To Be or Not To Be

To be, or not to be: that is the question:
Whether 'tis nobler in the mind to suffer
The slings and arrows of outrageous fortune,
Or to take arms against a sea of troubles,
And by opposing end them? To die: to sleep;
No more; and by a sleep to say we end
The heart-ache and the thousand natural shocks
That flesh is heir to, 'tis a consummation
Devoutly to be wish'd. To die, to sleep;
To sleep: perchance to dream: ay, there's the rub;
For in that sleep of death what dreams may come
When we have shuffled off this mortal coil,
Must give us pause: there's the respect
That makes calamity of so long life;
For who would bear the whips and scorns of time,
The oppressor's wrong, the proud man's contumely,
The pangs of despised love, the law's delay,
The insolence of office and the spurns
That patient merit of the unworthy takes,
When he himself might his quietus make
With a bare bodkin? who would fardels bear,
To grunt and sweat under a weary life,
But that the dread of something after death,
The undiscover'd country from whose bourn
No traveller returns, puzzles the will
And makes us rather bear those ills we have
Than fly to others that we know not of?
Thus conscience does make cowards of us all;
And thus the native hue of resolution
Is sicklied o'er with the pale cast of thought,
And enterprises of great pith and moment
With this regard their currents turn awry,
And lose the name of action.

William Shakespeare "The Tragedy of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark" Act III Scene I July 1602

Stealing Beauty

The dye is cast
The dice are rolled
I feel like shit
You look like gold.

Mein Shmerz

Something Cool - June Christy (1953)
Carrying Cathy - Ben Folds (2001)
Things Behind the Sun - Nick Drake (1972)
I Hope I Never - Split Enz (1981)
What's Shakin' On the Hill - Nick Lowe (1990)
Mein Shmerz (It's You, Only You) - Lene Lovich (1982)
Mother Stands for Comfort - Kate Bush (1985)
There is a Light That Never Goes Out - Neil Finn (2002)
In the Winter - Janis Ian (1975)
Winter Kills - Yaz feat. Alison Moyet (1982)
She Is Suffering - Manic Street Preachers (1995)
Precious Pain - Melissa Etheridge (1988)
Don't You Need - Melissa Etheridge (1988)
Almost - Cheryl Wheeler (1993)
All I Ask - Crowded House (1991)
Edible Flowers - The Finn Brothers (2004)
So Far to Fall - Cheryl Wheeler (1995)
River Man - Nick Drake (1969)
I Hope I Never - ENZSO feat Annie Crummer (1996)

31st March 2005

My Favourite Mii

I've really gotten in to the wii Fit ever since my cousin Jenny gave me the balance board and game disc. I'm practically obsessed. I really love the jogging because all the mii characters I've created are there with me. Just yesterday I was out on the path and my father ran by, then my cousin Donna came up on my right side, followed by Joy near the finish line. All of my deceased friends and relatives still seem to exist here, because, I mean come on, I was not about to delete them from my mii world. What sense would that make? But one highlight is seeing the celebrity miis. I've only made three - Henry Rollins, Judah Friedlander, and Ron Perlman. Ron Perlman is my favourite. When he throws me those hula hoops and I catch it and keep on hooping, I love to see him jump up and spin 360° in a fit of glee at my success. It's those little things in life that keep it zany and interesting!

(ps - Look close to see - there's Bishop in the top left, Judah in red at the lower left, Mum just next to Judah in dark blue, and Marina in the light blue! I think I went a little bananas with Ron Perlman's eyebrows...whatever. We'll call it artistic license.)

Thirty-Eight

Spent today with Miss Ashlee. We started with pedicures then went into Center City to hit up Blackbird Pizzeria. Mmm....a vegan restaurant that serves pizza and cheese steaks....delish! (More on Blackbird in a future post.) Then it was off to the Bryn Mawr Film Institute to check out the newly completed construction and see Jon Favreau's Chef. All in all it was a wonderfully fabulous day and Ashlee totally kept my mind off the fact that I am that much closer to forty...

And the best bday text message of the day goes to my brother Dave!

Memorial Day

Ever since I saw Lee Teter's Reflections in the summer of 1990, I knew it had to be mine. By Christmas of that year, it was. I was only just fourteen but there seemed to always be something about that particular war that held on to me and made my heart ache for everyone that was lost to and in Vietnam. This morning before we left for our Memorial Day get together in Abington, Zach looked at my framed print and said how much he liked it. It is the least talked about piece in my home because people either overlook it or are made uncomfortable by it. It was nice to have someone recognise its power and to think about how this day is about all the people that are no longer here as well as all those who left something of themselves behind so as to keep the rest of us safe.
(Hey, nephew Sean - we are missing you and thinking of you all the time and can't wait til your stupid deployment is over and you are back on land. Your wife needs a hug from her hubby!)

