oh cokie...

remember on tuesday, when i was blogging about CoCo? well, it didn't turn out like i hoped it would. we returned to the vet that evening at 7:30 to pick her up and transport her to the hospital for tests and and an ultrasound to determine if she had congestive heart failure or pneumonia.

after the short consultation w/ the doc, the vet tech brought CoCo in and handed her to lois. poor cokie, she was gasping some and had a slightly blue tongue. upon seeing that, the vet advised us to haul some ass to the vet hospital, which was about 5 miles away (no highway access though).

so we jumped in the car and sped off. sigh... it wasn't enough. we had only made it about six or seven blocks when CoCo's tongue had turned black and she peed on lois. in a panic, i asked lois what i should do (turn back or floor it). lois still felt a heartbeat, so with that glimmer of hope, i drove on...desperately weaving through the Hampden traffic.

of course, it was to no avail. lois was imploring CoCo to hang on and started singing songs to her that she had so often done in CoCo's thirteen years. god, it was downright heartbreaking. i don't know how i didn't crash the car on the way there; our nerves were so shot.

as the dogs before her, CoCo will be cremated. i'm not sure where the ashes will be spread though. unlike Suzy (lois' shepard/dobie mix), whose ashes were spread at Rocky Mtn. Nat'l Park, CoCo's favorite place was probably on the end of the couch...on the right side of lois.

it's going to be some time before we get over CoCo. Suzy lived thirteen years too, but we were prepared since her health had been compromised by diabetes and cataracts; we knew she had to be put down. we were not ready for CoCo's passing. up until sunday, she was just fine...same ol' demanding little bitty...her HIGHNESS.

as you may know, the household i was raised in had no pets, so i never understood the rapport between humans and their pets. sure, dog is man's best friend...it's so cliché...but so true. cokie, suzy, and annie (the silkie who's going through some major shock now), are(were) so loving, patient, non-judgmental, and loyal that few humans could compare. dogs are even okay with it if you don't reciprocate in kind...they'll always stand by you.

so, all you dog owners out there, give your canine babies/pals an extra hug for me today because they deserve it for the waiting game that they are always faced with when you're at work; we take their loyalty and love for granted far too much.

you know, even in the throes of death, Lois' dogs always waited for her one last time. with suzy, we were in mexico for almost three weeks, plenty of time to check out while we were gone. no, she held on until we got back. and cokie probably shouldn't have lived out tuesday, but she toughed it out and longed to be held by her mama, just one last time.

just about to leave town...

not me though. nope. i'm talkin' about the Cirque du Soleil. you know, that fancy...slightly expensive...death defying...but cozy French Canadian company which dazzles every city they pass through.

yep. just a few shows left and i still have yet to get some tix. luckily, i think Denver is not so ga-ga over them anymore; three previous productions have already roared through here - Quidam in '98, Dralion in '00, and Saltimbanco in '02. so there are still some decent tix.

i'm trying to convince lois and our friend, Yani, to possibly catch the sunday matinee because it has the best selection of seats still available. i'm hoping it'll be worth the $75 ticket.

i shouldn't be too concerned about the price of the ticket though. when Saltimbanco was in town, i was perusing through the Cirque site and saw that the show was heading to Mexico City after its stint here. well, those tix in Mexico City were closer to $90...which is roughly 2-3 weeks of salary for the average Mexican. needless to say, not many average joes were probably in the audience... damn, could you imagine seeing an intriguing ad or recording of the Cirque, only to find out that it would cost you approximately two weeks of work just to afford a ticket? talk about crestfallen...

something to do...

stolen from Cindi Movie Memes are cool...

Stuff I've seen is bold, stuff I’ve seen AND I own is bold and in italics. If you steal it from me, be sure to add three movies to the end of the list.

01. Trainspotting
02. Shrek
03. M
04. Dogma
05. Strictly Ballroom
06. The Princess Bride
07. Love Actually
08. The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Rings
09. The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers
10. The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King
11. Reservoir Dogs
12. Desperado
13. Swordfish
14. Kill Bill Vol. 1
15. Donnie Darko
16. Spirited Away
17. Better Than Sex
18. Sleepy Hollow
19. Pirates of the Caribbean
20. The Eye
21. Requiem for a Dream
22. Dawn of the Dead (the original)
23. The Pillow Book
24. The Italian Job
25. The Goonies
26. Baseketball
27. The Spice Girls Movie (Spice World)
28. Army of Darkness
29. The Color Purple
30. The Safety of Objects
31. Can't Hardly Wait
32. Mystic Pizza
33. Finding Nemo
34. Monsters Inc.
35. Circle of Friends
36. Mary Poppins
37. The Bourne Identity
38. Forrest Gump
39. A Clockwork Orange
40. Kindergarten Cop
41. On The Line
42. My Big Fat Greek Wedding
43. Final Destination
44. Sorority Boys
45. Urban Legend
46. Cheaper by the Dozen (the original with Clifton Webb and Myrna Loy)
47. Fierce Creatures
48. Dude, Where's My Car
49. Ladyhawke
50. Ghostbusters
51. Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade
52. Back to the Future
53. An Affair To Remember
54. Somewhere In Time
55. North By Northwest
56. Moulin Rouge
57. Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets
58. The Wizard of Oz
59. Zoolander
60. A Walk to Remember
61. Chicago
62. Vanilla Sky
63. The Sweetest Thing
64. Don't Tell Mom the Babysitter's Dead
65. The Nightmare Before Christmas
66. Chasing Amy
67. Edward Scissorhands
68. Adventures of Priscilla: Queen of the Desert
69. Muriel's Wedding
70. Croupier
71. Blade Runner
72. Cruel Intentions
73. Ocean's Eleven
74. Magnolia
75. Fight Club
76. Beauty and The Beast
77. Much Ado About Nothing
78. Dirty Dancing
79. Gladiator
80. Ever After
81. Braveheart
82. What Lies Beneath
83. Regarding Henry
84. The Dark Crystal
85. Star Wars
86. The Birds
87. Beaches
88. Cujo
89. Maid In Manhattan
90. Labyrinth
91. Thoroughly Modern Millie
92. His Girl Friday
93. Chocolat
94. Independence Day
95. Singing in the Rain
96. Big Fish
97. The Thomas Crown Affair (the original)
98. The Matrix
99. Stargate
100. A Hard Day's Night
101. About A Boy
102. Jurassic Park
103. Life of Brian
104. Dune
105. Help!
106. Grease
107. Newsies
108. Gone With The Wind
109. School of Rock
110. TOMMY
111. Yellow Submarine
112. From Hell
113. Benny & Joon
114. Amelie
115. Bridget Jones' Diary
116. Monty Python and the Holy Grail
117. Heavenly Creatures
118. All About Eve
119. The Outsiders
120. Airplane!
121. The Sorcerer
122. The Crying Game
123. Hedwig and the Angry Inch
124. Slap Her, She's French
125. Amadeus
126. Tommy Boy
127. Aladdin
128. How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days
129. Snatch
130. American History X
131. Jack and Sarah
132. Monkey Bone
133. Rocky Horror Picture Show
134. Kate and Leopold
135. Interview with the Vampire
136. Underworld
137. Truly, Madly, Deeply
138. Tank Girl
139. Boondock Saints
140. Blow Dry
141. Titanic
142. Good Morning Vietnam
143. Save the Last Dance
144. Lost in Translation
145. Willow
146. Legend
147. Van Helsing
148. Troy
149. Nine Girls and a Ghost
150. A Knight's Tale
151. Bill & Ted's Bogus Journey
152. Beetlejuice
153. E.T.
154. Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone
155. Spaceballs
156. Young Frankenstein
157. Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind
158. American President
159. Bad Boys (Sean Penn's 1983 movie, not Will Smith's 1995 cop movie)
160. Pecker
161. Pink Floyd: The Wall
161. X-Men
162. Sidewalks of New York
163. The Children of Dune
164. Beyond Borders
165. Life Is Beautiful
166. Good Will Hunting
167. Run Lola Run
168. Blazing Saddles
169. Caligula
170. The Transporter
171. Better Off Dead
172. The Abyss
173. Almost Famous
174. The Red Violin
175. Contact
176. Stand and Deliver
177. Clueless
178. William Shakespeare's Romeo+Juliet
179. Dangerous Liasions
180. I Am Sam
181. The Usual Suspects
182. U-571
183. Capricorn One
184. The Little Shop of Horrors (the one with Jack Nicholson)
185. Die Hard
186. The Flamingo Kid
187. Night of the Comet
188. Point Break
189. Forbidden Planet
190. The Bad Seed
191. The Day the Earth Stood Still

here are my three:

192. Central Station
193. Shall We Dance?
194. Delicatessen

back...

is better. glad that it was nothing. there's just always a bit of concern when it comes to my back, since i have few problems with it. now, if my knees and shoulders would just listen and behave...

while the back is better, Coco is not. she was unable to sleep last night, just sitting there and wheezing. at first, we thought it might have been a bit warm on the carpet, but Annie wasn't panting; when it's hot, both dogs pant. and cokie's wheezing sounded kinda wet, like fluid in her lungs.

well, the vet had other news - congestive heart failure. Coco has an enlarged heart...which was pressing up against her trachea and causing her to cough and gag the past couple days. anyway, the vet said that once the meds are straightened out, little dogs w/ congestive go about their normal lives.

and really though, that little 13 year-old Yorkie ain't done with us yet. she's got lots more pain and hell to put us through ;)

ouch...

ever get a little twinge in the upper part of yer back, near the scapula? and the best thing to do would be to take it easy and pop a few painkillers?

of course, not all of us take that path. noooo. some of us decide to try to stretch it out any way possible...with some drugs...AND alcohol...only to suffer later because (afterwards) that wee twinge of a minor muscular strain has turned into a hot knife digging into yer back.

yeah... well, you know i'd raise my hand if it didn't cause me to convulse into a rapturous seizure.

but hey, meester aggressive back fixer is still able to blog, even if he can't see straight. argh.

it's 1:09 AM, do you know where yer narcotics are?

i dunno...

