I have been following the news coming out of Japan since Friday morning when I first heard about the devastating earthquake and tsunami, and only sometimes allowing myself to look at the incredible video and photos--just too horrifying to see.
I was at a St. Patrick's Day party(yes, a wee bit early) last night and had laughs and drinks(ow! my head this morning...) and it was a great time out with good friends. Then, as soon as I woke up this morning and logged on to my computer, I was jolted back to reality because there was more news from Japan.
My heart aches for the Japanese people and all they are going through right now.



Yoko Kanno~ "Didn't it Rain"

It was such an otherwise perfect day....

Yesterday was bright blue skies and sunny and perfectly September-ish(just like the fateful Sept. 11 nine years ago, in fact) and I spent much of the day with Miss R, doing errands(grocery store, pharmacy), poking around(but not buying anything--we were good this time) in our favorite consignment shops around town ( Chameleons and The Phoenix ), and then lunch at El Fuego (very fresh & tasty Mexican fare).
When we got back home, we baked an applesauce spice cake together. Of course, all this mother-daughter closeness was possible because the "boyfriend" was working all day. Otherwise, I would have been doing all this alone.

Then I left at 6:00 to meet my sister and her friend at the commuter parking lot(for carpooling) nearest to our house. I drove up with them to the Brooklyn Tea and Coffee House(so cozy inside and out) in Providence......
..... to see Robin Lane --a musical blast from my past whom I hadn't thought about in years and years(my sister happened to notice the announcement that she was playing at the Brooklyn and got tickets for me because she remembered I had her 2 albums back then and was a fan--isn't that sweet?). She attained some local fame from out of Boston in the late 70's/early 80's--and I saw her open for the Kinks at a concert in 1980. A little background info from the Music Museum of New England site:

Singer-songwriter-guitarist Lane found her way to Cambridge in the late 1970s after a whirlwind introduction to the world of music through a great deal of hanging out with Crazy Horse guitarist Danny Whitten, which led to her singing backup on Neil Young's "Round & Round (It Won't Be Long)." The move East saw her form the hit band Robin Lane and the Chartbusters and sign a multi-record deal with Warner Bros. But raising a family came first, and Lane and her red Fender Mustang guitar stepped out of the spotlight for a number of years, mostly writing songs for others. She came back in the mid-1990s with a batch of pop, rock, and country tunes on her 1995 album Catbird Seat, reformed the Chartbusters for a couple of years, and now lives in Western Massachusetts, where she performs "living room concerts" in people's homes.
(by Ed Symkus-
Music Museum of New England)

The concert was very intimate--like being in some one's kitchen(there are actually kitchen tables in the Brooklyn). Robin must be about 60 now, but her voice is as warm as ever, and I even got to chat with Robin before and during the show(she tells a lot of stories and interacts with her audience throughout her performance) and she even complimented me on the necklace I was wearing(an old post-war Germany stainless steel and green Bakelite beauty that my mother had since the 1950's and I have been wearing sine the 80's).This was the big hit from 1980('81?) and the 11th video ever shown on the then new MTV. Supposedly, this song was also recently featured in the movie "Grownups".

So...there's enough music trivia.
Now, let's get to the bad part of my day. Whaaa....
After the performance was done, we left the city at around 10:30 to drive back home, and were approaching the entrance to the lot where I had left my car when we noticed a tow truck, and police car and some people standing in the lot. Then I saw my husband(!) standing there talking to the police and I immediately knew something had happened to my car.
Turns out, it and the green truck I had parked next to, had been hit(and damaged badly) by a car on the road that passes the lot(we were parked facing the road). It was a "hit and run" that the owner of the green truck actually witnessed because he was just getting a lift back to the lot as the car "jumped the curb"(his words) and smashed into his truck, and then the impact of that made his truck smash into the left driver's side of my poor little Ford Escort wagon. What a coincidence that the accident would happen just as the owner of the truck got back to the lot and saw it happen before his eyes?

He and his friends actually chased the car down once they realised the driver of the car(a young woman) was not stopping and continued on down the road(was she drunk? Had she been texting and driving? How did she just veer off the road like that, smash into other cars and then keep going like that?).

But they could not get her to stop--they said she was driving only 25 miles per hour(obviously her car must have sustained some damage, too) and looking straight ahead. So, they went back to the lot to examine the damage, called the police and I got there in my sister's car shortly after the police and tow truck(because the truck was damaged far worse than mine--at least mine was still drive able) arrived. From the license plate on my car, the police were able to look up my phone number and get a hold of my husband to get him there.

