Tuesday, December 31, 2002

The big project today was to acquire an entire rack of spareribs at La Hacienda market, where the butchers seem to understand Spanish only. Success!

Monday, December 30, 2002

A not-great script does not keep Drumline from being entertaining. It's too bad that Orlando Jones doesn't find more acting work.

Sunday, December 29, 2002

Club Desvelado polished off Driving Over Lemons: an optimist in Andalucia in one session. Chunks of the first half were entertaining for reading aloud. I don't remember having heard before of the region of Alpujarras. I liked it that the author constructed his fireplace according to the principles of Count Rumford

Saturday, December 28, 2002

Today it was time to see what epsom salt can do for my poor foot. How many times did I have to soak my hands in it when I was a kid and losing a fingernail? This was bought to use on our roses, but it has never been opened.

Friday, December 27, 2002

For once there was TV distraction that wasn't in Spanish: a very beautiful production of The Merry Widow. The first set was based on that famous art nouveau-jugenstil house in Belgium, one of the ones by Victor Horta. Second-act costumes were very reminiscent of those by Bakst for Diaghilev's Ballet Russe (from which, no doubt, Theda Bara's costumer also drew inspiration). There were day dresses that seemed to be inspired by Poiret. The singers were adequate as singers made the most of the great direction and choreography.

Thursday, December 26, 2002

Wan Fu was open, there were long lines at Katz's as we went by, and we lucked out at Taj Palace, which was serving from the full menu and doing a good business, despite not advertising. My seekh kebab and dal makhni couldn't have been better. Good food served as a distraction from foot pain. Bookpeople was open after we ate, with all in a very jolly mood. The store's card buyer must have done very well, since there were very few boxes of Christmas cards left.

Wednesday, December 25, 2002

This has been a very good tree after all. The Wiz got one for half-price or even better up in Round Rock that turned out very well also.

Tuesday, December 24, 2002

The foot is no better.

Monday, December 23, 2002

Club Distraction offered up Frida, which is beautiful to behold and quite decent otherwise, but for the Trotsky segments. All the actors, except for Rush as Trotsky (not his fault!) acquitted themselves well, and nearly all the music was beautifully evocative. I hadn't realized that Chavela Vargas is still alive! The music credits went by too quickly to be caught, but it was especially wonderful to hear Paloma Negra, I think in a version by Chavela; we own one with a heavy-duty 'fifties arrangement by the aging Lola Beltran. Finally, I found a soundtrack album listing all.

Sunday, December 22, 2002

Courtesy of the little Rudolph tree lot over at South Lamar and Bluebonnet, we now have a tree. Although not the most prepossessing of speciments the price, at half off, was right, and it's drinking water and smells great.

Saturday, December 21, 2002

The bottomless pot of pea soup has at last been consumed: yellow and green dried split peas, plus barley, from the Souperior Bean & Spice Co., which has no website that I can find. It's great because it has no salt in the seasoning packet. We always add tiny dice of carrots, along with whatever else in the vegetable line needs to be eaten. A few slices of the old jalapeno smoked sausage at the bottom of the bowl don't hurt, either.

Friday, December 20, 2002

Reviewing a formal paper for inconsistencies and possible errors in style and usage brought the entire library on the subject into play. A fine writer presents more problems of style than of grammar and any possible anomalies of grammar will be subtle ones. Books on these subjects always address the obvious and frequently committed outright errors or they present examples of faults that do not quite hit the mark. Moreover, so many bad writers and speakers these days invent so many outlandish constructions that most authorities have not ever thought to address them. Strunk's Elements of Style of 1918 is out of copyright and on line, along with my favorite edition of Brewer and the original Fannie Farmer, the one I knew as a kid. Now that I now, I can't wait to find time to look up some of the old recipes. Those wonderful folks at Bartleby.com!

