Friday Randomness

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NiNB4epGxK8[/youtube]

First off, go see Ponyo.  Right now.  I’ll wait here.  Seriously, we went to see it on Wednesday evening, and we LOVED it.  So much that Maya and her friend went to see it on Thursday. And the friend said she now wants to see it again, with her mom. Such a sweet, lovely film.  It’s made for perhaps a slightly younger audience than Miyazaki’s Spirited Away, but it’s so charming and delightful, I can’t think of a single age group that won’t enjoy it. That’s two awesome films in one week, and I have to say that I cannot imagine two more different films than Ponyo and District 9, though they were both great. One is a gentle rated G, the other a very violent rated R.  I love Miyazaki’s movies so much…they don’t have any of that stupid Disney smart-alecky humor that gets on my nerves. The trailer for The Princess and the Frog, for instance, looks annoying as hell to me. Like comparing A Little Princess (book – I have issues with the film versions) with the Magic Tree House books. (Not dissing the Magic Tree House books…they have their time and place, Maya LOVED them when she was that age, they teach a bit of history, the concept is cute…but they’re simply not classics of literature, you know?) Ponyo will be, I think, a classic in the animated film genre. Favorite quotes from the movie (poorly paraphrased): “When you bring a fish with a human face out from the sea, it will bring a tsunami”, and “It’s HAM!!!!” 🙂 Ponyo’s delight and enthusiasm at life is a joy to watch.

Yesterday when I was delivering lunch for Meals on Wheels, the neighbor of one of the recipients was sitting outside, enjoying the unseasonably cool weather, and said to me, “God bless you for your work”.  Even an atheist like me likes hearing that once in awhile.  I got my comeuppance at the next house on my route, though, when a little 5 or 6 year old scolded me soundly because I rang the bell and then knocked on the door.  I hadn’t heard whether the bell rang or not, so I knocked.  “Give me a chance to get to the door!” she said.

My blog friend Black Belt Mama has entered a contest through Victoria’s Secret.  The question posed is, “Why do you love your body?”  BBM loves that her body works hard for her, even after two childbirths and knee surgery.  If you’re so inclined, go vote here.

We had a pool party last weekend for Maya’s girl scout troop.  I wish I had taken pictures, because man, they had a BLAST in that pool.  8 12 and 13-year-olds, and some younger siblings, laughing and playing and having a great time. We served chili dogs (which I made using chili that I got at the grocery store…I decided the work of making my own chili was too much, since I had other things I had to do that same day), and other families brought side dishes and snacks, and I had a bit too much wine, because I felt gross later. And I’m pretty sure it wasn’t the hot dogs.

This was the last full week of summer vacation for Maya.  School starts on Wednesday, so we’ve been doing some shopping for clothes and school supplies and so on.  She’s looking forward to seeing her friends again, but not thrilled about giving up those lazy summer days she’s been enjoying this summer.  I’m looking forward to her being out and about more, but at the same time, I’m not looking forward to getting her to school in the mornings and homework in the evenings and all of that.  Summer rocks.

I saw an article in the New York Times (via Yahoo) the other day about getting rid of the blind spot on your car.  Here’s an excerpt:

Long ago I found the idea in a 1995 paper done for S.A.E. International by George Platzer, an engineer from Rochester Hills, Mich. In that paper, “The Geometry of Automotive Rearview Mirrors — Why Blind Zones Exist and Strategies to Overcome Them,” he described the problem and a far cheaper method to eliminate the blind spot.

Here’s the short and less technical version of what it says: The driver leans his head against the driver’s window and sets the mirror so that the side of the vehicle is just visible. Then, the driver leans to the middle of the vehicle (between the front seats) and does the same thing with the passenger-side mirror.

It is necessary to check that the mirrors are properly set, of course. Here’s how that is done: Watch a vehicle approach in the rear-view mirror. It should appear in the side-view mirror before it leaves the rear-view mirror. And then it should appear in the driver’s peripheral vision before it leaves the side-view mirror. When I Platzer-ized the Fusion Hybrid, I could see the nose of a vehicle appear just as the BLIS warning light illuminated.

So, what is the point of a system like BLIS? In an interview, Steve Kozak, Ford’s chief safety engineer, acknowledged that side mirrors can be set to eliminate the blind zone. But most drivers don’t adjust their mirrors that way so BLIS is a valuable safety aid, he said.

I gave it a try, and it does seem to help, but not being able to see the side of my car at all while I’m driving really seems weird to me. I think it might just take some getting used to. But I hate blindspots, and sometimes looking over my shoulder doesn’t seem to be enough. Now I’m hearing my drivers ed teacher in the back of my mind saying, “Blinker, mirrah, blindspot”. She used to make us drive her to junk food places, buy herself donuts, and not any for the teens in the car. Crazy woman.

My horseback riding lessons have been going well. There are weeks when I don’t feel like I’m making any progress at all. Then there are weeks that go very well. Last weekend, something sort of clicked, and I finally felt like I was feeling the rhythm of the horse’s trot, which I’ve been working on for awhile, but without success. I’m so glad I’ve taken this up. I don’t know that I would even want to own my own horse…gosh, they’re a LOT of work, and a LOT of money if you don’t have a place to keep them at home, and even then there’s the food and the vet bills and the tack and so on. Just going to lessons once a week costs enough. But yeah, it’s great, and I think I’ll stick with it for awhile at least.

We took Genevieve to the vet last week for tests for Cushing’s Disease. The results came back yesterday, as inconclusive. Dang it. So now we’re measuring her water intake. The treatment for Cushing’s can be difficult on the dog, and certainly expensive for us, and the vet doesn’t want to put her on medication if we don’t need to. I wish we could just have some answers with all of this. Poor baby. At this point, she just seems like she’s bonking into things around the house. I get the idea that being blind kinda sucks.

Hope you’re all well. What’s new with you?