but i sure haven't felt like posting lately. i just've been very bleah. i bet you've all experienced this blogging apathy before - even the good bloggers. so, i hope you understand; i never intentionally abandon this thing ;)

went to the Soopers tonight and collected some stuff for a makeshift picnic...a couple sammiches, fruit salad, a black eyed pea salad (called California Caviar - is it a Texas thing? 'coz i've NEVER heard of it), some olive medley (green and kalamata), and a couple bottles of water...and headed over to the City of Brest Park, where we noshed and waited for Glendale's annual firework display; we consider it to be one of the best in the area.

there were some beautiful colors and even a new shape that we had never seen. sure, we've all seen the big chrysanthemums, the ellipses (or are they just circles?), etc. but have you seen the two stage swirl? it was basically a swirl design that split up into a bunch of squigglies, like a bunch o' fireflies...very cool.

the show lasted about 20 minutes. i'm sure it mesmerized many of the drivers along Colo. Blvd., distracting those in the turning lanes and even causing a fender bender during the finale, which was pretty intense. all i remember was multi-colors...red, green, orange, yellow, purple, white, blue...and then they shot a bunch of white, followed by all red. nothing like a fireworks finale; never fails to give me goosebumps.

afterwards, we stopped at the Blockb*ster in Belcaro and rented Matchstick Men and The Business of Fancydancing.

we watched Matchstick... first. it was good...very much in the style of 'The Spanish Prisoner' and 'The Score.' not quite as good as the aforementioned, but still worth a rental if you're a Nicolas Cage fan. i know that he can be over the top, but Cage is a great character actor; this time he's the protagonist with some major OCD issues with hygiene (a la Jack Nicholson in 'As Good As It Gets'). funny though because Cage is supposed to be some sort of clean freak and yet he smokes throughout the entire movie. talk about irony ;)

testing...

is this thing working now?

so...

tired of reading about my dumb weather pixie? me too. every day, i've been thinking about blogging but just too lazy to do it. after a year of posting, i honestly believe that the daily stuff just runs together.

bleah. my hands smell like latex. you know when you use those tight fitting gloves for household chores? yep. and they just dry out your hands too.

short on time. going out to grab a bite to eat and spread out the sleeping bag on a grassy knoll to watch Glendale's annual fireworks display. should be fun...way better than cleaning and pulling weeds ;)

got two more...

as you can see, i've added two more weather guys and which cities they're forecasting. so, now you'll know the current conditions for Puebla, Mexico and Rurrenabaque, Bolivia. i know i could have chosen more common cities like Mexico City or La Paz, but i wanted to be a little more unique...and besides, these cities have a special place in my heart. i worked in Puebla in 1994 and Rurrenabaque is the most laid back town i have ever encountered in Latin America - all you want to do is hang out in a hammock and plan trips to the Amazonian wilderness or the Bolivian pampas (grasslands). btw, i shortened it to Rurre because that's what the locals call it anyway.

i'm considering two more cities in addition to the three since the gal at weatherpixie.com has a limit of five cities per page. so you may see Thailand and New Zealand in the future; would very much like to visit friends in those countries...and soon!

zonked...

lois is OUT. i took her to St. Anthony's for cataract surgery this morning. we were in by 8:00 and out by 11:00...talk about fast. i guess the sedation, removal of the cataract, and implant of a new lens takes only about thirty minutes. AND you're conscious the whole time...

i know you're wondering about the cataracts. well, it's not just octogenarians who are hampered by cataracts, younger people get them too. and pray that if you get one, you'll have the kind that ripen quickly; cataract surgery is not performed until it's completely ready (i.e., everything you see has a halo).

lois' cataracts took only a year to ripen. maybe these kinds are hereditary...her two oldest siblings had the surgery too. anyway, she's going to get the other eye (left) done towards the end of July. it should be an exciting time for her because she's worn glasses since she was very young. with the new lenses, her vision will be corrected to 20/40 or 20/60...a long way from blind as a bat with pretty bad astigmatism. for the first time in her life, she'll probably be able to even get soft contacts. a miracle since she always had gas perms. the cataract surgery will even lower the cost of glasses; the last few pairs of glasses cost her $300-$600. nothing like a light prescription ;)

if my astigmatism ever worsens to the point of needing gas perms, i can only hope for a quick and ripe cataract heh

in hiding...

that's where i've been. i have had all the intentions of blogging, but i just couldn't get it all together. know what i mean? i'm sure that you too have had days where you want to read everyone else's postings...and let the keyboard rest...just lying under yer hot little hands.

yes. i am 34 now. my friend sent me an e-card alluding to all the creaky parts we have; he says it's all downhill from here. friend. humph...

went to see Ladykillers at the cheapies today...with my friend, Cindy. was looking out for the other Cindi, but i think she's busy getting on me about blogging...or sumpin' like that. btw, where's your passport? you can use mine ;) i can always use a few more stamps. 'course, you're way too pretty for my passport pic. ugh. i wish i could have used my driver's license pic for this passport...it's ug-lee.

anyway, Ladykillers was quite funny. the Coen brothers are fantastic moviemakers. Fargo and Raising Arizona are two of my favorites. i'll go see it again with lois. we were planning to see it last friday, but opted for Shrek 2 instead, which is definitely worth seeing again. there are so many crazy homages that it's hard to catch them all with one viewing.

this past thirty days have been filled with movies. in addition to some of the pics that we caught on cable in Spain, we watched 'School of Rock'...'The Last Samurai'...'LOTR:ROTK'...'50 First Dates'...and 'Miracle' ALL on the plane. yep, 11-12 hours each way gives you PLENTY of time to watch movies on those trans-continental and atlantic flights.

off to dinner...but where? ooh, maybe Mori Restaurant. sashimi, teriyaki, tempura, and sake (or Kirin Ichiban beer) sounds kinda good! maybe Indian...saag paneer, chicken vindaloo, and kabli naan...mmmm, maybe not. i think i'll hold off on indian for another week or two.

what about you guys? is there some long standing tradition for b-day dinners that you want to fill me in on?

if you haven't noticed...

i changed my weather guy back to Denver from Madrid. i'm thinking about putting additional weather pixies to tell the conditions of other cities. i wonder if a couple more wouldn't hurt...and not dent that gals bandwidth too much.

oh yeah...

if anyone travels through Philly's airport and is on C concourse, you should definitely check out the salad place right across from gate C31. for $6.95, you can choose any three of their salads or get a triple sized portion (about 24-30 oz. by volume). we opted for their greek salad, roasted veggies, and a tuna pasta salad. it makes for some good snackin' (or a huge dinner for one) on the flight.

sure...$6.95 may get you two combo meals at McD's...at home. in the airport? ha. you can't get anything under $4. and why spend $5-$10 for the lame-o meals that they're starting to sell on domestic flights?

enough talk about food though...i'll post something different later today.

just a blob...

that's what i am right now. yesterday was a bugger. we got up in Madrid at 7:00 AM and didn't set foot into the house until 9:00 PM. fourteen hours...plus eight hours time difference. so we were basically on the go or on the plane for 22 hours (about nineteen of it in the airport and on the plane). you would think that we slept a bit since it was a bit brutal...ha! from the time we got on the plane to landing at DIA, it was daylight (since we gained a third of a day coming back); our circadian rhythms will take some time adjusting.

i know my meal schedule will be screwed. we had two meals on the trans-atlantic flight...quite decent too. it helps to request a special meal (e.g., low fat, low cholesterol) when you book an international flight. they're way healthier and often more filling.

for example, our lunch was swordfish (about 3 oz.), a bit of linguini, a tiny potato, carrots, a nice little three bean salad, a small pita, and a fruit mix. everyone else got chicken or pasta...with a lame salad, hard roll, and something sickeningly sweet (which is not always a bad thing ;).

our snack was an 8" ham and cheese sandwich and a cup of those huge, black, globe grapes that have seeds but are really sweet. the rest of the cabin got a sandwich that was probably 30% smaller, a teeny bag of chex mix, and an itty bitty piece of Toblerone chocolate.

i think there's a caloric range that the airlines try to meet for their meals. however, if they serve you an unhealthy meal, the portions will be smaller because the fat will ring up those calories. if you get a lowfat or cholesterol meal, it'll be inevitably bigger because extra veggies won't add to the calorie tally.

of course, this silly little diatribe is coming from someone who has had a ham, cheese, & salsa omelet, applesauce, chocolate pudding, and three servings of pasta in the last six hours LOL

something to do...

from Nelle´s...

What's going on?
What was the last ...

…meal you ate?

we shared a ham & cheese sandwich and some strong cafe au laits at the High Tech Cafe...which was way better than the meal we had last night at some ultra-scary buffet that we flipped a coin over (i wish the coin came up tails because we would have had some great kebab instead ;)

…thing you did online?

my fifteen minute post...

…television show you watched?

bbc news in Sevilla. although we did catch some weirdo western last night w/ Joan Crawford(!)

…purchase you made?

an hour of internet access on two computers for 1 Euro each

What do you currently…

...hear?

clicking and tapping of mice and keyboards

...see?

an okay mural along the wall we´re facing. it looks like a round bar with eleven customers and a waiter-type with a bowtie. on the bottom right corner is a painted monitor of the name of the place, Ciber Natura - upstairs is a juice bar/cafe and downstairs is the internet portion.

...smell?

cigarette smoke. we thought we could escape the poor ventilation by sitting in the far corner, away from the smoky smell. it lasted five minutes when a spanish guy sat down and lit up five feet away from us. we are so spoiled in the U.S. when it comes to no smoking; everyone here seems to smoke. and we´re talking about smoking in the elevator, internet cafes, airport, you name it.

...feel?

tired but happy that we´re supposed to go home tomorrow. i think that three weeks in a country is the max for us. and i´m also a bit annoyed with the cig smell, but we´re the freaks here for not being smokers...

What’s on your…

...toes?

cotton dress socks.

