F-F-Friday

This week, though, it’s “Fishy Floral Friday.”

This isn’t my own photo; none of the pictures I took of anemones came out well, so I borrowed this image from here:

I really wish that the pictures I tried to get of the coral tanks came out, but the best I can do is give you an image boosted from the NEA site:

Happy Friday, Everyone!

Fishy, Fishy, Part II

We had a FANTASTIC time.

We sailed into the city - we left at the perfect time to miss all of the incoming traffic - and I managed to get us there with no navigational hiccups (no small feat now that the Big Dig has moved all the exits on me!). We parked in the garage and headed to the ticket counter. I bought tickets while the girlies looked at seals (from left to right we have Punkin’, Monkeyface, and Beanie).

It was a good morning for a little sunbathing:

We arrived just in time for penguin breakfast. The penguin habitat was filled with wet-suited workers feeding, cleaning, and notating. I didn’t get any good pictures of that, though - I didn’t realize until around the jellyfish that my camera was on the wrong setting:

Here’s where I put my camera on the correct setting:

Beanie at the touch tank. The offerings for this morning included sea stars, urchins, and a couple of horseshoe crabs. No rays, though…

Here’s the top of the giant tank:

Myrtle the turtle. The girl who was conducting the Q&A (in whom I had little faith; it seemed to me like she was making a lot of shit up, but whatever) said that Myrtle was about 75 years old and could live to be about 150. DUDE!

(her favorite food is Brussels sprouts and she eats about five heads of lettuce a day, by the way)

As we spiraled our way down the tank, we got to see divers doing the morning feedings:

We had ourselves a little (expensive!) lunch, then meandered toward the exits, but not before going through the special exhibit devoted to jellyfish. This, by far, is the best photograph I took all day:

It was a perfectly wonderful time spent doing fun stuff with people I love.

Go here for the history of the NEA; the site is pretty neat.

Kizz Got There First!

Kizz has posted the first movie-related post on Please Pass the Popcorn.  Go on over and have a look-see!

Here, Fishy, Fishy!

The Chili girls, along with the O’Mama girls and Sphyrnatude (who is decidedly NOT a girl) are going to the New England Aquarium this morning!

Report and photos to follow later this afternoon.

ANOTHER Blog?!

I know, I know… I need an intervention.

Here’s the thing, though; the other day, in response to my posting about my unchecked excitement about the upcoming release of Traitor, Grammar Snob suggested that we start a sort of “lazy man’s book club.”  She’s thinking that we should all see the same movies and write about them, and I thought that would be a fantastic idea.  I took it one step further, though, and thought that it didn’t have to be a “everyone write about the same film” kind of thing.

It rolled around in the back room of my mind for days.

I couldn’t figure out how to make this idea happen, though, without opening another blog (if you’re keeping score, this makes six for me, this space, the teacher blog, the cooking blog, the yoga blog, and the book club blog - the movie blog makes six.  Sheesh!).  I wanted some place where a bunch of us could go and put down thoughts and ideas and recommendations (”go see this movie TODAY!”) and warnings (”there are two hours you’re never gettin’ back!“).  It just seemed easiest to open another site and run it that way.

Thus, Please Pass the Popcorn was born.

SO!  Here’s the deal; if you’d like to be part of Mrs. Chili’s Movie Club (I’m not calling it that, but you know what I mean), send me an email (mrschili at comcast dot net) and I’ll send you an invitation to be a member (if you don’t already have a wordpress id, you’ll have to sign up for one, but that’s pretty painless).  From there, you’ll be able to write movie-related posts whenever you choose.

Wanna go to the movies with me?

Ten Things Tuesday

So, here’s the scene: The Chili family is in the car headed for Beanie’s quarterly growth check-up (she’s still fine, by the way; one more quarterly and the doc’s going to put her on a twice-yearly schedule). Bean’s in the back seat with a book. Mr. Chili, in the passenger seat, looks over and says “Whatcha readin’ there, Beanie?” to which she replies “The Thief Lord.”

Daddy says, “haven’t you read that already?”

Beanie says, “yeah… So?”

…and this is how I get my inspiration. Here, then, are ten books that Mrs. Chili loves enough to read over and over again:

1. Shelley’s Frankenstein, of course. I believe this is the book I’ve read and re-read the most; I’ve probably gone through its pages about 15 times by now, and I come away from each reading with something new to think about.

