m-pyrical

D'oh!

2007-10-17T15:06:00.001-06:00

M-pyrical is no more... It'll rest here for all eternity, but for fresh posts visit us at m-pyre, where we're folding in all that was m-pyrical with the best of what's always been m-pyre. Enjoy, and let us know how we're doing!

Seeing Stars - final m-pyrical post...

2007-10-03T13:23:00.000-06:00

Mikaela says:
It's that time. With our third anniversary of m-pyre, we're shutting down m-pyrical.

This will be the last horoscope posting on this page. Sniff, sniff...

Happy October, everyone!

Aries (March 20-April 19)
If it seems a never-ending quest to keep the peace at home and at work, remember what the two have in common. The bonds that tie people together are remarkably similar no matter what the setting, though we allow some to become more intimate than others (or deem them so). Depth or passion does not change the basic necessities of communicating our expectations, of stating grievances out loud, and most meaningful of all, asking for assistance when the burdens of life become too heavy to carry alone. You need to guard against what is in truth baseless insecurity about yourself; you may at times swing through extreme moods and decide one day that you're king of the mountain and another day notice you're struggling for any sense of worth. If you are defensive and protective, you will likely feel less safe. If you seek cooperation, balance and honesty, you will find that these things come to you with surprising ease and grace -- even if at certain times during the next few months you display no such qualities.

Cancer (June 21-July 22)
Mars is now in your birth sign, where it will remain well into 2008. (Mars turns retrograde in Cancer Nov. 15, so it spends about six months of its two-year orbit in your sign.) This is your invitation to focus your intentions and experiment with the power of desire. Note that this era doesn't appear to be a transient phase of your life, but rather a threshold to a new understanding of yourself and how you can relate to your world: directly. You are soon to learn that you're more likely to get what you desire than what you don't desire. The key to this equation is to make your desires conscious, and to learn how to cancel the ones you don't want or need. This will require a constant exercise in awareness, and then the additional step of making choices. Part of what you sort out are your past desires from your current ones; all while making room for what you may want in the future. As you do this, remember: feeling secure is more of a choice than a matter of chance.

Virgo (Aug. 23-Sep. 22)
All the potential you have been secretly brewing these months and perhaps years is getting ready to hatch, or is at the moment coming out of its shell. Can you feel it? Well, it may not feel so thrilling; it may however feel like this huge pressure to come to terms with yourself, like there is something you must reckon with complete honesty. That urge to be boldly, blatantly honest with yourself is the feeling of being reborn. I suggest you give it a try, or another try -- let out whatever you are holding in, even if it's into a notebook, anonymous blog or digital recorder. To some, Saturn's presence in their sign may seem to be sending the message that you must wait, contemplate, and organize yourself. I get a different message: wake up, and let go of the past -- and quickly. Be aware from your attempts to reach your truth of all that is outmoded in your life. Use your brain; consider your own thoughts; state your priorities. Last month's solar eclipse in your sign started a process that will continue for the next six months, at least.

Goodbye to Threadbared

2007-09-17T14:20:00.000-06:00

Mikaela wails:
What a week. Madeleine L'Engle AND Threadbared? Two bastions of womanly strength and pride ... lost.

Threadbared announced in August that they are shutting down their site.

The blow to womanhood is felt oh-so-deeply in the breast.

I've been pretty keyed in to the whole women's sphere lately. Reading Jane Austen for the first time... Enjoying Sarah Vowell from This American Life. Mourning Madeleine L'Engle's demise.

And now ... sniffling that Mary and Kimberly of the satirical blog riffing on sewing patterns are moving onto to other (not nearly as funny or gratifying for me) projects. Not only were these ladies individually hilarious, their friendship was also commendable. They just had so much fun doing this collaborative hobby for free and for the public!

Will all the smart girl projects suffer a similar fate?

Well, now that you mention it...

This might be a good time to mention that our little colony for the stuff of m-pyre might be going the way of the Dodo, too.

Consider this fair warning that soon, m-pyre will be the only M3 blog.

Embroider those hankies and get them ready!

For now we are,

Yours,

m-pyrical

P.S. Threadbared's hilarity is immortalized for all ages in a book, although not everything on the website made the cut. Purchase your memento here.

September - Happy Birthday to Mikaela!

2007-09-13T11:05:00.000-06:00

Planet Waves declares:

Aries (March 20-April 19)
There is just one way to avoid dramas at work, and that is to focus on work. There is one way to avoid health dramas, which is to focus on your health. In both aspects of your life, you are facing a significant threshold, yet the easiest and most productive thing to shift is your point of view -- that is, your attitude or position with respect to these fundamental aspects of existence. For the moment, where other people are concerned, that position might best be a bit remote or removed. Certain people seem poised to shake the tree, when your calling is decidedly in the direction of patient effort, focus and long-term accomplishment. You are laying a foundation now for when Pluto crosses your career angle and your role in the world begins to take on entirely new proportions and undergo some profound changes. The foundation involves learning to set priorities and being able to maintain your integrity when that becomes the last thing on the priority list of others who are influential in your professional environment.

Cancer (June 21-July 22)
A combination of aspects is suggesting that you pay close attention to your local environment. Local means walking distance or short driving distance from where your feet are at any given moment. Pay attention to the room you are in, the neighborhood you are in, the town you are in, and what you find when you are walking around or traveling at a slow speed. Current aspects suggest that your immediate surroundings will be giving you plenty of feedback, including information about whether you need to be there or not. Yet all the ongoing and impressive astrological developments have particularly vivid meaning for those who consider themselves people of letters: writers, programmers and idea-people of all stripes. In years of working as a journalist, I have often noted that the most important stories and projects choose me. This is one of those moments when your next assignment will choose you, and while details are still forthcoming, the one thing we know is that it will be interesting.

Virgo (Aug. 23-Sep. 22)
September's partial solar eclipse in your birth sign happens on a day associated with high drama, which is often a ruse for deception. Keep an eye on this syndrome. Keep both eyes on your integrity. The best thing that will come from events this month is that you'll finally open up to the influences of someone who has been trying to get through to you for a long time. Either that, or a circumstance beyond your control does the job for you. Lighten the impact and deepen the positive influence by making your own choice to reconsider an idea that for too long has seemed necessary but impossible. While you've learned to be open to change in recent years, it hasn't always been easy. But you know the struggle comes down to this: it's not always possible to respond to the passion that drives you forward and still reckon your choices with logic. Events this month will go a long way toward demonstrating that you don't have to think things make sense in order for them to do so perfectly.

August Comes ... August Goes

2007-08-01T17:21:00.000-06:00

Planet Waves predicts:

Aries (March 20-April 19)
You are not splitting in two. It is, however, true that you are rapidly approaching a branching of the roads where you will get to choose between a life that is predominantly dictated by your social life, and one that is nourished and sustained by your increasing creative passion. What divides the two is less about "what you want to be doing with your life" and more about your willingness to take the kind of risks that change you. When it comes to friends, you may want to choose from among those who are distinctly unafraid to stand out; who refuse to conform to what others expect of them, and who insist on honesty as a way of life; and who define themselves by their ability to change rather than to stay the same. This is what you are learning and these are the kinds of teachers and companions who will be the most supportive of you at this time. You may feel concerned about how meaningful your friends who may not fit this description are; but I propose it's now time for them to come to you, rather than you going to them.

Cancer (Jun 23 - Jul 23)
You are in an excellent process of defining what is important to you. A review that began as a kind of personal inventory earlier this summer has evolved into a careful look at your values system, your attitudes toward money, and what you have learned in the past couple of not-so-easy years of Saturn transiting your adjoining sign Leo. (For two years before that, Saturn was in your birth sign, which brought many similar challenges and points of inner growth and confrontation.) This month is the time to prepare the final report, which will be preceded by your current retrospective exploration. Keep your focus on the past as much as possible. Keep asking the question, "How did I get here?" See if you can identify key decision points that led to turning points that got you where you are today. Through this process, you will find the present, where you can ask the most important question in the universe: Where am I, and what am I doing here?

Virgo (Aug 24 - Sep 23)
One of the great Virgo secrets is how overwhelmed you can feel at times, and how you then ride that energy and break through to new universes of your life. This month promises to turn your inner reality into Bondi Beach of the mind, where you will surf the massive cosmic waves for days and weeks on end. You have learned in recent years that fear is basically the illusion created by responding to your abundant creative potential with negativity. It's a kind of psychic drag created by resisting your natural strength. It helps of course if you can see the positive potential of your creative power. As long as you let go of your past mental habits that is surprisingly easy, and that, in turn, is facilitated simply by noticing what they are. At a certain point, the quest to maintain self-awareness gives way to creative breakthroughs, which in the coming month or two seem poised to come as a series of developments that carry you further from any phase of your life that you remember, or for that matter that you have forgotten.

Pajama Men to Take on the World...

2007-07-25T09:16:00.000-06:00

Mikaela says:
Local comedy heroes Mark & Shenoah are being heralded in Chicago... See the great article here.

But the real story is they may soon be coming to TV on NBC!

Whoa. Stop not kidding!

Books not for summer ... D'oh!

2007-07-17T17:28:00.000-06:00

Mikaela says:
Recently a friend said summer was for beach-reading fiction.

Okay, I agree that's true, but summer for me is also a time to catch up on that stack of books gathering dust by my bed, waiting for a spare minute, cooing into my night dreams.

Reeeeeaaaaad me...

So I finally read A Thousand Splendid Suns, a downer of a book about women in Afghanistan from 1950 or so to the present time. Oh my is it beautiful, though. I didn't read this book; I consumed it. It is impossible to put down (yes, partly from guilt). You have a responsibility to read it, to face its horror, to witness and cry and begin to understand.

Some of it speaks the same message as its non-fiction neighbor Daughter of Persia. But the muddiness of reality is cleared to sparkling bone-cutting diamond fiction in this unforgettable novel. My lover kept asking me why I was crying, what the book was about ... and when I told him he was cast backward! One book? About all that? Holy god. Yes, that good. I think better than Kite Runner, his runaway hit of a first novel.

I've also been picking my way through 19 Varieties of Gazelle: Poems of the Middle East by Naomi Shihab Nye. I really do think it's our responsibility to understand the cultures that scare our government so much we declare them terrorists and keep sending more and more troops to inspire "democracy." What better way to do that than through poetry?

And I just finished Mother of Pearl, that my oldest sister bought me for Christmas. Would have been a better winter book, matching its darkness, but the heat and humidity of my living room provided the perfect venue for the book's depiction of the South. The story is also 1950s, I think, but this time a story woven with threads of black, white, and gay characters and these sentences that will stop you dead to consider them. You cannot consume this book; you've got to sip it like sweet wine or Baskin Robbins daquiri ice (before they changed and ruined it). Worth the time, though. It's haunting. I'm still sitting with the ending to see if I'm okay with it.

I loved the time I spent with these characters, though. I wanted so much to run to the river to hear Joody Two Suns tell me the story of my name. The whole book is a world that's real, yet we fear, yet we want in some strange way. It was also one of the best male friendship stories I've read yet. And wise about how people love. How men love women (carefully), women love men (despite themselves), and people who are different love people who are different from them. It's a sweet story about race. How often do we get that? And all the characters have wisdom of their own kind, which I so appreciate. No caricatures or moral tales or easy answers. Just people living the best they can and offering us their story. Pretty great.

That's my summer! You?

Fuck Harry Potter: How about some REAL entertainment?

2007-07-12T16:57:00.000-06:00

Mikaela says:
You want magic? These boys will give you magic. They'll wave their "magic wands" so far up your ass, you'll have to laugh to keep from gagging!

Okay, that's graphic, but you get the idea.

One night only (Tonight!): Stop Not Going
UNM's X Theatre (Hint: Enter the Popejoy building and search for signs)

Before these guys stop not going to Chicago.

P.S. Totally tongue in cheek about the Potter thing. You know I'm down for some boy-wizard love. Marjorie & I saw the new movie last night, and it ROCKED.

Happy Birthday, Marjorie!

2007-07-02T08:25:00.000-06:00

Planet Waves* foresees:

* Be forewarned that Eric/Brian Francis will chastise you for not subscribing to his service yet visiting his website monthly. He does not, however, offer a subscription that just covers the monthly horoscope, so ... we say ignore him or leave that comment!

Aries (March 20-April 19)
The time has come to confront a sense of loss and angst that seems to take up all the space you need for pleasure and abundance. It's as if someone took something from you, and you now have the opportunity to go on a hunt for just what that may be. It may seem inappropriate to bring any aggression to this deeply sensitive endeavor, but you must assert yourself in a way that is unusual for you. You are more accustomed to directing your energy outward rather than inward; to seeking answers surfing the usual channels of ideas and emotional sentiment. What you do over the next few weeks will feel like more of a struggle, or even an upheaval against the ways in which you tend to be set in your ways. Just remember, you are looking for a lost item of some kind, but here is a clue. It's an emotional, spiritual or sexual quality that you not only did not lose yourself, but which you were never properly given. Someone else lost it, long before you were born.

Cancer (June 21-July 22)
Focus your intent, but do so gently. Take your time and reflect, and consider how you feel. Make sure that timing your moves is utmost on your list of priorities. You don't want to take action too soon, and you may choose to temporarily slow down your outer-world progress, tracking the current path of Mercury retrograde in your sign. If you seem to be getting nowhere, you can count on the station-direct of Mercury on July 9 to help you shift your energy in a constructive direction. Meantime, I suggest you make no attempt to judge your progress. The hitch you are looking for, so you can unhitch it, is a point along that delicate membrane where your feelings dictate what you think is possible, and where what you think is possible dictates your feelings. This thin sheet of psychic tissue is only a few cells thick. Allow the material of the past and of the present to filter through gently till you get the perfect balance, and while you're at it, drink a lot of water.

Virgo (Aug. 23-Sep. 22)
You seem to be in the process of negotiating with your idealism. What is realistic, what is possible, and what from the "impossible" category is worth attempting? There are no right answers to these questions, nor can you know in advance which of your current investments, endeavors or relationships will bear the fruit you can almost taste. You simply must persist, but it's not a persistence of logic; rather, you can guide yourself by the tides of your feelings, which at times will seem to be on the ebb and the flood simultaneously. The one thing you can do that will set you way ahead is to be completely honest with yourself about how you feel, and how you feel about the people who surround you. The chances are you will learn some things about friends and associates that you were not expecting to find out. Some of this may fall under the heading of what the world these days calls "too much information," but I assure you there is no such thing.

June Horoscopes -- a little late!

2007-06-06T08:53:00.000-06:00

Planetwaves says:

Aries (March 20-April 19)
It's unlikely you're leaving any stone unturned or taking any insecurity for granted. How could you, when your mind is working overtime attempting to figure out the source of what troubles you? The figuring may be part of the problem, however. It does not help that there are moments when you really do feel like you can calculate the nature of your emotional needs and odd hesitancies. That little taste of success is enough to keep you going in what amounts to the wrong direction (forward). Try orienting yourself in reverse: in time, in your assessment of what you want, and internally rather than externally. Consider the child you are rather than the adult you are forced to be. Consider what you do not say as being the most significant indicator of what you truly want to say. Look for your reflection in the fears and dysfunctional beliefs of others. Imagine what they are not saying, and you'll have a clue what you are not saying. Then listen to yourself.

Cancer (June 21-July 22)
You have a right to change your mind. To do that, you have to know your mind, and for that, you need to find out what's there. I trust that you'll discover many things -- ideas, beliefs, patterns of thought -- that you don't need, and once you identify them, you're in an excellent position to let them go. I don't propose you concern yourself with what is new, what you want to create, or what you are seeking, but rather with the process of identifying and releasing, in that order. In essence, you will be making room for what is new, and at the same time, learning to identify what is what, so that you have a basis for deciding whether you really want it; whether it's useful; whether it helps or hinders you. Current aspects are providing you with the potential to reach an astonishing depth in this process, and to see and understand yourself in a way that is typically impossible for human beings. To do this effectively, you will need space and time, hopefully something more than evenings and weekends.

Virgo (Aug. 23-Sep. 22)
You are in a long stretch of life where others are providing a great deal of your impetus, motivation and creative fire. You have some excellent teachers, just the right kind: not just iconoclasts, but inventors. When you look back on these years, you will be blown away by how much you learned from the people who are closest to you, the people who you chose and those who chose you -- and they are not done coming into your life. Once again, this energy comes to a peak, but now a strategy involving a group becomes the focus. This may not be apparent until later in the month, and you will have plenty to keep you busy until then. The extra energy you put into your professional activities will be well worth it, as long as you remind yourself that your success is not a popularity contest. In actual fact, a little dissent is a good sign, and it will prompt you to invent the strategy for cooperation that seems like an inevitable development. If you find yourself searching for the right people with just a little edge of emotional irritation, you're on the right track.

(P.S. -- Yeah, she doesn't look like a virgin to me, either...)

Happy May Day! Mayday, mayday!

2007-05-01T10:49:00.000-06:00

Planet Waves says:

Aries (March 20-April 19)
Your fear may finally be pushing you someplace you need to be, making you aware of something you need to be aware of. Fear is indeed one of those things we have to put to productive use because there is so much of it in the world and in our minds. It is a potent form of energy. We run into problems when we stuff it, deny it, or cloak it in other colors and then pretend it's something else. In your chart at the moment, looking in the simplest context, there is a close relationship between the experience of having, and the fear of loss. If we go deeper, there is a relationship between a radical idea, a push toward the future, and the surrender to the process of inevitable progress, all of which is bucking against values and priorities that seem fixed and seem to refuse to move. But they are more mobile than you may be acknowledging; you are more flexible than you may recognize.

Cancer (June 21-July 22)
At the heart of the matter is your heart. This heart of yours is an open book, an unfinished story, and an echo of the future. The challenge of your charts at the moment is just how distant that echo seems at the moment, and how far you must reach to get there. Yet today, you know something that you did not know just a little while ago. That information, while far from bestowing certainty and permanence in the onrush of time, can if you allow it to add a feeling of sanity to your experience of life. Let it remind you that the world can reach back to you, despite distance, differences in values and the seeming consequences of our most careful plans. You are a sensitive person, which is to say you are aware of your own sensitivity. If you will do your best to extend that to others, bearing in mind how fragile they feel to themselves, you will discover yourself living in a saner world, one more responsive to your needs, and more beautiful to look at.

