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Yager Bombs and More

March 7, 2013 by mountainmornings

“There’s Sir Dosser the Convict, Chango the Beast…” If you’re not getting the reference, this is a part of a radio interview done in Britain, gone viral with Mila Kunis. Highly entertaining, we learn they don’t have Blue Moon beer overseas and we Yanks don’t normally “…drop trout” at weddings. Here is the recap, the on-air reaction of the young guy, Chris Stark’s, boss – “Why are you going on about your mates again?”

Poor Mila, you can tell she has a cold and she’s enjoying this break from the ordinary slew of questions about her new movie with James Franco, a prequel to the Wizard of Oz. It’s a Sam Raimi production, who sounds like a reincarnation of Hitchcock. Animation mixed with live action is normally not my cup of tea (though I did enjoy Jessica Rabbit, she’s just drawn that way). But one of my Kindle downloads on this last trip was a mixture of fantasy and fiction, The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern. Le Cirque des Rêves appears without warning and only opens at night. It too is about a charlatan, an illusionist, or two. And so I’m intrigued by the new Oz and just may dig my way out of this snow to see it!

From wanting to drink Yager Bombs with Mila, to the real world of droning on about bombs in a Senate filibuster. I thought you might like to know that our little city, Charlottesville, VA is the first in the nation to outright ban drones from roaming all over our backyards. Yes, for two years we can’t buy, borrow or test any drones and the ultrasound Governor is now considering a bill on his desk to make this a state-wide condition. http://www.usnews.com/news/articles/2013/02/05/city-in-virginia-becomes-first-to-pass-anti-drone-legislation-

City Councilor, my Facebook buddy and former Mayor Dave Norris says, :…the city has a “long tradition of promoting civil liberties – ‘It’s just part of our culture here.'”

It’s a bit scary to me to think that we have been giving up so many of our civil liberties so freely. The right to vote, the right to govern our own bodies without government interference, the right of privacy, etc. The question about drones speaks to a much larger issue. It’s not so much catching the marijuana grower in his backyard, as it is:
When is it OK to kill anyone?
American or not?
With or without a drone? since this is just another instrument of death…a flying, remote-control-game-like tool of destruction. Let’s not stay up all night talking about whether its target is a US citizen on this soil or that. When do we as a nation say that this is OK?
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Art in Place

March 5, 2013 by mountainmornings

Two things happened to collide in my first week home. One was our overabundance – how big America is, how wide our roads, how many choices we have for cereal. And “B” (it’s a family joke) was a New Yorker article I was reading at the gym about Walmart art. http://www.newyorker.com/online/blogs/culture/2013/02/walmart-art.html#ixzz2MfZBirVd

Artist Brendan O’Connell worked for the Winn Dixie as a teenager when he had the brilliant idea that he wanted to paint the patterns and colors of store shelves. He saw beauty in the endless void of our material world, someone called him the Warhol of this generation. But he didn’t actually start painting until he started to photograph shoppers and shelves in Walmart. Imagine, Cheeto bags inspired passion; well actually he hasn’t painted a Cheeto bag, yet…

Now, his is the only art hung in Walmart’s corporate headquarters in Arkansas, and Alec Baldwin is a collector. “A company executive said, (O’Connell is) capturing ‘the art in the Wonderbread; the art in the Jif.'”

I like to think that’s about how I write. Something ordinary, or maybe newsworthy, might catch my eye and off I’ll run with words. Seeing something extraordinary in everyday things. The Flapper and my beautiful sister Kay were the artists in my family, so drawing was out of the question for me, but painting a picture with words and metaphor seemed doable. Still, I can appreciate art when I see it.

Like the lovely Art in Place project that has sculpture and murals popping up all over Cville. http://www.artinplace.org I am consistently  delighted to see ever-changing roadscapes while I drive around town.The fin of a giant whale, a zipper being unzipped, a harried commuter with his tie flying in the wind, or even a butterfly made out of stone by Philip Kyle Hathcock hathcock  

Since I don’t go to Walmarts, here is my photo montage of O’Connell-like shelves I found intriguing after getting through customs, my dignity somewhat intact and my avocat lotion not confiscated:
A still life of 100 calorie snack packs at a Harris Teeter grocery store. The French do not have a word for “snack.” photo copy
The Starbucks mermaid.photo copy 3
A favorite chip for teens in Target photo copy
And a woman looking for beauty products photo copy 3

What is art, what is beauty? Discuss.

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Vacation Memoir

March 2, 2013 by mountainmornings

A six picture memoir for SBH. Did you notice the matching polka dot bikinis? We noticed the Love Bug pursing her lips. The opposite of her reverse Elvis pout. And sure enough, she said, “Mama.”

