Charmed, I'm sure.

Are you charming?

Who is the most charming person you know.

What is "charming?"

How can one be MORE charming?

I H E A R T O H I O

Dance Party Friday!





I want to see Mark Nolan do this!!

This is a news channel in Cincinnati, Ohio

Corner of Route 14 and 44.

This is what it looks like at 5:52am in the Portage county seat.

The air felt like cold, dry, road-salt .

It smelled like coffee and gasoline.

I felt dizzy, tired, empty.

"You are so swell, just like DSL."

Last weekend when I was babysitting for my sister, her daughter (12) and her daughter's friend (13) wanted to go online. I called my sister to make sure they were allowed to do that.

She said yes, but only for an hour. She told me to "keep on eye on 'em" while they are online.

Do you know how hard that is?! I kept making excuses to walk through the dining room. I mostly saw them looking at some sort of animal game. No biggie.

Towards the end of their hour visit to internet land I noticed they were on MySpace.

I never had a problem with MySpace and always thought "What's the big deal?" But at that moment I wanted to find Tom and bitchslap him. All I could think of was that damn Dateline show with the parade of pervs.

I told the girls it was time to say goodbye to the interweb and get ready for dinner.

I heard the Hot Toddies sing HTML on WCSB the other morning. This song helps to explain why I don't ever want any of my nephews or nieces on the world wide web. Ever.

Great song tho!

Speaking of food...

The Grovewood Tavern is having a beer tasting dinner.

I would love to go to that.

I need to ask for a raise.

"Boss, can I have more money? I want to go taste beers."

I am listening to an interview with Michael Pollan on Science Friday on NPR. It's an archived show from January 4th.

Michael Pollan is an author. He just wrote In Defense of Food: An Eater's Manifesto.

His philosophy is "Eat food. Not too much. Mostly plants."

Simple.

He says that in

1960, people spent 18% of their yearly income on food and 5% on Health Care.

Today people spend 9.5% of their yearly income on food and 18% on Health Care.

Hmmm. Ya think something is wrong?

A reason to send some cards and letters!

How cool are these stamps!?!? I really liked the Warhol stamps when they came out but I just love the new Eames ones more!

I am gonna run out and get some now!

I just can imagine how Eames is being pronounced at the post office.

Probably the same way I pronounced it before being corrected by my real artist friends.

Quiet on the set! People! We're making movies here!!

I hung out this weekend with a group of actors, directors, writers, cinematographers, choreographers and key grips.

Here is the result.

Unapologetic


From the January 8th, 2008
Op-Ed in the NYT by Gloria Steinem

I'm supporting Senator Clinton because like Senator Obama she has community organizing experience, but she also has more years in the Senate, an unprecedented eight years of on-the-job training in the White House, no masculinity to prove, the potential to tap a huge reservoir of this country's talent by her example, and now even the courage to break the no-tears rule. I'm not opposing Mr. Obama; if he's the nominee, I'll volunteer. Indeed, if you look at votes during their two-year overlap in the Senate, they were the same more than 90 percent of the time. Besides, to clean up the mess left by President Bush, we may need two terms of President Clinton and two of President Obama.


But what worries me is that he is seen as unifying by his race while she is seen as divisive by her sex.


What worries me is that she is accused of "playing the gender card" when citing the old boys' club, while he is seen as unifying by citing civil rights confrontations.


What worries me is that male Iowa voters were seen as gender-free when supporting their own, while female voters were seen as biased if they did and disloyal if they didn't.


What worries me is that reporters ignore Mr. Obama's dependence on the old - for instance, the frequent campaign comparisons to John F. Kennedy - while not challenging the slander that her progressive policies are part of the Washington status quo.


What worries me is that some women, perhaps especially younger ones, hope to deny or escape the sexual caste system; thus Iowa women over 50 and 60, who disproportionately supported Senator Clinton, proved once again that women are the one group that grows more radical with age.


This country can no longer afford to choose our leaders from a talent pool limited by sex, race, money, powerful fathers and paper degrees. It's time to take equal pride in breaking all the barriers. We have to be able to say: "I'm supporting her because she'll be a great president because she's a woman."

Did you know?

I didn't.

A Tip Top day.

On Sunday Mike and I had breakfast at the Tip Top diner in Stow.

We spent the morning visiting my father in the hospital. We also met with his doctor to find out what we need to do, what we need my father to do, to get out of the hospital, out of rehab facilities and back home.

