Well, I’m scared…

Mike Stark, over at DailyKos, has a post called “The Scariest F**king Thing I’ve Ever Read” and he’s right. But it’s not just the article he refers to, it’s how this is just one more ugly point on how the world may be changing for the worse. His link to an article about the drought in the Amazon rain forest is depressing, as is the drought happening here in the United States (we’ve felt it here in northern Arizona).

Polar ice caps melting, heat waves in the midwest, and unusual warm ocean temperatures have me worried. I’ve seen An Inconvenient Truth, but I don’t feel as optimistic as Al Gore. He thinks if we do something within the next ten years we won’t go past the point of no return. I wonder if it’s too late?

Sorry, just color me pessimistic today.

Thunder and Rain

Here it comes again. Thunder is booming and I bet we get some rain. Last night we had a doozy. Flagstaff had over an inch of rain. We need it, but why did it have to be the night I drove out to get something to eat? It was a light rain at my place, but it got nasty as I drove to my destination: Burritos Fiesta (best shrimp tacos around).

I was drenched in the short time I ran from my truck to the restaurant and it didn’t stop. Power was out this morning for over an hour and it happened again this afternoon.  Let’s see how it goes this time.

24 hours of pure laziness

Let me tell all you mothers with young kids: man, how do you survive without a nap? My seven-year old niece left Friday night and I’m still recovering. After a week with her, I took off yesterday and stayed in bed, reading a romance and then a science fiction novel.

Today I have more energy – I even cleaned the house. By the way, how do mothers manage to keep things clean when there isn’t time to clean, because you are playing with the kids? Anyway, quite the learning experience.

So, today  I’m at least out of bed and on the couch. I’ve put a DVD in that doesn’t have cartoon characters or MaryKate and Ashley – I’m watching season three’s first disc of 24 (thank you Netflix). I loved the first two seasons, but haven’t watched beyond that. I thought I’d catch up on Jack Bauer’s action-packed life. Face it, he’s not the guy to get involved with. You could count on being kidnapped by terrorists if you do.

More Niece Activity

Well, after two nights at her cousin’s my niece is back at my place. We just got back from Lowell Observatory, a late lunch/early dinner at Altitudes, and a visit to the library. We fed the dogs and cat (Lulu is being a sweety and letting Jamie carry her) and now we’re to the normal kid thing: watching Liza Minnelli sing some songs from the Liza with a Z dvd.

This almost didn’t happen. Her mom was ready to pick her up today after she got a call last night from Jamie telling her how miserable she was. So, plans were made and Jamie was heading out, but she was all sunshine today and wanted to stay another night or two at my place. We’ll see how she feels after tonight.

We’ve got a trip planned for tomorrow morning to Walnut Canyon with her other aunt and cousin. Let’s hope we can keep her entertained. I bought her a t-shirt at Lowell Observatory that has the words, “Center of the Universe” above a picture of celestial objects floating around the word “Me”. Oh, ain’t it the truth.

Kiss Kiss Bang Bang review

I’ve finally posted my Kiss Kiss Bang Bang review.

Catch this one just to watch two actors, who have hurt their careers, show why they should still be hired.

Bugs and Cats and Other Things

Man, having your seven-year old niece stay with you is one tiring experience. This is a case where my needs come way after hers. We’ve been having fun, but it’s also not been a prime experience for either of us. You see, I have grasshoppers out front.

Yes, grasshoppers, full of evil intent, jumping up obviously to attack little seven-year old girls. Sigh.

The hike through the woods was a bust. After all, there’s things that crawl, fly, flitter, and make buzzing noises. My niece is afraid of bugs, so nature, while pretty, is also a pretty awful place to walk through.

I did get her out to Sunset Crater and Wupatki. She liked both…except for the bugs. We’d be walking along enjoying the views, and she’d all of a sudden say in a very quiet voice, “Let’s go back.” I finally got her to admit that it was due to a nearby fly or bee.

The funny part of all this is what she did enjoy: repeated viewings of my Liza with a Z dvd. I don’t know how many times I got to hear “I Gotcha” or “Ring them Bells” as she watched them over and over. This is one thing my niece and I have in common; we love the idea of singing and dancing on stage. I know that she’s storing up some of the Bob Fosse choreography that Liza Minnelli was doing. She’s going to spring out some high kicks and shoulder shrugs during a dance sometime and shock everyone.