...head?

my smoke filled black hair

...mind?

how we´re going to spend the day. we were originally planning to go to Toledo, which is a UNESCO World Heritage site (yes, the WHOLE city), but we´re tired of train and bus rides AND of walking hill after hill. plus, we´re down to about 85 Euros, which will just about cover our meals and a taxi to the airport tomorrow; we don´t want to hit the ATM again.

i do know that we´ll have tapas one more time at La Moderna, a beer pub that we frequented during the first few days in Madrid. the main server there (on the patio), Angel, was really cool.

another fifteen...

i think i´ve gotten into the habit of trying to post something worthwhile in a span of fifteen minutes. i get on the computer and tell myself to blog, even if it´s for that amount of time.

back in madrid... i think i blogged from Cadiz last. Cadiz was interesting. an old seaport town that´s one of the oldest towns in Spain - established by the Phoenicians in 1100 B.C. the streets are narrow and the cobblestone is slick. and as i posted before, it is really laid back. places of business take a true siesta between 3:30 and 6:30, only the tourist places open during those times.

hah, i just realized that i last blogged from Ronda...well, you needed some more info on Cadiz anyway ;)

anyway, it´s good to be back in madrid. the two days after ronda were spent in sevilla, where it was 95 degrees the whole time. jeez, the breeze didn´t kick in until about 8:30.

yesterday, we spent an afternoon in Cordoba...in the cool confines of the Mezquita. you always see pictures of this phenomenal building, but never imagine seeing it (in person). unfortunately, after 500 years as a mosque, ceilings were built above the arches by the christian church. i admit that it´s nice and cool (if not a bit dark), but i wonder what it looked like all open...

we spent the last two days on the AVE (high speed train). it´s a bit expensive, but it´s worth it if you want to save time; a two and a half hour bus ride to cordoba from sevilla takes only 45 minuts on the AVE and a 5-6 hour trip to madrid is cut in half. unfortunately, i think the AVE is only to a couple points from madrid for now. they´ve been talking about one to Barcelona...but that´s all it is.

argh...it´s been about 14 minutes, so i better wrap it up. more to come later tonight or tomorrow...

btw...

everyone go and check out the website of my old neighbor, John Lunceford. i found his site a few weeks ago and told susie about it. she must´ve gotten in touch with him in the meantime... wow. he´s one talented kid!!! geez, i shouldn´t be calling him kid since he´s 30 now! just yesterday, he and i were digging up his backyard in search of anything. well, at least one of us outgrew the dirt digging ;)

help me ronda...

no, i´m not talking about the Beach Boys either. we´ve spent the last two nights in Ronda, Spain, which is in the central southern area. it´s one of many whitewashed towns along the Sierra Grazalema.

from reading the guidebooks, it would seem that Ronda is a sleepy little town with little to offer. i guess that´s somewhat accurate. unlike the major cities, most of the places close around nine o´clock. however, the infrastructure is pretty well established for tourism. the main draws for its visitors are the bullring (oldest one in Spain - 1785) and the ultra beautiful views of the bridge that spans the Tajo gorge.

we are majorly tired though. we really haven´t been on the go the entire time we´ve been here. in fact, we´ve been taking it easy - a vacation from the vacation. no, what has been tiring us out is the scaling of all the hills. our hotel is on the east side of town, about a fifteen minute walk to the central part of Ronda. the hills are killer. i don´t know how the cars navigate the super narrow and slick cobblestone streets. it´s even crazier to watch scooters and motocross bikes charge up these puppies.

although we almost wish that we stayed in a hotel closer to the bus station, the place we´re in, is really cool. it called the Entre Arte Hotel. we ended up paying 90 Euros a night for one of their double A rooms, which is pretty spacious. it´s about 30% more than we were paying in Sevilla for a junior suite and a buffet breakfast...but here, ALL the drinks (beer...wine...sherry) is included as well as a fantastic lunch spread. oh yeah, the internet access is free too. so, we´re just kicking back and enjoying the views of the mountains, listening to the thousands of frogs in the riverbank below, and enjoying the HELL out of ourselves!!!

i know i skipped a couple cities, but stay tuned...i´ll catch up eventually.

oops...

i can´t believe that it has almost been a week since i blogged last! the past five-six days have been filled with so much that some of it is becoming a blur ;)

we´re in Sevilla now, Spain´s fourth largest city. it is hot, HOT. we got into the city yesterday afternoon from Granada and it has pretty much been in the high 80´s. thank god for a/c!!!

lessee here. i really should mention some of the places we´ve been, eh?

last friday, we took a day trip to Aranjuez, which is a short drive south of Madrid. nothing too special...just a small town that was once the spring and fall homes of the royal family. there´s a massive garden that the Spanish Bourbon monarchs built three hundred years years ago, in an attempt to replicate Versailles. now, i´m sure it´s nothing like it...but it´s still pretty damn impressive.

as i mentioned last week, the royal wedding was last saturday. everything was closed off for the limo procession and the security was tight; on one block, lois and i were stopped and searched at each corner by the police. later, when we were in the pharmacy, the 60-year old pharmacist told us that the cops confiscated an apple in her pocket because she ¨might throw it.¨ lol

what else...rain. and lots of it. in fact, it rained every day for the first six days we were in madrid. and when we went to Granada (5 hours SE) for two days, it rained there too. luckily, we were able to do the important things in the morning before the afternoon downpour.

anyway, back to our goofy itinerary.

tuesday was a long, but very worthwhile day. we went up to Segovia, which is about an hour north of Madrid. it´s known for three things - a massive aqueduct, a stunning cathedral built in 1525, and the Alcázar (a really cool castle).

the Segovia aqueduct was built around the first century BC. made of granite, it´s about a half mile long, has 166 arches, 120 pillars, and is around 100 feet high. other than its age, the other cool fact about this massive structure is that it was built WITHOUT any cement or mortar! how ´bout a pic?

the cathedral, although started in 1525, wasn´t finished for another 200 years. supposedly, it is the last Gothic structure built in Europe. go see this site.

if any of you have been to Disneyl*nd, or even watched the show as a kid, then you´ve seen the Alcázar. really. what´s the first thing you envision when you think of Disneyl*nd? the castle, right? well, the Alcázar served as the primary model for Walt´s little castle. and it is awesome!!!

i hate to cut it short, but we gotta head back to the hotel and pack for tomorrow. i´ll update from Cadiz...

it´s the wine...

argh...we just finished dinner across the street at a place called Cafe del Principe (Prince Cafe). it was soooo good. we had ham and potato croquettes, combination paella, a bottle of Faustino VII Rioja, tiramisu, and a couple super strong cafe con leches (cafe au laits). we escaped for 55 Euros (incl. tip)...not bad considering a bottle of wine and paella for two in denver runs about $50 anyway. and it was authentic here ;)

been a long day. we went to the Reina Sofia and the Prado and did some MAJOR walking. between the two, there are 145 galleries. i think we wandered through a bit more than half of them. had to. many of Madrid´s art galleris are free on sunday, saving us about 3-6 Euros at each one.

the Reina Sofia is quite interesting to say the least. much of it is modern art, mainly painting and sculpture in the postwar era. the gem of its collection is Picasso´s famous depiction of the Basque town, Guernica, which was destroyed by German bombers in 1937. it shows the general chaos and fear of the town´s citizens as they´re awakened by the noise and the carnage laid out by the bombs. it´s considered to be one of Picasso´s most famous works.

anyone who has studied a bit of art history is familiar with this painting...and has probably seen it ad nauseum in books or postcards...but to see the real thing is just mind-boggling! the canvas is SO freaking huge! i was not expecting it to be around 10 feet by 22 feet - damn!!! what´s even more stunning is the fact that picasso spent only five months working on the project (from studies to the finished product); talk about being driven!!!

as for the rest of the Reina Sofia, it was quite impressive, if not a bit confusing. i guess we´re not much for some modern pieces. there was some really strange stuff. still, to see a bunch of Miro´s and some amazin´ Picasso b/w photos of the first light of the Spanish Civil War...

and the Prado? there is so much that it just hurts yer tiny little head thinking about it. man, 105 galleries of goya...velazquez...caravaggio...rembrandt...el greco...flemish masters...i just don´t know what to say. it will leave you utterly speechless to view all the things you read about it books; the bold brushstrokes, the mastery of lighting...the perfect musculature...the gamut of emotions - it´s overwhelming. you simply can´t take all this stuff in on a daytrip. we´ll have to finish it on the 6th, the day before we leave.

well, i want to continue, but it looks like lois has fallen asleep on me. i promise that she´ll blog next time...she writes so much better than i.

humph...

the rain is coming down in sheets right now. we slogged through it for a half an hour to get to the internet cafe. the roads are either packed with people or totally closed off for the royal wedding. yes, i had no idea that the Prince of Spain was going to get married during our visit.

it has been total chaos since yesterday. we strolled by the Royal Palace and the Cathedral, watching the masses of papparazzi and media elbow each other for the prime viewing spots. you cannot watch anything on tv without it mentioning "la boda real."

geez, everyone from Hilary Clinton to Placido Domingo to Prince Charles to Nelson Mandela are in attendance. too bad they´re getting soaked too heh.

so, it looks like once this wedding is over, everyone in this city of 4 million will be able to go on with their lives; it´s like a ghost town our hotel´s neighborhood. and once we dry off, we´ll head to the Prado and the Reina Sofia museums. i´m very psyched to see Picasso´s Guernica at the Reina Sofia and to wander through the numerous galleries at the Prado, filled with works from Goya, Velasquez, and El Greco.

on monday and tuesday, we´re scheduled for daytrips to Segovia and Toledo. we are gonna stay bizzeee...

hope everyone is doing well...will blog soon! hugs

Hi Guys

Can´t believe we´re finally in Madrid. It´s held such mystique for me for years, and now we get to see the country. We were so bent ouf of shape from trying to sleep on the plane...skinny seats, but not skinny butts. We´ve only begun our big 2004 adventure. Maybe we´ll have some fun travel stories to share. there´s a green parrot (computer assist) that keeps telling us we´re running out of time. Aren´t we all. so enjoy your hours hour by hour.

cheers

a quickie from madrid...

