2 weeks, 2 weeks....

Whoo, hooo! Project Runway is back!

Well, it will be in two weeks. I wish they were still on Bravo, 'cause I can't see Lifetime being okay with designing clothes for drag queens. Will a tie-in be designing clothes for the Army Wives? Or for one of the sad sack women on their ultra dramatic movies who finally get out of a retched marriage (or relationship, or dead-end job, or dead-end town, or all of the above) and make it (of course, with the help of an understanding, gorgeous man -- played by a young Bruce Boxleitner type.) Spare me the Lifetime movie. It's not my thing, obviously.

Whatever. I don't care. For the moment, my heart is light with the knowledge that Heidi, Tim, "American Designer Michael Kors", and Nina Garcia will be back. If they try to de-gay it, though, they will truly ruin it. Hands off, Lifetime!

Bueller? Bueller?

Ferris Bueller's Day Off.
The Breakfast Club.
Sixteen Candles. - Even though I am really pissed with the use and treatment of the character Long Duck Dong.
Weird Science.
Planes, Trains and Automobiles.
Mr. Mom.

Some of my favorite movies growing up were by John Hughes. Why are so many icons from my childhood dying? I refuse to face reality. I am not getting older. I will take over Dick Clark's title as the oldest living teenager.

Everything I Need to Know, I Learned in Kindergarten

The two female journalists, Laura Ling and Euna Lee, who were captured in North Korea and sentenced to 12 years of hard labor, were released yesterday. Former President Bill Clinton went to the country to negotiate with Kim Jong Il for their release. Go Bill! When I saw this picture of Clinton, Kim, and Kim's administration all arranged like a class photo, I realized something. I'm sure I'm over simplifying, but I think Kim, and dare I say, his country, really wants to be recognized and respected. I admit that I don't know anything about North Korea, their policies and recent history, but I think that these two women were unfortunately captured and so harshly sentenced mainly to prove a point.

I'm glad that Clinton went or was sent to discuss releasing the journalists. It was a good choice, Clinton being a well-loved, well-respected former U.S. President. Clinton has the right amount of power and prestige to assuage the wounded pride of a country that might not have felt that the U.S. was giving it it's just due. I'm just commenting without having read any articles, which I know is a dangerous thing. I don't know what, if anything, we promised them in return, but I do know that it wouldn't have been successful, no matter what, if say, Al Sharpton (or even just some lower level person who was actually part of the Obama administration) was sent over there to do the same job. It's funny, how we get older, maybe even run countries, but all of us still need reassurance that we are good enough. All of us just want the teacher to like us.

Now, I don't know why, but I haven't yet conjured up the same feelings of empathy and sorrow for the three hikers who were captured on the Iran/Iraq border. I have to wonder what the heck they were doing there. Aren't there enough beautiful places to hike that aren't between a war-torn country and a country we aren't on very good terms with? Was this just a case of American arrogance at its worst? At least two of them are based in the Middle East, so they know the area. Even if they got lost, I have to wonder why they were in that particular location in the first place - even those of us who aren't lucky enough to travel to other countries for work know that to be on the Iraq/Iran border as an American would be a dangerous proposition. At least, that is what would be going through my head. Of course, I suppose you could say the same thing about the two journalists who were just released. Whatever. If I ever had to travel to another country for work, I would have just one thing to say: "Just give me Paris."

Curiouser and Curiouser

Wow. For a librarian, I don't talk about books much here, do I? Well, I read a book that I thought was a sweet story with lovely illustrations, but I was amazed to find that it was actually based on a true story. The Curious Gardenby Peter Brown is about a little boy who lives in a gray, dreary city with no greenery whatsoever. Most people stay indoors, but the boy loves to be outside and as such, happens upon an elevated railway that nature has started to reclaim. When the little boy decides to help it along by caring for the "garden," it grows until it takes over the length of the railway and greenery begins to grow (hang, drape) over the side.

There really is a curious garden, though I don't know if anyone in particular began to cultivate it. It exists in Manhattan, which, contrary to my husband's belief, is actually not a gray, dreary (he would also say dirty) city with no greenery, but whatever -- it works for a picture book (gotta have well-defined contrasts pre-"problem" and post-"problem"). Anyway, I was just amazed to see it. Here's a 2003 picture of the High Line, which, according to Forgotten NY Subways and Trains (http://www.forgotten-ny.com/SUBWAYS/Tenth Ave trestle/Tenth.html), was an "attempt to alleviate the congestion on West Street by taking all rail and road [freight] traffic off of it."
(Forgotten-NY.com)

I wish the children's book had said something about the fact that at one point, the high line actually went though buildings. I'm not sure why, but it's cool.
(Again, from Forgotten-NY.com)

I guess at one point, the city of NY did not see the potential beauty in it and it was slated for demolition. I don't know who decided to spruce it up, but now, in 2009, it's well on its way to becoming a beautiful park and a real tourist attraction. (Well, I want to go visit it, anyway.) (from New York Times, June 6, 2009)

You Wanna Be Starting Somethin'?

So there's this new show called Bridezillas, and like many reality TV shows, it's basically documenting a bunch of train wrecks.

It pisses me off, though, because even though these women were probably high maintenance before, our society tells girls that their wedding day should be a fairy tale, the most perfect and beautiful day of their lives. Like with most things in this country, there's a whole industry making sure we never forget it, and making lots and lots of money in the bargain. Like with pregnancy and childbirth, which, I hear, is only just now becoming so idealized that people like me, who ended up having to have Cesareans, feel like failures after trying to do everything right. If you have been told forever that you must have this beautiful wedding day of your dreams, and you get stressed out during the course of planning it because, of course, nothing is perfect, then of course, there is something wrong with YOU, and not with the culture that has basically made you crazed telling you that you needed to achieve perfection in the first place. I have a problem with that.

Of course, these women on the show are particularly out of control, but I had a "friend" call me a bridezilla before my wedding, and honestly, in hindsight, the only thing that stuck out for me in my treatment of her was that I didn't cater to her as I had throughout our friendship. So for once, it wasn't all about her and her constant and ongoing drama, which continues to this day, and is another long, boring story.

So Whatcha Sayin'?

A co-worker of mine took this picture in Illinois, and I just had to post it. I was wondering if maybe they were trying to imply something with the sign for the cemetery and for the library pointing in the same direction, but my boss said that's probably just where all the weeded books are buried.

I so want to do this and put it on my girl's wall. But until I can, here you go.