kids these days

I’m writing this on Saturday afternoon, taking a break on the couch in the living room. My Elderly Relative just wandered into his bedroom and turned on the TV (at ear-splitting volume, natch) in preparation for an afternoon nap. As he surfed the dial, he happened upon the “Madison” dance scene in Hairspray (1988 version.)…

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lactose intolerance

Hey, guys? The two clean-cut, middle aged guys? The two guys, strangers to each other, who ordered double scoop cones of ice cream at Rite Aid? On a weekday? At 9:15am? You can’t make this a trend, sorry. Stop it and eat some damn oatmeal.

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like that shirt-stripping soccer player girl

My Nike Running system is going pretty well. The sensor in my shoe talks to the iTouch in my hand, then my iTouch talks to my online Nike account. I’m still having some issues with calibration, but overall I’m enjoying the Nike app. Several athletes, including Lance Armstrong (? isn’t he a bikey guy?), have…

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sweet peas are my favorite flower

Photos of sweetpeas and sea glass at my old place in Ventura, 2008 Sweet peas are my favorite flower, not just because of their delectable scent, tousled petals and twirly vines. Every time I smell them, I remember. My mom loved to grow them. Her mom loved to grow them, as did her mother, and…

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i like watching men dance

This is a sequel of sorts to my In Praise of Back-up Boys post. This time we’re going solo. Parov Stelar. Whoa nelly. [direct link] Radiohead, Lotus Flower. Thom Yorke‘s dancing is quite reminiscent of my weird dancy nightly ritual that I will never show you. [direct link] Gene Kelly, and not the number you’ve…

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and so it goes. and goes. and goes.

My friend Shana (who is in her late 20s) and I (whom am not) were in LA at an event on Sunday afternoon. We spotted a large billboard that advertised the Beatles finally being on iTunes. This was the picture on the billboard. We spent a number of minutes discussing George Harrison’s utter, stone-cold foxiness.…

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space-time continuum, the musical

Professor Genghis Whitehead and his colleague Ursula Crakunschtuff were close to perfecting their major opus — a formula that enabled the consumer to be a “fly on the wall” inside someone’s mind — reading their thoughts and controlling their actions. Finally, a tweak here and there, and it was done. Before thinking about it too…

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sharing the pain

I’ve been reading excerpts from Joyce Carol Oates’s latest book, A Widow’s Story: A Memoir, in which she lays her soul bare in the aftermath of her husband’s unexpected death. Her writing is so good, sad and sweet. I look forward to reading the book in its entirety. If you’re confused by this, after all…

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WFMU gateway

pointing at my shirt, that is what i am doing. I have mentioned WFMU plenty in this here blog but have not really devoted a post to it, even though WFMU one of the reasons my world goes ’round in such a happy, twirly way. It’s one of the last independent free-form stations and has…

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bittersweet fruit of the sea

It’s the Fourth Friday Challenge for February. My friend Paul and I, both posting daily in 2011, decided to challenge each other once a month to keep things spicy. In his words, “we want to push ourselves to do something more interesting than we might otherwise.” I will put his challenge to me at the…

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