that’s the line i love, and when Joe Cocker sings, “i’m certain/it happens/all the time…” (so steady.) (i love this song so much, esp. when you see the angel chorus of hippie boys singing back-up.)

and this one always gives me shivers, too. that’s his daughter, Mary, tucked into his coat on the back of the album cover. (Linda McCartney took the pic; Mary grew up to be a photog like mama.) (and that’s your music trivia for the day.)

Aw, those songs you grew up with, they stay with you forever, don’t they?

Then American Idol (or “American Ideal” as Wacky Boy calls it) comes along to cuss it up.

and… here is “Inception Remade as a 60-second Victorian Woodcut Animation.” Nicely done.

ps — have a splendid weekend.

pss — what’s a weekend? hahaha.

ok did you watch that? did you traumatize your children with it? it is scary!!! here is what is even scarier: being a teenager, living at home (really scary!), then your sister’s boyfriend says, Was it that scary music box music? when you mention you slept in the basement and had nightmares all night.

me: How did you know?

he just shook his head.

seriously. I never mentioned to anyone that i nightmared about music box music. know why? because it was always this vague, slippery horror, and as soon as I woke up, it just slid away and i would be thinking, What the hell was that? But he used to stay at our house all the time, and I always wondered why he stopped crashing in the basement and insisted on sleeping on the living room floor. It was that music.

too many nightmares.

conversation between my ma, my son, and me:

Mom: “I’m going to the movies this weekend. We’re going to see this one about Mother Maybelle and the Carters…”

Wacky Boy: “You gonna see ‘Little Fockers’?”

Mom: “No, no we’re not. It’s about the Carter Family, you know them?”

me: “Sure he does!” (i start singing “Keep on the Sunny Side.” He shushes me. Yes, he’s nearly nine and he shushes us.)

Wacky Boy: “So why aren’t ya gonna see ‘Little Fockers’?”

Mom: “I’m just not that sophisticated, I guess.”

harry potter harry potter harry potter

also? general hospital, on a tear. chewing up the scenery. And Adrienne Barbeau, and Brenda crying out for Dante, “…and that reminded me of when you were in the hospital, delirious, calling out his name…” (Adrienne Barbeau, as Suzanne, on GH.)

Reading/watching this week:

David Strathairn just knocks me out in this movie, based on the story of no-holds-barred CBS newscaster Edward R. Murrow and his producer and partner, Fred Friendly (played by George Clooney). It’s a toss-up really, whose performance is better in this, they’re all good, from the leads to the supporting cast. The film skillfully blends actual footage from the McCarthy hearings into Hollywood film and does it well. The ensemble cast — all splendid — include Ray Wise, Patricia Clarkson, Robert Downey Jr. and Frank Langella.

On to the books — yes, I’m tackling another Pollan book, that’s right. This time it’s “The Omnivore’s Dilemma.” It’s good, it’s tough going to read — really intense and lots of facts, background, science, math, names and places. You know I enjoy a “lite” summer read. Woof. It will make you look at corn in a whole new jaded way. Also, I never want to eat beef ever again. I’m serious. Even if it’s grass-fed, I’m sick of this crap — literally — and can’t support it any more. Remember the whole mad cow thing? OK — it’s not all right to feed cows other cows’ brains any more. Oh, yes, that’s bad. Bad, bad, bad. But as far as feeding them other parts? Game on. Blech. Sorry for my language, but it’s all shit, shit, and more shit, and then it’s re-gurged shit and it’s fed to us and our babies. Why are we agreeing to this? (Oh, sweet! Just noticed the McDonald’s pop-up ad is running on my sidebar. OK, I think I need to stop whoring it out here.)

This is a nasty, nasty country we live in, as far as our agribusiness goes. And our politics. And our need to drop bombs hither and yon, according to our whims. And our refusal to pay for education, books, teachers, social services and health care. Other than that, America Rocks!

Argh.

“America: Love It or Give It Back.”

Something lighter, please? Any Young Adult books by any of the Sharons are good: Sharon Flake, Sharon Draper or Sharon Creech. Just finished “Ruby Holler”; “Walk Two Moons” is next on the list.

“Accepting a generous spoonful, Dallas said, ‘I suppose we should have told you we were going –‘

Florida licked the honey from her fingers. ‘Well, ma’am, that’s a mighty interesting way to think.'”

* mission to avoid paperwork: completed. it culminated with my 1) cleaning the hamster cage and 2) weeding the driveway.

* eventually, when you’re trying to avoid something, you realize that the energy you’re spending avoiding it is taking far, far more effort than the energy it would take to complete the damn thing you’re trying to avoid.

* SO COMPLETE IT ALREADY, WHY ARE YOU TORTURING YOURSELF?

* Yes. I was putting the finishing touches on the whole thing, feeling all proud of myself, and voila! guess what? A three-page essay was required. A three-page essay that I had “somehow” managed to “overlook” until right this very afternoon. Luckily I like to write, so voila again! I wrote it! It’s done now, kit and kaboodle, addressed and sitting here in its fancy envelope. I will mail it tomorrow. Thank you and good night.

