piano and sang a hymn. It got taped, by me (obsessed, as usual, with recording everything), onto a cassette that I never labeled. A couple of years ago, I acquired a tape digitization gadget for my birthday, started ransacking old cassettes... and found that tape.

I just found that file again. Click the Grooveshark widget to hear the hymn, digitized out of my past. Now, I'm not saying we're the Mormon Tabernacle Choir or anything: it's just seven or eight relatives standing around a piano happily hollering out a tune, and it was all about the doing of it, not the sounding. They didn't even know I was taping it, or if they did, they didn't care!

Note: It's hard to listen to at first because the original tape sounds so spotty, but hang in there: the tape stabilizes about one minute in.

The song is an old 30s tune called Jesus, Hold My Hand. (Not "When Jesus Holds My Hand." I mistitled the digital file when I created it and can't figure out how to fix it.) Just listen to Grandpa's belting baritone and Grandma's stomping piano! Hurray for my childhood obsession with taping everything.

An interesting sidenote: after checking out iTunes this evening, I have discovered that there are any number of versions of this song. Cowboys growl it. Huge choruses present it. Sweet country divas warble it. Glee clubs svelte it up. Bluegrass groups fiddle it back to earth. Old folk ensembles belt it out much the way my relatives and I did. And Elvis? Yes - Elvis! He has a version, too.

Who knew!

Maeve and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad [President's] Day

2010-02-16T17:54:00.005-05:00

Okay, so that was pretty much the worst President's Day ever. Let's see if I can recreate the timeline...

The night before: Ten minutes after I got off the phone with my mother, during which I uttered the sentence, "It's so great not having to go to the laundromat any more!" - the dryer stopped working. I did some online shopping for dryers new and used, and cursed my bad luck. What a hassle! Then I called a repair service and they agreed to send someone out the next morning.

8:10 a.m.: (And who wants to wake up at 8:10 a.m.on a holiday?) The repairman called and arranged to come out.

8:15-10 a.m.: Frantic cleaning up. Okay, okay, you're right, we probably didn't have to clean up for the repairman. But it was pretty disastrous in there. So we cleaned. I hate cleaning.

11 a.m.: The repairman showed up and announced it was a blown fuse. He pulled the dryer out and messed around with it, then left after installing the $20 fuse for a total of $90. But I'm not complaining: I now know how expensive dryers are! As he left, he said casually, "Oh - and there's a smell of gas behind your dryer. You should call DTE Energy."

11:30 a.m.: We started smelling gas, too. I called DTE Energy. They agreed to send someone out right away.

12:15 p.m.: Scott drove to the corner store for a couple of basic sundries. The car died in the store parking lot. He called in a panic. I told him to call Barb for help, if she was around. She was, and despite an afternoon appointment, bless her, she agreed to come give his car a jump.

12:30 p.m.: The gas man arrived. He was the most unpleasant grouch I have perhaps ever encountered. "We're not in the business of cleaning up after incompetent repairmen," he growled, and then lectured me at great length on how my whole laundry setup was completely against code. He explained (with what seemed rather like relish) that if the dryer malfunctioned while someone was in the shower, it would suck all the oxygen out of the bathroom and the person in the shower would die in short order from carbon monoxide poisoning. I thanked him for this lovely image and sent him on his way.

1 p.m.: The grumpy gas man stomped off just as Barb's car pulled up and deposited Scott. They hadn't been able to get the car started, so it was still in the store parking lot.

1:15 p.m.: With Scott panicking about the car and me seething about the grumpy gas man, we decided to treat ourselves to a hot, fresh, delicious pizza from Happy's Pizza, right around the corner.

1:45 p.m.: No pizza.

2:15 p.m.: No pizza.

2:30 p.m.: We became the disappointed recipients of a cold, soggy, entirely unappetizing pizza that had clearly been driving around for a while.

Now, actually, that's sort of the end of it. The evening improved tremendously with a dinner invite from Barb, who prepared a sumptuous repast on the evening before leaving for New York on business. And really, when it comes down to it, the dryer was fixed, and the gas leak was fixed, and the car mysteriously started again when Scott returned on foot to the parking lot where it sat. Everything could have been a whole lot worse.

But I'm just saying: it was a terrible, horrible, no good, very bad President's Day.

I'm glad it's over.

Wow

2010-02-14T18:49:00.002-05:00

Yesterday, Scott and I treated ourselves to a trip to the DIA. We prowled the new rooms and explored the new layout, loving the expanded contemporary and modern sections in particular.

But once again, it was Diego Rivera's "Detroit Industry" mural that truly wowed me.

Wow.

I could honestly stand there and look at that thing for hours!

The winter mermaid, past and present

2010-02-09T13:14:00.011-05:00

My parents decided to visit the Little Mermaid in the Danish harbor, just to see if she was as cold as she was in the deep chill of 1985.
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As it turned out, she wasn't quite that chilly. The winter of 1985 was unusually deep-frozen for Denmark. Here's proof: my sister and me climbing right up on the icy rocks to visit with her!

And while I'm at it, even though it strays from the mermaid theme... I have to post the skating picture! It's always been one of my favorites, and I may even have posted it on this blog before. But I can't resist. Here's Penny and Mum and me, skating on one of the lakes right in the middle of Copenhagen on a gorgeously frozen day, long, long ago.
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Now do you see why I love winter? :-)

The January Man

2010-02-08T17:28:00.012-05:00

There's a beautiful song by Bert Jansch that I want to share with you. I often find myself humming it in crisp, sharp, wintry weather like what we're having now. Click here to listen to it on Rhapsody.

The lyrics are the best part. If you don't have time to listen, then just read the lyrics. It's more of a poem, really.

Oh, the January man, he walks abroad in woolen coat and boots of leather.

The February man still wipes the snow from off his hair and blows his hand.

The man of March, he sees the spring, and wonders what the year will bring, and hopes for better weather.

Through April rain, the man goes down to watch the birds come in to share the summer.

The man of May stands very still, watching the children dance away the day.

