The Wrestler

Finally came to my town.

A movie to break your heart.

Only Mickey Rourke could
make self-destruction entertaining.

Yes, James dear, I've been waiting for this.

Inside the Actors Studio meme from Saturday 9.

The host of the famous Bravo series, James Lipton asks guests these 10 questions.

1. What is your favorite word?

Love.

2. What is your least favorite word?

No.

3. What turns you on, creatively, spiritually, or emotionally?

Freedom.

4. What turns you off?

Negativity.

5. What is your favorite curse word?

Shit.

6. What sound or noise do you love?

Kiddo's laughter.

7. What sound or noise do you hate?

Chain Saws.

8. What profession other than yours would you like to attempt?

Painter.

9. What profession would you not like to do?

Dental Hygienist.

10. If heaven exists, what would you like to hear God say when you arrive at the Pearly Gates?

You did a good job, honey.

Breaking News

They have Neanderthals in Chicago.

And they are resisting Historic Preservation.

“The fact is, Chicago could not exist without its landmark ordinance,” said Jonathan Fine, the executive director of Preservation Chicago, a nonprofit group. “It’s the line that holds us back from the Neanderthals.”

Story is here.

Unmapped Road

The road to happiness lies in two simple principles:

find what it is that interests you and that you can do well,

and when you find it, put your whole soul into it --

every bit of energy and ambition and natural ability you have.

John D. Rockefeller III

Do You See What I See?

On a photo trip to the headwaters of the Missouri River,
I spot -- do you see it?

How 'bout now?

Now?

Stalking the elusive Great Blue Heron -- this is the best shot I got.

Very spooky bird-- as in, you ain't sneaking up on me.

The geese were easier.

Talk To Me, Honeybun

There's a theory in Yoga, that if you listen, your body will tell you what it needs.

Are you kidding me with these all wheat, no oil, low salt chips?
You're Irish for Christ's sale. Eat a potato.

Or not.

Thursday's Meme

1. The last flight of stairs you walked up/down - were the carpeted?

Student Union at MSU Bozeman. I love these stairs. They're marble and a track has been worn down the middle by countless feet of countless young people on their way to higher education (or in a hurry to get back to the beer party at the dorm.)

2. Green or purple grapes?

Green.

3. Do you like Peeps?

I prefer chocolate.

4. The smell of Vicks - like it?

Funny you should ask. We had a medical call last night and the patient started barfing almost as soon as we came in sight. I don't take that personally. After the ambulance carried the patient away, we were standing in the yard, debriefing the call and one said, I need to get a little jar of that smelly stuff. I said, I have some, feel free next time. In fact, the Vicks jar fell out of my jump kit when I was searching for a barf bag. Our third partner said he'd never heard about that. Yep, I says. Mentholatum works. Vicks is better.

So, yeah, I like the smell of Vicks, because sometimes it is better than the alternative.

5. Do you put decorative cling-ons on your windows for different holidays?

No.

6. Finish the sentence - I spent too much money on ________ .

Poppets.

But I love them.

7. Which celebrity should be flown into outer space or placed on a desert island?

Tom Cruise, Katie Holmes, Brad and Angelina, (alas, I'd be sad to see him go), Michael Jackson. In space, please, they might be able to swim back from an island.

8. Would you support schools changing the "open" time? Such as 10am - 5pm, for example?

Nah. Make 'em drag their little uneducated kiesters out to the bus at 7:00 AM like the rest of us did. If it was good enough for Grandpa, it's good enough.

9. Do you go fishing?

Yes. Walleye is delicious.

10. What question should we ask next week?

If tomorrow morning is the end of the world, what do you do tonight?

Gracie-Cam

For those of you following The Naughtiest Puppy In The World,

Gracie,

on You Tube,

and I know someone is because

The Most Annoying Sound In The World has 210 views,
Deer vs Dog has 737,
The Further Adventures of The Naughtiest Puppy In The World has 83,
Terrier Trains Human, 57,
and 3 Million Squeaks Later has 39.

They can't all be me.

So, for those of you following Gracie on You Tube, here is her latest venue. Created, if you must know, when I was supposed to be preparing the marketing list for my latest script.



I was forced to join You Tube when kiddo said I was too old to be putting stuff up on You Tube, proving, I hope, once and for all, that one is never too old to be a dork about one's dog.

An Bhfuil Gaeilge Agat?

Play Ball

This is just what I need for The Naughtiest Puppy In The World, Just A Bad Dog, Gracie.


I wonder how he taught Jerry to play by himself?

Thursday Thunks

1. You are walking down the road and you look down. There is a bug. Do you step on it?

Probably. Is it ugly?

2. What is one fantasy that you want to come true more than any other?

Rich and famous contract from Hollywood.

