Riba Rambles:
Musings of a Mental Magpie

Posted by Lis Riba at 9:00 AM

I have had a most rare vision. I have had a dream, past the wit of man to say what dream it was: man is but an ass, if he go about to expound this dream. Methought I was--there is no man can tell what. Methought I was,--and methought I had,--but man is but a patched fool, if he will offer to say what methought I had. The eye of man hath not heard, the ear of man hath not seen, man's hand is not able to taste, his tongue to conceive, nor his heart to report, what my dream was.

Yesterday morning, I arrived at work to find a marvelous surprise on my desk:

Two tickets to last night's Boston Ballet performance of Midsummer Night's Dream were waiting for me on my keyboard.

I was flabbergasted. Turned out that my coworker's wife was called away on a sudden business trip, and since they wouldn't be able to use the tickets, he thought I might appreciate them.

Wow.

So, Ian and I skipped Boskone last night in favor of the ballet.

We managed to find streetside parking somewhere near Downtown Crossing and walked towards Chinatown to grab some dinner before the show.

We went to Kaze, where we tried shabu shabu for the first time. Fun meal, although the plum wine I ordered to drink was a wee bit too strong for me and left me a little queasy. Shame, because I loved the taste and had been considering a second glass.

Then over to the theater.

Now, I'll confess, I'm not much of a ballet fan.

Ian's mother and sister had regular season tickets to the Boston Ballet for many years. When Leila moved away, I went with my mother-in-law several times. I really wanted to like it, in part for her sake, but it just did nothing for me. On at least one occasion, I'm ashamed to say, I nearly fell asleep.

I did enjoy last night's production of MND immensely -- in part because I'm already so familiar with the story (this makes the seventh time I've seen it performed in the last three years) -- it also helped me articulate why ballet in general isn't the entertainment for me.

It boils down to two things:

First, I have a feeling that there's some kinesthetic language to dance that I am missing. The moves aren't just pretty or athletic in and of themselves, but that there's some kind of meaning or symbolism to certain steps. So while I can appreciate it aesthetically, I always have a sense that I'm missing nuance.

Second, I'm just a very word-based person. I like to read, talk and listen. When so much time is passing without words, my mind starts filling the silence. Sometimes I'm reflecting on what I'm seeing, but the wordless scenes in ballet often go on longer than I deem necessary to convey the plot (thus my earlier concern about missing nuance), so my mind wanders.

It's not necessarily a failing -- merely a mismatch between artform and audience (me). And that's the reason I don't often attend the ballet.

That aside, I really did enjoy this performance.

The sets -- within an oversized forest -- were magnificent. Titania's bower is the shell of a snail overhung with giant roses. Other backdrops included massive frogs and spiders which, along with the child-dancers portraying insects, helped convey the notion of diminutive fairy-folk.

The lovers were color-coded, leaving no doubt who was intended with whom. And the story made the subplot of the "changeling boy" much more obvious than in the traditional play, with multiple attempts at thievery and a final handoff.

I was particularly impressed by Joel Prouty as Puck, who leaped into a flutter-kick before bowing to Oberon. He was an utter delight to watch.

The choreography of Bottom was hysterical, even to an ignorant peon like myself. [And I did appreciate the brief nod to Pyramus and Thisbe -- the rehearsing mechanicals had a wall, lanthorn, and one tied a scarf around his head to play Thisbe.] His pas-de-deux with Titania, as he kept reaching back for the hay, had the entire audience laughing (myself included).

I don't even have words to describe Hippolyta's dance moves during the hunt, but it felt right, like a warrior queen should move. Like flying splits. It seemed like something you might see on a Greek vase.

The first half of the ballet retells Acts I through IV of Shakespeare's story. For the second act, the ballet replaces Pyramus and Thisbe with extended marital dances among the three couples.

Ian's often told me the story about his first viewing of The Nutcracker (which he just blogged in his entry:

The first ballet I ever saw was Nutcracker, when I was three or four years old. As my parents tell me, I sat in rapt attention through the whole first half, and then, when the curtain came down and the lights came up for intermission, I clapped long and hard, then got my coat and said, "That was fun," and got ready to leave. My grandmother and mother looked at each other, and thought about whether to tell me that there was a second half, and they said, "Well, he's done, and he had a good time. That's good enough."