I also got introduced to the worst TV show in the world. Hastings had a special on rentals for kids’ videos and I let her check out several dvds. Have you seen the Olson twins TV show, So Little Time? Oh. My. God. It is the worst written show I’ve ever seen, but it’s the acting and horrid laugh track that has my jaw hanging. What a stinkeroo. I took my niece to her cousin’s yesterday, so had last night and today on my own and I had to do it: I watched the rest of the shows on the dvd. It became entertaining to see how bad the plots and acting could be. A show that makes Taylor Negron uninteresting has some deep suckiness to it (he’s the girls’ Puerto Rican nanny). I know all things Mary-Kate and Ashley mean a lot to little girls, but couldn’t they at least create something less…oh, what’s the right word…shitty?

Anyway, today is the day to do homework and maybe catch a movie in a nice air-conditioned theater. It’s hot and humid and the rain just isn’t falling enough to cool things down. I’m thinking of seeing Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man’s Chest.

I may have my niece back with me tomorrow, but we are playing it by ear. She may want to stay with her cousin (though they usually end up fighting after too long a time), she may want me to take her home, or she may want to stay here. My cat Lulu sells the last option. Very shy, she finally allowed my niece to hold her. A sweet cat makes up for jumping grasshoppers and makes my place more palatable. Well, we’ll see.

Whooee

Man, we are finally having a thunderstorm. A couple of good cracks of thunder very near by had me squealing. Now the rain is gushing down.  This is how it should rain this time of year, but we haven’t really had it happen yet.

Ah, another nice peal of thunder.  Please let the rain continue. It cools things down and it’s been too hot for a delicate little flower like me.

Feeling Safer?

My brother is feeling safer these days. What would we do without Republicans taking on important issues like flag burning and gay marriage?

Yeah, right.

UPDATE: My brother is being sarcastic. I am being sarcastic. Sarcasm spreads its mighty wings when our family gets together.

Tonight’s Homework Hell

Man, why am I taking a class again? Behind on homework (hey, you didn’t expect me to do it while in Chicago, did you?), I’m sitting here trying to finish up last week’s homework before starting the stuff that’s due tomorrow.  The instructor allows us to be late, but this is ridiculous.

Of course, I’m doing this stupid project where I have to write about an anti-smoking campaign for high school students. It’s all about writing the plan in a certain format. Grrrrrr. I’m tired and pissed off at the whole thing.

Hell, let the little bastards smoke themselves to death.

Sigh. I didn’t mean that…well, maybe I didn’t mean it…maybe.

Superman Returns review

My review for Superman Returns is now added to my movie review pages.

My Adventurous Life

Another night with the laptop, trying to complete overdue homework. Of course, this means putting in a movie I’ve seen many times to accompany me. Tonight’s film? X-Men. Hugh Jackman’s Wolverine is just a gorgeous version of a comic book character.

So, yes, I lead a very adventurous life, don’t I?

Sigh.

Adventures in Flying…er…not Flying

I loved the conference in Chicago. Not the conference itself. It was okay, with some really good moments. The fun was in hanging out with co-workers, dancing at the big party at Navy Pier, downing my first oyster at Shaw’s, seeing the King Tut exhibit at the Field museum, exploring the Art Institute, and having hysterics at the Chicago Transit Authority (CTA) turnstile.

Hysterics? Yes, but not the bad kind. Most of our group headed out midday to be back to Flagstaff by 8:00 pm, but a small group of us planned a later flight. Hey, I knew that was the chance to see some of Chicago, I didn’t mind getting back after 10:00 pm.

So, the four of us on that later flight got together Friday afternoon to get to the airport. We took a cab to a location where we could catch the Blue Line train. Now, I am not made for traveling – I get incredibly clumsy with a suitcase and a ticket in hand. At the train station I was trying to find a way to pay to get on the train. A 20 dollar bill was too much and no change could be made. Luckily, the guys, who had already made it through the turnstile, came back for me. One had money left on his CTA and handed it over the turnstile. Whew, I could continue on. Right.

There is an art form in getting a loaded suitcase through the turnstile. Did you know that? I sure didn’t.

I was stuck. What was worse, I was hysterical…with laughter. People were lining up to after me to get through, but I was blocking their way and all I could do was laugh hysterically. You know the kind of laughter – tears are pouring down your face and you need to desperately pee your pants. That was me. Finally, my heroes, Chris and Dan, helped me get through and moving again, but I’ve now been labeled as “special” with special needs.