So now in the daylight of the next day, my car looks terrible(the front grill, front bumper, rear view mirror and passenger side ),

and we need to contact our insurance tomorrow(this hit-and-run driver, whom luckily the owner saw do it and knew her plate number so the police could get her, better have her own car insurance paid up because she is going to be having to pay for some damage otherwise), but know that this could have been far, far worse.

But, no one was hurt(not so sure about the driver who hit the vehicles, but at this point I am not so concerned about her...gggrrrr....), and I even can drive my mother's car until this is all sorted out(don't know yet how safe my car is to drive and whether we'll be getting a new one) since she will be away in Germany and Greece for the next four weeks.
Still,even though my old Escort is hardly the greatest car in the world, I like my car(it has gotten me where I need to go for the last ten years with never a problem, and has even climbed steep mountain roads), so it pains me to see it all banged up like this.

For Me? An Award?

Why is there a little pic of Gloria Vanderbilt here along with an Honest Scrap sign, you may be wondering? Well, read on....

Recently, I was given an "award"--the Honest Scrap award--by the warm , witty and always readable Peg(or is it Margaret...or Peggy?) from Straight Up-No Chaser, and I am so flattered that she thought to include me in the list of recipients she thought worthy of this award. I feel just honored enough that this woman even reads my blog.

Back in September of last year, I was given this same award by both Claudia and Zuzana, and so already had to think of ten things to say about myself(that blog entry here).
At first, I was going to wimp out and just copy my list from then, but somehow came up with ten more sliglhtly interesting things about myself(I hope..)

Along with the rule of having to list 10 things about myself, I need to then pass the award along to 10 friends(I changed it to 3 bloggers-see below).

Well, let's get started with my list:

1. I never had a dog as a pet in my life until the year I was 41(grew up with cats and *thought* I was a "cat person"), when my daughter fell in love with a little fat black mixed breed puppy named Jewel. Of course, it somehow happened that she has almost become my dog.





2. I have at least 50 moles of assorted sizes all over my body, including a big ugly fat one at the nape of my neck which I always had to warn a new hairstylist about so they wouldn't scrape a metal comb over it--ouch!




Also--a "beauty mark" one under my left eye(that one, I like),




another one above my lip,




one under my left nostril ...which I hate and wish I could have it taken off like my mother did to hers years ago. She had one about the same size and in the very same place as mine--right under the left nostril.




Oh, and the one I hate most of all.....one on my chin, which, horror of horrors--has been sprouting a hair of late! Ack! I was warned once by an older woman (this was about ten years ago) that "you'll end up finding hairs in places you never thought possible once you are old like me." So, yes, I was warned, but I still don't like it.


3. I am at times guarded and feel uncomfortable telling some things about myself, but then on the other hand...I have a public blog...and write about my ordinary boring life...and my moles and chin hair.



4. Back in the 80's, I once worked a party(I used to work for a catering outfit) hosted by Gloria Vanderbilt at her Newport mansion(Marble House was it?), and, wearing the requisite black dress with white apron (so Upstairs Downstairs), had to make it through the swirling couples dancing in the ballroom with a heavy tray with food to serve to the society guests(one of whom was "uber It-girl" of the 80's--Cornelia Guest)--so worried that I would get bumped into by the oblivious rich folks and spill the contents of the tray. But, somehow I managed not to. It was one of the more interesting parties I catered--almost unreal because of the location and the type of people who were there..





5. Weirdly, I saw Gloria V. once again a year later as she strolled through the Isabella Stewart Gardner museum in Boston with her son. I think it was the one who eventually killed himself by throwing himself out the window of his NYC apartment. But, maybe it was Cooper ?(he might have had brown hair at one time?)





6. I was baptised in a Greek Orthodox church in Montreal.





7. It bothers me when I see someone walking their dog and talking on their phone at the same time. I can't say why, but it just does. I don't really like cell phones and rarely use mine, basically.





8. I have never seen the movie Titanic.





9. Or Lord Of The Rings





10. But... I have seen Pee Wee's Big Adventure about five times, at least.

So, now that that's done, I want to pass this award onto a few bloggers who I feel deserve it--three bloggers "who I feel embody the spirit of the Honest Scrap and whose blogs I find brilliant in design or content."

Firstly, there' are two Canadian bloggers(on both coasts of the continent)--
Kate at Pennello Lane
and....Jack at slightly off-center
and then there's my friend Claudia in Guatemala(giving the award right back on to you, Claus!).
Please check out their visually and mentally stimulating blogs if you get a chance.

