kidsmoke

Just finished this...it's a great story, very unusual and fascinating. I read until I was bleary-eyed last night, wanting to know how it all turned out. Highly recommended. Next up, some wonderful books from a certain secret Santa. Oh Boy! Jahilia, that Jaynes book looks intriguing!

Well of course they do! It's a privilege! And as long as nobody is messing with superballs and froggie's not there, nobody gets hurt.

ONLINE WEBCAST PARTY!!!!! I call the recliner next to the cooler!

Yes, kidsmoke worries herself a bit when she does that. We have live crickets in the house as food for the kids' frogs and toads. We transfer them from purchase-bag to their holding bin with the utmost care, but a few brave souls always manage to vault to freedom. Glenn can come over anytime he needs crickets, because there are usually a few spares running loose....not as many as at Nonlinear's house, though.

Lucky, and dangerous! Does it really get any better? I'm not even going to get into climbing over the freight cars when they were stopped at our favorite crossing coming home from school. kidsmoke is fortunate to have survived childhood. So how about that Glenn and those fake crickets?!

She's got a point you know. What kinda strange school are you going to, yvon?

Not that this has much at all to do with this thread....ok, nothing at all....but when superballs were first invented, the fat 2' diameter black hard rubber ones.....we lived close to a superball factory and my 2 big brothers would go down there and collect the factory rejects that were slightly misshapen or had a lump on them......They'd bring home boxes of them! Man could those thing bounce! And talk about unpredictable!!!!!! And talk about your parents yelling and telling you to get away from the big glass patio doors!!!!!!!!! Those were the days, my friends.

Oh pshaw yvon. See you there. Be there or be square. I can bring pudding.

Personally, I feel it is the only time of year to have a birthday! A toast to our own dear huh? What? Basil, without whom VC would have significantly less spice! And now, Basil cake: this is what came up when I put "Basil cake" in the search engine. Who am I to argue? Have a wonderful day and a wonderful new year of life, Robert!

Happy, happy, happy, happy, happy to my dear birthday sister, who has graced the planet with her beautiful self for half a century now!!!!! (I'm still winning, by the way.... ) I figure, if you're going to share a birthday, only share it with the very best. Love ya, Chris. Thank you, everyone, for all the love and good wishes. There isn't a better set of internet friends anywhere, and I feel very blessed to be in your company.

Even if it means that you start sipping Seabreezes and walking mincingly, you've gotta figure a show like that makes it worth it, right? Now excuse me, I need to go put up some drywall in our garage. Where's my damned ballpeen hammer?

Troubled sleep is usually all about guilt. Do you think it could be that loud, pounding heart beneath your floorboards, Dan?

Might've known this wouldn't escape his eagle eye!

In the immortal words of Sunny Baudelaire, "Words fail me."

So last night I had a touch of insomnia, and as I tried to find the road to peaceful sleep, this question occurred to me: what position do you people usually sleep in? The reason I ask is because if you all will submit replies, then I (and you as well!) will be able to take this information and turn it into clever bits of cocktail hour small talk: "Did you know that most Wilco fans sleep on their backs, in the manner of the royal Egyptians?", or perhaps, "It's intriguing how fans of formerly alt-country musical performers tend to side-sleep, don't you think?" Who, really, ever has enough s

I'm loving all these weird and wonderful shots.....y'all have good photographic eyes and a knack for composition. Also that looks like one very happy puppy dog there, Muller! Yours? Essex looks very pretty.

You got some lovely shots, Clay! Great expressions....you captured the mood!

Thanks....I always enjoy a bit of "being there" Not "Being There" the album, but...oh, you get what I mean! Even this brief clip gives a sense of the audience! Morning Grumpy!!! Sounded like you had plenty of flakes at the show last night.

Thanks for the review, Clay, but yikes! I guess you just have to take away the good & shed the bad.

I read that too, for the same reason! You'll love it. Spooky little book.

Very nice! I really enjoyed that. Thanks for sharing!

I could have sworn I posted birthday wishes here yesterday....I thought them, anyway. But I must've gotten interrupted & then closed VC so my kid could start working on his science project which is due, like, tomorrow.... (Yesterday Brennan said to me, "Mom, what kind of fuel do we have around here? I need to burn some stuff." ) Anyway, my dear catfish, here are my best belated wishes, and the cake I should've posted for your virtual consumption yesterday! I'm sorry, I couldn't find any catfish cakes. But I did find this wonderful story for your birthday enjoyment. Poor terrified

You crack me up, Tim. Hugs to you and Heather. Stay warm!

I'm a huge Anne LaMott fan. New mothers should absolutely read "Operating Instructions", and I highly recommend all of her books. For spiritual rejuvenation, read either (or both) "Traveling Mercies" and/or "Plan B".....both are beautiful & non-judgemental explorations of trying to live life with a sense of purpose and meaning. She makes me laugh so hard in recognition of how silly and flawed we are as humans, and yet goodness is a thing so worth striving for, even if we fall really short, so very often. Her books give me hope and make me content to be a clumsy, struggling human being.

That's fascinating! I'm always amazed at the things I learn on this board. Thanks for sharing, Bob.