Lulu hates Showtunes!

It was nice catching up with you yesterday, until your bastard of a phone battery died. Nice technology!

Hey, I wanted to tell you another Lulu story.
Yesterday the girls and I had a totally lazy Sunday - curled up on the couch, fire in the fireplace, iPod shuffling on the stereo while I played with computer games.

The iPod's choices had me laughing, and of course I like to sing along with the songs I know.

Jessica Molasky-Pizzarelli (she's current Broadway Royalty, and her husband is a Jazz great. They often perform and record together) was singing a jazzy version of "Not Getting Married" from "Company" when, all of a sudden, Lulu reared up and made a noise like a scream.

It's not unusual for her to react to dogs, horses, kitties, or other furry faces on the television screen, but there was no such thing to have gotten her attention. It was the song!

She arched her back, like a cat, ran down the doggy steps, and smacked her paw against the iPod - to turn off the music! After two well-placed smacks it was silent.

Satisfied, she slowly climbed back up onto the couch and took up her previous position in a furry ball between my feet. As she snuggled down she lifted one eyelid and glanced up at me, to make sure I "got it."

Bailout Tax Credit for Credit Card Interest

What is a "bailout" but an agreement between parties to shift a few numbers across the page? Wouldn't you feel better if you believed a specific number of your tax dollars were being used to fund specific bank-saving programs? The numbers have to come from somewhere. Either they get moved around within existing amounts or else new ones have to be printed. We are them. We know that we're all going to have to share in the effort required to put it back together again. You have a feeling about the obligation to repay your credit card debt that is different from the feeling you have about your obligation to pay your income taxes. All it takes, really, is to approve a few changes to our tax returns. Make a note of credit card interest paid, to specific lenders if necessary, and give that number a greater tax advantage. It's not money that's actually coming out of your pocket so much as it's credit for the bank having taken it out. Government regulation will require the banks to show that they have been spreading, or spending the moneys under their care responsibly.

Texture?

So, removing the wallpaper I find most of the sheetrock is in pristine condition. There are several spots, however, where in my enthusiasm to remove the paper or the over enthusiasm of the hanger of the paper, the glue won the battle. The paper lost. The tears are in various splatters, mostly at eye level, standing. Is it better to texture the entire wall, or to make these booboos smooth? The colors mixed down at the local Ace are always a nice surprise. "Button" was seen as a pale gray, but went on as a vibrant lilac. These are the materials we have to work with. We're doing the best we can.

Horror in New Orleans

Tonight it was reported on SFGate that a young San Franciscan was shot in the head while being robbed of her bicycle as she pedaled through the Katrina-ravaged Ninth Ward of New Orleans.

Jungle Red

"Jungle Red" is a delightful gala musical extravaganza on themes suggested by "The Women" by Claire Booth Luce.

Written by Mark "Ethel Merman" Sargent and Richard Winchester, the two-act, two-plus hour musical pays parodic homage to the 1939 film.

Come for the costumes - they are spectacular! - but stay for the eponymous musical number, performed by Varla Jean Merman(Jeffery Roberson) in the role of shop girl/home wrecker Crystal (played by Joan Crawford in the film). Accompanied by a chorus of twirling fingernails, director Donna Drake brings a Busby Berkeley flair to the stage of the Victoria Theater through October 8.

Too Cute

I had begun to worry about my Lulu. The poor little black pug has really been on edge lately. She's been especially edgy since returning from the beach on Monday. We always head to the bathtub, upon arrival at WC Headquarters. We love our "spa time" together, especially the double rinse and then wrestling with the toweling after we're lifted out of the tub. Unfortunately, the last time I trimmed the puggies' nails I left the electric trimmer out in the bedroom. From the bed, Lulu could clearly see the trimmer where it lay upon the electric box fan. If Lulu could see it, she figured, then it could see her, too. How horrible is that?? Then, apparently whenever she was out of the bedroom she worried that the trimmer would still be there when she returned, and, oh, it WAS there when she went back to the bedroom! This afternoon we were TiVo-ing through two episodes of "Judge Judy" during a fifteen minute nap, and I moved my foot suddenly. Lulu had been laying down by the foot of the bed, sphinxlike, facing the...the THING and obviously not getting ANY rest while it was in the SAME ROOM with her. Poor little dog JUMPED when my foot moved! Later this evening I passed her poised on the pillow, and really asked her what was wrong. She has so obviously been in discomfort. I tracked the focus of her big exhausted eyes to THE TRIMMER! As I turned my back to shield my actions from her, I scooped up the trimmer as I made a big deal out of turning on the air filter. The trimmer discretely left the room, and found hidden refuge away from puggy eyes. Within a few minutes, Lulu had joined me in the library. I had been enjoying "The Sweet Smell of Success" with Isabella, just kicking back, and Lulu was ready to kick back, too! She stretched and splayed her feline bitch's body against the bleached terry toweling that covered her under-piano dog bed. She seems more relaxed than I've seen her in days or weeks! I never realized how much she dreads that nail trimmer.

Dropouts!

Digital dropout has become more noticeable a problem of late. The first obvious signs came during an episode of "Weeds" in which, no sooner had I expressed a wish to replay a scene than the scene repeated itself – without any physical input from me. More recently, in TiVo-ing an HD showing of "The Jerk" I experienced digital dropout that was equally evident in the recorded version. This suggests interference from the transmission media, and are determined, at this time, to be random occurences involving transmission rates, richness of data, and conversion algorithms. We'll soon see who is going to take the hits and who is getting the strikes for the latest output. Letting a program director at Viacom pre-select options for my viewing enjoyment is only a safe path one can choose to follow, or not.