Alice's Adventures in Wonderland

This is just a delicious read. I devoured this in pdf form, downloaded from Project Gutenberg (a wonderful wonderful thing). I had to get another book in quickly on this last day of the month to stay on track, and this was a good way to do that without feeling like I was cheating. My mission in life now is to find an old sturdy copy of this book with the original illustrations (one of which is posted here) so I can read this to my own children some day.

To be fair...

My haircut at 3 years old was also tragic. This is just wrong on so many levels. NO sweet, unsuspecting, innocent young girl should be sporting a mullet of this magnitude. Mother, you have some explaining to do. I honestly cannot decide whose haircut was more unfortunate, mine or Adam's.

Evening Constitutional

Tonight as I was walking the dogs, I came upon two very strange sights. First, a block from our house, a weave lying in the middle of the road. Adam and I have actually seen this weave before. I think one of the dogs has even peed on it. It has fueled more than one joke on our daily walks. But after a heavy rainstorm last week, we didn't see it. I thought it was gone from our lives forever. But tonight, there it was again!! How very curious. Where did it go and how did it find its way back? The second oddity was a fish head lying in the middle of a sidewalk. This is not the first time I have seen a fishhead on the sidewalk before, but this one was lying immediately adjacent to a trash can, so it made more sense. Like someone went outside with the fish head in one hand and a bag of trash in the other, attempted to throw them both in the bin, the fish head bounced off the rim and landed on the sidewalk, and the person said "screw it" and left it there. But this one today, totally nonsensical and without any reasonable context. Such a strange place we live in.

Serious squabbling at 1:30 AM

Neither of us could sleep last night. So, as per usual, we tossed and turned and debated really serious matters. The conversation started innocently and harmoniously enough. We had just finished "The Bourne Ultimatum" and were in total agreement that Julia Stiles was a weird choice for her role because, in Adam's words, "she certainly does not know how to kick ass." But then the talking wandered into dangerous territory. For instance, Adam claimed, with total confidence, that the Red Hot Chili Peppers' debut album was released in 1982. I was aghast. First of all, his knowledge of music trivia simply could not lend this fact to be true. Especially when my own grasp of this particular subject matter was dubious at best. As is my way, I very adamantly, perhaps even ostentatiously, disagreed, for absolutely no other reason than I just couldn't accept that Adam knew this and I didn't. So I declared that the Chili Peppers, in fact, could not have released their debut album until the late 80's. I was so persuasive that Adam started waffling and wondering if maybe he had gotten it all wrong and it was really 1988 that their first album came out and did he make a huge mistake in marrying me. Well, I threatened to get up and check wikipedia at that ungodly hour, but it was just too cold. So this morning, off he went to work, this matter completely unsettled. Until now. It pains me to say it, but my husband was more right than me. The band actually did form in 1983, and their first album was released in 1984. So, Adam, enjoy this moment. I know you will.

Unseen forces

Within a minute of lifting my finger from the mouse after hitting "publish" for the previous post, I got a call from work saying too many nurses are scheduled for tonight and do I want the night off? Universe + me = on the same page.

Happy Birthday Baby!

There's a few times when working night shift totally, unequivocally blows. This is one of those times. It's my husband's birthday, and I got to see him for a grand total of 15 minutes this morning, most of which I spent bitching about my night at work. (Oops! Bad Laura, Bad!) So we are going to just pretend that tomorrow is his birthday instead because I don't have to work tomorrow night. It's so much more fun to spoil someone on their actual birth date, but we roll with the punches around here. So here is my official internet birthday shout-out to my fabulous husband. I love you! And now, let us all take a moment to appreciate this dapper young 3-year old Adam with the truly striking haircut.

Rosencrantz & Guildenstern Are Dead

I figured now is the best time to read this play, having just finished Hamlet. It has been sitting on my shelf for years untouched. It's a quick read, which is good because I'm going to have to read it again immediately to get a better understanding. It's hard to digest if you aren't very familiar with the Theater of the Absurd, which I am not. I think the point is to be utterly confused at first. Stoppard has created a world without any logic or anything reliable. The world R & G find themselves in is totally featureless. They cannot make any sense of it. Their attempts at dealing with their "reality" are equally absurd. The protagonists are essentially called into existence at the beginning of the play, with no memory, no idea of why they are there or what their task is. This makes for some very bleakly funny passages, in which their repeated attempts to discover significance fall short.

This is pretty much as far as my thoughts go after the first reading. Maybe I'll have more to say after I read it again.

My two favorite boys

Sushi Night!

Adam and I have been rolling our own sushi lately. Last night was our 3rd attempt, and we are getting the hang of it! Still a little messy, as you can see, but it is so much fun and WAY cheaper than going to a sushi restaurant. Lessons learned last night: seriously, go easy on the chili paste, and the less rice the better.

Hamlet Schmamlet

This play SUCKS!! Why all the hype for 500 years? Save yourself some time and energy and just go rent the movie with Mel Gibson, it's way better!!