Thursday, December 19, 2002

Still no tree, but there's an on-line Christmas-tree finder. If only there were a real-life Christmas-tree bringer. We have not a sprig of greenery yet. It was disgusting to read that putting one up grows less and less common and that, among decorated trees, fewer than forty per cent are live. What's the point, without the scent? This has been the very worst year ever for finding the time to do anything that's fun; it has all been duty and worse.

Wednesday, December 18, 2002

The replacement contact lens, although confirmed to be "the same" in all dimensions, will not budge from my eye at the end of the day. During the past two weeks it has been removed successfully just four times in the usual manner. At least there is an implement to perform the procedure, although for me a looking glass is required. Now that I have acquired this hand-dandy little tool, it hasn't been needed! N.B.: this photograph is greatly enlarged! The cup is akin to those at the business end of toy arrows, and the suction is inherent, not like that of those little squeeze bulbs used decades ago.

Tuesday, December 17, 2002

The only worse time for a December birthday than the week leading up to the Day is on the Day itself or its eve.

Monday, December 16, 2002

Our pyramid of star-studded foil Kleenex boxes is highly decorative, especially with those light streamers. They'd been restocked following the sell-out of the first shipment.

Sunday, December 15, 2002

We should have gone to see Drumline. Maid in Manhattan showcases pee-yew work by Ralph Fiennes. He got bad reviews in the Avengers, but he didn't reek in that one the way he does in this: bleeah. Behind the scenes in the hotel was done well, the other actors worked well with what they were given, and the visuals of NYC were beautiful. RF sports the worst American accent ever heard anywhere, and it's not even a consistent one.

Saturday, December 14, 2002

While working, we listened to Il Trovatore on the radio, one of those operas with wonderful music but difficult to produce effectively on stage. This is probably the last decent music to be heard on the radio until after Christmas. There's so much wonderful seasonal music that KMFA should be playing, but it isn't, so it's back to Thelonious Monk (the London Collection, volume one). I read somewhere lately that Joni Mitchell listens to Monk when she's feeling depressed.

Friday, December 13, 2002

Club Desvelado tore through "A Case to Answer" by Margaret Yorke, courtesy of the library. True to one review read afterward, it is indeed a one-sitting page-turner of a book (and not a good one to begin in the middle of the night).

Thursday, December 12, 2002

If the governments of Poland, the Czech Republic, and Austria had anything to do with the filming of segments of El privilegio de amar in their capitals during the winter--in other words, if this was in any way intended to lure tourists from Mexico--I'm sure that the plan was a failure. Never have actors looked so cold and unhappy, clutching cups of coffee with both hands and dressing in furs even in hotel rooms, all the while taking on a very rotund aspect (all those extra layers of clothing cannot be disguised, although Helena Rojo did not indulge, perhaps for vanity's sake). Andres Garcia and Helena Rojo really broke character, not unusual in his case, but very much so in hers. He had just removed very heavy snowboots and thrown them. One hit the ceiling and must have come close to obliterating them both. There are no unnecessary retakes in these shows. All looked much happier when the trip moved on to Florencia. Although the cold had seemed to bother Rene Strickler to some extent, it seemed to trouble Cynthia Klitbo not at all. She happily rolled around in the snow during her "mad" scenes.

Wednesday, December 11, 2002

The Blue Genie people are responsible for plenty of great stuff around town, but isn't all design conceptual? Just asking.

Tuesday, December 10, 2002

Way back in 1993, we answered a question correctly while listening to Lady J on KAZI radio and won a Solomon Burke CD, but never had anything but a turntable for years, and then a small cassette boombox. Now we can play the CD, we still have it, and it sounds great--just perfect for rainy days. It's amazing that it wasn't ever lost. Austin's own Clarence Holliman is one of the sidemen, all of whom are wonderful and constitute one of the best features of this production. Lady J's Down Home Blues show (88.7-FM starting at 7 pm on Wednesday nights) is still going strong. She's still on the distribution list for labels such as Malaco (current Johnny Taylor and Bobby Bland).