Saturday musings....

I always say I am going to do something about changing my homepage from Yahoo, because I am either confronted first thing in the morning when I log on,

with horrible world news(earthquakes, global warming, suicide bombers, crazed Americans killing with guns in public places and on and on...), Sarah Palin's giant head, and nonsensical things that would fit into the "why exactly is this news?" category, like this:

*********************

Week of shakeups for Pussycat Dolls
Kimberly Wyatt and Ashley Roberts quit the group, leaving fans to wonder about its future.

'I just couldn't do it anymore'

********************

With a link to a video. No, thank you. I don't really even know what a Pussy Cat Dolls song sounds like(and what kind of people are their fans?) and I hope I never find out.

Well, it has been a while since I have written about some of my dreams.....

I am slowly losing my dream from early this morning(before I woke to birdsong that really made me think of spring!). Something about bouncing from icy rock to icy rock along the ocean's edge here in town. And my daughter joining in, right behind me.

Instead of flying dreams, I have reoccurring "bouncing" dreams. I half-fly /half-bounce off the ground(like "Flubber"). It's a good dream when I bounce.

The other night, I had a wonderful dream about swimming alongside a tiny elephant in a river--one even smaller than a real elephant baby would be. That was a happy dream, too.

Your Dreams Are Important

Your dreams seem to show that you're a bit disturbed... but nothing serious. You may have a problem you're trying to work out in your sleep. Overall, you are very content in your life. You secretly want to hide your dreams from your waking mind.

What Do Your Dreams Mean?

...and, is that a Gummi worm coming out of that man's mouth?

So you think YOU'RE having a bad day?

Imagine if you were this clumsy woman? (this happened on Monday of this week). I can't imagine how I would feel(and scared, too, as to what could be done legally against me for the damage. Although, the museum must have some kind of insurance)if I did this:

New York woman falls, rips Picasso painting

Mon Jan 25, 8:18 am ET , Yahoo News
NEW YORK (AFP) – A significant Pablo Picasso painting was damaged after a woman attending art class lost her balance, fell into "The Actor" and tore it, The Metropolitan Museum of Art said.

The unusually large canvas, measuring 77.25 by 45.38 inches (196 by 115 centimeters), sustained a vertical tear of about six inches (15 centimeters) in the lower right-hand corner in the accident on Friday.

The museum, located on the eastern edge of New York's Central Park, did not elaborate on why the woman fell.

But The Met said the damage did not impact the "focal point of the composition" and that it should be repaired in the coming weeks ahead of a major Picasso retrospective featuring some 250 works at the museum opening on April 27.
Repair work should be "unobtrusive," it added.
Painted in the winter of 1904-1905, the work hails from Picasso's critical Rose Period, when the artist shifted from the downbeat tones of his Blue Period to warmer, more romantic hues.
The period also hints at Picasso's later embrace of abstraction with his signature cubist style.
Donated to The Met by automobile heiress Thelma Chrysler Foy in 1952, "The Actor" features an acrobat striking a dramatic pose against an abstract backdrop. It was painted on a used canvas that already contained a painting.

Newsy

The news headlines(and the stories within) are making me grouchy this morning!

First thing I see is this headline from the Associated Press:

Snowstorm enters Northeast, imperils morning rush (AP)

Imperils!! That's some flowery language. It's snow and ice and yes, it could be a stressful commute in it, but it's not a tsunami or tornado coming. Use caution. That is all.

Then, I read this and find out that my beloved Conan is in true peril from the evil NBC network(and perhaps evilly unfunny Jay Leno). Noooo...! He should have just stayed on the Right Coast in New York and kept his old job if this is what they were going to do with him. I will stop watching NBC if he is demoted...fume, fume...

And thirdly, this story is horrendous, if it is true. It seems giant retailers Wal-Mart and H&M were found to be discarding unsold clothing in trash bags behind their stores in some locations(some even cut up by scissors so they couldn't be worn), rather than at least donating them to charity. This just boggles my mind! I hope the fall-out from this will seriously affect their business. I know I won't be shopping there. It does make me wonder if...other retailers have done this also.

H&M and Wal-Mart destroy and trash unsold goods

by Joanna Douglas, Shine Staff,

This week the New York Times reported a disheartening story about two of the largest retail chains. You see, instead of taking unsold items to sample sales or donating them to people in need, H&M and Wal-Mart have been throwing them out in giant trash bags. And in the case that someone may stumble on these bags and try to keep or re-sell the items, these companies have gone ahead and slashed up garments, cut off the sleeves of coats, and sliced holes in shoes so they are unwearable.