we´re finally here. the trip on the two planes was far from painless. our first flight to philly was delayed by 20 minutes and we didn´t get there until 50 minutes before our connection. so....after frantically rushing from one concourse to another, we boarded the other plane and sat there for another hour forty before we took off. sheesh. our asses were seriously tired even before the plane took off.

the flight to madrid was a bit better though. we were lucky enough to get some seats that were behind the crew´s sleeping area, which meant no one slamming into our knees at all. the onboard movies were great (big fish, the last samurai, school of rock, mystic river, and that looney tunes one). so, we settled in for another eight hours. lois was majorly uncomfortable though...

the hotel we´re staying at is a three star w7 nice amenities, although it´s a bit small. we found this internet cafe after quaffing a few beers and stuffing ourselves full of tapas at a cerveceria (brewery...but more of a beer garden). argh. it is so hard getting used to these keyboards...the keys are different.

anyway, i´m gonna let lolis blog for a few minutes before our time runs out! so...see ya!

da plane...da plane

does not leave for another ten hours. and i still have not packed. no big deal though...after 20 trips out of the country, i can do it in 10-20 minutes; got the routine down pat.

been reading up some in my new guidebook that i bought at tattered a few hours ago. this time, i purchased a Rough Guide...which i haven't used since my last trip to Guatemala in '95. they're excellent guidebooks that contain excellent history and transportation info.

other guidebooks that i have relied heavily over the last 13 years are:

Lonely Planet...although prices aren't always up-to-date, one of the best guides w/ the most destinations. heavy as a brick though...
Footprint...comparable to LP guidebooks, but usually tall and bulky.
Let's Go...a guidebook based in the U.S. (the above titles come out of the U.K. and Australia) that provides some unique, if not quirky, info for the traveler. this title was started by Harvard students in the 60's.
Frommer's...not for the traveler on the cheap, but at least it's updated annually.

so, what do i typically take on a three week trip?

2-3 pairs of pants
1 long sleeved shirt
1 windbreaker
2 polo shirts
1 light jacket
5-7 t-shirts
2 pairs of shoes
1 pair of sandals
20 rolls of slide film
1 deck of cards
music
2 guidebooks if i haven't done my homework
1 crossword puzzle book
2 cameras (1 SLR and 1 point and shoot)

all this kee-rap usually fits in one small suitcase and a daypack. if i'm traveling to a warm climate for two weeks, i can survive w/ just one carry-on duffel bag and a fanny pack. a cold climate? throw in long johns, another long sleeved shirt, a couple candles (you'd be surprised how you can raise a room's temp. a bit w/ candles), a hat and maybe some gloves.

often, i'll take pretty ratty clothes if i'm going to a third world country...for two reasons:

1. thieves won't even consider me as a target if i look poor. granted, i don't dress in tatters, but it sure ain't flashy ;)
2. i can leave most of the clothes in the hotel room at the end of a trip and use the extra space for souvenirs. the hotel workers can either use some of the clothing or know someone who wouldn't turn it down.

well...we're looking at t-9.5 hours now ;) perhaps my next post will come from an internet cafe in Madrid...provided i don't oversleep and miss the plane LOL. i swear, it's too weird to take an afternoon flight. i know it's more convenient for Europe and South America because you'll get there the next morning, but i am so used to taking the 7AM flight to Mexico or Central America; i'd be leaving for the airport about now and asleep on the flight in no time ;)

argh...

so lazy right now. it's gonna be a somewhat busy afternoon. for one, i am in DIRE need of a haircut. if i don't i'm convinced that those paranoid rent-a-cops at the airport will stop me for WMD in my hair - it's THAT bad.

also need to get to the library so i can find a spain guidebook or two for the plane. the two that i own are still quite good, but they're also about five years old. plus, it might be a wise decision to go to the library because i have a book that is due today.

and if i don't crash my car on the way back, i can spend a few hours with dad while mom and susie go to a (rescheduled) Mother's Day awards ceremony that the Col*rado Ch*nese Club sponsors every year. unfortunately, this is an annual outlet for my mom, since she was the inaugural 'Mother of the Year' in 1999. i've nothing against the award or the recognition that it affords to some local mothers and the years of toil that they have had to endure raising their children. that's cool. i know that i'm too much of a wimp to be a mother.

the one thing that i don't like about the club is many of their members are just extra lame flakemeisters. and that their gatherings are another opportunity for mom to bask in the 'spotlight' that she so desperately craves.

BUT...since i love my mother (don't we all) off i go to get the locks chopped.

snazzy...

looks like blogger has fancied some things up for us. a few more buttons and easier roaming (sounds like a phone commercial).

as you can see, i've added a weather pixie to my blog. i always liked Cindi's, so i had to have one too ;) now, while it's not as informative as going to weather.com, it still serves its purpose. btw, for the time being, i've set it to the weather at Madrid's Barajas Int'l Airport until we get back on the 7th; you'll get a general idea of the weather we'll be experiencing.

too anxious...

to even type.

we leave for Spain in a week and i have not even planned an itinerary. i think we're going to split the trip into mostly two and three day stays, with the exception of Madrid...

so here's a rough itinerary:

Madrid - 4 nights (including day trips to Segovia and Aranjuez)
Bilbao or Santander (same general area) - 2 nights
Santiago de Compostela - 2 nights
overnight train to Sevilla
Sevilla - 2 to 3 nights
Córdoba - 2 nights
Granada - 2 nights (gotta see the Alhambra!)
back to Madrid for two more nights

somewhere in there, we have an extra night. we're considering Toledo, but it's so close to Madrid. i wish we had an extra week or two. it would be awesome to view the Rock of Gibraltar...spend some time in Portugal...or even get a couple days in Morocco. 'course, that all takes even more money that we lack ;) if we get to see some castles, moorish architecture, the Prado, the caves at Altamira, and drink some good wine, we'll be content.

with dad in the rehab facility, it has been hard to concentrate or to even get anything done. i've been meaning to get new rear brakes and a new CV boot. argh. money? it barely has enough time to sit in my sweaty palm...

Cindi mentioned that she popped into Anthony's for some pie. sigh. last friday, after watching the cat for awhile, i stopped at the Famous Pizza on B'dwy and Bayaud for a slice of sausage. yummm. i forgot how much better this one is compared to the colfax store (the sheridan store is still good though). anyway, just by gorging on that slice, it only reaffirmed my 20-year loyalty to Famous... it must be the crust and the slightly sweet sauce.

i'm just about drooling.

there's a NY Pizzeria a half block from the Brakes Plus that i patronize on occasion. they too, have great crust - hot and slightly chewy; a perfect excuse to take my car to Brakes Plus ;)

some major competition across the way though. on the other side of Leetsdale is Papou's, which serves Connecticut style pizza. i know you're saying, "Conne-wha?" yep. i don't know what makes Connecticut style pizza, but this place has won best pizza in westword two years running. so, cindi, that means you and me...at Papou's...soon.

talk about jumbled thoughts...

went to see Secret Window at the cheapies last saturday. Johnny Depp is always great. the movie was unexpectedly tense and creepy...

a better blog later...

what is up...

with the tagboard? guess i haven't been writing much of anything worthwhile, so it doesn't matter if i have one or not ;)

been at the cat's house for a couple hours. he's out frolicking and crouching low, like he's big game hunting, when dogs or people pass by. it's interesting to watch him - so alert.

i've something to admit...i've been eating pasta at another woman's house. whimper* yes, i was getting a cuppa tea when i spied some farfalle and jars of natural pasta sauce (she pretty much shops at Wild Oatz and Whole Fudz).

and i just lost it...

it has been a few months since i've made pasta in the house. lois has pretty much stayed away from it since November...which is a good thing. the diet that her kinesiologist has her on has been working; she sleeps better; has had fewer problems with her joints; she's hovered around a 20-lb. weight loss for a while now.

you know, i've been good and not even mentioned the 'p' word, even in casual passing ;) moreover, i've resisted from making surreptitious batches of pasta and marinara late at night.

so...it looks like i have turned to eating mongo bowls of pasta at other people's houses - i feel so ashamed. what's next? using their deodorant? ewww....

meester tarantino

finally went to see KillBill Vol.1 at the cheapies last night. good thing because it was the last day; it has been replaced by 'The Butterfly Effect.'

did you guys see it? i thought it was pretty good. you just hafta laugh at the egregious amounts of spraying blood. gore can have a cathartic effect on some moviegoers (sick ones like me ;). ever see Dead Alive (aka, Braindead)? there's some major blood flyin' in that flick. and believe it or not, it was directed by Peter Jackson...about nine years before he directed Lord of the Rings.

if anyone is intrigued enough to go rent Dead Alive, make sure that it's the unrated version. the R-rated version is 19 minutes shorter and lacks the full effect and humor. at least the unrated version is only cut by seven minutes. and if you actually like it enough, i can lend you my uncut copy :) and Sam Raimi's Evil Dead 2:Dead By Dawn is a great cult movie with copious amounts of blood too.

back to KillBill though. Tarantino is a master with the use of flashbacks. Pulp Fiction is his flashback masterpiece. and although he didn't direct it (but was the writer), Natural Born Killers incorporated flashback almost seamlessly.

i was surprised by how many people attended the movie though. i thought i would be one of a handful of viewers since vol. 1 came out in october. instead, there must've been at least 40 people...

i wonder if some people walked out of the theater, completely hating the movie. i think when it comes to Tarantino, you have know what movie genres he prefers to fully appreciate his filmmaking efforts. in Kill Bill, he borrows heavily from HK martial arts (especially Shaw Brothers) movies from the 70's (aka chop socky...even though i hate that term), spaghetti westerns of the late 60's (think Good/Bad/Ugly), blaxploitation flicks of the 70's (Superfly, Shaft, Across 110th St.), and Samurai movies. oh yeah, he's also a huge fan of Bruce Lee...whom he pays homage to with Uma Thurman's yellow and black jump suit (same style used in Lee's last film, Game of Death).

i also think it's cool that Tarantino used past stars such as Gordon Liu, Sonny Chiba, and even David Carradine. why not honor these hardworking actors, who were once huge stars, with a role. after all, look what Pulp Fiction did for John Travolta's career. prior to Pulp, he was stuck doing the Look Who's Talking movies with Kirstie Alley and bombs like Staying Alive and Perfect. in fact, in the ten years before Pulp, he was in nine movies...but the ten years after Pulp, he's been in 19 movies...many of them blockbusters (sprinkled with some piles of poo too though ;)

of course, all this rhetoric is only relevant if you give a flying fuck about the movie or Tarantino ;) but hey, his moviemaking is better than 70-80% of the stuff out there. i mean, really, how many people flocked to see the Full House twins in their latest movie? too many, if you ask me.

justforfeet

is going bankrupt and has been liquidating their inventory for a month now. we went to the stapleton store and found four pairs and some insoles...all for $110. everything is at least 50% off and the selection, although limited, is still good.

lois got a pair of black walking shoes for Spain, a pair of comfy sandals, and some casual slip-ons for work. i found some volleyball shoes for the indoor season. i still have a gift certificate from DSW that i'll use for some cross trainers though. it's just that there's NO such thing as a sale on v-ball shoes unless you order online through a company such as spikenashbar.com my last pair was $60...so getting these for less than $30 was definitely a steal.

speaking of steals, W*l-Mart has men's sandals (soccer slides) for $2.77. sure, they're not quite as comfy as the soft, nubby ones that i got at T*rget a couple years ago for $12.99...but i'm savin' that extra ten bucks to exchange it for 8.25 Euros...gee.