In June, the man inside the man is young, and wants to lend a hand, and grins at each newcomer.

And in July, the man in cotton shirts, he sits and thinks on being idle.

The August man in thousands take the road and watch the sea and find the sun.

September man is standing near to saddle up and lead the year, and autumn is his bridle.

The man of new October takes the reins, and early frost is on his shoulder.

The poor November man sees fire and wind and mist and rain and winter air.

December man looks through the snow to let eleven brothers know they're all a little older.

And the January man comes round again in woolen coat and boots of leather,

To take another turn and walk along the icy road he knows so well.

The January man is here for starting each and every year - along the road forever.

My famous cat

2010-02-06T21:39:00.006-05:00

I recently Googled "Uncle Wiggley," which was the name the Humane Society gave my cat (now Nigel) when they found him. I was looking for the video made by the Ann Arbor News when he was featured as a Pet of the Month back in May, right when we saw his face in the paper and knew we had to bring him home.
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To my amazement, I discovered that he actually had his own Facebook page. It was posted while he was being featured and includes this wonderful picture:
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Look at him, all skinny and battle-scarred. Poor little guy.
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Among other equally true things, his Facebook blurb says, "He's got great cheeks for scratching." I must say, Nigel's Facebook biographer was most insightful. How I do indeed love to scratch those cheeks!
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Well, he's a lot plumper now. He's a spoiled and silky boy. Now that I'm back on track with the blog, I'll post a picture or two soon.
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For now, though, I just had to share my astonishment. I had no idea he was a famous Facebook cat.

My new glasses

2010-02-06T12:59:00.002-05:00

You know what I like about my purple glasses, other than the obvious fact that they're downright groovy?
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They make my eyes look green!

I wasn't expecting that!

Happy Russell Hoban Day

2010-02-04T11:22:00.010-05:00

When I was a child, I had a book (maybe you did, too) called A Bargain for Frances. In it, a little girl (okay, she's a badger) is tricked out of her money and a coveted tea set by her friend Thelma, who wants the tea set for herself. The clever Frances, rather sadly, outwits Thelma and exposes the swindle.
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“That is not a very nice trick to play on a friend,” says Thelma. “From now on, I will have to be careful when I play with you.”
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“Being careful is not as much fun as being friends,” says Frances. “Do you want to be careful, or do you want to be friends?”
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It’s a children’s book, so Thelma says she wants to be friends and they go to the candy store and share some candy and everything’s fine. But Frances’s question, as many of my closest friends know, became a part of my ongoing philosophy. I tend to be a bit overly trusting, and thus easily utilized. I have learned to watch for a look in a prospective friend’s eye, a look that says, How can I use this person to my own ends? Sometimes, I can get past that and find the real person behind it. Sometimes, I can’t. Sometimes the person turns out to be Thelma, and she doesn’t really want to be friends. In general, though, it's true: being careful is not as much fun as being friends. And once I decide to trust, careful goes out the window. It's worth the risk.
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The book was written by Russell Hoban, and when I first met Scott, I told him about it. He was startled at the author’s name and hauled his favorite novel off the shelf: Riddley Walker, by none other than Russell Hoban. It turned out that he had written many novels in addition to his popular children’s books.
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I’ve read most of them at this point, and Hoban is in my top five list of authors. His view of the world fascinates me, and in fact it’s very close to my own. There’s a sense that we can only catch glimmers of meaning, as though the universe is aware of its own purpose but can only impart it to us through random clues, hidden messages, puzzles. You can find these clues in ancient myths or in bus schedules, opera arias or Kinks songs. All you can do is keep looking. And laugh when you find them, at least sometimes. I find a lot of Hoban’s writing hilarious. Kleinzeit is a comedic favorite of mine. I would recommend that odd little novel to absolutely anyone. Turtle Diary, too. If you're interested in trying Hoban for the first time, try that one. And, of course, Riddley Walker, which Scott read out loud to me in the first few weeks we were together. It’s a post-apocalyptic story written in a mutated, futuristic northern English patois that has to be read aloud, really. I believe that book is what really made Hoban a true cult novelist. Cormac McCarthy’s The Road has apparently recently been compared to it. If that’s the case, it’s definitely next on my reading list.
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Anyway. The point is, today is Russell Hoban’s 85th birthday. On his birthday every year, Hoban fans leave Russell Hoban quotes on pieces of yellow paper (a reference to Kleinzeit) in public places. I got in on the game this year. I left mine in a defunct newspaper vending machine at the Ypsilanti bus terminal.
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The paper says:

I exist, said the mirror.
What about me? said Kleinzeit.
Not my problem, said the mirror.
--Russell Hoban, Kleinzeit
http://sa4qe.blogspot.com/

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I don't know about you, but on some mornings I have that very conversation with my mirror.
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So – happy birthday, Russell Hoban. Thank you for helping us find our way to go where them Chaynjis take us.
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A related link from the Londonist: Look Out for Yellow Paper on Russell Hoban Day

Happy Memory-Jog Blog Month!

2010-02-01T14:06:00.007-05:00

Okay, gang, here's what I've decided. For the next month, I have to post something at least three times a week. Anything. A joke. A link. A picture. Whatever. Just to jog my memory into doing it.
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See, the problem is, I keep forgetting I have a blog. I'm not blowing it off on purpose. I just got out of the habit, and I'm just forgetful. And the issue isn't that I don't want to do it. I do. It's really for my own sake that I keep it in the first place - I like having an ongoing, casual record of my everyday life! If I can just remember to do it.
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The way to remember to do it is to do it. So here goes. Happy Memory-Jog Blog Month!
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Today I'm posting two pictures my dad sent. There hasn't been a deep winter snow in Copenhagen in years, and here's a little park near where they live, absolutely coated in snow. It's gorgeous!
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New Year's Resolution No. 1

2009-12-30T10:57:00.003-05:00

I resolve to return to my blog with the frequency and commitment I had before the Giant Project at work took over my life! The Giant Project is over and I miss my little old blog. I have pictures I want to put up, events I want to remember. This is the place for those things. I'll come back this weekend and get going!
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Happy bloggy new year, if anyone is still out there!