Monday, December 09, 2002

Bob Cole's shilling for Nyquil now. If the sponsors hear him play Alvin Crow's Nyquil Blues, I don't think they'd be pleased: "Sell me a roll of Ductape and a bottle of Nyquil please." Wasn't it Bobby Earl Smith who wrote the song?

Bob Cole's shilling for Nyquil now. If the sponsors hear him play Alvin Crow's Nyquil Blues, I don't think they'd be pleased: "Sell me a roll of Ductape and a bottle of Nyquil please." Wasn't it Bobby Earl Smith who wrote the song?

Bob Cole's shilling for Nyquil now. If the sponsors hear him play Alvin Crow's Nyquil Blues, I don't think they'd be pleased: "Sell me a roll of Ductape and a bottle of Nyquil please." Wasn't it Bobby Earl Smith who wrote the song?

Sunday, December 08, 2002

John Kelso wasn't the only one writing about the on the Keep Austin Weird trademark controversy; now the NYT has piggy-backed on Kelso (a stringer named Jim Yardley). I happened onto the "trademark" site when doing a periodic Google on the phrase. When I first started doing it, there may have been just one reference: an out-of-state minister who had visited Austin used it as the topic of a sermon posted on the WWW. Now that sermon isn't even on the first page of search results.

John Kelso wasn't the only one writing about the on the Keep Austin Weird trademark controversy; now the NYT has piggy-backed on Kelso (a stringer named Jim Yardley). I happened onto the "trademark" site when doing a periodic Google on the phrase. When I first started doing it, there may have been just one reference: an out-of-state minister who had visited Austin used it as the topic of a sermon posted on the WWW. Now that sermon isn't even on the first page of search results.

John Kelso wasn't the only one writing about the on the Keep Austin Weird trademark controversy; now the NYT has piggy-backed on Kelso (a stringer named Jim Yardley). I happened onto the "trademark" site when doing a periodic Google on the phrase. When I first started doing it, there may have been just one reference: an out-of-state minister who had visited Austin used it as the topic of a sermon posted on the WWW. Now that sermon isn't even on the first page of search results.

Saturday, December 07, 2002

So the very same Christopher Radko who's responsible for so many ugly Christmas decorations has at last decided to do some good in this world: he's bought the rights to the moulds and other stuff connected with the old Shiny-Brite ornaments that used to be sold in the five-and-ten stores. Moreover he's reissuing in the same retro packaging. The only current purveyor of very expensive, mostly useless, and mostly ugly objets is Jay Strongwater.

So the very same Christopher Radko who's responsible for so many ugly Christmas decorations has at last decided to do some good in this world: he's bought the rights to the moulds and other stuff connected with the old Shiny-Brite ornaments that used to be sold in the five-and-ten stores. Moreover he's reissuing in the same retro packaging. The only current purveyor of very expensive, mostly useless, and mostly ugly objets is Jay Strongwater.

So the very same Christopher Radko who's responsible for so many ugly Christmas decorations has at last decided to do some good in this world: he's bought the rights to the moulds and other stuff connected with the old Shiny-Brite ornaments that used to be sold in the five-and-ten stores. Moreover he's reissuing in the same retro packaging. The only current purveyor of very expensive, mostly useless, and mostly ugly objets is Jay Strongwater.

Friday, December 06, 2002

No sooner did the WSJ do a little piece on demotivational posters by Austin's very own Despair, Inc., than I received a brochure from the Despair people via the USPS. I love it that they use not one but two of those rowing-crew images so popular in the workplace. The motto for one is "Get to work: You're not being paid to believe in the power of your dreams" and for the other it's "Ignorance: It's amazing how much easier it is for a team to work together when no one has any idea where they're going."

No sooner did the WSJ do a little piece on demotivational posters by Austin's very own Despair, Inc., than I received a brochure from the Despair people via the USPS. I love it that they use not one but two of those rowing-crew images so popular in the workplace. The motto for one is "Get to work: You're not being paid to believe in the power of your dreams" and for the other it's "Ignorance: It's amazing how much easier it is for a team to work together when no one has any idea where they're going."

