I've probably been watching waaaaay too much murder mystery TV lately. I love Medium, and between DVR and USA's constant marathons, I'm totally addicted to NCIS. How have I not known about this show for so long? It's like CSI, but funnier, faster, brighter, and just more entertaining all around. Abby is my hero. Anyway, haven't done one of these for awhile, so here's your murder mystery word for the day.
Flagitious (fla·gi·tious) (fluh-jish-uh
Blogging is weird. It's the strangest thing, if you think about it. Sometimes you're reading about a person's life that you've never actually met, and yet you feel like you know them in a way because you're reading what is essentially an online diary of their lives. How odd is that? Totally intimate, yet anonymous at the same time. I find myself sometimes interacting more with people I've never seen face-to-face than with people I've known for years. Hell, between IM, forums, and blogs, I talk more with complete strangers than I do with certain members of my family, and most of them live right here in Charlotte. I wonder if it's good or bad? I wonder if that's just a sign of the times? I wonder if that's just the new form of therapy, to relate your life to people you may never meet just because you may never meet them? Safety in distance? Can you call them friends if you've never so much as spoken on the phone? I've had an email or two really brighten my day, and they've been from people clear across the country from me. Encouraging words are encouraging words, I guess. Everyone can use some positivity in their lives.
Am I overthinking this whole blogging mess? It is very possible.
In any case, I'm not saying I do this of course, but if you ever feel like venting to online friends about sensitive material that you don't want the whole interwebs to hear about, I highly recommend getting a LiveJournal account. The problem with that is sometimes you forget to post on your real blog because you're too busy laughing over each other's miserable lives. (It's more theraputic than it sounds, actually.) Not that I have a LiveJournal account for such nefarious purposes, of course, but hypothetically speaking, if I did, that's what I would use it for. And if any of my real life friends who sometimes amuse themselves with my blog would like to hear me complain about the more personal stuff in my life, they could, theoretically speaking, get a dummy LJ account for strictly lurking and/or commenting purposes (it's free) and then shoot me an email letting me know their account name so that I could add them as a friend. But that would only be if I actually had one. *whistles innocently.*
It's National Library Week peoples! What is National Library Week? I'll let the American Library Association tell you, because they've been doing this kind of thing much longer than I have:
First sponsored in 1958, National Library Week is a national observance sponsored by the American Library Association (ALA) and libraries across the country each April. It is a time to celebrate the contributions of our nation's libraries and librarians and to promote library use and support.
All types of libraries - school, public, academic and special - participate.
More information is available on the National Library Week fact sheet
So go out there and exercise your right to read a book and not have to pay for it. And hug your librarian today. Poor, frazzled little thing probably really needs it.
I've got a new little brother! (But not really.) It's actually my mom & dad's new puppy, Toby. Toby is a half-beagle, half-poodle. I can't remember the cutsie breed name for it since it's one of those crazy "designer dog" breeds, which in the old days they called "mutts." Anyway, there are new pics of Toby on my Flickr stream thingie, for those who just can't get enough of the cute.
Have y'all ever seen My Big Fat Greek Wedding? I love that movie. Replace "Greek" with "Dominican," and that movie can be about my own family. You know how the dad in the movie is always bragging about the accomplishments of the Greeks and how the Greeks invented everything? My own dad has a little bit of that, in that any Dominican who does well for himself or herself needs to be made known to everyone who will listen. So I get a call from my dad today because he's all kinds of happy that a Dominican one the Pulitzer. I mean, he's downright giddy about it. For real. Of course, me being a librarian, and a book nerd, and his daughter, I just absolutely had to know. Sad to say, as much of a bookworm as I claim to be, I'm not bookwormy enough and I live under a rock. Until today, I hadn't heard of Junot Díaz, but I'm glad that he won the prize because it's nice for my people to represent, yo. I also promised my father, who I love dearly and consider one of my best friends, that I'd spread the word.
Now I have to put this book on my very large stack of books that 
make up my "inbox" of reading material. Because I'm a bookworm and because I don't read as fast or as much as I did as a young'un (there are only so many hours in the day, alas), my "inbox" larger than I may ever be able to read in a lifetime. I'll really try to get to this one, though. The last book I read by a Dominican author was Before We Were Free, by Julia Alvarez, and I can honestly say that it really changed the way I saw my family, and specifically my parents. I understand a little better now why they act and say certain things, and why they are so paranoid about government power after living under Trujillo. Hell, going through all that, I'd probably still be a little paranoid too. Anyway, if any of you get the chance to read Junot Díaz's The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao before I do, let me know how it is. In the meantime, here are some articles about the man and the book.
