| Monday Bloody Monday |
[Nov. 30th, 2009|11:26 am] |
So this morning I got up rather late, after everyone else was gone. My routine was the same--first say good morning to Pixie, a chihuahua, which involves her squirming around frantically in my lap for several minutes, all wagging tail and flicking tongue, and then releasing the other two from the kitchen, whereupon Clifford, a Black Lab, comes to greet me, and that means he walks through my legs repeatedly while I stand there petting him. Then he'll want to go outside. All well and good so far.
I can't quite remember the exact series of events, but at some point after Clifford came back inside, I stepped out of the kitchen and noticed that Pixie was gnawing on something on the couch. It didn't look like one of their toys, in fact, from across the room, I thought that it might be something that one of them had retrieved from the kitchen garbage, which they occasionally do despite our best efforts. When I walked over Pixie stopped chewing on it, but I couldn't quite place the object. I thought that it might have been some kind of bone someone got for them. Before I could pick it up, or get a paper towel to pick it up with, Clifford's big bony head lurched forward and chomp chomp, it was down his throat.
I wasn't pleased about that, but dogs...what are you going to do? As I went down the hallway, though, I saw something on the floor that made me realize what it was. I'm still queasy.
Now, two things need to be remembered here. First, I'm a boy-shaped thing. Second, context matters, so it's not really surprising that I didn't recognize the object before this. I'm sure some of you have sussed out the disgusting surprise. Had I seen the object poking out of some toilet paper in the bathroom trash, I wouldn't have thought, "Oh dear, someone's lost a finger." I'd have recognized it as a tampon, which is the realization I came to when I saw the bloody tissue paper on the floor of the hallway.
I made a phone call and, apparently, this has happened before. Not often, I hope. The dog will be fine.
I, on the other hand, am working overtime to keep the contents of my breakfast in my stomach.
It wouldn't be a bad bet that my fresh bottle of scotch gets cracked open today. For medicinal purposes, of course.
fitz (seriously grossed out) |
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| Sometimes I like food |
[Nov. 6th, 2009|11:03 am] |
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Yesterday I had a late lunch, around 3:30 pm, consisting of a tin of smoked baby clams, most of a block of Monterey Jack cheese, fresh Italian bread, sweet fire-roasted red peppers and a glass of Chardonnay. It was delightful. |
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| On the horns of an enema |
[Nov. 3rd, 2009|10:25 am] |
So, my imaginary Internet readers and only true friends, I have a problem.
I love "So You Think You Can Dance," as I believe I've mentioned before, which is on tonight from 8 to 10.
The problem is that "V" is premiering tonight at 8. So I am forced to choose.
SYTYCD has kind of ticked me off a little this season. Mia Michaels is gone, they didn't pick the best dancers and, now that it's on in the fall rather than as a summer show, the producers seem to be trying for a lot more drama. Plus, too many hip hop dancers. Last year was so good because of all the well-trained contemporary dancers. Oh, and the two best dancers from Vegas week aren't on at all--one turned them down (because she'd signed a movie contract) and the other got sick and couldn't continue with the show, which must have made the producers happy because, in the group dance he was in, he really stood out, being so obviously better than the rest of them. Still, I do love the show.
On the other hand, when Morena Baccarin (Inara Serra from "Firefly") does that double blink in the promos for "V," I'm certain I would be out there following her with a sort of religious zeal, humankind be damned, because I'm a pushover like that. Plus, I think she's probably bad, and I'm a sucker for that, too. And what if it's as good as "Battlestar Galactica." Wouldn't you want to be in on that from the beginning? I WOULD! I WOULD!
Feast or famine....
Oh, and AMC is going to have a three episode re-make of "The Prisoner" on, for those interested, though I don't know how it could match the insane charm of the original, which wasn't a good show but was still oddly compelling, and I like it.
In other TV news, "FlashForward" is starting to show signs of life. I suppose I'll continue with it. "Eastwick" isn't being canceled quite yet, it seems, which makes me happy. (Bad TV can be so good. Am I the only one who fondly remembers "She Spies?" Or "Andromeda?" Or "Lexx?") I think I've said too much
fitz (predictably picking the hot alien chick over art, just like in real life) |
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| Listen closely...it's the sound of four horses approaching |
[Nov. 2nd, 2009|11:45 am] |
I haven't been to Borders for a long time, at least a year, possibly more, and perhaps that's why it was such a shock to go yesterday.