Virgo (Aug. 23-Sep. 22)
Never give your love to a foolish heart. It's just so hard to find any other kind, is it not? Well anyway, you are in demand, that is nice; there is just one of you, probably for the best; they love your soul, not just your body, usually a plus; and it would seem you're at a loss for how to handle all the energy coming at you. Withholding seems ridiculous; giving yourself has its limits, that is to say, you have your limits. And they are getting a mighty push right now, even as you keep telling yourself which way is up, and even as you try to figure out what you want amidst so many influences by others which are doing quite a lot to influence what you're supposed to want. Ignore all the chaos -- the information is coming and it's coming on strong. The genuinely strange constellation of events in your life points toward one truth, and though it may not be simple, you'll know it when you see it.

Academy Award Shorts

2007-04-23T08:53:00.000-06:00

Mikaela says:
Sorry if you missed them, folks, but 2/3 of mpyre really loved this year's Academy Award-nominated Animated and Live-Action Shorts, hosted last week at the Guild Theatre.

Maggie came down on the side of the Live-Action; I preferred the Animated, actually, which surprised me.

The highlight of the Live-Action shorts for me was the story of the Mormon kid who gets romantically involved with a woman who he's trying to convert. He falls in love, and when he goes to confront the woman's husband, the kid finds out the couple has been infertile for years, but now she's "miraculously" pregnant, and the husband's ready to accept God. It's both funny and a little heartbreaking and quite well-done on all its levels. A rare and wonderful story.

The Animated shorts had some bleak stories, for sure, but they've stayed with me longer than the Live-Action have. The heartbreaking rat story is one example. The story of the Harlem kid who steals from a shopkeeper who later kills himself is another.

A few years ago, I actually bought the animated winner from that year, Harvey Krumpet. I've watched it a kabillion times, and it's just as good as the first time. I think this year's The Danish Poet will be another such must-have. Maggie and I both loved it.

The Live-Action movie from last year about the old guy whose wife has died who digs them a grave and climbs in, pulls rocks down on top of them, just as his daughter drives up to spend the weekend has haunted me ever since. I think it was "Our Time Is Up." Oofda.

Which is all to say: watch shorts when you can! The Academy Awards may be another year away, but you can catch some short films this summer during the Duke City Shootout. The 48 Hour festival provides an opportunity, too.

There's an art to telling a short story. The difference between a short film and a feature film is the difference between five-page eloquence where everything means something and a 300-page novel where much of the richness comes in all the detail that you don't need but settles around you like a blizzard.

33 hour 24-hour Poetry Jook Joint

2007-04-06T12:13:00.000-06:00

Mikaela endorses:
Speaking of what's going on this month, here's something totally cool happening at Outchyonda in Barelas April 13-16, inspired by a similar event from the National Poetry Slam in 2005 (having attended at various hours, I can report that wee morning hours are the best, kinda like Balloon Fiesta craziness of getting up in the dark and leaving your house for something wild):

OUT CH’YONDA Live ARtZ Studio
929 4th St. SW
505-385-5634

La Revolucion Poetica presents:
Anotha 33 Hour Poetry Jook Joint
From Friday, April 13 @ 9p til Sunday, April 16 @ 6am
Sundown to Sunup!!
Admission is $5

Calling All Poets and Lovers of Poetry!!! This loony event was inspired by the 2005 National Poetry Slam here in Albuquerque. We want to continue the tradition this year, expanding it as an annual fundraising event complete with 33 hours of spoken word sanelunacy.

During the continuous 3 hour thematic slots, poets and poet hosts may read/perform spoken word alone or in conjunction with dance, music and the like. Sometimes verbal, sometimes rhythmic and musical, this 33 hour poetry Jook Joint will take you where no poet has gone before.

Poetry groups are encouraged to bum rush a slot, come up with a theme, and perform/read at their own risk.

A few slots are still available: Call Virginia 385-5634.

April 13/14 9pm -12am Cuba Brigade, DJ Blaktruth 453-3182, 991-4038
April 14 12am-3am Dr. N-word Ph.N. & Her Illiterate companion, La Revolucion Poetica 243-4325 385-5634 Maria
April 14 3am-6am Mitch Reyes 514-8019
April 14 6am-9am
April 14 9am-12pm
April 14 12pm-3pm
April 14 3pm-6pm
April 14 6pm-9pm Say What??? Saywut505@msn.com
April 14/15 9pm-12am
April 15 12am-3am
April 15 3am-6am

Star time

2007-04-02T16:07:00.000-06:00

Another month, another round of PlanetWaves wisdom.

Aries (March 20-April 19)
Is it good to know how smart you are? Probably, at least in your case. The thing is, you may not know. Other factors in your personality may obscure this kind of self-awareness, and you may live walking around the world feeling like a "young soul" whose knowledge is not quite ready for the world, or truly applicable to life. From a cosmic perspective, all your best ideas and brightest awareness are like a show being performed with the curtain closed. You can hear the muffled lines being spoken, you're aware of the stage sets changing, but the main idea may be eluding you. You need to know where to look -- that is, where to direct your experiences this month such that you encounter the golden datastream. If you set out on a mission of some kind that involves intentionally traveling somewhere to learn something, you will very likely step into the flow, fully conscious. But for the full effect, you must initiate the journey.

Cancer (June 21-July 22)
Acceptance is a precious thing. It is the feeling of the cosmos, of existence itself, opening its arms to us. The feeling of true acceptance involves transcending prior experiences of being too controversial, too intense, too scary -- too anything. We all have our own baggage that we carry regarding these learned experiences of being too something, and with our hands on those suitcases, it's impossible to embrace the world as it embraces us. I suggest you put those suitcases down, and look out at the world around you, listen to what is being said, and reach back when someone reaches to you. There is more to this opening up than you may recognize, as encountering the world in a state of harmony corresponds to encountering your own emotions and creative flow. Your life is indeed changing; developments you could not predict are meeting you like they already know you. Breathe into the journey.

Virgo (Aug. 23-Sep. 22)
If you feel like you're being confronted, you may want to look again, and check out why you feel this way. Some Virgos are great at this kind of on-the-spot introspection; some are not. But let's just say that your sense of being confronted is coming from within you, not from outside you. What is being presented to you from the outside is actually sensible, if not innovative. If it happens to be shocking, the reason is because of how brilliant it is. And I would reckon that who or whatever is in your face has a lot more in common with you than you may imagine or desire to admit, unless you slow down and ask yourself what you've been asking for, what you've been preparing for, and what is really meaningful to you. You have long passed the time when you can go through your existence living as a concept. Ideas are important, but experience is what you are craving the most, and what life is offering you the most abundantly.

While we're talking movies...

2007-03-28T13:00:00.000-06:00

Mikaela says:
The other one Eric & I saw at the Dollars Movies (ahem) that I haven't been able to shake is Stranger than Fiction. Now I am not a Will Ferrell fan. Never have been, never will be (she says, feeling suddenly unsure of herself...).

But this movie gets you from the beginning. Like a good Charlie Kaufman flick (Eternal Sunshine, Being John Malkovich), this movie presents a seamless alternative reality that is so airtight, there's no escape. Unlike Michel Gondry, however, this director chooses to present the world straight up, something like Truman Show.

Charming, quirky, and philosophical in the vein of I Heart Huckabees (speaking of, has anybody watched the YouTube video of the director going ballistic and yelling at Lilly Tomlin? What an asshole!), this movie doesn't fall into the trap like many similar movies do of taking itself too seriously. There's just enough postmodern twist to keep us snooty intellectuals preoccupied, but in the meantime, the characters are real and communicate on an everyday level. So refreshing!

Add to that a shameless effusiveness about the beauty of urban places, a couple stellar performers by veterans Emma Thompson and Dustin Hoffman (oh, and throw in the hotter-than-baking-bread Maggie Gyllenhaal), and you've got yourself one satifying movie.

On a personal note, the film is shot in Chicago. The university scenes take place at my old stomping grounds at UIC (University of Illinois at Chicago, formerly known as "Circle campus"), and there's hilarious interchanges with a literature professor (Dustin Hoffman) who becomes the "expert" to help the main character out of his dilemma (reprising the role played by Robin Williams in Good Will Hunting, in some ways - whew! no movie reference left unturned). Oh boy! Theory in a popular flick? No....

Believe it. Will Ferrell is in a very smart movie. And it's good! What could be stranger than that?

Reign Over Me

2007-03-28T12:40:00.000-06:00

Mikaela raves:
Eric & I saw this movie last week and loved it.

I admit I'm a sucker for a good male friendship story. This is a classic. Great things to say about love, relationships, survival, and the people who come into and out of your life at just the right time for magic reasons.

Beautiful acting. Gorgeous cinematography. Impeccable script.

Go, go, go!

(Believe it or not, this was a decision between the Adam Sandler movie and Chris Rock. We snuck in to see part of the Chris Rock movie -- I Think I Love My Wife -- afterward and promptly walked right back out. You couldn't get me to sit through that horror show, even for free. Awful, awful, awful. All the worst of men and women rolled up into one boring, un-funny, voiced-over mess. Ick. Ack. Awful. It was a testament to how good Reign Over Me was that we weren't left with a bad taste in our mouths.)

Tired of Bad Virgo Horoscopes

2007-03-13T07:51:00.000-06:00

Mikaela says:
While Senior Eric/Brian Francis (covering my bases there) does a good job finding interesting prognostications for Virgo, most horoscopes are deadeningly bad.

As I've said many times, Virgo is the straight man of the calendar. We're fussy, meticulous, exacting, perfectionistic, anal, serious, and endlessly hard-working.

Here's a typical daily horoscope:

Your ability to enjoy yourself today depends upon how you manage your schedule. It's rather unlikely that you'll impulsively go off to have a good time, as that would be out of character for you. But building playtime into your routine will help you feel less guilty about having fun, whether you're playing with children, participating in sports or just kicking back to relax for a while.

Now, if this were any other sign, it would say:

You're drawn to play and have fun today. Don't fight the urge! Be your playful, bad self! How can you not? Just remember to keep a balance with other responsibilities, and everything will work out just great. No worries.

Instead, here's a double admonishment, as though any Virgo needs reminding of our responsibilities. 1) Make sure you manage your schedule. 2) Make sure you remember "fun."

It's just such an insult any way you look at it. Can that really be true that Virgos have to pencil in playtime? Or pen it in, so that we don't erase it for work when our guilt overcomes us?

It's ridiculous. Even the straight guy gets a laugh every once in a while. More astrologers should remember the less-talked about but less-insulting sides of Virgos -- our intuition, our ability to communicate, our healing powers, our easy service of others. We've got huge reserves of wisdom that astrologers very rarely tap. It's annoying.

And that is all I have to say about that. Carry on!

March PlanetWaves

2007-02-28T14:30:00.000-07:00

marjorie says...

Some of you might wonder why we so diligently post Planet Waves horoscopes. Well, because the three of us who are so firmly rooted in the "real" world have been completely floored by how tapped in Eric Francis seems to be to what is happening in our lives. So here we are, from dismissive naysaying and smirking at horoscope readers, to impatiently waiting each month to hear what he has to say next...and here is what he has on tap for the m-girls in March:

Aries (March 20-April 19)
Breaking free is the theme of this moment, and it will take all your experience of the past two years to do so, as long as you have the confidence that you can. Breaking free of what? Well of course, the social expectations that keep more people trapped in their role, mode, frame of mind and geographic location than I care to imagine. You seem to be relating to the world as the underdog, and in the coming weeks as Mars makes its once-per-two-year conjunction to Chiron, the stars favor those who tend to feel less favored, particularly in certain social aspects of life. For example, this strongly favors those such as yourself who can abide by rules only if you helped create them. Indeed, the rules do need to change and you appear to be one who is noticing this, and who is willing to do something about it. Remember that your strength comes from awareness and strategy, rather than from brute power, be it mental or physical.

Cancer (June 21-July 22)
Eclipses are blowing through town, a time in the life of any Cancerian when events arrive with that once-in-a-world feeling. To you more than to most, eclipses feel like going through a series of gateways, though what you may not be so clear about is how your journey ripples out into the world and shapes what you think of as destiny, including that of the people closest to you. Couple this with a lot of intensity in your 8th house, Aquarius, the one governing the nitty-gritty of your relationships and your community. You are connected to it; it is connected to you; there is an absolutely rare alchemy happening where the part you play in the drama of life is transforming even as you notice what it is. Nervous would be a natural feeling for now, but don't waste your energy being anything but cool and calm. Even if you freak out a little, do it in a mindful and straightforward fashion. By this time next month, you will be mayor.

Virgo (Aug. 23-Sep. 22)
Mercury retrograde constantly keeps the world wondering what you're about to do next. Given that you have recently done quite a few exciting things next, those around you may not be expecting your upcoming maneuver any more than you are; but all the others have led up to this one, in such a way as you have personally yet to recognize. You've been too busy keeping up with one detail after the next, and one small breakthrough leading to another, to see the whole scenario working itself out on so many different levels. While you will indeed notice, you may want to do something soon that shifts your perspective before that occurs: go someplace new, move all your projects to a room with a different view, listen only to classical music for a week or watch a new movie every night, one that you've never seen. Meditate on unfamiliarity and let your mind drift into the abstract. There and then, the light will dawn.

It's that time of the month. No, silly -- for Horoscopes!

2007-02-07T08:35:00.000-07:00

Planet Waves says:

ARIES (Mar 21 - Apr 20)
Compelling events and turning points, particularly involving your established social circle, are boldly announcing that a long phase of your life is drawing to a close. But the new phase will not begin immediately; it is still taking form in ways that you cannot see. We can, however, sum up the ending effectively by saying that you have grown too serious and too devoted to your own cause for certain people you once knew; you have been taking solid steps as an individual, and this, too, is setting you apart from others. I suggest you get used to it. It is one thing to be different; it is another thing to be unequivocally yourself. Having ideas and opinions comes at a cost, and it brings a rare kind of profit. Meanwhile, I suggest you consider this. Your ideas are not new and different; rather, they are old and different. You are seeking to preserve something traditional, while others are the ones going off in a new direction.

CANCER (Jun 23 - Jul 23)
While you are making an inquiry into the integrity of someone else, check in with yourself. The chances are you will determine that you are standing on solid ground and working with honest motives, but your self-inquiry will assist you in proceeding with a clear conscience. There are indeed too many possible turns where someone can allow themselves to be misled in this world, so the gentler you proceed all around, the better -- and you can be glad that everyone is shedding their reliance on illusions, granted, one at a time. In part due to your foresight, the damage is both minimal and reparable, and you can, at this point, keep your faith that people will get it right the second time. That is better than not getting it right at all. You are no worse for the wear, either. It takes many experiences with people to add up to wisdom, and many more to know when and how to apply it.

VIRGO (Aug 24 - Sep 23)
You may need to go back to the drawing board a few times on a financial arrangement that is slowly taking shape, but this will be a valuable process. And it is likely to end up somewhere entirely different than it began, though oddly, much closer to your original intentions than it might have otherwise. With Mercury, your ruling planet, soon to be retrograde in the sensitive financial angle of your chart, now is not the time to make lasting commitments. Indeed, I would suggest you wait till some time after the equinox, when the Sun enters Aries and the new astrological year begins in late March, to make any plans, intentions or commitments firm. There is too much that's going to come out in the spin cycle, and that is information you will wish you had waited for if you commit to anything too permanent too soon. In the end, if you follow the stars, you will save time, not waste it.

Virgo Words to Live By

2007-01-29T13:59:00.000-07:00

I've added horoscopes to my Google Homepage. No comments, please.

They're pretty good. Not Eric/Brian Francis brilliant, but still pretty dead-on.

Today: this little gem --

You might feel like friends and associates are keeping you from your true purpose or perhaps you have a social obligation that you want to skip. Unfortunately, your resentment can quickly backfire if you don't tell others what you need. You can't hold them responsible for your satisfaction if they don't even know what would make you happy.

This after I spent the entire weekend hiding out and nesting. Oh! The stars see all...

Volver (for the women)

2007-01-20T18:47:00.000-07:00

Maggie says:
Pedro Almodóvar's films make me want to simultaneously cry and smile and hug all the women I love: family and the women who've become family. He's absolutely amazing, and must have the biggest heart of any filmmaker alive. His smallest moments are so full of beauty I can't look away from them, even though they're often so full of pain you almost can't bear to watch.

Volver is beyond good, and for a great take on it, read Gene's write-up from December after the Santa Fe Film Festival screening. (The line "I honestly think I learned something about the gender" is classic Gene.)

It was especially poignant to leave the theater last night and step into yet another snowstorm, as if the sky was matching my internal unleashing with its own. Downtown Albuquerque was beautiful in the fury of midnight snow, full of couples running hand in hand to their cars under one of those eerily bright snow-skies that turns everything pink.

Winter weather is perfect for Almodóvar (better for everything to seep in, I think), so go and rent an armful and settle in under a blanket to smile and laugh and cry. Red wine is recommended. It will do you good, I promise. (And do not, under any circumstances, forget to include All About My Mother.)

PS: While I'm talking movies, Gene and I are still reeling from our Little Children viewing a few weeks ago. What a writer's movie! Another must-see, trust me.

Long shot, but ... Missing this dog??? -- UPDATE -- Found but still needs a home!!!

2007-01-19T09:08:00.000-07:00

Mikaela says:
UPDATE: Dog's most recent owner was found, thanks to the City's use of Petharbor.com! A great service, and this was a success story for sure.

Unfortunately, this most recent owner had rescued the dog as a stray and was looking for a permanent home for her.

If this sweet, happy, smart female dog looks like someone who could be a new friend for you, please let me know. She was initially not thrilled with the other dogs, but she's now best friends with my overly friendly pup. She's probably just around a year old -- still highly trainable & with plenty of love and loyalty to share with you.

This dog was found at 4th & Montano on 1/17/2007.

Anyone missing her or know who might be?

Stray dogs make me so sad. This one was almost killed in traffic, and now my poor puppy is terrorizing her at my house, trying to get her to play.

If you're looking for a sweet, smart female companion -- on the young side -- good with people & kids, not so sure of other dogs... let me know!

As a community, we've got to do a better job of watching out for our doggy friends.

January stars... late, but finally here!

2007-01-10T09:53:00.000-07:00

Maggie says:
Well the wait nearly killed us, but it's over - Planet Waves January horoscopes are finally posted!

Go here for yours!

ARIES (Mar 21 - Apr 20)
This may not be the year you make your big career breakthrough. But at the very least, it will be the year you get ready, in terms of figuring out what you want, and then taking the additional step of wanting it with every cell in your body.
You will, if you choose, gather your strength, determination and resolve, and begin to feel the undeniable onrush of the future coming at you. While the planets clearly reveal that you will work for everything you earn, and that feeling good will be the result of discipline and not luck or accident, there is no shortage of adventure or opportunity. Indeed, what the experts are calling 2007 promises to offer an authentic balance of labor and rewards for your labor; of grounded, serious thinking, and freewheeling exploration. But the key to success is indeed balance of these elements.
Part of you will want to do everything at once, while at other times you'll be keeping your foot over the brake, lest you miss a detail, fail in a commitment, or to guard against the movie going too fast. No, this is not typical of your life, but you are changing, and developing sensitivity for the value of commitments and the delicateness of relationships.

