Jody and Calvin Come to Denver

We had a traditional Culkin famlily party last night in honor of Jody and Calvin visiting Denver for a long weekend. The gathered clan of family and friends numbered about 26, and the night centered on the Rockies - Red Sox game. Hosmer was on the phone for some of this, as was my mother. The video where everyone is clapping is when the Rockies "almost" made a game of it in the fifth inning by scoring five runs, and the second one is of the three cousins -- Aidan, Anders and Conor -- playing with Kate's and Sarah's retro toys. The third is of Adam and Conor hanging out watching the game.

Calvin and Frank are off watching the Giants play from London today, and Sarah, Anders, Jody and I are setting up Anders' new sandbox in the back yard. Aidan and Floey will be over later.

NaBloPoMo

November is National Blog Posting Month, where people make a commitment to post every day for the month. I'm giving it a shot--anyone want to join me.

The Veronica Mars That Might Have Been

You can see the short pilot Rob Thomas made while pitching the idea for the revamped season 4 Veronica Mars on YouTube. It would have taken the series 5 years into the future, right after VM graduated from the FBI Academy. It is great, which is depressing, since, as we all know, the CW cancelled the show.

Part 1

Part 2

Cab goes to the dentist and gets stoned

A little over a month ago I took Cab to the vet because he was exhibiting some strange behavior and it was keeping me up all night. Not to mention all the laundry I was doing because he had decided that the litter box was an evil evil place. It turned out he had a bladder infection caused by bacteria from his teeth getting into his bloodstream and traveling willy-nilly through his system. He was put on a strict regimen of hot pink antibiotics and I was told to bring him back in when he was better to have his teeth cleaned. Yesterday was the big day.

Going to the dentist may not be the most fun ever, but it is much worse for cats. He had to be put under. His claws were clipped back to almost nothing. His teeth were scraped and polished and sealed and they pulled out two of his back teeth. Needless to say, he was not very happy with Matt or me when we picked him up in the afternoon. If you know Cab you know he almost never growls. He was growling to rival Weese yesterday. It took him a good long while to recover from the anesthesia too. We couldn't let him out of his carrier for a few hours because his back half was simply not cooperating with his front and he kept falling over. He clearly didn't understand what was going on, however, because he kept trying to walk/jump it off. It was a little scary but also kind of funny. Eventually we were able to let him wander around the bedroom but not the rest of the apartment. Weese was very confused by it all. It will make more sense to her in 2 weeks when she goes in for her dental appointment. Luckily he seems back to normal this morning but he is still on a diet of soft food and hot pink antibiotics. His teeth look shiny though.

Oswego in the News

The Times has an article about falling water levels in the Great Lakes that features Oswego. The west is drying up, so apparently are the Great Lakes- scary.

Birthday Weekend

Neilson's birthday was Friday and his aunt's is early next week. They were both having "big" birthdays, so there was family party on Saturday night; Neilson's father arranged for us to have a private room in the basement of Congee Village, a great restaurant in Chinatown.

On Friday, we had dinner at Sevilla.

Neilson and his aunt Daphne.

Uncle Neilson.

Heros

Is anyone else feeling a little frustrated with Heroes this season? I feel like there are too many new characters, so almost no one gets enough time to develop a compelling story. I am interested in what is going on with Hiro, Claire, and Peter, but some weeks we really don't see them at all. And I could care less about the little girl. I'm pinning my hopes on Kristen Bell.

Children of Men

I rarely get to the movies, Children of Men was one I really wanted to see but missed last year. I have watched in twice in the last couple of days, and I'm sure I will watch it again. This movie, directed by Alfonso Cuaron, is currently on Cinemax on Demand, and playing all the time on one of the many Cinemax channels you get if you subscribe to the service on digital cable.

Set 20 years from now in a grim future- yes it sounds like so many other science fiction epics- but it is not. There is (possibly too much) Christian imagery- and the cynical white guy with a heart of gold does protect the fertile african woman- but despite any cliches I loved it.

What is it with Mexican directors these days- they are making some of the best Hollywood movies. This guy also made Y Tu Mama Tambien and considers this a companion piece. Not obvious to me at first- but there are both road movies with great performances by all.

Photo Booth Feature

For his upcoming birthday, Neilson's family gave him a shiny new MacBook. We entertained ourselves with the "Photo Booth Feature," which is just a built in camera. In the first picture, it looks like we are on the lam--in the second one, as Neilson said, I look like I'm about to start playing the bongos.

Go Al!

As you all know by now, Al Gore won the Nobel Peace Prize (with the United Nations’ Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change).

