post mortem: "burning down the house"

The good:

1. Bill's new plan!!! We should have firebombed Moon Goddess a LONG TIME AGO, your highness. But he seems to have - ahem - seen the light, so to speak. And fortunately, he ordered a kickass attack soundtrack, too. Take up your flame throwers, vampires of Area 5.

2. Sookie and Jason recruiting Lafayette and Jesus - that's right guys! Now we're cooking with gas!

3. Holly and Tara - that's right ladies, get mad! Get even! Get outta that shop before it gets torched. You've got the juice. Now break that spell. Also? Way to get wise to the whole door-is-hot thing. You guys? Are definitely the brains behind the operation.

4. Jesus - way to get freaky with your inner demon-brujo self.

5. Antonia - girl, you were talking sense there, for one hot second. Should have left crazy Marnie when you had the chance.

6. Terry & Andy at "Fort Bellefleur" - I like that they fleshed out Terry's character a bit more, making him that pillar of support for his cousin Andy. But was it me, or did Andy not seem totally sincere in his vow to kick the habit? Maybe his long walk home to Bon Temps will change his mind?

7. Sookie, harnessing her glowy faery fingers to break up the big battle at the hotel (and keeping Bill alive, since a world without him would just be awful, or something) - leading to...

The Bad:

1. Eric regaining his memory. I'm sort of surprised that they did this now, rather than waiting for the very very end. And I know (I know!) that they aren't following the books exactly (at all!) and I see that they would need to shift the timing and circumstances of Eric's regaining his memory, since the witch was different and it was a whole other scenario. I get it. But in the book, his not remembering everything stretched out for several episodes. Now he remembers everything. Okay. Big problems there, for him and Sookie, obviously. Where does this go? And also, the next book deals with pack stuff and Jason becoming a panther, and I think they introduce Quinn - but what's next season going to do?

Sorry, I digress.

2. Tommy's death. I know that I should probably care more about this but, well, I just don't. I'm sad for Sam and all, but Tommy wasn't a great character. He had a tough life, with the dog fighting etc etc but he kept right on scheming. He took advantage of Sam, rather than trying to turn around his life. Sam gave him a job and a place to live and a chance to turn himself around, and he stole from Sam. Then he shifted into him and slept with his new girlfriend. He also scammed Maxine Fortenberry, who was teaching him to read and stuff, and he shifted into her too. This was a boy that was beyond saving. He seemed to be showing remorse at the end there, but he was dying. Everyone's sorry for stuff when they're dying. I didn't care enough about him to see him go. His death does seem to be the catalyst for several things though, and none of them good:

3. Sam wants revenge. He goes and beats the crap out of some henchwolf, and Alcide helps. Oh, and then....

4. Marcus and Debbie Hook Up. Yeah. As if Alcide needs another reason to hate you, Marcus. This seems to be leading to a wolf battle - and my money is on Alcide winning and becoming Leader of the Pack (vroom! vroom!)

5. Hoyt's descent into beer-soaked misery and continuous farting. What is happening to you, Hoyt? Get a frickin' grip, already.

6. Jason asking Jessica to glamour him to make him forget what happened between them. Loved her response - who will take away my guilt? (and then her wanting to go and eat someone, and then also her desire to blow shit up. Love Jess.)

7. Sookie being wishy-washy about Bill and Eric. Why are you so sentimental about Bill all of a sudden, Sook? Have you ever gone into any enchanted forests with Bill? I think not.

The Ugly

And "the ugly" prize of the week goes to.... Marnie! Here we were thinking you were the victim here, but hey, didn't you invite the spirit to come around in the first place? Yes I think you did. I think now that you've tasted real power, power beyond your limited means, you don't want to go back. People are listening now. They fear you. You're in control. Well, Marine, you're on a collision course with reality - in the form of a whole slew of angry vampires with blow torches.

I'm ready for this storyline to be over with so - burn, baby, burn (but Sookie, find a way out first, okeydokey? Or, hey, if not, the show could just be about the vamps, maybe?)

Happy Birthday, Alex!!