The Fall of The Wall

Some more thoughts about this anniversary of the opening of the Berlin Wall and the opening of all the borders surrounding East Germany.
It just makes you think how much has changed since, and what was always simply there(as insane as the whole idea of a wall built to keep a country's citizens from leaving, and that East Germany pretty much bankrupted itself by spending so much to build, man, and maintain the wall which surrounded the entire country, not just the east section of Berlin) since I could remember growing up, is already a thing of the past.

Because my mother is from Berlin, I visited that city a number of times when I was a child and then on into my 20's. Most of my mother's family was lucky--they lived in West Berlin(meaning they could travel freely wherever they liked in the world, even coming to visit us in the USA a few times), but there were some cousins who had stayed behind in what was known as the "Ost Zone"(East Zone). They exchanged letters and cards but never could meet.
The "Wall", as strange as the whole concept seems now, was a daily, accepted fact of life for Berliners, and all Germans from the time it went up in 1961. When we visited my relatives, it was just always there in certain places--a looming concrete barrier with warning signs in English, German, Russian and French nearby. Sometimes a backdrop for photos--a odd sort of tourist attraction , like near the Brandenburg Gate. Sometimes, when taking a walk in one direction, you would come to the end of the American or English zone and there was that wall again. Even when on a boat on a river or lake, there, in the middle of the water was a sign sticking out, warning not to cross a certain point. You could see across the water at some buildings and knew this was East Germany. You spotted watchtowers (on both sides of the wall) and accepted it as normal.
The last time I was in Berlin was 1989, but in the early spring. I wish I could have been there in November, for the joyous events. But already, there was a feeling of some loosening up of the strict rules that most Soviet-influenced countries usually experienced. While taking the photos(in slideshow below)at the Wall one day, I was approached by a young man who told me he was from Russia and he gave me a few pins of his city--St. Petersburg. But at that time, still, it was called Leningrad. And I was somewhat surprised that the Russian was on the West side of the wall! Things were definitely changing and 1989 was an amazing year.

In 1989 the first free labor union was founded in the communist Poland.
The end of the communist system had begun.
The Soviet Union could control their satellites yet but with the new leader Mikhail Gorbachev their politics changed in 1984. Gorbachev's reforms, Perestroika and Glasnost should renew the Stalinist system in the Soviet Union but not replace the communist system.The reforms in the Soviet Union also had its effects on the other communist countries, especially in Poland and Hungary.
On August 23, 1989 Hungary opened the iron curtain to Austria.Months before East German tourists used their chance to escape to Austria from Hungary and in September 1989 more than 13 000 East German escaped via Hungary within three days. It was the first mass exodus of East Germans after the erection of the Berlin Wall in 1961.Mass demonstrations against the government and the system in East Germany begun at the end of September and took until November 1989.Erich Honecker, East Germany's head of state, had to resign on October 18, 1989.
The new government prepared a new law to lift the travel restrictions for East German citizen.At 06.53 pm on November 9, 1989 a member of the new East German government was asked at a press conference when the new East German travel law comes into force.He answered: "Well, as far as I can see, ... straightaway, immediately.
Thousands of East Berliners went to the border crossings. At Bornholmer Strasse the people demanded to open the border and at 10.30 pm the border was opened there.That moment meant the end of the Berlin Wall.Soon other border crossing points opened the gates to the West. In that night the deadly border was opened by East Germans peacefully.

info from The Fall Of The Berlin Wall website

I'll never forget waking up the next morning and seeing the happy, peaceful event on the TV news--the masses of happy East Berliners streaming into the West and the welcoming West Berliners greeting them. Like one big party. It was amazing and even last Sunday when I watched a documentery(mostly about the brave attempts to escape over the wall by some East Germans), I got all choked up and emotional at the end, watching once again, the footage of what happened on November 9, 1989. My mother was woken up early that morning by my ecstatic uncle, telling me their cousins from East Berlin were actually in his apartment at that very moment, and the border was open!

OMG! I Have a Teenager ...

