Check Out My Baby Blog!

If you didn't know already, I'm pregnant! Bill & I started a baby blog, which is updated a lot more often than this one.

Read all about it at Bill & Cat's Baby Blog!

Friday, June 29, 2007

Dr. Who?

As a prepubescent girl, I would sleep over at my beloved granny's house nearly every Saturday night. Sunday mornings, we'd have pancakes for breakfast, and Saturday night, I'd watch my favorite TV show at the time, Dr. Who, on Nashville's PBS affiliate, Channel 8. This was during the mid-80s, I guess, but the episodes I watched were mainly from the late 60s and early 70s, so maybe that's why Jon Pertwee and Tom Baker are my favorite actors who've played the Doctor. Or maybe it's because they're the best!


My memories of it are starting to get a bit hazy now, actually. But it was my weekend ritual for a while, and the show never failed to entertain me.


About a year ago, I was visiting a friend who said, "Oh you've got to see this new show from England, it's so cool! It's called Dr. Who!"


And so I was introduced to a new Doctor Who! I was almost afraid to watch it, I'm such a cynic sometimes, I really expected it to be awful. The cynicism dissapated as soon as I started watching the show. I could write at length, comparing the old show I remember with the new show I've been watching (I'm watching the show on DVDs, borrowed from the same friend who re-introduced me to Dr. Who.), but essentially I felt that the new show had everything I loved about the old show and lots of improvements.


However, the episode I saw last night, reminded me that something was missing...K-9!!!


Hmmm time for lunch, I'll finish up later.Maybe...




Article about the episode (This is old news since I'm watching the show two years after it aired...)


Bill has made some really delicious meals in the last few days. One of the code monkeys gave him a lot of yellow squash from his family's farm in Arkansas. I like squash well-enough, but I have to admit that I never really get excited about eating it. I guess that's because when I think of squash the squash of my youth comes to mind: Plucked from the garden all pretty and yellow, then fried up 'til it's limp and greasy, sitting mostly unnoticed at the edge of the table. Of course, I enjoy raw squash occasionally on a vegetable platter at party, but of course that kind of squash is really just an edible vegetable dip ladle, right?

Bee on a zucchini squash blossom.


Not so with the squash Bill cooked up on Wednesday night. He made a sautee with the squash, crushed tomatoes, lots of basil from our garden, onions, some fresh tomatoes from our garden, I'm sure I'm forgetting something (I should check with the chef). We had it with brown rice. Maybe he had chicken and I had fish, I'm having trouble remembering anything except how damn good it was. When I really enjoy the food I'm eating, I start swearing. Wednesday night I could have made a sailor blush.

Last night's meal rivaled the squash sautee, though. I had brought about two hours of work home, so Bill was in the kitchen on his own as I worked. He made the best pico de gallo I've ever tasted, although it was a bit on the mild side. It was composed almost completely of ingredients from our garden: tomatoes, jalapenos, and cilantro. He used a red onion we bought at Easy Way in there too. He topped grilled tilapia for me (and some sort of steak for himself, I believe) with the pico. We had black beans and Mexican-style rice as side dishes. There were some whole wheat tortillas on the table, too. Best fish tacos EVER!

I had plums ready for dessert, but I forgot them until breakfast today.

All this food talk is making me hungry, and it's only 10:15!

Monday, June 25, 2007

Nothing to report

Nothing much going on right now. I found out that the Young Avenue Deli delivers, so I had a Deathrow Pimiento Cheese Sandwich and some fries for lunch. The ladies in the office ordered lunch, too. It was great, but we felt a bit ripped off when we noticed (after the deliveryman left with our generous tips) that we had each been charged a $2 delivery fee.

I mean, that's OK. I want to be sure the person delivering my food is fairly compensated. But this guy was definitely over-compensated. I should have paid closer attention to my receipt, but someone at some point should have mentioned that there was a delivery fee. All I was told was that there was a $10 minimum order, so I ordered extra food just to go over $10 (I'll be having a garden salad from Young Ave along with my dinner this evening, or for lunch tomorrow).

Nonetheless, we all loved the food. There are several things on the menu at Young Avenue Deli that I like a lot. I'm really glad they deliver.

And why did I order lunch out today? I normally bring my lunch or go home for lunch, each day. I had intended to go home for lunch today, so I didn't bring anything to eat. Unfortunately, Bill's car (the one we "fixed" (again!) yesterday) isn't actually fixed after all. He came by and picked up my car so he can get to work and his doctor appointment. So I am stranded at work, with no walking shoes. I can't leave here until he can come get me.

Yuck!

Sunday, June 24, 2007

Harakiri & Murakami & the Dolphin Hotel



Started the day with a nice brunch. I had told Bill a few days ago that some of our tomatoes would be ripe for BLTs by the weekend, and I was right! We decided to watch our only remaining Netflix DVD, Harakiri, as we ate. I loved it. It was so perfectly constructed. The cinematography was absolutely sublime, too.

Afterwards, Bill decided to tinker with his car a bit. I assisted because my small hands can fit perfectly into tight spots to unscrew hard-to-reach bolts. Also, I replaced my windshield wipers and swept Mimosa tree debris from the carport. We took a ride to the bookstore to test Bill's car repairs (he's been having some serious cooling system woes) and to get my long-awaited new Haruki Murakami novel, After Dark.

The car made it there and back with no problems. Before I opened the book, I told myself I wasn't going to be obsessive about reading it. I was going to just read one chapter a day, to make it last, and to leave time for the other things in life...

I have no self-discipline sometimes. I read the entire thing. In my defense, it's a very brief 191 pages. It couldn't be helped. But now I need another book!