Post Mortem "Let's Get Outta Here"

The Good:

1. Dream Sookie: Let's face it, our girl has some of the best v-trip, blood-bond related dreams, like, ever (helloooo, snow sex with Eric!) Here, she has just gotten shot in a battle with a crazy witch (not like there was ever any question as to if she'd make it or not, but still), rescued by a werewolf with unresolved feelings towards her, brought back (again) by an ex-flame vampire who's now king, and off to find her current flame who's gone missing (presumed bewitched). And yet, she still has time to dream herself into a slinky red number and heels, complete with sexy noir-ish soundtrack for a little spicy menage-a-vampire. With both Bill and Eric. She has, at least in her dreams, neatly, sidestepped the whole Team Bill vs Team Eric debate. She's Team Both of Them (at the same time!), to which I must say, with envy, Brava. Go, dream Sookie, you telepathic siren, you.

(Best. Dream. Ever)

2. The Man with the Plan.... Jason Stackhouse (!?!): Remember last season when Jason was only playing at being a cop to impress a girl? Artfully dodging his written exam, doing drug-busting ridealongs to Hot Shot, making paper clip chains on desk duty? Now, he's the Voice of Reason on the Bon Temps PD. I say again: Jason "I'm too dumb to be depressed" Stackhouse is The Voice of Reason on the Bon Temps PD. Scary no? But he handled the Lafayette/Mavis baby Mikey kidnapping hostage situation very well (I bet HE would have remembered to bring Hoyt some pants!) And then, he brought Jessica's box of things to her (smartly scribbling over angry, angry Hoyt's writing of Monster Box - but more on him later). Speaking of Jessica, I am rather liking this Jason/Jessica pairing, although it feels like the Hot Shot plotline was way too easily dispatched. Which is fine by me, personally, I am all for pretending like Crystal and her freaky panther crew never existed, but I have a feeling that they'll be making a reappearance. Poor Uncle Daddy Jason...

3. Jessica's telling Nan: "This is the worst day of my life. I wish I was dead, except I am and it doesn’t even matter.” She is still a teenager, after all...


4. The Witchy Women (and man) of Bon Temps finally get their magic on: Tara and Holly F.I.N.A.L.L.Y start to understand that Marnie/Antonia is a few pages short of a spellbook AKA she's completely and totally nutso. These girls can do something about this, and now Tara sort of owes Bill for saving her from Pam. Let's hope she decides to call...


4. Jesus! Way to get down with your badass brujo self, mihijo! I was wondering what he was doing/where he was while his honey was getting possessed by the spirit of Mavis - I mean, presumably he was working, right, but since we were expected to believe he up and left work on a whim to go Mexico to see abuelito, so I kind of thought he'd stick around during all the supernatural weirdness going on. I guess not, but Jason (!) called him (!!) to figure things out, and he got Lafayette back to normal (relatively speaking). Now, the two of them need to free Holly and Tara (who should be doing some instructive reading while they are locked in the shop, right?) and work some magic on Marnie.


5. Hey, Mikey!! It seems as though the resolution of this Mavis thing also means the resolution of the whole Mikey the Demon Baby thing, yes? And while I love Terry the Doting Dad, there really isn't anything left to say here, is there?


6. Sam shifting into the bunny - along with Emma's comment about her turning into a bunny so she could pet herself... awwwww.... Growing up Shifter.... Points for that, Sam, but the whole camping idea was weird.


In the Sort of Good category:


7. Tommy, apparently feeling some remorse, seems to want to do Sam a solid, you know, after sleeping with his girlfriend while shifting into him. So he shifts into Sam to go and beat up Marcus. This is an odd sort of favor, if you think about it, because if it went well, Sam would never know what had happened, only that Marcus wasn't bothering him too much anymore. However...


The Bad:

1. Sam & Marcus: on the surface, this might have been a fair fight. They're both short guys, with slight builds, both shifters. Sam theoretically could probably shift into a wolf, to give them even footing (pawing?) but that's probably frowned upon, or something. But then you've got Tommy-as-Sam shooting off his mouth versus a whole room full of crazy weres, all of them (except Alcide) spoiling for a fight. Then Tommy shifts back into himself, cuz he's gotten the pulp beaten out of him. Oh, and because he's a dumbass.

Speaking of dumbasses...

2. Insecure Debbie's back on v and then she goes to see Sookie, offering her help. Now we all know she's not to be trusted, but what is this offer of help for? A case of keep your friends close but keep your enemies even closer? Was she supposed to give Sookie's presence away to Antonia in the magic shop? Was that (gasp, clutch pearls) a double cross? From Debbie? Surely not! But then, plan foiled, she serves as the getaway driver, even though she drives like a girl, despite her werewolfy badassness.

