Yuletide Productivity

I am done with work now until mid January so I have been working on deep cleaning the house. We have this reaaaaaally old laptop that we literally could not give away--we tried! This is what I decided to do with it yesterday.

Greenwood

When it was Global Warmingly temperate in November I went with three of my favorite people (the Canning girls) to Greenwood Cemetery, a wifeandman regular post subject. The two younger girls, both in elementary school, had the best time going on a grave hunt. We went looking for the first female physician in New York state. We eventually found her but not without many wrong turns. When we located the grave the girls were so excited that they did cartwheels. Here is one picture I took.

Put the lights on the tree

Thank you Sufjan for that most wonderful of Christmas songs! We finally finished decorating our tree yesterday. It has been a two week process, absolute slow motion for us. My favorite are the nativities, not in the tree of course, just in Christmas general. Last year we added mini cut outs of the pbf and myself to be excited at the arrival of baby Jesus. I can thank the McMu's for inspiration. They have various action figures in with the standard wise men, Mary and Joseph. I think to myself, why not, everyone has a chance to come to the Christ child! What fun! I have only two more teaching days left and then I'm on a month long break! This break seemed like a great time for me to do a cleanse so I went to Whole Foods and got a cleanse called, "My First Cleanse." We'll see how it goes, I'm little nervous but I'm sure it will be fine.

What's your favorite part of the Christmas decorations?

Slow Down the Change

I've had this blog window open for some time now waiting to be filled. I don't know what to say. I know what I'm feeling but of course that does not mean I know how to say it.

I've been encountering a lot of talk about change lately, and mostly all in a positive light, but with the understanding that it's not easy. It can, however, be done in a loving way with a loving environment.

It's funny, I'm in my mid-twenties (soon to be late 20's), and I sometimes act like the rest of my life is laid out and set... and almost over. Even if I feel I want to make a change, I decide it's not easy enough... I decide I'm fine where I am. I am fine where I am. I'm happy enough.

Sometimes I worry too much about representation... about the way I am represented. I was in a situation recently, in a room with lots of people that represent an area of my life. I got uncomfortable, as usual, around them. But they don't represent me. They aren't me. AND THEY AREN'T BAD PEOPLE... they just make decisions that I wouldn't make. Part of who they are is not who I would ever want to be, but I have to remind myself that while they have some affect on how I am seen, ultimately, it's not a personal affect.

Ghandi's ever quoted "Be the change you want to see in the world," has meant more to me recently than ever. But, at least for the way I am reading Ghandi's quote, the opposite, which has also been important, is Mother Theresa's "We are not called to be successful. We are called to be faithful."

Blackberry Post

I'm sitting at the main branch of the New York Public Library, you know, the one with the Lions (and from Ghostbusters). I am having a typical NYC adventure, walking around, seeing brand new things. I'm sitting in a huge, marble reading room on the 3rd floor with an ornate ceiling. I already saw the Gutenberg Bible in the next room. I took a picture but I can't figure out how to post it from my phone. Hmph.

Mustache

I gave myself one.

rain rain go away

Lucky you! Two posts from us in one day... that is, if you're still reading... perhaps we scared you all away with the videos? or you got tired of waiting for us?

It's raining... many of you know how much I haaaate it when it rains... but only because I hate walking in it and being on a wet train with wet people and a wet umbrella on my lap. If I could sit at home with a cup of coffee and read, then rain would be just fine!

So we saw the final night of Sufjan Steven's performance of BQE at BAM on Saturday. I don't want to say too much, so I'll just say AMAZING!!! Also, just so you know, after performing John Wayne Gacy, Jr., he appologized for leaving out some of the lyrics. He said it was too disturbing and it might be time for him to put that song away. I'd never heard him perform it live before either...

I'd throw in my regular grumble of being too busy, but you all know I like it. The one thing that does suck is that i'm too busy to do some needed things... like fix the wall that was torn from our coat rack falling... and putting the coat rack back up. Our jackets and hoodies and car keys and dog leashes are all sort of scattered around the kitchen now, on the backs of chairs and the table itself.

Ominous Brooklyn sky

I am working on my first Off-Broadway show right now(!). It's very exciting. It's a West Texas dialect so I have had to do some fun research. Yesterday I spoke with a professor over at the University of Houston who sent me some sound samples. I will let you know when the show goes up.



Here is a photo I took the other day on the train, it was with my phone so it's not the best quality but...I think it makes the sky over Brooklyn look like the final battle between good and evil in a super hero movie. Thoughts?

mummenschanz

This is what the pbf and I did tonight. Thank you for inspiration Chloe and the Robs.

first video post

I'm not sure how these are going to work or how often they will come. Perhaps the wife will get into the gig too... for now, they're going to be more of a way for me to throw out some ideas quickly and to relax doing something for myself. And, I don't do music, so unless someone writes music for me, it'll just be music thrown on... though this song surprisingly matches my cut well!

A Myriad of Color in My Beard

I hate the word myriad. I worked on a freelance job once and did lots and lots of video editing for this guy to his narration and he used the word myriad multiple times... he was an annoying person and was very very very late with paying me. Though once he did we were able to buy a washer and dryer!