No sooner did the WSJ do a little piece on demotivational posters by Austin's very own Despair, Inc., than I received a brochure from the Despair people via the USPS. I love it that they use not one but two of those rowing-crew images so popular in the workplace. The motto for one is "Get to work: You're not being paid to believe in the power of your dreams" and for the other it's "Ignorance: It's amazing how much easier it is for a team to work together when no one has any idea where they're going."

Thursday, December 05, 2002

"Angora" as in wool does turn out to be related to "Ankara" as in Turkey. If this guy would just post more, I'd like to follow this blog on being in Mozambique in the Peace Corps. It would be sort of like the very early days of the WWW when somebody was going pretty much around the world and posting when possible, which was very difficult in those days.

"Angora" as in wool does turn out to be related to "Ankara" as in Turkey. If this guy would just post more, I'd like to follow this blog on being in Mozambique in the Peace Corps. It would be sort of like the very early days of the WWW when somebody was going pretty much around the world and posting when possible, which was very difficult in those days.

"Angora" as in wool does turn out to be related to "Ankara" as in Turkey. If this guy would just post more, I'd like to follow this blog on being in Mozambique in the Peace Corps. It would be sort of like the very early days of the WWW when somebody was going pretty much around the world and posting when possible, which was very difficult in those days.

Wednesday, December 04, 2002

Figuring that the old specs are as good as safety goggles, and trusting in my sense of balance, I went up on the roof in the rain with my plumber's auger and my trusty lockable salad tongs to unclog the downspout. Soaked through to the skin, at last I succeeded, just before another heavy downpour. And at last I can see again. "Things Are Looking Up" (apologies to the Gershwins and to Fred). It's still true that there's a song for every occasion.

Figuring that the old specs are as good as safety goggles, and trusting in my sense of balance, I went up on the roof in the rain with my plumber's auger and my trusty lockable salad tongs to unclog the downspout. Soaked through to the skin, at last I succeeded, just before another heavy downpour. And at last I can see again. "Things Are Looking Up" (apologies to the Gershwins and to Fred). It's still true that there's a song for every occasion.

Figuring that the old specs are as good as safety goggles, and trusting in my sense of balance, I went up on the roof in the rain with my plumber's auger and my trusty lockable salad tongs to unclog the downspout. Soaked through to the skin, at last I succeeded, just before another heavy downpour. And at last I can see again. "Things Are Looking Up" (apologies to the Gershwins and to Fred). It's still true that there's a song for every occasion.

Tuesday, December 03, 2002

Dr. S. wouldn't order a new lens without an examination, as I expected, since the events of last year made it impossible to get in to see him. Luckily, time was made for me during the lunch hour as a sort of emergency case. All vision news is good, luckily. I still couldn't see well when done so, instead of taking a bus, I enjoyed the luxury of a cab. The driver was a Jet-Li fan. Maybe I'll be able to see again by the weekend. Christina had a show about secuestros but we were too tired to watch. At least one of Thalia's kidnapped sisters was supposed to appear. We had known about the kidnapping of Vicente, Jr., but not about the detail of the chopped-off fingers....leave it to the nowadays sensationalistic Christina to fill us in!

Dr. S. wouldn't order a new lens without an examination, as I expected, since the events of last year made it impossible to get in to see him. Luckily, time was made for me during the lunch hour as a sort of emergency case. All vision news is good, luckily. I still couldn't see well when done so, instead of taking a bus, I enjoyed the luxury of a cab. The driver was a Jet-Li fan. Maybe I'll be able to see again by the weekend. Christina had a show about secuestros but we were too tired to watch. At least one of Thalia's kidnapped sisters was supposed to appear. We had known about the kidnapping of Vicente, Jr., but not about the detail of the chopped-off fingers....leave it to the nowadays sensationalistic Christina to fill us in!

