So excited about the moving train

So excited about the moving train
Originally uploaded by emdot.

Sideways. Yesterday KB and I went to see Sideways, the new movie out from the guy who directed Election and About Schmidt. I woulda wanted to see it no matter, but the fact that most of it was filmed just 30 to 60 miles away from us was an added bonus. The crowd cheered at each mention of San Luis Obispo or wineries they knew and loved, familiar sites or any other reference that moved them. At the end everyone clapped. Cuz even though the movie is about two fucked-up middle-aged guys who can't get their acts together to save their lives, it made the Central Coast look beautiful and magical and peaceful and idyllic.... Just like it is. I'm gonna see it again.

» Watch the trailer
» Writer, Rex Pickett interview
» Director, Alexander Payne interview
» LA Times critic Kenneth Turan's review


Old Man Talker. The only problem with the movie and the crowd's exuberance was that there were several people who felt the need to narrate the movie to their spouses. While KB had to struggle with Mr. Kicking Her Chair, I was sitting beside Old Man Talker. And the longer Old Man Talker was watching the movie, the more Old Man Talker forgot he was in a theater with other people who could hear his running commentary.

"What is that?!" asked the man to his wife. "A chocolate? Did he just give him a chocolate?"

"Zssispt psstzt zsispist," his wife whispered back, obviously still in possession of her movie-going manners.

"What?" said Old Man Talker.

"ZSSISPT PSSTZT ZSISPIST!" she said again, this time louder.

"Oh! A condom!" said Old Man Talker.

He also commented on the direction they were driving on the highways (They're heading north!) and forecasted future actions (I think he's going to tell her now!).

Sigh. Oh, Old Man Talker. I couldn't even be upset with you cuz you were too damn cute with all your movie-talking exhuberance. Just please, don't sit by me again and try to share the arm rests next time. Deal?


Softies. KB and I are living squarely in girlieville and we can prove it by participating in Loobylu's A Month of Softies online community project. Yesterday we each bought super soft flannel and then hand-made the pattern and began to cut out our peices. And oh, yes, the results shall be posted and you all can roll your eyes and say "damn those girls are such CHICKS" and we'll smile and nod and say that you're right.

DSC_0455

DSC_0455
Originally uploaded by HeidiB.

Just cuz I love this photo so much. The photog put this photo in the "I love my cat" group. Ha.

Shopping centre Santa

Shopping centre Santa
Originally uploaded by vanillasky.

Okay. Oh. Man.

I found this one in the Flickr "Creepy Christmas" group. But what is totally FREAKING ME OUT are Santa's inner thighs. Now there's a group of words I thought I'd never say "santa's inner thighs." Ack!

Wrong wrong wrong on so many counts. And yet -- yet -- I choose to post this on my blog.

I saw someone leave a comment last week that said "I'm already sick of Christmas." Heh. After seeing this picture I'm sick and frightened.

Is malky still alive?

Is malky still alive?, originally uploaded by malky.

VIRGO (Aug. 23-Sept. 22): "To the mind that is still," said the ancient
Chinese sage Lao Tzu, "the whole universe surrenders." This is true all the
time, of course, but in the coming weeks it will be even more intensely
true for you. According to traditional astrologers, that would be a
problem. They believe that advising Virgos to keep their minds still is like
ordering Niagara Falls to stop splashing 600,000 gallons of water per
second over its precipice. But here's my nontraditional perspective: It
may be harder for you Virgos to quiet your mind, but if and when you
actually accomplish it, the universe surrenders more completely to you
than to any other sign. (P.S. On March 29, 1848, an ice jam stopped the
flow of water over Niagara Falls for several hours.)

Sheep in Wales

Sheep in Wales, originally uploaded by bigaldavies.

Flickr Pimpin'

I found Big Al Davies in the simplist of ways. I was on Flickr, looking to be entertained, and one of his pics showed up as "recently uploaded" on the Flickr home page.



It was a simple picture. Unassuming. And yet, emotionally, it drew me right in. Providing instant ambience and prestory and afterstory and just... I dunno. I just liked it. So I cruised Big Al's photostream and found that a lot of the photos were like that. I prolly favoritized a handful right off the bat.

At Big Al's you'll find awesome nostalgia shots of his punk days in the early 80s (think peg-legged pants will ever come back in? these boys tucked 'em in their boots), pastoral shots like the this photo of the sheep, and glimpses of small-town Welsh living, Welsh vacationing, Welsh hanging out and Welsh showing off. On top of it all, Big Al's style is clever and unassuming. Sweet but with an edge. (Uh oh, am I evangelizing again?)

