Brush With Granola Greatness

As a member (and former employee) of Open Harvest Coop, I was pleased to see the attached video took Third Prize in the national "My Coop Rocks!" competition.

paranormal-romance

I logged onto my Goodreads account yesterday. Goodreads is a social network for readers which allows me to list and write reviews of the books I've read, the site offers me the opportunity to sell and swap books, and get reading recommendations from friends. I was logged on and generally browsing for something to pick up from the library. As I clicked I found out “paranormal-romance” is its own genre of literature. I smirked at the computer-screen and tried to think kinder, gentler thoughts about the Twilight series.

Paranormal-romance. It was a combo that stuck with me like a fever. When I fixate on something I’ll commonly take a little walk to sort of clear my mind. I walked off from the computer screen but couldn't leave the idea. Instead I listed the romance stories I know that were tinged with the supernatural or something just outside the realm of science. While I wasn’t so flush with books, but I was shocked how readily I could conjure small and big screen stories which fit neatly into the mold.

There was your low hanging fruit the I-love-a-space-alien theme with Starman, Earth Girls are Easy, Mork and Mindy, the whole Dr. Who series. Mix in the I-love-a-robot theme and you capture movies like Stepford Wives, Wall-E, Blade Runner, and Weird Science. I’m particularly fond of the there’s-something-really-different-about-this-guy theme which captures Edward Scissorhands, Time Traveler’s Wife, and Phenomenon. Throw in your superhero love stories and every Lois Lane, every broken hearted glam girl left is Bruce Wayne (Batman)’s wake, every Mary Jane has a lovelorn tale to tell.

At this point I walked back to my desk chuckling out loud. Fully conceding the point that paranormal-romance is a legitimate genre. Respecting it a little, actually, and outing own closeted leanings in this direction.
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Personal Soundtrack: Love Is A Good Thing (Sheryl Crow)

Use Words by Naomi

"Hate can't drive out hate only love can do that." (Martin Luther King, Jr.)

Outside Temp

I had to snap a photo of my dashboard temperature indicator on Friday. Ah, the start to a warm weekend!

I don't know anyone that hasn't been hit hard by this winter. A Senator being gunned down in Arizona. Employment numbers remaining low. Three years of recession news. This unrelenting and bitterly cold weather just offered up a sort of bone-crushing blow.

It made this weekend feel like an oasis, really. I hope you found the occasion to marvel at the blue sky, the ability to wander outside in light jackets. I went around splashing in puddles and clipping the river of snow-melt in the gutter. I revelled in the way the cold water would backsplash and flicker in the sunlight. Never once minded the cold sting at my toes or wearing wet socks.
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Personal Soundtrack: Just Like A Star (Corrine Bailey Rae)
Recent Goodness: Celebrating my Aunt Jinx on her birthday.
Shout out to: Jill Zeman, Jake Bleed and the new arrival Claire Audrey.
BTW: I have an eight-year old plotting to cook dinner tonight. Happy Valentine's Day!

Slam Poetry

There was something cathartic about the attached video for me. It's a little out there from the things I'll usually post on meleeska, but I watched it yesterday and have been talking or thinking about it ever since.

I hated that snobbish moment when I left behind the content to count the letters and observe that "pretty" has six (not five) letters. Even my smallest or most petty observations are forced to completely yield to the performer's message.
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Crazy Coolness: Our upstairs construction project at the house. Except, with insulation, the rooms are warm...not cool. Quiet, too!
Contemplating: A part-time-green-writer-blogger stint.

Happy New Year, Bunnies

A pleasant surprise offering from my kitchen calendar this year is the notation of some traditional Chinese Festivals and Holidays. Naomi is enamored of Chinese language and culture so we've tried to fuel that interest appropriately. Since Chinese culture works by the lunar calendar I've struggled with where the dates land. I'm not so nimble with the lunar-gregorian calendar translation. Thank goodness for this calendar then, right? I know!

My kitchen tells me today is Chinese New Year. It marks the end of the Year of the Tiger and kick-starts the Year of the Rabbit.

According to the literature the year we're headed toward is significantly less stormy than the one we just endured. Chinese astrologers are projecting "quiet, positive and inspiring" things to come along with the Rabbit.

I'm good with that so Happy New Year, Bunnies!
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Personal Soundtrack: The Letter (Natalie Merchant)