lullaby...

Fur Elise on glass harp
& a funny comment:
"HOW DA FUCK U CAN DISLIKE SOMETHING LIKE THIS"

thank goodness

there was all sorts of pain today and it came from all sorts of places both inside and outside the body, as well as it's mental/emotional/psychological states...and also there was quite a bit of pain inside and outside others' bodies and others' mental/emotional/psychological states. sometimes life is pain. but then the 99 cent store had diet chocolate soda again. so thank the universe for that...but sometimes life is pain.

Fun breakfast party picture

The Moveable Feast

I was thinking...

I am not a ouija board.
I was also thinking...
I always really liked this poem.
Song -- John Donne...or actually that's Catch A Falling Star
~~~~~
Hmmm, Rabindranath Tagore turned 150 on the same day as the 20th anniversary of the L.A. riots.

Oh photography!

Super awesome hula hoop girl photograph...

funny joke?

today this kid informed me he had to interrupt our english language learning activities with a supposedly hilarious joke. "you don't want to dance with me? well then guess what, i don't want to dance with you either!"  how did he come up with that? "it just came to me." later we used plastic letters and spelled out D A N C E. and then W I T H and M E. then he said "how about 'dance with me baby!'" "really? you want to write that?" "no" "you don't?" "nah" "are you sure?" "well...okay..." he spelled it out. "now how would you arrange if you wanted to say, 'baby dance with me?'" he did that and then it was time to put the letters away. "no, let's leave it up there, so other people can see it!" so we did.

end of parade

interviewing doo dah queen

stilts & ymca dancers

baby & cat

boy with tortillas & financial woes

pizza & cupcakes

yoga...

Today was fun. I got to witness the annual “Doo Dah” parade. It was full of lively characters and assorted costumes. Took some pictures with the old phone camera because I forgot the better one. One participant sported a rather interesting statement on her uniform. I think she was part of one of those roller derby teams. The back of her shirt said MAMA SLAYER and she was wearing tight pants with UM THIS written across her butt. I thought that was quite amusing. I tried to get her picture but she kept turning every which way. Or else my phone would mess up. Finally, I thought I could get a shot of her, but at that very moment an old lady stepped in front of me and handed me a flyer. “Here you go! See, she’s not afraid!” she laughed and went off. (I’m not sure if that second statement was meant for me or for others?) I looked at the flyer. It said: “Come laugh your way to a happier, healthier life!” And then in smaller letters it had information about a local club that practices “Laughter Yoga.” It’s funny because yesterday evening I was just thinking about how I need to start doing yoga again. But after I unrolled the new yoga mat, (which has been sitting around for quite a long time) I just laid down and fell asleep on it without even doing a single pose, not even an easy one like child’s pose/mecca or anything. Anyways, that was an interesting spectacle to witness today. I think later I will try to see if the phone camera took any pictures that seem worth posting… 
~~~~~~
Hmmm. Some army guys doing yoga.

feel a bit sorry for this guy...

111 mph speeder sounds like he was being an idiot
e-mailed friend to see if we ever went to that forest preserve

scary things

I looked at the horrible story about the slain Marine wife again. Honestly, it's like if life was a movie, that story would've been planted by the CIA, and 911 would be an inside job. I listened to Strange Little Girls' '97 Bonnie & Clyde, and it made me think that perhaps twosomeness can actually be sinister (although, people always seem to assume that twosomeness is what is safe?)

quite interesting

Turns out, cavemen loved to sing

Love a day off

a) Listen to an old fun song (and video): Toe Jam
b) Practice some French: Baby Baby Baby
c) Watch an ad: Guitar Hero Baby Baby Baby
d) Death by cuteness of cat! If You Haven't Seen Maru...

cactus graffiti & flowers

very cute cat comic

for the cat-deprived!
How to pet a kitty - The Oatmeal
also How to Tell if Your Cat is Plotting to kill you

u know...

it's wear denim day and i cannot find a pair of jeans that i like to wear

choices of songs

a) You Can Be The Boss is like a snack laden with msg (and washed down with malt liquor). b) Part Of Me is like stale cotton candy and old bubblegum. c) I Am Not My Hair is like organic greens and foods prepared well. Hmmmm there's another video for Blue Jeans with a different musical ending, too. I don't know if that has a food category...maybe something fizzy to drink?