CANCER (Jun 23 - Jul 23)
There will come a moment when you question everything, and that is the moment when you will find your power. It's coming sooner than you think, and I suggest you be glad of it.
Life is a matter of the circumstances in which you partake participating meaningfully with you. Notice what energy comes back to you, and what does not; who or what pays you, and who or what does not; who or what spontaneously offers what you need, and who or what does not even notice.
For you, the question 'What gives?' is not a rhetorical one; rather, it is a factual one, in two halves. If we start the process with you, it would be productive to notice where you find yourself giving with no decision or effort, and where you find yourself stressing and straining.
Part two is who or what is reaching back to you, specifically with what you want or need? You're going to find some extraordinary examples of commitment in your life, and some that you will easily be able to do without. In short, you don't need it all, and it all does not need you. When you find the meeting points, you will know because a sense of ease and flow replaces the tension.

VIRGO (Aug 24 - Sep 23)
Many years of focus, faith and effort have gone into burrowing your spiritual roots deep into existence. With no other reason to feel safe, you have been able to put your heart and soul into honoring the cosmic forces that are so often, and so easily, denied by those who have come to visit this Earth for a short while.
Often the outer appearance of a life conceals the depth of contact with underlying reality, even to the person who is doing the living. This is most likely the case with you, particularly because you are so annoyed by pretension, and have no desire to go around proving yourself. Imagine, though, that those deep roots are now being soaked with nourishing water. It may come in the form of a sense of mission, a new relationship, a choice about where in the world you want to be -- or all of the above.
Imagine that these rugged old roots begin to push up their branches, leaves and flowers into the light of day. This is a significant change and also a big chance, because what was so long concealed in the dark will become a flourishing part of the world -- and experience many more vulnerabilities than before. But it is only through this experience that your life can bear the fruit you have been so patiently awaiting for so long.

Not funny, Eric Francis

2007-01-05T14:56:00.000-07:00

Okay Mr. Eric Francis, so we were calling you Brian for a long time... we corrected that. And no, none of us subscribe to your weekly horoscopes (we can get them for free in iQ!), and we haven't purchased any of your special astrology reports, either, but...

We're obsessed! We're hooked! And now it's the late date of January 5 and we have no idea what this month will bring! Please publish your January horoscopes. Please! I know you're finishing your other project first, but what's a girl to do without you?!

Dying here, floundering aimlessly under the overcast 'is it really going to snow again?' sky...

Maggie

Texas Photos: East and West

2007-01-01T16:32:00.000-07:00

marjorie says...

I went to East Texas for almost two weeks for the holiday this year, and because I had so much time I decided to drive. This year I hit bad weather both coming and going, as many people trying to travel cross country found out. Here are a few pictures I took that I especially like. I have droves of family and Christmas shots but these are mainly landscapes of the road trip and of East Texas (you're welcome).

As everyone knows, big trucks are a big part of any roadtrip, especially in inclement weather. You better hang on tight when one of these bad boys cruises past.

Ever since I moved to Albuquerque and regularly drive home, I've been amazed by the beauty of the Texas panhandle. The starkness appeals to me, and the farm economy contributes some very interesting elements to the landscape.

The contrast between the panhandle and East Texas is profound. Whereas one is stark, flat and wide open, the other is lush with rolling hills. But both are farm country. FYI, the sunsets in East Texas are every bit as lovely as those in New Mexico...you just see less of them.

I'm sparing you all the family photos, except for these two of my three youngest nieces. The first is Zoe, the youngest. She had a bad case of static electricity on the trampoline and wasn't too happy that no one would jump with her. The second picture shows Camryn and Mylah running. I like to take pictures of people from behind...its just a thing. With these two that's never a problem because they always seem to be running somewhere.

These next pictures are classic East Texas...farm country, ramshackle stores in railroad hamlets on the verge of extinction, little ponds. The particular pond shown here was dug out by my grandfather, and its where I first learned how to fish for catfish. It's located right around the corner from the tar road intersection in the next picture.

The drive back to New Mexico was brutal. There was an enormous snowstorm after Christmas which closed the very few major roads leading into the state. My return home was delayed by a day, but I feel fortunate that I made it through when I did make the attempt...many others had to stay somewhere on the road yesterday, including my brother. I drove through a sea of whiteness, and at times blowing snow.

When I finally arrived home in the evening on New Year's Eve, I was greeted by a good friend who had made dinner. I thought you all would be amused by the state of our backyard. As you can see the snow is not even ankle deep for cleo and honey. Weird given that the front yard was at least a foot deep if not more, huh? Yep...they had a good time out there. I don't know if kiki joined in the fun...given his height, i can imagine that snow piled higher than he is wasn't his cup of tea really. Since I don't want to leave him out...here he is in the kitchen...

So, if any of you are dying to see the family and christmas pics, just let me know. And if any of you want to hit the slopes at some point this year...let me know that also. It's going to be a great season!

Beach Holidays

2006-12-26T15:20:00.000-07:00

Mikaela says:
Here's to learning all about a loved one's family and realizing that your own messed up family is at least ... familiar.

Here's to deepening love with an understanding of a partner's past that continues to linger on limpingly in the present. Here's to a common promise of what will NOT be carried into the future.

Here's to the overwhelming beauty that makes all this human interrelation drama irrelevant.

Here's to burying toes in the sand while keeping one's chin up.

Here's to the power of the BEACH. Oh, and to the power of love, too. And stuff.

Can't figure out what to wear?

2006-12-21T16:06:00.000-07:00

Mikaela says:
How about dressing according to sun sign????

That's right. There's more to horoscopes than generalities about personalities. Now there's ... dressing by the stars!

Here's a little insight into what you like to wear (and what you might go for when reaching into that closet this holiday season):

ARIES:
They are the trendsetters. Believe in trying new fashion trends as long as they appeal to their sense of fun and adventure. They are self styled leaders who love flashy, glamorous and sexy clothes. For women, the most modern look would be knee length skirt or black tight trousers with well-fitted shirt. They have fondness for the style of the forties, they like to wear adore pea coats and long wool coats paired with a pair of high heel leather boots. Fabrics like velvet and crepe appeal to their concept of royalty. They have liking for expensive and designer clothes like Versace, Prada and Gucci. Their clothes have to sporty in nature like cargos, funky designer clothes, capris, track suits, etc. They like bold colours such as red, yellow, green, black, gold and orange. But red is definitely on the top of colour favoritism.

CANCER
Cancerians are basically moody in nature. They dress up according to their moods. For women like to dress by blending the fabrics like silk and cotton. They like to highlight the various fabrics with embroidery work or motifs. They may adore some item of cloth once but with the changing phase of the moon their choice and liking may shift too. They prefer to play safe therefore the best bet for them to a fancy event would be a black cocktail dress. A favorite outfit might be a long, flowing skirt with a v-neck sweater and a raincoat. For men the element to fashion is usually denim jeans and cotton shirt for informal wears. Cancerians are fond of loose comfortable casual wear and often hide their bodies behind overly large men's shirts and black tights. Their preference for colours is for beige, white, gray, pastel shades but above all soft greens and blues.

VIRGO
Price is important when they're picking out the season's wardrobe. Virgos are quick to spot with that prim and proper look. They wear the most revealing clothes or daring clothes and can look sensational even in casuals. For women, sleek matching pant suit would look fantastic. White colour's sacredness and purity appeal more to their fashion senses. Energetic Virgins tend to store their large wardrobe in perfectly organized closets that are full of classic items such as open-toed sling backs, patent leather kitten-heels, crisp white blouses, navy suits, black cocktail dresses, tennis skirts, khaki shorts, kilts, flowing gowns and well fitting jeans. At work they prefer well-tailored, conservative suits in shades of silver, white, pink, gray or lavender. Natural colors and fabrics in browns and beiges fit them just fine.

What We're Doing This December...

2006-12-07T07:43:00.000-07:00

Eric Francis divines:
ARIES: With any luck, you've discovered how much work it takes to be yourself, and you're willing to do it. Part of the effort involves moving through your own doubts and layers of defensiveness until you arrive at the inner feeling of authenticity -- in other words, discovering not only something new about yourself, some quality you're not familiar with yet, but also a new state of mind. The rest of the project involves rising above your insecurities and coping with the confrontations involved in presenting yourself to people authentically. This, in turn, requires dealing with their reactions, and making the necessary adjustments in your life to compensate for, or move on from, those members of humankind who cannot bear very much reality. To do this, once again, you need to identify, acknowledge and deal with your own emotional fears. Is it all worth it? Do you really have a choice?

CANCER: Looking back, what will you remember about this year? What are the more poignant scenes, encounters and transitions? They may play second oboe to the mental skills you learned, principally, the ability to negotiate where your feelings are at stake, even when you're at your most raw and sensitive. We hardly think of feelings as being something actually worth another person's time and effort discussing, much less negotiating over. True, most people descend into irrationality when it comes to their emotional experience of life, but someone close to you has set an example, provided a structure, or taught you language that will come in handy for the rest of your days. Coexistence is something that humans have always done, but never with the expectations of personal autonomy that we have today. The question is how to be yourself and be in a relationship at the same time. You may not think you have the answer -- but you know a lot more than you did one year ago.

VIRGO: Contrary to nearly all the published accounts of what a Virgo is supposed to be, you tend to be someone guided by your emotions. It's only your advanced mind that keeps you from being ruled or overwhelmed by your sensitivity, and yet it's true that you can go into long phases of denial about how your life feels, what you need, or what matters most. Events of this year have, however, delivered you far away from any refusal to see the obvious, and if anything have urged you to consider ever-more subtle levels of what you're aware of, both internally and in others. This has proven to be an indispensable skill in the sorting out process you're now going through. Gradually, a certain contradiction is wearing off: as you've gone deeper into yourself, people have shown increasing interest in you. At the same time, you've become keenly aware of who is good for you and why, and you would be wise to take your own counsel on these matters.

the veg out

2006-11-26T19:41:00.001-07:00

marjorie says...

This post is for Erik mainly, who told me over the holiday how much he liked my cornbread post. As it turns out, I did document the all day cook-a-thon a few weeks past in honor of my 2nd decade as a vegetarian. Dishes included:

Homemade cheese stirfried with cauliflower, tomatos, cumin and turmic.
Stirfried tofu, portabello mushrooms, green onions and peanut sauce.
Basmati rice, red beets, cashews and green peas.
Pizza with grilled eggplant, sundried tomatos, and goat cheese.
Grilled vegetables.
Cucumbers with yogurt.

Plus folks brought lots of food too. It was a feast! Here are a few pictures showing how the cooking went...

Kudos to Eric B. who hung out all day and grilled the vegetables.

I love beets...both golden and red.

I mixed them with basmati rice, cashews and green peas. This is how it looked:

Homemade cheese? Yes...it's easy. See:

You heat milk until it just starts to rise, and you then turn the heat off and pour in a separating agent, in this case it was lemon juice.

Then stir it and you'll see the milk separating into curds and whey. The curds make the cheese.

Pour the milk into a colander lined with cheesecloth to collect the curds and strain the whey. I then tied the cheesecloth around the curds and weighted them with a bowl in the fridge to press out the liquid.

I sauteed the cheese with steamed cauliflower, tomatos cooked in cumin seeds, and turmeric to make a dish which I learned how to make in the very beginning years of my vegetarian days...yes, it kinda looks like scrambled eggs:

Here's how the buffet looked...before and after:

Mikaela spent all day making the house look pretty. Thanks, Mikaela! You're a great housemate! I also really enjoyed getting my fast food gift certificates from Gene and his lovely daughters. Gene, how did you know that BK has that veggie burger? Yep, we've come along way from 20 years ago when I couldn't order a meatless sandwich from a fast food joint if my life depended on it...

Color Blind

2006-11-21T13:01:00.000-07:00

Mikaela ponders:
Marjorie and I were discussing the other day the implications of Angelina Jolie playing the lead in The Mighty Heart, a movie dramatizing the events surrounding the kidnapping and murder of journalist Daniel Pearl in Pakistan in 2002, based on the memoir written by Daniel's wife, Mariane, and produced by Angelina's new husband's production company. (Ahem.)

Mariane is Afro-Cuban and Dutch, a woman of color.

Okay, stage set. Here's Angelina heading to the set, courtesy MSN.

Here's a photo comparison provided by another blog.

The first picture was juxtaposed jarringly in MSN today's photos with the one below.

Here's Michael Jackson, heading somewhere. Is it just me, or has he passed the wanting-to-be-white stage and moved straight toward wanting-to-be-Martian?

I have no answers, but these pictures certainly left me wondering what it means in today's world when people change their own color.

On the other hand, if we don't allow actors to play all roles, are we dooming them to type-casting? Or should there only be freedom in fictional characters?

Opinions, anyone?

Ruth Brown & Motormouth

2006-11-17T20:23:00.000-07:00

Maggie says:
Ruth Brown died today. Ruth Brown is known for many things: her voice, her soul, her passion. But I got to know Ruth Brown much differently: as a preteen obsessed with the movie "Hairspray." And I mean obsessed.

Ruth Brown played Motormouth Maybelle in Hairspray and delivered lines like "Oh Papa Tooney... We've got a Looney!" She had a huge heart, the coolest record shop in town, and saw those crazy dancin' fool teens as... teenagers, not black kids versus white kids. And yeah... I know it's John Waters and completely over the top, but still. Man I loved that movie.

And Link Larkin! Swoon!!!! Yeah, he of this idiotic line: "Tracy, our souls are black, though our skin is white." And said so earnestly! But hey, I was a kid, it really meant a lot to hear that then!

Be well, Ruth Brown. You were an amazing woman, and only a tiny piece of that is my love for one silly '80s flick.

M + Viggo

2006-11-01T11:17:00.000-07:00

Maggie gushes:
Not that the Ms really needed more reasons to crush on Viggo Mortensen, but the Times just gave us some.

Viggo's portrayal of Lord of the Rings protagonist Aragorn is what makes most girls love him. But he's this nerdy girl's hearthrob for the rest of his resumé:

Director of the Center for Multireligious Studies at Aarhus University in Denmark
Editor of an anthology called “Theology and the Religions: A Dialogue”
Author of art books
Interests include antiwar politics and music
Founded and runs (with family members) Perceval Press, a publishing house
Poet
Perfectionist editor
Totally rocks the nerdy thrift store striped t-shirt

November Horror-scopes

2006-11-01T10:51:00.000-07:00

ERIC Francis divines:

ARIES: What you seem to be reaching for is an understanding about some deeply sensitive matters. Nothing we're normally exposed to in our culture, certainly not on television, prepares us for the kinds of discussions that you will have in the coming weeks. It's also fair to say there's no right way to do it. But we could establish some basic guidelines. Nothing is going to be resolved quickly, and by that, I mean in one day or one conversation. Anything that matters will take a few weeks. Also, given all the circumstances, listening counts for more than speaking. The better you listen, the more you'll understand, and the more what you do say will make a difference. But if others do not feel heard, you can be sure that they will not trust what you say. Last, you need to leave a lot of space for misunderstanding, which means everyone has plenty of room to be wrong.

CANCER: Evolving as an individual is more complicated than upgrading your computer's memory or adding a line to your resume. To the chagrin of control freaks and those who pretend to be alive more than they actually manage to do it, there is a chaos factor involved; and there is a sexual aspect, which is deeply involved with any process of becoming an individual. And there's always a risk. So it's necessary to trust your own higher intelligence in the midst of apparent uncertainty, including about whether you will succeed or fail at any particular effort. If you can do that, you'll tap into something larger than yourself that is expressing itself through you. You've been living with that 'something' for a long time, and it has been trying to acquaint you with itself. You alone can mediate your responses; you decide what value fear holds, and what value freedom holds.

VIRGO: How deep do psychological patterns go? Well, they seem to reach back many generations, but for a version of the story with good practical application, we can learn a lot by considering the years before we learned how to walk. We bumped into a lot of things, people, feelings and experiences in those days. We were picked up and carried around against our will. We had a lot to say but lacked the words to say it. Think of yourself as going through a phase as a cosmic toddler. Notice, over the next few weeks, what just comes to you, what you bump into, and what you are told without having to ask. Notice what seems to pick you up and move you. Apply the metaphor to the contents of your mind. What has been coming to the surface lately, and why does it do such a good job of defying words, or even coherent ideas?

New CD Releases

2006-10-30T07:54:00.000-07:00

Mikaela writes:

The Decemberists have a new album. I’ll buy whatever they produce for at least another 2 albums because they're intelligent, literary, and sound unique. They're gypsy/pirate/nerd music. What could be better?

I was less thrilled with this one, but mostly because it’s lower-key theatrical, which for some will be an improvement. Spin says it’s even more intellectual, but I didn’t get that from listening.

More enjoyable in my mind is the new Gomez album. I’m the worst music-explainer in the world. It’s like Pearl Jam minus the egos and affectations, plus the musical coolness of Pete Yorn, plus quirky/happiness that’s significantly more upbeat than their previous releases.

Neither of these albums supplies the tunes I hum all day. That would be Cinderella. Damn Disney to everlasting hell.

"The Departed"

2006-10-11T23:17:00.000-06:00

Maggie says:
Just came back from seeing "The Departed." It's so, so, so good. Incredibly violent and featuring lots of eyes-closed scenes, but still.

SOOOOO good.

Tonight was the first time I've ever watched Leonardo DiCaprio in a movie and not felt like I was watching Leonardo DiCaprio self-consciously play a character. He's amazing here... I completely forgot who he was.

Amazingly cast. High-stakes but incredibly human. Great Boston accents. Funny one minute and bone-chilling the next. Really the heart of Boston: race and class and neighborhoods all rubbing up against each other, worlds away from the Boston people take vacations to see.

Top-to-bottom STACKED: DiCaprio unbelievably good, Matt Damon steely and right-on, Jack Nicholson exactly as you expect him to be (and that's not always a good thing), Martin Sheen making your heart hurt, Mark Wahlberg so acerbic and hardcore you can't wait to hear what he'll say next, and Alec Baldwin a gung-ho sorta-buffoon with some of the movie's best lines...

Go see it. As long as you're not too squeamish.

Random 10

2006-10-09T13:35:00.000-06:00

marjorie says...