...living in my house!
While my daughter, Miss R is nearly 14 1/2 and has been exhibiting some typical teenage behavior(but still is essentially the same sweet and happy person she always was--never too moody and usually agreeable) for a few years now already, it only really struck me a few weeks ago.
I went to the school to pick her up for an orthodontist's appointment, and was about to get out of the car to go inside the school, when I noticed a tall, willowy girl with flowing hair walking in my direction and was shocked when it dawned on me that was my daughter! She looked so mature. Liked she belonged in high school.
That's because she is in high school. Have I been in denial that she has grown and blossomed into a young lady?
Add to that shock--the news last week that she was asked by a 17 year old boy(a senior in the school) to go to the Homecoming Dance. Apparently, she met him at the first football game(she's in the band, so is at all home games) and he was with her best friend's older brother. They are now Facebook friends.
She is on Facebook!! (after much begging towards the end of the summer and drilling about rules and warnings about safety from us on the internet, and both I and the husband are connected to her there and even know her password)
She walks alongside me in the supermarket, texting away on her phone.
To whom? And what is she texting?
Now, it all seems to be very innocent, and what we could gather about this ...ahem..older boy...is that he comes over to the house of her best friend often, and the parents told us he seems to be quite nice.
Still--she is not going to the dance as his date(and she accepted that info without a fight when we told her). I feel like she is going to have to wait until she is 16, at least, until she can date? Or she could at least be interested in someone closer to her own age?
At the same time, I don't want to stick her under a burka and locked in the house, but both Mr. F and I are thinking she is too young for all this. Aaarrrgghhhh..! I guess I hadn't thought about these issues coming up. And poor Mr. F has been lying awake at night worrying about this.

Randomness and Loss

Life forms illogical patterns. It is haphazard and full of beauties which I try to catch as they fly by, for who knows whether any of them will ever return?

~~ Margot Fonteyn

This is the third summer in a row where I have had to learn the terrible, shocking news of a friend's unexpected death. We just found out Friday night that a long-time friend of Mr. F's (since college days) was killed by a drunk driver the evening before.

It has been very hard for Mr.F these last few days, and has once again cast a sad and strange pall over these otherwise sunny summer days.

Just makes you rethink the randomness of life and death and also makes me realise that you just gotta make the best of what you have today as there is no telling what can happen to you, your loved ones or world in the next instant.
So...
...hug your kid or dog or cat......

....if your SO is driving you crazy by snoring loudly, or forever leaving the damn toilet seat up , think of what it would be like if they weren't there any longer to do that(or you weren't around any longer to be bothered by it) and you might even begin to like that familiar noise (and that open lid)....

...call that friend you have been out of touch with--you never know if you'll ever get a chance to speak with them or see them again....

...each day, try to remember to breathe in the scents around you, as well as appreciate all the sounds, sensations and visual beauty of your little corner of the world....

..be kind.

Right To Dry

This segment(video below) that I caught the other day when it aired on TV around here has been on my mind.
Only a few years ago, I had started to learn of certain neighborhoods and communities(in the USA--somehow I think this is not such an issue in other places around the world) where it was dictated to the homeowners as to what they could and could not keep in their own yards. I am not talking about a full-fledged petting zoo or a backyard factory. I mean supposedly unsightly things like a boat or too many yard ornaments or...a clothesline with drying clothes!
First of all, I would hate to live anywhere where I had rules as to what was deemed appropriate to keep on my own property. But the thought that a clothesline was offensive to anyone was downright strange to me. In these times, especially, when we all should be trying to save energy--hanging clothes out to dry is a natural! I, personally, think it is a happy sight to behold.
One of my earliest memories is of my mother hanging out our freshly laundered clothing and sheets on a long clothesline in our yard. It seemed everyone, also, had a clothesline, or one of those roatating self standing clothes dryers.
And one of life's simple pleasures is the smell of dried laundry--to sleep on sheets that were hung out to dry in the sun and breeze all day is heaven.
While my mother was a die-hard when it came to avoiding using the dryer and hanging out the clothes instead--I used to whine when as a teen I had to go out in winter and freeze my hands when taking down the "crispy" and semi-frozen(almost dry, though) laundry off the line--I have to admit to becoming lazier about hanging out my own laundry. It is always easier and quicker for me to simply pop the wet clothing into our dryer, especially in winter. Once the warmer months arrive, though, I do try to take advantage of a sunny and dry day to hang out our laundry(it works out better if it is a day I am not at work and am at home long enough to maybe get two separate loads hung out that day).
And I want to try to make more of an effort to do this more often. And I certainly would hate for the simple "right to dry" taken away from me. I guess more and more people are feeling the same way, as there are now actual "movements" to ensure that communities don't impose clothes drying bans.

Watch the video--the snooty woman in the sunglasses complaining about having to look at her neighbor's clothesline(oh! the horror of it all!) is so ugly and selfish to me. I would not want to ever move into a neighborhood with her.