a poem I guess?

pretending to be dead - edgar oliver it seems like a good thing to listen to after reading "a rose for emily" or just thinking about "a rose for emily" but not bothering to actually read it

a bear was seen on a walk

happily it was far off and behind the fence it was cute and it was far away

found cactus graffiti

another songy day

at school, the go army strong booth was emitting a circle of testosterone as the dj next to it played ymca and jump around...it was manned by four fit guys in boots, caps, and army fatigues...they seemed quite self assured as if they expected you to come up to them, and as i scurried past, looking at them, they seemed to look right back...but i don't really know, as they all were wearing sunglasses...i thought, you don't know how i feel outside of your domain yet a product of your culture...i used to go sometimes to the bbqs & picnics... heart of gold mr. young heart of gold ms. amos i drove home listening to a trilogy from the end of to venus and back (space dog, the waitress/hang ten, purple people)

post-its & drink

How funny are these post-its?

This drink was actually pretty good.

amusements

a while ago i had a rather amusing drive to a bookstore
perhaps it was several months ago by now
i was zoning out while driving, and i started laughing
something was seeming very funny
it seemed like someone in the universe was grumbling about me
it was like this:
grumble grumble grumble (very low, maybe even in a language i couldn't understand) rowr rowr rowr and then more distinctly, in english I FORGAVE YOU but it was sounding soooo grouchy! then rowr rowr rowr grumble grumble something something something some more...
couldn't understand exactly what it was but it was really funny
maybe it was because of something about complaining about misogynists
it makes me wonder if i should find something to complain about misogynists again
maybe i should do that and then try to zone out and see what happens...
i would have to find something to get worked up about
that is seeming to not be happening right now
but i remember part of a song:

Daughters of feminists bruise so easily
Daughters of feminists hurt.
Daughters of feminists curtsey and skip
Daughters of feminists flirt.
They say, "Please mommy can I do the dishes?
And let's make a pie for my brother!"
Are they sincere?
Are they crazy or
Are they just trying to stick it to mother

achy hand

my left hand/wrist/arm was aching a lot for several days
very mysterious. it would come and go without warning.
iced it this morning for a while
seems like it's been getting better today.

sometimes woods are more than words

Perhaps this (Weetzie Bat) could be an interesting book to read sometime about highschoolish things? I'm really not as good at gobbling up books these days as I have been at other times in the past. Sometimes there are just too many words. (There are surely too many in this post, of course.) Then, walking in the woods is better. More than words! Like that song! From back in the days of youthful yore. Partly, I think I sometimes enjoy bad grammar because I find peoples' idiosyncratic speech patterns to be quite interesting. Plus, I stammered as a small child and I still mix things up in my own speech patterns. However, I have inadvertently noticed more comma splices lately. I suppose that is a good thing. Whatever.

moment of zen

In the morning, burned a sweet potato by accident. Opened the door to let some air in, and since there was a very cool and refreshing breeze blowing after the rain, and I could admire some wet piney-types of trees outside, it kind of smelled and felt like camping!

A fun old song

Istanbul Not Constantinople

Pools

I quite like.
I quite love pools sometimes.
I had some good experiences in pools.
So, I was terrified of drowning in a pool.
The swimming instructor at the Watervliet Arsenal freaked me out with her pretending to be drowning.  The swimming lessons weren't going so well. Frustrated father threw me in a pool, then had to come back in and rescue me. Bubbles sinking limbs going down...okay good thing I didn't drown...
And finally, at a babysitter's house, teenage girls were the ones who taught me to swim.
One day I paddled into the deep end, all proud.
Then I would slowly swim up from the bottom, admiring the sun's rays as they shone down through the top of the water. (A favorite thing.) 
So I can really love pools sometimes.
The Blue Jeans video has a pool.
I am thinking this artist is quite good. I think so!
Of course people do like variety and want to not listen to the same songs and artists all the times.
(All the times? I just don't want to be proper about grammar sometimes.) But lately, I do like seem to be liking this artist very much sometimes.... 