My money's on it that he's a bit of a local hero himself. I bet that more than a couple people know his name and shout hellos as he walks down the street. I'd shout hello too, if he were in my town.

» Big Al Davies photostream

(little) girl power



Regardless of what you think about their music (I saw a note today that said " I cannot decide if Smoosh is the best or worst band ever") there is a lot to admire and make you smile with Smoosh. Hello — little girls who have these kinds of instincts and this level of fearlessness? A 10- and 12-year-old opening for Pearl Jam and Death Cab? What is not to admire? Plus it made me pull out an old Princess Superstar for at-my-desk chair dancing for the rest of the evening. Seriously though: More power to the Smoosh.

» Listen to the Smoosh interview/songs

» P. S-star and the wedding DJ (I'm still impressed)

pith helmet

If they get you asking the wrong questions the answers don't matter.
— Thomas Pynchon

Sounds like the strategy of the Republican party.

overheard

mom: I just read your blog. Is everything okay? Are you alright? I know how much the internet means to you.

I'd like to tell you that she was teasing when she said that....

Dear Internet,

It's not you; it's me.

You are really nice, Internet. I've enjoyed the time we've had together. You've shown me things and taken me places I never even dreamed of before. Sheesh. Remember "All your base"? Remember the dancing baby? God, those were good times Internet. You are funny and really interesting -- you are always changing things up and always have some new thing to tell me or show me or share with me.... I love that about you.

But, I need more time to myself. Don't get me wrong: you should have someone who wants to spend all their time with you. You deserve to get what you need. But it just seems like we need two different things: you need constant attention and I need a life.

I'd still like to be friends and hang out and stuff. Let me know if you'd be up for that. If that's not enough for you, I totally understand.

emdot

What's on the other side of the screen?

What's on the other side of the screen?
Originally uploaded by sweetdogk.

Do you think "meow" is just short for "let me out"? (Let)Me ou(t). (Let) Me ou(t).

I'm right aren't I?

- - - -

Tonight is Bret's big birthday bash a la Country Gentlemen. Jist: show up wearing pink and rarin' to go. There'll be poker, cocktails, music and the spirit of Alex Madonna himself.

Hiyaaaaaaahhhhh!!!!

Hiyaaaaaaahhhhh!!!!
Originally uploaded by dreadfuldan.

A coupla weeks ago my friend sent me this photo. How can you not love this photo. You know, if there comes a time and you are feeling a little too serious about your life or maybe sad... please come back to this page and look at this photo.

The beauty is that there is a whole "Jumping" group on Flickr. People all around the world are jumping.

Here's an even better thought... next time you are feeling overly serious about your life or your surroundings or things are getting you down.... jump. My hunch is that fighting gravity brings levity.

» Look at them jumpers

red state hot line



Hey Red State guys, need to rekindle that feeling of all-powerfulness you briefly had last Wednesday morning? Craving a little sweet bluffing in your ear? Tired of being teased by all those liberal hotties who don't understand your firm grip on political "reality"? These girls are here to help.

Mar And Melissa

Mar And Melissa
Originally uploaded by YardSale.

Dinner at Dan's and about 20 minutes before I was set to go over I got a phone call from Meliss. Melissa's lived in Chicago now for some four odd years, but has spent the last four months galavanting all over our fair globe -- Guatamala to Bali to Laos to India to Spain -- with a smattering of other exotic locales thrown in for good measure (including a serendipitous running into of good friends in an off-the-beaten-path cafe in Chaing Mai, Thailand).

But tonight she was rolling through SLO Town and I was lucky enough to be home when she called. Not enough can be said about Meliss -- beloved drummer to many a SLO Town band, kind kind kind, and she has the best laugh this side of the Mississippi. The Melississippi.