Bug-B-Gone

just got a yellowjacket trap at wally world at the recommendation of Nelle. can't wait to put it up. for the past few years, my parents' house has had big time buzzin' problems. this baited trap, which is enhanced with a little apple juice, seems like it'll be a lot easier than waiting until nightfall to spray the nest ;)

cat poop...

it not a pretty sight, nor is any animal coprolite.

i'm stopping by a friend's house a couple times a day to check in on her cat while she's in Greece. his feline highness, Nimbus, is a 17 lb. behemoth. he's thirteen or fourteen, is charcoal colored, missing a few teeth, but is a pretty easygoing cat.

it has been awhile since i watched a cat for someone. my brother, steve, had a psycho diabetic cat that was pretty much incorrigible. that was the last time i 'cat sat.' so Nimbus is a breath of kitty litter fresh air...

and yes, i have an aversion to picking up or cleaning up poop. i can handle blood, but there's something about a hot, steamy log that makes my face wrinkle up. ah well. better dry and dusty from litter clumping, than freshly wet and slimy from the big guy not reaching his pan in time. poor thing. i wonder if he feels a bit embarassed.

must be nice to have yer poop scooped on a daily basis...

yes, yer highness. a tummy scratch and a can of food before you let me leave your kingdom for another day...

i just don't get it...

how can someone so brilliant be such a packrat? i'm referring to my mom, the once child prodigy who skipped grades in China and went to college at the age of 14...

what gives?

for the past week, susie and i have been at the house, rummaging through piles of stuff that she has bought, forgotten about, and bought again. a small list of items:

28 mugs
seven boxes of envelopes...totaling 670 that she won't use in this lifetime
three or four dozen photo albums...all unused
a dozen assorted picture frames
ten boxes (150 ct.) of sandwich bags
eighteen rolls of aluminum foil
120 cassette tapes of Chinese operas that haven't been touched in 15 years
taxes from 1982
letters that were forwarded from 1722 Lafayette, where they lived until 1963

after assessing the situation, susie and i decided to move some stuff into the garage, which lacks the space to fit their car anymore because of:

400 canned goods...bomb shelter anyone?
eighty rolls of paper towels
at least 200 rolls of t-paper
30 boxes of laundry detergent
another dozen rolls of aluminum foil and plastic wrap
fifteen boxes of garbage bags (at least we'll be using those up ;)

i think you get the idea...

i'm not here to air any dirty laundry, but geez...it just blows yer mind after awhile. funny that even though i'm not in field, cleaning my parents' house is like excavating without the elements and dirt. nothing old enough to date with carbon samples :) or worthwhile for soil samples, but i still can do some stratigraphic studies as well as seriation (a relative dating method derived from cultural regularities of style or frequency...knowledge of sizes and styles of automobiles over the years is a good use of seriation).

so far, i believe we have filled about 20 lawn size trash bags in the past week - about average. over the past 15 years, susie and i would always look for a window of opportunity to clean...usually when mom & dad were out of town. it was always easier to do it on the sly than fighting with mom about why she utterly has no use for up to 100 long, styrofoam chinese takeout boxes. unless you have a new found passion for sculpture or public art, these stacks gotta go - NOW!

i forgot to mention that, in the process of the demolition, i came across some nostalgia of my own...the ninth grade photo used in my '84-'85 yearbook...a cassette tape from the early 80's with some music that i recorded off the radio (Pop Muzic by M, Twilight Zone by the Manhattan Transfer, Andy Gibb's Shadow Dancing, Coming Up by Paul McCartney and Wings, Heaven on the 7th Floor by Paul Nicholas, Sister Sledge's He's the Greatest Dancer, This Is It by Kenny Loggins, and even Answering Machine be Rupert Holmes (the guy who did Escape [aka, the Piña Colada Song], yep...THAT guy.

i also found one of my old cintas, a cassette tape that we had to make on a weekly(?) basis for two years when i took Spanish 4 and AP with Ana Garcia. oh god...i hadn't thought of those stupid things in 15 years!!! of course, these monstrous creations covered topics of the day or fantasy things. in fact, this tape was the 'Si yo fuera un animal en el parque zoológico...' (If I were an animal at the zoo...). after fifteen years, i can honestly say that my spanish has vastly improved, especially its diction and cadence. man, i sound like a freakin' robot on this tape LOL

catharsis...i guess that's all what it comes down to...the house needs to be less cluttered for my dad when he gets out of the rehab facility next tuesday...mom has to simplify and figure out that more is not always better, even though it exemplifies the 'American way'...susie has to stress less about dad's condition...and i am so damn glad to have found that stinkin' Spanish tape because i will relish stomping on it heh

her name was Ashley...

she shuddered as i put a warm towel around her, drawing her body close to mine. i swept her wet hair from her eyes and gave her a tender kiss on her forehead as her hot breath mixed with mine. gingerly, i picked her up and proceeded to the bedroom, where we would lie in front of the space heater, clutching each other as the cold drizzle trickled relentlessly outside.

cheating on lois? nah. when i got to the house after a visit with dad, the neighbor's dog greeted me. it looked like she had been outside in the rain all day...this little shih tzu was drenched. i could tell she was happy to see me, since John wasn't home yet.

she happily trotted to the front door and i let her in. luckily, lois and the girls had gone on an errand...i wasn't sure how annie and coco would initially react to the young visitor. after all, they had never seen Ashley. rather, they had always greeted each other through the brick wall with a snort, some sniffs and a few sharp territorial barks (the neighbor just moved in recently).

as she ran roughshod in the house, i went next door to see if he was home (since he could have parked in the garage instead of the front). nope. no signs, although i could hear his three other dogs barking inside...

so, i traipsed back to the house and tried to calm Ashley down with a doggie treat, bowl of water, and a couple warm towels. she had just realized that it wasn't her house - how cute - and wasn't about to trust this goofy looking asian kid who let her in...but, boy...it sure is warmer in here than outside!

doggy treat...ooh, thanks! my tummy was growlin'
bowl o' water...thankyouverymuch. water all around and not a drop to drink...
warm towel...ahhhh. okay, you can touch me. so what are we havin' fer dinner?

thought so, dogs know when they got it good. that's why annie and coco have never run away...

after three warm towels, treats, more water, and cuddlin', she was okay. good thing because she was shivering BIG TIME when i put the first two towels on her. by the time we got a fire started, Ashley had already jumped on the sofa...like she OWNED the house ;)

so Ashley got to stay for dinner and hang out for a couple hours until 8:00, when John got home. it was good timing too because the delivery that we had ordered from a new chinese restaurant on Colfax, had just arrived. we just got their take out menu in today's mail. not bad. decent egg rolls (hot and crispy), VERY good hot & sour soup (a sure sign of a worthwhile restaurant is if they know how to season soup), okay ham fried rice (mine's better, but it always tastes better if you don't have to cook ;), and a tasty roast pork and vegetables (although a bit salty).

looks like we'll probably order from the chinese restaurant (China Star) again. and we're hoping that Ashley comes over for another visit...her underbite is precious.

dad is improving...

he left the hospital on tuesday and is now at a rehab facility near the house, less than five minutes away. since he's only been there three days, no one is quite sure how long he'll be there; it'll depend on his progress with the physical therapist. we'll find out more when we go to a meeting tomorrow afternoon, although i'm thinking one to three weeks.

nevertheless, i can tell you that he's looking much better than the three days in the hospital. he was able to go for two short (PT) assisted walks today...his color is better...his demeanor is more 'dad-like'...and he has at least six people checking in on him during the second shift (3-11 PM) - an LPN (Amaelia), PT (Lila), three aides (Ruby, Elsie, Novela), and a phenomenal nursing student named Jo. if he gets some attention, enough food, and some time to watch AMC and ESPN, dad's one happy camper.

sure, the food ain't great, but it's filling and more than edible. my brother, scott, was telling us horror stories of another care facility (food-wise) that his mother-in-law had to endure for four weeks, after she had a knee replaced last year. we've already asked dad what chinese stuff he wants us to sneak in while he's there ;)

yay...i forgot to mention that dad'll get a haircut on saturday, which was skipped when susie had to take him to the hospital last saturday. yep, he gets a free haircut and shave during his stay. good thing because any member of the Wong family with bedhead is truly a traumatizing sight...

speaking of cool movies...

amidst the problems w/ dad (update to follow), lois and i went to see the Triplets of Belleville on saturday. WOW! there's a keeper...i'm gonna order a copy when it comes out on may 4th!

from Amazon.com's Editorial Review:

