"New" and "Improved"

Wednesday, July 2, 2008

All that red was making me insane.

Things That Make Me Happy, Vol. 1: Anna Oxygen, in general

Sometimes, when I'm sad, I like to look at pictures of people dancing at Anna Oxygen's live shows. For those of you unfamiliar, Anna Oxygen is an electronic audio/visual artist who is known for inventing "psychedelic aerobics," and for leading her audiences in synchronized exercise routines while she performs in front of giant video screens.

Seriously. I have an entire folder on my computer dedicated specifically to photos of Anna Oxygen fans getting their jazzercise on. Basically, every single one is pure joy personified. Here are some of my favorite examples (none of these were taken by me, sadly):







!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

(there's a snippet of video from her website too, in case you want more action)

In addition to her performance art group Cloud Eye Control, it seems like she's been doing some pretty wonderful stuff translating old folk music from the acoustic to the electronic, as well as the project "Conversations That Never Happened" which "explores relationships and intimacy developed during the ritual of eating." Love? So, so much love.

A Sneak Peek

at the future Prince Quinn Bernard Morrow (from the 3D Ultrasound at 37 weeks), whose full name (thanks to Renee for letting me know!) roughly means "Wise, Brave Bear."

eh? ehhhh?

I have another (additional, because of all my pelvic issues) ultrasound tomorrow, which may or may not lead to having my c-section scheduled for soon after depending on what they find. Fingers crossed!

Also, roughly how much hell do you all think Davey and I will get from our families for giving the baby a unisex, gender neutral name? We've already gotten a few faces and "but that sounds like a GIRLS name" from his sister and mother, who don't know yet that we've made up our minds. I mean, I *suppose* we could have named him Brutus Testicular Titanium Optimus, but it just doesn't really roll off the tongue in the same way, you know?

What's Up In My Atmosphere

Monday, June 30, 2008

Last week my OBGYN recommended that I stay off my feet fearing I may have developed toxemia, a recommendation I decided not to take seriously. I come from a long line (Hi Mom! I know you read this!) of folks distrustful of doctors and medicine in general. So I decided it would be fine to waddle out into the oppressive heat and walk all around with David buying cat food and an answering machine and all this other stuff. Needless to say, it was a pretty big mistake. My feet and my hands swelled up all gigantic and balloonishly and I almost passed out in public, something I try to avoid whenever possible. So I'm essentially an indoor kid now. The baby, now officially Quinn Bernard Morrow, could come any day now (but I hope he waits for the new moon, at least). I'm in my 40th week and honestly can't wait for my body to go back to being MINE. Pregnancy and I clearly do NOT get along, at least not biologically.

David and I have started buying bruised fruit for me to bake with, which I love. I made a giant loaf of yummy blueberry banana bread this morning, and I also have mangos (!!) and strawberries to work with later as well. I *think* I'm going to try making a bunch of mango cobbler soon, provided I don't go into labor first.

Does anyone have any excellent cookbook recommendations? Baking AND cooking, except that the cooking should be vegetarian/vegan in nature. I've been particularly interested in interesting veggie crockpot recipes. I've been scourging etsy.com for cooking zines and the like, thinking I might start a little cooking library to go beneath my poetry one. Who knew, right?

Short Stops

Things I've started to write about lately but haven't finished:

1.) A discussion of my top 5 favorite covers, which basically turned into a discussion about all the reasons I love CocoRosie's cover of Kevin Lyttle's "Turn Me On."

2.) A Last.fm survey all about my top 50 most listened to artists, with questions of the "what was the first song you heard by..." "how did you discover..." and "what is your favorite song by.." variety.

3.) A return the covers entry, talking about sacred artists no one should ever cover, Cyndi Lauper & working class girls in the 80s, and The Acorn's cover of "Good Enough."

4.) Reasons I wish Michelle Obama would run for president.

5.) An entry about big transits and retrograde periods we're entering into astrologically, and how they may affect everyone.

So see, it's not like I've forgotten you guys or am short on ideas- I just seem to have an incredibly low tolerance for "hearing" myself talk and always stop before I finish.

What sort of things do you guys want to read about here, anyway? Anything in particular? I've got a lot of time on my hands, being all pregnant and immobile and whatnot.

I, uh

Wednesday, June 25, 2008

Okay, seriously?

There are so, so many things to be annoyed with here that I couldn't possibly write them all in one swoop. Do you notice how the lyrics constantly confirm her straightness, over and over? It's important to be clear about that, just in case a woman actually being attracted to another might threaten collective dudehood or make *any* dicks *anywhere* soft in *any* way. God forbid. Thanks for being a relentless advocate for bro dudes and their erections everywhere, Katy Perry (and the two men who helped you write your masterpiece)! What would boners do without you?

Oh, and ps: Being anything other than heterosexual is not what "good girls do," in case you forgot.

Ugh.

Who said Chicopee was a wasteland?

Tuesday, June 24, 2008

A dude from my hometown is the rock, paper scissors champion of the United States.

"A Chicopee man rocked the competition over the weekend in Las Vegas, beating more than 300 of the nation's finest "Rock Paper Scissors" players to earn a $50,000 first prize.

Sean Sears, 23, of Leo Drive threw a winning rock to conquer his opponent's scissors to win the 2008 Bud Light/USA Rock Paper Scissors League Championship.

"We were absolutely amazed he won. It was on a whim he did this," said his mother, Catherine A. Sears.

Sean, a graduate of Chicopee Comprehensive High School and Worcester Polytechnic Institute, was en route to Chicopee from Las Vegas tonight and could not be reached."
- from masslive.com

.... Clearly there is hope for all of us.