r.e.m. adventures: grandma's fire

a few weeks ago, i had a dream i was in a little white cottage on the top of a hill overlooking an endless expanse of sprawling green fields. i was inside with my father and his brothers, and grandma craig was there-- but she was younger than i'd ever seen her and fearsomely hot. there was a handsome wooden cabinet against the wall from which grandma was pulling out a series of beautiful antique firearms. one by one, she'd select a a different gun, take reckless aim, and fire it through the closed window in a glass-shattering explosion of sound. we all watched with nervous reverence as she sampled each and every gun. that's when i remembered that i was married to bill cosby and we had two daughters together who were outside playing, right in the line of grandma's fire! so i ran out of the house to find my daughters, squirming on my stomach over the grass, dodging bullets left and right. it was a warzone, but i finally spotted the girls and pulled them to safety. i remember telling them how lucky they were to have bill cosby as a father. then i woke up.

enjoy happiness

i went to the canfield fair and these are my favorite things that i saw:

=

THIS STEAM ENGINE IS ALL SET UP
FOR TURNING A ROTISSARY.
THE LIGHTS ON IT GIVE YOU A BONFIRE
WARM GLOWING FEELING.

IT CAN RUN ON STEAM OR AIR.

"MANFRED", DOB 6/10/03
Yes, Manny is a Riding Steer, he is tame and is a
puppy dog. I can ride him & do occasionally, at
special events.

happy birthday ernest hemingway

"I know now that there is no one thing that is true. It's all true."

-Ernest Hemingway, who was born 110 years ago today.

post-grad career plans

i wish i could be the ghostbusters' secretary.

bailout blues & comic relief

here is a small excerpt from

CORPORATE FOLKTALES: HOW BERNANKE TACKLED THE DEPRESSION, AS RECORDED 150 YEARS FROM NOW BY POST-APOCALYPTIC HOBO FOLKLORISTS

by grant munroe

-----
"The Scourge of Markets sat glumly, sipping coffee from a nuclear cooling tower just outside of Lansing, Michigan. He was listening to the wails of the unemployed, which to him sounded as pleasing and melancholy as any Coldplay album. Knowing the strength of his enemy was too great to confront on the level field of battle, Bernanke, being a wise and crafty man, disguised himself.

Hey there, greeted Bernanke.

Oh, hey, said Depression with disinterest. He started absently clipping his toenails with the hinged trunk of an unsold 2009 Chevy Impala."
-----

read the whole thing at mcsweeney's.

"closing time" by veronica diaferia

here is the trailer to veronica diaferia's beautiful/funny/heartwrenching documentary "CLOSING TIME: Storia di un Negozia," which chronicles the final month of one of new york city's oldest, realest stores. when you have 30 minutes, you can watch the whole thing HERE at folkstreams.net.

it will break your heart.

hideout

colleen: aw, i'm going to miss your attic.
me: i know, me too.
colleen: it's so anne frank it's ridiculous.