3. What's up with Alcide kissing the ring? You are too much of a lone wolf my friend - you're either going to leave this pack or end up running it.

4. The Convention of Tolerance - too obviously thrown in as a means for Antonia to strike. But also? Nan Flanigan, Jessica is totally right, you are nothing like you are on tv. Maybe someone can throw a wayward stake your way?


The Very, Very Bad:

1. Evil Antonia's use of 'The Blond One' for her evil bidding. Are Sookie and Eric never to be happy? I am so stressed out now about what's going to happen to Eric, I cannot even tell you. I'm thinking (hoping) either the local witches will get wise or the fairy blood will give him an extra boost to break free of the spell.

And Finally -

The Ugly:

Hoyt, you get The Ugly Corner all to yourself!!! Dang, but you've gotten mean and bitter. And, I mean, I get it. You're upset. You're heartbroken. You gave her your heart, she gave you a pen, and you used that pen to write "Monster's Box" on a cardboard box that held her possessions (was that a copy of Twilight I spotted in there, by the way?). But listen Hoyt, seriously: she warned you. You could be happy as a pig in poo with Summer, eating her biscuits and so on. Jessica tried to stay away from you. She told you what vampires are like. But did you listen? No. Is this her fault? Not completely. The monster here? Is you, buddy. I liked you better when you were sweet and standing up to your overbearing mama.

american girl in italy

This iconic photograph turns 60 this month!! I remember, several years ago when I was studying abroad in Italy, it was actually pretty close to this, particularly in Southern Italy. We'd walk down the street, cute young college girls and we'd get the eye. I remember a guy almost fell off his scooter because he was looking over his shoulder at us instead of looking at the road. And one morning, in Sorrento, we were having some breakfast cappuccinos at a cafe on the street, and some guys across the street were hanging off the balcony to watch us. It wasn't weird or creepy or anything, and they never did anything else but give us the eye and go "Ciaooooo" (the equivalent, I guess to "How YOU doin'?"). This photo reminds me of that summer in Italy.

alex friday - man of style

Look who's In Style's Man of Style for September!!

I got the magazine itself in the mail a few days ago, what a pleasant surprise in the midst of the brick-like September issue! Go and pick it up or read the article at askarsgard.com!!

Finish

This is Finish, my sweet kitty girl, who we lost earlier this week. You can't see it here, but she had little extra toes on her front paws, so it looked like she was wearing mittens. She was 18 years old (over 80 human years) and she was a very good girl. She and her brother, Start, came to us about 10 years ago when we adopted them from a co-worker of mine who was about to have a baby. Her husband was phobic about having the kitties around the baby so he made her give them up (HATEFUL!). I don't get that, because I've had cats my whole life, including when I was a baby, and I turned out just fine. Whatever. They brought much joy into my life and I'll miss them both very much.

Post Mortem: "Spellbound"

Things are really starting to heat up in Bon Temps (and I'm not talking about the temperature, ya know?) - it's episode 8 and we're in the thick of season 4. Let's get down to business. First off, though, are we liking the Good, Bad and the Ugly breakdown? I feel like it lets me hit the highlights and make comments while not having to summarize the whole episode. Right? Okay then. I'll do it this way until I think of something else... Cool?

The Good:

1. Uhhhhhhh, do you have to ask? Sookie has a magic shower that is able to transport her to a magical, Narnia-esque place filled with snow, a fur lined bed, and a clothes-less Viking vampire, with no memory and lots and lots of time on his hands.

2. Jess not being dead (yay, Jason!)

3. Sookie's being able to use her fairy fingers to fight off one of the witches (and her looking at them, kind of astonished and going, "THANK you!"

4. Marcus (Leader of the Pack! Vroom! Vroom!) keeping out of the vampire/witch war. Good, yes. Way to have strong leadership and do something not stupid.

5. Pam's got her face back (for now?)

6. Sam and Luna are back on track.

7. Sam gets cat barbie to like him (ah, no, just kidding, this is so far inconclusive).

8. Bill saving Tara ("Yew know whahhh" - No Bill, yew really need to spell this out for her, since she is pretty much as dumb as she looks)

9. Sookie and Eric (looking kind of American Gothic-y) telling Bill they wanted to fight with him. YEAH! Let's kick some witch butt, y'all!! And Sookie reminding Eric that he's a warrior (so maybe next time HE should do the battle planning?)