friday evening

seemed like the graffiti wanted me to take a picture of it
movie: casa de mi padre
(sooo many movies this week...)

just a bit funny

today i was in a room of boys (well males under age 35 or so) and got mildly chastised for having the highest grade in the class (one of them found out and told the others) 'cause i'm not even taking it for credit and i'm throwing off the curve for everyone else. "sorry for throwing off the curve, boys!" i should have said. with a wink or something. then they were talking about video games. i said "have any of you heard that video games song by lana del rey." "no," they said and promptly went back to talking about the games. sometimes i think it might've been fun to grow up with brothers...

blah, man...

Local news item blah:
Slaine Marine wife's blog
Dream blah:
Being in a beautiful place and getting sucked down to the bottom of the sea.
BLAH, for real.
Blah!!!
Tomorrow's a better day!
Tomorrow's a better day.

sometimes...

(singing to self)
sometimes
i wish i was better at fixing everything
fixing fixing fixing fixing
everything everything everything everything
fixing the life so it would go better next time
but was it all really up to me anyway
hum....
oh, i guess it was mostly up to me
and somewhat up to other people too...

Movies & Music

Last night, it was decided to watch Romy and Michelle's High School reunion. I had never watched it! It's pretty upbeat overall. "That movie's old!" said the 22-year old roommate. HIGH - SCHOOL! Well, while some people were doing more exciting things back then, someone else was culling songs from a CD Collection. She found the City of Angels CD. Some examples of songs to sing: With Every Breath I Take (Duet),  What You Don't Know... and The Tennis Song. Maybe when she sang the tennis song, a friend said "the ball is in your court." What? What do you mean. What? That was it. Oh well...sing sing sing away... Were there weird little statements thrown out sometimes? Perhaps someone should have tried to arrange them into a clearer and more specific thesis statement. Anyways. Many years later, she might think, Hmmm... Did that get said? Huh... Does that mean...I have a ball, in my court? I have a ball. In my court. Or had a ball. Or have a ball? That sounds like a lot of responsibility, doesn't it? Oh, goody...I hope so...because... Illooooveresponsibility!!!!!alot!

mixing things

I watched Born To Die, and especially the parts where the singer is in a hall of art. She's sitting in a chair with tigers on either side. She's such an icon! She looks like someone off a goddess card. When she does this thing with her hands to make it look like she's smoking ["Let's go get high"] I could get sucked in. Then, I read in the news about women in combat school. That's a whole different style of dress. For some reason, it feels like I'm being a jerk, because I dare to combine those two things in the same paragraph. The woman as icon/lover and the women in uniform training for combat. It feels like I'm not supposed to do that. But then for some reason, just because it feels like that, I have to do it. I'm not the one in uniform. Nor am I the singer/icon. Singer/icon looks like a young southern woman to me. As if she could be a very distant relative, almost. And the uniforms are what men in the family would wear. The father has to go away; the girl wants to be like him, but grows older and doesn't want that anymore. But sometimes, she wears the old army jacket. It goes places with her; it covers her. Many years later, there is a fierce argument with sister over who gets possession of the jacket. With extreme resentment (at the time) the older sister forfeits, because that is what the older sister does. And the eventual fate of the jacket? Who knows? Who knows where it is now...

neat little discoveries

Feels like I found some today.
1) Girls Rock Dallas
2) "today's studio activity is singing Lana del Rey's "video games" in the style of Bob Dylan. try it. it's ADDICTIVE."
--http://twitter.com/#!/AMANDAPALMER
That sounds like a good idea!
First I have to figure out what the Video Games song is.
Then I want to get a better look at the lyrics.
Oh, and then I get sucked into comments.
(Scroll down...past all the 'this song is about a girl whose boyfriend beats her,' blah blah blah...)
Here we go:
"A bit more metaphorically, I saw it as a commentary on trying to make it in show business. She has to sell herself, and demean herself by acting out the gender role of the fragile dependent female in order to move ahead in a vapid industry in a male chauvinistic society." (Posted by "mishkabunny.")
That's it!
I still need to work on Step 3, which is finding the Bob Dylan songs...getting down all those little vocal nuances and inflections....