Bday Dinner with Zach

Zach and I went to Blue2o tonight to celebrate his belated birthday (May 17th) and my pending bday (May 27th). He is an ideal dinner date - polite, charming, gregarious, and a great conversationalist. For dinner he ordered buttered noodles, I got a salad, we shared yummy fries, and for dessert, Zach had crème brûlée. I got the bill and was gobsmacked. Eleven dollars and sixty six cents. That's all! We went to a high class joint in the ritzy part of town and walked away spending less than twenty five bucks. (The waitress was my pal Melissa, so she obviously had to get a ten dollar tip.) After dinner it was off to Lena's for water ice, then back to my place to jump in our PJs and watch Adventures in Babysitting. Woohoo!

Marilyn's Quote

Little Miss Evie

Oh, Evangeline is just such a sweet, sweet, sweetie!

Ms. Caputo

I'm not one for Reality TV, or TV for that matter, since I haven't had television in like, fourteen years. I do get a chance to watch some shows on Sunday nights when I'm with Bishop. Usually it's Mad Men or Downton Abbey or whatever series comes on that night. After our regularly scheduled program ends, Bishop gets to channel surfing and he got me hooked on Long Island Medium. I just love Theresa's energy and wit. Maybe she can speak to the dead and maybe she can't, but the bottom line is, she helps people move past their grief and on with their lives. So even if she's a charlatan, who cares? She is doing good and that's what matters.

Since I get to work from home a couple days a week, I like to have something on in the background and Netflix Instant has Long Island Medium so I figured, what the hell. Bad idea. I'm totally a wreck and crying at my desk during every episode. Usually I'm a tough old bitch, but when other people cry, I lose it. This show's addictive, though, and I'm gonna push through every episode and use up this whole box of Kleenex. Theresa, baby, you're the tops. Muah!

(photo kidnapped from cjonline)

Jackson Shrek

Jax and Xavier came over this morning! Jack got along swimmingly with Tucker and informed me that my place is "pretty nice."

 

Should-Be Brothers

My BFF Amy has recently become enamoured of one Tom Hiddleston. I mean, have you ever seen this man dance? Speak? Smile? He's utterly divine. But here's the thing, since the inception of our friendship, back in '78, Amy and I have never, ever, ever, fancied the same bloke. A prime example would The Blues Brothers, Amy liked Elwood while I only had eyes for Jake. Any time I had a celebrity crush, Amy always liked someone totally opposite. I've never asked her, but I can guarantee that if I told her of my love of Starsky, she'd be like, "He's cute...but Hutch?? Ooo....I like Hutch..." That's why we are so good together. So while Ames drools over the Hiddlecookie, I'm all about Fassbender. These two men need to star as brothers in a film - now. I'm tellin' ya, the celluloid would catch fire from the heat.

(Hiddleston photo kidnapped from girliegirltm & Fassbender photo from lipstickalley)

Jack Weston

(photo kidnapped from cineplex) 

I re-watched The Four Seasons (one of my absolute favourite favourite films) and seriously, Jack Weston has thee best lines in the entire movie. I mean, his delivery is spot on every single time. Weston is extraordinary and his performance as Danny makes him my favourite character in the film.

Ya hear this? I can sculpt a bicuspid that could fool God himself, but I'm just a dentist.

-Did Einstein say that?
Newton, Isaac Newton, inventor of Mu Shu Pork.

We owe the depth, breadth, and height of this friendship to the world's most ancient emotions. Fear and panic.

Claudia, you're not nauseated.

I haven't used salt or mucus products for three years and I feel just great.

These people are vicious. They're ill. We're traveling with a group of ill people.

You don't understand the soul of a car like this. It was born for speed. I'm in complete control... 
A station wagon is a car. A Mercedes is a thoroughbred. Every so often it needs to be taken on the open road and challenged... 
Don't eat! Don't eat! The crumbs go down in the upholstery. You'll never get it out. The car will look like the bottom of a bird cage.

How come everyone thinks I'm paranoid? You discuss this behind my back, don't you?

-I just say what I think.
Well maybe that's the problem. Why do you always have to say what you think? You think your thoughts should just fall down from your brain onto your tongue like a gumball machine!

