Welcome to Diane Patterson's eclectic blog about what strikes her fancy
You know you’ve completely od’d on politics when you have a dream that you’re having an affair with Tony Blair and in the dream you’re really, really upset at yourself…not because you’re having an affair, but who you’re having it with.
(I at least have the good taste to cuss George Bush out in my dreams.)
This new show, Lazytown, just debuted on Nick Jr. Sophia asked to watch it. Then she wanted to watch more. The show’s been on a week and it’s the only thing she wants to watch.
Given that it’s a show that wants to inspire kids to get up and move, I’m not sure that’s a good sign. But it’s actually a very, very entertaining show.
Lazytown is the story of (where else?) Lazytown, where both superhero Sportacus and supervillain Robbie Rotten live. Sportacus is into health and activity and eating good food. Robbie wants everyone to be lazy and eat junk food. 
Eight-year-old Stephanie moves to town and becomes friends with Sportacus and the other kids in town (all of whom are puppets), and they foil Robbie’s schemes. And periodically Stephanie, in her bright pink hair and bright pink dress, bursts into a technopop number.
Do not get high before watching this show. I’m just saying.
I sat down to watch this show with Sophia and I definitely had a good time. The themes of the episodes are pretty obvious, but entertainingly done. The importance of getting your sleep, the importance of eating well and choosing an apple over candy, the importance of being honest over telling a lie. I just wish Sophia wanted to get up and bop with Stephanie when she’s doing one of her techno numbers.
The strange accents of Sportacus and Robbie Rotten, the bright colors, and the technopop interludes made me wonder: is this Scandinavian or something? So I looked it up on the Web and no, it’s Icelandic. Yes, Icelandic. And it’s evidently this huge conglomerate, with books and stage shows and all sorts of spinoffs.
My question for my vast audience of Icelandic readers (hi there): was this show originally broadcast in English? Or did they do two versions: the English for export and Icelandic for home?
Update: I’ve closed comments on this entry because I’m getting very, very tired of deleting comments about how “hot” Stephanie is. Guys, she’s 13 oe 14. Find someone your own age. (And if I’ve let any such comments go by, let me know: n k a ( a t ) n o b o d y – k n o w s – a n y t h i n g . c o m.
Batgirl, a rabid baseball fan, is one of the funniest blogs I’ve come across:
The political climate in classical Greece was largely defined by the struggle for supremacy between two rival city-states輸thens and Sparta. Athens (hereinafter the Minnesota Twins) was renowned for its intellectual and artistic achievements, while Sparta (hereinafter called “Cleveland”) was known for its military might. While Minnesota was pursuing advances in philosophy and astronomy, Cleveland was devoting itself to expanding its power. Minnesota’s citizens thrived under a democracy, while Clevelanders cowered under the rule of tyrannical kings. Minnesota’s youth were encouraged to become thinkers and artisans, while Cleveland’s served only the state. All Minnesota children were cherished and educated with the hope that they might further advance civilization, while all Cleveland babies were examined at birth for physical fitness, and those found inferior were drowned or abandoned in the woods where they were eaten by rabid New York Mets.
You don’t need to be a fan of baseball to enjoy this blog. The Lego re-enactment of a bench-clearing brawl is particularly choice. (Via Ceej.)
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Another favorite blog of mine these days is Cracked Cauldron Spillings, a blog that has done the impossible: it makes me want to visit Oklahoma City. Cracked Cauldron Spillings is the blog of a mother-daughter team, referred to as “Moneybags” and “Manager,” who are in the process of opening their own bakery in Oklahoma City. The descriptions of putting together their business plan, combined with description of their yummy treats, keep me coming back.
Manager and I have been discussing a (working name, but it seems “sticky” – people are already referring to it by this name) “guinea pig hour”, a special day and time each month where we prepare a new item to add to the menu in multiple variations. All the customers in the store get free samples of them along with an evaluation sheet, and they can tell us “too much cinnamon”, “not enough vanilla flavoring”, “needs more yeast”, “too hard”, “too soft” or whatever. We’ll fiddle with the recipe until it’s just right according to the majority of customers, and place it on the menu for the following month – placing a photo of them all (those who want their picture taken, that is) with the product they chose on the menu board.
Several people we’ve surveyed have asked if we’ll sell T-shirts that say “Official Cracked Cauldron Guinea Pig” on them during that time. An artist friend has offered to draw a cracked cauldron with a guinea pig inside it eating bakery goods. Here in Oklahoma, maybe the casualness of this would work?
What’s particularly unusual about this venture is that it’s not just a bakery—it has larger social ambitions in the surrounding community. (You have to read the archives to find out why.) And Moneybags’s committment to buying locally and supporting other merchants turns out to be harder than she expects, but she explains why it’s important.
If you want a blog that definitely tells a story, check this one out.
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Tad Bitter: Tales from a Hollywood Screenwriter is a very entertaining and well-written blog about (what else?) a writer in action in Hollywood. I can’t imagine how someone who’s clearly so busy has time to write so much in a blog, but I’m glad he does. His take on Collateral is right on:
If you池e not familiar with the concept for Collateral, the film is about a hitman (Cruise) who痴 come to Los Angeles for the night to kill a few people and force his cab driver (Foxx) to take him on his rounds. Once Foxx finds out Cruise is a contract killer (he does in the first ten minutes so I知 not giving anything away) we have to assume that Cruise痴 Vincent is ultimately going to kill him since not only has he seen his face, but he also now knows what he does. This of course provides us with the obligatory conflict and tension. At times during the movie, you think or maybe hope that Cruise won稚 kill Foxx when he痴 done with him because Cruise is probably the sloppiest hitman to ever grace the screen. At virtually every stop Cruise allows at least one person to place him at the scene. He also leaves at least a dozen finger prints at every scene and he shoots all his victims in the exact same pattern. So perhaps Cruise doesn稚 care if Foxx has seen his face since everyone else has. Hell, maybe they値l end up taking a singles cruise together when the night is done.
Tad doesn’t make me miss LA very much, though.