Turkey, your days are numbered

2009-12-01T17:08:00.002-05:00

Suky gave me a colorful, attractive, decorative, adorable little turkey for Thanksgiving, and I put it on my desk, where I have been eyeing it for a couple of days.

The problem is this: it's chocolate. And I want to eat it. But it's so pretty, and it regards me with a baleful blue eye whenever I decide that its time is up. And then I change my mind.

But then Suky suggested that we take a picture, which will preserve it for eternity (or however long this blog's eternity is), and that way I can devour the real thing with impunity.

Turkey, your days are numbered.

Cleveland is an oasis

2009-11-13T22:34:00.007-05:00

As I may have mentioned, work is crazy right now. And "right now" basically means "since May." And it also means right now. This was the Big Whoop-Dee-Doo week. Two databases converging. Everyone on tenterhooks. Drumroll. The great unknown.
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This is why it was so important to just dump everything and go to Cleveland last weekend. If there was ever a time to get away from it all, that was it. I couldn't be more grateful for the invite from Barb, Kathy, and Evelyn, and I seized it.

And it was a worthy occasion, all right... Kathy had a big birthday! (Click on the picture for more photos, courtesy of the Literary's Facebook page.)
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We later had a special cook-veggies-and-meat-on-a-burner-right-there-on-the-table dinner at Evelyn's house. I'm sure there's a French word for that, but I don't know what it is! All I know is... it was fabulous. As were our sparkly fingernails, done up special for the birthday disco theme.
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Top it all off with late nights, lots of classic rock from the collections of both Steve and Philippe, and visits to some fun Cleveland places, including a studio showcasing a gigantic metal pineapple from local metalworker Chris Schafle, and you have a weekend to remember.
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Did it make this week at work less stressful? Maybe so. It sure made me happy.
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Thanks, y'all!

Ghosts

2009-11-01T19:14:00.004-05:00

I was over at Barb's for Halloween, as usual, and we made these groovy ghosts. Aren't they great? There weren't a million trick-or-treaters this time, but hey - we had the best ghosts!

Love's Labor's Lost

2009-10-25T11:01:00.004-04:00

Out of nowhere, one of Scott's colleagues had a ticket available for the long sold-out Globe Theatre production of Shakespeare's Love's Labor's Lost. I snapped it up and went, of course! Did they ever pump life into that play. From Latin puns to fart jokes, the production was both esoteric and bawdy, not to mention gloriously performed by an extraordinary cast.
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And of course I managed to read a good portion of the play in advance - can you guess? By downloading it to my iPod Touch, of course!
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Honorificabilitudinitatibus!

I'm in love

2009-10-18T16:55:00.007-04:00

I have actually found and secured the mythical pot of gold at the end of the rainbow. Perhaps even the Holy Grail. .

It's the iPod Touch, and it's an early Christmas present from a certain wonderful and extremely generous pair of parents.

I am spending my time doing any and all of the following:

- playing Myst (o happy reunion!);

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- watching an episode of "Law and Order" I downloaded;
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- checking in on Facebook;
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- adding to my Netflix queue;
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- playing Tetris (by touching and flinging the pieces!);
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- trying my hand at Sudoku;
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- re-reading Hardy's The Mayor of Casterbridge (and, after that, I can read any of about 25 books that came in a bundle for $1.99);
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- feeding a pond full of koi fish (Suky showed me that one on her iPhone and it was practically the first thing I downloaded);
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- filling in my calendar with events I am now no longer likely to forget;
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- listening to Pandora (or, of course, my own music collection);
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- responding to my e-mail;
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and any number of other things. All on this one incredible gadget.
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I'm in love!

Beware contamination, all ye who enter here!

2009-10-08T16:26:00.003-04:00

Our company has made a very clear statement about the office I share with Aaron:
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You are encouraged to disinfect before and after contact with us.
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You've been warned!

Jambalaya love

2009-09-28T21:11:00.006-04:00

You know me. I love my slow cooker. Sometimes, though, I feel as though our relationship is getting a little stale. Variations on a theme. Meat, potatoes, onions. Heat and eat. Not always, of course: I've made some very interesting stuff in there over the years. But I needed something new, with a little oomph.
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Found it!
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Some weeks ago, I accompanied Barb to the Dixboro General Store, where she was buying her couch. As she combed through upholstery samples, I strolled through the creaky side rooms, the ones chock full of cookie jars and such, and that's where I found this:
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A slow-cooker dinner kit! How cool is that!
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What with moving to the new place and all, though, it took me forever to get around to making it. I finally did, yesterday. The box contains a rice packet, a spice packet, and a packet of dehydrated vegetables. You put chicken and andouille sausage in the bottom of the crock, then you layer in the contents of the packets, diced tomatoes and tomato sauce, chicken broth, and white wine. Lid on. Step away.
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I was alarmed at first at how much liquid there was, rising inexorably up toward the lid! But then the rice and dried vegetables started absorbing it and the crisis was averted. And then the aroma started wafting gloriously through the house. All that flavor just got beautifully infused, and by the time we stuck a ladle in there several hours later, it was all thick and flavorful and, well, thoroughly jambalaya-like. Not wildly spicy, but the sausage gave it a nice little bite. Oh, man. So good.
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But there was something that tasted better: the leftovers!
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Now I want to try the other dinner kits from this same Delicae Pantry brand. I don't think the store carried more than a couple, so I might have to place an order online. Maybe I could make one a month or something.
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See? All it took was one hot date and I'm in love with my slow cooker all over again.

Wow

2009-09-24T08:14:00.004-04:00

The 150-year-old husk of the historic Thompson Building.

Fire in the Civil War barracks building

2009-09-23T10:24:00.012-04:00

Terrible news this morning: the historic Civil War barracks building, just a couple of blocks away from my home, was gutted by fire last night.
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The owner says he still wants to try to save the shell, at least, and go ahead with the renovations he's been laboriously working on for years and years. When I lived just down the block I used to watch with interest as they labored on getting it ready to be used for groovy loft apartments and downstairs businesses. I couldn't wait to see what it would look like in the end.
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Here's hoping he can still save the walls and rebuild within. I have my doubts. News sources are pretty much calling the building destroyed at this point. But one can hope.