Lieder

All things shall perish from under the sky
music alone shall live music alone shall live
music alone shall live never to die
--German folksong sung in a round, but in English

It is a bit weird, isn't it, to keep returning over and over to the same topic. Almost like a mental fetish. Does it have a point? Who knows...but, nice people congregated in an art class once...neighbors with a senses of humor...and aspirations! One wanted to be like Georgie Porgie, for example. Ha ha. So funny. Don't feel bad if we can't go out. Why don't you just go off and have some fun? One girl listens to a guardian's music collection. Baby You Can Drive My Car. Okay, I'll drive your car! Other girl sings too. Beatles. Okay, you can drive her car, too. Ha ha! Joking around all the time! What. Why are some of the people giving each other funny looks? What is that about? Why not just sing? Sing sing sing! Whatever...

dueling pianos idea

surely there's piano music for
there are worse things i could do
&
look at me i'm sandra dee
therestimestothinkgeemaybeiwouldbenefitfromseeingashrink
andtimestothinkmaybei'mbetteroffcauseican'taffordonethankyougod!

pretty funny

"You will someday do useful serious work on a machine on which you could be watching free porn. #thingswhichwouldamaze15yroldme" --http://twitter.com/#!/petersagal

I like Wait Wait...Don't Tell Me! I haven't heard it lately and haven't been able to listen to it on Saturdays but maybe I can soon...

lonjuray

a friend sent:
Lingerie Escapade
some kids in that
kind of reminded me of an old quip
(said by one young lady to her friend,
who was thinking about dating a recently divorced father)
"are you ready for snotty noses and dimetapp?"

Been a while since I watched a movie

Someone ordered Out of Africa so that's whats playing tonight.
Suppose I die of cinematography? I think I saw this as a teenager.
Just passed the part where they kicked her out of the smoking room.

woods 3

woods 2

woods 1

an old song

There's a hole in the bucket,
Dear Liza, dear Liza
There's a hole in the bucket,
Dear Liza, today.

Then fix it, then fix it,
Dear Henry, dear Henry
Then fix it, then fix it,
Dear Henry, today.

The Bench

Yesterday, a guy told me that he's been walking in the woods for 12 years and has never seen anyone but me sitting on the tree bench.
I wonder why?
It's a perfectly nice bench.
"It's nice to see someone using it," he said.

musical repetition

again...
Ain't No Sunshine
Baby One More Time
Don't Look Back In Anger
Wild World
oops don't accidentally walk into the study...
now the new roommate's room...

death by positive feedback

after a looonge (i love the silent e) dry spell, including a snappish individual at work who made me feel kinda crummy, i get...positive feedback!!!! ahhhh...not only do i get the best grade in the class, i also get the teacher asking for my paper to use as an example and saying it was the finest in the class. (reminds me of how little ms. crappy grades in high school--one A, only one...concert band, sophomore year--graduated magna cum laude from college) sometimes, am a sucker for that kind of feedback...this is prolly why i majored in that damn thing i majored in...

Comics & Ironies

Getting the best grade in the class! However, won't actually receive the grade! (Because of signing up to take it for no credit to save money. )

Persons of varying disciplines come together in a short exercise to write a thesis about a movie. Thesis: "'Avatar' perpetuates predictable stereotypes by portraying the U.S. Marines as imperialistic war criminals." Have not actually seen that special effects laden spectacle...




Comics found here.

small children

is volunteering to work with (one) energetic kid rewarding? yes...can it also be just a little bit exhausting? uh huh...the world spins a full cycle in one hour...

glorious?

Glorious! The first real paycheck (not just $ deposited via paypal) since I switched coasts almost two years ago finally came today! Just in time to pay taxes! (Too bad it wasn't directly deposited, but thank you, whatever holiday that pushes back the deadline this year.) Less glorious...being paid $1 less per hour than I was told in my interview. :-( I heard this wicked rumor from another hired at the same time but I hoped it was not true. I don't think that should be legal. I suppose they downgraded the starting rate of pay and the interviewer didn't know it at the time. Sigh.
Still...it is a glorious paycheck...

Things that make me go hmmm...

