I didn't know Prince was 5'2"!
While I'm typing this, B2 is playing "You Know My Name" by Chris Cornell on a kazoo. A perfect rendition!
Tuesday, May 11, 2010
Video: Roxy Music, "Mother of Pearl"
This is a great clip of one of my favorite tunes by Roxy Music, "Mother of Pearl."
I get chills when I listen to it. It just flows beautifully. The inertness of the crowd is annoying, but maybe they were all too stoned to respond or something. But Roxy brought it on this performance, and Bryan Ferry's doing his whole supersuave frontman thing masterfully.
I get chills when I listen to it. It just flows beautifully. The inertness of the crowd is annoying, but maybe they were all too stoned to respond or something. But Roxy brought it on this performance, and Bryan Ferry's doing his whole supersuave frontman thing masterfully.
Narcissistah Souljah
I was thinking about this a lot (below), in terms of the brick wall I had bashed my head against for so long...
Diagnostic criteria (DSM-IV):
The essential feature of Narcissistic Personality Disorder is a pervasive pattern of grandiosity (either in fantasy or actual behavior), need for admiration, and lack of empathy that begins by early adulthood and is present in a variety of situations and environments.
In order for a person to be diagnosed with narcissistic personality disorder (NPD) they must meet five or more of the following symptoms:
And this freaks me out, too.
Diagnostic criteria (DSM-IV):
The essential feature of Narcissistic Personality Disorder is a pervasive pattern of grandiosity (either in fantasy or actual behavior), need for admiration, and lack of empathy that begins by early adulthood and is present in a variety of situations and environments.
In order for a person to be diagnosed with narcissistic personality disorder (NPD) they must meet five or more of the following symptoms:
- Has a grandiose sense of self-importance (e.g., exaggerates achievements and talents, expects to be recognized as superior without commensurate achievements)
- Is preoccupied with fantasies of unlimited success, power, brilliance, beauty, or ideal love
- Believes that he or she is "special" and unique and can only be understood by, or should associate with, other special or high-status people (or institutions)
- Requires excessive admiration
- Has a sense of entitlement, i.e., unreasonable expectations of especially favorable treatment or automatic compliance with his or her expectations
- Is interpersonally exploitative, i.e., takes advantage of others to achieve his or her own ends
- Lacks empathy: is unwilling to recognize or identify with the feelings and needs of others
- Is often envious of others or believes that others are envious of him or her
- Shows arrogant, haughty behaviors or attitudes.
And this freaks me out, too.
Monday, May 10, 2010
Hornyscope
I had to laugh at my horoscope today (in the Chicago Redeye)...
Mars is heightening your sex drive. You'll jump on anything that moves. If you're single, you'll be tempted to look up that psychotic-yet-sexy ex for a hop in the sack. If you're with someone, you'll want to stay in bed all day.Who says horoscopes aren't accurate?! Bahah! It's like they've known me all my life!
Reviews
I decided to migrate my reviews to another blog, just for shits-n-giggles. All the navelgazery, snarking, pettifogging, and whinging you know and love will remain HERE, Gentle Readers. But the reviews will be moved to Pirouettiquette.
I might even be super-industrious and shovel my Amazon reviews of yore onto that blog, too. Haven't decided, yet. Maybe, if I'm really slick, I'll take up that deal Blogger has with Amazon and review stuff that ties into Amazon, and maybe make a nickel or two for my troubles. How about that? We'll see how canny I am on that score. If there's a way NOT to make money from my work, by God, I'll find it!
In other news, the bus was crowded, and I stood for the whole ride, and it HURT (the hairline-fractured left foot). I just gamely did what I could, but it really hurt. Need more ice cream, obviously, to help mend my bones! ; )
I might even be super-industrious and shovel my Amazon reviews of yore onto that blog, too. Haven't decided, yet. Maybe, if I'm really slick, I'll take up that deal Blogger has with Amazon and review stuff that ties into Amazon, and maybe make a nickel or two for my troubles. How about that? We'll see how canny I am on that score. If there's a way NOT to make money from my work, by God, I'll find it!
In other news, the bus was crowded, and I stood for the whole ride, and it HURT (the hairline-fractured left foot). I just gamely did what I could, but it really hurt. Need more ice cream, obviously, to help mend my bones! ; )
Lena Horne, RIP
Aww, I saw that Lena Horne died (92 years old). I always thought she was kinda cool.