New firepit!

2009-09-22T08:20:00.004-04:00

I guess they're more properly called "firebowls," but whatever. I've been longing to get one ever since we moved and inherited a yard! We bought one over the weekend and I couldn't be more pleased with it. It feels like sitting around a firepit, gazing happily into the flames.
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And just think... as the evenings get colder, it'll get better and better.
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Wendy and Kruma's big day

2009-09-09T21:38:00.004-04:00

How great was that? Two wonderful people getting hitched, happy guests to witness it, and a perfect day in which to accomplish it. I was honored to have been present last weekend and couldn't be happier for the bride and groom.
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Click here or on the picture for the happy couple's wedding site!

My famous cat

2009-09-09T18:57:00.003-04:00

I wrote a little update about Nigel for the "Happy Tails" section of the Humane Society's web site, and they posted it today!

Check it out here!

Book club at my new place!

2009-08-31T09:23:00.007-04:00

Well, my camera's on the fritz, so I drove everyone crazy at book club with my Flip camcorder instead. I promised them all no videos, just still shots saved from the videos, and I am holding true to my word: click here for the whole set.

I do want to apologize to the book club gals for being so obsessed with that whole thing. Many's the shot I could have saved that showed wrinkled brows of slight irritation as I came looming yet again with my camcorder! Sorry about that, you guys. It was my first time hosting book club and I frankly admit that I geeked out. I couldn't help it! It was just so dang exciting.

It was great fun and I hope to have more (camera-free) gatherings at my groovy new pad as time goes on. It's great to have a place where I can actually have eight people come over and give them plenty of room to sit!

Here's to book club! It was a great one.

Only in Denmark!

2009-08-29T15:10:00.003-04:00

I need to share this e-mail from my mother. It's too much fun not to share!

This evening we went back to the marketplace at Gammeltorv for our evening meal. We were sitting comfortably, enjoying our entrecote steaks, when Dad decided he should find a toilet. He headed down Strøget toward the big public toilets there. Well, time passed...and time passed...and time passed. I began to wonder if he had become ill or something, but he suddenly showed up, bursting with something to tell me. It turned out to be something that could only happen to John Venning. This is his story:

He went down the steps to the men's toilet, only to find two young women there, one of them naked except for bikini panties. She was being painted by the other one.

"Excuse me, but this is the men's toilet."

"Yes, that's all right."

"But someone could call the police about you."

"The police already know."

So of course Dad got into conversation with them, while the body-painting continued, and discovered that this was part of a big campaign. You see, the almost-naked girl was standing with her back to the wall. One side of her body was being painted to match the cement blocks of the wall there, while the other side was being painted sort of off-white with narrow maroon stripes to match the wall there. The idea was to make her almost invisible, just a part of the wall. The campaign? To make people aware of the need to wash their hands after going to the toilet, as part of the campaign warning people about H1N1 (swine flu). If someone started to leave without washing his hands, part of the wall would leap at him, yelling at him to wash his hands. Is that a novel idea, or what?

After we finished our steaks, we went back there, and Dad led me down the steps to the men's toilet. By that time a young man was sitting at the entrance where clients are to drop their 2 kroner, and Dad told him, "My wife has to see this." He grinned understandingly. I was startled to see how well the young woman did blend into the wall, even though I knew she would be there. Dad, the young man, and I fell into a brief, amusing conversation. The girl held her pose and her silence. Of course Dad stepped toward her and offered to touch up a couple of places where he said the paint brush had missed. Playing along, I grabbed his arm and exclaimed, "You just stay away from her!" The young man was laughing, but he also told us in a low voice that there's a camera taking everything that happens during this campaign. So when someone goes over that footage, Dad and I will be stars.

Actually, I can imagine how it might go. As one enters the main room, the girl is on the left, hardly noticeable. One could easily head quickly for the toilets straight ahead and not look to the left at all. Then, coming out of the toilet, he might be zipping up his pants, not looking one way or the other. If he walked right past the sinks without using them, that's when the wall would leap at him. I just hope there aren't any deaths from heart attacks. As Penny would say about Dad's propensity for odd experiences, "Why does life keep happening to him?!"

Four good things

2009-08-25T21:58:00.002-04:00

Grilling chicken in the yard at our new place on our anniversary:
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A cat under a coffee table:
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New slipcovers and a big old earth-tonesy 1970s painting:
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And filmy new curtains to go with the groovy hanging spider plant:
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Lollipop!

2009-08-19T01:36:00.007-04:00

I have recently been obsessed with PBS. You know those concerts they've been showing for about five years now? It's been the glam Seventies, the psychedelic Sixties, or the mod Sixties - so many options with the amazing span of that decade... but finally they've dived into the Fifties with a big concert of mainstream Fifties groups. And for some reason I have become downright obsessed with this one. For all I know, it's from years ago, but I am only now discovering it, at any rate.

If I had to pick a favorite musical era it would be ten or fifteen years later or ten years earlier: let's face it, there's a Fifties formula here. All the "doo-wop-she-waddy-waddies" and the "sh-boom-sh-booms" are pretty repetitive after a while.

But to see these people today is what is so exciting.

See, that's the irony. This gang is older than the others PBS has trucked out. But they seem as young as they ever were. Here's why - and remember, this comes to you from a hippie T-shirt-and-jeans girl, so don't think I'm selling you some kind of conservative line, here. The thing is, these singers come out in well-turned dresses and suits, just as they did when they were brand new faces on the scene. The Four Preps are all coordinated and buttoned. The McGuire Sisters are shimmery and crisp. The years melt away.

Conversely, the musicians of the Sixties and Seventies went to great lengths to break free of that dress code, and thank God for that, say I! But when those guys come out, silver-haired but in long hair and caps and ratty denim, they look - well, old. They're still wearing the costume of the young rebel, as they should, and as they did! They have no choice. It's who they are. I get that. I wouldn't want it any other way.