Recently, I accrued some fines on a library book called There Is No Long Distance Now. It has been renewed. So, there was one story in this one that seemed like it really wanted me to read it, right away. It was called "Are We Friends?" It is based on real characters, according to the introduction. I actually saw the author several years ago at a conference in Chicago. She was quite funny. I remember she had a poem about telling a guy at the post office that she is a poet, which made him sound quite droll and sarcastic about poets being on vacation all the time. And I remember reading that book about food, The Language of Baklava, at that time. I should really read that book again...

pretty cute video

Caine's Arcade

light

there's thunder and lightening outside now! so boring...sitting around the house...waiting...for...people... i can think of some people who had opinions once...the girl who didn't like oppressive religions, and had opinions about that...her religious friend, who informed her he didn't really like white girls... she didn't have much of reason to disbelieve him...although, for a period of time she did notice that sometimes this blond girl would go trailing around after him (whining "do you have a lighter...i need a lighter...can i have a lighter...") clap flash rumble rain rain rain pours pours pours! more rumbles outside...rumble some more...

rainy day...

hanging around (key delivery, waiting for cable/internet fellow to come, etc.)

Kittehs...

Sometimes checking FB is kinda worth it. Since some people recently friended/liked George Takei.

Pennsylvania...

for some reason, i had the urge to google "amish people courting" since once in pennsylvania dutch country i saw two amish couples in a buggy...both men sat in the front and both women sat in the back...they were so separated; i got a kick out of that...i couldn't find a picture like that...i did, however find this...also some other strange things, including a picture of macdonalds with arabic writing...what the hell did that have to do with "amish people courting"?...yo no se...

Gardens

These pictures reminded me of an oasis I used to visit...
Green Spring Gardens...
Gazebo/Pond

library ordered

Good Omens--to read at leisure! not just skim in a bookstore
(as time permits...)

if this never happens to me, that would be okay

Texting while walking - Man runs into bear

sometimes it's night

and then the questions come
so brother, how was that stint in the military
i was just wondering
how did that work out for you
sometimes i feel like i have some bones to pick
and pick and pick and pick
you and whose army?
sometimes night feels like dancing on the beach
only it was just dancing a little on a walkway on the way out
to put an important document in the car
i might be wrong
it's night time
it could be now
moondance
or it could be 300 years ago, or more
who knows what one is doing sometimes? who cares?
i confess, today i was quite impressed with this

it's the most meaty thing ever pulled by these hands
(formerly vegetarian-ish hands)
from an oven
ribs + oranges were a late lunch
very greasy and citrusy
maybe sometimes ancient roman soldiers ate like that
i wonder if oranges always grew in italy
independent contractor tax stuff takesforfuckingever
spinning plates
(there's even more rib imagery in that version!
did not even plan that...)

messiness week

moving stuff around
objects clothing paperwork etc.
the phone was lost
then found in the trash
half buried under kleenex
omg, pleeeease
plz make the week of messiness end!
(or at least taper off?)
time to delegate

things to do

It might be that I have to post Shadowboxer so I can get things done....It's not a bad song. But it's kind of stuck in my head and it's distracting and there's stuff to do. So, post and then it won't be so annoyingly stuck anymore? Once, on an evening walk, I saw some guy in a brown hooded garment punching the air as he walked down the hill. Maybe he was imagining he was Muhammed Ali. "Float like a butterfly; sting like a bee!"
Sometimes writing could be like shadowboxing, maybe.
This place is in disarray. Preparing for a new roommate. A young (but adult) girl with a kid. The kid lives with the father though. She seemed very nice.
Maybe in another life I could do something with music.
Off to accomplish stuff. 3 2 1 a-c-c-o-m-p-l-i-s-h...

