Tales Of Beatrix Potter - The Royal Ballet Film

(via windwrinkle)

Going Wilder

Maddie's hair is finally getting longer, and i can't help noticing her resemblance... ok, her hair's resemblance to Gene Wilder's in Young Frankenstein. She's already got the mad scientist laugh down, and we'll work on her pronunciation of "Fronkensteen", so it looks like we already have next year's Halloween costume picked out.

The Absolute Ultimate

With a summer as hot as this one it's a necessity to swim at least a couple times a week. Maddie's loving it, but swimming with a baby has made me realize how bad of a swimmer I still am. I was a swimming class dropout, I still have to plug my nose, and frankly it's a miracle I can keep my head above the water even without a baby in my arms. Which is why it's pretty funny that I went through a surfing phase. Well I guess I mostly went through a Gidget phase. And not all the Gidgets, but specifically Sandra Dee, the original squeaky-voiced-Skipper-doll one-- although, maybe me and the strange older gentleman I was talking to at my garage sale really know the difference.

(via muchomuchobuenobueno)

Perhaps it's the Pee Wee fan in me that has always loved that kind of sugary sweet teeny-bop culture that's as chock-full of inuendo as it is of creepy and outdated morals (Gidget has a needlepoint in her room that reads "To be a real woman is to bring out the best in a man"). But at the same time... jeez, I just love a good rom-com. And especially one that features a heroine that has such an amazing collection of bathing suits, and who makes such convincing faces during her horrendously staged surfing scenes.

In order to make my dream come true of becoming Gidget (minus the bleached hair and eating disorder) my plan for next summer is as follows:

1. Get both Maddie and myself into swim classes
2. Buy a cute Minnow Bather like I said I would
3. Figure out how to get to Australia for a visit and take a surf lesson or two

Ok, so maybe it's more of a five-year plan.

FOR.EV.ER

It's almost summer weather here. Trying to brush up on my storytelling skills for those nights around the campfire. But it might be hard to top Squints Palledorous.

I just realized that the kid who played Squints, Chauncey Leopardi, also played Alan the bully from Freaks and Geeks. That guy never would have ended up with Wendy Peffercorn.

Uncle Brad Reading Hitchcock, 1972

We just installed a carbon monoxide detector in our house-- something I asked my mom to do because everyone in the house has been having crazy dreams lately. Ever since I heard a Halloween episode of This American Life about a family that thinks their house is haunted (but they are actually experiencing the effects of carbon monoxide poisoning) I've been convinced there is a gas leak every time I hear a creak.

I know it's still nine months until Halloween, but I've been thinking a lot lately about being scared and how I used to love it. I read so many R.L. Stine books, and watched shows like Are You Afraid of the Dark. It seems so weird to me, because I actually hate being scared now. I can't watch horror movies, I get freaked out seeing people dressed up for those zombie walks, and I still refuse to look into a mirror with the lights out. But I feel weirdly nostalgic about being scared as a kid. I guess when you're little it's fun to be scared by ghosts, and now that I'm a grown-up I don't enjoy it. Maybe there are too many other things to be worried about, like carbon monoxide. (Seriously guys, that's how Weird Al's parents died!)
Madeline pushed a button on the detector the other day, causing it to make a painfully loud noise. She burst into tears and I had to cuddle her for a good minute or so before she calmed down. The poor girl was freaked out by the very thing that makes me feel safe.


Anyway, this whole spiel was inspired by this photo I came across of my Uncle Brad reading a Hitchcock book. I love the flood pants, the glasses, the posture. He's wearing a suit, so I bet it's a sunday. Just reading some scary stories after church. It's one of my favourite kid pictures of all time.
Also, does anyone remember this creepy Disney movie, The Watcher in the Woods? "Narek"!

Is This Some Kind of Groke?

Today my friend Allison and I were watching YouTube videos of baby animals, when she mentioned that she'd recently seen a cartoon about Moomin. We have a Moomin alphabet book (actually given to us by Allison) that I really love, but the show was even more amazing than I could have imagined! I love the look of the stop motion and the felted characters. It's also a little bit creepy, but you know, in a good way.

Apparently there is also a Moomin movie coming out soon, with music by Björk. Ahh-dorable.