But then you see the Four Aces and they're as they always were, somehow. They haven't aged. At all. Not really.

My favorite part: Lynn Evans, the lead singer from the Chordettes. I was in the kitchen when I heard her announced, and then that saucy little song came on: "Lollipop! Lollipop! Oh! lolli-lolli-lolli-lollipop! Lollipop! Oh!" To me, that song screams teenager. Some fresh little Lolita breezing by the corner with a lollipop - knowing exactly her effect on, say, the Four Lads, who happen to be standing there "standin' on the corner, watchin' all the girls go by." That's the power of very early rock and roll. You can hear the sex appeal loud and clear, and it stays - you know - contained. But no less urgent.

And when I came into the living room, there was Lynn Evans today, in a long, trim dress, swaying and singing. She was spirited and rockin' and she sounded and looked like - well, like herself, and like the Fifties, and like an older woman, and, equally, like that saucy teenager on the corner. Hinting, smiling. "He loves to kiss me till I can't see straight." Wow!

Fifties pop.

*Pop!*

My sister has a green thumb!

2009-08-17T12:29:00.003-04:00

Check out that crazy zucchini!

Here I am

2009-08-09T17:29:00.003-04:00

In the time since I last posted, I plunged into the busiest part of the big integration project at work and completely disappeared from the rest of my life. And I moved to the new place. It's been crazy. I feel as though the world is whooshing around me - Elvis Fest and all manner of other events have come and gone in Riverside Park... friends have gone on exotic trips to Argentina... there have been flurries of excitement in the news, including quite the variety of celebrity deaths...! And I've been missing the whole thing. I've even broken lunch dates with good friends and that makes me mad.
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But there's a faint light dawning on the horizon now. I had a super-lazy Sunday and I am feeling a thousand times better for it. Time to check in on Facebook, catch up on some e-mail, and see what the world is up to.
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Meanwhile, there's nothing to blog about, as you might imagine, since I haven't done anything in the last three weeks except work. Oh, except I got a groovy haircut. It was getting pretty shaggy. The homeless look is not very becoming.

Here's to manipulation

2009-07-20T22:16:00.005-04:00

My mother often lets me in on interesting tidbits she reads about in the news, and recently she had this little anecdote for me:

Here's a news story especially for you and Scott: Sussex University has completed a study which shows that cats manipulate people. That special purr they make when people pay attention to them? That is specifically to say, "Now I'll make this attractive sound, and they'll think I love them, and they'll continue to feed me." The story was even on TV news, with Sussex people holding adorable kittens who were purring like mad. So, now you know that you are being manipulated.

:-D

I responded that I am more than happy to be manipulated. I don't expect people who are indifferent to feline charms to understand this, but the fact is, when Nigel reaches out a paw and gently touches my cheek while gazing into my eyes with his earnest little face, I don't care what his motivation is. I'm a goner either way!

King Alan

2009-07-19T18:22:00.002-04:00

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For many years, I have heard about "the lawn" at "Pine Knob." Now I have experienced it! We went to see Alan Parsons there Friday night. I particularly loved when they would turn a worshipful white spotlight on Alan himself. In middle school, my best friend Silvia and I listened to her brother's Alan Parsons Project albums for hours, methodically deconstructing the lyrics. So, sitting there on the lawn, I knew every line of every song they played! Which means everyone around me had to hear me bellowing along, too.
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1970s/80s progressive rock still lives!

A virtual tour of my new apartment!

2009-07-04T17:50:00.004-04:00

Just click here! When you get there, click on the next picture at the right to advance to the next picture. I wrote captions!
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If you just want to see the slideshow ('cause after all, you're not quite as excited about all this as I am, I would think), then click here and to heck with the captions. :-)

The new UMMA

2009-06-28T19:50:00.009-04:00

Scott and I went to the University of Michigan Museum of Art today, excited to see the new building and the new layout. It's truly beautiful. With its blond wood, wide windows, and open spaces, it reminds me of nothing so much as the Louisiana Museum of Modern Art in Denmark: you stumble upon paintings or sculptures in the same happy, accidental-feeling way, in beautiful places, and you can look across several levels of rooms at one time from any number of viewing spots. I will be revisiting often.
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Right now, I have to urge you all to go see the exhibit running there right now called History Painting: Painting and Public Life in the 21st Century. It's amazing how art can make you see universally-known events in a completely new way. There is a huge canvas of the cascading streaks we all remember from the terrible Challenger disaster. There are architecturally perfect paintings of Iraqi detention camps. There's Patty Hearst, wielding her gun like an electric guitar.
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There's a three-minute animation of the O.J. Simpson verdict by artist Kota Ezawa, which I found particularly fascinating: I found myself breathlessly waiting for O.J.'s tiny, triumphant smile!
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It's great stuff. Go check it out. Don't worry -- you have plenty of time. It's there till mid-September.

Carlos Ruiz Zafón!

2009-06-24T20:47:00.003-04:00

Alas, I wasn't there, much as I loved The Shadow of the Wind when we read it in book club - but Christine, Liza, Norma, and Wendy went and saw Carlos Ruiz Zafón at Nicola's Books, touring to promote his new book, The Angel's Game. It's a prequel to Shadow. Can't wait to hear about my fellow book clubbers' impressions, but if their smiles in this picture with the author are anything to go by, I think I may want to read it!

Two more photos

2009-06-21T11:05:00.004-04:00

I've been so busy recently that this has become less of a blog and more of an occasional photo showcase. I do hope this changes soon. I have learned something about myself as work has exploded into mayhem: I am not someone who thrives on a hectic pace. I can do it. But I wouldn't say I thrive on it.
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So let me distract myself with two amusing photos.
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First, here is my dad, who has acquired a small supply of his favorite beverage. Should keep him going for a couple of days, anyway. My mother reports that he e-mailed the photo to a friend who responded, "How did you do it? Photoshop?" His response: "It's not Photoshop - it's the Real Thing!"
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Secondly, here is a highly enviable Detroit Tigers t-shirt, snapped by Barb's camera phone at Friday night's game. In these difficult economic times, why buy a new t-shirt just because your favorite player leaves the team?
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Classy!