It's a lyrical life

Karma Police
I've given all I can
(Karma Police - cover)

All my lovers were there with me
All my past and futures
(Pyramid Song)

Dance with the Sufis
Celebrate your top ten in the charts of pain
(Cruel)

Thunder wishes it could be the Snow
Wishes it could be as loved
(Purple People)

a deeply religious holiday has just passed

i think one of these days i will run off into the woods and read sufi poetry

joyful distractions (visual + musical)

covers!
Don't Look Back In Anger (with a Morrissey story)
Father Figure
Baby One More Time

Ain't No Sunshine
Nights In White Satin
Dreams
Wild World
~~~~~
and, very weird when parts of two accidentally play together
"father figure" + "nights in white satin" for example...

The Independent Contractor's Tax Song

is Add It Up

fun project

looking for pictures with details
another person's doing lady gaga
i have to do the artist
yes anastasia
mountain
do it again
walk to dublin
the pool

~~~~~
some pictures other people were supposed to bring got messed up and every group chose a picture of the artist (saying who is this? she looked familar...but didn't recognize who she was) and wrote a descriptive sentence...they certainly had fun, especially with the carriage one...

 

Walks are good

walks are good at making people happy!
sadly, missed out on that today
maybe tomorrow...

ahhh! a snark fairy

has to visit and distract a person from work she's supposed to do
so, you know those retro pictures with the snarky cut out words, like this one



(and i believe that when there is one word hanging at the end of the line like that, it would be either a widow or an orphan; i cannot recall which one it is) there should be one with a little girl with caption that says something like
"when i grow up i want to be a good army wife!"
that would be funny
for those certain moments

dreams contrasting

one dream is set in the place where you used to live & it's as if you live there again & flying things are smashing into buildings & it's an i can't believe this is happening kind of dream
next night:
no dreams...no, wait, that's not true...
different kind of dream
trekking into woods with a bag of big, flat children's picture books...intending to work on something in a cabin...more than a little bit thoreauish...enter the cabin and realize it is partially composed of tent rooms & the rain is coming in, but some rooms in the cabin are cozy and dry...some of the tents are sealed and good, but obviously some of the tent rooms need some work
(not in the dream, but the Fixing A Hole song comes to mind)
other people are around & ask/expect you to take some kids on a nature walk...slightly sticky situation because it might be nice, but you didn't plan on it & it's the only day of the week you are free to be there & you want to work on your own thing & have to try to explain this
also, the dreams have different kinds of endings
one is not so tragic
more like awkward

and...

the work
the work
that does not get done!
some people might be living a life and thinking
"sometimes this life is surelysupermystifyingwhatthe..."
don't know what to do? do the same as always!
"maybe a higher power will throw a bone this way some time..."
i can imagine...

moon & moon-like music

hopeless camera

hands smell like sage

very beautiful moon

instrumental music:

Hold Me, I'm Falling

Love & Marigolds

Lush Life

Got some stuff done in that last chunk of hours! More to do. Tax situation not yet resolved but is that a reason to wallow in misery? No. Did I hear rumor of payment plans? Time to walk before the sun goes down! Lush Life

Mamas...

don't let your babies grow up to be cowboys... (music music music) make them take an accounting class

La vita

is a bit challenging. Lot's of stuff to do. Tax situation is pretty challenging this year. $ situation overall has been challenging for several years. For some reason, supervisor at job was inspired to speak to me on issues of health and having kids and doctors and that sort of thing. It's a little nerve-wracking. It seems like life wants a person to break one's own heart, then mend it, then change, and try to do it all as quickly as possible and with more grace than was evident in past performances. Need to get stuff done this week and not let the tax situation throw everything off kilter...

is today

a very dessert-y day?
(on the internet, anyway...)
1) apparently, there are free cones at ben & jerry's?
2) national chocolate mousse day?
3) this story featured regional desserts including moravian sugar cake

song (kind of sort of a little bit) stuck in head:
uncle albert / admiral halsey

I want

to be happy...
I want to be happy
Ella sang.

strangely

might end up living with 2 people with the same first name
financial necessities & housemate possibilities
we shall see

Car Not Famous Yet

Drove by a Google Maps vehicle on a stretch of old Route 66 today. 
As of now, there is no evidence that my automobile has attained Google Maps fame.

sticker fun

april 1

Funny sticker on car:

"What happens in the mountains stays in the mountains."

Funny line from friend's e-mail:

"It's an impossible choice. I'll just have to hope that when I flip the coin, it somehow explodes and kills me."

(Referencing the not-yet-seen-by-these-eyes Black Books.)