* Oh. Yes. We went to see the new “Twilight” movie. “Eclipse,” it is called. It was a reward to my daughter, for putting up with me freaking out and procrastinating over The Paperwork. (I told her once I had finished it up, we could go. We took Ms. New Orleans with us and went out for a fancy dinner first. Then we got candy from 7-11 on the way to the movie. Don’t you love sneaking in candy? I do.) Y’know what? I liked the movie. Hmm. Will ponder that later.

* I love the Beaverton Farmers Market. We all love it. My dog loved it, my grandma loved it, my husband and kids still love it. I like all of the vendors out there, from the sweetheart who sells her homemade cheesecakes to the family that does the kettle corn to the guy who fixes my iced latte, but these are just a few of my top picks:

Thank you, Rosecrest Farm, for the awesome swiss cheese. Thank you, hippie boys at Deep Roots Farm for always being so sexy. Thank you, Souper Natural lady, for being so funny and for making the best Italian Wedding soup I’ve ever tasted.

And thank you, Arcane Cellars, for the delicious wine, and for the Bon Appetit recipe for Spicy-Sweet Tangerine Shrimp with Baby Bok Choy (“pair with Arcane 2009 Pinot Gris”). Would you like to try it? Well, okay then!

Ingredients:

* 6 baby bok choy, halved lengthwise
* 2 tablespoons Asian sesame oil, divided
* 1 1/2 pounds uncooked large shrimp, peeled, deveined
* 1/3 cup frozen orange-tangerine concentrate, thawed
* 1/3 cup Asian sweet chili sauce
* 12 strips tangerine peel
* 1 1/2 teaspoons distilled white vinegar
* 1 teaspoon oyster sauce
* 2 green onions, chopped
* 1 1/2 tablespoons minced peeled fresh ginger

Preparation: Cover bottom of large skillet with 1/2 inch water. Add bok choy; drizzle with 1 tablespoon oil. Sprinkle with salt and pepper. Cover; cook over high heat until bok choy is tender, about 5 minutes. Arrange bok choy around edge of platter. Boil liquid in skillet until reduced to glaze, about 1 minute; pour over bok choy.

Mix shrimp and next 5 ingredients in medium bowl. Heat 1 tablespoon sesame oil in same skillet over high heat. Add onions and ginger. Sauté 1 minute. Add shrimp mixture. Toss until shrimp are just opaque in center, about 3 minutes. Using slotted spoon, transfer shrimp to platter. Cook sauce until thickened, about 2 minutes. Spoon sauce over shrimp.

Now reading:

A review, by Wacky Girl: “I really like the 2011 National Geographic Kids Almanac for many reasons. It’s easy to use, has lots of pictures, tells you everything you need to know about everything and is easy to understand. It is also very colorful! Some of my favorite sections are: the future world chapter, Your World 2011, Super Science and Wonders of Nature. I would recommend this book to really anybody. It’s easy to use, fun, and has a lot of information.”

(A note from her librarian mama: Most kids love almanacs, encyclopedias, dictionaries, all kinds of non-fiction research books, much to my amazement and delight. Even kids who aren’t crazy about reading will pore over a Guinness Book of World Records. So pick one up and see how it goes. We also subscribe to a few kids’ magazines, and those have a lot of “curb appeal,” too.)

Steve and my mom both read “The Botany of Desire” and enjoyed it. We’re all big fans of Michael Pollan over here. I’ve gotten halfway through “Botany of Desire” on three separate occasions now. Who knows what my problem is — it’s a great book, I just can’t jump over that fence or something. So when I saw the DVD on the shelf at the library, I grabbed it.

Steve and the kids and I watched it in half-hour segments — first the apple, then the tulip, marijuana and then the all-mighty potato. Really excellent documentary. And yes, I’ll finish the book this summer.

If you have reluctant readers such as myself at your house, it might be helpful to pick up the DVD versions of a book, or if you can find an audiobook version, that helps, too. Whatever it takes to get us engaged.

(Please see my disclosure statement.)

Happy Thursday, everyone!

— wm

Oh, Ellen Aim & the Attackers, you were always so underrated.

OK, OK, now I know you’re going to want to hear “I Can Dream About You.”

Nighty-night!

xo

wm

This truly sounds like, just possibly, the worst movie ever.

Has anyone seen it? If you’re interested, you can buy a used copy for one dollah.

And yes, that’s Ron Weasley playing his friend, Alan A. Allen.

Watching this week:

We’re also watching “The Tournament” again, my second favorite hockey program (after, but of course, the Paul Newman classic “Slap Shot.”). Whew, we like hockey over here! Of course, I won’t let Steve go to any more games this season because hello, I need help packing.

We’re moving in less than a month, wish us luck.

— wm