Junot Díaz wins Pulitzer Prize - Daily News Latino
Junot Díaz wins Pulitzer for 'Oscar Wao' - MIT News
2008 Pulitzer Prizes for Letters, Drama and Music - New York Times
I know, I know. A blog called "Tales of the Trickster" really should come up with a clever practical joke to play on all my friends, but truth be told, I'm just not feeling all that clever today. Still, in the spirit of tricksterness, I feel a shout-out to the holiday is in order. And, nerd that I am, I will go ahead and repost a link to the article on the Endicott Studios website about Tricksters. What I lack in cleverness, I'll make up for in providing nerdy reading material.
Anyway, If any of you guys have anything funny to share, please feel free.
During my workout this morning, I decided to see if there was anything new on MTV or VH1 that might catch my ear. Being old and crotchety, I'm not exactly up-to-date on the latest musical trends, so every now and again I'd like to see if something new pops up that doesn't totally suck. Imagine my surprise when I saw Jared Leto in a very fashionable scarf singing his lovely lungs out on a sheet of ice that I later discover is somewhere near the Arctic circle. Well, he's the lead singer to 30 Seconds to Mars, so that in itself wasn't surprising on MTV, but what did surprise me was that it was a video to "A Beautiful Lie," which even crotchety old me knows came out two years ago. Don't get me wrong, I'm not here to dog the band. I love the band. I've been singing their praises for awhile now. And let's face it, Jared's kind of easy on the eyes, even if he is a little on the pretty side for me. What surprised me is why they would be releasing a video to ABL now, after two years. Then I got my answer. Apparently, the song is being released to promote their new environmental cause, and you can read all about it here. You can even watch the video here, because, as I said, I'm a fan of the band and Jared Leto's golden voice. Just make yourself comfy, because (like all their videos it seems, especially the ones directed by Jared himself), it's pretty long. Although I have to say, it is very pretty to watch. The man does know how to direct.
What was my first impression? That Jared Leto, or his manager, or whoever came up with this idea is briiiiiiiiillllllliiant at marketing. I mean think about it! The environment and climate change and all that green hippie stuff is the latest fashionable hot topic. What better way to extend the shelf life of your album (that came out two years ago!!), promote your tour, and get your name out there for people to remember than tying it into THE cause of 2008? I have to admit, I was in awe at the simple genius of it. And the bonus? Hello? It's for a good cause! Win-win. Understand, I'm not being cynical here. It really is brilliant. I'm not even concerned with whether or not anyone in the band gives a flying fig about the environment. I'm sure they do. Everyone does nowadays. But even if they don't, the fact that in one great big swoop, Jared Leto can promote his band, show off his directing skills, get his name on heavy rotation on MTV, and still leave his name out there to be buzzed around for the movie he'll be releasing next year is a model of efficiency. I'm in awe. I can only hope that if I ever get a comic book off the ground, I could channel even a quarter of that kind of efficiency to promote it. Abso-fucking-lutely brilliant, and I mean that most sincerely, with no disrespect whatsoever. That's like, PR-ninja shit.
On the other hand, you may think I'm being a brat about this whole environment thing. Maybe, just a little, but I have my reasons. For those who knew me back in the day, I was that obnoxious teenager who lectured people about he dangers of hairspray, would walk to the corner store instead of asking for a ride because it would save gas (this was back when I was in shape, of course), and generally made myself an eco-nuisance. You know when this was? The last time America went through it's eco-fad. You know, back in the 90's when Captain Planet was on the air (I know, I know) and books like 50 Simple Things You Can Do to Save the Earth were on every high school library's shelves.