 

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Lots of firsts on this trip: a dip into the aquamarine Caribbean Sea; a sail to a secluded island; a bath in the open-air kitchen sink; organic French baby food, “Legumes et cereal.”
We are ready for her first Spring!

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Whoops

February 28, 2013 by mountainmornings

Seems the you tube piece didn’t translate, sorry y’all

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Michelle ma Belle

February 28, 2013 by mountainmornings

Good Morning Followers! Finished your coffee and croissant? It’s back to work for Bob and laundry for me. Sorry to say, I like getting very little French news on our island. Diving back into American culture photo copy and listening to CNN has left me with a headache; the Pope is leaving (really?), Woodward has been “threatened” by the White House (I doubt anyone could threaten this man), and John Kerry has announced we’ll be giving Syrian rebels some “non-lethal” aide (so we send them money to buy our guns?).

Being an old newshound, I found my way to Politico for the Woodward story. Instead I clicked on the piece about John Kerry speaking French, mon Dieu! “Secretary of State John Kerry decided to show off some of his French-language skills during a press conference in France Wednesday.” Ha, not all reporters have gone to Rome! It seems that while running for President it’s better not to speak French, but knowing how to speak a few different languages might be helpful for a Secretary. http://www.politico.com/politico44/2013/02/kerry-busts-out-some-french-158056.html?hp=r23

Now about our old friend Bob Woodward: http://www.politico.com/story/2013/02/exclusive-the-woodward-sperling-emails-revealed-88226.html?hp=t1_3 Breaking News!! It’s semantics people. The word “regret” was used about implying that sequestration was a manufactured idea by POTUS. I find it fascinating that a little tete a tete between two people is more newsworthy than the actual bit about those humongous budget cuts that just may cut the legs off of our economic recovery. Hello!

Needing a break from such serious matters, between the rinse cycle and the 2nd cup of coffee, I thought I’d leave you with this little pick-me-up. Our First Lady, in her continuing effort to fight obesity, taught Jimmy Fallon a few, fine Mom Moves. Couldn’t help but rock that cardigan Madame Michelle! Altogether now, get up and dance!

PS Thank you Aunt Cait for the picture of Fourchue Bay!

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Homeward Bound

February 27, 2013 by mountainmornings

So long my lovely island. We made a farewell dinner last night at the villa, crevettes in a coconut curry sauce with pasta and salad of endive, beets and Brie. Only when you clean the shrimp, it’s a bit more involved since they come to you with their heads on, their eyes looking right at you. Aunt Caitly and Bob were the best fishmongers, it’s not a job I particularly enjoy.

The night before, we gave the Bride and Groom a date night. It’s a tradition we started when our children were young, one night a week scheduled on the calendar, to go out just the two of you. Bob used to insist that we not talk about babies, but of course that didn’t last long. Still, it was a small oasis in a week of work and dirty diapers, a time to remember why you were procreating in the first place.

Goodbye Saline and sun and sand. Goodbye Cleo, Fabienne and Juan. Rosita I’m so sorry we missed you. Goodbye to our little Fourchue, the bay where we saw a starfish. Remember this island Love Bug when you return to Nashville. I’m afraid the whole co-sleeping thing will be coming to an abrupt end, your nights are about to get back to business. No more parties in your cabana, till the next time.

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Doing Cardio

February 25, 2013 by mountainmornings

There is a silly tee shirt here that says something like, “Shopping is my Cardio.” Ah, if only that were true. The problem with a French island is that the concept of gym workouts is foreign. Even when the Bride spent her Junior semester in Paris, the gym was a strange American place. Yoga, yes, maybe even Pilates has made it this far, but not cross-training or body pumping.

We climb the hills, and we walk on the beach; that is the sum of our exercise so far. Although yesterday we were walking on Petit Cul de Sac and thought for a minute we saw a dead body. Being superstitious only made it worse, I wanted to turn away and walk back to our car. I remembered the last time we found a dead body on this island. A Canadian man had fallen out of his dinghy one night, his blue foot was sticking out from under a sheet on the dock. It was a major CSI moment.

We had to walk off a wonderful moules frites when the gendarmes thought to redirect us around the dead man. At the very last minute…

Then I thought maybe it’s only a hat bobbing in the waves. Probably that’s all. But then we looked, it was a dead goat! Poor thing, it probably lost its footing on a cliff.

I broke into a trot. We had happier times ahead. We had to do a 6 month birthday photo shoot of the Love Bug and take her out for crepe caramel and ice cream. And maybe do some cardio.

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FlyingSolo

February 22, 2013 by mountainmornings

It’s official. The family is here, the Rocker and Aunt Caitly arrived last night to serenade the Love Bug to sleep. Of course she is on Nashville time, so it’s anybody’s guess when bedtime begins.