I saw 1408 yesterday, as expected. The movie was pretty good. I didn't have the highest of expectactions, otherwise I may have been disappointed with what I saw. I expected it to be better than average, and on the whole it was. The beginning of the movie was very good and very spooky; I thought, for a moment, it was going to exceed my expectations and be a really great horror movie. Unfortunately, it went on to falter in a few places, so it turned out to be... a better than average horror movie, just as I expected.

I used to read a lot of Stephen King when I was in middle school and junior high. I have read a few of his novels since then, and I do enjoy reading Stephen King, but I was pretty sure I had not read the short story he wrote that inspired the film. I began to second-guess myself at one point during the movie, a certain scene seemed very familiar. There was also something familiar about the name of the hotel: the Dolphin Hotel.

So naturally I googled a bit today and verified that I had not read the story. The familiar scene may have been inspired by an older Stephen King story I read, or it may have seemed familiar because it's a kind of common movie convention (someone walking on a ledge outside a tall building). I'm afraid of heights, anyway, so those "inching across the ledge" movie moments always wrench my guts.

The neat thing was I also saw that King named the hotel after a hotel mentioned in two Murakami books! It's kind of funny. In my Ghosties post, I felt that declaring my plans to buy After Dark were a bit out of place, seeing as how the post was mostly about finishing Will Storr's book and planning to see 1408. But, hey, Murakami was connected after all.

AND... now I know what my next book might as well be, one of the two Murakami books I haven't read, which mention the Dolphin Hotel. I also wonder if it's not mentioned in some of his other books or stories, since it sounded familiar to me. But I've stayed at the Dauphin in New Orleans, so maybe it's that, or it stuck in my head from reading book reviews for Dance, Dance, Dance and Wild Sheep Chase.

I LOVE coincidences!

You know what? I have to do laundry now.

Friday, June 22, 2007

Stop the Presses! CrossCat mentioned in FT!!!

I am a Fortean Times Newshound Today!
How cool is that?

OK. It's not that big of a deal. All I did was submit a link to a strange headline. And it is strange! The Missing: Large lake in southern Chile headline is the one I submitted. I felt that definitely belongs in FT. The remote lake disappeared in a matter of only a few months!!!
Maybe some thirsty aliens stole that lake?






Ghosties!

TGIF, right?

I've finished the Will Storr vs. the Supernatural paperback. I was anxious to see if Will was going to believe in ghosts or not after his paranormal adventures and investigations, so I sort of neglected the laundry and mostly ignored the DVD Bill put in after dinner (Death of a President).

I won't spoil the ending, but I really enjoyed the book. At the beginning, he's a skeptic. He interviews a litany of "experts": ghost hunters, demonologists, victims of demonic possession, an exorcist, a philosopher, a psychiatrist, a quantum physicist. He also goes on some spooky field trips, visiting (and sleeping over) at various haunted locations. His skepticism, which he argues is a form of faith in itself, is tried early in the book, and he flip-flops from skeptic to not-so-skeptic throughout the book. Of course, best of all, is that he's a talented storyteller, with a great voice. It's fun to read, very humorous, andscary.

Now that I've finished with it, I intend to buy the latest Murakami novel (novella?), After Dark, this evening or at some point during the weekend. I'm very excited to read it. He's quickly becoming my favorite, I think.



And, if you're wondering, yes, I do believe in ghosts. Maybe I'll share some of personal experiences at some point in the future. I love to trade ghost stories. I used to enjoy reading and posting them on some Usenet groups.



Speaking of ghosts...

Bill wants to see 1408 this weekend. It's based on a Stephen King story that I've not read. John Cusack plays a travel writer who arranges to stay in a haunted hotel room. Actually, Cusack's character, based on the little I learned about him during the trailer, reminds me of one of Storr's ghost hunters, Maurice Grosse. Cusack's character, like Grosse, becomes obsessed with ghosts after the tragic death of his own daughter.

I love horror movies, especially if they deal with ghosts, hauntings, or (shiver) demonic possession. When I think of movies that really have scared me, they mostly fall within those categories: The Exorcist, The Eye, Rosemary's Baby, The Devil's Backbone, The Ring, Ju-on, and so on...

I watched the trailer for this one, and it looked pretty surreal and spooky. Even if the movie is terrible, it will be fun to munch on some popcorn and hold Bill's hand.

Thursday, June 21, 2007

sssssnakessssss~~



Snakes


Yesterday evening, as Bill and I were embarking on our after dinner stroll, we encountered a snake (!!!) in our driveway. It was only a small snake, but I wasn't sure which kind of snake it was.
Our reptilian visitor had left by the time we returned. I was disappointed, because I wanted to take a photo and identify it. I found a nice site (http://frogsandsnakes.homestead.com/snakes.html) that has images and information about the snakes of Tennessee. I believe it was a small brownsnake hanging out in our driveway, but I have to rely on my memory, which isn't perfect.

Anyway...
A Google search of +Memphis +snakes also revealed this little gem, which is news to me:

Perhaps almost as strange was the rain of living snakes that fell over the southern part of Memphis, Tennessee in 1877. These creatures reportedly ranged from about a foot to 18 inches in length and were presumed by the people of Memphis to have been swept into the air by a hurricane. Although even Scientific American asked where so many snakes would exist “in such abundance” (they fell by the thousands) “is yet a mystery.”
-from http://www.prairieghosts.com/falls_sky.html

FREAKY! How could I, a relatively faithful Fortean Times reader, be unaware of this bizarre phenomenon, which ostensibly took place in my very own hometown??? I'll try to find out more about it.















Wednesday, June 20, 2007

Just a Test

Just testing the bl-bl-blah blah blog out.

See some photos of the house and the tomato plants.






I don't know if I can use HTML tags in this area...