Queen Amaranthine

Great interview! I read it on the Rhythms website, and, OK, this is probably weird and off the Wilco topic, but I have to say that is in a very cool font. I just notice those things. It gives the interview an even more friendly feel.

Nearly forgot All the Same to Me. Love that song!

He had an accomplished life! That's one book I've not read yet, although friends talk about it and I know much about it. It's been on my reading list for a long time.

It is surprising to not see Chinese Apple. Where is Pecan Pie? Too light, maybe? I especially agree with Radio King, Laminated Cat, New Madrid, Gun and Acuff Rose.

I've never warmed up to Family Gardener.

"Tweedy said Staples taught him how to be himself."

 

 

the lessons just may be in the hands of the elders: we must ensure that we're ready to receive them.

 

 

thanks for posting.

That's a wonderful message for us all.

Love that picture with the interview. The super-short paragraphs, though, drive me a little crazy!

Language as a whole is just going to hell. Thank you, texting and facebook! (Not that I've not made my own cringe-worthy typos...)

Must add Sarah Vowell--makes me laugh out loud  at times.

And Zelda Fitzgerald has some excellent short stories that don't receive enough attention. Her fiction was probably overshadowed by her husband's works. Very interesting person, to say the least, in her own way.

I love Mark Twain. Also Jane Austin. Both, in very different ways, are wickedly witty observers on the human condition.

Twain is marvelous. He does get overlooked as a "children's" author in some ways, unfortunately, as though we outgrow Huck Finn or Tom Sawyer.

As an English major, I must confess my reading experience is pitifully lacking in Austin and--shame--Shakespeare! When I was in college, there was a move toward lesser-known authors or canonized authors' lesser-known works rather than classics, which was both good and bad.

I love Dickens, I went through a phase were I read about 5 novels back to back. Great Expectations is in my top 10 all time fav list.

Same here re: Great Expectations!

I tend to like particular novels or nonfiction over having favorite authors, but here are a few I like a lot

Bill Bryson

F. Scott Fitzgerald

Charles Dickens (really)

Emily Dickinson (only poet I'd count as a favorite)

Finally found one...apparently only 150 made (got #118 for those of you who are keeping score at home)...thanks ebay! This poster is my fave Wilco poster that I've ever seen & it comes from the same week that I saw them in Detroit (Dec. 10th at The Fillmore)...

http://wilco.kungfustore.com/products/3289-crop-circles-poster-wil475

I didn't realize so few were made--is that typical of shows, or ones in smaller venues?

Glad you found one. I went to that show and have that poster too.

Not fully on this thread topic, and arguably a bit of a stretch, but isn't that Jeff Tweedy on the cover of Indie Fuzz that Wendy is reading in a recent episode of Gravity Falls?

Far, Far Away...most romantic Wilco song!

From AGIB, how about Muzzle of Bees?

I'm assuming you got my message
On your machine
I'm assuming you love me
And you know what that means

Sun gets passed, sea to sea
Silently, and back to me
With the breeze blown through
Pushed up above the leaves
 
With the breeze blown through
My head upon your knee
Half of it's you, half is me
Half of it's you, half is me

All kidding aside, I'm a huge geology nerd.  And volcanology.  I often wish that I had realized my love of these subjects earlier in my life and pursued them in college.

It's fun and surprising what interests we discover as we get older.

As for semi-recent paleontology discoveries, my son and I came across this as we were looking up stuff about prehistoric creatures just for fun last night (that is what my 7-year-old likes to do with his parents for fun...do I have a science geek on my hands or what? And he already says he wants to be a scientist when he grows up, it's so nice to see the OCD gene he inherited from his mom put to practical use). Check out titanoboa:

http://www.smithsonianmag.com/science-nature/How-Titanoboa-the-40-Foot-Long-Snake-Was-Found.html

Thanks for the tips! That sounds like a great plan.

*Donald Duck voice* "What? Just trying to get my share before it's all gone!"

Great forum topic here, but all I have to contribute, kidsmoke already said! (happy belated birthday, by the way)

Future science corner topics would be appreciated, FYI--got anything on dinosaurs? Paleontology is a pretty interesting and surprisingly active field, you know.

And architecture is intriguing too.

 

What kind of stuff are you interested in?