Words cannot capture the delights of The Triplets of Belleville, an astonishing animated movie from the mind of French director Sylvain Chomet. In fact, there are only a few spoken sentences in the entire film; most of the soundtrack is a mix of squeaks, barks, and the jazzy music of Benoit Charest. A bicyclist is kidnapped from the Tour de France by mysterious gangsters; his grandmother travels to the city of Belleville (which has a sardonic version of the Statue of Liberty in its harbor), where she tracks him down with the help of a musical trio gone to seed, the Belleville Triplets. This hand-drawn movie is unlike anything you'll see from Disney; every scene mixes the silent comedy of Jacques Tati and Buster Keaton--in which the world of objects subtly fights with living beings for mastery--and the bouncy hop of Betty Boop. Unique and mesmerizing.

i've always been a fan of animated film. haven't we all been utterly mesmerized by the humor and simple beauty of something like Looney Tunes or Tom & Jerry? and the stuff that Disney and Pixar are putting out? pure genius. the Triplets of Belleville is on a different level though. sometimes you don't want perfection and accurate rendering (i want that when i'm reproducing pottery sherds or reconstructing vessels in lab). no, if you watch the Triplets, the magic is in the story and the rendering of the characters and their human (canine in one case) imperfections; the grandmother has one leg that's about 5" shorter than the other...the dog is corpulent...the triplets (who are very much a french version of the Andrews Sisters) are washed up has beens who live in their world of reminiscence. THAT'S what makes the animation so cool... i think you'd all enjoy it immensely! if you can't see it (this may be its last week at the Mayan, unless it moves to the Chez Artiste or Esquire), definitely rent it!!!

must try to win...

been keeping track on a vhs version of Scotland, PA on eBay. are you familiar w/ this movie? it's an indie that came out a couple years ago. basically, it's Macbeth set in a 1970's fast food joint in a fictitious Scotland, Pennsylvania. if you haven't seen it, i highly recommend it. talk about hilarious!!! James LeGros, Maura Tierney, and Christopher Walken are spectacular in this crazy adaptation...

i was outbid a few days ago, the price is just $1 more than my highest bid. i'm hoping to slide in a desperation bid in the next three minutes, when the auction ends.

lately, i've been looking for tapes of things that aren't available on DVD yet. most recently, lois and i have been checking out old Carol Burnett shows, which are actually a hot commodity...

argh!!! i slipped and couldn't quite get the last bid in. ah well, that final price i was contemplating was probably too much...and who knows if i would have topped the other bidder. i've only won a bidding war a couple times in the last four years anyway.

oh well, as i was saying, the Carol Burnett vhs tapes that were put out by Columbia House in the late 1990's are commanding some serious prices. just a couple weeks ago, we were prepared to pay about $49 for seven tapes that someone was offering on eBay. the bids were fast and furious...i think the winning bidder paid nearly $70 - too rich for us.

so, we're just keeping an eye out for cheap tapes. unfortunately, i just realized a few minutes ago that i let one auction of 4 Carol Burnett tapes lapse. and of course, no one bid on them ($.99!!!). and now that the auction is over and the items will be relisted, someone's gonna find it and want to pay more than me...

btw, Denny, how goes the truck search?

hmph, there are some cheap DVDs of Scotland, PA. maybe i'll try my luck on those...

it's comin' down...

yes, more springtime snow. glad it's only sticking to the grass. saw some footage on the news of cars wiping out on I-70 earlier this afternoon - downright treacherous. this storm is expected to bring in 12-30 inches in the foothills and mts. rollinsville and pinecliff have already recorded 8" and 12", respectively. definitely good news for the handful of ski resorts that are still open. arapahoe basin and silverton (which still has a base of 100") will be seeing diehards until june and july 4th...

no freakin' wonder...

things have been strangely awry the past couple weeks for me, lois, and probably everyone around us (Dad's in the hospital, Denny's in a funk, Nelle is getting prize winners for clients, obnoxious moochers are finding their way into Rachel's cupboards, and Lois and Derbs have birthdays ;). yes, people, Mercury is retrograde...

here's an excerpt from Astroprofile.com... whoops, can't copy and paste on the page, so you had better click on the link and come back. aw, fuck it...i'll just type some of the details so you won't all hafta go back and forth. god knows there's enough confusion on this planet ;)

Mercury is retrograde...meaning it appears to move backward (in its rotation). this phenomena usually occurs 2-3 times a year for roughly a period of three weeks. Mercury retrograde times call for the rechecking of everything, the anticipation and planning ahead, and to relearn lessons unlearned since the last retrograde cycle (which was from 12/17/03 to 1/6/04).

It's a good time for review and completing ongoing projects. It is NOT a good time to start something new. Mercury energies involve the mind, mental processes, communication, travel, speaking, and writing.

Some of the things that Mercury retrograde times are notorious for:

* Communications go awry - phone calls, letters, e-mails, etc. are delayed, misinterpreted, blocked. Recheck everything like appointment times, spelling, wording, and your choice of words.

* Anticipate detours - memory lapses, confusion, failing to listen, failing to confirm, negotiation failures, or changing of plans.

*Avoid signing documents. Hopefully it can wait three weeks.

* Expect travel delays, car trouble, delayed flight schedules, "misplaced" reservations, or transportation difficulties of all kinds.

* Expect problems with messages, books, letters, magazines, documents, and even yer neighbors!

* Back up your computer files. This is a prime time for crap to happen!

* Expect the phone lines, cable lines, and power lines (you don't hafta tell Denny twice!) to have problems.

Steven Forrest, author of The Inner Sky, describes Mercury retrograde well: " Mercury retrograde isn't bad...it just takes some planning to cooperate with the energies. It's meant to be spent assimilating experiences, reviewing the past, and redoing, in general. Matter of fact, if you really want to get the most out of a Mercury retrograde, confine your activities as much as possible to those that have "re" attached to the beginning of the word. Reschedule appointments, repair vehicles, return to the past, rewrite documents and agreements, and so forth."

i don't take all of the above too seriously. however, i do believe that i must be influenced by this occurence (even you need to know your natal chart to be sure). whenever Mercury is retrograde, "weird shit always happens to me...like I am some huge SHIT magnet." - Margaret Cho.

really though. remember the asshole convenience store attendant? this nut didn't mention to us that he closed at 11PM, when we arrived at 10:58. all we wanted to do was use the john, and fill our tank. well, while i was in the 'facilities', lois had come in to give him the credit card (since they were old pumps and lacked the pay at the pump). as she prepared to pump, he had turned out all the lights (like we were gonna attract half the automobile traffic on west colfax) and turned off the pumps as well.

i had just come out of the bathroom when lois came back in and told the guy that she wasn't able to pump the gas. so, meester joikoff acted like she was a fool and prepared to go out there and prove it. red flags all around... well, we nicely asked for our credit card back and he took offense, asking if she had a tough/bad day. yeah, i know you guys would have chimed in, "WELL, WE ARE NOW YOU POMPOUS, DISRESPECTING MFKKER!" what is with some people nowadays? from the way they act, it's like the whole world dumped on them. sorry pal, you ain't the only one...so save yer shit and fling it in yer own house.

and of course, that was when we headed south on sheridan and found a Sinclair (w/ old pumps too...like there's some pattern here). of course, super psycho stupid christ figure was there harassing everyone. AND the guy was getting in Lois' face...saying that he was the grandson of JC (THAT'S a good one!). man, i had to hold Lois back, she was cussin'/hollerin' and ready to swing. the punk ass kid looked truly scared.

well, he went out to his mongo huge car, a white, early 60's whale, and was acting strangely, when he came back in and started talking about honor and Samurai. the poor dumbass was going off the deep end...

of course, he's trying to preach religion w/ lois, who taught Sunday school in Texas (Baptist) and Colorado (Methodist) for many years and rap Samurai w/ me (something i taught at the art museum for two years) - bad move. i know we should have totally shown how much of a mental midget he really is, but they sometimes resort to violence because they have no answer for your brilliant retort...so ya gotta humor the dumb beast.

so monkey boy (i shouldn't lump them w/ this lame excuse for a human though)...let's call him Stegosaurus boy instead (it's nicer than pea-sized brain) came in and wanted me to shake hands like a Samurai. of course, being the 'honorable' Asian that i am, i told him that i had no idea what he was talking about since i wasn't Japanese. he assumed that i was Korean...nope. so he resorted and retreated, saying (in his best Beavis&Butthead), "...but you're oriental (try Asian, you asshat)." and you're fuckin' stupid and high...GO AWAY! geez, what is it? the proverbial woodwork must be pukin' creeps and joiks!

one more joik today. the person that came to take my dad for an MRI was totally clueless and impatient. he unplugged the hanging IV stand to which my dad was attached, and believed that he could carry the box and bag and chaperone my father with his walker. WHAT are you thinking? just get the nurse and a gurney!!!

of course, to his brainless chagrin, we get the nurse and gurney. dad is unhooked and we help him into the gurney. full knowing that he had lost 'control' of the situation, the then goon ordered me to get dad's pillow...AND snapped his fingers. GRRRR...that set me off.

little man, you have no right to snap your fingers at anyone, especially when you are the least qualified to do so! it may be appropriate for your kids (god forbid you would procreate *shiver*) or your misbehaving dog, but that's totally out of line in a hospital setting. are you there to help or to prove your idiocy? if it's the former, you should find another job. and the latter? well, give that man a raise...

you know, you were pretty lucky to have gotten such a caring position. i saw the hospital employment ad, asking for a warm body that's just a notch under a total waste of space. yep, you were definitely the most qualified. either that or St. Joe's was completely desperate to fill the position because i know some unemployed (and extremely qualified) people who are looking for jobs in the health care industry and have been passed over or not even considered.

you sir, should play chicken (blindfolded) w/ an 18-wheeler...or here, you can juggle these (a chainsaw, a beaker of hydrochloric acid, and an elephant with weak bowels).

i feel SO much better...

btw, i want to add another facet to Mercury retrograde. in addition to awry communication and general delays, dickheads come out of the woodwork. so look out for the shit magnet until mid-morning April 30th, when Mercury retrograde ends...

missed opportunities...

