Tuesday, October 07, 2008

"That One" *

Snort! Thanks to dailykos for the button -- they're quick over there!

Tonight, in addition to watching the debate (yay, Obama!), Jim and I celebrated the 10th anniversary of our first date!! We went to a terrific Italian restaurant, then watched some Israeli dancers roll around in sand. Really. We did. It was the Inbal Pinto dance company, and we had rather hoped there would be more dancing involved, but you never really know, do you? They were supposed to be inside a snow globe or something, and there were little dog houses in there with them which they crawled in and out of, and sometimes the male dancers held the female dancers up by their hair. They had to have gotten sand into their every cranny, those dancers. Sigh. For our wedding anniversary in June we went to see a play and it was atrocious and absurd; this was neither atrocious nor absurd, just. . . "avant garde." I'm just not into avant garde. Not in any art form -- not painting, not writing, or dancing, or whatever. I want substance and meaning and context and virtuosity. I want exciting choreography, satisfying pay-off, good story, technique, energy, etc. Not a general air of artiness. You know?

Our first date, by the way, was in San Francisco, when we went to the SF MoMA and discovered that it was closed that day, so basically our first date was to the SF MoMA gift shop, which happened to have a copy of my favorite picture book, Max Makes a Million by Maira Kalman, and I got Jim to read it aloud with me. He said later he felt like it was a test. Maybe it was. He passed!

"I want to say before anything else that dreams are very important. . ." Great book, Max Makes a Million. Recommended for first dates!

*

9 comments:

Alex S said...

Oh my gosh I totally remember the Israeli town now where all those tiny Israelis live inside their little snowglobes. They are so tiny, like little hebrew-speaking Magpie's! Very sweet. They are just about the size of falafel sandwiches for those who have never heard of them, and naturally they do like to roll around in the sand being from the Negev Desert region. So sweet! And Happy Anniversary to you two! I remember when dear little Jimbobutt gave you ten of his own Saturdays and you mailed me a copy and I knew this was a superb match for the one and only fungusbones! Heres's to many, many more anniversaries filled with teeny Israelis!
As I watched the campaign, I felt sort of sad for McCain, for the reasons that people somehow become who they do through the years. This is someone who-independently verified and heard by multiple people- has called his own wife a "cunt," became so weak spined that he was willing to choose a vice president who doesn't support abortion even in the case of rape and incest (not to mention stem cell research), sold out his soul to the Bush-Cheney campaign with his eye on his 08 campaign, and thinks that every American isn't entitled as a right to the same basic healthcare that he has enjoyed for almost his entire adult life. Oh, and now, is permitting the hateful character assassinations on Obama that I am afraid could potentially incite someone to truly go after Obama for real. But still, its sad to see a human being let their heart for so many Americans grow so indifferent and stale, and his disdain for Obama is startling too but thats another story. The "that one"moment spoke volumes.

Stacy said...

Laini, you should review "Max Makes a Million" on worldcat! (I know, I know, you are more of a recommender than a reviewer... but you do have great recommendations!)

http://www.worldcat.org/oclc/21340263&tab=reviews

holly cupala said...

Happy dating-versary, you two!

Vivian Mahoney said...

Yay! For celebrating first date anniversaries!

kelly barton art + design said...

first off...happy anniversary!
second...the button is priceless.
go obama!

Disco Mermaids said...

The thing I love most about your blog, Laini, is that when I read, I feel as if you are right there with me telling me fascinating stories!

It was SO great seeing you last week, and an absolute pleasure meeting your mom and sister! Seriously, your sister is a total bad-ass. I want to be HER in my next life. Can I use her as a character in my next book? Fascinating! Come to think of it, I'd like to be you in my next life too. Such a great and full life you lead!

Love the pics, too. Although, I'm a little scared to watch the McCain video.

Come visit again soon!!

:) Eve

Christine Fletcher said...

Happy anniversary, Laini! :)

Your post made me crack up remembering the first date my sweetie and I had. We went to see a college play and it was awful. Very avant-garde, very angsty, and in the end one wasn't sure what had even happened, let alone what the play was about. What a relief it was to find out we'd both hated it! :)

This morning, someone posted an anti-Obama screed on a professional online forum I belong to, saying--I swear I'm not making this up--that "he's not black, he's middle eastern muslim, and he has known terrorists and America-haters on his list of best friends. How can anyone in their right mind vote for that????" I thought it was a joke until I kept reading. This is from a person with a graduate degree, a professional who supposedly is trained in critical thinking. Of course many of us answered her back, but just the fact that someone this educated can be so willingly misinformed is disheartening.

ThatOne 08!

Anonymous said...

Happy anniversary to you and Jim! I've just been catching up a bit. It's sad that so many people are letting fear and personal prejudices take precedence...and I'm especially saddened that anyone, but especially someone in a position of leadership, could stand by and allow others to advocate violence against another person. Unfortunately, that seems to be a stage of development our society hasn't yet outgrown...Sometimes I think all we can do is try to keep cool mourselves - and hope that cooler heads will eventually prevail
Educate, educate, educate - so maybe someday everyone can decisions without basing them on fear...Meanwhie, sending (hugs) to you~

Anonymous said...

Whoops! Whole lotta typos - guess I should-a put on my glasses earlier, lol. Sorry about that - but I think you might be able to make out the general gist of it!