We were totally satisfied with Act I of Dream. But given that we were both somewhat tired, my self-realizations about what I do and don't enjoy about ballet, and the fact that we'd already seen all of Shakespeare's plot, we decided to bow out during the intermission.

Still, all-in-all we had a marvelous time, and this is a public thank you to my coworker (he knows who he is) for his kind generousity.

And now, off to Boskone.

Posted by Lis Riba at 11:05 PM

Those who read the comments to my last post will have noticed that Ian got the car freed just in time to watch the train pulling away, a trip which took me nearly two hours to reach work.

I could curse the timing, but I'm going to think of it as fate, providence, kismet, Gd's will... call it what you like.

You see, if I hadn't been riding the train, I never would've picked up the Metro.

And if I hadn't picked up the Metro, I wouldn't've seen that advertisement from BostonTrials.com seeking voluneers for a medical research study on a possible medication for Hypoactive Desire Disorder.

Cube walls are so thin, that even though I'm open about FSD on my blog, I feel weird talking to somebody about it over the phone during business hours.

But I've sent them an email, describing my background and including a link to my FSD page where I describe my medical history.

I'll confess, since Dr. Goldstein left BUMC, I haven't been doing anything about my FSD -- much to Ian's frustration. Maybe during this break, the medical science will finally have gotten ahead of my condition.

Wish me luck!

Posted by Lis Riba at 8:15 AM

After an hour of fighting with the ice, going through all our rock salt and multiple bags of kitty litter, we can't get our car out of the driveway.

Both house and workplace are near commuter rail stations, but on different lines. So I can catch the train -- for $11 plus premium rush hour pricing -- and get to work by about 10:45. Turns out, it doesn't matter whether I leave on the 8:15 or 8:45, since they both get to North Station well before the outbound train leaves.

[I haven't even started to look at my evening commute...]

But that still doesn't solve the problem of getting the car out of the driveway and making the driveway usable by tonight for tomorrow's commute.

Anybody going to be near Melrose any time today with some muscle, a working vehicle (to transport more salt), or possibly a tow truck?

BTW, regarding my subject line, what happened to Wikipedia's List of fictional expletives? Page is no longer there.

Posted by Lis Riba at 10:59 PM

I know a lot of people grouse about Valentine's Day.

But tomorrow is a day everyone* can find reason to celebrate:

From Piled Higher and Deeper © Jorge Cham:

^* With the possible exception of diabetics, though they can still take the opportunity pick up cheap gifts for their loved ones.

Posted by Lis Riba at 8:42 PM

By the way, Polite Dissent (of the House Medical Reviews and Hawk & Dove Retrospective Recaps) has been designing comic-book Valentines: representing X-Men, Legion of Super Heroes (twice), and Legion of Doom.

So far, my favorites are:

and

This seemed like a fun idea, so I tried my hand at a few:

*

Enh... I'm sure others can do better.

Anybody else care to take a stab at it?

Speaking of comics and Valentine's Day cards, I don't know why but I'm getting massive hits on my Valentine's Day 2003 entry from people conducting Google Image searches for the Get Fuzzy ecard I sent Ian that year.

Go figure...

Posted by Lis Riba at 5:45 PM

Ian's outside shoveling the driveway.

Boopsie must be feeling better -- she's urinating in inappropriate locations again. Which means I'm about to run a load of laundry.

And LiveJournal appears to have choked on my last post, meaning it won't update my feed for another few hours.

Posted by Lis Riba at 4:35 PM

On days I don't bring my lunch, I often have trouble deciding where to eat.

That's why I'm really impressed by Wheel Of Food!

1. Go to CoverPop.com/WheelOfFood
2. Enter your zip code
3. Optionally, you can change the search terms from "food" to something more specific; they suggest words like "lunch" or "vegetarian"
4. Click on the proceed link.

It doesn't include my company cafeteria, but aside from that it's pretty cool!

This page has more details on how it works. And I rather like their concluding disclaimer:

Legal Disclaimer: Ignore the advice of the wheel at your own peril. Do not taunt the wheel. The wheel knows where you live.

Bon Appetit!

And Ian just arrived, so I'm heading out!