2. The Outlander series. Written by Diana Gabaldon, this is a set of six books, though I’m only counting it as one. O’Mama got me hooked on them, and I’m not sure whether to bless or curse her for it, because, as my dear friend Sooza says, “it’s literary crack.”

An historical fiction series about a woman who falls through a stone circle in Scotland at the end of WWII and emerges in the mid-1700s, the story follows Claire’s (mostly unwilling) adventures with a band of Scots highlanders in rebellion. The pages are filled with action and adventure while at the same time being one of the most gorgeously written and convincing love stories I’ve ever run my eyes over. I truly cannot recommend this series highly enough… if you’re in to that sort of thing, of course.

3. The Book Thief by Markus Zusak. I’ve read this twice in the short span of a few months, and I’m convinced that I’ll read it again a few more times before I’m through. It’s the story of a young girl during the build-up and execution of World War II in Germany, and about all the things she sees and experiences during that time. I think this novel is a beautiful treatment of everyday life in Nazi Germany, and I think, as a scholar of the Holocaust and an educator, that this novel should be an important part of a curriculum dealing with that time period, whether in a history or literature class.

4. Hawthorne’s The Scarlet Letter. I’ve read this several times - both for classes and for myself - and I find that I enjoy it more with every run-through. This story (or, rather, the prelude to it) contains one of the most eloquent descriptions of the complex relationship that a native New Englander can have to the idea of “home.” Hawthorne’s spare style and eye for important detail keep me coming back to this story, and I’m secretly hoping that it’ll be on the curriculum for my daughters’ high school English classes so I can read it with them.

5. Without Remorse by Tom Clancy. I thought seriously about putting The Hunt for Red October here, but the truth of the matter is that I adore Without Remorse and, if forced to choose between them as novels, this is the one I’d go with. It’s the back story for John Kelly - aka Clark - who turns out to be a minor character in many of the Ryan-focused novels which were to follow. Scarred by war and the violent and untimely death of his wife, Clark sets about systematically bringing down a brutal drug ring, making choices all the while mindful that each decision changes him in ways he may never be able to fully reconcile.

Clancy’s style and his intricate way of tying seemingly insignificant details together to make everything click at just the right moment are the reasons that I have nearly an entire bookshelf devoted to his work. He’ll never be considered high literature, but I’m not the kind of English teacher who demands that. This stuff is good, and I’ll keep reading.

6. The Country of the Pointed Firs by Sarah Orne Jewett. In fact, this is a collection of related short stories, not a whole and complete novel, but that doesn’t take away one bit from how much I adore it; in fact, that the stories are discrete may add to my love of them in that they can be taken for themselves. They’re set on the seacoast of Maine in the late 1800’s and are populated by people that are immediately and intimately familiar to me. The dialect and the mannerisms fit seamlessly with what I know and understand, and I find myself with an affection for the stories that goes beyond my appreciation of Jewett’s writing style and skill in observation. The old man, for example, whose yard is littered with buoys is my favorite. When the unnamed narrator asks him why the floats are in his yard, his matter-of-fact reply is that they’re there for necessity; they mark the underground boulders, too big to dig up, that would wreck his plow. THAT, my friends, is pure Yankee thinking, and I adore it.

7. Hamlet. I believe it is true that I’ve read this Shakespeare play more than any other and, while I’ve tried to branch out a bit in the pieces from the Bard that I read and teach (I taught Othello this term), Hamlet remains, hands-down, my favorite. I suspect that’s mostly because of my familiarity with it, but whatever. I like the ghost and his speeches spurring Hamlet to action, I love Gertrude’s (seeming) cluelessness, I love the soliloquies and Hamlet’s angst, It’s fun, and I love it.

8. Ahab’s Wife, or The Star-gazer by Seta Jeter Naslund. I read this twice in one shot; as soon as I was finished with the last page, I headed right back into the first chapter again. It tells the story of Moby Dick from the perspective of Ahab’s wife left behind in New Bedford. The language is gorgeous, the relationships that Una creates and maintains while awaiting her husband’s return are believable, and the novel celebrates the strong and resourceful women of seacoast New England.