Inspired by Alterdestiny's Random 10 posts...here are my Random 10 this morning...I could do all music I suppose but I'm feeling expansive:

1. Gram Parsons and Emmylou Harris on the album GP: "We'll Sweep Out The Ashes In the Morning" and "Hearts on Fire" ....in my mind these two love songs complement each other perfectly.

2. The advent of Fall: It's cool outside and getting cooler. It makes me think of quilts...and SKIING!!

3. Beautiful vintage quilts: Who can deny the artistry so apparent in these quilts, evident in the quirky individual takes on classic patterns, the complete abstraction employed by some in form and color, the pride of sheer geometric precision found in the piecing, and not to forget the at times awesome and beautiful stitching.

4. Iron bedframes: Stripped of their paint to the metal and burnished with mineral spirits and steel wool.

5. Funny dogs: A certain miniature shaved poodle thinking he's as big as his housemate, the boxer/pit mix who loves her poodle friend.

6. Henry and June: Who knew that I am Anais Ninn reincarnated? LOL. Well, if anything, it shows that humans aren't original...and there's a lot of comfort in realizing that we all grapple with similar issues. I'm thankful for people who take the time to write so that future generations are comforted in this way.

7. Dad: My dad is one of my best friends, and I am so thankful for that. Mom: She is too. I love to see their dedication to each other, not to mention the complete consistency they've shown to me through the years.

8. Ottmar Leibert, Nouveau Flamenco: What can I say? This album is one of my guily pleasures. I know...very guilty.

9. Miles Davis, Kind of Blue: This is the all time best Jazz record...and I know that it redeems me with some of you for number 8.

10. Being a Vegetarian: Has it really been 20 years? WoW.

Damn This Super Star-reader!

2006-10-02T09:49:00.000-06:00

Eric Francis divines:

ARIES: It's time for the sex review. Since it's always likely that the S word will be misunderstood, I am referring to the details of erotic pleasure and surrender, including commitment and its relationship to conjugal partnerships. Here is a question: to what extent is money a factor in these things, and why? How does that relate to your ideas about commitment? Forthcoming developments associated with Mercury's retrograde in Scorpio will present you with a series of opportunities to allow pleasure, commitment and economics each to exist independently and for their own sake, not as one unified package. This is a boundary issue: creating healthy divisions between aspects of life that need, at the very least, to be considered separately before they are considered together. It's possible that some relationships will find the process challenging, and if that's the case, it would be wise to define improving communication as a theme of its own.

CANCER: As much as a deep intuitive sense has been calling you in the direction of increased devotion to erotic and creative experience, there have been many other factors that have been getting in the way. It's fair enough to wonder: does it always need to be this hard? I suggest, however, that you not let any adversity or lack of success keep you from trying, and from persisting in your experiments. The history of both art and science is the history of those who tried again and again until they experienced a breakthrough. And many times, the cosmic wisdom of delays and blocks becomes apparent when the timing of positive and unusual developments is noticed for what it is. For as much effort as you've been making, you can trust that at least three times the energy has been gathering behind the scenes, and before too long, it looks set to begin moving all at once.

VIRGO: As simple as you aspire to be, it rarely works. So I suggest you devote yourself to complexity management. It's not really going to be possible to orchestrate the many factors of your life in a linear fashion. Your mind doesn't work like that, anyway. What I suggest you do is let things proceed naturally for a while, but pay particular attention to patterns in the seeming chaos. Certain factors, messages and events will tend to repeat. If something repeats three times, you can figure it's here to stay and that you need a systematic way to address it. Three bits of data in any category; three people in a certain role in your life; three physical spaces to manage; once you get to three, create a minimalist solution, something on the level of a file or a page in a notebook. The key is noticing those patterns. They are precious pictures of what's going on in your mind.

Crying Your Eyes Out -- in a good way!

2006-09-24T18:43:00.000-06:00

Mikaela says:
I think I'm among the last middle-class white women in America not to have read The Time Traveler's Wife. A good friend gave it to me forever ago, but ... confession time ... I didn't like the cover. I know, I know. But I'm judgmental! I can't help it.

I finally picked it up in shame after another lady reader mentioned just having read it (hi, Lisa!). One paragraph in, I was hooked. Holy cow, what a good book. Beautifully written and fascinating, this thing is crack cocaine to women interested in love, life, meaning, and time.

I spent Saturday morning in bed finishing the book, and when my love interest came home from knocking on doors for a political campaign, he was confronted by the horrors of a woman left alone to cry -- for hours. Face puffy, voice hoarse from feel-good, unrestrained moaning and sobbing, I must have frightened him half to death (hmmm... anyone guess what time of month it is for me?). Fortunately, as he told me later, "How refreshing to see a woman cry and know I'm NOT the cause." He thought I was pretty cute, snot rags and all. Ahhhhh....

But seriously, folks, this one's not to be missed. I'm not sure what a guy would make of the whole thing. It's written by a woman, hence (in my mind) most of the poetry in the telling and the equal emphasis on man's and woman's voice in the novel. I think certain sensitive men might totally get off on the sci-fi aspect of the time traveling (handled effortlessly, by the way). Who knows. Who cares! This one may be just for the girls, but holy shit! Was it ever a good read.

What goes together like peanut butter and brown sugar?

2006-09-16T20:09:00.000-06:00

Mikaela says:
(That's the kind of sandwich my mom would pack me for field trips. It's actually a GOOD thing that I ate at the school cafeteria every day!)

Okay, nothing.

But here's what really doesn't go together:

Watching dark, twisted movie -- Shallow Grave -- and re-reading Anne of Green Gables.

Definitely schizophrenic. I don't recommend it.

Here's a sample:

Movie: Scream, grunt, sound of blood spattering.
Book: "Oh, I just love it when the chorus sings 'A bee's day of gathering.'"

Shudder.

Then I finished the book and watched Jacob's Ladder just to round off the experience while eating Mario's pizza in bed.

(Hint: Try the Greek pizza, which I get sans black olive, usually with one half of the pizza as green chile & canadian bacon).

It does a body good! (Well, better than peanut butter and brown sugar, anyway!)

September Horoscopes -- Fasten Your Celestial Seatbelts!

2006-08-31T07:48:00.000-06:00

Eric Francis postulates:

ARIES: You may be feeling like it's time for a new job. Wider horizons are calling, perhaps painfully, but most definitely. Often we need to reach a limit to go beyond whatever familiar territory becomes enmeshed in our patterns of living. Even if rearranging your day-to-day affairs seems impossible right now, you have an opportunity to make an adjustment in the way you express or exert yourself in the place you call work. I suggest you look at how you use your energy; study the patterns; account for where your time goes, and what you actually accomplish. Notice how you feel about it. Because this promises to be such an incredibly busy and productive month, it's an interesting phase for a study. While you're at it, notice what you like to do the most, and what you set out to do first when you have several choices. Getting a new job is precisely the time to choose, so practice now.

CANCER: Many developments point to this being a phase of your life characterized by an intellectual and creative peak. I could describe it a few ways; you're finding your voice; you're becoming clear about what ideas mean the most to you; you are beginning to make an impact; you are letting go of a destructive way of thinking and in its place something magnificently creative is finding its way into your reality. I suggest you leave no problem unsolved, and no situation unresolved. But more to the point, this is the time to enter new territory where your ideas are concerned. This will require discipline you may think you lack, as well as optimism, so that you can approach your work every day with a clear mind, faithful that you're making progress. Most of all, you need to stay in the present and allow the power of your mind to work through each mental challenge, and reap its rewards.

VIRGO: The time has come to let go of an old grudge, grievance, or perpetual crisis. In the next year or two, you'll be doing plenty of releasing the past, dropping outdated personality traits and shedding various layers of thick skin that you've been collecting to protect your deep sensitivity. Yet something is stirring on the deeper layers of your psyche, and it would appear that you're going to begin this process from the inside out, working from the core to the surface. This is in truth more efficient than peeling back the layers from the outside. What develops over the next few weeks is the direct result of two factors: of your tapping into an energy source that is beyond your power to resist it; and consciously maintaining a sense of the direction in which you wish to guide your life. The image is less of a volcano and more of a turbine. You are developing the ability to bring fire under the power of spirit.

Sometimes...

2006-08-24T13:09:00.000-06:00

(Maggie muses)

...all that'll do is to curl up with a favorite book, one that you've read a million times and won't ever get tired of re-reading.

It's an immediate grounding, a centering, a softening, a reminder of what's important and what's not.... and sometimes, that's exactly what we need.

Thanks, Isabel. And of course, thank you, Paula.

Birthday Wishes

2006-08-23T17:41:00.000-06:00

Mikaela asks:
What's your very favorite birthday?

Some people like to hide, or deny it, or just downplay it like crazy. Other people will do anything for gifts.

I love birthdays. Love my own, love other people's. I guess I just love having a good excuse to celebrate a human being being in my life that I really enjoy. We don't get to do that without ulterior motives very often, and why not just because they happened to be birthed that day?

My favorite birthday party was for a friend when we were 7. Her mom went around "kidnapping" all of us really early in the morning. She gathered us into the car, still in our pajamas. Our moms were in on it, of course, but we didn't know that! We just knew we really liked this mom, and she didn't explain more than just to say, "It's Yvonne's birthday; get in!" When we got to Yvonne's house, we woke her up with a big "Surprise" which scared her so much, we had to leave the room while her mom explained what had happened. Then Janice made us all rolled up pancakes, which she was famous for. Our party favors were these aprons with tiny pockets for 32 crayons. So cool!

Of course, my 30th birthday thrown by my ms was the best birthday party I've ever had.

And this year? This year, I'm having visions of cooking at my house with a few close friends, going to see a movie, hang out afterward drinking wine and shooting the shit. Doesn't that sound like heaven?

31. Unbelievable.

Chi-town with no Glass?

2006-08-23T17:31:00.000-06:00

Mikaela says:
I am so behind the times!

On a wild hair, I just checked This American Life website to find out if they're doing any live shows anytime soon.

"I'll fly to Chicago if they are," I told myself. "I don't want to miss seeing it live before it goes away forever."

Boy, was I on the wrong track!

My favorite radio show (and online diversion) isn't going away in the sense of disappearing; it's MOVING TO NEW YORK!!!

Since they're turning it into a tv show for Showtime, which will be produced out of NYC, they'll be doing the radio program there, too.

Isn't that weird? It's a Chicago show! That's one of the reasons I love it so much.

I'm very very nervous about this.

Check out a detailed article from February here.

Perfect closure

2006-08-16T01:07:00.000-06:00

Maggie says:
I adored Shopgirl when the Ms and I saw it last year, and just got a chance to rewatch it on DVD. I love this movie... I loved how it continued to settle into me slowly, days after I first saw it. The passage at the end, narrated by Steve Martin, struck me as wise and beautiful then, and tonight it hit me even more powerfully.

Here's to beautiful movie closure and films that end perfectly:

As Ray Porter watches Mirabelle walk away, he feels a loss. How is it possible, he thinks, to miss a woman whom he kept at a distance, so that when she was gone he would not miss her? Only then does he realize that wanting part of her, and not all of her, had hurt them both, and how he cannot justify his actions, except that, well, it was life.

While I'm at it, everyone should read the novella, too. Steve Martin really surprised and moved me with this one; it's beautifully, internally written and unexpectedly insightful.

So inappropriate... yet so HOT!

2006-08-13T19:12:00.000-06:00

Maggie says:
Via the ever-delightful Pam's House Blend, I present:

Calendario Romano 2007!

Now we know we're not supposed to drool over priests. And we know that given the major sex scandals that have rocked the priesthood the last few years, it's shockingly insensitive that the church would even allow priests to be packaged as sex objects in the first place...

But we're not concerned with that right now. My concerns include: drooling over Signore Ottobre (I have always had a thing for Italians and Scorpios), and laughing my ass off over this comment submitted to the site:

As a strong Roman Catholic, and a family man, I'd like to say that if I were the creator of this calendar, who I don't even know a thing about (I'd like to learn about the history of this calendar), but if I were him, I'd get down on my knees...and blow each and every one of these men.

And then it was August

2006-07-31T12:15:00.000-06:00

Eric Francis counsels:
ARIES: Circumstances have encouraged, indeed, at times forced you to take greater risks, but you may still be waiting for the rewards. If I say, "They've already come," you may be disappointed that they're not what you think they would be. I'll put it a different way: the foundation stones have been laid, and when you look back from the viewpoint of two or three years on, you'll see that all the basic components of your new life were in place now. What you have not quite succeeded in doing is envisioning a place in the world for yourself, as you've redesigned that self -- and that is the theme of an extended phase of your life that begins this month. The clay of creation is soft and pliable at the moment. People's beliefs are more flexible than you imagine, as are yours. You have the tremendous advantage of having nothing to live up to, or to live down: only to live.

CANCER: The moment bears nothing less than a miracle, if you wish to release lifetimes of psychological baggage. Therapy, spirituality and education may have played a role in you improving your state of health, but what will help you cross the line is letting go of certain violent psychological tendencies you've had toward yourself. It may not be easy to admit the situation, but enduring it any further will be far less pleasant. You may feel like you're being pushed out of an airplane unwillingly, but you're wearing a parachute that will open, slow your fall, and give you a magnificent view of the whole landscape of your life. You get to choose where you land; you get to choose what is true for you. Once you touch the solid ground of reality, you will see that the past has lost all its hold, and that you are somehow autonomous of the pain and struggle that your predecessors unwittingly passed along to you.

VIRGO: You could cut your commitments in half, and then in half again. The same could be said for what you want or need from life; there is an inefficiency you're struggling with. Indeed, you could start over from the beginning, and remember to keep your story simple. The tendency to overcomplicate any facet of your life, your perception or your self-concept will only work against you now. Try seeing things in black and white; describe your state of being in short, simple sentences. By doing this, you will notice something you're currently missing. You'll connect with the truth of the role you've chosen to play in this lifetime, and let go of so much else that is clogging your mind. One thing I can tell you is this: you've got no need to worry about whether your life path is helpful to others. This is beyond question. All that matters is how good you are at helping yourself.

How the Other Half Lived -- 48/48 Hours

2006-07-26T10:05:00.000-06:00

Penfold Five [Mysterious Non-M Friend] says:

[While Mikaela was sleeping,] I went and checked on the second half of the Duke City Shootout – 48 Hour Film Project Movies on Tuesday Night.

Event Recap: The 48 Hour Film Project takes place in many cities nationwide and made its debut in Albuquerque this year. Teams have 48 hours to make their movie, given only a genre, a prop, a line of dialogue, and a character.

This year, the genres varied, the prop was a bell, the line was something like “would you like to come up to my place,” and the character was Larry or Linda Martinez – Pack Rat.

The movies made by the 48 Hour Film Project Teams were broken up into two nights [Monday and Tuesday, see list in posts below]. The winner will go on to compete against the other Shootout movies for the Palm de Grease. That winner will be announced on Saturday the 29^th at the Gala Event [Kiva Auditorium, 7 pm, tickets $20 – or wait and take your chances in a little competition on m-pyre later this week…] But there’s also an audience choice award.

The movies in order of viewing:

Movie	Team	Genre
"The Movie About the Movie…"	Team Pocket Goat	Holiday Film
"Esperanza"	Red Starr	Road Movie
"Infected"	Magellicutty Global	Comedy
"Paramnesia"	UYL Productions	Horror
"Helping Hans"	Flower Power	Family Film
"In Linda's Heels"	Eyes Watching Eyes	Detective/Cop
"Some View"	Architects of Elsewhere	Drama
"At the Seams"	Spork Films	Mockumentary
"Recycle Ranch"	New Mexicast	Romance
"The Chest"	Los Chupacabras	Action/Adventure
"A Taste of Rita"	The Sunday Shooting Club	Family Film
"Advenures of Linda Martinez…"	Manawa	Musical/Western

Tuesday Night:

I had no idea what I was getting myself into as I stood in line at the Guild Cinema, but I was emboldened by the sight of so many people standing in line for films made with no budget in no time. In fact, there were so many people waiting to get in that they filled the sidewalk in front of the Guild.

(To the bitchy bicyclist that ran over my toe as she muttered obscenities and tried to get through the excited crowd I say, “Lock up your bike and come see a movie or just GO AROUND!”)

The three movies that got my attention were:

“Recycle Ranch” – my horror gradually turned to heartache as I watched this surprisingly subtle take on domestic violence and the many versions of love in the world.

“A Taste of Rita” – armageddon and cannabilism delightfully paired with a side of San Pelligrino – yum.

“At the Seams” – I was torn between this one and the sweet, delighful “Helping Hans.” But in the end this fashion industry mockumentary with a fall preview as Roosevelt Park sucked me in. This one gets my vote for best use of bell.

Best Actor – Gene Grant’s turn as a homeless man in what can only be described as an aluminum foil horn helmet.

There was a Q & A at the end where the audience got to see and hear from all the directors – I was once again overwhelmed and humbled by the talent and energy of our fair city. Congratulations to all the participants and good luck.

What to do with yourself now that the 48-Hour Movies are all shown:
There’s a ton more Shootout events going on today through Saturday – go to the website www.dukecityshootout.org for all the info.

24/48 Hours -- The Half-time Report

2006-07-25T12:59:00.000-06:00

Mikaela says:
Saw some movies last night. Did you?

All in all, not a total waste of $7 bucks. The atmosphere was great (minus the loud drunk guy who was only occasionally funny yelling at the screen during the movies); the movies were ... not too painful.

Right off the bat, you gotta give slack for the unbelievable pressure of high-speed turnover. This thing starts and finishes before you can blink.

That said, a lot of the movies start with stereotype and cliches; the good ones move beyond them. It's not a bad move. Cliches are short-hand for stories, fleshing out a plot without you having to do a lot of work, and they do it quickly. The problem is that they are big, black holes for talent, and only the speediest and mightiest escape their dark energy. The rest just ... suck.

Here were last night's films, in order of viewing:

Movie	Team	Genre
"Debloked"	Digital Pirates	Comedy
"Stare Down"	There is no I in Team	Mockumentary
"Dreams and Memories"	All the Elf-King's Men	Drama
"myPod"	Lost Puppy Productions	Romance
"Spiral"	Sofa King We Todd Ed	Silent
"Blood Line"	Eye Candy	Detective/Cop
"Crazy White People"	Rosebud	Family
"A Step Outside"	CSF	Fantasy
"Red Meat"	Twenty Eight 80	Horror

My favorite by far: "Stare Down," a mockumentary about a cut-throat competition of staring in which the yogi won. Hilarious. Great production values. Playful. Intelligent. Surprising. Just great.