3. Someone knocks on your door. Do you look out the window to see who it is before you open it? Do you open it regardless of who it is?

Yes and no.

4. Have you ever eaten Play Doh?

No, but I once ate a dog cookie.

5. What was your favorite Saturday morning cartoon as a child?

Beany and Cecil.

6. Are you a "people watcher"?

Yeah.

7. I have a bowl of fruit. There are apples, oranges & pears. You help yourself to one - which one do you choose?

I'd rather have chocolate.

8. What is your biggest pet peeve in the blogging world?

People who think they have the inside scoop on politics.

9. What is one religion that you could just never see yourself joining?

Almost any.

10. What word do you use far too often?

Shit.

11. How long do you spend in the shower?

As long as it takes.

12. If you were to write a personal ad about yourself, what would it say?

Look this way.

13. Your favorite flavor of soup is....?

Chicken noodle.

14. You are sitting on a bench in the park and a bug walks in front of your feet.... do you squash him?

If it looks like it might get on me, heck yeah, I'm going to squash it.

Chance and Luck

Just when I was getting a good start on worrying about kiddo moving to Europe, where there's a terrorist behind every tree and other perils I have yet to imagine, a building blows up in the town where she lives now.
Down the street from her house. Gas leak. Five people missing at first report. One person confirmed dead.

Poor mother's nerves. I'm going to end up looking like that cat.

I wonder if a nerve tonic would help?

I suppose this proves, the futility of worry. Worry about this, and that will sucker punch you to the floor.

Some of your hurts you have cured,
And the sharpest you still have survived,
But what torments of grief you endured
From the evil which never arrived.

Ralph Waldo Emerson

Thursday Thunks

This is a fun meme.

1. This cat - scary or cute?

Scary. Poor thing looks ill.

2. Tom Cruise and Katie Holmes reproducing again. Good idea or don't care?

I think NASA should put Tom Cruise, Katie Holmes, Brad Pitt, Angelina Jolie and Jennifer Aniston in a rocket and shoot them toward Alpha Centauri.

3. Do you smile at strangers when you make eye contact?

Yea, unless I'm in New York.

4. What percentage of your sarcasm isn't really sarcasm at all?

Since I am no longer a teenager, I am no longer sarcastic.

5. If you were to be a dog breed, which breed would you be?

I'd want to be a terrier so I could do whatever I wanted.

6. Go grab the closest book. Open up to page 27. Whats the 4th sentence?

1. the distant past. 2. an object from the distant past.

7. When's the last time someone put one over on you, told you a story that you totally fell for when it wasn't anywhere near true?

oy. This happens all the time because I never expect anybody to be up to anything, and as one of my EMT partners told me recently, they always are.

8. Ever seen Michael Jackson in person?

ick. Alert NASA, one more passenger for the annoying celebrity mission to Alpha Centauri.

9. Do you have a gut?

I beg your pardon.

10. What is one thing in your kitchen you have too many/too much of?

Dust bunnies.

11. Ever had a colon cleansing?

On purpose, no. Those accidental ones caused by bad Mexican food, yes.

Straight to Video

I heard about this film a year ago because a friend's daughter worked in the costume department. At the time, I thought, this one's gonna be good.

This week on Box Office Mojo, I see it went straight to video. How did that happen?

Rented and watched it last night. Screenwriters, if you want to see an example of episodic and why that's bad, this is the film to watch.

In The Electric Mist With The Confederate Dead by James Lee Burke is a beautiful book.

The film's a vehicle carrying a lot of talent going no where.

Alas.

Absence Breaks The Heart

I used to live across the street from a cow pasture. My kitchen table stood beneath a window, so I would gaze upon cow life while I had breakfast.

Seasons were divided by activity instead of weather for my bovine neighbors. Winters spent gravid. Spring, birthing the next generation. Summer, youngsters growing fat. Autumn, weaning and separation.

Autumn was worst.

Calves rounded up and trucked away. Mothers spent night and day, pacing the fence, bawling for what they had lost.

Eventually, mother cows moved away from the fence, slipping into the cycle repeat. Winter arrived to be spent gravid, and on and on.

When kiddo moved away to attend college, she occasionally asked, how was I doing with the change?

I told her, I am still at the fence.

Eventually, I moved on, ordering my year differently.

Kiddo has just been accepted into graduate school in England.

Suddenly, I’m back at the fence.

Moooooo.

Poppets

I heard about them from Fond of Snape. Took a look for myself, and was enchanted.

Poppets are the work of artist Lisa Snellings, and there is just something about them.

They go places.

And look at things.

This one gave kiddo a nightmare.

Proving what they say, poppets are sweet and a little bit creepy.