9. The Secret Life of Bees by Sue Monk Kidd. Believe it or not, this is the first novel - written word - that made me cry. It’s not that I don’t live in novels - anyone who knows me know that I do - but I’d never before been moved to tears by a book. This one grabbed me where I live and wouldn’t let go. It tells the story of a young girl with a complicated past who finds comfort and solace in the home of three honey-producing, no-nonsense, loving-out-loud sisters. The story is well-crafted and the characters are believable, and the realizations that Lily comes to at the end were wrenching to me. I love it, and I will keep a copy in my collection forever.

10. Wicked by Gregory Maguire. Here’s another novel that, like Ahab’s Wife, I started again as soon as I was finished with it. Not only am I fascinated by the idea of telling The Wizard of Oz story from the perspective of the “wicked witch,” but the language Maguire employs thrills me; my copy of this novel is littered with Post-it flags marking delicious quotes - “I just think, like our teachers here, that if ministers are effective, they’re good at asking questions to get you to think. I don’t think they’re supposed to have the answers. Not necessarily.” “You confuse not speaking with not listening.” “She reasoned that because she was beautiful she was significant.” LOVE it.

Just in case you were wondering, I’m currently reading two books; I’ve stared (and am thoroughly enjoying) McCullough’s John Adams. I’ve watched the HBO miniseries and was inspired to pick up the book (of which I have two copies, having bought one after forgetting that I already had the book on my shelves). I’m reading Tracey Chevalier’s The Lady and the Unicorn for the Dark and Stormy Book Club. I’m not going to comment on it yet; tune in to the DSBC site and podcast to learn more.

Happy Tuesday, Everyone!

Monday Meme

Boosted, as usual without a hint of shame, from Kwizgiver.

If you got trapped in an elevator with someone, who would you want it to be?
My real-life answer is Mr. Chili. My fantasy answer would be Will Smith or Lawrence Fishburn (or, if I’m feeling virtuous, Desmond Tutu).

What is your favourite cereal?
Depends on my mood (and the time of the month). I’m fond of Special K Red Berries most of the time, though I’ve not been above a big old bowl of Lucky Charms now and then.

Do you own any cowboy boots?
Um, no. Why would I want to?

What is something you would never do in public?
Argue with my husband, bathe, or pick my nose.

Have you ever had really strange dreams?
I regularly have really strange dreams.

Name a friend or loved on who has passed away?
Gramma Grace.

What’s your earliest memory?
I’ve effectively blocked most of my early memories, but I do recall my grandparents’ above-ground pool collapsing and flooding their yard. They were sitting in lawn chairs next to it when it gave way, and I ran for the white-painted boulder that supported a ceramic fawn and watched the water rush by me.

Have you ever broken a bone before, and if so, how?
I’ve never (knock wood) broken a bone.

Have you ever stepped in dog poo?
Oh, MANY times (just last weekend, as a matter of fact). I grew up with a half-lab, half-Newfoundland that left not-little doggy bombs ALL OVER the place.

Ever bitten your toenails?
Eeew. No.

Who is your all time hero?
Bishop Desmond Tutu

What colors do you think mix well?
green and brown

What did you eat recently?
Chicken fingers and salad.

What was your favorite cartoon movie as a child?
Does Pete’s Dragon count as a cartoon movie? I think I can still sing “Candle on the Water.”

What’s your favorite movie now?
If you don’t know by now that it’s The Hunt for Red October, then you’re just not paying attention.

Do you paint your toenails?
Sometimes. I’m a yoga teacher, and my tootsies are out in public a lot. They are currently adorned French manicure style.

Is your computer a fast and awesome computer?
Yes, indeedy. I’m married to a Mac guy, so he keeps my beloved laptop in tip-top shape.

What do you do, or want to do for a living?
I teach college-level English, and I love it.

If one of your long lost exes called you and asked for you back, would you take them back?
Not a chance. They’re exes for a reason.

Have you ever been a Heartbreaker?
As in “Tom Petty and the..?” No, but I can sing a mean back up to Yer So Bad.

What’s your favorite instrument?
Guitar, I think, though I’m enamored of people who play drums well.

What is a country you want to visit badly before you die?
I’m almost afraid to go to Scotland for fear I’d never want to come home.

Have you made a bucket list?
No, not formally.

What things in history amuse you the most?
Old letters and old photographs

Have you ever eaten lipstick?
Not for sport (who makes these questions up, anyway?)

What are 3 accessories you have to be equipped with when you go out?
Cell phone (MUST! HAVE! THE! CELL! PHONE!!), wallet, and wedding rings.