He just has to work harder in getting mobile. He can't even stand up on his own. He also has some dementia. It's so scary to even type that.

Most people are ready to take on any phyical illness....but dementia. What the heck do ya do with that? I know all the textbook answers to that question.

But emotionally, and deep in my gut...it's frightening. I worry about my dad. I worry about my mom. And I feel selfish too. I don't want to have to deal with all of this. I feel guilty too. Like I am not doing enough. I guess the reason I "feel" guilty is because it's true. I am not doing enough.

But the guilt goes away and gets replaced by anger when I hear that my father got on the phone this past week and ordered over $150 worth of food from a local pizza place for all the nurses on his floor of the hospital. He told the pizza place he would pay for it when it arrived.

He then called my mom and asked her to drive over with the money or to "call a cab and have them bring the money to the hospital."

My brother had to call the pizza place and explain to the owner what was going on and that we don't have the $150 for the food. The pizza owner had just gone thru some stuff with his own father and was very kind and only charged us half of what it all cost. Still . . . that's $75 my mom and brother could not afford.

I don't know who to be more angry at.

• My dad for doing this stupid shit? It's not like the dementia brought this on. He has always done this kind of ridiculous grandstanding.

• The pizza shop for agreeing to deliver $150 worth of food to a patient calling from the hospital?

• Me because my mom was afraid to call and tell me about this on the day it happened?

Christmas Eve, eve

I finally put up O Tannenbaum. I was dragging my feet on it but Monica was Linus to my Charlie Brown and convinced me to do it.

It's been a very hard year. Family-wise. My father's health has been very bad since the end of August. He took a spill at home and since then has been carted from hospital, to nursing home to hospital to rehab facility.

He's not the same person anymore. Not really 'with it' in any sense. Physically (can't walk or do anything on his own except be in bed and mumble) and mentally he can't get a handle on what month it is or remember the name of he and my mother's dog. (Cheech)

An awful part of all of this is that he is angry and unhappy. We have all tried to placate him and tell him that if he just TRIES to move and do his physical rehab, he will feel better and be able to come home. He angrily tells me that if we just take him home, nobody will be able to help him and then he will "have to get up and do it himself."

Oh this has turned into a sad post. Almost like David Sedaris' "Seasons Greetings to our Friends and Family"

I know that so many people are going through this same thing right now. So many people before me have gone through this. We need to start a co-op. Take turns.

I AM very lucky to have a brother and sister who are doing all that they can too. As corny as it sounds, it really does feel like it has brought us all a bit closer together.

I am sorry for this awful sad (and sadly dull) post. This is what happens when you get out of bed early and sit down at the computer with a bowl of cereal and a cup of coffee too early on a Christmas Eve, eve Sunday morning.

Ohhhhh... My.... GAWD!

Another Holiday Season.

I never used to understand how people could not just be filled with joy around Christmas. The music, the gifts, my BIRTHDAY!!

But now I understand.

The music...

The gifts...

My birthday.

Ugh.

I don't think so.

Room View
Originally uploaded by bitterbutter

Bob, Leslie and I went to NYC this past weekend.

It was once again an amazing trip. Great food, art, and gorgeous people and places.

I feel very lucky to live so close to one of the most amazing places on this planet.

This was our view out our hotel window on the first night. We switched rooms the next because they could only give us one king sized bed for the three of us.

The three of us slept horizontally. Quite roomy really.

Some fun places we ate and drank at were:
The Coffee Shop
Miracle Grill
Cafe Pick Me Up
The Magnolia Bakery
S'mac

We shopped at Bob and Leslie's favorite store, Uniqlo

Leslie bought a hat for me from a street vendor
I bought a silver ring from a street vendor

And I purchased yet one more ugly pair of Crocs.

Thanksgiving weekend

Dirty dishes, lots of laughing, a few kitchen meltdowns, baked goods from Rebecca, vagina comparisons, Romanian jokes, more laughing.

Just like the Pilgrims.

It's almost here isn't it?

When I took Kozmo out for his 7am chihuahua gavotte I noticed that

Cleveland's weather has taken a turn for the winterly.

Big heavy PMS 653 clouds hang over the freeway.

I used to look forward to that. Not so much anymore.

Speaking of I-90. I live right near it and am happy they have walls up to block noise and such, but when I am walking my dog in the morning, it looks like what I imagined it looked a bit like around the Berlin Wall back before Ronald Reagan asked it to be torn down.