And now it's Father's Day already. Where is the summer going?!

Miscellaneous photos

2009-06-13T22:49:00.003-04:00

Didn't anyone ever tell Scott not to use the hotel phone?

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All dolled up and ready for a wedding.
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This is a band photo if ever I saw one.
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Weird German electric car from the 1970s at the Orphan Car Show.
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Perhaps one of the last shots of Tiger Stadium.
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And Nigel!

Wedding weekend

2009-06-08T09:57:00.010-04:00

Went to Vikki's wedding this weekend and had a splendid time. It was particularly fun because it coincided with our landlady tiling our bathroom floor, which meant that she put us up in a hotel for the weekend. It really felt as though we had traveled a long way to come to Ann Arbor for our friend's wedding and were staying in a hotel just for the occasion!
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Anyway - gorgeous wedding - gorgeous locale - gorgeous bride! And good friends.
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Congratulations, Vikki!

Our new abode

2009-06-03T22:18:00.006-04:00

So - new cat - and now, new apartment! Life is pretty exciting right now. Check this out.
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There's a studio apartment on one side, and we get the whole rest of the house. Basically, we will be renting three-quarters of a house! Here's the side of the house, with the sunset reflected in the living room window:
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And the back. Look at the long, narrow kitchen window. We'll be sitting right there, gazing out into the yard, having breakfast.
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We have a "carriage barn" to store things in - and when we went by the apartment today to skulk around triumphantly out front ("This is our place - in less than a month!"), we noticed that the side of the barn has been fixed up as - a climbing wall!
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And look at that yard, too. We'll be putting yard furniture out there, of course!
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And - the front. The front stoop! And me sitting on it!
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Can't wait.
Meanwhile, as Dad said: "Now comes the hard part." Clean, clean, declutter, declutter, work, work, then - move!
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New cat in tow!

Please welcome Nigel

2009-05-28T22:52:00.004-04:00

After contemplation of many name options for "Uncle Wiggley," we have come to a decision. "Uncle Wiggley" is now Nigel.
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And,as you can see, he is completely at home already.
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Our new cat!

2009-05-27T22:04:00.005-04:00

It's a big day! My cat-free life has ended. We have a new cat companion!
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The Ann Arbor News features a Pet of the Week from the Humane Society shelter every week. Last week they listed a little blond cat named (and believe me, we will change this!) "Uncle Wiggley." This little guy is about seven years old and was a stray that was brought in about two months ago. Two months is a long time at a shelter, which is probably why they featured him.
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We just kept finding ourselves thinking about him, and then, in the Sunday paper, they printed a link to a little video. We watched it and that was that. We wanted him!
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Today, while I was at work, Scott went to the shelter and adopted him. Right now he's perched on the back of the couch, peering out the window, as though he's always been here. He follows Scott around the apartment like a little shadow.
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So great to have a feline housemate again!
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Now to come up with a name...!
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A brand new camera!

2009-05-21T09:04:00.002-04:00

Wow! It's been ages since I blogged, and I still don't really have time right now... what a crazy time. I never knew the meaning of busy until the last few weeks!
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In the midst of all the whirl of work work work, a package arrived on my desk. Thinking it was just more work work work, I ripped it open - and discovered - a new camera! It's a Canon Power Shot to replace my mysteriously defunct Sony. A surprise present from my generous parents!
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I was thrilled!
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Traditionally, the first photo I take with a new camera is of my cat. Alas, I now have no cat. But I have a canine friend named Dottie who didn't seem to mind having her portrait picture taken!
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The best vegetarian chili in the world

2009-05-11T19:42:00.007-04:00

For months, maybe years, we've had a recipe on the fridge, which Scott cut out from a newspaper. The headline: "The best vegetarian chili in the world."

Well, Scott made it today. And I have to say. The headline does not lie.

Still here

2009-05-03T15:34:00.003-04:00

I have to wonder what my deal is with this blog. What has happened? Why am I not writing anything any more? It's not as though I have nothing to say or no time to say it. I spend more time online than I would like to admit. Yet I'm not blogging! A puzzlement.

Some random observations:

1. Silica is a magical supplement. I had a manicure (my first ever!) in New York City with Penny, and all but one of my nails are still intact. Not only intact but strong. The only thing I'm doing differently is taking silica, on the advice of my mother. That's got to be it!

2. Hanging out with old friends is a pleasing thing. Scott and I visited Jesse and Rona, and their adorable daughter Maya, yesterday afternoon, and it was wonderful. We also managed to find a restaurant table, at dinner time, without a reservation, in downtown Ann Arbor, on Graduation Friday, and that's nothing short of a miracle.

3. Book club on Christine's beautiful deck is also a pleasing thing. Spirited discussion, a gentle breeze off the lake, and good food and wine. Yay!

4. I'm looking to rent a house, preferably in Depot Town. If not a house, then a nice, big, two-bedroom apartment, with doors. (Our current place has only one door, the one to the bathroom. I'm very glad it's there. But a couple more might be nice.) If not Depot Town, then - well - I guess I could be convinced if everything else was right. So keep an eye out for me, please!

5. The Ann Arbor to Detroit inter-urban train is really going to happen! See this video for all the exciting details. Imagine hopping on a little train to Ann Arbor from Ypsi and taking one back in the evening. Or dropping by downtown Detroit for a matinee at the opera or a Tigers game, and then zipping home on the train.

6. There have been huge developments in my workplace. I am ready for long days, few vacations, and probably travel. It's going to be a stressful few months. I'm a little scared. But excited, too.

Guess that's it for now! It's good to be back. Let's see if I can keep the ball rolling this time.