Second in my esteem: "Red Meat," by m-favorite Gene Grant (among others). I'd spare you from ruining the ending, but ... when are you ever going to see this now that you MISSED IT??? You think this mass murderer is about to take out 2 pretty little blonde girls. Instead, they lure him into the trap and kill him for dinner. The mom, in pleasantville kitchen, slaps a big ole slab o' meat onto the counter and purrs at the good job they've done. It's somehow creepy yet totally normal without being after-school special. A dangerous tightrope, indeed.

A distant and vaguely disappointing third: "Spiral," which starts off with a twisted visual joke that gets a real laugh before you can stop yourself, then just gets weird twice, without an ending or resolution. I wanted to like it more; the ending just wouldn't let me.

Another I thought interesting but ... not compelling was the fantasy movie "A Step Outside." Some good dialogue (but uneven for sure), great production values, a strong woman character (although too ... Platonic forms for my taste), and then ... a whole lotta nothin'. Or, a hole-lotta somethin'. Don't really care which.

And you, dear reader? What did you like?

Don't know cause you didn't go? Uh-huh. So you're going tonight, right?

Guild Cinema
7 or 9 pm.

Come to the 9 pm and fight me for rightness!

What you should be doing tonight and tomorrow... (i.e. The Next 48 Hours)

2006-07-24T16:21:00.000-06:00

Mikaela shouts:
Watching locally-made movies! At an independently owned theatre! In one of the best neighborhoods in Albuquerque! As part of the exciting 48-Hour Film Festival!

The 24 (or so) teams that received their assigned genres Friday night at 6 pm turned their completed 4-7 minute movies in last night at 7:30!

Now you can see them all!

They're being shown in 2 stages:

Monday (shows at 7 & 9): Group A
or Tuesday (ditto): Group B.
All at the Guild Cinema.
$7 (but sure to sell out, so HURRY!)

You'll see everything from horror to silent movie to mockumentary to romance. All of them local. All of them created by crewmembers related to someone you know (come on, this is Albuquerque, afterall).

This contest really is extraordinary. Not only does each crew pick a different genre at random out of a hat (really!), but each movie has to incorporate the line, "Do you want to come up to my place?" There's some other little thing, too, that I can't remember.

So after getting the assignment at 7 pm Friday, crews write all night, film all day Saturday, edit all day Sunday, and race to the finish (quite literally! I spectated -- very exciting -- there really is such a thing as the "mad dash"!) to turn in their movies by 7:30, when there is an honest-to-god countdown.

Don't take my (spectacular) word for it. Here's a hilarious account from one of this year's teams.

See you at the movies!

Here's the list:

Group A: Monday (7 or 9 pm)

All The Elf-King’s Men, David Curtin
CSF, Malik Daniels
Digital Pirates, Ramona Teo
EyeCandy, Wayne Welander
Lost Puppy Productions, Gabriel DellaVecchia
Magic Mini, Thomas McGill
Rosebud, ron salzberg
Sofa King We Todd Ed, Matt Vencill
There is no I in TEAM!, Ross Kelly
Twenty Eight 80, David Quintana

Group B: (Tuesday, 7 or 9 pm)

Architects of Elsewhere, Andre Ross
Cousins United!!!, Sheldon Richards
Eyes Watching Eyes, Michael Amedeo
Los Chupacabras, Diego Romero
Magellicutty Global, Micheal Rosenberg
New Mexicast, Rosa Linda Roman
Red Starr, Chris Alan
Spork Films, Adam Hevey
Team Pocket Goat, Anthony Pena
The Sunday Shooting Club, Mary Holyoke
UYL Productions, Derek Bensonhaver
Manawa, Jeremiah Bitsui

Sunday "pretending I'm not at the office" music

2006-07-23T12:33:00.000-06:00

Maggie says:
In my continuing series on music to listen to at work, I offer John Legend's Get Lifted as the best-ever CD to blast in your headphones on a day like today. It just might trick you into thinking you're doing something fun on a beautiful Sunday afternoon instead of sitting in your artificially climate-controlled office without any real light to speak of. It might. Sigh...

This CD is also perfect for long roadtrips with girlfriends (we obsessed over it last month at the beach), getting ready to go out, and needing to get in a good mood quickly. As long as you're okay with songs full of infidelity and can laugh at Snoop's oh-so-serious proclamations of commitment, this is a CD everyone can love.

John Legend also provides another at-work inspiration. My favorite-ever episode of Martha Stewart featured him cooking his famous baked macaroni and cheese wearing a tight orange sweater. Now that is a sigh-worthy memory...

"Good Lord, you got body for days..."

Is it truly 'Miami Vice' without a white suit?

2006-07-20T09:53:00.000-06:00

Maggie says:
Am I the only one who's been under the impression that the new 'Miami Vice' movie would be set back in the glory days of the '80s? I've been dying to see Colin Farrell in loafers and Jamie Foxx in pastel. But alas... turns out this 'remake' is set in modern-day Miami. Which begs the question... who cares? Why not simply make a new movie rather than rely on Crockett and Tubbs to pull off a plot that contains none of their fashion sense?

Fortunately the New York Times is feeling my pain here about the serious lack of style in this upcoming flick. For those of us not satisfied by Crockett's sleazy mustache and Tubbs' goatee (somehow supposed to connote '80s fabulousness), the Times story allows us to momentarily revel in the '80s fashion that mesmerized us far more than Vice plots ever did. It also conveys the historical significance of everyone's favorite decked-out duo:

Although it’s hard now to remember the radical statement these gestures once constituted, before “Miami Vice” few men except bank tellers rolled up their jacket sleeves, and about the only folks who flipped up their blazer collars were the singer George Michael or patrons in some Fort Lauderdale gentlemen-only bar. “It’s the first point in fashion history where you can really show a TV having that influence on fashion,” said Mr. Moore, adding that a two-day growth of beard before “Miami Vice” was a sure sign of a impending bumhood. “ ‘Miami Vice’ made stubble cool,” he said. It has stayed cool far too long, and this is something Mr. Mann should be required to answer for.
When he orchestrated the look of the original show, Mr. Mann was venturing into stylistic territory already staked out by Italian designers, people like Gianni Versace, Gianfranco Ferré or Giorgio Armani, the man generally credited with introducing the world to the unconstructed suit — that is, without padding, a lining or internal stiffening. This might be as good a time as any to amend the old canard about Mr. Armani being the inventor of the floppy suit. It was long a staple of Neapolitan haberdashery, developed by tailors sent to London by wealthy patrons to apprentice on Savile Row. Being superior craftsmen, the tailors absorbed everything there was to know about British cuts and suit construction. Being Neapolitans, they blithely tossed out the window most of the knowledge they had acquired. It is generally too hot in Naples to dress like Bertie Wooster. But it is not too hot in Milan, where Mr. Armani adapted the look before wholesaling it to the world.
“Miami Vice” may also have marked the earliest mainstream appearance of that indestructible cultural chimera, the metrosexual. “As tough as Sonny Crockett was meant to be,” the dude on a boat with a pet alligator named Elvis, “he still had the meticulously groomed scruff on his face and the pastel, linen-y sports jackets,” said Dan Peres, the editor of Details. “That all was certainly a part of the cultural moment that allowed men to embrace their vanity a little more openly.”
It was their big weapons, of course, that gave the “Miami Vice” guys confidence enough to wear girly clothes and to moisturize.

And if Michael Mann's not going to take us back to '80s regalia, it appears the fashion industry will.

In its spring 2006 catalog, International Male offers a selection of suits in pink pastel linen and shirts of semi-sheer embroidered voile that could easily have been swiped from the set of “Miami Vice,” the television show or the film. “It’s a little bit forward and a little bit retro,” said Mr. Mulhall, neatly summing up the whole enterprise.

Open Your Eyes! Dream in the Insomnia Lounge

2006-07-18T16:13:00.000-06:00

Mikaela says:
Wanna place to hang out?
Are you a gear-head, a moviemaker wannabe, a technical expert in constant search of more expertise?

Next week is your lucky week. The folks who are busting their asses to bring you the Duke City Shootout offer you a stunning side bonus:

The Insomnia Lounge, your very own tech haven.

You may run into the crews who just shot their wads on Shootout films (be gentle with them – they’ll be tired!), you may meet artists, poets, djs…

Let’s face it, this is the place where everyone who’s anyone will be – and you can come, too! Be witness to cool. Oh, and make your own movie! It may be a transformative experience. Hell, it may just cool you off.

And Albuquerque, because I know you’ll ask, yes, it’s free!

Cool. Where?		Hyatt Regency (the big iconic one downtown) Ballrooms A, B, C (above the atrium)

Tight. When?		See the official schedule below:


Wednesday July 26th

6 – 10pm	MINI-CINI FILMMAKING & EDITING:	Tell your story with our dv cameras and edit bays to win an Apple MacBook Pro featuring the Intel® Core Duo™ Processor

3 – 5 pm	Visualization & Simulation: Experience the latest in emerging applications of visualization/ simulation in business processes, planning, information architecture and design.	Stephen Guerin (Redfish), Tom Greenbaum (Intel), Tim Castillo (UNM Architecture), Tom Caudell (UNM VisLab)

8pm	Monitor-Mega-Monolith Performance	Nick Deamer

8 – 10pm	Latin & world beats that move your feats	DJ Mateo

10pm – 2am	Melody driven dance music filled with infectious grooves.	Brian Botkiller www.brianbotkiller.com

Thursday July 27th

10 – 8pm	MINI-CINI FILMMAKING & EDITING	Tell your story with our dv cameras and edit bays to win an Apple MacBook Pro featuring the Intel® Core Duo™ Processor

10 – 11am	CinnaFilm: The World's First Real Time Film Effects Tool For Video Demo	Lance Maurer (President CinnaFilm)

11 – 1pm	Panasonic’s HD AG-HVX200 Camera Demo

1 – 3pm	Bringing it all together with Apple: The latest in Software/Hardware	Bill Hanson

3 – 5pm	Panel Discussion: Women in Entertainment Emerge

5 – 7pm	Reception to celebrate Outstanding Women in Entertainment	Ellen Sandler (Writer/Producer Everybody Loves Raymond, Coach)
		Tracy Mercer (VP of Development/Morgan Freeman's Revelations Entertainment)
		Anne Stirling (Documentary Filmmaker, Founder of Friends of Film & Video Association)
		Christina Julian – Moderator

5 – 7pm	The Future of HD Technology	Ken Dozier (Exec. Dir. USC Engineering Technology Transfer Center (ETTC) and Exec. Dir. NASA Far West RTTC)

7 – 8pm	Combinatoric Harvest: Graphic Complexity from Simple Code	Jared Tarbell

8 – 9pm	Lecture/demonstration: Live cinema performance and installation work exploring real-time animation, artificial life and noise art.	David Stout and Cory Metcalf

9pm – 11pm	Merging Hip Hop, Ambient, Electro Rock, Dub, Big Beat, Drum & Bass	MegMan www.megman.org

11pm – 2am	Master Bedroom: Soundscapes to Slutty Euro TechnoPop	Mark Churchhill


Friday July 28th

10 – 4pm	MINI-CINI FILMMAKING & EDITING	Tell your story with our dv cameras and edit bays to win an Apple MacBook Pro featuring the Intel® Core Duo™ Processor

10 – 11:30am	Re-writes in the Real World	Ellen Sandler (Everybody Loves Raymond - script to broadcast highlights)
		James P. Mercurio (Hollywood Script Consultant)
		Jason Pilla (Warner Bros Writer)
		Gene Grant (Writer/Moderator)

11:30am – 1pm	Indie vs. the Studio Hollywood: Who Will Win the Race?	Dan Netter (CEO Baby Fishmouth Productions, Producer of the Emmy Awards, AFI’s 100 Years)
		Tracy Mercer (VP of Development/Morgan Freeman's Revelations)
		Kevin Curran (Co-Founder of HD Studios LA)

1 – 3pm	State of Animation in New Mexico	Jonas Diamond (Smiley Guy Studios)
		Steve Hoban (CopperHeart Entertainment, producer of Academy Award winner "Ryan")
		Chris Landreth (Academy Award-winning director of "Ryan")
		Chris Kientz (Award-winning writer/director/producer "Raven Tales")
		Torin Lucas (CEO Thunderbird Games)
		Gerald McDermott (Author and animator of "Arrow to the Sun")
		Jeff Hobbs (Animator and rotoshop creator)


3 - 5pm	Ralph Bakshi Showcase	(Director of Wizards, Cool World, American Pop, Fritz the Cat, Spider-Man)

5 – 7 pm	Theramin Infused Video Performance	Martin Back

10pm – 12am	DJ Bacon with Mindy McGovern

8pm – 2am	Soundscapes in Ambient Spaces	DJ Jered and CK Barlow www.ckbarlow.com


Saturday July 29th

10am – 12pm	Me to U.com: The Future of Distribution	Alvir Navin (BitTorrent )
		Tracy Mercer (VP of Development/Morgan Freeman's Revelations)

12pm	ASA Side Session	Ellen Sandler (Everybody Loves Raymond - script to broadcast highlights)
		James P. Mercurio (Hollywood Script Consultant)
		Jason Pilla (Warner Bros Writer)

1 – 3pm	Making No Money Look Good	Sascha Muller (Producer: George Washington; IFP West, Film Independent)
		Dan Mirvish (Filmmaker and Co-founder of Slamdance)
		Joe Conti (NM Director: Army of the Dead )
		Kevin Curran (Co-Founder of HD Studios LA)

3 – 4 pm	National Poetry Slam Champion Albuquerque Slam Team throws down on the lounge before hitting the Austin nationals in August.	Hosted by co-captain: Kenn Rodriguez

4 – 6pm	The Latest in Gamer Developments

10:30pm -12am	SerrenDeep	DJ Miss Ginger of Santa Fe

12 – 2am	Sina Soul & Beat Hive

Oh to have Bravo

2006-07-12T11:32:00.000-06:00

Mikaela says:
Full disclosure: I used to be a tv junkie. Growing up, I knew the nightly lineup on every channel. I was a walking TV Guide, able to sing advertising jingles and theme show songs on demand. I used to drive my family crazy walking through the supermarket, tarzan-ing my way from product to product with word-for-word mimicking of each ad.

These days, I watch TV on DVD, and even that is only when friends thrust them into my hands (Sex and the City in the main).

The last time I was hooked on a show was two years ago, dating a guy with cable and hence... Bravo. Bravo! Home of West Wing re-runs and ... drumroll ... Project Runway, the worst tv addiction of all time!

Who cares about fashion? Who hates reality tv? Doesn't matter. This show will get to you, I swear it. If you want to maintain the dignity of not rushing home on certain nights, or rearranging your schedule around a stupid tv show, don't start watching.

Season Three is about to premier. I saw Season One only. Even my boyfriend was hooked. This one looks even better, with Kate Spade added to the judges, and a cast made up of even more talented and sophisticated contestants. Oofda.

Maybe it's good I don't have cable.

But can I wait for the DVD?

Shameless hint: Sure would be a good show to assemble a group of friends to make a social occasion out of it (the only truly acceptable way of watching tv, in my humble opinion)...

Texas: West to East

2006-07-07T13:31:00.000-06:00

marjorie says...

Is West Texas really the barren ugly wasteland you always hear about? Being from the lush
green forests of East Texas, I'll often just kind of half heartedly agree when I hear people characterize the western half of my state like that. But, really...I know better. There's beauty in that wide open land, and in my recent drive through there on the way home I thought I'd take a few shots to show y'all what I mean. My route took me to Amarillo on I-4o, and from there I snaked down HWY 287 through Childress, Wichita Falls, and Denton, skirting around DFW to the small towns of East Texas.

The first thing to note about West Texas is the SKY. Driving through an endless expanse of farm and range land, when there isn't much standing between yourself and the sky, you notice it. Between the sky and the land, structures and trees really stand out. Invariably those things go together. Humans build their homes and plant trees around them...creating little green ponds in the middle of nowhere.

There are lots of windmills in West Texas...most of which are standing. They often have cows clustered around them. In fact, there are lots of cows in Texas period. I didn't take a picture of the stockyards I passed because I just wanted to pass that obnoxious smell as quickly as I could.

The cool thing about West Texas was the herd of camels I passed on the highway. Yes, I said camels. The other animal I noticed plenty was the horse. While I didn't take any pictures of horses, I did get a shot of the local horse motel...

There's an art installation in West Texas that I've always wanted to get a close look at...buried upright cars wave at you from way out in a field as you zoom by. This trip I actually took the time to walk out there and check them out...

Then there are all the many human things...

ubiquitous Don't Mess With Texas

friendly small town welcome signs...couldn't help but take this photo

diners, diners, everywhere

small town squares

then there is fruit...from west to east, its everywhere. on this trip in particular it was all about the peaches. which brings me to East Texas...

see the difference?here is my mom picking peaches...she grew up in Kelsey, which you can see in the background

this is the highway leading out of Pine Mills, home of a pottery of the same name...which makes really beautiful things out of East Texas clay

and here you see the burgeoning junk yard that used to be my grandfather's garden. :-) yes, that's what i said. it's all good!

Being from East Texas, I have a natural affinity for its rolling green hills. At the same time I appreciate the wide open spaces of West Texas. In one place I feel cosy, in the other stark...and both feelings speak to different aspects of my personality. Its similar to the difference between the Northwest, where I lived 5 years, and Albuquerque...

Speaking of Albuquerque, as much as I love Texas, it feels good to be back. These days I'm digging New Mexico. Here is the rain storm I drove right into as I rolled back into town...

World Cup Fever for the Flavor of the Final

2006-07-07T09:41:00.000-06:00

Mikaela says:
Game on.

Two Fools Tavern's the place to be this weekend to watch the World Cup Final.

Sat., 1 pm: Portugal vs. Germany

Sun., noon: France vs. Italy

Shots for shots-on-gol? I think so!

Can't get to a television? Audio commentary here (Thanks fo the tip & link, Mike!).

Best read of the year

2006-07-07T07:49:00.000-06:00

Maggie says:
Last week I found myself completely, happily immersed in an amazing book, one I've mentioned here a couple of times: The Last of Her Kind, by Sigrid Nunez. This book is truly remarkable, and keeps settling in more and more since I've finished it, exactly the type of read I adore.