The Bad

1. Andy's V Addiction is SO BAD, he'd be willing to scarf down melty vampire entrails in the middle of the street. GROSS. Get him to v-rehab or something - stat!

2. Tara. Still following Marnie/Antonia (Marntonia? Antnie?). Do you really not remember what it's like to be possessed? Remember Eggs and Maryann? Yeah. Crazy. Not fun. Stop this madness!

3. Poor Jessica. Getting her invitation recalled from not one but two homes. What's a girl to do? And Hoyt, what a meanie. What happened to him? Why can't we have one happy, decent character without them getting irreparably scarred?

4. Marcus (vroom! vroom!) busting in on the cozy domestic scene involving Sam, Luna and Emma. Yeah. Way to not make rational decisions. Apparently his packmaster mentality doesn't spread to his personal life (no wonder people think werewolves are thugs!). And while I'm thinking about it, isn't it weird that he would have been married to a shifter in the first place? Aren't they all about preserving their were-ness?

5. Debbie telling Alcide to stay away from Sookie. Yeah, right, as if.

The Ugly

1. Bill Compton. I have a feeling that you and your "leadership" are part of the reason why the South lost the Civil War. What.Were.You.Thinking? Hey Antonia, let's totally meet. We can have peace! How does that sound? Good? Rockin. See you in the cemetary at midnight!

Did he really think that one phone call laying on the vampire smarm would be enough for her to suddenly turn rational? Instead of talking, they should have shown up in force, with maybe one or two other witches (duh! you guys are vampires! find some friendly witches and have them help you out!), and ambushed her. Shot her, exorcised her, whatever. Take her down. Without her, the other witches in the coven wouldn't be as powerful. They could have been glamoured to forget. The "Authority" wouldn't even have to know. Now as it is...

2. Sookie gets shot. Arrghhh! And then she's saved by Alcide, who is being watched by Debbie. Yeah. Someone hasn't kept his promises - to Debbie about staying away from Sookie, and to the new pack, to stay out of the vampire/witch thing. We knew he wouldn't be able to stay away, of course, but it's just going to lead to more trouble.

AND

3. Antarnie HAS ERIC! Someone's gotta rescue him fast (my guess - Pam or Tara will intervene)

So good job, Bill. That went well.

4. Lafayette getting, I don't know, visited by? Possessed by? That strange lady singing to baby Mikey in Merlotte's kitchen. Who is this chick? Do we even care? And LaLa's going to get into SO.MUCH.TROUBLE for kidnapping the baby. I thought maybe he'd be the one to go up against Martonia but now it seems like he's been sucked into a secondary storyline (that sucks!). And what happened to Jesus?

5. Tommy skinwalking as Maxine Fortenberry to get that money. Once again, Sam, you should not let this one out of your sight. Home skillet can TURN INTO YOU. No good can come of this. (What we were thinking is maybe Tommy will be posing as Sam when Marcus finds him. That would neatly and quickly get rid of him.)

So. I think that's it for now. Until next week - remember to take something warm into the shower (because you never know when you might end up in Narnia, with Eric. And living in Chicago, I can tell you. It's no fun to be outside in the snow.),

rufus!

So, last night was my first trek to Ravinia this season (I can't believe it's already August!) and I saw Rufus Wainwright. I've enjoyed his music for some time, but in a sort of casual way. I love his voice, from songs like "Hallelujah" and "Complainte de la butte" from Moulin Rouge! and I even have one of his albums, Poses. I've seen his concerts at Ravinia advertised in the past and always wanted to go, but never really got around to it. But I decided this year was the year, and I got myself a ticket. I'm glad I did, too, because I can now say with 100% certainty that I am a big, huge fan. Much love for you, Rufus.

Anyone who knows my ticket buying tendencies knows I like to be close up, right in front of the action, but at Ravinia, it is kind of a crap shoot - I am a donor and I filled out my early ticket form and just waited to see what I'd get. Well, I had an awesome seat - row D, seat 13, center section. I was so close, it was ridiculous. I think it was because I had bought a single seat, so it was easier to fit me in. I don't know what the reason was, and I don't care because it was, as I say, an awesome seat. Behind me an older couple bickered about their seat locations and then the lady commented, "I don't know this Rufus Wainwright." and I was kind of puzzled, because unlike other arts venues, you can't really buy packages at Ravinia. So, like, say you buy a 5 play package - you may know some of the plays and the artists and not know others. But this is not, as I say, the case at Ravinia, so some thought must have gone into the purchase of these tickets. They left after intermission anyway, which I think is a DAMN WASTE OF ROW E TICKETS when I am sure some actual fans would have enjoyed those seats a whole lot. Anyway.

The first part of the concert was devoted to a Shakespearean song cycle that set the Bard's sonnets to music (played by the CSO) which were pretty. I'm not familiar enough with the selected sonnets to really go into a lot of detail, but I enjoyed them.

Then there was an intermission and I made it to the ladies' with plenty of time to watch the stage get flipped from a CSO configuration to a totally empty stage with a lone piano. When Rufus came back out, he commented how strange it was to be up there by himself when he'd just been on with a whole stage full of people. "It's like the wizard of oz," he said "when they draw back the curtain, except instead of the wizard, it's a gorgeous guy!" Hee hee. Funny boy. He told us how he'd been "Nice'd to death" in Michigan and broke out into "Falling in Michigan" to the tune of "Falling in love again." Adorable. He's just the cutest thing on this earth and I am now obsessed with his voice.

I was happy, happy, happy that he closed the show with his haunting "Hallelujah" - {swoon!}
and then I went back out to my car a happy girl.

(You'd think, wouldn't you, that since I was so close, I'd be able to take many many completely awesome pictures - but I forgot the camera, and the one on my little phone is awful. I didn't even think of it until I was halfway to the park, and I didn't think I'd need it because I always take pictures of the same exact things - carousel horse, banners, etc etc. Le sigh. Maybe next time.)

fix-ice machene - update!

According to Culture Map Houston, the "Fix-Ice Machene" sculpture is by artists called "The Art Guys". And the world makes sense again! The article below explains the inspiration for the sculpture:

Headed to the Windy City this summer? You'll want to stop by the Chicago Navy Pier, where the Houston-based The Art Guys have installed, "fix - ice machine," a treated plywood and lumber text-based sculpture. The work is part of an outdoor exhibition curated by Joseph Tabet in collaboration with Dave Hickey.

The Art Guys are accompanied by other illustrious art world names like Terry Allen and Shepard Fairey, the artist behind the iconic Obama "HOPE" poster. The Art Guys' mammoth sculpture features the typo-ridden advertisement, "FIX- ICEMACHENE." What may initially appear a commentary on global warming is in fact a Dada take on a local repairman's oft-misspelled advertisement signs. "There's a person in our neighborhood of Acre Homes that puts up hand-painted signs to fix things like washers and dryers," says Michael Galbreth of The Art Guys. The artist argues, however, that the appropriated phrase has no particular meaning, describing the work as a "big sculpture spectacle."

Despite the sculpture's meaninglessness, The Art Guys say they drew inspiration from such diverse sources as Texas highways and 1960s conceptual art. "The idea dates back 20 years to a very large 'T' that sits out in front of a business on the side of the freeway on the way from here to Dallas," says Galbreth, explaining that he became fond of the letter's non-sequitur appeal and the idea of "hovering words with no relationship to themselves."

The other half of The Art Guys, Jack Massing, adds, "It doesn't have meaning, but anytime you make anything, people automatically find meaning to it, like seeing God in the clouds. Since this work is language-based, there's obvious meaning spectators will associate with words. For example, the ice machine in my freezer is broken — but that had nothing to do with this project."

Massing says that the aspect of text as art partially derives from the work of Los Angeles-based artist Ed Ruscha. "Ruscha came up with the notion that a word could have a portrait just like a dog or a person," says Massing, who also cites Wayne White's paintings of words on landscapes as inspiration. Over the past decades, Chicago has evolved into a model for quality civic art agendas under the auspices of former Mayor Richard M. Daley. A city once defined by its manufacturing and commercial base is now widely associated with icons such as Millennium Park's "Cloud Gate" (also known as, "The Bean"), a massive, reflective steel structure designed by sculptor Anish Kapoor.

