"A loaf of bread, a stick of butter, and a container of milk"

Today, I left the house twice. Once to do the wash. 'twas a madhouse at the Space Age Laundromat today and I was in everyone's way the whole time. Excuse me. Excuse me. Excuse me. Exasperating.

The second time was to pick up a book that I ordered from the Community Bookstore and to buy toilet paper. Picking up the book, "Globalization and Its Discontents" was the easy part. It was so easy in fact that I bought a second book. On the way back I could not remember what else it was that I needed to get. I walked into a grocer and bought a nectarine. Half a block later I walked into a nother and bought a loaf of bread and some milk. And finally at the next place I bought toilet paper and a bottle of orangina. It occurred to me on the walk back how lucky it was that every street block in my Nabe seems to have at least one little deli or grocery. Lucky for the absent minded impulse shopper.

After all of that activity I needed a nap and now I can't sleep. For inexplicable reasons today I feel a bit like myself again. Haven't felt like myself since May. I'll have to ruminate on why that is.



Yesterday, I puttered around the house savoring the feeling of just being there. I have recently become obessessed with the TED conference. Crack for an idea junkie, really.

Grandma verified statistics - This talk in particular which you must see in video is pretty fucking astounding.

I went to a benefit show called After the Jump Fest. There was a free daytime portion and a nighttime portion. I went to the free part. Don't worry, I was not a total freeloader, I bought raffle tickets. The two bands that I liked best played the small stage in the back. It was small crowded and not air conditioned but fun. Apache Beat and Goes Cube. Does that make me a rock dinosaur?

A bunch of music bloggers got together and organized this thing. The organization benefited is called DonorsChoose.org. Essentially it is a place where public school teachers can post proposals for what they would like to do and ask for donations to assist them.

They range from simple:"Where Did All the Pencils Go?" ($60)

To something like: "Cooking Across the Curriculum — Cook books, bowls, mixers, and a mini-refrigerator are sought by a 3rd grade teacher who writes: Cooking incorporates all the curriculum areas in an engaging and memorable way. In science we experience how matter changes as we watch batter bake into a cake. In social studies we follow the path of an apple from a tree to our table in the form of a pie. In math we add fractions and follow directions in sequence. In reading, stories come alive as we cook the very food we just read about. Our writing and art reflect vivid personal experiences after participating in a cooperative cooking project ($1,100).

The organizers chose a music education project in the South Bronx. Here here.

And I got to chat on the phone with the RM. She is getting ready the wrap up her Montana summer and prepare to fly over to Scotland for grad school. Mega cool. I am so psyched for her.


Seeing "Xanadu" was not as delightful as I had anticipated. In part because a lot has happened in my life and the world since 1980 and also in part because I drunkenly sat in the wrong theater and sat through reviews and opening credits for the wrong midnight movie. So I missed the big production dance number at the beginning to the song "I'm Alive." So the spell was cast incomplete for me. I find it funny that back then I loved the old timey stuff and this time I was most moved by the sappy love songs. Probably because I am a sap. And surprised to see how fluid and sassy a tap dancer Olivia NJ was. She and Gene Kelly did a really nice sequence together. Gene Kelly was one of my earliest crushes. Along with William Holden.

But that evening had other moments to recommend it.

Propagate some positive vibes today kids. NSTL is getting surgery today. A neck dissection and we want it to go off without a hitch.