The train ride was great and the flight to Phoenix fine. Luckily we still had some deep dish Chicago pizza left over from lunch that we ate at O’Hare. Lucky, because when we got to Phoenix we met up at the airport with all the guys who had left at noon. It seems the flight to Flagstaff was delayed, which meant our flight was even more delayed.

It seems to always happen. Delays and huge problems keep me waiting at the Phoenix airport to get back to Flagstaff. This time it was a doozy. Due to the long wait one guy decided to hang out with his brother and stay in Phoenix for the weekend; another two got a ride with a spouse who happened to be in town; the rest of us waited. Our boss tried to find a rental van to take us back in case the flights were cancelled. Let’s just say that hanging out at the airport is a miserable experience. Still, it is better than hanging out at the Greyhound bus station, which we ended up doing.

U.S. Airways arranged a bus trip for us all. It would even drop us off at the Flagstaff airport. Oh joy. We gathered our luggage and waited for the bus. Humors were not high, but we kept trying to find the humor in it. In fact, when we were on the bus and heading away from the airport, we all laughed when the bus driver said that the bus was broken and we’d need a different one. What a card! Um…it was no joke. The bus was broken and couldn’t go over 15 mph.

Ah, the Greyhound bus station on Friday night. Is there any better place to hang out? Oh yeah, lots of places. Eventually, around midnight, they got us on another bus and loaded a few extra people heading to Albuquerque. After another false start (someone was hitting some kind of alarm and I think it was me leaning against the window) and we finally were on the road to Flagstaff. Sleeping on one of these things ain’t easy, but I did catch some shuteye. We made it to the Flag airport around 2:30 a.m. Hallelujah!

I got a ride home since I had a flat tire. Oh, didn’t I mention the flat? Just another little issue to deal with this weekend. It happened the day I was driving to the airport.

All in all, a good time in Chicago was not ruined by U.S. Airways, but it sure did dim my pleasure. So, word of advice to you: drive to Phoenix and park in long-term parking and drive back. Don’t ever think of flying to Flagstaff. You could end up on a Greyhound bus.

Going to a movie

Finally. An Inconvenient Truth opened in Flagstaff. I’m about to head out to see it with a friend. As an Al Gore fan (yeah, we were a rare breed there for awhile), I’m happy to see he’s finding an audience for his message.

I just hope the movie is entertaining. I’m still on the low side from all the frivolity and fuss of the trip to and back from Chicago. I could easily fall asleep at the movie theatre. By the way, King Tut almost lived up to my dreams. Too many people, a few pieces missing from the exhibit, and a long, hot, muggy slog back to the hotel after the exhibit lowered my opinion of the actual exhibit.

Still, very nice.

UPDATE: An Inconvenient Truth was good. I only got fidgety a couple of times, but I think that was due to being incredibly tired from my trip.

Bad Day at Black Rock

Anyone ever see this Spencer Tracy movie? I remember seeing the first part of Bad Day at Black Rock years ago on TV. I had originally thought it would be a western, but no, it takes place in the 1940s (though filmed in 1954). Spencer Tracy was nominated for Best Actor for his role as a stranger in a small town. His search for a Japanese farmer stirs up the citizens, obviously due to some bad deeds on their part. Robert Ryan, Walter Brennan, Dean Jagger, Ann Francis, Lee Marvin, Ernest Borgnine (who did win the Best Actor Oscar that year for the title role in Marty).

The cinemascoped desert and dusty town adds to this movie, and it is a surprise how the script doesn’t waste time with its secrets. The cast is superb, but the story is a little too heavy. There’s an obvious preachiness to it. No, it’s not preachiness, it’s just a message movie that likes the message too much.

Anyway, a decent movie and one that’s easy to watch, especially after the hellish night I had last night. Let’s just say don’t book a U.S. Airways flight from Phoenix to Flagstaff. It’s the most unreliable flight in the airline business. When my energy returns, I’ll tell you all about it. Meanwhile, watching Spencer Tracy taking on the bad guys helps me feel better.

Sore Feet, but Satisfied Soul

The Art Institute of Chicago amazes me. The pieces of art hanging on the walls are stunning, beautiful, and in many cases, well-known. There’s Seurat’s “A Sunday on La Grande Jatte” and Hopper’s “Nighthawks”. Van Gogh’s self-portrait and Degas’ dancers share the space.

If you ever make it to Chicago visit this place. Your feet may drag, but your soul flies.