Kidding! This was book #5 of the year for me. I know I have read this before but I can't recall whether it was high school AP Engligh or college. We all know the basics of the story, but the telling of it is worth experiencing over and over again. I'm sure I will read this play several more times yet in my life. As an English lit major, my knowledge of Shakespeare's work is actually pretty abysmal. Looking back, I'm shocked I wasn't required to read more of him in college. As part of my "100 books this year" campaign, I'm going to try to read one play a month. Get my Shakespeare on! Jigga what!That's right, you heard me. Booyah! (said while clenching my fist and thrusting it downard vertically, as I should according to urbandictionary.com when I say this word)

Uh, anyway, back to Hamlet. I need to get a better edition with more footnotes. The one I have is pretty basic, which is fine. But I'm sure there are so many nuances I am missing out on without more solid and complete reference material. The paperback I've had for years belonged to a Gwen Martin at some point, which I know because thise Gwen person thought it necessary to write her name all over the freakin' place, so I associate Hamlet with her, sadly. She also drew a lot of stick figures on the bottoms of pages. She was clearly not very riveted by this tragedy.

Goodbye puppy

And goodbye carpet stains.

A few weekends ago, Adam and I were out hiking and camping with the dogs in the woods. When we were making our way back to the Jeep, this little pooch came up behind us and followed us 3 miles and ended up in the car with us. Of course I wanted to keep her but I knew we couldn't. So we took her to the Humane Society to see if she was chipped, which she wasn't. So we left her there and gave them our number and told them to call us if for some reason they were going to have to euthanize her. Well sure enough, a week later I got a call. They said she was "food aggressive," therefore they couldn't put her out in the kennels for adoption, so they were going to have to put her down. So we adopted her, not really knowing what we would do with her. She is such a sweet and good little dog, she was just starving to death! She ate around our dogs with only one minor scuffle for a week and a half. To think she could have been killed for nothing! Anyway, my wonderful brother with his billion church connections found a home for her.

Adam took her this morning to her new life. I was sad to see her go. Scooby and Jesse, not so much. They didn't so much as bat an eye when her cute little doggy behind walked out the door. They tolerated her, but that was as far as the love went. The house is a lot quieter now. And this is a strange sensation to be sitting here at the computer, not worrying about where she might be pissing in the house. I guess I won't miss that, let's be real.

So this whole experience has shown me that Adam and I are in no way ready for a permanent 3rd dog. BUT!! I do think we could make room for a kitteh, what do you think?? We are also going to sign up to foster dogs from the shelter that need a temporary place to convalesce while they are waiting for adoption. But that will have to wait until after February because next month is gonna be a busy one.

4th book of '08

My intention to read 100 books this year is not going according to plan. I really need to pick up the pace. Or else I'm gonna have to start picking up a lot of really puny books!!

Finished "1984" by George Orwell a few days ago. Yep, it's still amazing and it still resonates! This is my 3rd time - once in high school, in college, and now in my late 20's. Each time, my reaction has been the same: horror at the thought that civilization could ever become this totally dystopic. I think Winston Smith has to be one of the most tragic figures in modern literature. You owe it to yourself to read this important and relevant book. If you read it in high school, read it again now. Terrifying. There is nothing I could possibly say about this book (or, let's face it, any book) that hasn't been said before a hundred times over. Just read it for cryin' out loud!

"God is not mocked"

I find it hilarious that these sociopaths actually quote that bible verse in this flyer. Yet more proof that the human capacity for evil knows no bounds. These assholes have every right to do what they are doing, but have you seen the pictures of little children holding "god hates fags" signs? That is seriously twisted and makes me want to crumble into one big sad heap. You know these people go to sleep every night with a smile on their faces, 100% confident that they are behaving according to a divine purpose. So confident, in fact, that they are willingly and knowingly teaching their children to hate. Most of us cannot begin to fathom this degree of arrogance. My only comforts are that 1) their numbers are very very small (a fact that has not stopped them from getting all kinds of media spotlight), and 2) they are perceived as ridiculous, trifling zealouts by the vast majority, not as representatives of Christians in general. Ugh. Words fail.

3rd book of 08

I finished the last half of "Villa Incognito" at 4 AM last night while on suicide watch for a patient at the hospital. Maybe that affected my mind's digestion of what appears to be this half-assed attempt by Tom Robbins to satisfy his followers. I don't count myself a follower because I haven't read everything the guy has written, but I appreciate him for who he is in contemporary American literature. Even though I think I appreciated him considerably more several years ago.

Anyway, when you are sitting in the dark with a handheld booklight in the corner of a tiny hospital room next to a stranger whose life you can't even begin to comprehend, sweating through the bed with delirium tremens, mumbling incoherently in his sleep, his desensitized GABA receptor complexes totally indifferent and sympathetic nervous system working harder than a one-legged man in an ass-kicking contest, your reading experience is bound to be affected.

A few times while reading this book, I actually thought about all the other better books I could be reading instead. Obviously a bad sign. This just fell totally flat for me. My sole motivation for finishing it was so that I could move on. The story had so many potentially mesmerizing elements, but never once was I captivated. Sure Robbins is funny and some of his ramblings cause the lightbulb to go off in your head, and sure he can put a smile on my face at times with some genius similes, but this was just a trainwreck and pointless. Definitely not recommended for someone's first Robbins book.