Posted by Lis Riba at 4:22 PM

As a special Valentine's Day gift to all androphiliacs or people charged with getting gifts for androphiliacs, I'm going to share a very special recording:

Alan Rickman reciting Shakespeare's Sonnet 130 (1.3 mb MP3)

I can't provide any sort of guarantee, but his voice is generally known to make women's knees melt within fifty paces, and his casting alone can inspire whole new fandoms.

For those a bit more old-school, a recent NPR interview included Peter O'Toole uttering the same sonnet.

And while responding to listener letters, they play an outtake from that interview -- which makes it clear O'Toole really is delivering it from the heart...

Posted by Lis Riba at 3:40 PM

Due to the weather, management decided to close the office at 3:15 pm.

Somewhat unfortunately, Ian drove me into work this morning, so I have to wait for him to pick me up before I can leave...

I say somewhat, because of the two of us, he's the better snow-driver. That's one of the losses of a Florida upbringing -- Drivers' Ed doesn't really go into winter handling issues.

At any rate, I'd rather wait to ride with him than risk driving by myself.

So, while I wait, I suppose I can be naughty and blog.

Oh dear, Blogger's trying to force me to "Move my account to use the new Blogger..." and claims I can only skip directly to post-editing once

Let's see what happens...

Posted by Lis Riba at 10:30 AM

So, Ian just called to say he discovered the last of the Valentine's Day cards I bought him.

I went a little overboard picked out three.*

Since he isn't quite the packrat as attached to sentimental keepsakes as I am, I recopied the text of the cards to blog for posterity**:

My Lover,   My Friend When I met you, I wasn't planning on falling in love. I wasn't planning on feeling so attracted to someone, but you awakened feelings inside of me that I'd forgotten existed. When I met you, I didn't realize how much our love would grow -- that the attraction that first brought us together would reach beyond passion to the comfort of knowing I have someone very special, someone who is not only my lover but my close friend. When I met you, I had no idea where our relationship would lead us, how beautiful you would make my world. But now I know without a doubt... the luckiest day of my life was the day that I met you. — R. Duvall

A more typical cartoony card: My better half knows my foibles and quirks, my odd sense of humor, the way my mind works... My weird taste in music and movies and books, my cute little sayings, my strange little looks... my little routine just prior to bed, the things that I'll say before they've been said. Yes my better half knows every habit and trait and loves me besides -- That's why you're so great!

For my husband When we got married, I know we both wanted more than anything to live "happily ever after." But that kind of joy and closeness doesn't come from just wishing. It comes from being together every day, through good times and bad and everything in between. It comes from being there for each other and developing a bond of trust that cannot be broken. As my husband, you have gone the extra mile more times than one. You're my husband, friend, and soul mate, and you've made me believe that we will indeed live "happily ever after."

When I asked Ian how these fit with his earlier comment about:

"Hallmark: When You Care Too Little To Actually Write What You Want To Say, And Decide To Just Fall Back On Someone Else's Regurgitated Glurge."

He replied that clearly the authors of these cards must've been spying on us, so this didn't count.

^* I actually found a fourth card that seriously tempted me as well. Written by an "S. Summers" and addressed to "the man I love" it related how "I will always stand by you."
While that's equally true to the sentiments expressed above, one has to draw the line somewhere.

^** This post was written earlier (since I no longer have the cards on-hand); I'm merely uploading it now.

Posted by Lis Riba at 9:25 AM

Just before driving me to work, Ian wrote the following rebuttal in his journal:

For the Day Before The Chocolate Goes On Sale
I promised Lis a sonnet I would write.
She's teased me that I'm going to fail
And she's going to mock me from morn to night.
So I've got to write this thing
To try to save me from her playful scorn.
Her loving jabs have some bit of sting
As well as the love of which those jabs are born.
So even though you can be such a playful bitch
I can't express how much you make me rich.

I seem to instinctively respond to doggerel with cattiness...

When I told him my suggested title for this post, he said desperation should not be equated with passion -- you just have to visit a bar at closing time to see the difference.

Maybe a better writer can offer him some assistance?

Posted by Lis Riba at 8:05 AM

I spent several hours earlier this week going through multiple Hallmark stores looking for just the right card for Ian.