bleh. missed all four Margaret Cho shows at Comedy Works. i knew she was passing through...in fact, it was announced on her webpage three months ago. i put it off...forgot about it...put it off some more...until i called yesterday and found out that the non-smoking show was sold out. double bleah. i considered going to one of the smoking shows tonight, but i knew that lois would be hatin' it (you know how vehement ex-smokers get when they're around cigarette smoke ;).

so...i reconsidered and foolishly attempted to call and see if there were any seats left for tonight. of course, Jared, who handled my call, informed me that both shows were now sold out. at least he kept a straight face and didn't wildly cackle on the phone...

dad is in the hospital again. all week, he's had bouts with dizziness and a bit o' sweating...more sure signs of a minor stroke. so, back to St. Joe's it was... this time, they're going to adjust/change his medications and he'll have to stay in rehab for a week, which should benefit him. poor dad. he's too cute and funny to be in a hospital bed.

i know i was going to finish the story about our dinner with yani...i just don't feel like it. let's just say the jekyll side of it was from trying to buy gas on Sheridan. DON'T go to the quickmart-type convenience store on colfax & sheridan...especially at 11PM. the guy behind the counter is a super muthafukkin' asshole who needs to get his teeth kicked in...whattajoik. ooh, i wanna wish some bad things on him...grrr.

and watch out for the Sinclair station on 10th? 12th? although the east african owner is very nice, there's a super annoying, preaching, tattooed, punk ass kid in his early 20's who thinks he's Jesus. it would be amusing if he didn't get in yer face and call you names. funny, he's not the tolerant JC that we read about. methinks someone was either tripping on some crazy stuff...missed a dosage of his medication...or both. what a loon!

gawd! WTF happened monday?!? people, full moon isn't until the 4th! why don't you go back to your holes until then...geez!

tuesday was better...

went to bob & wanda's. i think i mentioned them before... wanda went to grad school with lois. she's the one who worked for the CIA in Greece and was duped into saying, " Thank you for coming tonight. Did you enjoy the food? I sincerely hope you fart all night..." by a Greek co-worker who volunteered to help (wanda) with some Greek phrases and farewells.

anyway, their daughter just left for Chicago yesterday. she's on her way to Bulgaria for her first Peace Corps assignment, so we had a little going away dinner for her.

for appetizers, we munched on hummus, pita, tzatziki sauce, crackers, and pistachios. dinner was a massive portion of Nicoise salad. and dessert was simply strawberries and coolwhip. not the fanciest of dinners, but shore convenient since we didn't have to lift a finger ;) we did bring a huge bottle of german wine tho' - crisp and slightly sweet.

what a great visit! we're hoping to visit Kirsten before her two years are up; Bulgaria is not exactly yer usual american tourist destination ;) i think i'm gonna do a Lowa and start a blog for her...and then we could all hear about her two-year Bulgarian adventure. yeah!

tell me...

should i change the title of my blog to 'Neglect-a-blog'? the way i have been avoiding the keyboard lately, it sure would be fitting.

this week has been somewhat busy on the social side.

on monday, lois and i had dinner with our good friend, Ileana (she goes by Yani) May Colín. she's in town for three months from Cancún, hoping to get some under the table work and improve her English. although i doubt she'll find anything in her field - she's an architect - any money is good. and if her English is pretty good by the time she goes back, she'll be much more in demand in Cancún.

wow! i think it has been five years since we last each other... she is so cool. smart and a super sense of humor. her coolness is enhanced by the fact that she has the most awesome handwriting script ;) it's kind of a mix between calligraphy and a modern swoopy font. i swear, there should be a yani font, it's that unique!

anyway, we had dinner at the Painted Bench on 20th and Logan. it's a nice place for upscale dining without the snootiness. we shared a wild mushroom gratin appetizer and the house salad (basically a walnut, pear, gorgonzola, mixed greens salad with a bit too much lemon vinaigrette). lois had the tenderloin, which came on a bed of a funky potato pasta (it reminded me of gnocchi) with rapini (a spinach like leaf that tastes like broccoli)...yani had the duck breast (see menu link) and i had the hanger steak...mmm! and perfectly medium rare....

we all had red wine (lois...merlot) (yani...pinot noir) (me...malbec). we skipped coffee and dessert though, opting for a quick trip to the *$$ on 16th & Curtis and a short walk down 16th St. Mall.

will continue the story because you have just read about the Jekyll side of Monday night...the Hyde side is much more amusing...TRUST ME!

i'll be back in a few hours...

heap o' cheaps

as i mentioned in the last post, we went to the cheapies tonight...Big Fish. have you all seen it? another Tim Burton movie that is quirky...even strange...but in a very mesmerizing way. i've always liked 'Beetlejuice', 'Edward Scissorhands', and 'Batman', which he all directed. i have yet to see 'Sleepy Hollow', 'Ed Wood' and 'Mars Attacks!' he's also directing a new version of 'Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory'; even though it's going to be titled 'Charlie and the Chocolate Factory' and is already in post production. i'd be very interested in seeing that since many of us have memories of the 1972 original.

i really liked the movie. for those who haven't seen 'Big Fish', it's about a man who tries to reconcile with his father, a charismatic storyteller who is dying from cancer. all his life, the son has felt that he was some footnote in his father's outrageous stories, which he believed were all elaborate fabrications.

watching the movie made me think of my parents and mortality in general. now, i certainly don't view my father as the patriarch in the movie. my father is a simple man who worked hard, loves his children, and has a tremendous sense of humor.

actually, my mother came to mind when you hear the father's narrative. my mom tells the same stories almost ad nauseam to most strangers she meets. granted, these familial stories aren't outright lies nor delusional fantasies. however, they do stretch the imagination somewhat. and some of the details? somewhere, somehow, she decided to soup 'em up a bit.

there's a couple stories that she brings up on occasion with me that make me want to roll my eyes and just walk away. i don't know why i'm bothered with some of the 'creative' details because i know they don't hurt anyone. i guess i take empiricism too seriously. as a 'cerebral' nutjob, er, scientist (although i never really identified myself with that title), you always must approach and present your findings in the most factual and logical way. perhaps, for archaeology and most aspects of travel, that's probably true...

i guess i've learned over the years that it's sometimes better to just smile and let it go in one ear and out the other because one day, those stories will be gone with the best storytellers - our parents. sure, we'll have stories of our own to pass on, but they might not size up to the doozies that they had. kinda like their cooking... for those people who reminisce about comfort foods growing up, i know that no matter how well i cook, there are some things that i'll never be able to prepare like my parents. of course, this is for those parents who are/were good cooks. i pity those who grew up in families with lousy cooks ;)

i don't think i mentioned that the movie takes place in fictitious towns of Alabama, which holds a little irony for me. i have a friend who grew up in Montgomery, Alabama (i'll call her 'AK'). she's smitten with my parents...as are most people. anyway, she caught me fussing about my parents and their little oft-repeated stories that embarassed me some, and said, "You really should appreciate your parents now and share more (with them) because you'll really miss them when they're gone. I was estranged from my father when I moved away from Alabama. And now that my parents have passed, I miss 'em every day. I wish I had the opportunity to share life with them that you still have."

AK is so right...
And with that...g'nite.

let it snow...

let it rain...
let the sun shine in...

in fact, i wouldn't mind if we received a little precipitation every night (like midnight to dawn) for a week or two. now, we would have to have sun during the day, but let the water soak in some.

still snowing outside. had to pull out the snow brush out of the trunk after we got out of the cheapies. funny...after 10 years, lois still insists to brush off the car and have me sit. and, after ten years, i have usually talked her out of it; she's always cold. why should she 'suffer' brushing the car off, while it's not really a big deal for me to scrape and brush? besides, i'd much rather be on the outside while she sits in the freezing car, waiting for it to warm up ;) i think we both think that each of us has it better...does that make any sense? i think you get the gist of it. and if you don't you probably really do. in fact, you get it so good that you're itching to get away from this blog...and pronto!

btw, i love spring snow! it never gets cold enough to freeze - no scraping - and it's usually so wet, it comes off in one swift brush. even if it's a foot thick, you can take your arm or a broom and push it all off in one sweep...

colored...glittered...

eggs.

not very pretty ones though. we only had natural eggs (brown) and an incomplete glitter egg kit that i unearthed from my car trunk last year. i must've bought it post-Easter...

still, the eggs came out better than we thought they would, considering the color tabs didn't all pan out; the red/pink wasn't dark enough and you try to color natural eggs yellow, ha! only with copious amounts of leftover glitter from another kit, were we able to salvage the batch.

now, we made some killer eggs a couple weeks ago! the kit (Dudley's Shake n' Dazzle) we used was SO hassle-free and fast... it took less than 30 minutes, including clean up :) basically, the kit has five dye envelopes, five matching colored baskets w/ clear lids, and a teeny glitter shaker (which actually has enough to decorate 2-3 dozen eggs!). you put the egg in the basket shaker, add a few drops of the dye, secure the clear lid, shake until you have the desired (uniform) colors, and add the glitter. you can make some beauteous ones. and after you finish, you can wash the baskets and attach the included plastic basket handles (they give you 10), add grass, and hand 'em out. they're so cute.

that kit was so easy that we didn't even stain our fingers. i know that some people think that's part of the fun, but there are some messy kits that are plain cumbersome in both coloring and clean up. the speckled egg kit (by Easter Unlimited) and Dudley's Swirl-an-Egg are two that make cool looking eggs, but are messy as hell.

i wonder what half-priced kits we'll find on monday...maybe we'll do the simply colored Paas kit next year ;)

these are always good...

when you have no idea what to blog about. this one is from Katie's blog...

Grab the book nearest to you, turn to page 18, find line 4. Write down what it says.
"...and when old Aegeon makes his appearence in Ephesus, he is condemned to death." (from Stories From Shakespeare)

Stretch your left arm out as far as you can. What do you touch first?
My printer

What is the last thing you watched on TV?
part of 'The Simpsons'

With the exception of the computer, what can you hear?
an old Jesus Jones cd...now i know why it cost me a dollar

When did you last step outside?
around 2PM to get the mail

Before you came to this website, what did you look at?
some hotels on Cheapo Vegas. you should go there...the humor is quite tongue in cheek!

