Just One Person . . . A Muppet Tribute

A week and a half (or so) ago was the anniversary of Jim Henson's death. There was a very moving remembrance posted over at Edge of the American West at that time, and I highly recommend you go look at it . . . and bring a hanky.

To have grown up in the late 60s, 70s and 80s, was to be touched by this man's humor and genius. Those of us of a certain generation will always hold his work close to our hearts. I know I do.

The songs I've embedded here are some of my favorites. The first one I sang in choir in elementary school, I think, or was it one of the early Doogie Howser MS/HS years? Whatever . . . I love them all . . .

Tuesday Random Twenty - Post Graduation Edition

Thanks so much to everyone who responded with congratulations for Mr. Random’s graduation. It was a very happy and proud day for the Random Family (if a bit soggy due to soaking rain off and on during the whole day.) It’s been a hard road.

I’m feeling rather melancholy after the graduation and the Random Mother-in-Law coming and going, so rather than bore you all with my current angst, I’m going to do that reliable blog standby – the list of Random Twenty Songs I’m listening to at the moment!

In the Palm of Your Hand – Alison Krauss
Everybody Hurts – R.E.M.
Every Day You’ve Been Away – Bebel Gilberto
Shooting Stars – Mosquitos
Spider – They Might Be Giants
Paper Bag – Fiona Apple
No Business – Bonnie Raitt
River – Mary Chapin Carpenter
Mood Indigo – Duke Ellington
Get Rhythm – Johnny Cash
Passion – Gipsy Kings
Take the A Train – Duke Ellington
Syracuse – Pink Martini
Stand – R.E.M.
Orchestral Suite #3 in D: 1. Ouverture – J.S. Bach
Everyday I Write the Book – Elvis Costello and the Attractions
Sitting Still – R.E.M.
A Foggy Day – Ella Fitzgerald and Louis Armstrong
Is That Love – Squeeze
Bitch – Meredith Brooks

Looking at the list, the music was firmly in “mellow” for a while and then started to ramp up a bit. Freaky, huh? How did it know that was just what I needed?

Is anyone listening to anything interesting these days that you’d want to recommend? You’ve seen some of my taste in music . . .

Congratulations, Mr. Random!

Congratulations, Mr. Random for graduating this weekend with a Master's in Journalism! It was a long 18 months, but I am so incredibly proud of you!

****Picture went POOF!*****

Really Random Early May Updates

***My mom is doing much better these days – thanks to everyone who has been asking about her! She is still recuperating from her surgery and dealing with her new, radically changed diet. To give an example of how much my mom has to change her diet, when I went to visit her right after the surgery I cut up an apple for her and put some peanut butter on the side. She remarked on how tasty it was and why didn’t she think of having that before. This is someone whose main food groups previously were soda and chips, so she has a ways to go . . .

***The Random Cat had a serious stomach bug over the past few days which required us taking her to the emergency vet hospital to see what was wrong and to get some fluids in her. We had to leave her at the vet overnight for observation, and she looked just so sad and scared at being left in her little kennel that I wanted to cry. Going home without her was hard too . . . it is amazing how much you depend on having your furry little friend around all the time. She is back at home now, and seems to be doing much better. The vet gave us some pet antacid to give her each evening and she has a little bandage wrapped around her right front paw where they inserted a catheter. For the first few hours she was home again, she was so groggy from a sedative (that they had to give her to get the catheter out) that she only slowly limped around the condo for a while and then nestled in to sleep for the rest of the day.

***We’re getting ready for Mr. Random’s grad school graduation this weekend. The Random Mom-in-Law came into town last night. She is still in horrible health. She can barely walk down a block, or up stairs or up a slight incline without getting incredibly winded. She has told us that she bruises much more easily now than she has in the past. She still smokes a lot. Mr. Random and I are very concerned and will continue to monitor the situation for the week that she is here.

***We have decided to go to the 48 Hour Film Project screening on Friday, and eat the cost of the play tickets. Mr. Random and I are just way too curious to see how our film does, especially since we both put so much work into it. I’m also curious to see how a bunch of strangers will react to it. I fully admit that the whole thing IS rather thrilling and it feels like I’m going to a huge movie premiere. I’m still doubtful our film will win anything, but the anticipation is just awesome.

***I finished my final Econ paper. It turned out horribly, but I am just glad that that class is over and done.

***The new semester has started for my ESL class and I have 8 students this time. In this class, I have students from Sierra Leone, Sudan, Bulgaria, Bolivia, Pakistan, and El Salvador. They seem like a fun group of people and I think I have a better grasp on how to teach the higher level than I did last semester. It also helps with class dynamics that there isn’t one “majority” language.

***There is so much going on for the Randoms these days and I am exhausted. I will be very happy when the graduation is over, summer comes and the schedule slows down a bit.

***The bullets in Blogger don't seem to be working for me and really suck. Oy!

I am waving to you all and hoping all is going well . . .

My 7 Minutes of Fame or “I’m Ready for My Close-up, Mr. DeMille”

THIS is what I did this weekend.

If you get a chance to participate in your local area, you should definitely get involved! It was a total blast, although I definitely learned how the hurry-up-and-wait conditions on a movie set can be quite exhausting. Mr. Random served as the film editor and my friend J and I helped write the script and had sizable acting roles. The acting was unintended on my part – I had thought I’d be an extra in a crowd scene or handling the boom mike. But no, my character is rather integral to the plot and I even had a couple of lines and a close up shot.

I don’t know if I will ever post on this blog the resulting 7 minute film, because that would blow my little bit of anonymity to heck. If it gets YouTubed or something I might put it up for a very limited time, but under the condition that you realize the whole thing was done in two days, so don’t expect art, decent camera work, a linear plot, or even good acting.

This week, they are showing all of the films created in our city at the American Film Institute Theater in Silver Spring, Maryland. Unfortunately, our film is going to be shown in the Friday night group, and we already bought tickets to take Mr. Random’s mom to see a play at that exact time. Bummer! I really wanted to see what the other entries looked like . . .

Maybe after the judging is over with this upcoming week, I’ll let you know how our film did. I doubt we’ll get any awards though, the actual photography was kind of spotty and the plot-as-scripted and the plot-as-edited in the film are a bit different. (Now I see why screenwriters are a bitter and cranky bunch.)