The music section is pitiful. It used to occupy a large space with row and row of discs, but now it's one row of discs with a few racks against the wall. There was one Smiths CD, a compilation. Borders was never the best store, but it usually had a pretty good music selection. If I wanted something by Cave or Waits, I could just pop up and get it most times. No longer.
Then I checked the literature section. First thing I noticed was that the poetry section, never huge at this particular store but covering one of those free standing units like two shelves long? Know what I mean? Anyway, it used to be one of those, with books on both sides. Now there was poetry on one side and even that was only half full.
I looked for A.S. Byatt. They had three copies of her latest, and that's it. Nothing else. Not even a copy of Possession. There was a fair selection of Greene, especially his better known works, but there wasn't any Iris Murdoch at all.
Know what was everywhere, though?
Books about vampires. Mostly about vampires and the women who love them.
Don't get me wrong. I've nothing against vampires. I love "Buffy the Vampire Slayer." It's just that I'm not sure we should be allowing fourteen-year-old girls to define American culture. Which is what seems to be going on.
My local library, which is a very good library mostly, now has less and less literature and more and more "paranormal romance." The librarians seem to feel that if there is one copy of something in the system, that's enough. Unless it was written by Norah Lofts or has vampires in it. And the women who love vampires.
Libraries should be places with memory. We can't count on bookstores, especially chain stores. It's unfortunate that idiocy is the new cool, but that doesn't mean it has to infiltrate every aspect of our lives, does it?
fitz (off to Hollywood to pitch "The Real Housewives of Transylvania") |
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| Dreams do come true |
[Nov. 2nd, 2009|11:21 am] |
I just read that Summer Glau is going to be on "Dollhouse."
Thank you, TV gods, for answering my most heartfelt prayers. |
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| And Dali said... |
[Oct. 22nd, 2009|09:45 am] |
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I know this is probably old to everyone else, but how odd is it that there's a Second Life version of "Do You Want To Date My Avatar?" Pretty odd, I'd say. |
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| various random thingies |
[Oct. 21st, 2009|11:45 am] |
The Yankees and the Phillies are winning, so things aren't too bad. (Crawl back into the bubbling pit of filth you crawled out of, Los Angeles. We don't want you around any longer.) Sabathia and Lee seem to be doing okay. It's a good thing Cleveland got rid of them, they were showing signs of championships! We can't have that, can we? Absolutely not.
In other news, I've given up on Infinite jest. Perhaps I will someday fortify myself with a bottle of bourbon and plow through the thing like a bull through the rushes, go the full twelve rounds and see who wins, but not today.
No. Today I'm going to continue reading The End of the Affair by Graham Greene. Reading it makes me realize that any words I've ever committed to paper are absolute worthless rubbish (like LA's sports teams, actually). Greene's writing makes me frequently want to copy passages I've read into a notebook. Really good stuff in there. His understanding of human frailty, and his ability to make it manifest so believably in his characters, is alone worth the time, but he offers so much more than that. Read Greene.
It's a bright, sunny day here, and there won't be many of those left. It's days like this that make me want to drink Chardonnay and listen to The Hot Toddies. Go on, listen to them! As one reviewer said, "Oakland's Hot Toddies are so retro, smart and sexy, you'd think they were Japanese."
Either that or drink red wine and read Cummings. Either way, really. Or, perhaps I should just pour a red and a white together in a punch bowl, listen to music and read poetry all at the same time!
Or, y'know, I'll just read Greene and wait for primetime. ("So You Think You Can Dance?" "Glee" and "Eastwick." It's a night positively made for popcorn!)
fitz (alarmingly happy) |
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| Byatt |
[Oct. 6th, 2009|11:15 am] |
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A.S. Byatt was on "The Diane Rehm Show" yesterday, but Diane Rehm wasn't. I believe Susan Page was filling in for her. Anyway, if you're interested in an hour long interview with Ms. Byatt (and who isn't?), click on the link and you can hear it. |
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| It's not me, it's you |
[Sep. 25th, 2009|01:20 pm] |
"Heroes," we need to talk.