And the dinner was good, too. Thanks Yard Sale Dan!

a couple or more totally unrelated thoughts

thought one. thank god for dan who feeds me dinner. tonight it is pork tenderloin. i love him.

thought two. yesterday my mom and i drove out to cambria. on the way home (such a beautiful drive) we talked about people... how some people are so open and some people so prickly. maybe people with "thick shells" have little backbone. they don't have the courage to be themselves... or are afraid of ... something. so they have hard edges or protective armor. i'm a leetle bit that way. (what? some of you are thinking "leetle" with raised eyebrows?) so my theory is: to be wide open = strong spine. but without the strong spine, tough shell. (you gotta have something to keep you up).

i'm sure i could have thought that out better.

thought three. canadians pledging to marry americans are the new world heros.

thought four: lost frog. ohmigod i love this.

thought five: am i sick of pussyfooting around what i really want to do? when will i stop the bs and just do it?

thought six: rut-row, that was a toe back in the angsty river once again. out toe! stay out of the angsty river.

thought seven: however, if you know the answer to thought five, would you mind dropping me a line? shanks.

This is such my favorite flickr pic

Originally uploaded by g e o f f.

Ohmigod. I can't get enough of this photo.

On other news fronts... I'm such an early adopter who never fully adopts. I'm like the early adopters who brought the baby home but forgot to sign the papers. Case in point: RSS feeds. How come I didn't do this before? I'll be adding feed options later, but for now, it's in the bottom right hand nav, right under the poems.

Speekina poems, this photo is a poem. I'm telling you people: I can't get enough of it.

What if photos were like favorite songs and you could play them over and over and over and over....

Jim moved away

Jim moved away
Originally uploaded by emdot.

Our new neighbors began to move in today. "What are they like?" Kristin (who is another neighbor... not just another neighbor but THE neighbor) asked, calling from Bret's house.

"I dunno," I told her, "but GK said they were a young couple."

"Meh," said Kristin. "I want a nice, old man."

"Me too," I said.

Our neighbor Jim moved away last week. He was great. He liked to pretend he was cantankerous and hated cats, but he was super quick with a smile and when he didn't realize we were looking, we could see he'd keep the backdoor open so the cats could meander in and hang out in his livingroom.

He lives in Bend now. That makes three people I know who've moved to Bend in the last 12 months. It must be great there.

And speekina Oregon, I once again wrapped my ears with the Graves Yes Yes Okay Okay. S'funny, cuz (as I've mentioned a million times before) I loved Love Love Love. So much so that I bought YYOKOK three months ago. Listened partway once and could not bring myself to listen again. I didn't want to bear the heartbreak of disappointment.... But since yesterday it's been all Graves all the time and I am once again singing the Olin praises.

good morning america how are ya?

I just decided that this is going to be a Lyle Lovett morning. God damn but I love Lyle Lovett. I was never a Julia Roberts fan... that is until she married Lyle. And while I didn't think she deserved him then, I thought, well, Julia can't be all bad.

The first time I ever saw Lyle was on the Today show back in 1989. I can tell you that because he really made an impression and I remember telling the guy I was seeing at the time all about him. He nodded in agreement, but I now know he nodded in agreement about a lot of things and prolly didn't have a whole lot going on upstairs.

A few months later I was seeing someone else. God I liked this guy. And it was all that beginning butterfly-gaaah feeling when you can't keep your hands or your eyes off of each other. We had tickets to see Rickie Lee Jones and Lyle was opening. We had dinner beforehand and were so butterfly-gaaah that it took all of our collective energy to peel ourselves away and get to the show. We caught Lyle's last two songs and encore.

And while that guy and I eventually broke up, my love for Lyle continued.

- - - - -

Thursday I posted a photo to Flickr and 24 hours later it had gotten 1000 hits. As of this writing it's gotten over 1600. I don't know how it happened, all those hits. Did the link get forwarded in an email? Did someone post it on their blog? I don't know. I did have to delete a comment from someone who didn't seem to be a real flickr member -- he smelled suspicious. I sent him the following email:

I just deleted your comment because I couldn't tell if you are an actual Flickr member or a troll.

If you are an actual, participating Flickr member I apologize. I'm all for people expressing their opinions, but would like to minimize harrassment or trolling from people who might just sign on to be vocal.

He didn't write or respond back, he's got no photos up or information about himself and no contacts, so I'm guessing he lives under some bridge harrassing unsuspecting billygoats.

- - - - -

Since the election two of my friends have started up blogs of their own. One I know was in response to 11/2 (How funny if the election had happened on November 9th and then we disenfranchisedistas could refer to it as 11/9) (Hold your horses anyone wanting to flame me about that -- I know the two aren't comparable. Lighten up.). The other... I'm not sure what spurred her on but already just two posts into it and it is fluid and rolling.