How can a book be so huge in its scope, yet still read so small? It's amazing. The Last of Her Kind is set at Barnard in the late '60s, at the center of massive change gripping the country. The story follows two friends who meet as roommates: one, a WASP blonde plagued by class guilt who requests a roommate as different from her as possible; the other, a poor resident of upstate New York, haunted by the poverty and abuse from her childhood and unsure of her place alongside rich college girls. Ann (who drops her given name, Dooley, because it represents a slaveholding wing of her family) and Georgette become the kind of friends that only college nights fueled by procrastination and lack of sleep and intensity can inspire, and they are inexplicably tied to one another for decades to come, marked and wounded and shaped by the turbulent times, their personal politics, and their individual backgrounds. While Ann denounces her privileged upbringing and gets increasingly swept into radical politics, Georgette's concerns are more personal and immediate (her teenage sister who runs away shortly before Woodstock, for instance), and the radicalism of the times never rings true for her.

This book manages to be both a modern take on the idealist politics of the '60s (Georgette is our narrator, and her tone is full of the wonder at how much in the world has changed between then and now) and a nuanced telling of two women and their very complicated friendship. While the scope here is wide and unflinching, its brush is markedly feminine and intricate. As the brutality of racist police violence and underground radical training camps is told along with the tenderness of a never-equal friendship and a love affair that begins at a bookstore, the picture that emerges is touchingly real, alive in its small stories as much as the huge ones. Through Ann and Georgette, we see times change radically, and we live the infamous stories of late '60s/early '70s radicalism with new insight.

What's remarkable about this book is that while outsiders paint Ann with broad brushstrokes later in her life, when she becomes an infamous headline, we continue to see her with Georgette's smaller, more personal brushstrokes. Ann is not always likeable - in fact, many people outright hate her - but by viewing her as a friend, as Georgette does, we see the goodness behind the fierce tenacity, the vulnerability behind the unforgiving radical. Ann is a problematic friend, the one you'd always have to defend and explain even when you don't agree with her. But she's absolutely riveting, and someone you'd want in your life regardless of the trouble. And after all, she's right a lot of the time. Her critique at Barnard that the student movement would fold because it was hopelessly white and elitist was correct. Her common statement that "I wish I was black," however, would seem as inappropriate to African-Americans today as it did then.

The Last of her Kind takes on class consciousness, the power of the personal, gender politics, race and radicalism, the place of the white left, the changing nature of sex and drugs and protests and personal responsibility... But its heart lies with the more eternal issues: friendships that strain and change over time, overcoming the divide between our actual backgrounds and what we might wish them to be, how women talk to each other and include each other in our lives, how we overcome tragedy and keep moving forward, how we love the people we probably shouldn't.

Beautiful stuff. I can't wait to read this book again.

Holy Shit, It's July! Horoscope, anyone?

2006-06-26T17:45:00.000-06:00

Brian Francis divines:

ARIES: A moment of hesitation is appropriate at the start of such an important new cycle, where you have most definitely arrived. You may feel a need to balance out your life at the same time balance is precisely the most difficult thing to attain. At the heart of your situation is an emotional matter to sort out, and circumstances are fortunately allowing you some time for retreat and contemplation of what seems like subject matter from the distant past, but really is affecting you in the present place and time. This is not a matter of breaking free, but rather one of making peace with yourself. There will be plenty of time to explore and put this to work in the long run through creative expression, and you'll surely have your moments in the coming weeks where you have to get something out. Just don't forget that that subtle inner level is the place where the healing takes place.

CANCER: It's time to think big. How big? Big as you like, whatever that means to you. All rules are suspended on matters of scale, proportion, size, and effort as relates to results. Practical concerns take third or fourth place. What now matters is that you consistently apply one thing to any goal or necessity you may have: imagination. The reason the rules are all on hold -- and may well remain that way for a while -- is that creativity is the answer to everything. Creativity is love applied to a specific circumstance, whether it's a house to build, a photo exhibit or making sure your kid gets into the college he or she wants (and paying for it). It's not about how hard you work, but rather, how well you tap into the inner source of cosmic intelligence that is far greater than the whole drama we live here on the physical plane, and for whom this whole dog and pony show is so much watercolor.

VIRGO: You may feel it's time to reactivate an old social network that can be enormously helpful to you at this time in your life. It turns out that the people who took the best care of you in the past have something new to offer, as you aspire to make one of your most important dreams come true. That you're even willing to consider this is a rather large shift of attitude from your sense, not so long ago, that only the worst possibilities were likely. We may well ask what was keeping you up nights, and if I had to guess it was the sense that you faced obstacles that you did not recognize or could not perceive. Once you know what you face, it's much easier to deal with it, but this particular phobic phase seemed to focus on the unknown -- which is precisely the kind of contradiction you were struggling with. In any event, it's time to think about what you're actually doing and creating, and who can help.

Know us? Know how good they are? Curious about your own? See yours here.

Beach reading

2006-06-22T09:34:00.000-06:00

Maggie says:
So I'm leaving for vacation. Here's what I'm packing:

Grapes of Wrath, John Steinbeck. Finally committed to reading a book I've always been embarrassed to say I'd never read. About a third of the way through now.
The Gastronomical Me, MFK Fisher. I've been meaning to read this forever. A memoir on travel, love, adventure, and the food that ties it all together. Could there be a better read for me? I'm thinking it'll be very Aphrodite, a book I adore. "[Fisher] spit Puritan restraint out like a dull wine and made a life of savoring the slow, sensual pleasures of the table." Yum.
Shadow of the Wind, Carlos Ruiz Zafon. This one was recommended to me a year or so ago, and I found it left behind at a community meeting last month. Seems like a sign to me.
The Last of her Kind, Sigrid Nunez. Wrote about this one on m-pyrica l in February, and finally got it in my greedy reading hands. The sentence that got me was this one: "I believe you have to reach a certain age before you understand how much life really is like a novel, with patterns and leitmotifs and turning points, and guns that must go off and people who must return before the ending."

If I manage to see Jessie tonight, she's promised to loan me one of her faves:

The Brothers K, David James Duncan. Any book friend of Jessie's is a friend of mine, so I'm in.

Drowing out office craziness

2006-06-20T09:46:00.000-06:00

Maggie says:
Say you find yourself with piles of deadlines to meet before leaving for your fantasy beach vacation with college girlfriends at the end of the week. Say you work in an environment that features very loud engineers who can make focusing next to impossible. Say your head is screaming and the pile of deadlines is just getting thicker and thicker, with Friday morning getting closer by the minute. Say you've already canceled your lunch plans and still don't see how you'll get out of here at a decent time tonight.

Breathe.

Slip on headphones.

Start playing James Blunt's Back to Bedlam.

It's the perfect soothing-but-not-too-soothing soundtrack to a stressful office, totally calming and somehow energizing, too. Soft. Just right.

Breathing...

(I know, I know: I've already mentioned this CD once. Just go ahead and listen to it already, will you?!)

Listening to The National

2006-06-16T09:57:00.000-06:00

Maggie says:
A friend who'd be horrified at being m-pyrically outed (so will therefore be kept anonymous) burned a CD for me a couple weeks ago, and it's become an absolute obsession. The CD is Alligator by The National. And really, listen to this thing at your own risk, because it will jam itself into your head and NEVER LEAVE.

The sound is a melodic, gorgeous up-and-down mix: a leisurely, moody tryst followed by a quick, angry sprint followed by a jaunty, biting skip. It's somehow dark and foreboding without sounding like either. It's a deep voice that cuts through your brain with lyrics that lull you into their pace and mood.

Probably what's really happening here is my full realization that I have a major crush on singer/songwriter Matt Beringer, he of the deep voice, confessional lyrics, and unapologetic arrogance. Somehow the same man sings "I'm a perfect piece of ass" and "For a little while you'll be here, the only good part of me" and it works. I think that's because in the moments in between humility and self-confidence, he's vulnerable but no saint, like so many of us: "Break my arms around the one I love, And be forgiven by the time my lover comes."

"Secret Meeting" is the song that haunts me all through my workday. All the others I play extremely loudly while driving fast. So... having a "stilted, pretending day?" Listen to this CD and it'll make it all better.

"Baby, come over, I need entertaining
I had a stilted, pretending day
Lay me down and say something pretty
Lay me back down where I wanted to stay
Just say something perfect, something I can steal
Say, look at me
Baby, we'll be fine
All we've gotta do is be brave and be kind
I pull off your jeans, and you spill jack and coke in my collar
I melt like a witch and scream
I'm so sorry for everything"

Love its parts, not its whole

2006-06-13T11:15:00.000-06:00

Maggie says:
It was with huge anticipation and delight that I sunk into Donna Tartt’s second novel, The Little Friend. You may remember that Tartt’s first novel, The Secret History, is one of my all-time favorite books for the gorgeous way it strikes a balance between intellect and lyricism. Tartt’s brilliant and her writing shows it.

In The Little Friend, the makings for another great book were all there: Not set in a cold New England town this time (which I know a thing or two about), but instead set in the South, which I also know a thing or two about. Not first-person narrated by a self-conscious college guy, this time we get third-person narration featuring a spunky, smart young girl named Harriet. I can hang with spunky, smart girls. Less a tale of friends binding and then unraveling through murder, this one takes place a decade after a brother’s murder with the unsolved weight of it hanging in the air as heavy as the humidity. Sounds good. Throw in some snake-handling, some class and race conflict, some kooky Southerners, religion of all shades and stripes, and this should have been my favorite book ever.

And yet.

Something didn’t quite gel here. I remember reading a Tartt interview when The Little Friend was published where she admitted it took her ten years to finish this second novel. She felt haunted by the success of the first – written when she was only 28 – and struggled to write a book about her home that was distinctly different than the critically-acclaimed novel that spoke to her college years. To be honest, it was sometimes a struggle to finish reading it.

If only I loved this book in whole as much as I love its parts. I love the childlike precociousness of Harriet and the true-blue way her friend Hely loves her. I love the childhood summer spirit that’s so well captured in their long afternoons. I love Harriet’s grandmother and great-aunts, the way they live with a shared identity yet each very separately, each the fabric of each other’s stories, each the rock of the other. I love the small-town feel with the family everyone’s scared of, the Sunday School teacher who’s not exactly Christian in his business practices, the underbelly of the town mixed with “the Club” and its crowd. I love the tone of a death you can never overcome, the influence an absence has over a town in a way a presence never could, the shadow that never lifts. I love reading about the seediness of meth-making culture, the hysteria of drug addiction, the suffocation of family that makes you as desperate as you are loyal. But I don’t love the crime-avenging here or the adventure tale. It just doesn’t work for me.

It occurs to me that we remember parts of our childhoods and growing up in these miraculous passages of characters and details. What we forget is the everyday-ness that binds all of that together. There’s a reason we’re not all writing epic novels about the summer we were 12: it’s probably more the stuff of a novella or a short story collection. So should this have been.

But of course, I’m absolutely itching for Tartt to write number three.

And: I’m heading to the beach in two weeks, so I’m accepting any and all book recommendations for the days upon days I’ll spend doing nothing but lying in the sun, reading, and swimming.

Oakland As A-OK!

2006-06-11T16:14:00.000-06:00

Mikaela says:
Fans of Moneyball, the Oakland As, the underdog, or the new wave of baseball will be happy to learn of Nick Swisher's heroic performance leading the way to the A's sweep against the Yanks.

Those who read the book will remember Nick Swisher was the much sought-after player, valued by many teams, not just the As, with their new insight into choosing players based on the stats not the stories and/or dreams they represent to talent scouts and coaches alike. Well, Swisher's a success.

This bodes well for the possibility of maintaining competition and entertainment even if salaries are, oh, I don't know, capped like hockey players' one day. There, I said it. What can I say? I'm a labor girl. (And a gigantic nerd who became an A fan because of a book and its explanation of a mathematical basis for assessing the value and therefore risk of choosing some players over others.) What's sexier than baseball plus math plus good writing? Um, NOTHING. Go Oakland!

Girly-girl news

2006-06-04T16:04:00.000-06:00

Maggie says:
What can I say, warm weather brings out my inner girly-girl. When it's cold out all I want are old jeans, sturdy clogs, and wool sweaters. But with the sun I get frilly and leggy and everything that comes along with that. So, in girl news:

The Bobbi Brown counter is open at Dillard's. This is fantastic news if you're a diehard fan of unnecessary-yet-critical cosmetics and adore smelling like the sea. As ABQ inches toward something of a retail critical mass, my shopping self wonders what's to come. A Stila counter, perhaps? My wallet trembles in wait...
The Inspire salon downtown is catching quite a following. First I blabbed about it. Then Mikaela got the cutest haircut ever. Then Chantal showed up at brunch yesterday all layered and playful. Now the word's out on Duke City Fix, too. So what are you waiting for? Go see Chris and his scissors. And tell him the three of us recommended him - I think he's getting a kick out of this little blogging following he has now.
A friend recently posited that if you see cute shoes in this town, you know they weren't bought here. Ouch. But I say, cute shoes are around town if you're patient, persistent, and lucky. Now why haven't I been to Ruby Shoesday yet? Their adorable website is begging me to come visit.
Guess who joined up with a fab friend to create a party theme around A) a weird holiday where no one has fun plans except kids, B) the fact that said friend will have leftover hay in her backyard on said holiday, and C) my sighting of an obnoxious cutesy/trashy, "where the hell would you ever wear that, anyway?" gingham top while shopping last week? Yep, me. I think preposterous party ideas should be my new specialty.

In the spirit of bipartisanship...

2006-06-01T15:47:00.000-06:00

Maggie says:
So yeah, we all know Condoleeza Rice is a #$#$%$%&@#&*. But, um...

I want her suit anyway.

CNN: 'Carrot and Stick' deal agreed for Iran

Happy June -- Horoscopes for EVERYONE!

2006-06-01T09:26:00.000-06:00

Brian Francis says:

ARIES: It could be worse. You may need to go out on a limb and take what for anyone else would be a huge risk. And, as the cookie crumbles, that may wind up being the very last thing you want to do when the time comes. The key may be to act sooner rather than later, before your insecurities take over. You could easily get lost for weeks trying to decide between alternatives or doing battle with yourself about the right choice to make. You're slipping into one of these classic 'caution versus dare' situations, with the clock ticking. But what exactly do you have to be so cautious about? It seems you have a lot more to gain by breaking out of a plaster mold that seems to have grown around your sense of adventure. You need to act in accord with whatever you consider your true nature. That is, if you want to get anywhere, or get anything done.

CANCER: None of the various bits of your current scenario are new. Each is eminently familiar. Now, however, you get to assemble them into something that makes sense, in total. The experience you've gained in many seemingly separate aspects of your life counts for a lot, particularly if you look at it closely and use what you know. You've benefited immeasurably from many dress rehearsals, practice missions and testing numerous early models of your plan. You've been restoring the foundations and repairing beams for months or even years. Now is the time to power up the whole system. That's always a moment of truth, because you're not certain whether what you've created can stand the test of reality. But there's just one way to find out. The reality check, however, winds up being one of self-confidence. Systems and inventions are one thing. Having the guts to live the way you need to live is something else entirely.

VIRGO: Don't just act cool or keep your cool. You must be cool. You must not let your worst fears run away with you, and at the same time don't go too overboard on your plans to take over the world. Between the worst possible catastrophe and the highest and mightiest triumph in all of human creation, there is what you are simply trying to do. It will remain simple as long as you keep it such, and remember that anything we do in this world we do with the help of our friends. Therefore, it would be very helpful to keep clear communication with the people you trust, want to trust, and need to maintain cooperative relationships with. When the time comes to doubt, I suggest you express your doubts in a reasonable way rather than make any assumptions. To do this, you will need to know when you are making assumptions, which would indeed be a great triumph for humanity.

LIBRA: This will be one of those awesome periods of achievement, if you're able to stay above the fray. It's a little like that old joke about not arguing with idiots because somebody watching won't be able to tell who's who. While we're onto old jokes, don't join any club that will have you as a member. Rather, get into the fact that it can be lonely at the top, and then stay focused on your goal. You have a goal, and actually, it's going pretty well. These days, the more specific you make it, the better. The more you wrap up old business and get it out of the way, the more room you will have for that one very specific concept of what you want to do in the world. Meanwhile, there will come that moment when you need to lower your expectations. Don't freak out -- this is only temporary.

TAURUS: Ah, the miracle of getting one's shit together. When does it happen? Usually when we decide it's going to happen, but it takes some experience to get one to that place, often more experience than we ever dreamed. But trust me, you have that; it's not the issue. Here it is, in less than 100 words. You seem to be putting way too much hope in a relationship situation as a substitute for doing the work of deep, imminent emotional changes you need to make. The solution is not going to come from outside you but rather from you unleashing the life force energy that's pent up inside you. When that energy moves, you could call it a crisis, or you could call it progress. In truth, it's probably going to be both, but of the two, the progress is by far more worthwhile, and Goddess knows you've waited long enough. So, do yourself a huge favor and stop waiting.

GEMINI: The great thing about a tempest in a teapot is that at the end of it all, you may wind up with a cup of tea. Make sure you're paying attention to just how much energy you're putting into that nice warm Earl Grey. It would appear you could prepare a banquet for 50 with the effort you're expending on some idea or project. Rather than throwing all your energy into something, I suggest you press yourself gently toward the point of a breakthrough. It's true enough that your thinking has been stuck, but it's worked out to be the productive kind of stuck, or it will have if you're able to extract the one extremely impressive idea that has the power to move a mountain or two. Remember, there is one level of this situation where it ALL comes down to money. So keep count of that stuff and make sure you know what you're doing with it.

LEO: The last time this happened, it was a lot less obvious. Now you see the pattern. Now you cannot only take it a lot more personally, you can involve yourself in a personal way and work the situation to your best possible advantage. The message or reward of this month's Mars-Saturn conjunction in your birth sign is some combination of discipline paying off, patience providing the perfect opportunity to act, and hard work being rewarded with something changing in your favor. In fact, anything you experience this month you can work in your favor, but now it's even more important that you see it that way. When you make the one major decision that seems to be looming, you'll probably notice how long you've gone not quite feeling like yourself, and have the revelation of what it feels like to be suddenly acting in accord with your own nature, after quite a long delay. Not a bad plan.

SCORPIO: Get your parents and related individuals out of the picture, symbolically or in reality. That is, remember you're an adult and they have no power over you. The one thing you don't want to mess with this month are 'authority issues', which is precisely because you have way too much taking authority to do. Indeed, you must become the only authority in at least one particular area of your life; but you can. The mastery you've attained several times over is all your own, and you don't need anyone's permission to put it to work. Your journey to success has been fraught with peril, but behold, that is a sign you're not on vacation. Your plan is actually working, even if you're not quite sure what it is. Ah yes, now is the time to get sure. You only get to go through this particular scenario once. Make it work for you.