It Had Better Be Tonight
Henry Mancini composed that tune (he and I have the same birthday!)
It Had Better Be Tonight
Henry Mancini composed that tune (he and I have the same birthday!)
All Better
B2 appears to have licked his fever of yesterday (he slept most of the day). He's his usual bouncy, angelic/impish self. That makes me glad -- when he gets sick, he's like me -- he just shuts down.
Sunday, May 9, 2010
Sicko
Poor B2 -- he's got a fever, is under the weather. I can always tell, because he just wilts when he's sick -- he conked this morning, and I checked and could tell he was getting a fever. So, I'm staying with him today while Exene has B1 and is downtown at Celticfest. I'd wanted to go to Celticfest, but when B2 got sick, I decided it was better to hang back with him. At least the weather is good today -- cool and sunny and clear.
But it breaks my heart to see B2 looking all sick.
But it breaks my heart to see B2 looking all sick.
Happy Mother's Day
The Kinks, "Mindless Child of Motherhood"
Happy Mother's Day, mothers!
I'm personally conflicted about Mother's Day in my own household, because I typically play Good Cop vis-a-vis Exene, even though I think, stacking her up to all the moms that I know, she's not in the Hall of Fame by any means. I console myself by noting that, if not for her, I'd not have my wonderful boys, that she's 50% of their genetic makeup. By my standards, that's a pretty harshly pragmatic assessment, but it's what gets me through this day.
I'm always better about Mother's Day than she has ever been about Father's Day, but that's how our dynamic has always been -- I'm the one who pays attention to making folks feel appreciated (which is probably a stereotypically motherly duty, isn't it? Hah.) Even when we are (fucking FINALLY -- damn you Great Recession!!!) separated, I'll still want the boys to honor their mom on Mother's Day, because it's the right thing to do.
So, anyway, to the moms out there who actually rise to the manifold challenges of motherhood, I hope today's good to you, and people are nice and appreciative of you and the hard work that goes into it. Because I know how hard it is, how hard you work (and believe me, I actually DO know how hard you work -- of any dads out there, I most definitely do know), and how often it's taken for granted, so I hope your loved ones cut you a break today!
Enjoy today, whatever comes your way.
Happy Mother's Day, mothers!
I'm personally conflicted about Mother's Day in my own household, because I typically play Good Cop vis-a-vis Exene, even though I think, stacking her up to all the moms that I know, she's not in the Hall of Fame by any means. I console myself by noting that, if not for her, I'd not have my wonderful boys, that she's 50% of their genetic makeup. By my standards, that's a pretty harshly pragmatic assessment, but it's what gets me through this day.
I'm always better about Mother's Day than she has ever been about Father's Day, but that's how our dynamic has always been -- I'm the one who pays attention to making folks feel appreciated (which is probably a stereotypically motherly duty, isn't it? Hah.) Even when we are (fucking FINALLY -- damn you Great Recession!!!) separated, I'll still want the boys to honor their mom on Mother's Day, because it's the right thing to do.
So, anyway, to the moms out there who actually rise to the manifold challenges of motherhood, I hope today's good to you, and people are nice and appreciative of you and the hard work that goes into it. Because I know how hard it is, how hard you work (and believe me, I actually DO know how hard you work -- of any dads out there, I most definitely do know), and how often it's taken for granted, so I hope your loved ones cut you a break today!
Enjoy today, whatever comes your way.
Saturday, May 8, 2010
Dunster
The crazy who obsesses over Kirsten Dunst struck again. He (I assume it's a "he") papers a huge swath of the city with her pictures. Oh, and the Dunster (what I'll call this entity) seems to hate her, because a few times they'll write screeds like "Whore! Bitch! Jezebel!" on the pictures. This one above is a new addition, as usually it's just Dunst.
Stormy
Wow, it was very windy last night (up to 35-mph gusts), and cold. A storm blew in this morning. May in Chicago, always cool and stormy.
Today (weather permitting) I'm taking B1 to his soccer match, and will work on the screenplay revision.
I stubbed the fuck out of my right toes this morning -- I accidentally punted one of B2's large toy garbage trucks. He loves garbage trucks -- LOVES them. Cracks me up, how much he loves them. He's some amusing combo of actor and soccer hooligan, that one is.