 

LouieB

Impressionists through about 1920s Modernism are my favorite eras (just enough to distort reality to some degree but not so much as to render it unrecognizable!). I like artistic photography too. Anything will do for a museum browse, though.

It really isn't worth going to for $23 bucks if you only have an hour or two.  Sorry.  But if you want to do it anyway, pick the galleries ahead (modern, impressionist, Asian, European, etc.) and hit them hard and fast.

Thus my admission to the stupidity of the question--ideally I'd make a special trip for leisure and tourist purposes, but these days time, money, and a busy family life don't allow that. Rather than keep putting things like this off, I'm just going to go while I'm in the neighborhood. I've spend $23 on worse!

Picasso and Impressionists it will be, a quick tour.

Some summer I want to take the kids to Chicago for a few days, but not this year; it will be easier when they are older anyway. They have an interest in dinosaurs, so I thought they'd like to see Sue the T-Rex and other dinosaur and animal stuff at the Field Museum. We recently heard that Sue--rather, a replica, no doubt--is on tour visiting the Des Moines Science Center this spring, so a tidbit of Chicago will be in our backyard.

Not sure what kind of art you are into, but this upcoming exhibit looks interesting, if you enjoy Picasso.

 

http://www.artic.edu/exhibition/picasso-and-chicago

 

 

 

I haven't been to the Art Institute, since they added the new addition, so I am probably not the best person to give you advice. Hope you enjoy your brief stay, though.

The Picasso exhibit looks very cool!

I'm highly aware of the stupidity of this question, but what is the best way to see something interesting at the Art Institute of Chicago in the shortest time possible ? If I had just an hour (two at most), which parts of the museum would be best to see? No doubt one could spend a whole afternoon or entire day there, but that luxury of time and leisure travel isn't in the cards in the near future.

In March I'll be attending a conference for work that is just a few blocks from the museum. I've been to this conference many times and always wanted to go to the museum but just put it off, planning to do it next year, then next year again. However, I've decided that I need to just do it--next year is now. Since the museum's open hours are limited, and the conference is a whirlwind of sessions and workshops, my art browsing time is limited. I just want to know what's the best use of my $23 admission fee in a short spell of time! Any suggestions or advice?

Our little dog Buster, who has the sweetest of dispositions but possibly one of the dog world's smaller brains, cannot be persuaded to leave the local wildlife alone. Yesterday he apparently had a skirmish with either a raccoon or a cornered opossum. Here's before & after:

 

Pre-skirmish:

 

Post-skirmish:

 

(We could have probably done this at home!)

I dunno about that as a DIY, just based on plumbing and carpentry projects gone wrong that my husband and I have attempted, each one launched with one of us saying, "How hard can it be?" We've developed an instinct for what can be done ourselves and what is best left to professionals!

Seriously, though, I hope he heals smoothly and quickly, poor little guy.

Happy birthday to all the January birthday boys and girls! Count me in for a January birthday...Aquarius characteristics to the bone.

I have the first week of January off from work, so that's a plus.

My kids love snow, although this week we had a thaw and it's almost all melted. Last weekend we went sledding on small hills, which was loads of fun. The snow was too powdery for snowmen or snow dinosaurs (very cute), but maybe next time will bring the right kind of snow. The local parks and rec and county conservation offer free cross country skiing and snoeshoeing sessions once a month, which this winter I want to do with the kids. Last year there was no snow on any of those dates, and so far this winter the dates were times we couldn't make it.

The bad: colds and flu tend to be rampant this time of year. Knock on wood, but my family has been healthy so far this month. November and early December we had our sick spells. Everyone stay healthy where you are--rumor is, it's a horrible flu season.

Watching lots of nature, animal, and insect shows on Animal Plant, PBS, and Nat Geo--my kids are becoming science geeks! "Infested" makes me twitchy and borderline paranoid about every little sound and movement in my house, though.

Tweedy solo shows in 2013? At least one in Minneapolis/St. Paul or Iowa City (since I won't make it to the benefit shows in Chicago this spring or SS in June)? On a night I don't have to work and better yet, don't have work the following day? Please? Is that asking too much?

She is adorable! So alert in that first picture! 

"They grow up so fast" is cliche but so very true. Love every minute with her. She will grow fast and steal parts of your heart you didn't know you had.