SAGGITARIUS: You have arrived at a moment when you need to work out the details on your long-range plan, and to do that, you need to start by having one. Many factors over the past year have been pointing to this, and at the same time you've likely been encountering a level of fear or resistance that you're unaccustomed to. If this statement is true, you need to cop to it, and face consciously whatever factors are working behind the scenes or below the floorboards. Though you are good at doing what's right and don't usually need to concern yourself with the finer details of ethics, I sense there is an ethical issue brewing, at least in your own heart and soul. You may actually be doubting yourself. That alone has the power to hold you back and dissuade you from achieving your own greatest success.

CAPRICORN: Be realistic about the importance of an encounter later this month that relates to the subject of shared finances or tax matters. You will need to adopt an entirely new approach to such questions, whether you're motivated by progress, or the need to avoid a crisis -- and there is a fine line between the two, particularly now. This may well be a situation involving turning a crisis into an opportunity. What you've had going for you up until this point is how solid and steady you've been. But there have been key moments when you had to rethink your strategy, and this is one of them. You will not need to wait for the rewards. A long cycle is coming to a close, perhaps as long as two years, and by one month from today you will stand in a new place. But between here and there, you need to take each step carefully.

AQUARIUS: Sometimes if we respond to things as a threat, they become a threat; if we respond to them as something else, they appear in that form. Sometimes we can guide things consciously from one state of being to another. Often, what makes the difference is whether we respond with fear or creativity. I am not one of those who believes 'everything is projection' and that 'we create the universe'. Rather, I think existence is a co-creative process, and our project here is to learn how to take up the work of manifestation together. But what we hold in our minds, and the choices we make about what events, people and symbols mean, sets the stage for how we experience our individual realities -- and these same things can influence many other people. In the coming weeks, you have a lot of influence over how one particular situation develops. Use it well.

PISCES: Take up the role of inventor: consider each day, each gesture, each choice, each relationship an invention or opportunity. Apply originality to every act and decision you make. Necessity will definitely be the progenitor of this process, but you do have the ability to stay four or five steps ahead of the game, anticipating your needs, managing your energy and commitments, and most of all, taking care of yourself. So much stuck energy finally comes free this month that you could be swept up in the wave of activity. The results of so much work and dedication are finally beginning to show results. If you feel like you're getting overwhelmed, get to a new level and start making decisions the moment you notice you're in any distress at all. But the one sure way to know you're not in denial is if you're in a creative mode every waking moment.

Great American holiday weekend

2006-05-29T22:53:00.000-06:00

Maggie says:
Ah, Memorial Day. The phrase conjures up the smells of grilling and the splash of pools...

For me, this was the first bona fide holiday weekend I've had in forever where I really was off the hook. As a student (college, grad, whatever) you're never off the hook. Your deadlines stay the same. You're still thinking about work. But something about the paid holiday is so absolutely mind-clearing, it's phenomenal. Off the hook. Wonderfully so.

This bona fide holiday weekend was also probably my slowest ever, where all I did was turn my brain off and relax, which consisted of:

Sleeping. Lots of it. Outdoors, indoors, until lunchtime, and back in bed by midnight. Wonderful. And apparently, something I was desperately in need of.
Sunning. Sunning while reading, sunning while sleeping, sunning while chatting on the phone, sunning until I got sunburned stomach... yep, it's Memorial Day.
Dogging. Hanging with the dog is the best-ever Memorial Day activity. Dog-walking, dog-sleeping, dog-petting. Dog also stole some salmon while we were...
Hanging. Because what's a holiday weekend without friends? M² had a beautiful cookout and movie screening that started out decidedly family-friendly and ended up just a little bit saucy. If the other Ms agree, we'll have to post our photographic evidence.

Need more proof of the high relaxation levels happening in my world? Here's Jack recovering from his stressful Memorial Day of ... sleeping this afternoon indoors.

Hey wait a minute... what am I doing still awake? Time to take my still-holidaying self back to sleep!

Feed your soul - Friday, May 19, 8 pm

2006-05-11T14:12:00.000-06:00

Mikaela says:
Don't miss this important literary event, not to mention the chance to celebrate the life of Malcolm X. Support Albuquerque' s best poets while you salute the man who inspired many to stand up to the establishment and fight for the rights guaranteed them by the Constitution and by the laws of nature. (Click on image below for larger view of details, for those of us without superpower vision.)

Skankin to the Beat

2006-05-04T08:58:00.000-06:00

Mikaela says:
Just last Friday, I was whining about live music in general and my lack of desire to attend Spring Crawl in particular.

"I havent really been into the scene since ska died out," I lamented.

"Wow," my companion replied. "You just really dated yourself."

Ouch.

But the sting has lessened since I heard that there is a Ska Prom coming to the El Rey May 20.

Thats right. Ska Prom. Prepared to get dekked out and see all the other dekkers, too.

Anyone wanna skank with this rude girl?

El Rey Theater

622 Central Avenue S.W.
Albuquerque, New Mexico 87102

SKA FEST 2006: SKA PROM
Date: May 20, 2006
Time: 05:00 pm

Performers: 9 Ska Bands, featuring Made in Bangladesh, Third Grade Scuffle, Danny Winn and the Earthlings, Half Stache, Travisty and the Screwups, Tijuanabees, Warsaw Poland Bros., Detective Jabsco, and more! Formal attire is encouraged! All ages welcome. Cost: $ 10.00

ADVANCE TICKETS AVAILABLE AT NATURAL SOUND AND CHARLIES RECORDS BEGINNING APRIL 20TH

Event Website: http://www.elreytheater.com

Dark Head

2006-05-02T00:12:00.000-06:00

Philip Levine
from 7 Years from Somewhere

Wakened suddenly by
my own voice, I know
I’ve said your name,
and you stir, your breath
as sweet as milk, and give
me first a hand to hold
and then your head to cradle.
How we came to be together
from the distant ends
of a continent, how we
gave first our hearts
and then the rest, I
can’t say. The night is
ending, the dawn I once
prayed for is cracking
along the eastern rim
of hills, and the first light
floods this filthy valley
of the Ohio River. Here
and there a house puts on
a light, and someone
wakens to a life as strong
as the smell of urine
in the broken cellars
of the houses I walk by
each day. Once more you
are sleeping in my arms,
the arms of a man
you don’t know yet trust.
I’m alone, and more,
awake to the life
that tears us apart,
content to see the day
come on flaming window
after window. Today
I shall be gone and you
will be alone again. Today
or tomorrow I shall be fire
then ashes, then a hint
of something animal
moving out of the corners
of the wind, and then at last
I shall be nothing, not
even the echo of someone’s
voice, and then I’ll be
ourselves once more,
this world, opening
in each eye and damp fist
for those who would have her.

Random musings

2006-04-26T11:28:00.000-06:00

Maggie says:
I love how m-pyrical can be a catch basin for all the goofy thoughts running around in my head. Here we go:

There is nothing I distrust more than a glass coffee mug. It's so unnatural and strange! Cold, transparent glass filled with hot, rich coffee? It doesn't make sense! The glass becomes too hot, the coffee becomes too cold. It's jarring to see hot coffee through a glass. Coffee is supposed to be surrounded by ceramic warmth from the coffee pot to your mouth. If you regularly drink from - or worse, serve coffee in - glass coffee mugs, I will never really like you.

I recently overheard someone saying that she has nine cats. When her companion seemed a little shocked, her response was, "I know! I used to have 35!" Hoarder, anyone?

I think Virgos get a bad rap. One of our lovely Ms is one, but this isn't just about sticking up for her. I have been in more conversations than I can count with entirely different groups of people where someone will say, "Oh, and she/he's a Virgo" and then everyone's eyes start to roll, followed by a knowing "Ohhhhh....." Come on, people! Can poor Virgos really be that untouchable? I mean, sure, they have issues, but don't we all? I think we need to give them a break!

I finally saw - and adore, adore, adore - The Station Agent. It features the best representation of one of my-all time favorite character types: "the obnoxious community-builder."

We really, really, really need a new Pearl's Dive. I've now spent three different nights wandering aimlessly downtown with friends searching for that elusive food + drink + wallet-friendly dive that will replace our forever beloved (and now closed) hangout. Sigh...

This is going to sound terribly bitchy, and it is, but I swear the best birth control I've ever known is to simply go to Old Navy on a weekend. Shouldn't we be taking teenage girls there by the bus full? I have actually left the store twice because of screaming, running-around crazy children with parents just tuning them out. I can't take it! It's not that worth it to find a so-cheap-it'll-fall-apart-in-a-year-but-hey-I-need-a-new- shirt-for-tonight purchase.

I went to the Albuquerque the Magazine anniversary party at Seasons the other night and was a little shocked. So this is where all the well-dressed folks in Albuquerque are! I had no idea that women in town actually use double-sided tape for fashion purposes! Where did they buy all those great dresses?! And why did it not occur to me to wear something besides jeans?!

I have an irrational fear of putting air in my tires. Why?! What's the worst that could possibly happen?! I have no idea, but I keep avoiding the gas station like it's Marty's reelection headquarters or something. Lame.

Preparing for May

2006-04-26T09:29:00.000-06:00

Brian Francis warns:

MAGGIE (Aries): One theme of your chart for the past 18 months has been becoming what you've previously sought outside yourself. In a way, this involves embodying your opposite personality, or opposite qualities. You may want to notice what you seek in others for their soulmate qualities and observe the way you are striving to become these things as well. What you may notice about this process is that it rearranges your dependency patterns. You may decide you need people for some things you never considered before, and don't need them for others that you had considered many times. You may also be feeling independent enough to decide that keeping the peace is not as important to you as it was last week or last month, and you do run the risk of provoking conflict with domestic or intimate partners, particularly if you get the feeling they are keeping score of your transgressions. Proceed with caution.

MARJORIE (Cancer): This is a time to make some significant progress in your life, and to arrange your priorities in a way that makes some sense. It's clear that the themes of marriage, commitment and fidelity are high on your agenda, as if you've become a miner for a heart of gold. It's also true that as much as people say they want these things, most are rarely able to buck up the honesty that it takes to convey that message in deeds rather than words. I suggest you judge people on the messages of their actions rather than what they say. To do that, you're going to need to listen differently for a while, through observation rather than chatter. Remember that if something happens twice, it's probably a coincidence. If it happens three times, it's a pattern. This counts for your actions as well as those of others. Pay attention and see what you notice.

MIKAELA (Virgo): You seem to be hatching your plot to change the world. It's a big one, and there are those times when you resemble a canary sitting on a goose egg. A whole series of recent episodes gave you some indication of what is possible in life, and what the world has to offer, but I think you're working on something better, something entirely of your own design, and which genuinely expresses the new values you've been developing for so long. But I suggest you not fancy yourself too independent from the world or its influences, because you need them. And I suggest that you remember there's always a bit of the old in what is truly new and innovative. A certain daring individual from your past who you now work with will soon help you bridge the ever-elusive gap between today and tomorrow. Don't be fooled by their off-putting demeanor or excess charisma. This person is for real.

Join Maggie and Me: Harwood Anthology Reception

2006-04-21T12:34:00.001-06:00

Mikaela invites:

If you need to understand the very personal reason to come, see my explanatory, confessional post on m-pyre.
If you just want any reason to party with the ms,
or if you celebrate poetry and the arts wherever and whenever called (like a cultural bat man or something), just meet us there!

Friday, April 21, 5-8:30pm

Reading begins at 6pm!

Where: Harwood Art Center's
Poets' Plaza

1114 7th St. NW (at Mountain Road)

Our red hot crush deepens

2006-04-20T07:28:00.000-06:00

Maggie says:
As reported after the m-pyre Oscar party, Salma Hayek is a woman M³ all agree on. She's sexy, smart, talented, passionate, interesting... and did I mention sexy?

The crush just became full-fledged infatuation. As just about anyone could guess by now, when you throw in some good politics, a simple m-pyre crush can quickly become a flaming hot pyre of obsession. So predictable, us three...

My copy of Frida is about to get its 10,000th viewing in honor of this latest twist.

Washington Post: Immigration is Not in the Script for Hollywood's Cause Celebs. (Or, as I'd title this article: "...for Hollywood's Celebs We Usually Write About.") And also in US Weekly: Salma Speaks Out on Immigration.

Salma:

“As a human being, I find this situation intolerable. As an immigrant, I find it offensive. And as an American citizen, I find it disheartening. The work that these immigrants do directly affects the health of the U.S. economy.

I have already been in contact with Latin activist Dolores Huerta and Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa in an effort to figure out what is the most effective way for me to participate in this movement.

My company, Ventanarosa, in solidarity with the immigrants, was closed this past Monday and will again be closed on May 1 in observance of the protests.”

Warning: Serious Pee--n-Pants Hilarity

2006-04-19T10:54:00.000-06:00

Mikaela snorts:
I haven't been on Threadbared in a while. O Lordy. I could not keep the giggles in this morning. My office already complains I'm loud; now they can complain I'm shiftless, too!

Used Panty-hose Week made my month. Thanks, Threadbared!

See March 27-31, 2006. Guffaws commence here.

[On your right] we have a life-sized pantyhose “companion doll.” And yes, that really is as sad as it sounds.

She’s fully clothed, thank god, but disturbing nonetheless. Even more frightening is the book’s description of her as “a good listener and a steady companion.”

Okaaaaaaay.
Hey, who are we to judge? The doll could have a great personality for all we know. And if not, well….at least she has an enormous set of knockers.

Girl alert

2006-04-15T17:57:00.000-06:00

Maggie says:
Just got a haircut and I must gossip about it.

Inspire, the new Bumble + Bumble salon downtown on Central, is awesome.

They're the cutely renovated green storefront between Lindy's and the Bubble Lounge, just west of 5th.

Chris, the owner/operator/master stylist, is a doll.

And he's not terribly expensive, like my former haircutting flame, either.

They've only been open two weeks and could use some friendly business. Bonus: they're open until 10 on Friday and Saturday nights, perfect for having a drink with the girls and then all going to get your hair cut. Or cheering on that one friend who you all know needs to chop off her locks but will only do so if you get her drunk first.

Check out the plastered walls inside, too. Also Chris' handiwork. (Did I mention he did the exterior himself?)

Okay, done with my gushing. But go! Fabulous haircuts and fun conversation await you!

And then there's the nosepicker....

2006-04-13T09:40:00.000-06:00

Mikaela says:
On the other side of cool, there's Tom & Katie's kid, who's at a disadvantage already.

Great story in the Washington Post about some of the weird restrictions -- on the woman -- Scientology places on childbirth. See for yourself. Katie has GOT to be thinking, "What on earth -- or other planets -- did I get myself into?" Take the baby and run, Katie. Don't look back.

- Silent birth. How is this even possible without sedation? According to an explainer now prominently linked on the Scientology Web site, screams are okay -- just certain words or phrases (like "Scientology is weird, man!") should be avoided.

- The pacifier. Star magazine reported that Cruise had an adult-sized pacifier specially made to help muffle any birth-related screaming, moaning and general mommy blather. Cruise denies the report.

- Signs. Signs plastered around the delivery room will remind Katie to "keep silent."

- Grandma not welcome. Fearing bad karma -- or some kind of disturbance in the Scientological force -- Holmes' mom is reportedly persona non grata in the delivery room.

- No baby talk. Katie mustn't talk to little TomKitten for seven days. If true, this seems like the most unnatural limit of all. How many studies are there about the importance of a mother's affection from the get-go?

- Baby's first days. According to the writings of L. Ron Hubbard, here courtesy of Slate, after birth the baby should "be wrapped somewhat tightly in a warm blanket, very soft, and then left alone for a day or so."

(Notice all of the above limits are on Katie and not Tom. Who knew Scientology was so sexist?)

I'm not worried about baby TomKitten, though. According to the Scientology explainer everything will be okay:

Most children raised in good Scientology homes are above average in ability and quickly begin to understand how and why people act as they do. Life thus becomes a lot happier and safer for them.

Coolest, quirkiest kid ever...

2006-04-13T00:43:00.000-06:00

Maggie says:

...is gonna be the upcoming love child of Maggie Gyllenhaal and Peter Sarsgaard.

CNN: Gyllenhaal, Sarsgaard engaged, expecting a baby

I ADORE these two actors.

I swear Peter Sarsgaard is the most underrated actor ever.

This is totally my favorite celebrity couple of all time. Both make smart movie choices, are unapologetically brainy and intense, and each have double-A action in their names...

Bound to be a genius match. I love it!

Food = Community = I Need This Book

2006-04-08T16:22:00.000-06:00

Maggie says:
My inner shopaholic is trembling.

I've gotta have The Omnivore's Dilemma: A Natural History of Four Meals, by Michael Pollan.

This Salon article got me. Read it, it's incredible! He touches on everything I care about, I swear:

We are what we eat

"The Omnivore's Dilemma" author Michael Pollan on how Wall Street has driven America's obesity epidemic, the misleading labels in Whole Foods, and why we should spend more money on food.

Yes! Yes! Yes!

April 8, 2006 | On the long trip from the soil to our mouths, a trip of 1,500 miles on average, the food we eat often passes through places most of us will never see. Michael Pollan has spent much of the last five years visiting these places on our behalf. "Industrial food," as Pollan defines it, "is food for which you need an investigative journalist to tell you where it came from." We have been eating such food for so long that most of us have no memory of the much shorter and less complicated food chains that once tied people to the land. We need someone, in other words, to tell us where food of any kind comes from. A longtime writer on food for the New York Times Magazine and author of the bestseller "The Botany of Desire," Pollan is a good man for the job.

In his new book, "The Omnivore's Dilemma: A Natural History of Four Meals," Pollan traces meals across four different food chains, or, if you prefer, markets, arranged in order of popularity: a McDonald's drive-through meal, a Whole Foods dinner, a meal raised on a "beyond organic" pasture farm in Virginia, and what Pollan labels the "Perfect Meal," one whose ingredients he hunts and forages for himself. In the course of his investigations, Pollan comes across an unlikely collection of people -- from Iowa corn farmers, Kansas feedlot managers and food processing scientists, to rebel farmers, San Francisco Bay area gourmands and fanatic mushroom foragers -- yet manages to approach all of them with a common sympathy. As he sees it, the corn farmer dumping nitrogen on his fields, the veterinarian loading corn-fed cattle with medication, and the hog farmer snipping pigs' tails to prevent stress-induced chewing in close quarters are all driven by the same pressures. He lays the blame for our destructive and precarious system, if at all, on those in Washington and on Wall Street -- at the USDA and Archer Daniels Midland -- who set the rules of the game. But then they too, he knows, are responding to a set of pressures that come from all of us and our appetites.

