AliThinks

In Which I Am Clearly Out Of Practice At Making Videos

 

 

What April Showers Bring

Deux Tulipes, originally uploaded by Alison.

What Does It Mean?

Last night I had a dream in which I met the two remaining Democratic candidates for president.

In a bathroom. Each.

I met Hillary in a women's room at a large public gathering. My hands were wet (from water, not pee!) but she shook one anyway. And she knew who I was and where I lived.

Then I found my son in the crowd (random!) and took him to the men's room. And went inside. (What? My son is 10. Old enough to go alone.)

Barack Obama was sitting in a stall, not doing anything but hanging out. We had a nice chat while my son peed.

Usually I'm loathe to share dreams here, because y'all, I don't want to read about YOUR dreams on your blog. But this one deserved a mention, don'tcha think?

While We Wait For My Zit To Subside...

(you know, so I can make the let's-hold-our-breath-ooh-la-la video you've been on the edge of your seats for)

...while we wait for that to happen (hello, zit, come to a head already!), let me direct you to my friend AndreAnna's other blog, Chop. Stir. Mix.

She and the other founder of C.S.M. (ooh, sounds almost like a band, doesn't it?), Cass, have started a contest. They're giving away some sweet kitchen schwag from Crate & Barrel (and more, if you help promote the contest), and all you have to do is leave a comment to this entry. Of course, if you actually read the entry, you'll increase your chances!

I entered the contest by leaving a comment with my worst kitchen disaster, which I documented on my long-defunct blog AliGator. And although I did mention that I don't need any kitchen crap stuff, I'm happy to promote the contest for an extra chance to win - because I will donate the prize if I am the winner. So go leave comments. If I don't win, you might!

Anticipation

I'll make an ooh-la-la video, but not today. It's Derby Day. And I have a huge zit on my face.

Vanity trumps, folks.

Well.

I'm thinking I might have to make a video about my last post. You know, in which I demonstrate the use of the comment-inciting phrase I mentioned.

Qu'en pensez-vous?

Gripe

It annoys me when American journalists insist on perpetuating the stereotype that French people say "ooh la la" all the time.

Guess what? They don't.

Local

During the course of the weekend's events, I had the pleasant experience of being recognized by no less than three people. They either read my blog (Hi, Ashley!) or knew me from Flickr.

I must say, that felt pretty good. I've lived here for two years now, but only recently have I begun to realize how important local connections can be. I mean, I have local friends, but I think I'm starting to build a network.

Yokel*

This past week has proved to me, not that I ever doubted it, that this is one cool town. Besides the Black Rebel Motorcycle Club concert last Saturday, we've been to two other concert events this week, (one at our friend Lolli's shop, Isle Of You) and we'll attend an all-day music festival tomorrow.

The week's events were part of WRFL's 20th anniversary celebration. The student-run station went on the air on March 7, 1988 (I was already DJing at my alma mater! I'm OLD!) and has run continuously since. It was the first station in Lexington to play metal, rap, and hip-hop, and it did not shun the bluegrass music, oh no. Ashley Judd had a show on WRFL, and many of the other DJs/founding members have gone on to various creative careers around the nation.

Anyway, having been a DJ at my college, I'm pretty excited by all the events in Lexington this week. I should have some photos up on Flickr soon.

*I don't think I'm a yokel. I was just trying to rhyme with LOCAL. I'm actually rather erudite cultured. You know, like yogurt, only not quite as tangy.

More Geekery

I am using BlogIt, a new Typepad application for Facebook, to post this blog entry. So essentially, instead of using Typepad, I'm doing this in Facebook.

Not sure yet, but this might change the way I blog. I've been spending a lot of time on Facebook recently, after months of inactivity there. It's helped me get back in touch with a whole bunch of people. I don't much like all the silly applications, but I've added a few (like Scrabulous!).

One other unrelated thing: lately I've been getting e-mails requesting me to mention causes or services on my blog. I haven't responded or done anything, because a) my readership ain't that great anymore and b) I do maintain that I will keep the blog ad-free, unless I'm sure I can make more than 50 cents a month in ad revenues.

Have any of you bloggers received similar requests? And do you have ads on your blog or not? If so, do you make any money? Does it cover the cost of hosting, or more?

How To Beat The Blues When Your Kids Return To France

1) Meet up with friends at a downtown bar.

2) Go next door to The Dame to see Black Rebel Motorcycle Club.

3) Enjoy the music fully.

4) Say hello to Michael Been of The Call, father of Robert Levon Been of BRMC, and sound man for the band.

5) Resist singing "Ya ya ya ya ya ya ya" to him.

6) Sing it anyway, because it's a fucking great song. And then take a crappy cell phone picture with Michael Been. (Because HELLO, STARSTRUCK!) 

7) Go back to the bar next door and have another beer or two.

8) Flirt a little with Peter Hayes of BRMC while he plays darts. (Because HELLO, STARSTRUCK! And also, ADORABLE TINY ASS!)

9) Think about the fact that I gave Michael Been and Peter Hayes my MOO card(s).

10) Hope that they see this blog entry. Hello, fellas! Thanks so much for coming to Lexington!

11) Thank the Internet Gods for helping me find Radio Paradise five+ years ago, because that's where I first heard (of) BRMC.

12) Smile wistfully, because my kids are now safely back in France.