Okay...on that downer note, here's a Club 8 song to pick you up.

Everybody loves ketchup!



I just love this band. I love this album, Emperor Tomato Ketchup. This video should make me happy but it just makes me sad. Mary Hansen who is playing the tambourine and doing the back-up vocals in this video died in a bicycle accident in 2002.

Afternoon Naps - Sun Ain't the Same

Pipas - Basements

Hermit Crabs - Friend's Folk Festival

Math and Physics Club - Baby I'm Yours

go give 'em a listen.

A warm cuppa MOCA on a rainy autumn day.

Leslie, Sharon, Egan and I met at the Westside Market Cafe for breakfast this past Saturday morning and then headed over to MOCA Cleveland to see the Diana Cooper exhibit.

I was a bit skeptical when Rebecca mentioned how amazing she thought it was, but I thought I would check it out anyway. And since I wasn't sure I would like it, I of course dragged some friends to see it with me. (I'm so thoughtful aren't I?)

I should have known that Rebecca would be right. She knows her artsy cool stuff.

It was a lot of gigantic three-dimensional installations. Just amazing. As Sharon and Leslie pointed out, very architectural.

I told Leslie I wanted to start a podcast that was me talking, giving a tour of galleries and shows that are in Cleveland each month. Talking about the art. Giving some info about the artists.

She asked if it would just be me saying "Do ya like it? huh? How about this? Do you like this one?"

I guess that's all I kept saying to her.

Anyway...go see the show at MOCA. It's very cool.

More importantly, BUY ART THIS WEEKEND!!!

Let's do it again!

Jens-Belle&Sebastian-Beirut-Stereolab-PageFrance-ImperialTeen-MattPondPA-DressyBessy-TheBirdandtheBee-GuidedByVoices-YoLaTengo-ArcadeFire-AislersSet-PostalService-Broadcast-BeatHappening-Heavenly-etc, etc, etc,

ON ICE!!

Kristy

When I was a kid I loved the song Shake It by Ian Mathews.

The opening scene in this movie is probably the reason why.

You don't have to watch it after 1:06

I wish I were a Mod.

I can't believe I am Stuart!

Which Dyke to Watch Out For Are You? created with QuizFarm.com

You scored as Stuart You are Stuart, partner and co-parent with bi-dyke Sparrow. You believe that values need to be backed up with action, which can make you a bit impulsive at times. Make sure to budget time and money in order to afford the winter-length utili-kilts and Air America Radio shirts you've had your eyes on. Stuart 75% Lois 70% Sydney 70% Mo 65% Toni 55% Clarice 50% Sparrow 25%

I wanted to be Lois or at least Mo!!

The cool thing is that Alison Bechdel is a Stuart too.

I'm a snotty ass foodie

This morning I went to visit my folks in Ravenna. My Uncle Jim from Apple Valley, California was in town. I have not seen he and my Aunt Donna in 20 years.

It was great to see them. Although Uncle Jim has turned into "dittohead". He was spouting all the sillieness. Things like, how lucky we are to have George W. Bush in the whitehouse. Oy.

Anyway, over coffee, mom was talking about wanting to take my aunt and uncle to lunch after visiting my father at the nursing home.

My mom suggested a place called Mike's Place that's kind of like an authentic TGIFridays. They have stuff all over the walls and hanging from the ceiling. But it's all stuff that the owners and staff have collected over the years. Right near the front door they have a full size model (I assume it's full size, I have never been close to the real thing)of a Star Wars X-Wing Fighter.

My mom likes to go there. I don't so much. Not that I am a health nut (it's painfully obvious) but the food is pretty....hmmm.....kinda.... High Cholesterolicious! They should hand out heart paddles instead of moist towelettes.

I said to my mom, "What are you guys gonna get? A bucket of deep fried heart disease?"

Mom said in a fake haughty voice, "ohhh, I'm sorry they don't have... don't have...

asparagus with cheese sauce!"

She did this while miming the pouring of cheese sauce over some high-falutin' asparagus.

sigh.

Je suis fatigué et triste et moi voulez danser

Vespa, Vespa


Today Pat and I went down to Pride of Cleveland Scooters so I could try and talk her into buying a new scooter.

I almost succeeded. She said she doesn't want anything BUT a Vespa.

I totally understand. They are just gorgeous.

If I could afford one I would have one too.

Although I do love my poor Vespa cousin from India, the Bajaj.