"The Omnivore's Dilemma" is equal parts exposé and invitation -- a rolling together of "Fast Food Nation" and "The Moosewood Cookbook" to make the case for saner, more pleasurable eating habits. "Our ingenuity in feeding ourselves is prodigious," Pollan writes, "but at various points our technologies come into conflict with nature's way of doing things, as when we seek to maximize efficiency by planting crops or raising animals in vast monocultures. This is something nature never does, always and for good reason practicing diversity instead."

Oh yes!

Food encompasses everything. It all comes back to food. Everything we need to understand on a global level down to a community level we can understand by how food is eaten. It's magical. And horrendous. And f%*$cked up. And fixable. Fixable on a community scale, fixable on a global scale, and most importantly fixable on an individual scale.

Why is food such a "taquito moment?" Because we truly are what we eat. By watching you order food, by noting where you shop for food, by seeing what you eat when no one thinks you're watching, I can learn everything there is to know about you.

I pay more for food not because I can afford to, but because the alternative is so much worse. I'm not a preacher about it, though; as Pollan notes, that's where we so often go wrong. But he's right: you should pay more for food, too.

And we should all, and I mean all, support local family farmers.

(That's with our wallets, folks, not just with our hypothetical good intentions.)

3ms in April

2006-03-31T10:00:00.000-07:00

Brian Francis says:

ARIES: By now, the contractions of your cosmic rebirth are undeniable, and have very likely arrived with a sense of vulnerability and the overwhelming experience of an unfamiliar world. Of this you can be sure -- the beginning has arrived. Remember that after birth one is a child, and developing into a recognizable form always takes time. Bear in mind, as well, that this is not an entirely new incarnation. What you are bringing with you is the essence of your dreams, and the seed of your desire to actualize them. The first step is often the most challenging, and this you have taken. What also comes along are certain key individuals who in a sense are the keepers of your highest visions. These are the people who can see you in a way that nobody else can; who indeed can see you a bit beyond your capacity to see yourself.

CANCER: Nobody could rightfully accuse you of lacking initiative or dedication. Yet it seems you're taking your commitments a lot more seriously now than ever before, and want others to do the same. You may even be overwhelmed with the yearning for absolute fairness and integrity in your relationships, and are determined to make sure that everyone does exactly their part. Yet you run the risk of taking on a crusade, and sending others a signal that you don't really trust them. All you need to do is what's right for you, and act in the highest level of integrity you hold for yourself. This will set a rather compelling example for others who may need a kind of passive guidance rather than strict oversight. The most meaningful associations you are forming are not contractual; rather, they are bonds of spirit mostly made of threads of light, and the rest bursts of passion.

VIRGO: I would dare say this year has been one of the most interesting times in relationships for many moons, and given your history the past few years, that's saying quite a lot. Interesting does not qualify as 'things going according to plan.' What do the stars say is happening? They say you are learning: 1. Not to lose yourself in another person. 2. How to find yourself in the midst of involvement with another person. 3. How to let yourself be overwhelmed with love and respect and at the same time do nothing but draw inspiration from that. You know that love has a healing quality, and yet every circumstance in your life is compelling you not to take that factor too seriously. Life is for living; growth and experience are the same thing; love is inspiration. Right now the only healing you need is to live and be real in the moment.

Rant.

2006-03-29T12:35:00.000-07:00

Maggie says:
I'm not sure where else to post this, but I've gotta rant.

My new neighbor just said to me (not meaning any disrespect, of course!):

"You look too prissy to be an activist."

Hmmm.

Kind of like when a certain $%^@*& dean of a certain school said to me,

"Wow. I thought you'd look more confrontational in person."

And of course, I can't forget the recent comment from someone at work:

"Well I'd heard they'd hired someone with all this great experience, but you're much too young and good-looking to be her!"

WTF?!?! Since when are intelligent, poltically-active, socially-conscious women supposed to look like unshowered, schlumpy horrors?

Oh, that's right. Since always.

Grrrrr......

Signing off, NOT the cheerleader they think I am,

Maggie

News from the Frontier

2006-03-22T14:58:00.000-07:00

Mikaela says:
Today something happened that I've never seen happen in all my many many many years of patronizing the Frontier Restaurant (but never its menu):

There was no free table to be had.

Every single one was taken.

Thankfully, people come and go quickly, thanks to the quick food prep, so no one had to wait long, but still.

This was lunchtime. The line to order was no longer than 2 people at any one time.

And the place was packed.

Can't this model be used to revolutionize ... well ... almost everything?

On picky dating

2006-03-11T11:47:00.000-07:00

Maggie says:
M-pyre's been laughing all week about an article first discovered by my old friend Saleem:

Picky, Picky: In the Outlet Mall of Love, Finding a Good Fit can Mean a Lot of Returns

The article brilliantly describes, among other so-true-they-hurt hilarities, one man's "taquito moment," when he realized he simply could not keep seeing a woman due to her love for 7-11 taquitos and other terrible food choices.

Isn't that the truth? It's not being picky, really, it's just knowing what we like and what we can't stand. The smallest act can make the largest, most sweeping statement.

I told M and M that we should post our own "taquito moments," until Marjorie reminded us that, "Didn't we already do that on m-pyrical?" Oops. So here's the original post, but I'm thinking it needs some almost-a-year-later updates to it in comments.

Let's get those personal taquito moments rolling!

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friday, june 10, 2005

C'mon guys, you can do better than this

From Flying Star downtown, Mikaela and I just realized that our conversation about recent events was turning into a list of all the ways men can kill their chances. We decided it was too good not to document. We sought out Marjorie for this one, too - she had some gems to add:

Bad grammar in the first e-mail
You "happen" to see his car drive by when you're hanging out with friends... on multiple occasions
He calls your roommate Pol Pot to make a point about planning (Trust us, it happened and it wasn't pretty)
Falsely and arrogantly assuming that the poem you just shared is about him
Grammatical errors in poems he writes for you (noticing a grammar pattern here?)
Breaking things in your apartment
Confessing love too early
No sympathy for food poisoning... that he caused
Being overly competitive at games you don't give a shit about - and then being overly exuberant at beating you in said games (think foosball)
On the first date suggesting that you pick up this bill and he'll get it next time, hoping that'll entice you for a second date just to recoup your costs
Wearing a tee shirt to Flying Star that says "Fuck Artists" and then casually thumbing through magazines as if the good reading is what brings him here and not the single ladies (this guy is sitting across from us right now!)
Responding to every comment of yours with "But that's not what my mom says"
He takes you to dinner at his parents' house and upon finishing his meal promptly leaves the table with his plate on it to go watch television (ladies - the way a man treats his mother is exactly how he’ll treat you)
His otherwise calm and pleasant manner flies out the window as soon as he gets behind the steering wheel -- every journey is a screaming, swearing onslaught against other drivers
You realize the book he’s carrying around in his back pocket is a bible

We have more, but let's leave it at that before we have to hit up the dessert selection downstairs in desperation. (And we don't mean the guy in the tee shirt.)

Traveling for Spring Break?

2006-03-09T11:24:00.000-07:00

Maggie says:
Spring Break travels can take many forms.... you can have the alcohol-soaked Cancun trip I did with my college buddies when I was 21 and already way too old for it, or you can do a nerdy grad-school type of trip. Or maybe something that's deliciously a bit of both...

Marjorie's heading off to Utah tomorrow for a fantasy ski vacation. M-pyre friend Erik is heading down to Costa Rica to hang out with a friend who's building a house there.

Since Mikaela and I won't be leaving the cozy boundaries of the Duke City, regale us with your exciting plans so we can live through you. Who's traveling, and to where?

PS: In honor of wild and crazy college fun, my little brother Lane is pictured above. He just graduated from East Carolina University in December and soon, moments like these might be a quaint memory... Congratulations on the big new job, Lane!!!

Man oh man...

2006-03-09T01:14:00.000-07:00

Maggie says:
This song makes me cry, yet I can't stop listening to it.

It's "Goodbye My Lover," from James Blunt. Found on Back to Bedlam.

"I'm so hollow, baby..."

A Bald Eagle hanging out in Texas

2006-03-07T13:49:00.000-07:00

marjorie says...

Check out this killer photo that my sister Susan recently took in the Texas hill country. Yes, that is a Bald Eagle!

Oscar Moments -- Screw the Movies -- This is about CELEBRITY

2006-03-06T11:37:00.000-07:00

Mikaela says:
Loved Jon Stewart. Love love love. His wit and timing translated well into Hollywood glamor. Bring him back! Hear me, Academy? Encore! We even remembered most of his jokes to catch up latecomers. That's pretty good! Especially the "cheap shot" -- ooo, bad pun... -- about Dick Cheney shooting Bjork. Remember?

Loved our "friend of ten years" ... the incomparable Jennifer Aniston. We love you, Jen. We hate Brad and that other woman forever!

Loved Marjorie loving Jessica Alba.

The Quote: "Did you SEE Sin City? She was hot..."

Loved Lily Tomlin and Meryl Streep. I'm thinking ... movie time! Sign these ladies up! What a dynamic duo! Something with wacky philosophy a la I Heart Huckabees and the psychological drive of Adaptation...

Mixed reviews on George Clooney. Mags & I swooned. Marjorie howled: "Bullshit, George! That's such fucking BULLshit!" A classic moment all around. Dammit, he's charming. Can't be helped. Totally transitioned to movie star -- without even being all that good! I salute his bravery and his attempts to use his political nature for good. Way to not be afraid of being called liberal!

Across the board approval of JLo. Stunning. Simply stunning. Good god, woman, you are the embodiment of statuesque. Ahem. (Some grumblings of dissention over why she's at the Ocars, though... Hot non-white woman... yeah, that may have something to do with it.) Salma Hayek (so worth the click, trust me!) was a mind-meld love fest as well. But sweet baby jesus lord. That woman's fine!

Samuel Jackson got mixed reviews.:

"Why do you love him?"
"Dude, he even made yoda look cool!"
"Yes, that's saying something..."

Morgan Freeman (with the gorgeous Rachel Weisz) and alone here is untouchable. Classy, smart, and that voice... Uh huh.

Wilson brothers got cheers from the girls and jeers from the boys. Wassup w/ that?

Ben Stiller's green screen got a chuckle out of me and awkward silence from most. Perhaps that has something to do with the fact that 1) I loved Zoolander and 2) I just saw Pink Panther... camouflage, anyone?

Loved the science-enhanced ageless Dolly Parton. She had the audience clapping! Smart lady. Taking over Dollywood. I mean, Hollywood.

Funniest moment: Lauren Bacall's stumbling over her lines, and one guest says this, "Who cares? All she has to say is, "Fuck you; I'm Lauren Bacall."

Where I've been...

2006-03-06T11:28:00.000-07:00

Mikaela says:

58% of States. Not too shabby... Lots missing in the South. Trip home, Maggie Mae?

create your own visited states map
or check out these Google Hacks.

Oscars redux

2006-03-06T10:48:00.000-07:00

Maggie says:
So if anyone's wondering, M³ and Friends are really, really, really annoyed and pissed that Crash won Best Picture. More later, after I can stand to write about it...

Oscar picks

2006-03-05T12:57:00.000-07:00

Maggie says:
M-pyre's having a Southern-themed Oscar gathering tonight: barbecued tofu, black-eyed peas, cornbread, yams, and mac&cheese. And the rumor is someone's bringing five drinks themed on each Best Picture nom. Maybe we'll take some pictures and document our fun for m-pyrical... But until then, here are my Oscar picks for tonight. Unlike most years, where I have a very separate "should win" and "will win" list, this year it's pretty close. Here's my "will wins:"

Best Picture: Brokeback Mountain
Best Director: Ang Lee
Best Actress: Reese Witherspoon
Best Actor: Phillip Seymour Hoffman
Best Supporting Actress: Rachel Weisz
Best Supporting Actor: Jake Gyllenhall (everyone else says Clooney, but I never saw Syriana, so I can't rightfully pick him)
Best Adapted Screenplay: Brokeback Mountain
Best Original Screenplay: The Squid and the Whale

This is tough! In all of the acting categories, I'd be just as happy to see someone else win. Ledger for Hoffman, Williams or Adams or Keener for Weisz, Clooney or Giamatti (just to acknowledge how damn amazing he is!) over Gyllenhall... But you have to pick someone, right?

It's going to be a fun night.

My states

2006-03-02T18:02:00.000-07:00

marjorie says...

I have an awful memory but here it is. In one week I'll add Utah. Just to expand this notion to all of North America, add to this the Canadian provinces of British Columbia, Alberta and Ontario, plus these Mexican states: Tamaulipas, Chihuahua, México, Chiapas, Guerrero, Sonora, and Baja California. I didn't include any places that I've simply driven through. If I had, I'd include a few more Mexican states and maybe Idaho. But I can't remember about Idaho.

create your own visited states map
or check out these Google Hacks.

ps: Erik is supreme.

Where I've been

2006-03-02T11:38:00.000-07:00

Maggie says:
Love this idea. Via Alterdestiny, where Erik's been everywhere I haven't, here's my U.S. map. States I've been to are in red (airport stopovers don't count). As for the white states... let's just say that barring Louisiana, I definitely some geographic patterns to my travels, don't I?

create your own visited states map.

Before March Goes Too Far...

2006-03-01T14:31:00.000-07:00

Brian Francis says:

ARIES: You have learned by now not to make too many assumptions, but for better or worse you're not working with complete information and will need to make a leap based on a few good guesses. What matters most is that you use the information you have available. Gather that information sooner rather than later, even if the task seems impossible, or certain delays seem interminable. Actually, nothing is really taking as long as it seems, and much that seems to make no sense will actually seem more than sensible. So, you will need to do something rather un-Arian, which is be patient in the face of gradually building pressure that may, by the time the Sun enters your sign, feel somewhat overwhelming. But the sense of excitement will be palpable, and you will know you're approaching a real turning point, and at such times, keep in mind what you want, do your best, hope for the best, and forget the rest.

CANCER: The shortest distance between you and your highest goals is a total solar eclipse. The thing is, your goals are on the level of a public resource. We may ask why in the human experience some people emerge as leaders and some as followers (with plenty who need to get out of the way). It may be that there's a cycle; it may be that some keep reincarnating in positions where the strength of their character and the clarity of their visions are what is emphasized. Or, in your case, there is a sense of feeling compelled and in a way destined to guide a certain dimension of existence on the physical plane in a particular direction, at this time in your life. There may be a big change involved for you -- or you just may rise gracefully to what you know you need to do. In any event, the time is at hand.

VIRGO: Your life recently has been like an experiment in the laboratory of Nikola Tesla. I would say 'Thomas Edison', but he was not nearly as cool. You have been on the receiving end of revolutionary ideas, stunning influences and all kinds of new energy. People have come into your life -- or you have invited them into your life -- and they have shaken up your reality. These are all having an influence on you, which may be stressful, inspiring, downright strange or even a bit nerve-wracking. The truth is you need these influences, and you can benefit greatly from them. But to maximize these changes, you must use your most precious gift, which is your flexibility. This will allow you to adjust your self-concept quickly and without resistance, so that you can open your life up to a greater sense of both strength and freedom. Remember, these things are all ideas -- but you are an idea.

Prescience? Can you see m-pyre's future?

2006-02-28T16:43:00.000-07:00

HELP: Local Band Suggestions Needed!

2006-02-28T16:35:00.000-07:00

Mikaela says:
I'm looking for something specific.

I need a cheesy lounge act for an office party. The theme will be 70s Cruise a la Love Boat.

Not a lot of space, so must be small and fairly quiet. But fun. Funny. Out there.

Does Albuquerque have such a thing?

Good but not too good?

Ponder, people, and get back to me, okay?

Playing Soon at the Guild

2006-02-28T13:37:00.000-07:00

Mikaela says:
Join us this Friday @ 8:30 to see:

Paradise Now: On a typical day in the West Bank city of Nablus, where daily life grinds on amidst crushing poverty and the occasional rocket blast, we meet two childhood best friends, Saïd (Kais Nashef) and Khaled (Ali Suliman), who pass time drinking tea, smoking a hookah, and working dead-end menial jobs as auto mechanics. But Saïd and Khaled may be be living the last 48 hours of their lives... they’ve been recruited for a strike on Tel Aviv. When they are intercepted at the Israeli border and separated from their handlers, a young woman who discovers their plan causes them to reconsider their actions. Winner of multiple prizes at the 2005 Berlin Film Festival, the film was written by Hany Abu-Assad (FORD TRANSIT, RANA’S WEDDING) & Bero Beyer.

And next week (March 10-16) for:
MARCH 10 - 16 (ONE WEEK)
RICHARD PRYOR - 1940 - 2005 - A MEMORIAL TRIBUTE
RICHARD PRYOR LIVE ON THE SUNSET STRIP is one of his best-known concert documentaries, and WATTSTAX, the acclaimed music concert documentary, features Pryor just before his career took off.

RICHARD PRYOR LIVE ON THE SUNSET STRIP (3:30, 7:15)
Dir. Joe Layton - 1982 - 82m
We celebrate the life of the late comic genius with one of his best concert films, one which departs from the standup schtick with an unsentimental glance at his near-death accident while freebasing cocaine.
“As is his way, he provides voices - often whining, quarrelsome ones - to inanimate objects, including parts of his body, at no time with more eerie effect than when he sets out to tell the audience the entire truth about the accident in which he was so badly burned that he almost died. This, too, begins as a series of gags. ‘Before going to bed,’ he says, ‘it’s my habit to have a glass of no-fat milk and cookies. When I put them together, they exploded. Scientists are still trying to figure out what happened.’ His stories about the accident itself, the long days in the hospital and the therapy he went through are not funny, but they have an honesty that doesn’t for a minute disturb the dramatic line of his singular comedy.”
- Vincent Canby, New York Times

WATTSTAX (5:10, 9:00)
Dir. Mel Stuart - 1973 - 102m
The legendary “black Woodstock” finally gets its due with a restored 35mm print of Mel Stuart's documentary of the epochal 1972 concert at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum, which drew over 90,000 people. Featuring incendiary performances by Isaac Hayes, Albert King, Rufus and Carla Thomas, the Staple Singers, the Emotions, the Bar-Kays and other greats of soul, R&B, and gospel— plus biting humor from a then little-known Richard Pryor — WATTSTAX is more than a concert film. It also captures a heady moment in mid-1970s, “black-is-beautiful” African-American culture, when Los Angeles’s black community came together just seven years after the Watts riots to celebrate its survival and a renewed hope in its future.

St. Paul's Lutheran

2006-02-28T10:53:00.000-07:00

Mikaela says:
For Marjorie who loves churches (but not necessarily church).

Courtesy Flickr by way of Duke City Fix