Order of watching some things

today
Cloud On My Tongue
Pancake in Paris
Pancake & Ohio
Pancake looks like a mermaid in a wig
Space Dog
Bouncing off Clouds
Bouncing off Clouds PS22 Chorus Rehearsal
Father's Son PS22 Chorus

Kind of funny clips

Limited Dreams Margaret Cho
Ask A Ninja, Question 35, Ninja Poetry
Crazy girl Mel running around from Flight of the Conchords(??)

Otra musica

La peruana
Susana Baca
Valentin

Randomlings

Tonight a girl sang something from Tosca to me in a restaurant; that was quite fun. My aunt sang "Happy Birthday" in German over the phone. I think that in literature, getting inspired from heartbreak is interesting, like we all like Dante, but its also interesting to wonder what could be inspired from friendship? Solitude? Etc. I went to a library and saw a book entitled Girls Gone Mild, I had to pick that up. I found an interesting quote: "I would encounter this contradiction over and over again. Emotional, dreamy girls are a thorn in our side, but when boys are romantic, their every tear is precious. It was a mystery to me." (page 90) Thats not to say that either one is not valid, of course, but I just thought it was an interesting quote. I like this song: Caught a Lite Sneeze I almost always lived with a piano in the house when I was growing up, but never really learned to play it--it was my mother's instrument. She had been playing it since she was a child and had been a music teacher before I was born, but the strange thing was, she played it very rarely. She got busy with other things. Although I don't know if she'd agree, sometimes I think that while I was growing up I learned more about music from her boyfriends, husband and my own friends. But I do not think it was because she did not have a lot to teach me.

Birthday

So, tonight my friends and I went to see Kathy Griffin, who sold out the Kennedy Center. Hmmm. Well, it was kind of weird. I wasn't totally in sync with her humor. I guess I am not up on all of the celebrity stories. I think when I saw Margaret Cho a few years back, I liked her show better. The best parts of this one, honestly, were: the beginning, with the music and anticipation, and when she ran in on stage, and at the end, when she ran off. She has a lot of energy, thats for sure. But it was fun to be with my friends. We went to our work place afterward (it's near a Metro and it kind of sucks you in.) Just before I left, I made the folly of pointing out we were only a few minutes from Sept. 21st, so then they made me stay until midnight. They sang "Happy Birthday" and said I should drink 30 shots. I did not want to do that. So then one of them got the bright idea of wacking me with her long pink and orange umbrella thirty times. Yup. Me: "Stop it, you're giving me a fetish." Them: "24, 25, 26, 27...why is this taking so long? Oh yeah, because YOU'RE TURNING THIRTY!" It was very exciting. Actually though, since I was born at something like 5:40 pm, I think I am not yet 30. I think I still have a few hours left to feel my twenties slipping away, leaving them behind, forever!!

Old Letter

I might be going through a rambling phase. Not surprising; I am anticipating working on "dollar pint night" which is practically my least favorite thing ever. So here we go again...I found this really old typewritten letter which also looks like something you'd send to your shrink, but I believe this letter (which I did not write myself) is both weirder and a lot more interesting...I will preserve the miss-spellings:
Dear Alison--I am enjoying your letter, I am tickled you have fanatics at home. I washed my hair with beer this morning. Just got VCR working; it was called plugs it was. Part one of "The Singing Detective" is running and blasting right now. The time is a quaryer to nine and I'm procrastingating; have to email my professor, to give him my email ostensibly; it has taken me all week avoiding this, because he is a lawyer and I am a huckleberry. He could kill me, pick me and eat me. His real world accumen passes right through me, It's a bad scene. I enjoyed the insanity you speak about cinnamon Pop Tarts. Einstein told everybody time is not for fascists. You want to believe in cinnamon Pop Tarts you run with that. I'm not captain health like Andrew Weil. We're all fascists, we keep it in, it's a soul, it's not a big deal; violence is elsewhere where lawyers like to live. What's an airconditioner, don't tell me. I missed a punctuation. I was catching a musical number on my movie. The Singing Detective is my movie. You know who's dead? Dennis Potter's dead. You know who else? Einstein. Move finger through air across neck. Spell accross better, that a boy. Driving? I can't pull an engine -any v number with my teeth. I can puff my liver up and sit down until it makes Apollonian man noises like raindeer hooves pad snow. No eyes, black nose, where a rifle can crack and bounce all it wants evergreen bark makes good scratching. Phillip Marlow's hospital neighbor just flatlined in my movie. The nurse gives Phillip a candy. It's good, he weeps. The credits roll. Part one is subtitled "skin", part two is subtitled "heat". I have to write Professor Pensky. Professor Pensky. First I will rewind part one. I have to be careful not to write anything stupid. I don't like real people because they don't know how trivial their words are. I don't like poker because it attaches trivia to robots. I like a good dirge, just for the sound; gravity lapping appropria endings. (I missed it)
Thats it. I found it tucked away in a "Chakra Healing" book. I wonder if I should throw it away. But its so interesting. Maybe I should go tuck it in another book as a kind of feng-shui-ing-of-the-information-I-collect-and-own exercise...