Watch CBS Videos Online

Nearly Wordless Wednesday....

..because this left me speechless!
Celine Dion as Michael Jackson in some (short) footage from a concert of her's from who knows when. So very bizarre.

Nearly Wordless Wednesday

What the......!(@#*!??
http://gmy.news.yahoo.com/v/13443780

Don't Stand So Close To Me

Being an American, when in a public place, I like to have and am used to my allotted “personal space”.

That 8 inches or so radius of space between me and another stranger. When you are in line, you expect to not have someone breathing down your neck and heaven forbid—never actually bumping into you and touching you!

I just had an afternoon where I had two encounters where my personal space was “violated”.

Not the worst thing in the world—just two events that happened in the space of an hour or so at two different places that made me wonder what was going on. ?????

First off, I was in line at a store (Job Lot, Erin!)

—where I went in for one thing and came out with ten, because that is the Job Lot way,

and was finishing paying and then gathering up my purchases into my bag, when I had a feeling of being almost pushed along and out of there by the next person behind me—a man I saw out of the corner of my eye, standing now very close to me.

Even, though, like I said, I had just finished up and was still not done and not quite ready to go. (he was already inching up right beside me before I had even gotten the total from the clerk, now that I think of it)
Even the clerk had to tell him to “wait” (he had already swiped his debit card in the machine and apparently she wasn’t ready for that). And there I was still gathering up my things and not even ready myself. Right, this man was so annoying standing so close and in such a stupid hurry.

Then, as I was putting my key into the ignition once I was out of there and in the parking lot, I noticed that same man jumping (hurriedly) into a car parked right alongside the entrance. Obviously, whatever rush he was in and so badly needed at Job Lot meant that parking in a normal parking spot was not for him. He was off and out of the lot before me, even.

What was the rush? Well, he was one of those rushed and therefore rude people.

I was still a little ticked off by his inching his way into my “space” and rushing me along. The noive of him!

After Job Lot, I had one more errand—needed to get some things at the market near our house— some cheese at the deli counter in particular.

I went to the back of the store first and waited in front of the deli counter. They weren’t too busy, with one other person already standing there and being waited on. I was next, once that man was done getting his order. As I am standing there, I notice out of the corner of my eye, a woman—short whitish curly hair, a little older than me—come along and stand right near me. And I mean NEAR me—as in almost shoulder to shoulder-- she was so close.

Did I mention there wasn’t a huge rush of people there? And plenty of room? At first I thought she was about to tell me something or that she was getting a closer look at something in the case and then would move away after a bit. But, er, nooo..she stayed right there.

A little disconcerting, to say the least.

But, again, not the worst thing in the world—she seemed a nice person and didn’t smell or anything. But, still—strange that she had no concept of “personal space” and was so close to me. Even the woman behind the case was confused when it came time for my-um, “our” turn. She asked if we were “together”!! I said, “no, I’m next" and moved apart more than slightly to reclaim my “space” and get my cheese and get out of there.

Maybe it’s my perfume?

Kickboxing in....

...rear! Ouch!
There is something about the way this sign is worded that always cracks me up when I drive past it on a busy road full of little strip malls outside of old Wickford(oh, the incongruity of it all).
That is all. I have a lot in my head and heart--weighing me down heavily--but can't make myself blog about it right now. So..just a laugh for today.

Friday Night Mayhem (sort of)

Picture the 40-Something Mom in her Ford Escort wagon dutifully bringing her 14 year old daughter and her best friend home after the school district's "Pizza Pigout" event. I'm tuning into any old radio station because I figure these girls do NOT want to be horrified by me listening to ELO on the oldies station("It's a livin' thing,It's a terrible thing to lose...") or the "blues at eight" program on my regular radio station. So....let's see what this song is. Is it? It's that Cro-Magnon beat--I recognize that.
It's "You Got To Fight..For Your Right...To Pa-a-a-rty."

"Turn it up, Mom."

"Is this The Beastie Boys? I LOVE this song!"
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6NdAUnnU9Ac

So, yes, we were all singing along with the song turned up about as loud as the stereo can be on a Ford wagon. I did not picture that happening when I went out to pick up the girls...at all.

On a completely different note, I am excited about "The No. 1 Ladies Detective Agency" starting this Sunday(on HBO). The reviews have been good, which is a relief to me, as I hate it when the transfer from book to movie/TV ruins it. The series was even filmed on location in Botswana.