Jesse's mouth

It's an impressive, stupefying thing. This picture was taken in 2002, before Adam and Jesse came into my life. (Adam must have made a really funny joke). I love thinking about them together, two young bachelors and their many adventures in the mountains of Colorado.

2nd book of '08

"Middlesex" was one of those books I was sad to say goodbye to. A fascinating peek into the life of a Greek immigrant family, one member of which (the omniscient narrator) faces total upheaval in his early teens after discovering he is a hermaphrodite. He has been raised as a female his whole life, but not without some agonizing moments of uncertainty, fear, and despair that he tells us about in hindsight. He decides at age 14 against the surgery that will finalize the femaleness that everyone has always assumed and opts instead to live in a genderless state. It's the story of his journey through a sexually ambiguous and frightening childhood/puberty, and also the story of his family and their immigration to the U.S. Oh and also their inbreeding, which caused his condition! Let's not forget about the inbreeding!

A very good read. Captivating, energetic writing style. The book has a very large scope, but I was never not interested in what was going on. And a great deal of the book is not directly about the main character. His story doesn't really grow legs til after the book is halfway done. My only gripe is that I got annoyed when the narrator speaks directly to the reader, which he does a fair amount. Not one of my favorite narrative frameworks. But it didn't sully the experience of reading this book. Highly recommended, although I am one of the last people to read this book from 2003 and don't really have any business recommending it. But I still do.

The Face

This story made me feel all warm and fuzzy inside. This guy gets to the bottom of a weird face that his father has been drawing on birthday cakes, cards, etc. for his whole life. Click the link and read, for an instant smile.

The Sneeze

(courtesy of boingboing.net)

Appreciate

Look at this amazing oak tree in my neighborhood. Every time Adam and I walk by it, we have to say "wow" and just admire. Wouldn't you love to be a bird and have your home in that tree? Complete with a beach view!!

First book of '08

I finished my first book of the year yesterday, "The Human Stain" by Philip Roth. Do you know what is ridiculous? I just realized that I saw the movie adaptation of this book years ago and had absolutely no recollection of it the entire time I was reading the book. Ha! Not exactly an endorsement for the movie.

Anyway, the book is a decent 3 out of 5. I am fairly new to Philip Roth. I read Portnoy's Complaint in Mexico last year and loved it! I did not love "The Human Stain" but it was not a waste of time either. The guy has an absolutely enviable command of the English language, and he is a total show-off about it. Sometimes, the narrative suffered because the vocabulary was too painstaking. It's as though he went out of his way to be overly intellectual and high-brow. "Portnoy's Complaint" had a much better flow than this book.

The themes have been done before, and better, and this book will probably be forgotten in time. The narrator is a writer who is telling us the story of a disgraced classics professor/former dean at a small New England college, with whom he had a brief friendship. The gist of his downfall is that he has been accused of racism after making a benign comment about some students he has never laid eyes upon. There's some pretty astute commentary about the damaging effect of politics on the educational system. Turns out he's been hiding a pretty big secret about his own racial history. His disgrace is also heightened by an affair he is having with a woman 40 years younger than him. So sexual politics are at the forefront too. Roth parallels the main character's pitfall with Bill Clinton's scandal with Monica Lewinsky (book was written in 1998). All of the characters are well developed, although there's at least one I believe the book could do without entirely, and when the truth comes out about the big secret the professor has been hiding his whole life, the pathos of the human condition is just laid right out before you on a big, sad table.

Not the most uplifting book to start out the new year, but a good read for anyone who loves books that explore race theories, human imperfections, and that age-old question: how much do we control our own fate?

Next up: "Middlesex" by Jeffrey Eugenides. I've decided to give it a go, despite Oprah's big obnoxious seal of approval on the cover. *Shudder*

Headlines

I've just added another new year's resolution to the list: no more CNN.com!! Are they hiring 10th graders now to write their headlines? "White House Race Begins For Real," like, totally!! And then "Dying Voter Asks about Health Care" is just the icing on the cake. Pure sensationalism. NOT NEWS.

The End of the Pier

What better place to enjoy piss-in-a-can than the always unused West Side Pier of Gulfport? Thanks for reminding me, stranger, what time it is.

No Trespassing!

One thing about living in the South is how fiercely protective some people are over their "private property." I get that looters were a big problem right after The Storm (as everyone down here refers to Katrina), but, well, the looting has stopped. It stopped a while back. Do you really need to put a "no trespassing" sign on your porch? Good, honest people (the majority of people, I think) understand that your porch and your home are off limits to us without invitation or good intentions. And the bad people? They probably won't be deterred by your signs. Even more irritating and insulting are the signs posted next to totally empty, fenced-off lots. Just what damage do you think I am going to do to your overgrown lot? Here is a small sample from the walk I took the dogs on this morning. All of these signs are posted within a 10-minute walk of my house. It's hard not to feel isolated, like no one wants anything to do with each other in this town. Native Gulfportians would probably call me naive on this one, but I really believe if people took these signs down, nothing would change.