- - - - -

Yesterday I bathed myself in Yes Yes Okay Okay by Graves frontman Greg Olin. What I love about this CD (and the last, Love Love Love) it's like Olin is whisper-singing the lyrics right into your ear. He's lovely and his lyrics are delicious. Yesterday's favorite = We'll lie down with virgins and make incredible conversions / We'll lie down on our backs / do all the math and we'll have / strength in numbers. Listen here.

Frozen Coffee.

Frozen Coffee.
Originally uploaded by witold.

Action is the antidote to despair.
—Baez

Do not let the fact that things are not made for you, that conditions are not as they should be, stop you. Go on anyway. Everything depends on those who go on anyway. — Robert Henri

Every day of our lives we are on the verge of making those slight changes that would make all the difference. — Mignon McLaughlin

We can destroy ourselves by cynicism and disillusion, just as effectively as by bombs. — Kenneth Clark

Well, while I'm here I'll do the work and what's the work? To ease the pain of living. Everything else, drunken dumbshow. — Allen Ginsberg

Henceforth I ask not good fortune, I myself am good fortune. — Walt Whitman

hole

hole
Originally uploaded by Red_One.

When you are down, stand tall

You know, it's funny. I listened to John Edwards give his speech this morning, before introducing John Kerry and for the first time in almost 24 hours I felt a glimmer of hope. Tears were still running down my cheeks, but I felt some sort of relief that somebody was still going to stand up and fight for something good in this country.

I listened to John Kerry's concession speech and wiped the tears from my eyes and thought, okay. I can be this bigger person. I can take my own small step towards national unity for my country. I admired his grace and eloquence at a time that must have been very difficult for him.

And I began to have faith again.

Then I listened to President Bush's acceptance speech and heard THE SAME OLD BULLSHIT. Cheney, I'm sorry, but you are a smirky, weasel-eyed evil-plotter. And Bush — he gave his opposition vote -- what? -- two sentences?! It was like an obligatory mention just so he could claim to want to unify the country.

Whatever dude. You know what? I was really disappointed in 2000 but I tried my hardest to get behind this president. I tried my hardest to see both sides. I tried my hardest to believe that obviously these people were seeing options and solutions in places that I could just not see it -- but that surely somewhere there was a grain of decency and smartness... surely there was a solution I couldn't see but they could.

I did my best four years ago to bridge the gap.

And I feel like my effort was trampled on by this administration. They were cocksure. They were smug. They were unapologetic. They were hasty. They were risky. They made miscalculated decisions based on manipulated information. They lied to our faces. And they smiled all the while.

So this year it is different. I am not so willing. I am not so pliable. I am not going to apologize for my viewpoint. I am not going to squint my eyes when I cannot see these so called solutions that are not in plain sight.

I'm going to hold this administration accountable to every last syllable. I will not go quietly.

Today I am standing tall and proud to be a Liberal and a Democrat in this United States of America. And I'm going to be none too quiet to tell you about it.

DSC_3854

DSC_3854
Originally uploaded by jazzbiker.

I love Mark Morford, part VII

"It simply boggles the mind: we've already had four years of some of the most appalling and abusive foreign and domestic policy in American history, some of the most well-documented atrocities ever wrought on the American populace and it's all combined with the biggest and most violently botched and grossly mismanaged war since Vietnam, and much of the nation still insists in living in a giant vat of utter blind faith, still insists on believing the man in the White House couldn't possibly be treating them like a dog treats a fire hydrant.

"Inexplicable? Not really. People want to believe. They want to trust their leaders, even against all screaming, neon-lit evidence and stack upon stack of flagrant, impeachment-grade lie. They simply cannot allow that Dubya might really be an utter boob and that they are being treated like an abused, beaten housewife who keeps coming back for more, insisting her drunk husband didn't mean it, that she probably had it coming, that the cuts and bruises and blood and broken bones are all for her own good.

"And this election, it might be all be very amusing, in a Mel Gibson-y, blood-drenched hamburger-of-Christ sorta way, were it not so sad and dangerous. It might all be tolerable and cute, in a violence-engorged, sexist, video-game-y sorta way, were it not so lopsided and wrong.

"This election's outcome, this heartbreaking proof of a nation split more deeply and decisively than ever, it simply reinforces the feeling among much of the educated populace: It is a weirdly embarrassing time to be an American. It is jarring and oddly shattering and makes you rethink what it really means to be a part of this country. The answer: It doesn't mean much at all. Not really. Not anymore."

— from Mark Morford's column