I tried to watch your premier on Monday and I'm sad to say that I was just as confused as ever by your half-explained storylines and ever-shifting motives. Maybe I'm just not paying enough attention. Maybe you're still wonderful, but in the end, "Heroes," I was bored, and that's just unacceptable in a TV show.
I'm sorry, I really am, and I don't want to hurt you, but this relationship just isn't working for me anymore. Maybe next year sometime, when this season's DVD set comes out, we can sit down and catch up with each other, yeah? Would you like that? Me too.
Until then, though, I don't think we should continue seeing each other. I'm going to remove you from my interests list. Please don't call, either. You're better than that.
fitz
PS Don't take this out on "Gossip Girl," either. It's not her fault, it's just the way things worked out. |
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| Cannibal demons, sport and...wait, CANNIBAL DEMONS?!?!?! |
[Sep. 16th, 2009|12:46 pm] |
I am so looking forward to "Jennifer's Body!" Except I'm not sure that Megan Fox can act, which could be a serious drawback here. Hopefully, it's a "Heathers" meets Tromaville kind of thing, which would suit me just fine. Trash Sinema with this kind of pedigree doesn't come along every day, you know! Anyway, yes. "Jennifer's Body."
The US Open is over, and Federer lost, which was a drag. On the other hand, Clijsters won, which was super cool.
What else? Oh! The Motherland (that would be England) has qualified for the World Cup, so yay and junk. Also, I've learned that Fox Sports shows Premier League football. I know! I don't understand that game at all, don't even know the rules, but the last World Cup had me glued to the TV for hours at a time. Now that I can watch European football on TV, does this mean I have to pick a team, hunt down fans of other teams and beat them mercilessly? That's a bit more of an obligation than I'm willing to accept.
A question for anyone who may read this: should I get The New York Review of Books? I received an offer wherein I could get a year subscription for $40, or six months for $20. I had a subscription to it a long time ago, though now it tends to irk me with its politics, but it's a really good deal, eh? I don't know. What do you think? Six months? Save the money? Consult my Magic Eight Ball? Tell. |
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| Sex, Keats and lengthy postmodern tomes |
[Sep. 4th, 2009|11:58 am] |
I finally finished Special Topics in Calamity Physics for the third time. It took forever, but during that period I also read Candy Girl and Restless Virgins: Love, Sex, and Survival at a New England Prep School by Abigail Jones and Marissa Miley, which is ostensibly about a sex scandal but that whole aspect seemed like something an editor made the authors add on to give the book some sort of center. While I do like boarding schools books, I sadly have to say pass on Restless Virgins.
Also, how is one expected to read when Kourtney and Khloe are taking Miami? I know it's wrong of me, but I don't care. I revel in my shamelessness. Go on, mock me! Go ahead! I will apply the lesson I've learned from Kourtney and give you a blank, doe-eyed stare, then walk away. (And the Gods of Taste cried, "Kourtney Kardashian hath thee in thrall!")
Despite this mountain of adversity, I've started reading Infinite Jest in earnest, and it's almost as irritating as I thought it would be, though after wondering why everyone thought it was funny, I did laugh out loud at it last night (flying cockroaches attacking babies, if you're interested). I'm still just at the beginning, and I've the suspicion that it's not all going to be tied together (I'd bet on it) and the writing is a touch too stylized to be compelling (Ghostwritten was so well written that I could forgive it most of its faults, that's what beauty does), but I'll stick with it a while longer. I suppose House of Leaves was more challenging, but I really enjoyed reading that one, especially as I thought it was one long satire on postmodernism. (Only Revolutions is unreadable drek and should not be bothered with, unless one needs kindling.)
And that's about it for me. Oh, and the US Open in on, so that's nice. I'm not sure who I want to win the Sharapova/Oudin match, though. I'd love to see Sharapova make a good run, but it's impossible not to be swayed by Oudin, just 17 and playing really well, beating Dementieva yesterday in three sets.
