Sam, you little subversive, you. Eight years old! How did this happen? You do math, you do art, you rock in the backfield at soccer. Must be all those bologna sandwiches.
I do hope that someday, you outgrow YuGiOh cards, but I hope you never outgrow the giggle. Happy Birthday, little man. 
A designer knows he has acheived perfection not when there is nothing left to add, but when there is nothing left to take away. - Antoine de Saint-Exupery 
Well, that was all I had hoped for and more. How often do you get to hear the unamplified, unprocessed, unproduced voice of a popular musician as big as Elvis Costello? What an absolute treat.
Elvis and the Imposters did lots of tunes of the latest cd, The Delivery Man, last night at the Michigan Theater. Their rendition of the title track was one of the highlights of the night for me. My impression was that they took it a little slower than what's on the cd, but maybe it was just done a little more tenderly. It was marvelous, whatever it was.
Midway through, Elvis (and a squad of ...
If you've been reading along, you probably know I don't think Ann Arbor is much of a cool city anymore. Don't get me wrong - I don't hate the place at all, even if I adore ann arbor is overrated. In truth, I think it's a great place to live and a great place to raise kids. But it's not cool - it's not hip, it's not trendy, it's not cutting edge. Ann Arbor isn't creating trends any more, it's just slurping them up from elsewhere. There used to be some great subversive and creative energy around, but since they chased out the artists and downtown became so expensive that the cool ...
The new Beck rocks. Black Tambourine. Oh yeah. Hell yes, in fact. That's what a beat should be.
Some discussion on 'the young' tonight at Network Downtown. Did you know they don't dance? They stand on the dance floor, still as scarecrows. Scarecrows without a breeze, even. And they complain about 'old timers' who move around too much. The repuglicans have won - they've sucked all the sexuality out of the young. Be afraid for the future.
But I am not young. I don't get phone numbers written on the inside of matchbooks by handsome men anymore, I get band names. Cool band names, mind you. Ozo Matli. ...
So the roof leaks. Not a lot, but enough to make some lurvely brown patches on the ceiling in the kitchen. And the office. And the bedroom.
The house is only 4 years old! Turns out the roof was not built to code. Around our dormers (it's a cape cod), instead of using flashing cards, they used one continuous piece of flashing, so the water apparently comes right through the nail holes. They also um, like, forgot to put cap shingles on one of the dormers. Ooops!
(Lest you think we didn't have the house inspected before we bought, we did. However, it was in February, so the inspectors couldn't go on the roof due to ...
I fell into Bjork's Medúlla quite by accident. I have been an appreciater but not necessarily a fan of her work. It's been clear to me all along that she is a very talented musician, but I haven't really liked or connected with her music.
Until the other day, when my favorite XM station, U-Pop, played a track from Medulla: Sonnets Unrealities XI. I was glad to be pulling in to the drive at the time so I could just stop and listen fully. I was mesmerized. It's been a long time since I've heard something so beautiful.
The lyrics are an E. E. Cummings poem, a beautiful poem musing on losing love with ...
it may not always be so; and i say
that if your lips, which i have loved, should touch
another's, and your dear strong fingers clutch
his heart, as mine in time not far away;
if on another's face your sweet hair lay
in such a silence as i know, or such
great writhing words as, uttering overmuch,
stand helplessly before the spirit at bay;
if this should be, i say if this should be-
you of my heart, send me a little word;
that i may go unto him, and take his hands,
saying, Accept all happiness from me.
Then shall i turn my face, and hear one bird
sing terribly afar in the lost lands.
- E. E. Cummings 
Seems there's lots of very public mourning going on these days. Not much mention of death #1534 in Iraq, though. This is Laura Fisher's blog, coming to you from Ann Arbor, Michigan. You might know me as mitten and you can find me in many online communities under that name. Comments are welcome here, or you can write to me more privately via the contact form.
Forget the old cartoon, forget any hint of serious intent and go watch this movie for the sheer technicolor delight of it. It's beautiful, it's fast, it's silly (in the good way), it's exciting and inspired. Go Speed go!
Delicious anti-Gehry, pro-Jane Jacobs rant here: http://tinyurl.com/684jls 5 hrs ago