Dr. S. wouldn't order a new lens without an examination, as I expected, since the events of last year made it impossible to get in to see him. Luckily, time was made for me during the lunch hour as a sort of emergency case. All vision news is good, luckily. I still couldn't see well when done so, instead of taking a bus, I enjoyed the luxury of a cab. The driver was a Jet-Li fan. Maybe I'll be able to see again by the weekend. Christina had a show about secuestros but we were too tired to watch. At least one of Thalia's kidnapped sisters was supposed to appear. We had known about the kidnapping of Vicente, Jr., but not about the detail of the chopped-off fingers....leave it to the nowadays sensationalistic Christina to fill us in!

Monday, December 02, 2002

I forgot to mention that in our parade forays, we saw lesser scaup and also a great blue heron in flight along Shoal Creek where it joins the river. As many blue herons as we've seen wading, we've never seen one in flight and so close! I forgot to mention that, between movies, we checked out Round Rock (RR proper, not the 'burbs) and Georgetown. Sunday closing is still observed in the old downtowns of both. The pedestrians were people who'd been to church and then to Sunday dinner out. Southwestern University has a handsome campus.

I forgot to mention that in our parade forays, we saw lesser scaup and also a great blue heron in flight along Shoal Creek where it joins the river. As many blue herons as we've seen wading, we've never seen one in flight and so close! I forgot to mention that, between movies, we checked out Round Rock (RR proper, not the 'burbs) and Georgetown. Sunday closing is still observed in the old downtowns of both. The pedestrians were people who'd been to church and then to Sunday dinner out. Southwestern University has a handsome campus.

I forgot to mention that in our parade forays, we saw lesser scaup and also a great blue heron in flight along Shoal Creek where it joins the river. As many blue herons as we've seen wading, we've never seen one in flight and so close! I forgot to mention that, between movies, we checked out Round Rock (RR proper, not the 'burbs) and Georgetown. Sunday closing is still observed in the old downtowns of both. The pedestrians were people who'd been to church and then to Sunday dinner out. Southwestern University has a handsome campus.

Sunday, December 01, 2002

The Distraction Society has viewed: Skinwalkers (PBS television), The Tuxedo (a way better Jackie Chan vehicle than reviewers would lead people to expect) and Barbershop (Cedric to the forefront once more). In Skinwalkers there was just one Navajo conversation to be heard, a very elementary one. I loved the intro sequence in The Tuxedo (bottled water conveyor belt). The dollar movies at Wells Branch came through for us once again. Between movies we went to a McDonald's, I for the first time in years and years and years. The french fries are now officially bad. It must be the doing away with beef tallow that has taken away their power. The McD franchise appears to be in the hands of Persians.

The Distraction Society has viewed: Skinwalkers (PBS television), The Tuxedo (a way better Jackie Chan vehicle than reviewers would lead people to expect) and Barbershop (Cedric to the forefront once more). In Skinwalkers there was just one Navajo conversation to be heard, a very elementary one. I loved the intro sequence in The Tuxedo (bottled water conveyor belt). The dollar movies at Wells Branch came through for us once again. Between movies we went to a McDonald's, I for the first time in years and years and years. The french fries are now officially bad. It must be the doing away with beef tallow that has taken away their power. The McD franchise appears to be in the hands of Persians.

The Distraction Society has viewed: Skinwalkers (PBS television), The Tuxedo (a way better Jackie Chan vehicle than reviewers would lead people to expect) and Barbershop (Cedric to the forefront once more). In Skinwalkers there was just one Navajo conversation to be heard, a very elementary one. I loved the intro sequence in The Tuxedo (bottled water conveyor belt). The dollar movies at Wells Branch came through for us once again. Between movies we went to a McDonald's, I for the first time in years and years and years. The french fries are now officially bad. It must be the doing away with beef tallow that has taken away their power. The McD franchise appears to be in the hands of Persians.