I love Al- even though he messed up big time in his Presidential run. If only he had gotten a few more votes- it would not have been possible for Bush and his minions to steal the election. When I think how different the past few years would have been, it makes me want to cry. Not that Al is so perfect, but I cannot imagine him saying that torture is ok (oh, I mean "torture is not torture cause I say so").

Junot Diaz

I have to put in a plug for the new book by Junot Diaz- "The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao". I seem to mostly read comic books now- this is a big fat book with no pictures, but there are pop culture references galore, including many asides about comics (and ...LOTR!) A novel with footnotes about the history of the Dominican Republic, it relates funny and horrifyingly sad stories about several generations of a Dominican family, in New Jersey and on the island.

Michiko Kakutani's review in the Times

I found A. O. Scott's review somewhat irritating- just the way I often feel about his movie reviews.

Diaz wrote a review of Adrian Tomine's new graphic novel "Shortcomings" for Calvin for PW.

Cat Fancy

Hot on the heels of high-design baby furniture, comes modern cat trees. Audrey and I are coveting the Lotus Cat Tower, although Elvis is happy with the bed.

Marathons

I feel so bad for the runners in the Chicago Marathon yesterday, which was called off because of heat-related issues. I would have been pretty angry if I had had to stop running after 4 four hours last year. (Kym, Molly, Eric--how hot will it be in Houston?)

Also, has anyone heard anything about Run, Fat Boy, Run, a romantic comedy with a marathon theme.

Calling for reports from Denver.

It's 8PM and not looking so good for the Yankees, although slightly better than it did a few minutes ago. Time for some of us to get our rally caps out. (Will Joe Torre have a job tomorrow? I hope his sister the nun (and Middlebury graduate) is praying for him and the team.) But what I would really like is some reports of what Rockies Fever is like from the citizens of Denver. Happy Rocktober.

Calling all DVR and Tivo users

Neilson is doing a report on DVRs and Tivos for his Internet Television class. He is interested in hearing from people about their experiences with this technology. How did it change your viewing habits (and your life)? Are you happy with it? Is there anything you wish it would do that it does not? If you have Tivo, do you think it is better/worse/different from a DVR and visa versa? Anything else? So if you have some time and thoughts on this matter, please respond in comments.

Please Bear With Me While I Whine Just A Little

Okay, so I'm not sure where September went but October has rushed up on me faster than I wanted it. Marathon training has begun again and I have new grant deadlines and I get the feeling that I will turn around tomorrow and it will be Thanksgiving all ready. AAAAAHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Molly and I have been sharing virtual screams with each other via email and I welcome you to join me if you feel the need. If not, then I am happy for you but could you share a little of your calm oasis with me.

Meanwhile, I am procrastinating going for an 8 mile run and trying to figure out how to get my work done this afternoon and still keep up with the one friendship (okay I exaggerate - maybe 3 friendships?) I have managed to cultivate in my year and 1/2 here in this forsaken western pitthole. I have no spontaneous or unexpected meetings with friends anymore. The days don't even vary. I meet once per week with 2 friends and occasionally I fit in a third. I joined a political book club just for some variety. I hope I don't get all worked up and scare the other members. I think I am developing a crazy glint in my eyes. I know stress must be showing on my face. Coworkers are looking at me askance. I suppose I should start to worry when strangers start crossing the street to avoid me and small children run screaming. I take that back. I don't scare children or animals - they love me - even crazy me. The adults, well, that is a different story.

Wish me luck. I'm off on my run. Maybe the crazy glint will have faded somewhat by the end of it, or maybe training for my 3rd marathon will only make it gleam the more. On a good note, I have been writing quite a bit. Maybe I'll just cherish the glint as the mark of a writer - I think it shines brighter when I am writing. Someone made a comment about it the other day - not the glint- just that I looked a little crazed and writerly. Hmmmm.

As for television, I am saving Dirty Sexy Money as a treat for after my run. I am looking forward to it even more now that Kate has praised it so. If you haven't done so you have to check out Aliens in America and Reaper. There is hope for the CW yet.

Catching Up

It's been a busy September, but I'm finally posting some photos of the past few weeks. Also, I would like to say that Dirty Sexy Money is my favorite new show, and the Bionic Woman is the biggest disappointment. And Go Rockies! Go Yankees!

I was in Vermont over the weekend. We went to the famous pig roast at the Peru Fair, where we also met llamas.






Some more photos of Eric's graduation dinner and his last night in NYC.





Also in September, Neilson found the elusive Chelsea taco truck in the East Village. What a treat.