The Birkenstockmeister

I had reason to visit the local Birkenstockmeister (seller of Birkenstocks) recently. I have a pair of sandals purchased on my honeymoon in Munich -- CHEAP! -- nine years ago and they've just about bitten the dust. Time for some new ones. And since I have no upcoming trip planned to the Fatherland, I must do my purchasing locally.

When I got there, the very nice hippie gentleman who waited on me showed me an identical pair to my old ones, priced at $80. OR, he said that he could refurbish my old Birkenstocks: recork, resole, whatever. And that would be $65. With the prices so similar, I asked him what the advantage to refurbishing would be. "Oh, well you could buy the new AND refurbish the old, and that way you'd have a pair just to kick around in."

Now, I may be Northwestern enough to have a good fleece, but do I really need "good" Birks and "kick-around" Birks?

Happy Working Song

My daughter was informed yesterday that she absolutely must clean her room. After whining and griping for a while, wheedling her father and I to do it for her, she was finally left alone to do the job.

We come back a few minutes later to find her leaning out the window, singing. Hey, it worked for Giselle in Enchanted:



No rats, cockroaches, or pigeons assisted her. But eventually, her daddy did.

History Book Review: Take 2!

Edward Said, Orientalism (1978)

We have two choices for my brief review of this week's book. (Does that mean I'm going to do one of these a week? Clearly, you haven't seen the monstrosity that is next week's reading.)

1. On the downside, this is a book I should have read 8 years ago. On the upside, the material has become so familiar that I felt like I'd already read it.

2. George W. Bush should read this. Oh, who am I kidding? George W. Bush should have someone read explain this to him.

I love legitimate theatre!

We went from the Ridiculous to the Sublime.

Cruel Irony

Spouse is working the night shift tonight, so I ordered takeout from the Happy Lucky Panda Garden for me and kids. After a lovely meal, we broke into fortune cookies. Mine read: "Romantic opportunities abound tonight."

You lie, fortune guy.

Today's Historical Book Review

Eric Walther, William Lowndes Yances and The Coming of the Civil War (2006)

You ever go into reading a biography thinking, "This guy was kind of an asshole," and then when you finish the book, you think, "Wow, he was a MAJOR asshole!"? I have.

Family Reunion

I mentioned to my friend E that the trip to Colorado was a family reunion, a visit with 23 total cousins (11 of which were under the age of 11). She asked if it was my side or Spouse's. Come now. Not even counting the Mormon branch of the family, who we very rarely even talk to, I don't have 23 cousins. So this was Spouse's fam.

A very good trip. It was nice that all the cousins got to see each other. And, you know, there's stuff to do in Colorado.

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The Wild Boy with his two compatriots, all enjoying Teddy Grahams. (Memories, ~n!)

Three 3-year-olds. Chaos reigned supreme, needless to say.

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DQ hanging with her older cousins.

Lots of time outdoors enjoying ourselves. Pony rides, hiking, rafting, pedal boats, barbeques, and for after the kids went to bed, a rousing game of 80s music trivia.

Pictures will be removed shortly. Enjoy for now.

An Ethical Dilemma

Would purchasing songs by Amy Winehouse merely encourage her behavior, and would I therefore be morally culpable if I wanted "Rehab" on my ipod?

More Movie Loglines

Not to be outdone (oh, who am I kidding? Of course I'll be outdone) by Neel, I present another round of Movie Loglines Quiz:

1. A lawyer develops an eating disorder in an effort to push away the demons that surround him.
Solved by Neel

2. A politician seeks the help of musically talented criminals to assure reelection.
Solved by Neel

3. A woman loves and leaves a bar owner for the prospects of a political marriage.
Solved by Neel

4. A secret society walks the line of criminal behavior and hedonistic depravity. Hijinks ensue.
Solved by Julie

5. A woman falls in love with her captor, to the point of defending him against attackers. (Multiple answers)
#1 Solved by Julie
#2 Solved by K-lyn

The Tudor Blanket

As promised, here is a picture of the Tudor yarn blanket. And as a bonus treat, it is modeled by Baby A, the newest nephew we just visited last week.



Aww....

I'll Fly Away

Heading out of town tomorrow. See you in a week! Thanks, everyone, who participated in the movie quiz.

Movie Loglines quiz

As stolen from Neel. The basics: loglines are 1-2 sentence descriptions of a movie, like you'd see in a TV listings grid. But what if they presented a vague, warped, or odd description of the movie in question?

See if you can guess the following films:

1. A woman forsakes her religious order to join forces with a man on the run from the government.
Solved by K-lyn.

2. A king fears his daughter's romance with a man from another race will bring trouble to their kingdom. The girl's efforts to forward her romance bring her into contact with a rival to the throne.
Solved by Andy.

3. A damaged father desires to reunite with his son and train him in the family business. But the son has other ideas.
Solved by Andy.

4. A man seeks to save his community and redeem himself through a daring motorcycle stunt.
Solved by Neel.

5. A wartime profiteer finds a cheap source of labor among an exploited population.
Solved by Neel.