I tried to wait until no shave november to start growing in my full beard, but I just couldn't wait. Here it comes!

One of his tags is meg(a)lomania

Enjoy the brilliance:
www.youtube.com/gregcondon


Also, I think it's time for Wife and Man to start videoblogging! only, I'm not talking about staring into a camera and talking... naturally, I mean more. would you watch?

crack head

After three clicks on WebMD's symptom checker, I diagnosed myself with Cocaine Abuse.

http://www.webmd.com/mental-health/cocaine-abuse

The Box

I'm really digging pandora.com. I'd heard about it before, but Rob and Son reminded me about it and boy am I glad. Good stuff.

My boss is back after an extended sick leave. He ran into me yesterday on the street while I was walking around on my lunch break... Naturually, I was scowling at the world around me, and he asked me why as he rubbed the spot between my eyes with his finger. Then he treated me to coffee and asked how life's going. He's acting like a changed man... and he's lost enough weight to look like one.

Can I just repeat myself by saying I love fall? I say this every year... over and over... always singing that old Rugrats song "Fall is here, Fall is here, It's the most wonderful time of year". I guess Faall does to me what spring does to most people. It feels like a renewal... a time to start fresh. A chance to cozy up to myself and those I love. It gets the motivation moving and the creative juices flowing. Hooray Fall!

Real estate is for the dogs

Anybody watching 20/20 right now, or am I the only one wasting my evening? If I didn't feel bad enough that I couldn't afford to buy a home, their doing a story on dog houses that are worth lots (LOTS) of money. One dog house with a flat screen tv and dvd player, an airconditioner, and a little pool that was worth over $80,000.

My dad and I started making a doghouse for our dog once... I'm not sure if we ever really finished it. I don't think so. If we did, the dog never used it.

Now there's another 20/20 with Jena Bush!!! YaY! An hour about a Bush.

what am I doing?

*EDIT*
Actually, the hour with Jena Bush wasn't so bad... I mean, they really really should have contextualized more regarding what Unicef is doing in Jamaica, but it wasn't so bad.

aluminum and oil drums

Last week was eventful! Saw an old friend from high school, got my first full week of teaching finished, went on a lovely date wityh the pbf on Saturday, bought some artwork-materials listed above and got groceries. Exciting times for the Doubloons indeed!

Yes, Please.

For those that would like to buy me presents...

I need a watch. That would be nice.

Also, I need these AWESOME theory trading cards:
http://www.theory.org.uk/david/theorycards.htm

At the site you can buy them, they use the line - Theory Trading Cards provide concise answers to questions such as, "What is the essence of Michel Foucault's oeuvre?" "What are bell hooks' most important works?" and "What is Theodor Adorno's astrological sign?" (http://www.altamirapress.com/Catalog/SingleBook.shtml?command=Search&db=%5EDB/CATALOG.db&eqSKUdata=0759103836)

This is especially funny if you know that Adorno said, “bent little fortune tellers, terrorizing their clients with crystal balls, are toy models of the great ones who hold the fate of mankind in their hands. . . . The hypnotic power exerted by things occult resembles totalitarian terror. . . . The horoscope corresponds to the official directives to the nations, and number-mysticism is preparation for administrative statistics and cartel prices.”

And it's funny that bell hooks would have a card at all because she goes by (her lowercased psuedo name) bell hooks in an effort to say that the work is what's important, not herself.

Passing

A woman whose writing I loved passed away last Thursday. Madeleine L'Engle wrote, among many things, "Walking On Water: Reflections on Faith and Art" one of the most inspiring and thought provoking musings on the subject. In her NY Times obituary she is quoted as having said,

"Why does anybody tell a story? It does indeed have something to do with faith, faith that the universe has meaning, that our little human lives are not irrelovant, that what we choose or say or do matters, matters cosmically."

Crazy days...

Every Friday in September I will be teaching for 12 1/2 hours with two 30 minute breaks. I am scared poopless for this. It's not sitting at a desk or reading, but literally on my feet working with students for an obscene amount of time. I'm very nervous but it's only for September so send me prayers and money to make me feel better!

The day my chivalry died

I was riding home on the train yesterday and this guy sitting next to me starts telling the lady sitting across from us that she needs to uncross her legs because it's turning him on... I take my headphones off to see where this is going... then he tells her that she might as well just take her clothes off for him. I see other guys standing around, and an older lady too, and I think in my head that this could be a real new york moment... If I speak up, they'll all speak out too. So I say, "Dude, she don't need to hear that!" and i shock myself with how ghetto I've sounded, but I don't let it show on my face. I look around expecting to see the other guys ready to jump in with me, but they look indifferent. I look to the girl whose aid I have come to... she too looks indifferent. I look back to the guy sitting next to me and he says "Stay outta my business." So I say, "just leave her alone, she don't need that." Then the train stops, the lady stands up, looks at the guy, says "Fuck you" and walks off the train. Everybody else is acting like nothing's happened so I put my headphones back on. The guy then starts talking to me, but I can't hear him because of the music. All I can make out is something about his business. So I take my headphones off, mad at him, mad at the other guys standing around, mad that my chivalry was not noted, and I look at him and say "Seriously?" and I put my headphones back on and go back to reading. The guy got up and walked away through the train.