Pritty sharp

2009-04-23T23:18:00.001-04:00

A drop of golden sun

2009-04-14T10:23:00.000-04:00

My fabulous officemate sent me this link, which I insist that everyone take a mere four minutes to watch. It will brighten your day. It may brighten your life.
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At the central train station in Antwerp, Belgium, an elaborate event was staged by several dozen dancers and enthusiasts. First, the beginning strains of "Do Re Mi" from The Sound of Music are played, and people in the main hall start looking curiously around. Then a couple of dancers hop into action. Then a couple more, and they twirl across the floor, collecting more dancers, until it’s a huge, joyous production, with the general public staring on in increasing delight.
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If it doesn’t warm the proverbial cockles of your heart, nothing will! As a "Sound of Music" fanatic, of course, I confess I had a tear in my eye.
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Yay for performance art!

Happy birthd'Easter!

2009-04-13T16:21:00.004-04:00

We had a great little birthd'Easter in Livonia yesterday. Miss Philly whipped up some seriously scrumptious fixin's, and Angie was in town from L.A., so there was lots of catching up to do.
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Scott's birthday card informed him that he might be a redneck...

...and Page learned that a dog can get real lucky if she hangs around the kitchen counter before Easter dinner.

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Thanks for the photos, Christi! Of course, all I took was a jerky, five-second video, with my voice saying, "Oh! Damn. I thought I was recording!" So - no pictures of the rest of the gang this time. Next time I'll get it right!

And... unzoom

2009-04-11T11:54:00.007-04:00

I feel as though I climbed on board a rollercoaster about a month ago and just climbed off this morning, my first morning of sitting around in pajamas until noon!
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First of all... all hail my Glaswegian stylist. The extraordinary Penny took this shaggy disaster -
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- and replaced it with this easy, breezy knockout of a haircut:
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My mother called it "nothing short of miraculous." After that, I felt I could freely run around New York City like the fabulous creature I now was. And what a week! I have loads of photos (thanks, Dad!), and here are just a few:
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Dinner in Chinatown

Four Lady Liberties
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Waiting for discount Broadway tickets on Times Square
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Above it all
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Zippin' around on the subway
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It was an adventure. There was much running about and sightseeing, but there was plenty of relaxing, too. Penny and I loved having our little kitchenette in our room at the Radio City Apartments: after a while, we felt like native New Yorkers, shopping at the supermarket and whipping up late-night snacks at home.

And let's not forget the stage shows! We saw "Mamma Mia!" (I'm still humming ABBA tunes), and we saw Noel Coward's "Blithe Spirit" with none other than Angela Lansbury and Rupert Everett. In both cases, though they couldn't have been more different, there was one common denominator: I had a huge grin plastered across my face the entire time.

It was terrific.

As it happened, I was slated to attend a training session in Radnor, Pennsylvania, the day before my family was to disperse back to our homes in Copenhagen, Glasgow, and Ypsilanti - so I just took a train from New York City to Ardmore and a taxi to Radnor. The rest of the team met up with me there and we had a pretty great few days: lots of learning during the day, plenty of refreshments at night. We managed to get into Philadelphia a couple of times, too. I tried not to sing songs from 1776 to my colleagues, but failed. I can't help it. I sing!

And finally, after that, I got home. Couple days at work, and now the weekend. I've stepped off the rollercoaster ride that started when my mother arrived in mid-March. I loved every second of it: her visit, the trip to the Big Apple, and my little business junket. But it's also pretty spectacular to be home again.

And tomorrow - off to Livonia!

Zoom, zoom, zoom!

2009-03-26T10:22:00.003-04:00

I've been running around with my wildly energetic mother the last few days. Before that, I was madly cleaning the apartment in preparation for her arrival! Thus my silence for the last, what, two weeks?! My poor neglected blog!
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Mum's not here for very long, so we're scrambling to get through her copious list of Things To Do, stopping to breathe (or eat) every now and then along the way.
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Next week, she and I will head out to New York City for the big family vacation! The four of us will be running happily around the Big Apple for a week. Broadway, here I come!

It's Scott's turn for new shoes

2009-03-12T21:23:00.003-04:00

Scott has groovy new shoes from Shepler's.
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They're Caterpillars, no less.
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He's a very happy guy.
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Date night in Detroit

2009-03-11T11:01:00.005-04:00

Scott and I went to a Detroit Red Wings game last night. Had a lovely dinner first in Southfield, oddly enough at a Ruby Tuesday, a chain I've never been to and which just happened to be convenient. I wasn't expecting much, but my lobster ravioli was scrumptious! And then we drove downtown in the pouring rain to Joe Louis Arena.
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The game didn't lack for drama, either: Franzen scored the winning goal against the Phoenix Coyotes in overtime!

Happiness in High Definition

2009-03-08T13:41:00.004-04:00

No, I'm not talking about my new digital cable set-up (which is great - thanks, Andy!), but rather about the event I attended yesterday: the live premiere of "Madama Butterfly" at the Metropolitan Opera in New York City, streaming live in HD to a movie screen at Showcase Cinemas!
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I had never attended one of these events until yesterday, although my mother goes to them often and has recommended them enthusiastically. All I can say is, I will not be missing any more of them. If I have to miss the live ones, I will go and see the replay performances. I can't believe I've been missing such an amazing experience all this time.
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The sense of excitement started right away. I went in... I sat down among the buzzing crowd... the screen showed the audience of the Met doing the same... I heard the orchestra warming up... and I couldn't quite believe I was really just sitting at the old Showcase Cinemas on Carpenter Road on a dreary, rainy Saturday afternoon!
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The performance itself, directed by Anthony Minghella, was extraordinarily beautiful to look upon while still remaining oddly stark. Ballet, puppetry, and vivid swaths of color combined with rich costuming to make the whole thing breathtaking. Then there was Puccini's music itself, and the extraordinary vocal talents of the performers - Patricia Racette especially, whose voice only got better and better as the performance continued. I can even report that I had two full waves of goosebumps up and down my arms during "Un bel dì"!
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Riveting. And I came out of there astonished that it was still just a wet day in Ypsilanti. I had been taken completely out of myself for three and a half hours.

Pure happiness in HD. That's all I can say.