So, imagine my dismay when I see his comment in somebody else's blog:

"Hallmark: When You Care Too Little To Actually Write What You Want To Say, And Decide To Just Fall Back On Someone Else's Regurgitated Glurge."

To which, I reply:

And, via LifeHacker, I'll point out that you can even buy a foodsafe red pen to inscribe physical candy hearts, so there's really no excuse:

If he were a total curmudgeon about the holiday, well that's one thing. But he has promised me a sonnet (after he finishes writing a Purim shpiel for his class).

So far, Ian's reaction to the cards I got him (yes, cards) has been a combination of "Aww" and an admiring "You are such a bitch. I love you so much!" -- the latter particularly when I (a) ask him whether my card choice was apt, (b) ask him how that sonnet is coming along, or (c) tell him not to worry, all the other cards were probably sour anyway.*

For anyone else in the Boston area in a similar boat, may I just point out that L.A. Burdick in Harvard Square makes excellent chocolates...

And according to Ian, the crow is particularly flavorful this morning. :)

Posted by Lis Riba at 7:10 AM

© Nina Berman

Every year, World Press Photo holds a prestigious contest for photojournalists.

Nina Berman won first prize for this portrait of newlyweds Ty Ziegel and Renee Kline.

This appears to be part of her Purple Hearts project to photograph and interview American soldiers wounded in Iraq, available as a book, video, and travelling exhibition.

I found more details from Digital Journal:

Marine Sergeant Ty Ziegel already had his life planned out, he would marry his girlfriend Renee Kline upon returning from his second tour of duty in Iraq.

But one fateful day a suicide bomber hit his truck, tearing apart his body and making him among the 20,000 soldiers that have been wounded in Iraq. He was blind in one eye, had a shattered skull, and most of his skin was burned off. Renee lived with Ty at the Brooke Army Medical Center in San Antonio, Texas for a year and a half, sharing Ty's every hope and fear. Their relationship became stronger than ever, and Ty and Renee moved back to their hometown in Illinois in July 2006, and got married in shortly thereafter.

More photos of the pair (including several from before the accident) @ Redux Pictures

Posted by Lis Riba at 7:27 AM

Boopsie has been feeling excessively loquacious all night long.

She doesn't sound in any distress -- she either wants to inform us of her position in and around the apartment and/or wants us to come and see...

And despite clearly wanting our attention, she's resisted all my efforts to lure her onto the bed where we are.

At the last doctor's visit, we were told to increase her thyroid medication, because her levels were a bit elevated, so that shouldn't be a contributing factor -- besides, she's not hyper, just inquisitive.

I'm so glad she's feeling better.
Yawn...

PS: Regarding yesterday's cat-flush video -- the video is real; the accompanying story is not. See Snopes for more.

Update @ 7:50 am -- Boopsie's interest in the bathtub continues unabated. She played Peeping Tom during my shower, and climbed onto the ledge of the tub after I finished. She's now perched on the tub, drinking from the faucet the trickle of water I turned on for her.
Of course, since the tub doesn't produce as smooth a stream of water as the sink faucet, the right side of her face has gotten quite damp. Yes. She's a soggy moggy...

7:55 -- I just put one of Boopsie's waterbowls on the edge of the tub near the faucet. She's now happily drinking from it. Since her interest in the bathroom sink (one of my previous apartments had a leaky sink, and she grew accustomed to drinking there) is a major reason we keep a bowl of water on the bathroom counter, I suppose this makes sense...

Posted by Lis Riba at 11:36 PM

So, we're keeping Boopsie in our apartment for the night, and now she keeps trying to lure me into turning on the shower for her.

I don't think so -- the bathroom tap doesn't flow smoothly, and her past attempts to drink from it have resulted in her getting all soggy. And it's too cold out for her to be running around with a wet coat.

I turned on the sink for her and she finally hopped onto the bathroom counter. Hm. I think I may see why she wanted the tub -- her front paw is filthy! Little Miss Grubbytoes. I wonder what she was walking through downstairs...

And apparently she doesn't want drinking water. She's now meowing for attention from the kitchen...

Posted by Lis Riba at 11:18 PM

According to Boing Boing,

An official replica of the Maltese Falcon used in promo photos for the 1941 film has been stolen

A reward is being offered, but something about this story screams MacGuffin to me...