B1 is sweet and sensitive and thoughtful -- he said the other day "I'm like Superman; [B2] is more like Lobo." For anybody who knows who Lobo is, you'll know that B1 perfectly characterized B2!
I was shredding old checks this morning (the fun never stops!) and the boys were LOVING that. B2 looked at the strips of shredded check I'd put in a bag and took a handful, said "This is awesome." Loved that. B2 does have the Instinct for Awesome -- that innate sense of things. Love that. He gets that from his daddy!
Exene was under the delusion that she'd always paid the bills in the past -- she blithely said that when were having one of our contentions, and I said "No, you didn't -- most of the time, I paid the bills." and she said "No, you didn't. I always did it." And wouldn't budge. Going through the checks, I held them up, said to her "Wow, look at these bills I paid, year after year after year. And to think you said I never paid the bills." She just glowered at me with her "It Doesn't Matter" Look(tm). A tiny victory, but it was nice for a sliver of reality to intrude a bit, there. Can't wait to not have to debate reality anymore.
Anyway, shredding the fuck out of the past. I was amused -- found two checks -- one she wrote on 9/10/01 for a crib; and one I wrote on 9/12/01 for a septic tank service company -- that nicely bookended our moving into the Black House in '01, in our fateful homeowning days... 9/10: crib; 9/11: terrorist attacks; 9/12; septic tank cleaning. I kept those two checks, just for the heck of it.
Caught a glimpse of a rainbow this morning. I tried to photograph it, but the light went and I'm not sure if I got it. I'll check.
Today (weather permitting) I'm taking B1 to his soccer match, and will work on the screenplay revision.
I stubbed the fuck out of my right toes this morning -- I accidentally punted one of B2's large toy garbage trucks. He loves garbage trucks -- LOVES them. Cracks me up, how much he loves them. He's some amusing combo of actor and soccer hooligan, that one is.
B1 is sweet and sensitive and thoughtful -- he said the other day "I'm like Superman; [B2] is more like Lobo." For anybody who knows who Lobo is, you'll know that B1 perfectly characterized B2!
I was shredding old checks this morning (the fun never stops!) and the boys were LOVING that. B2 looked at the strips of shredded check I'd put in a bag and took a handful, said "This is awesome." Loved that. B2 does have the Instinct for Awesome -- that innate sense of things. Love that. He gets that from his daddy!
Exene was under the delusion that she'd always paid the bills in the past -- she blithely said that when were having one of our contentions, and I said "No, you didn't -- most of the time, I paid the bills." and she said "No, you didn't. I always did it." And wouldn't budge. Going through the checks, I held them up, said to her "Wow, look at these bills I paid, year after year after year. And to think you said I never paid the bills." She just glowered at me with her "It Doesn't Matter" Look(tm). A tiny victory, but it was nice for a sliver of reality to intrude a bit, there. Can't wait to not have to debate reality anymore.
Anyway, shredding the fuck out of the past. I was amused -- found two checks -- one she wrote on 9/10/01 for a crib; and one I wrote on 9/12/01 for a septic tank service company -- that nicely bookended our moving into the Black House in '01, in our fateful homeowning days... 9/10: crib; 9/11: terrorist attacks; 9/12; septic tank cleaning. I kept those two checks, just for the heck of it.
Caught a glimpse of a rainbow this morning. I tried to photograph it, but the light went and I'm not sure if I got it. I'll check.
Friday, May 7, 2010
Unbalanced
You know, Vivien Leigh (although a Scorpio, herself), managed a picture-perfect portrayal of a Libra in her characterization of Blanche DuBois. Blanche is the archetypal Libran. You think in that clip that the music's just part of the soundtrack, but astute observers of the Libran in action know that the music's actually just playing in their heads -- like when they get that far-off look in their eyes, they've gone off to their Happy Place, their castle in the sky, where candy-apple mares eat rainbows and cotton candy, and their Shining Knight will rescue them, sooner or later. Far, far away....Oh, and I laugh -- Brando was an Aries, and the look on his face above (and Blanche's) aptly conveys the respective mental states of these polar opposites, when confronting one another (the above shot looks like Stanley's about to say "Earth to Blanche! HELLOOO in there?" and Blanche is busy being delusional about her gentleman callers and the kindness of strangers.)
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