Showtime

You know what's fun?
     Seeing people I knew way-back-when become successful. Nice job to Dave Hansen on his bazillionth successful play. Who knew you'd be good at this writing stuff? I am very happy for you.

Plans

Happy New Year!

I resolve this year to figure out a way to get Bingu kitty to chew his treats instead of swallowing them whole.

Heymomheymomheymomheymomheymom...watch this.

The cat does a lot of things while we're at work all day, but one thing he does NOT do is screw with the Christmas tree. This is Bingu's 3rd Christmas with us and he has not damaged our tree while we were away ever.

He waits 'til we get home.

Seriously. He has attempted to chew two branches and eaten at least three strands of tinsel in just the three days the tree's been up this year. But only if I'm watching.
Idiot cat.

Haul out the holly

I've got my Christmas tunes going. Every year we get a fresh crop of recordings from artists as diverse as the Vienna Boys Choir to Keith Urban to Queen Latifah. They all re-do the classics from the 1700s thru the 1950s, but new holiday songs have slowed to a trickle. I will admit to being woefully underinformed about the music industry in general and "cool" music specifically, but on my iPod, I have precisely three songs that were written in the past decade.
Shouldn't there be more than that?


(Although, frankly, I'm a sucker for the Carol of the Bells in any rendition.)

Fa la la la la, girlfriend

When did nutcrackers come out? Or am I jumping to conclusions?

Not judging. ;)

Pie!? We don't need no stinkin' pie!

Tomorrow is Thanksgiving and I am fortunate enough to have a TON to be thankful for. (Health, happiness, family, a beautiful and accomplished daughter, a considerate loving spouse, a precious little house, a few affectionate cats, very dear friends, etc, etc, etc.)
To celebrate, we are gathering at mom's for a big dinner and I am bringing dessert. Not pie. I know I've already committed the ultimate holiday solecism here --on par with politics at the dinner table-- but there are only eight of us so we don't need to go big. And while there are only eight of us, all of us like something different, so in order to please everyone I would have to bake at least three pies. For eight people. Ridiculous.
Also ridiculous: the piecaken (although frankly I'd eat it). Maybe next year...
But now I hear from Slate that apple pie is "wrong" at Thanksgiving. The author advocates strongly for pumpkin and pecan pies, so she will be hugely disappointed if she comes to our Thanksgiving dinner where dessert will be a caramel-apple cheesecake.
If I'm going to do Thanksgiving dessert wrong, I'm going all-out wrong.

Por favor

My Spanish is so rusty that I only caught every third word in the Jorge Ramos - Antonio Banderas interview. It's okay though. Because Jorge Ramos and Antonio Banderas.

Here kitty kitty

This story suggests that it is time to retire the idea of a "crazy cat lady." The article note that "Although cats are the world's most popular pets — outnumbering dogs by three to one — they're widely assigned negative personality traits while dogs are regarded as man's best friend." And suggests that one of the best ways to remove the stigma associated with cats is to post kitty selfies. So here is mine:

Get a cat at your local shelter. They are soft, sweet, companions who are extraordinarily low-maintenance, remarkably affectionate, and hardly ever tell you to shut up.

Still on a sugar high

There are a few holidays that Americans have twisted into a sugar-coated  version of themselves. All prettied up and sanitized. Easter is one, with its bunny and egg hunts. Thanksgiving is another; all pumpkin pie and football games.
Most of the time, we manage to diminish the holiday in question. But we did a pretty good job with Halloween. Creating magnificent works of art with pumpkins instead of just lantern gourds. And trick-or-treating for candy is a decided improvement over begging food in exchange for prayers for our dearly departed.
Curiously, mankind has always like to cosplay and America just whole-heartedly embraced it.

Achievable goals

The work Halloween party is tomorrow and once again (although I left it 'til the last minute) I will be achieving my goal of sweatpants (or its comfort-equivalent) at work. Ah. the glory that is creative costuming. And I haven't even exhausted the simple "baby," "cranky old lady," or "crazy cat lady" options yet. (Realistically, cranky old lady is remarkably close to my everyday look so time is running out on that one.)

Thank you Internet for "how to make a costume with a hoodie" becoming a thing.

endless points for creativity

We were out late. Here's a cheater.

But still fun.

The gift that keeps on giving

We celebrated our 23rd wedding anniversary last Saturday. Twenty-three years my Long-Suffering Husband has suffered. If that isn't proof of his masochistic tendencies, I don't know what is.

