Where's My Ginkgo Biloba?

So about that dream where I was trying to drive the defective Towncar while attempting to make reservations at the East Village B&B whose name I couldn't remember? I finally remember - it's Second Home on Second Avenue.

Thank God. It's been bugging me ever since I had the stupid dream.

You Asked for It

By popular request, I present that damn questionnaire:

1. Grab the nearest book to you, turn to page 18, line 7. Read what it says:
”The effect of education on junior agricultural staff’s reception of technical information.”

2. Stretch out your left hand as far as you can. What do you touch first?
The wall

3. What was the last thing you watched on tv?
Gilmore Girls dvd. Season Two, disc 5. Dean just told Lorelai that he knows that Rory likes Jess. Rrrroowwrrr, Jess.

4. Without looking, guess what time it is:
4:12pm

5. Look at the clock. What time is the actual time?
4:14pm

6. With the exception of the computer, what do you hear?
89.3 The Current – the best radio station ever! Also the tick of the Kit Cat Clock

7. When did you last step outside? What were you doing?
2:30pm today. Walking home from Dunn Brothers.

8. Before you did this survey, what were you looking at?
Hotmail account

9. What are you wearing?
Jeans, Burgandy Lands End shirt, Grey Lands End shirt, no shoes/barefoot. Boring.

10. Did you dream last night?
Yes, I dreamed that I had flown to NYC without any advance planning (i.e. no hotel reservations) and was driving around Manhattan in a giant Towncar that didn’t have a brake pedal and changed from manual to automatic transmission at will - all the while trying to remember the name of the B&B in the East Village that I wanted to call to see if I could get a room. I still can’t remember the name of the B&B.

11. When did you last laugh?
Hmm. While watching TV last night? During Will & Grace reruns maybe? It was the Macaulay Culkin episode.

12. What are on the walls in the room you are in?
So much stuff. Photos, a few art pieces, the aforementioned KitCat Clock, file holders, bulletin board, shelves…

13. See anything weird lately?
No.

14. What do you think of this quiz?
It’s making me weary.

15. What was the last film you saw?
In the theatre? Sideways. On TV? Body Heat.

16. If you became a multi-millionaire overnight, what would you buy first?
A diverse stock portfolio so I'd never have to work for The Man ever ever again.

17. Tell me something about you that I don't know:
See, this is the kind of thing that makes me weary.

18. If you could change one thing about the world, regardless of guilt or politics, what would you do?
Again, weary. Peace on earth, tolerance, etc.

19. Do you like to dance?
Only when intoxicated enough not to remember.

20. George W. Bush:
Don’t even get me started.

21. Imagine your first child is a girl. What do you name her?
Artichoke. Wheat Germ. Post-it. Whatever. I have no interest in having children. (Although “Whatever” as a name is an intriguing idea.)

22. Imagine your first child is a boy. What do you name him?
See #21.

Oscar Nominations

Word to Catherine, I am totally mystified by the heaping of praise upon Sideways. Yes, I saw it & thought it was okay. However, I still wish I'd spent the $8.00 on Finding Neverland that day instead.

Yes yes, as Ebert & Roeper said, Sideways harkens back to a time when scriptwriting was an art, blah blah blah. When exactly was this golden time boys? Cause I'll tell you, as someone who watches a lot of TCM, the history of the movies is steadily populated with some real stinkers.

And on this subject, if Sideways is getting such attention b/c of its careful attention to story/character developement/blah de blah blah, what's the deal with Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind not receiving more nominations? Can you name a movie this year that was more original? That had a more carefully crafted script? That was equal parts entertainment and intellectual challenge? That made you think and feel and consider?

For that matter, where the Hell is Garden State?

Man I hate the Oscars. Even more, I hate that I know I'll watch them. Stupid TV.

89.3 The Current

Or as I like to refer to it, The First Reason I've Had to Listen to Radio in Lo These Past Nearly Eight Years and not even the shadow of unemployment can darken this day in the Gelato household.

If I remember correctly, my beloved Rev105 was cruelly torn from the airwaves back in the spring of 1997. Since then I've listened to nary a song on the radio, save for the occasional spin on the oldies station while housecleaning (that came to an end when I realized that they regularly aired anti-choice commercials). So excepting This American Life and The Splendid Table, my radios have been silent for a goodly long time.

And now - now my membership to MPR is paying off in spades. Behold the glory that is 89.3, The Current .

Seriously. Mary Lucia, Mark Wheat, Thorn ?!!! I could barely contain my excitement at 9:00am this morning when the station came on the air and I heard the dulcet tones of Thorn. Thorn! How I've missed your voice. And oh my god. This station is really happening.

And the playlist? So incredibly good! So far this morning: Atmosphere, Owls, Olympic Hopefuls, Jayhawks, Radiohead, Bob Dylan, Pixies, PJ Harvey, Beatles, Death Cab for Cutie, Benny Goodman (yes! for real), Morphine, and - I just can't even think - my brain is so filled with joy.

And it's Public Radio. That means no commercials. So Get Your Contribution On or just listen (89.3 if you're in the Twin Cities) and tell everyone you know.

Lord knows I never thought I'd hear this level of radio goodness again in my lifetime. Take that Clear Channel!

Mmmm, Lasagna

Every day for the last few months, I've walked by a poster for the movie Lightening in a Bottle (warning audio). And even though it's the same poster every day, about half the times that I glance at it, I think it says "Lasagna in a Bottle".

You Do Not Belong to the City

The concrete, it is not under your feet.

Sometimes I am so amused by the things that shock my co-workers.

I mean, did you know that when you live across the alley from a hard-drinking bar, that people sometimes talk loudly in the alley at they’re leaving said bar at 2:00am? That they may occasionally vomit or pee in the alley?! Shocking stuff that.

Not that I’m a fan of witnessing the evacuation of any bodily fluids, but still. These people should not be living in the city. I hear the siren song of the suburbs acalling.

Manolo Loves the Shoes

Have I mentioned The Manolo to you?

You are probably already aware of the super fantastic nature of The Manolo. If so, you should go vote for The Manolo as the best new blog over at the Bob Awards .

If not, you should acquaint yourself with The Manolo posthaste.

The Gelato household loves The Manolo.