What are you wearing?
black sweats...an old Tampa Bay t-shirt...and an even older Claybrooke cotton shirt

Did you dream last night?
i'm sure i did, but i don't recall what (i dreamt). now, two nights ago, i had a strange dream about my brother, Steve. he was lurking upstairs, carrying a full laundry basket and declaring that everything was okay. we-eird.

When did you last laugh?
a few minutes ago as i was catching up on blogs. specifically, it was Rachel's post about critter talk, Souris, and 'rah-zon-yah.'

What is on the walls of the room you are in?
very little. a calendar and an old white sheet that i use for slide viewing on occasion.

Seen anything weird lately?
just those two German tourists in Dallas, looking like the Mennonites who sell cheese on the street in Mérida, Mexico.

What do you think of this quiz?
it's better than actually thinking of something to write about ;)

What is the last movie you saw?
at the cheapies, Calendar Girls
full price, Mystic River
on tape, Shaolin Challenges Ninja

If you became a multi-millionaire overnight, what would you buy first?
a condo for my brother, Sandy...a Mini Cooper for Lois...and a couple RTW airfares.

Tell me something about you that I don't know:
i floss my upper teeth in the morning and the bottom teeth at night

If you could change one thing about the world, regardless of guilt or politics, what would you do?
implement a recycling program similar to the Netherlands

Do you like to dance?
depends on the music and the crowd

George Bush:
is an insufferable fool who has put this country in a shitload of debt that future generations will have to endure for many years

Imagine your first child is a girl, what do you call her?
i really get along with Barbaras, but it's kind of an old fashioned name

Imagine your first child is a boy, what do you call him?
maybe Robert

Would you ever consider living abroad?
i have done so on two occasions and will have many more future opportunities

cheapies...

went to see Calendar Girls for four bits today. my friend, Cindy, hadn't seen it yet and i wasn't in the mood for Diane Keaton in Something's Gotta Give...

man, the line was SO long! usually when we go to a cheapie, we meet at the Walgreen's and stock up on water and candy. upon seeing cindy, she said that the line was snaking out the east door of Tiffany Plaza, which is a good 100' from the box office. so we ended up waiting at least 15-20 minutes to get our ticket from our poor, harried seller. i cannot believe that they only had one person selling tix on a tuesday. then again, you usually don't have to wait that long to get a ticket for the matinee show, even on a tuesday.

the movie was just as good as the first time. Helen Mirren and Julie Walters are a scream. it's well worth a cheapie tix or rental!!!

afterwards, i decided to stop by Anthony's Pizza for a couple slices of sausage and pepperoni. at first, i was weighing the pros and cons:

'you don't need the oozy, cheesy, greasy wedge...'
'but it HAS been a long time since you've been there...'
'okay...compromise...only ONE slice'

isn't it nice when you can talk yourself into doing the 'right' thing ;)

so, it was into the joint for a slice of sausage. as i walked in, i didn't see anyone manning the counter...until a kid on my right stood up and kissed his girlfriend goodbye. OMG, it was G. Penn! i hadn't seen G since he was a fifteen year-old kid on a trip to a Mexican orphanage that lois and i were chaperoning. he was the best kid on the trip. and here he was, managing the Anthony's on 7th & Colorado...last day too. he's taking the year off from DU and is gonna find a part-time job and basically kick back for the summer, before the fall quarter - good for him. he tells me that he wants to go into commercial real estate and building management. smart kid, go for the money.

a good day. the weather...a movie...seeing G...and i even blogged! tonight, i'm gonna cook...we're gonna stay in and watch the best of Johnny Carson tapes that i picked up at ARC last week...and that's it. hope you all have an exciting night as we ;)

i'm back...

sorry 'bout that. i had just turned on the lamp on my last post and the bulb went out...so i had to truck upstairs to get another. and when i got back with it, the above light in the ceiling had gone out. strange. it's gotta be that full moon.

tonight, susie left work at around 7PM and thought she saw lois' car still in the parking garage. when she got home, she called lois and asked if everything was okay. lois wondered why susie thought something was wrong because she left work at around 5PM and had been home since then.

apparently, there's another late model maroon Honda Civic LX...with similar plates that is often parked in their parking garage. lois even said that she mistakenly tries the wrong car on occasion. i wonder if it's the same for the other owner. perhaps, this car only appears during full moons - that would make more sense ;)

speaking of weirdness, last night, we watched Frontline. it might have been a repeat because the episode was "Who was Lee Harvey Oswald?" it probably aired last november, in commemoration of the 40th anniversary of JFK's assassination.

anyway, it was a bit ironic to turn the tube on to this show because we were just in Dallas last weekend to visit lois' sister, Pauline (see the 3/19 post). and we had visited the Book Depository building that Oswald had done his deed in. talk about creepy. all the documenting photos and videos made for a really thought provoking sunday.

although i am familiar with the events that transpired, i had never given it much thought since JFK was assassinated almost seven years before i was born. sure...the rifle...the grassy knoll...Jack Ruby...but that's it. i didn't know all the details and the scientific experiments that had been carried out by the Warren Commission. and to see everything, was pretty incredible.

IMHO, i believe that Oswald was a gunman and probably fired the first three shots. however, i don't think he acted alone. if you look at the frame-by-frame evidence of Abraham Zapruder's amateur video, it's totally evident that another shot was fired from the right of the motorcade, as JFK's scalp is literally torn off and he slumps to his left, into Jackie. man, that must've haunted her 'til the day she went...

if Oswald was the only one to fire the shots, there is NO way he could have inflicted the fourth, since he was shooting from BEHIND the limo. i kinda wonder if there is a conspiracy theory and he was the scapegoat. from the subsequent interviews after the shooting, he was too calm and collected...like he was going to be magically exonerated; as if someone had promised him immunity or something.

oh yeah, i thought i'd mention a funny observation that we made. right before we walked into the museum, lois and i noticed two tall, cowboy hatted, overall wearin', bumpkin-looking types that had crossed the street in the direction of the museum. it seemed that they were the classic bumpkins who had come from a more 'rural' area of the state or a surrounding state for a visit to the 'big city.' in fact, the only thing that might've been missing was a piece of straw jutting out of the side of their mouths.

on the sixth floor, we were milling around the exhibit when i caught a glimpse of the bumpkins again. we had crossed paths once more near the vocal timeline when i heard one of 'em talk to another...in German!!! these two guys were German tourists who either believe that they'd fit in perfectly by dressing in their best Village People cowhand garb or their Texas travel literature back home is seriously out of date! i truly had to stifle a laugh at myself because of my preconceived notions of these visitors. heh

back to it?

can you believe it? here i am, no longer neglecting my blogging responsibilities...

'course, i have NO idea what to blog about ;) BRB

from Nelle's...via J-Walk Blog

Where were you when...

1) John F. Kennedy was shot? (11/22/1963)
N/A...that's six and a half years before my birth

2) Mt. St. Helen's blew? (5/18/1980)
I was in fourth grade. I don't recall where I was at that exact moment, but I do remember seeing the thin layer of volcanic ash on my dad's '76 Chevy Caprice Classic (what a boat ;)

3) John Lennon gunned down? (12/08/1980)
I was in fifth grade, watching the news about it...but later that night, not the instant it happened since that was in the morning, right?

4) The Challenger exploded? (1/28/1986)
I was a high school sophomore, sitting in Miss Minnick's Algebra 4X class...when she informed the class of the accident.

5) The 7.1 earthquake hit San Francisco? (10/07/1989)
In my dorm room watching the World Series game between San Francisco and Oakland on TV.

6) The Berlin Wall Fell? (11/07/1989)
Still at Mizzou. I remember reading about it in the paper the next day.

7) The Gulf War began? (01/16/1991)
In Belize, worried that it would really escalate and that I was the prime age to be drafted...

8) OJ Simpson was chased in his White Bronco? (06/17/1994)
At work. We watched it on the b/w TV in the kitchen.
8a) And when the verdict was read? (10/03/1994)
Standing near the bureau that held the menus and talking to Nathaniel, a cashier at the Harvest.

9) The Afred P. Murrah Federal Building in Oklahoma City was bombed? (04/19/1995)
I was getting out of bed...groggy and confused.

10) Princess Di was killed? (08/31/1997)
I was getting ready to pick up a friend (Eric Kwong) to go see a midnight movie at the Mayan Theater.

11) Bush was first announced president? (11/07/2000)
I think I was talking to my sister, Susie, and watching it on TV.

12) Terrorists destroyed the WTC? (09/11/2001)
I had just gotten up when the first plane hit, thinking that it was a strange accident. By the time the other tower was hit, I think most of America knew that it was no coincidence. I remember watching the TV replays (especially when the towers collapsed), in utter disbelief...

13) Columbia disintegrated during re-entry over Texas? (02/01/2003)
I was at home, watching it on TV.

14) The Madrid trains were attacked? (03/11/2004)
Reading about it on Yahoo.

he lives...really!

it has been a LONG time since i last blogged, hasn't it?

sorry 'bout that :(

i have been busy with class, which, btw, is now over. i can start putting CTG next to my name ;) i am now a certified tour guide!!!

the work in the class piled up at the end...only because i let it get away from me. three small presentations, three papers, and a motorcoach test (20 min. tour, that is).

i'm sad to say that i wasn't one of the top 10 students. in fact, i probably was in the bottom five of a class of fifteen. you know what though? i don't care!!! i finished and that's all there is to it...DAMMIT!

unfortunately, there's one more certification that i must have before i can be totally happy...the one for CITM (Certified International Tour Manager). this is the one for big bucks and will take me to Latin America...or anywhere else in the world. the bad thing about tour guiding is that it's more feasible for local work (which is good if you have local obligations); most int'l tour guiding is done by the locals in those countries. 'course that probably makes the most sense...maybe. i've witnessed some tour guides who pass on more fiction than fact in certain archaeological sites...or the 'facts' they have are from scholarly thought of the 50's...time to update, guys!