If you're wondering what to get for us:

For the traditional theme of Silver symbolizing beauty, this is the perfect wedding anniversary theme for your 23rd wedding anniversary. The modern theme of Silver is a significant reminder to you and your significant other of sharing meals and building a family. Below you will find some 23rd wedding anniversary Gift ideas for both Traditional and Modern themes that will end your twenty third marriage anniversary on a good note and way to kick off your 24th anniversary :

Traditional Theme: Silver Plate

Modtern Theme: Silver Plate

23rd Anniversary Gemstone: Imperial Topaz

23rd Anniversary Color: Silver

Traditional Gift Ideas: Flowers Cigar Humidor Jewelry box Custom wood Pub sign Steel & Iron cooler/firepit [Must see] Bookends Personalized Steak Branding Iron in wood box

Modern Gift Ideas: Silverware Silver Wine Bucket Silver Jewelry Silver picture frame Silver rimmed beer mug

They'll take that

I was so sure I posted yesterday. The mind is the first to go in old age...
Now I know why AARP recommends all those brain-teasers.

Perhaps I'll blame the lack of a post on the thieving squirrel-Qaeda. They will steal anything.

squirrel-Qaeda operatives stealing (clockwise from top left) graham crackers, bar peanuts, apple, blueberries, potato chips, pillow stuffing.

Are you smarter than a President?

You know how some people are always boasting about their IQ and how brilliant they are?
(Don't forget, intelligent and smart do not always go hand-in-hand.)
UC Davis professor, Dean Simonton used historiometric methods to estimate each U.S. president’s IQ. You will never guess the most intelligent president. I was pretty surprised. I actually said, "Wow." out loud to no one in the living room after I got to #1.
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John Quincy Adams IQ: 168.8
College: Harvard University
Like his father, John Quincy Adams was an esteemed lawyer and a formidable presence in court (he earned a law degree from Harvard). He was also a brilliant statesman, negotiating several key international treaties. Remarkably, Adams was fluent in at least four languages and regularly translated Latin and ancient Greek as well.

Really? The first (would that it were the only) son who followed his father into the Presidency. other than his distinctive middle name, his chief claim to fame for Presidential trivia buffs is that he is the only President who was elected to the House of Representatives AFTER his presidency. Congress must've been very different then.

Cute or not?

The whole Internet has glommed onto the NY subway rat who is carrying a whole slice of pizza home to the family.

But, what about the squirrel who chowed on the milk shake from Shake Shack right there in the park?

 

Don't let the squirrels have a pass just because of their fuzzy tails. You're playing right into the terrorists' hands.

Empty nest

 The woodpeckers in my neighborhood (both red-headed and red-bellied) are out of their nests and coming to the feeder all day. I know the technical term for these guys is "juvenile" but that seems so detention-center. Until their red fills in, I'm referring to them as tweens.

What I did on my summer vacation

Today is the last day of my staycation. The weather was perfect. I read three books, and time really does fly when you're having fun.

Unattainable

Happy birthday to Punkinhead's favorite gentleman, Tim Gunn.

Gunn was born and raised in Washington, D.C. He is the son of Nancy (née Comfort) and George William Gunn, an FBI agent during the administration of FBI Director J. Edgar Hoover. Gunn was a champion swimmer throughout high school, and later attended the Corcoran College of Art and Design, receiving a BFA in sculpture.
Gunn, who is gay, was raised in an intensely homophobic household and viewed homosexuals as predators. According to a video Gunn created for the It Gets Better project, he attempted to commit suicide at the age of 17 by swallowing over 100 pills. He denied his sexual orientation until his early 20s, and did not share it with his family until he came out to his sister when he was 29.

Tim Gunn always makes Punkinhead smile a little bit brighter, so let's celebrate the 62nd birthday of the gay man my 20-something daughter wants to marry. (Anything's possible in America, right?)

Look-alikes

Copper beech trunks look like elephant legs.

Un reality

I'm feeling distinctly disillusioned with the real world of late, so here is a list of fictional characters I wish were real so I could hang out:

• Richard Jury
• Mary Russell
• Julian Kestrel
• Amelia Peabody
• William and Hester Monk
• Tobias Walton
(all of the above from previous post on fictional characters) 
•  Sherlock Holmes 
• Armand Gamache
• Lord Peter Wimsey
• Flavia  de Luce
• Phryne Fisher
• Bess Crawford
• Vicky Bliss
• Theophilos (aka Feste)

There are countless others who would be a hoot, but are not part of a series. The joy of characters who are in a series is that they come back and grow and become more real each new book. And the really well-created ones, get better with each book too.