This morning the breeze is blowing, the birds are singing, the saws are buzzing and finally the Bug is dreaming peacefully. I’m flying solo while Bob escorts the kids to the beach. We passed the time desperately seeking a bottle…well, I had a bottle. I just didn’t have the top part. One perfectly great bottle of breast milk, without a nipple.

So I improvised. We had some banana, and she is learning to drink water from a cup. Almost 6 mois, and I can already see she loves learning new things. We may have a French lesson this afternoon. Ou est la plume?

Voila! I found the top! Actually, it’s a Dr Brown’s bottle that was hidden in a bag in plain sight. This did the trick, she fell asleep mid-bottle. We don’t make a lot of plans when we arrive, beyond beach and maybe pool. The Bug has stuck her toes in the sand, had a swim in the pool and developed a new baby syndrome.

This usually appears when she is surrounded by so many people she loves. It’s called FOMO. Her Uncle coined the phrase of our little sleeping sickness…when a baby is fighting sleep so hard, she stares blissfully ahead from one person to another. “Will you play the guitar for me, will you sing?” It is the Fear of Missing Out!

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Falling

February 19, 2013 by mountainmornings

Je suis Le Balance! This means that my astrological sign is Libra, and before you get all “I don’t believe in that stuff” on me, consider this. Lots of people do believe, and like a good Libran, I’m open to most anything. My Kevin MD list serve sent me an article about two important women who happened to fall recently – Hillary Clinton and Barbara Walters.

The point of the essay was that the media missed the most important point of their stories. Instead of focusing on the newest medical treatments for head trauma, which were the direct result of a fall, news people reported on Hillary’s glasses and Barbara’s broken bone. Instead,they could have used their spotlight to focus on prevention. One out of three people over the age of 65 will fall; and an older American is treated for a fall in an Emergency Department every 15 seconds!

in fact, falls are the 5th leading cause of death, and at the least may lead to a loss of confidence and the loss of independence.

What bothered me about the Kevin MD article was that they mentioned exercise, along with good shoes, cataract surgery, home safety precautions, vitamin D supplements and changing medications that may result in dizziness – but they failed to mention the importance of working on Balance.

Do the tree pose in yoga. Stand on one foot, lean the other on your ankle and count to ten. Or count to three and work up to ten, slowly. Raise your arms above your head when you get really good. Maybe you need to hold onto a chair, but start somewhere and eventually you’ll be able to trip over your dog holding a laundry basket and land on two feet…oh yes, I did that. Bob just tripped on a curb recently, he rolled and got up and ordered his coffee, like a good stunt man.

Let’s get the stigma out of falling, everybody does it! The Love Bug will take many a tumble learning to walk; children fall all the time. It’s just that the consequences for seniors can be severe. Hillary was dehydrated, suffering from a virus when she hit the deck, Barbara fell going about her normal day. My brother Jim recently fell going down some steps and broke a rib. It’s important to raise our awareness as we age, we need to practice balancing religiously.

And we also need to check on AstologyZone website to see if the new moon will be in Uranus. And maybe check for black cats and put away those stilettos?

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Incommunicado

February 17, 2013 by mountainmornings

We like to read on vacation. Twenty three years ago, when we first discovered this French island, there was no satellite TV, no “wee fee” and certainly no cell phones. Even then we felt it was a pleasure to disconnect from the rest of the world. Our only source of news was the free 1 page “Le News” and I remember reading this one day and not believing that our translation was correct. How could our Vice President have shot someone in the face?

Now that our villa has super-connectivity, we still stay unplugged, by choice. And the 1 page Le News now has 4 pages of advertising. This time the French government has delivered some surprising news. “Coup de Pouce” – very rough translation – the National Council on Medicine has stated that a medical professional is permitted to give a terminal sedation for patients at the end of life, with ‘persistant, lucid, and reiterated requests’.

I wonder if this made the news back home? In other words, the whole country is going the way of Oregon! State by state we trudge along, slowly trying to keep up with science and culture. Our generation, the one that brought you the Summer of Love in 1967, will be bringing you the Winter of Death. We will catch up, with marriage for all like Great Britain, and the freedom to choose how we die as in France. It’s inevitable, progress, love and death and taxes.

Just finished reading The Hummingbird’s Daughter by Luis Alberrto Urrea. It’s about a Mexican saint, about how the native people exult and fear death simultaneously. A wonderful, lyrical read, when it came to the end my Kindle prompted me to “Tweet that you finished this book.” I laughed out loud, since I’m not on Twitter and don’t even keep up with Goodreads. I’m blogging from Bob’s iPad, which he keeps to check with work from time to time, at the airport.

Happy President’s Day everyone aka Valentine’s Day for the Bride and Groom!

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