Posted by Lis Riba at 11:04 PM

So, Google has added the location of train and subway stations to its maps.

Only catch is, the subway stop indicator is a white M on a blue background -- not the familiar T in a circle.

What's up with that?

Why don't they go the extra step and use the proper metro logos?

Also, I can't help but notice that they don't bother to list "Silver Line" stops -- yet more proof, if any were needed, that the Silver Line doesn't rate...

Posted by Lis Riba at 10:25 PM

I can't believe I haven't blogged this before:

Jennifer and Jim kept getting huge water bills. They knew beyond a doubt that the bills weren't representative of their actual usage, and no matter how they tried to conserve, the high bills continued. Although they could see nothing wrong, they had everything checked for leaks or problems: first the water meter, then outdoor pipes, indoor pipes, underground pipes, faucets, toilets, washer, ice maker, etc. -- all to no avail. One day Jim was sick and stayed home in bed, but kept hearing water running downstairs. He finally tore himself from his sick bed to investigate, and stumbled onto the cause of such high water bills. Apparently this was happening all day long when they were not at home. Knowing that few would believe him, he taped a segment of the 'problem' for posterity. Amusing, but untrue. See Snopes for the real backstory.

I guess I must've thought everybody's already seen it...

Posted by Lis Riba at 9:10 PM

By the way, it looks like Boopsie's feeling better.

This morning, at a quarter-to-six, we heard a scratching noise down the hall. Boopsie was at the door to our apartment, wanting to go downstairs to the foyer.

She almost never shows any interest in what's downstairs.

We opened the door and she went down to explore.

She was still downstairs when I left for work, sniffing at the sliding door keeping her out of the next room.

Tonight, when I came home (Ian's at his wine class), our apartment door was closed, but soon after I came in, she was looking down the stairs again.

And frankly, right now, I don't know where the heck in the house she is...

Update: Ben just carried her in. She was in his bathroom. Not doing anything inappropriate, but that's where she was.

I've closed our door, but she wants back onto the steps. I wonder what's up with this sudden desire for downstairs?

Posted by Lis Riba at 8:54 PM

Amazingly enough, I seem to have gotten a regular exercise routine worked out (with the help of a personal trainer at the Y who came up with the litany). But I'm actually going to the gym and making a habit of working out.

I'll probably blog more on that -- and how I'm tracking it -- shortly.

Meanwhile, I've discovered that I can't really read while working out on the treadmill. And given the preset tuning of the gym's TV, I'm learning far too much about Anna Nicole Smith during my half-hour workout.

So, I just had a brainstorm.

Let's take care of other Italy travel-prep during that time! [Remember: my primary motivation for going to the gym is climbing the 463 steps of the Florence Duomo.]

I'm going to get a portable CD player (yes, I know, I'm one stage behind technology) and find some audio Italian lessons!

I'm going to check out some from my local libraries, with the hope that one of them fits my learning style.

But that seems a rather hit-or-miss approach, so I'll ask y'all.

If you've ever learned (or tried to learn) a foreign language through an audio series:

Any recommendations? [For or against]

Posted by Lis Riba at 9:54 PM

Speaking of Iran, two from Think Progress:

The Hidden War With Iran is the title of Newsweek's cover story:

At least one former White House official contends that some Bush advisers secretly want an excuse to attack Iran. "They intend to be as provocative as possible and make the Iranians do something [America] would be forced to retaliate for," says Hillary Mann, the administration's former National Security Council director for Iran and Persian Gulf Affairs. ...

A second Navy carrier group is steaming toward the Persian Gulf, and NEWSWEEK has learned that a third carrier will likely follow. Iran shot off a few missiles in those same tense waters last week, in a highly publicized test. With Americans and Iranians jousting on the chaotic battleground of Iraq, the chances of a small incident's spiraling into a crisis are higher than they've been in years.

Meanwhile:

At a farewell reception at Blair House for the retiring chief of protocol, Don Ensenat, who was President Bush's Yale roommate, the president shook hands with Washington Life Magazine's Soroush Shehabi. A grandson of one of the late Shah's ministers, Soroush said, "Mr. President, I simply want to say one U.S. bomb on Iran and the regime will remain in power for another 20 or 30 years and 70 million Iranians will become radicalized."

"I know," President Bush answered.