Humor

I've decided these guys are pretty funny. And they have cool accents!
Song For Sally
Bret you got it going on
She's so hot...Boom!
This is another comedian that my friends have got me tickets to see for an upcoming birthday present.
Red-Headed Oprah
Today I found out that my sister has a new boyfriend. She didn't actually tell me herself, however. Instead, she got my mom to leave a message. While I was at work. (Where I can't pick up my cell phone.)
K.G. In Afghanistan
Like, maybe he's in the video somewhere.

Artsy kinds of things

Today I went with a friend to the National Art Gallery and we saw an exhibit about Edward Hopper. The last painting we saw was Sun in an Empty Room. This painting, she told me, always makes her smile. If I remember correctly, the description on the side of it said that when he was asked what he was trying to "get at" in the painting, he said, with a rather wry smile, "I'm trying to get at ME." Also saw a film about him and it talked a little bit about his wife, which prompted me to later look up and read an article entitled Man and Muse. Which also prompted me to think, man, if thats the life, I hope they were able to reincarnate into another one that was a little more peaceful. Then we had pho.
Later, at work, a friend of mine was telling me about a wedding she went to in upstate NY. I said "speaking of weddings, whatever happened to that guy who was dressed as a Care Bear?" "What guy." "Remember, there was a guy who came dressed as a Care Bear?" She frowned at me, as if she couldn't remember. "And his father was the guy who wrote that book, We Were Soldiers Once And Young?" "Oh YEAH." Her face lit up. "Thank you for remembering that! I didn't even remember that he came dressed up as a Care Bear. We don't have any pictures of him in it..." She said, "Well he's doing really well. He lives in Texas now, and he really likes the community and his family lives there..." "You mean, his mom." "No, his dad lives there." I said, "I thought that they didn't get along." She said "Well, they didn't used to, but actually they reconciled." I said, "You know, thats really nice to hear."

An impression and a memory

1) Impression: There's a kind of grouchy, 1950s father type, who sits in the basement and wears glasses and he's working on something scientific. He tries to make connections with wires and that sort of thing. His son sits on the floor of the basement and he (the son) watches him being all grouchy about it. And he's got a very sort of White Anglo Saxon Protestant work ethic. An "I must work to be a good person and I must be grouchy while I'm working or its not real work" attitude.

2)I have a memory of visiting a dusty playground at a Jellystone National Park somewhere in upstate NY (like around Albany, probably) when I was about six. I was rather surprised/horrified when I saw some other little girls on these small plastic toy horses on metal springs, tilting the horses back and forth, so that the noses of the horses touched the ground all the way. It seemed kind of dangerous and grotesque to do that to those toy horses. Later my friend and I ate some multicolored (probably red green and yellow) candy which was shaped like a folded up umbrella and I went on these tilting spring horses too, but, in truth, I didn't really like it and was always rather uneasy about it.

Memories of childhood playgrounds might be good to write about.

