You kiss your mother with that mouth?

Today is my niece Ava's sixth birthday. (Yeah!) My gift to her is a mix cd with her favorite Top-40 hits featuring music that makes my ears bleed, i.e. Akon, Katy Perry, etc. I gladly infect my iTunes with this "music" because I think it is exceedingly important to encourage a love of music in youngsters. When I was younger, my older sisters introduced me to music that I enjoy to this day. (I still remember the day in 1984 when my older sister Laurel came home with the new Wham UK! record for me and said, "I think you are going to love this album." Thus beginning my love affair with George Michael. But I digress.)

BUT, here's my issue: music on the radio these days--the stuff Ava likes--is so foul-mouthed! Even when I download the clean versions, there is enough suggestive language to make me want to put earmuffs on all kids within hearing distance. When Lily Allen brags about her "f*&^kloads of diamonds" will Ava believe she just said "truckloads?" Uh, no.

It makes me sentimental for the days of "Darling Nikki" when at least Prince tried to cover up the raunch. Although, there was the Violent Femmes song that asked "How can I get just one f*&K" that almost got our record player reposessed by my horrified father.

Anyway, Happy Birthday Ava. Sorry for teaching you curse words. -Auntie

Baby Talk

Now that Olivia is two months old and the source of endless fascination to us, I've become aware of a very important fact: Not everyone cares.

And I completely understand.

That’s why I found this article in the most recent Elle so timely. Basically, writer Nancy Hass says that women who talk about their children at work are not just sharing news but subtly bringing the entire feminist movement to a screeching halt. She tells the story of a high-powered CEO wanting to swap kid stories and finally asking Hass: “Tell me,” she says, gripping my knee with a cool hand, “isn’t it just the best thing you’ve ever done?”

Turns out it's not. But the implication is, once again, women are to measure their own value not by their work but by their children. It seems that it's the need for validation that irks Hass so much: "Can you imagine women in small Indian villages standing around the local well asking for reassurance from the others that having their brood of kids is 'the best thing they’ve ever done'? It’s a ready-made caption for a New Yorker cartoon."

We should be discussing our dreams and passions, not our kids. But how realistic is that?

Speaking of, the baby is awake.

The Heart Factory

If you don't have a heart, you can order one from the Heart Factory. (Or buy one here.)

p.s. Happy Valentine's Day

What the Folk?

Argh! I'm so upset!

We received notice that The Flight of the Conchords was coming to Portland and pre-sale tickets would go on sale yesterday at 10am. We tried buying them yesterday at 10am but they were sold out.

Well, we (stupidly) thought, we'll just buy them online when they go on sale to the public this morning at 10am. We tried at 10am. Sold out. I tried calling. Sold out. I drove all the way downtown to the box office at 10:15 am. Sold out. The lady at the box office (who was unmoved by the tears in my eyes) said that only 15 people in line got tickets this morning.

Here's the math:

Number of seats at The Arlene Schnitzer Concert Hall: 2,776

Maximum number of tix per household: 8

Number of actual tickets available to the general public based on the box office sales: 120



I hate concerts.

Olivia and Cousin Elena and Their Patron Saints

Don't these two:



Remind you of these two??:

Southern Living

I love these pictures of Southern houses from Garden & Gun Magazine.

PHOTO CREDITS: Eric Kiel, Andy Anderson, Richard Sexton