"But does Vice President Cheney know?" asked Soroush.

The president chuckled and walked away.

Reassuring thought, isn't it.

Meanwhile, the administration continues to stonewall Senator Jim Webb, who one month ago asked Condoleeza Rice “Is it the position of this administration that it possesses the authority to take unilateral action against Iran, in the absence of a direct threat, without congressional approval?”

After repeated followup letters, he still hasn't received a response.

It doesn't take a Cassandra to figure out where this is heading.

The only question is, how do we stop them?

Posted by Lis Riba at 9:30 PM

This evening's headlines repeated Bush administration warnings about Iranians arming anti-American forces, with mention of sinister "canisters" that sounded like little more than a rerun of the specter of "aluminum tubes" a few years back.

I feel like Bush is trying to recreate Aesop's fables. In this case,

Since the true threat in these stories only comes after repeated false alarms, maybe we ought to take a closer look at places like Irabu, Okinawa, Iragna, Switzerland, Iraia and Irakleio in Greece. And the denizens of Iramba, Irapuato, Irapuru, Irapuã, and Irati ought to be careful to avoid scapegoating.

Wait, I may have just found the real culprit: “Iratxoak are the imps of Basque mythology...”

The Bush administration must've gotten stuck behind a will o'the wisp...

How do we placate the faeries to set them free, since they seem too stubborn to break away themsleves?

Posted by Lis Riba at 9:03 PM

Lebor describes an ancient Roman multitool -- in this case, with several eating utensils.

At the Museum of London, I saw grooming and manicure sets.

Cool, huh?

So why is nobody making replicas of these tools?

I checked the Museum Replicas catalog, which seemed like an obvious source, and they had nothing.

What do you think?

Posted by Lis Riba at 8:30 PM

Has any enterprising vintner ever marketed a red under the label Christopher Merlot?

Brewers might wish to consider names like William Shakesbeer and Edward deBeer, Ale of Oxford.

Yes, these are the kinds of thoughts that cross my mind...

Posted by Lis Riba at 8:28 PM

YouTube video of an African grey parrot singing the Numa Numa song.

And, for the nostalgia sake, Gary Brolsma's original Numa Numa video.

Enjoy!

Posted by Lis Riba at 12:15 PM

George W. Bush on Vladimir Putin:

“I looked the man in the eye. I found him to be very straight forward and trustworthy and we had a very good dialogue. I was able to get a sense of his soul.”

Vladimir Putin on George W. Bush:

“Unilateral and frequently illegitimate actions have not resolved any problems. Moreover, they have caused new human tragedies and created new centres of tension. Judge for yourselves: wars as well as local and regional conflicts have not diminished. ... And no less people perish in these conflicts — even more are dying than before. Significantly more, significantly more!

“Today we are witnessing an almost uncontained hyper use of force — military force — in international relations, force that is plunging the world into an abyss of permanent conflicts. As a result we do not have sufficient strength to find a comprehensive solution to any one of these conflicts. Finding a political settlement also becomes impossible.

“We are seeing a greater and greater disdain for the basic principles of international law. And independent legal norms are, as a matter of fact, coming increasingly closer to one state's legal system. One state and, of course, first and foremost the United States, has overstepped its national borders in every way. This is visible in the economic, political, cultural and educational policies it imposes on other nations. Well, who likes this? Who is happy about this?

“In international relations we increasingly see the desire to resolve a given question according to so-called issues of political expediency, based on the current political climate.

“And of course this is extremely dangerous. It results in the fact that no one feels safe. I want to emphasise this — no one feels safe! Because no one can feel that international law is like a stone wall that will protect them. Of course such a policy stimulates an arms race.

“The force's dominance inevitably encourages a number of countries to acquire weapons of mass destruction. Moreover, significantly new threats — though they were also well-known before — have appeared, and today threats such as terrorism have taken on a global character.”

Source: Kremlin transcript, because no print source thru Google News seems willing to post more than sentence-long snippets.

Posted by Lis Riba at 12:05 PM

Steve Martin on 72 virgins:

Virgin No. 1: Yuck.
Virgin No. 2: Ick.
Virgin No. 3: Ew.
Virgin No. 4: Ow.
Virgin No. 5: Do you like cats? I have fourteen!

Working Daze and Introducing the book: