weekending

Tomorrow there will be Mirrormask, because we have a BubbySitter. Today ... there will be copious amounts of homework (music history assignment, a hundred pages in this damned novel). And watching Shakespeare in Love, vaguely for a class.
Finished High Fidelity last night, which was quite good. Must find more Nick Hornby.
Carry on.
( muppet quiz. )

branding

It shouldn't be this difficult to find toys for your kids. Toys that aren't part of some huge set (which he will have zero interest in collecting at the moment), and aren't branded with $LICENSED_CHARACTER_DU_JOUR. Hell, it shouldn't be that hard to find CLOTHES that aren't branded with $L_C_D_J. But for some reason, it is.

I figure if Sean actually starts expressing an interest in the television, he can watch it. Right now the extent of his interest is 'hey, the Law and Order theme is pretty groovy'. But if he has no interest in these characters, why should I pay extra money for shoes/toys/clothes/whathaveyou which are only "better" or "different" than their counterparts by virtue of having some silkscreened picture of Whatever's Got The Seven Minutes Of Fame These Days?

(I know it was fifteen. I figure kids have shorter attention spans.)

And don't get me started on parents that buy designer labels for their infants and toddlers. Just ... WHY. News flash! (Bing! Reality!) The kid is going to outgrow it in a week and a half, trust me. And they won't own up to it being their own attempt at using their kids for a status symbol. (I had a sibling like this. She used to infuriate me. She also used to say 'when you have kids, you'll understand'. And then I had kids, and ... I still don't get it.)

When Sean was born, my MIL (back when we were still TALKING to my MIL) wanted to get Seaners a Harley-Davidson tricycle. And I said 'no, that's a ridiculous waste of money, why don't you just get him a regular tricycle and sock the rest in a savings bond or something, the kid is at drool and grin stage, Jesus CHRIST lady.' Then she started going on about how she had the money and this is how she wanted to spend it (probably in part due to her ex-con idiot husband). Then we stopped talking to her, so that was the end of that, pretty much. Sigh.

I have no problem with bikers, or anything like that, I'm just not interested in directing my child's interests to that degree.

Back to trying to find Seaners a half-decent birthday present or three. Maybe I'll just suck it up and just go to Big Finnegan's or something. Sigh.

(I hate shopping in toy stores, mostly due to clueless other parents. I suppose if I survived Christmas Eve, next week is a cakewalk.)

night night

Suffering through a random bout of meh. (To this end, I finally purchased an actual light box. eBay is surprisingly reasonable for those, if you're looking for one.) Things contributing to this: general hormonal mess that's normal around this time of the month, Chris leaving again tomorrow night (he's gone until Monday, and then back Tuesday and leaving again Tuesday night for two back to back contracts until Sunday morning or late Saturday), general seasonal ick, writer's block. Goddamn you, writer's block; you plague me.

Shakespeare in Love was pretty good, actually. Romeo + Juliet nearly killed me - the ending scene especially, that's just heartbreaking. I was shouting at the TV.

One definition of love: when your spouse uses the theme to your favorite TV show (like for instance, the Law and Order theme song) as your custom cellphone ringer. I think the only other one that might have worked would have been 'The Coffee Song' by Soul Coughing.

What we're doing this evening: playing terrible songs back and forth at each other. It's fun. The Christian version of 'The Brady Bunch' theme has to be heard to be believed. As does the gregorian chant version of 'Smells Like Teen Spirit'.

Anyone else remember Lite-Brite? Those were awesome.

Edit: He just RETALIATED with the ACB theme song.

<bugsbunny>Of course you realize, this means war. </bugsbunny>

yarngeekery two: son of yarngeekery

On the subject of knitting:
Me: I figured out my problem. I keep starting these huge projects and then getting overwhelmed by them and getting frustrated and never finishing them. So I need to start where every idiot starts.
Chris: Hello World?
Me: A scarf. *thinking* Yeah. The scarf is really 'Hello World' for knitters.