Friday Random Ten: Feeling Sinister Edition

1. Greasy Heart--Jefferson Airplane, 2400 Fulton Street. I'm not sure how this CD ended up on the hard drive, but this track isn't bad.
2. The Pontiac--Tom Waits, Orphans. Charming in its way, but a bit distracting in the mix.
3. Turkish Song of the Damned--The Pogues, If I Should Fall from Grace with God.
4. Well, You Needn't--Thelonious Monk, The Composer.
5. Peggy's Blue Skylight--Charles Mingus, Ken Burns Jazz.
6. Fairy Tale of New York--The Pogues, If I Should Fall ...
7. El Carretero--Buena Vista Social Club. This might be my favorite track on this record.
8. Magpie--The Mountain Goats, The Sunset Tree.
9. Everybody Talking 'bout Heaven-Unidentified, Southern Journey Vol. 13 (Earliest Times).
10. If You're Feeling Sinister--Belle and Sebastian, If You're Feeling Sinister. Twee, but incredibly catchy.

Color scheme

Overworked Spouse tries to get Wild Thing to put his wet diaper, freshly removed, into the pail. His diapers come in a wide range of colors, it should be noted.

OS: "Wild Thing, please put your diaper in the diaper pail."

WT: "No! I don't throw away periwinkle things!"

In my book, if a kid is old enough to distinguish periwinkle from cerulean, he's old enough to use the *&^#$ potty.

Growing up

Tonight I was pushing Wild Thing in the swing in the backyard. I hadn't realized that he's figured out how to kick his feet to keep himself going, so I told him how proud I was of how big he was getting and how many things he could do. His reply: "Yup! I'm just about old enough for high school!"

Don't tell the kids

The grownups' table, as seen from the kids' table.

Brief hiatus

I'm off to a conference for a few days. Upon my return, I must grade, grade, grade. So posting will be pretty infrequent--more so than usual--for for about a week.

Maybe he gets this from me

Overworked Spouse is prowling through a cabinet looking for something as Wild Thing looks on. She stumbles upon a pot that we'd been looking for earlier.

OS: "Aha! Here's that, um, thingy we were looking for."

WT: "That's a pot. Why did you call it a thingy?"

New photos on Flickr

No link. The anonymity thing, you know.

Tolerance for paradox

Sometimes when you go outside, it's kind of warm but still a little bit chilly? Maybe the sun is shining and warming your face, but there's also a cold wind. What's the word for that? I don't know, but Wild Thing has a suggestion:

"Daddy, I'm warm-cold!"

Problem solved.

One problem with living in a smaller city

It's difficult to find a good hibachi restaurant.

Wild Thing said to me during his bath tonight, "I didn't like the show."

"What show?"

"At the hibachi restaurant. You know, the one that has sushi?"

Wild Thing has indeed been to the local hibachi place, which also has a sushi bar, though we haven't investigated that side of the establishment. The skills of the hibachi chefs are, frankly, pretty limited, and I'm not sure I want to experiment with the rawer side of Japanese cuisine there.

The reason Wild Thing dislikes the "show" there--though remaining fascinated enough by it to bring it up out of the blue 2-3 weeks later--is the scary display of fire. The reason WE aren't thrilled with the place is the fact that the juggling chefs really aren't very good. Last time we were there, a flying pepper shaker went flying and knocked over the water glass of the nice young woman sitting next to me. This particular hibachi guy didn't juggle anything sharp, but I still left with the mental picture of a two-pronged fork protruding from my chest.

At the bottom of the sea

Wild Thing tried on my glasses this morning.

"It looks like everything's under water!"

(Much like what the world looks like to me when I try on Overworked Spouse's spectacles, she being blind as a bat whereas my myopia is a more mild affliction.)

Friday Random Ten: The Dark Lord Rides in Force Tonight

1. "Song of Our So-Called Friends"--Okkervil River, Black Sheep Boy.

2. "The Battle of Evermore"--Led Zeppelin, IV. Robert Plant, probably in a drug-induced haze, seems to have muddled Tolkien and the New Testament here. Or something.

3. "Hoodoo Voodoo"--Billy Bragg & Wilco, Mermaid Avenue. I think that's the street name of whatever Robert Plant was taking.

4. "The Dark Side"--My Dad is Dead, Peace, Love, and Murder.

5. "Push the Eagle's Stomach"--Man Man, Six Demon Bag. What else is there to say but "Moustache! moustache! moustache!"

6. "Why Do They Leave?"--Ryan Adams, Heartbreaker.

7. "Heaven Knows I'm Miserable Now"--The Smiths, Louder Than Bombs.

8. "Mexico"--Panda & Angel, Panda & Angel.

9. "Free Four"--Pink Floyd, Obscured by Clouds. Another high school flashback.

10. "Nothing Special"--My Dad is Dead, The Taller You Are the Shorter You Get.

I should be posting something, I suppose

But, instead, I'm trying to finish my dissertation. I'm sure you'll agree this is a worthy goal.

In any event, I shouldn't really be taking responsibility for writing this anymore. Wild Thing is in charge these days. Just ask him.

One mean menagerie

Wild Thing, pretending this morning, wanted to do a little role playing.

"Daddy, you'll be a mean tiger. And mommy will be a mean lion. And I'll be a mean ... a mean ... a mean flea!"

I'm going all itchy just thinking about that one.

Friday Random Ten: Black Tales for a Vampire Weekend Edition

1. Only a Lad--Oingo Boingo
2. American Without Tears--Elvis Costello
3. Still in Love with You--Danielle Howle
4. Walcott--Vampire Weekend
5. Carolina--The Viking Moses
6. The Guns of Brixton--Arcade Fire (Live at St. John's; downloaded from You Ain't No Picasso, I think). Nice clash cover.
7. Tale From Black--Tunng
8. Flying Home--Benny Goodman Sextet featuring Charlie Christian
9. Long Knives--Rainer Maria
10. Polly and Jack--Diane Duaw

Placeholder

While Wild Thing and I recover from the flu (or whatever it was--we had our shots, but it sure felt like the flu to me), here's an interesting fact to tide you over for a while: sex expert Dr. Ruth spent part of her youth serving as a sniper in Palestine/Israel in the 1930s and 1940s.

It's true.

Real blogging to resume sometime soon.