Back to the salt mines. |
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| (no subject) |
[Aug. 24th, 2009|09:09 am] |
I got to see that ballet last night!!!
It was glorious and beautiful and every flavor of wonderful in the world right from the start (Kettentanz) which was so charming and delightful it would win over even the meanest of ogres. The beauty! The absolute, devastating beauty of it! I was proud of myself, though, in that I only cried a little bit, and not until it was very dark out. (But c'mon! "Round of Angels" is a very moving piece!)
If I had to complain, and I do, for it is the nature of fitz to complain, I'd say that Abigail Simon wasn't featured enough. Of course, I'd have her in every dance and treat the poor thing like a draft horse, but she positively sparkles on stage. When they all came out at the beginning, my eye was immediately drawn to her. Ms. Simon, you are golden.
"Cloven Kingdom" had a touch of modern dance, and a few light-hearted moments to temper the tension that builds when animal instincts begin to emerge from dancers at a cotillion. It was, again, lovely and I thought extremely compelling, but one of the people I went with didn't seem to like it so much. I'd like to see it again. Of course, I'd like to see the whole thing again.
I'd be remiss if I didn't mention the closing ballet, "Carousel A Dance" with music by Richard Rogers, a love story, and the dancers actually creating a carousel on stage with their bodies while the girls, who are "riding" the male dancers, hold carousel poles. Truly crowd-pleasing, and the piece as a whole was lovely.
To quote from the program, "Mobile is a ballet for three dancers in which the man balances two women in slowly evolving parallelograms that depend on balance and equilibrium. Literally, mobiles that evolve into other mobiles." I can't think of a better way to describe it. Quite beautiful.
If you get a chance to see the Joffrey ballet, don't even think about it, just do it.
fitz (live performance beats TV into a quivering pulp yet again) |
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| What Kind of Book Are You? |
[Aug. 21st, 2009|09:10 am] |
via ![[info]](http://l-stat.livejournal.com/img/userinfo.gif) christina_reads
| You Are Fantasy / Sci Fi |  You have an amazing imagination, and in your mind, all things are possible.
You are open minded, and you find the future exciting. You crave novelty and progress.
Compared to most people, you are quirky and even a bit eccentric. You have some wacky ideas.
And while you may be a bit off the wall, there's no denying how insightful and creative you are. |
Yes, I am insightful and creative. See? Even the Internet knows that. |
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| Why fitz doesn't update often |
[Aug. 17th, 2009|01:23 pm] |
I saw the orchestra at Blossom, which was nice. A night of Mozart. And really loud insects. Wow, they are loud. I'd like to see the Joffrey Ballet this weekend, but, sadly, chances are I will not. Which is unfortunate, because I've discovered that I like ballet dancing.
Also, I read Candy Girl by Diablo Cody. I remember watching her on Letterman when I had no idea why she was on. I don't think she'd done anything yet. Whatever. I liked her. In fact, she reminded me very much of someone I used to know. (And what is it with me and Catholic girls from Minnesota, anyway? But that's another story.) Anyway, I liked "Juno" like everyone else did and thought this book might be fun, but it was too cute by half, especially at the beginning. Once it got underway, it chugged along nicely and didn't try to be quite so self-consciously hep. Ultimately, I didn't learn much about stripping that I didn't already know and kind of felt she glossed over the deep black hatred most strippers feel toward damn near everyone, not that I blame them.
If you're going to be spending a few hours on a plane, I'd take it along.
fitz (everyone thinks I'm gay) |
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| The pitfalls of basic cable |
[Aug. 14th, 2009|10:16 am] |
So I've been watching Faux News and, well, can someone tell me why Obama wants to kill Sarah Palin's baby? That seems like a bad move, politically.
Just for the record, I'm entirely against the kind of health insurance reform being proposed, but not for made-up reasons.
fitz (tips his hat to the NHS) |
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| (no subject) |
[Aug. 6th, 2009|02:57 pm] |
I don't like to get too serious in this journal, but sometimes I have to:
The Bombs of August
Because I think we need to remember these things. |
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