I couldn't do it

2009-03-04T18:31:00.005-05:00

When I was taking the big step of ordering digital cable the other day, I told the Comcast representative I could install the cable box myself. I saved $20 doing it that way instead of having the service rep do it, and I was completely confident that I could manage it.
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Last night, I sat down and got down to business. To my surprise, the only "instructions" provided were - a diagram. It showed the back of a DVD player, the back of a cable box, and the back of a TV, with wires going into and out from them. None of my equipment (including, incredibly, the cable box) looked anything remotely like anything in the picture. I peered, scratched my head, tried one configuration, tried another. At one point I even got a screen full of programming code.
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I just couldn't believe it. Was I really going to fail this task completely? I set up my own Internet configuration, for God's sake. Was a mere cable box going to prove my undoing?
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Two hours later, disappointed and incredulous, I put the box on a shelf and surrendered. I found myself sourly recalling the following poem that Stephanie and I used to quote when we were kids:
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The Thing That Couldn't Be Done
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Somebody said that it couldn't be done --
But he, with a grin, replied,
He'd never be one to say it couldn't be done --
Leastways, not 'til he'd tried.
So he buckled right in, with a trace of a grin,
By golly, he went right to it!
He tackled The Thing That Couldn't Be Done!
...And he couldn't do it.
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Sigh.
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Update! I got home from work and learned that the DVD player no longer has sound. So not only did I fail at setting up the cable box... I killed my DVD player, too!
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But don't feel too sorry for me on that score. I just happen to have a new one arriving in the mail tomorrow. How perfect is that?
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It's an early birthday present from my fabulous parents. See, I am just stubborn enough about relinquishing old technology that I asked for a DVD/VCR combo, which frankly I'm surprised they even make any more. And, as it happens, that's arriving tomorrow. I have to say, I had no idea I would be wantonly destroying the old one on such a perfect schedule.
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And I have sent out a cry for help to Andy, who is going to help me set it all up tomorrow night. And then maybe we can all just sit down and watch some TV.
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Or a DVD.
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Or - a VHS tape!

Road-trip photos

2009-03-01T14:56:00.007-05:00

Enjoying a guided tour of Chagrin Falls, Ohio.

Coffeeing up at the Popcorn Shop Factory.

Corned beef sandwich, matzoh ball soup, and chocolate phosphate at Corky and Lenny's.

Joel and the ladies! We're blurry but happy.

Joel and Andy trade quips. "DVD's Frank" looks on!

Cinematic Titanic!

2009-02-28T17:09:00.014-05:00

Remember Mystery Science Theatre 3000? It's back, in a couple of different incarnations - one of which is Cinematic Titanic, wherein the five original members of the old show "riff" hilariously on appropriately bad movies. Scott and I have hooted, snorted, and cackled at their DVDs ever since we discovered them, so when I learned that they riff live, and that Cleveland was a stop on their tour, I was determined to go.
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Sarah and Andy felt the same, so the four of us headed off yesterday on the long drive to Cleveland. (Thanks for driving, Andy!)
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First stop: Andy's one-time hometown, Chagrin Falls. Feeling touristy despite the winter chill, we checked out the falls and visited the nostalgic Popcorn Shop Factory.
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Dinner was at Corky and Lenny's Restaurant and Deli, as traditional and delicious as you can get. I had the incredible "Three Little Tootsies," which were corned beef, chopped liver, and hot pastrami on three dinner-sized rolls.
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The show itself was even more fun than I was expecting it to be. Accompanying the cast was David Gruber Allen, whom you may remember as the guidance counselor on the show "Freaks and Geeks," although you'd probably recognize him from any number of other shows as well. He and J. Elvis Weinstein did some riotous stand-up before the show, followed by a short hoot of a routine by Frank Conniff. MST3K founder Joel Hodgson got things rolling by paying homage to some of the great TV horror hosts, including the Cool Ghoul, who turned out actually to be in the audience. And then they were off and riffing!
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The movie was "Blood of the Vampires," a dubbed Philippino horror movie made in the mid-1960s and set in 1920s Mexico. Was it riffable! The five cast members delivered line after hilarious line, which was even more fun live, since the entire audience was rocking with laughter right along with us.
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At the end, Gruber appeared with a cake for Mary Jo Pehl, whose birthday it just happened to be. She was serenaded by the cast and audience.
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We met the cast afterwards. They were clearly tired: I can see what difficult work it is now that I've seen them do it. You have to stay focused and deliver your lines with impeccable timing. I asked both Joel and Trace Beaulieu whether it was as hard work to riff a full-length movie as it looked, and they said with surprising candor that it really was.
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We headed home happily and made it home by 2 a.m., which was earlier than I had thought it would be!
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Great stuff. We got a couple of blurry pictures of our own - I'll post them soon, blurry or not.
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If they ever come back around, I'm making you all go. You'll thank me for it.

Can you hear it?

2009-02-26T23:30:00.010-05:00

I know I'm not a teenager, but still! Surely I should be able to hear a tone so irritating that it is supposedly used to keep teenagers from loitering. I should at least be able to hear something.
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Click here to listen (if you can!) to a tone that usually only people under 25 can hear.
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I can't hear a thing.
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I know I'm turning 40 in May, but frankly I don't feel much different than I did as a teenager. Shouldn't that count?! ;-)
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In any case, if you can hear anything, please let me know. I'd be interested.

Sound of Music fondue night!

2009-02-22T16:22:00.003-05:00

At long last, we did it! Sound of Music fondue night. First, deliciously dippable cheesy gloriosity, with asparagus and various breadstuffs. Then, deliciously dippable chocolate happiness, with fruits and cookies and other earthly embodiments of culinary bliss.

And just when you think it can't get any better, you realize you have the whole three-hour majesty that is "The Sound of Music" awaiting you on Vikki's huge flat-screen television.

I bellowed along happily (my fellow film-watchers were most patient, but the cat wasn't so pleased) and remembered in full technicolor the reasons why I was so obsessed with this movie as a child.

Thanks, you guys! That was fun.