Then it became fashionable to rag on people who actually cared about the environment. "Oh look at me, I'm so sophisticated. The news tells me that the environment is just fine, so I'll just continue buying Hummers to show off how small my penis is, even though I'll never need one of these monstrosities in A GAZILLION FUCKING YEARS! You, little hippie, go hug a tree or something while I throw my non-biodegradable garbage out the window at you." I got a lot of shit from people around me, telling me how misguided I was for wanting to take another, oh I don't know, two steps to the recycling bin so that I can throw my can of coke away. I got tons of lectures as to why global warming is just a bunch of hoo-hah by reactionaries, so really, it's just cute that I'm a member of the Green Club on campus. *pat pat pat* So me, being the ornery and admittedly cutting-off-your-nose-to-spite-your-face type of girl that I am (I admit that I have my flaws. Pretty big flaws. No one's perfect.), gave everyone around me the middle finger and said "serves all of us right if we all die in a drought. I'll continue to recycle when I can, and do small things when I can, and you do what you do and leave me alone." My reasoning was, and to a certain extent, still is, that when the world is at the brink of the next Black Death-like event, then we'll either figure out a way to fix it (humans are pretty good at rallying under pressure), or there will be so many dead that the world will fix itself anyway. How's that for reactionary? Nyah! Grim? Maybe. But that seems to be our MO as a species. Either way, I feel comfortable saying I told you so, and really, isn't that what matters?
Does this mean I'm not encouraging everyone to be a little more green? No, don't be silly. I love the fact that people are turning on to living a little more harmoniously with their surroundings. I love the fact that we're trying to come up with clever solutions to dirty little (or horrendously big) problems. I'll even grudgingly admit to being tickled it's become something of a fashion to "go green." And yes, kudos to Jared Leto and his boys for getting the word out there and doing their little part to save the planet and the wolves and all that. They seem sincere in their efforts and good for them. But I'm sure in about a year or two, the fad will fizzle out and everyone will be throwing their Styrofoam coffee cups out their car windows the way they always have. I hope not, but I'm not exactly holding my breath. It won't stop me from trying to improve my greenness in any way I can, but I'll be grumbling about it the entire way--and you can't stop me.
So I'm back. Took a (much needed) four-day vacation up to the Blue Ridge 
Mountains to visit the folks and had an awesome time. If I had a brain in my head, I would have taken pictures to share with you on my dusty, little-used Flickr stream, but I didn't. I was much too busy getting doted on by the 'rents and enjoying my rest. I will, however, share one or two on the stream that I took awhile back just after their little cabin was built. Here's the view from right out their front porch. Nice, huh?
Am I jealous? Maybe a little, but then I remember that I like having my garbage picked up at the corner instead of having to dump it in town myself. Oh, and Starbucks. I like Starbucks. But as a cute little mountain getaway, man, talk about gorgeous. Between the mountain air and the family love, I feel like a new woman. I might even be able to face the crazy work schedule I have tomorrow with nary a twitch!
It seems just wrong all over that St. Patty's is on a Monday this year. A Monday where I have to work, no less. How lame. Anyway, I'm wearing my green and I decided to share with you my favorite song to play on St. Patty's. Here's Black 47's "Funky Ceili."
Enjoy. Also, don't forget to drink something yummy and Irish, dance a jig, and pinch the bottom of some cutie pie who's not wearing green (but only if it won't get you smacked. In fact, make sure it's someone you know won't smack you.) And of course, as I said last year, don't forget the rope. (For those of you who don't get the joke, you really should watch the Boondock Saints. I try to watch it every year, if I can.)
The kooky folks at YABS once again put a smile on my face by pointing this bit of news out to me. Being an animal lover and a big ol' sucker for a feelgood story, I decided to share. Being a smartass, I couldn't help but giggle at what I imagine the dolphin actually said to the whales. (Hey, it's Friday. I'm feeling silly.)
Moko the Dolphin: "You're none too bright, are ya?"
Two Dumb Pygmy Whales: "What? We're all stuck and stuff. It totally sucks."
Moko: "Yeah. Again. You know that big, blue area behind you? That's called water. The scratchy stuff you're laying on? That's sand. Sand bad. Water good."
Whales: "But, like, we were trying to exfoliate. You know. Spring break and all. We're getting brazillians after. It's sooo hot."
Moko [rolling eyes]: "Look, just turn around already. Follow me and I'll buy you a beer. Sheesh."
Whales: "Wow, like, thanks. OMG, we totally got tans!" [Flashes whale boobs] WOOOO! Daytona here we come!
Moko: "You're in New Zeal--you know what? Nevermind. Just come here."
You know, every species has them. ;)
Change is good