I'm not paying for this. This is your expense!

What the hell am I gonna do with a rusty Mercedes?

Pure genius. And we would expect nothing less when the words written come from the mind of Alan Alda.

Fruit Tree

Fruit Tree - Nick Drake (1969)
Fairytale of New York - The Pogues (1988)
Is It Peace or Is It Prozac? - Cheryl Wheeler (1995)
Shuffle Off to Buffalo - Boswell Sisters (1933)
Black Betty - Tom Jones (2002)
Black Rat - Big Mama Thornton (1966)
Chocolate - Cheneille Sisters (1990)
Nick Cave Dolls - Bongwater (1991)
Bedazzled - Bongwater (1990)
I'm From New Jersey - John Gorka (1991)
Aerodynamic - Daft Punk (2001)
Harder Better Faster Stronger - Daft Punk (2001)
Something About Us - Daft Punk (2001)
Voyager - Daft Punk (2001)
Veridis Quo - Daft Punk (2001)
Mississippi Goddam - Nina Simone (1964)
Pirate Jenny - Nina Simone (1964)
River Man - Nick Drake (1969)
The Real Thing - Bongwater (1991)
Chicken Pussy - Bongwater (1990)

31st March 2005

Film Reviews from Nana Irma

Nana was telling me of two films that she wanted me to see - The Catered Affair and Now, Voyager. "Dear, after you see Catered Affair, you'll feel like a millionaire." Well, I can definitely get behind that. I told her I've seen Now, Voyager at least a dozen times and absolutely love it. We both agree that Paul Henreid is gorgeous and Bette Davis is a sensation, but oh, that Claude Rains...he was superb in this film, no doubt about it. Nan went on to say, "That's why I like the old movies. There's so much profanity in movies today and most of it is entirely unnecessary. Except Midnight Run. Any profanity in that film was completely necessary. I can't tell you how many times I've seen it. It's marvelous. Charles Grodin and DeNiro should do more pictures together."

 

 

(all photos kidnapped from moviepostershop)

Edie & Thea: A Very Long Engagement

Oh I had forgotten just how much I enjoyed this film and just how lovely these two ladies are!

(photo kidnapped from blessblessproductions)

Silliness in Antwerpen

We make our own fun wherever we go! Honestly, though, I think that aside from petting the horses in the Grote Markt, the lift in Michel's building was Ashlee's favourite thing about Antwerp. Initially, we were both utterly perplexed by the teeny tiny elevator and watching the floors go past as we ascended, but by our second trip in the lift, Ashlee had learned to love pretending that she was the one pulling us to the sixth floor. As if.

Joe

In the early 90s I went to high school at a Roman Catholic prep school. One guy I really liked at this school was named Joe and was in one of my classes; I think it must have been religion. Class would always begin with a prayer and our teacher asked if we had anyone we would like to include. Most of the time no one spoke up, but one day, Joe said that he wanted to pray for actress Katey Sagal because she had a miscarriage. I thought that was especially sweet and since I have a soft spot in my heart for good guys, this endeared him to me even more. I always think of him when I see Katey, who, let's face it, is just plain fabulous and gorgeous in every way, but I remember that at the time, in that room, I thought, "Well, she can always have another kid." I was sixteen and I hadn't quite realised that people can fall totally in love with someone that hasn't yet been born. That there are so many wishes and dreams and expectations rolled into a pregnancy and when it fails, it is absolutely crushing. I still think of Joe because he seemed to understand, long before I did, that what Katey experienced was terrible and sad and heartbreaking and that she needed to have a room full of kids bow their heads and send warm, kind, hopeful thoughts her way. I took a look back at my old yearbook and in my typical sixteen year old girl way, I had a pink heart next to Joe's name and the date October 3, 1991 below his photo.

Kiipr

When Ashlee and I were traveling we carried a small metal container to hold our cigarette butts until we found a trash can. It was kind of bulky and stunk up Ashlee's purse, so when we returned I looked on Amazon for something a bit better. Obviously as soon as I saw lil' fun coloured pouches with a stinkin' kangaroo on it, I hit Proceed to Checkout. They arrived super fast and are just perfect. I left this feedback right away:

"Insanely fast shipping and could not be happier with the product. The handwritten Thanks! was a unique and personal touch. Love this seller!"