Kinds of "Fun"

So. I've been thinking about how some people like to fill their time with different types of activities. And some people are very passionate and dedicated about being successful at their specific chosen activity. I think, at certain times, it can be good for sort of, how should I say, for lack of a better understanding of expression, "gung-ho types" to consider that just because you currently have the opportunity to go skydiving and really feel like going skydiving, it doesn't mean that you have to be all like: I know that skydiving is the coolest thing ever, and you are obviously stupid for not thinking so. Now, just watch while I have the most fun skydiving that it is possible to have. And by the way, I hope it makes you feel sorry that it is something which you aren't ever going to do. Ever! to other not so skydiving-ish people. Maybe the other person is either going to be more into skydiving some other time, or is currently more into another activity. Like deep sea diving. Would it mean that you couldn't be happy for them if they go down and get to see lots of cool tropical fish? Or something.

redorangeyellowgreenblueindigoviolet

As of today, I've decided. Its about time for this whole dizziness / lower back / 1st chakra / multi- chakra / issue / whatever to improve, cease, heal and/or subside. Preferably more rapidly than gradually, but I'm still not quite sure what to do about it. (Allopathy? Acupuncture? Acupressure? Diet/Lifesyle change?) A potential new housemate works at a physical therapy/acupuncture clinic; that might lead to something.

Reading

I actually grew up to enjoy reading, in spite of commericals like this one:
Captain O.J. Readmore
Way weird (but fun) to stay up late into the wee hours watching a bunch of '80s cartoons intros in a room full of upper 20s/30-somethings...

Getting my "land legs" back...

Today I walked around beautiful, sunny Green Spring Gardens (no good pictures, just as well, keeps it less crowded for the rest of us!) slowly at first, then a bit more swiftly, with looong breaks of lying down (not sitting) on cool green grass underneath sheltering trees, because after all, what else are parks for? Ah...back therapy...Also heard Junot Diaz read from his novel while standing and/or walking around Borders' music section (because its far more comfortable than sitting is right now). When I was a T.A., one of my classes read his story, "How to Date a Browngirl, Blackgirl, Whitegirl, or Halfie." I found a reading of it here at about 34:02. It comes after an introduction about the history of "How To" books and then a rather long story about giving a woman driving lessons around Chicago...Hmmm, I just read in Wikipedia that the author was stunned when he was accepted at a certain school because his then-girlfriend applied there for him. That reminds me of a story a Moroccan guy at work told me. His then-girlfriend entered him into the lottery, without him knowing, and so he came to the U.S. She did not. How many of those stories are there out there? Are there any where the boyfriend did that for a girlfriend? C'est la vie... Speaking of French...FouxDaFaFa Some of my friends at work think these New Zealand guys' songs (like Business Time) are funny...yeah, maybe... ;-)

Two endings

Though I don't mean to ruin it by showing the ending...
Silent Waters
Central Station
(In Portuguese, which I don't understand, but I know whats going on.)

Recovery

Today, without muscle relaxers or narcotics, I drove to the closest bank, deposited my paycheck via the ATM, ate a virtually tasteless chicken salad (at the closest diner), and then, as fast as my little legs would carry me (NOT FAST!), walked over to the nearest store, just to see what was up. It didn't take very long for my languid shuffle to attract some suspicious attention. Northern Virginia is not the South. *smile, shrug* "Can I help you?" an employee asked, without the faintest trace of genuine concern on his face. (NOVA is not the South.) I laughed, "Oh no, that's okay, I'm just walked slowly because I hurt my back recently." He looked as though he didn't believe me. "Well, just let me know if you need anything," he said, with a really nervy, piercing, intense stare...I decided that he was the universe's way of telling me to go back to bed and take my muscle relaxer. So I drove home, and that's what I did. However, I established further contact with the outside world by watching JETSET. If you watch it long enough, you'll not only learn about couchsurfing websites and the religion of Google, you'll also get to see clips of the Central Park roller bladers! I myself saw them only a few short years ago...I have recently come to believe that the passage of time between ages 18 and 20 (2 years) feels roughly equivalent to the passage of time between ages 23 and 29 (6 years).

Kamosh Pani Silent Waters

Really bored

I managed to drive to the store on just an ibuprofen this morning. Unfortunately, nothing I bought tastes particularly great. Maybe because of medications. However, I got a free classical Indian music CD from a "Kitchens of India" dinner.

This crazy summer

Much illness in the family. Plane rides and roadtrips through many states. Unfortunately, I can't drive six hours to see family on a trip I'd planned for tomorrow. After straining my lower back (and passing out when I did it in the hot shower yesterday) I'm in a muscle relaxer/narcotic half stupor. Sooo...let's watch Talula.
Prescription drugs: I like and don't like them simultaneously.