Have you ever licked a window before?
No, and would you care if I did?

If someone dared you to run across a busy street for 1 thousand dollars, would you?
Um, no. I’m a grown up; I don’t do dares.

Would you kill someone for 9 million dollars?
That might just depend on who I’m asked to kill, and if I knew I could get away with it.

Who is your worst enemy right now and why?
I don’t waste energy keeping enemies; I prefer to use my powers for good.

Have you ever been in a psychical fight with anyone before?
No; I don’t roll that way.

What brand of cell phone do you have and what service provider?
You all know I’m in love with my iPhone. AT&T has a stranglehold on the iPhone market right now, so I’m stuck with them.

Do you wear slippers or socks?
Either, sometimes both.

Do your feet stink?
No, do yours?

Have you ever picked your butt in public?
Discretely. Sometimes, you’ve GOT to get your underwear out of your butt.

What is the strangest pet you’ve ever owned?
I had a bunny rabbit for about six months once.

Do you love life or hate it?
I absolutely LOVE it.

Who is the hottest person in the entire universe in your opinion?
Oh, that’s a HARD question; there’s so much hotness to choose from! I’m currently swooning over Lawrence Fishburn, after showing my lit. kids Othello last week. Mmmmm.

What do you do every night before bed?
Floss, brush, and rinse.

Happy Monday, Everyone!

Oh, MAN!

This comes out in about a week and a half. I need to line up a sitter NOW; I’ve been dying to see this film since I first got a teaser of it a few months ago. I LOVE Don Cheadle.

It’s gonna be GOOOOOD!

They Play Everything

There’s a radio station out of Boston that I love.  It’s called Mike FM and, from what I’ve noticed from being in other areas, it’s one of many stations of its kind.  Their tag line is “we play everything” and with the exception of classical music and polka, I think that’s mostly true (I heard The Devil Went Down to Georgia the other day, I swear to God).

The only thing I dislike about Mike FM is that they don’t have a run down of the songs they’ve played (mostly because they don’t have a d.j.), so if you come in at the tail end of a song, you have no way of finding out what that song was.  What’s worse is when you come in at the tail end of a song while you’re driving in your car; the best you can do is pull a scrap of paper out of your glove box at a stop light and note the time, then hope you remember to check online to find out what that song was.

Well, that happened to me the other day, except that I didn’t HAVE a scrap of paper and I never GOT to a stoplight, even if I did.  The thing is, though, I KNEW I knew the song - I KNEW it; I knew it was a Journey tune, I just couldn’t tell you which one it was.  As a consequence, I had the closing riff of this tune in my head for DAYS, with no way of going back to look it up.  I thought the time was around 2:00, but I checked in the Mike archives for a bout a week back, but none of the songs they played around 2 p.m. was the song I was looking for.

I had reached the end of my proverbial rope last night, and decided that I was going to call Mr. Chili’s friend BoBo to ask if he knew what the song was.  BoBo has an uncanny ability with music, and I was sure he’d know the tune from the snatch of it that I had rolling around in my head.  When I told Mr. Chili that I was going to give BoBo a call, he told me that he was sure HE could come up with the tune.  I hummed it for him, but he was stumped.

Trying to be self-sufficient, I went to iTunes and looked up what I THOUGHT was the song, but that didn’t help me much because iTunes only puts samples of the songs on their site, and the sample they gave happened to not be the piece that was on constant loop through my head.  Finally, I looked online for a free programmable radio sort of site, found this, then found this and confirmed that the song that I missed was Stone in Love by Journey.

Whew!  Exhausting, aren’t I?

Don’t Eat That

Seriously, You Guys?  We decided to do a freezer-aisle dinner tonight (we couldn’t decide on one dinner for the whole family, so everyone chose their own).

I ADORE Tom Ka Gai.  Light, slightly sweet, and lively (and entirely fish-less), this is a soup I order every time I’m anywhere near a Thai restaurant.

The main components of the soup are chicken, lemongrass and coconut, so when I saw this

I thought that it would be fabulous.

I was sadly mistaken.

Really?  It tasted much like I expect lemon dish soap might taste.  Blech.  I tried to power may way through it, thinking it would grow on me, but alas; I’m left with a mouth that tastes something like this:

Trust me on this one; go for the Hungry Mans.