Over the weekend I received this:

How cool is that? Today I sent an email thanking them for their thoughtful gift and immediately received this response:

You're so welcome. More even than great reviews (and yours was great), it's finding our way to people who love the product as much as we do that will let us succeed.
So the pleasure's ours. Thanks again.
Tom Seidel
Certain Goods

So all you smokers out there, go grab yourself a Kiipr, because littering is so passe. That, and kangaroos are just plain adorable.

Happy Bday, Mum!

 1977 - Rosie's first bday with me at her side!

My Best Girl

This is the best text message I have ever received. I love this gal so stinkin' much, it's borderline nauseating.

Style Tips by Bishop

The other day I was ranting via email about men who are not drag queens but feel it is okay to have long nails. Bishop agreed with me that it's just plain creepy. Then I told him how fed up I am with the ongoing trend of women with square tip nails. It's SO boring. It's like no one has normal, real fingernails anymore. Bishop's take on nail style for the ladies is spot on. See for yourself:

I like a nice simple nail, not too long, with a decent color... nothing too garish. I think when women are looking for nail polish they should ask. "Is this something Grace Kelly, Audrey Hepburn, or Oprah would wear?"

However, if you are a teenage girl, you get a pass for wearing garish colors.

What R the good Things

watching the seasons change every year
having plenty of healthy food to devour
clean, filtered water! (can't get enough of it...)
progress
hugs that last just a little longer than usual (it's that extra bit of love)
working a job that I actually really like
finding new places - new experiences
walking on the beach late at night with someone wonderful
hearing the kids laugh
feeling the wind on my face on a hot day
meditating - just being still and focusing on each breath
getting turned on to new music 
freedom
more importantly, free will
reading really, really great books that completely take you away
the smell of an Italian restaurant (mmm....garlic bread...)
pb & jam sandwiches w/chips crushed between the bread!
supportive friends and family
knowledge and the pursuit of more
art (in any form) that inspires
when strangers are unexpectedly kind
relationships with those that make you a better person
the desire to do more and then actually following through
standing up for yourself and for others, too
pretty much any book by Mo Willems (oh the happiness it brings...)
people that make a difference, no matter how small
gratitude for everything
having people care about you
saying something bizarrely funny and getting a laugh
massages after a long, long, tough work week
Indian food with naan
confiding in someone and knowing that it's in their vault
getting sick and realising how good it is to be well
waking up in the morning and feeling 100% pain free
looking up at the sky at any time of day and just being in the moment

(that's all i gots for now, but believe me, there's sure to be more to follow.)

Time for Vintage Toys!!

Today Mama Rose decided to pull out the old Fisher Price Village and Camper for Jax to play with. Oh my good god, the memories!! This was thee toy to play with throughout the 70s and 80s for me and my brothers. Jack had a blast, but Xavier and I had more fun taking pictures and looking at the plastic Sesame Street people. Gordon! Susan! Big Bird! Bert AND Ernie! And good ole Mr. Hooper. Oh man, I am so grateful that my Mum didn't get rid of our old toys. It was the proverbial walk down Memory Lane.

 

 

 

 

Bolt of Lighning...

by Isamu Noguchi

With Kayla

My niece is, like most kids today, obsessed with taking selfies. On Sunday I joined her for one. Isn't she the purtiest gal ever?

(when i picked kay up, she noticed my mala beads and said, "hey, those are just like the ones that guy wears..." i said, "richard gere?" "no. johnny depp.")

Bishop Texts

Bishop and I rarely text each other, but last weekend I was having a meltdown over my insane neighbour and needed to vent. Sunday, on his way to meet Dave for The Foreign Exchange concert in Philly, he sent me another groovy lil' message.

 

Seen In Wynnewood

Stopped in Wynnewood on our way to lunch, I leaned across Nicole in the passenger seat and snapped this photo just before the light changed.

Bill Burr

Oh my Lord, this man is angry as all get out, but his stand up has me doubled over laughing.

(photo kidnapped from starseeker)

For Love Of Water

This was another documentary that left me enraged. I was particularly struck by what Anna Debwese Mape had said, "My anger will take me nowhere." I'm hoping that my anger from seeing this film will lead me to take up a new found desire to do more and to strive to make a difference. It's absolutely appalling that so many people are without clean drinking water and that their consumption of bacteria filled, filthy water, which they have no other choice but to drink, leads to grave illness, disease, and death.

Go to FLOW's site to find out more!

(photo kidnapped from impawards)

Oh the Cuteness!

Readers of this blog know of my love and adoration of all things Mo Willems, and these little guys? They are just too stinkin' sweet!!

 

 
(all photos kidnapped from amazon)