"Chicago is committed to the idea of public art integrated into the fabric of the city," Galbreth says. "It's a very urban, pedestrian place. They get that, so they invest in it. This idea of civicness — it's attractive to me." That "civicness" is on full display at the reinvigorated Navy Pier recreational destination on the shore of Lake Michigan. This year's summer exhibition represents a new initiative to annually employ temporary public art onto the site. An estimated three million people visited the sculptures during the weekend of their unveiling. The Art Guys were handpicked for the show by art writer Dave Hickey, who assisted the Navy Pier's curator Joseph Tabot. "We were contacted out of the blue at the end of April — it was a very, very, very fast turnaround," Galbreth says. Budget constraints led the team to plywood. Explains Galbreth, "It was so modest, but our goal was to try to do something that would be of interest to the general public. When people go to the Navy Pier, they are expecting to be entertained. It had to be palatable, and language is one of those things."

tall ships at navy pier

I took these Friday morning, on my walk to the Pier at the crack of 8:00 am. For some reason, the Pier's website lists this as the "Taste of Tall Ships" which is weird, I think, because I don't want to eat the boats, or even eat on them or near them. Still, they are quite nice to look at. Peaceful, and at that time of day, blessedly tourist-free.

They are only here for the weekend, and you have the chance to board them and sail on them (and possibly eat on them, too?) but I saw one of them had trouble late Friday afternoon, it was being pushed by a little dinghy back to the Pier. So maybe it's best just to admire them from a distance?

can someone please tell me...

What does "FIX-ICEMACHENE" mean?? This (huge, kind of ugly) sculpture is at Navy Pier, right in the front, as you approach from Illinois and Streeter. I see it on a regular basis, and I find myself perplexed. WTF is this supposed to mean? Is it a request? Does someone out there really want ice? Or is it, like, a request for aliens who might happen to land (Welcome to our planet! Bring us some ice, dammit! Da Bears are on and da beer is warm!)? But why couldn't they spell "machine" correctly? Is it a joke that everyone but me is in on?

I'm puzzled.

"cold grey light of dawn"

So, it's been awhile since I've done a recap. I had gotten a little behind on my viewing, and then it was the case of so much happening that I didn't know what to say about the past several episodes (except, of course, {Erriiiicccc!! Drool! I'm sorry, what was I talking about?} and things like that...) But I'm all caught up now, and not a moment too soon, since the shit is really starting to hit the fan now for our friends in Bon Temps.

So much to say, not just today, but always (anybody?)... let's do a quick run down, shall we?

The Good

1. Eric, Eric and more Eric. Frolicking in the sunshine, flirting with Miss Stackhouse, starting to learn about the vampire he was and the vampire he wants to be... recognizing that "King" Bill probably won't show him mercy, but being all shmoopy sweet, wanting happiness for Sookie.
2. Bill letting Eric go (geez, there would have been some kind of uprising if Eric had REALLY met the Final Death) even though he knows that Eric will just run back to Sookie and they will (finally!) get it together.
3. Eric and Sookie getting it together - pretty much all over Bon Temps (not that I blame her).

The Bad

1. The vampires' plan to silver themselves into their coffins to avoid Marnie/Antonia's spell to make them meet the sun. Nice one, Bill. THIS is your master plan?
2. Tara's willingness to go along with Marnie's plan. Girl. Seriously? You were possessed not too long ago by the maenad, remember? That was no fun, right? Why would you want to go along with this?
3. Lafayette and Jesus in Mexico with el abuelito batshit LOCO. Arrghhhhhh. Dumb idea. But maybe it will be Lafayette to get rid of Antonia.
4. Alcide and Debbie joining the new pack. Yeah, this is going to go well.

The Ugly

1. Pam's rotty rotten-ness. I hope Dr. Ludwig's shots help her. And she'd better get un-hexed soon. Don't the vampires have any witches they can glamour onto their side?
2. Tommy's skin-walking, life-ruining shift into Sam Merlotte and Sam's abjuring him. I know this is a big deal and all, but Sam should keep a close eye on Tommy. The guy can TURN INTO YOU, SAM. Even if he doesn't mean to.
3. Andy and Holly's date. AWKward!!
4. JESSICA OPENING THE DOOR AND WALKING TO HER DEATH??? Jason, I hope you get there soon!