Pink Concert in J Action Ville

The family is crouching down to accommodate the selfie stick at Jacksonville Veterans Memorial Arena after Pink's Beautiful Trauma World Tour performance. What an amazing show! Pink is a high energy artist, with a high energy band, dancers, visuals, pyrotechnics and aerial acrobatics. I don't really know a lot about her music outside of her big hits, but the kids asked for Christmas tickets and we joined in on the fun. We had to cancel our flight plan because of weather so we drove. Was it worth the 12 hour round trip drive? Yes! It's been a while since a little road trip.

The Video Game Industry is Huge

As a young mother, I received all sorts of parenting advice from well-intended family and friends. The best and most memorable was from my sister, a mother to three pre-teen boys at the time. Donna said, "Hold out as long as you can before introducing video games to your son. Once he starts, you will lose him forever." Haha. It sounds dramatic, but I found in some ways that statement to be true. That was in the late 1990s. In 2018, video games brought in $43.4 billion in revenue. H/T The Morning Brew

Oscar Picks

Just in case you're dying to know my thoughts on the Academy Awards, here's what I selected in an Oscar Pool today (I've seen three movies on this list, The Hurt Locker, Up and Julie and Julia):
Best Picture: Avatar
Best Director: Kathryn Bigelow for The Hurt Locker
Best Actor: Jeff Bridges for Crazy Heart
Best Actress: Sandra Bullock for The Blind Side
Best Supporting Actor: Christopher Plummer for The Last Station
Best Supporting Actress: Anna Kendrick for Up in the Air
Best Original Screenplay: Inglourious Basterds: Quentin Tarantino
Best Adapted Screenplay: Precious: Based on the Novel Push by Sapphire: Geoffrey Fletcher
Cinematography: The Hurt Locker: Barry Ackroyd
Editing: Avatar: Stephen E. Rivkin, John Refoua, James Cameron
Art Direction: Avatar: Rick Carter, Robert Stromberg, Kim Sinclair
Costume Design: Nine: Colleen Atwood
Original Score: Up: Michael Giacchino
Original Song: Crazy Heart: T-Bone Burnett, Ryan Bingham("The Weary Kind")
Best Makeup: Star Trek: Barney Burman, Mindy Hall, Joel Harlow
Best Sound Mixing: Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen: Greg P. Russell, Gary Summers, Geoffrey Patterson
Best Sound Editing: The Hurt Locker: Paul N.J. Ottosson
Best Visual Effects: Avatar: Joe Letteri, Stephen Rosenbaum, Richard Baneham, Andy Jones
Best Animated Feature Film: Up: Pete Docter
Best Foreign Language Film: El secreto de sus ojos (Argentina)
Best Documentary Feature: Which Way Home: Rebecca Cammisa
Best Documentary Short: Music by Prudence (2010): Roger Ross Williams, Elinor Burkett
Best Live Action Short: Miracle Fish: Luke Doolan, Drew Bailey
Best Animated Short: La dama y la muerte: Javier Recio Gracia

Paul Epperlein, MC, Makes People Laugh Again for Haiti Fundraiser

Comedian Paul Epperlein hosted another fundraiser last night to benefit Haiti Red Cross relief efforts.  Official reviews are not out yet, but Paul writes on facebook:

Great night, Great Fights, Great Cause.....Blood, Sweat, and Beers no tears...Thanks to La Boxing Hoboken for raising what is probably over 3K for Haiti.

Once: A Hauntingly Beautiful Movie

We started our snowfest last night by watching the movie Once. I was amazed I could get Wild Willy and the teen blogson to watch something other than a shoot'em up. We all throughly enjoyed the movie, which was recommended for months by the blogsister, Nancy. The song, Falling Slowing, won an Academy Award. It's a beautiful film with beautiful music. Happy Birthday, Donna!

They're Back: The Puppy Cam

New readers of the blog may not remember the puppy cam in 2008. We had lots of fun tuning in to watch these cuties play, sleep, nurse etc. There is a new litter and here's the new time-killer stream! Enjoy!
Webcam chat at Ustream 

Our Young Patriot Says the Pledge

From the start of his academic experience, a couple of years ago, young Landon proudly mastered the Pledge. Now he clearly enjoys this opportunity to lead the whole school with his recital. 



H/T Steph

Comedian Paul Epperlein Helps Raise Thousands for Haiti

New York comedian and showman, Paul Epperlein, hosted a very funny event at HA! Comedy Club to benefit Haiti.  With only two days to pull it together, Paul was able to secure a great line-up of NYC funny guys and donate over $3,000 for Haiti relief.  Big fans of Paul, and comedy in general, the teen blogson and I schlepped out in the rain to see the show in Midtown.  Knowing I would be helping Haiti by supporting Paul's effort made missing the Golden Globes an easier decision.  We sat right up front.  Big mistake.  Luckily, it was near the end of the evening when one comedian did his best to embarrass both mother and son.  He had the audience feeling a little uncomfortable, too, with an over-the-top sexy routine.  It's the back, dark corner table for us me next comedy club. 

Facebook: The Joy and Angst

There's something so gratifying about the camaraderie of Facebook.  The dichotomy of it's usefulness verses the sheer and compelling curiosity of it all is staggering.  While only party to twenty-something friends, I am afforded myriad glimpses of life by way of friends of friends, extended family of family, and family of friends of friends.  A social anthropology in pop culture, it is.  Simply keeping up with the jargon of each generation is worthwhile.  Gaining insights from the inane prattle of teenagers also helps keep a pulse on the present.  One can't help, however, feeling creatively malnourished when pressured to update statuses and be of general interest and entertainment to their sphere of influence. 

Friends, Food, Humorous Writing: All Things to Love

Our New Year's Eve wedding was a blast.  An article about the then-soon-to-be newlyweds appeared in The Atlantic today, and was written by Sophie Brickman, a college roommate of the bride.  It is just too cute.  The folllowing paragraph should whet your appetite for the whole piece:

"...When I saw the loving way K looked at L as she began to eat, the whole marriage thing began to lose its scariness. Plus, it was at this moment that I really started getting excited for L: Here was a man who could eat! So sue me--I quickly judge people based on their eating preferences. Anyone who thinks Power Bars or smoothies are meals in themselves, who has done the master cleanse more than once (I allow for one experiment), or turns down bacon for any reason other than religious ends up on my "questionable" list." On the other hand, demanding seconds of short ribs automatically secures you a spot on my "people who get it" list."

Video: A Miracle

Sarah, the blogfriend, has always been pretty terrified of her Mac. Lately, she has been taking classes at the Mac Store to help overcome her fear of computing. Sarah proudly sent me her first video yesterday. It's going viral!

Happy Mother's Day

After nearly a full week of daily rain, the sun is shinning in a big blue sky. The green of spring is vibrant. May flowers are in bloom. What a glorious day to celebrate life! Being a mother is one of life's most special privileges. The joy of raising and nurturing a body and soul is an honor, which extends throughout life. The bond between a mother and child lives forever in revered memories of tenderness and strength. Tonight, National Geographic channel is presenting Extreme Amimals: Life in the Womb. The program will explore the reproduction of four different animals with 4D ultrasound images.

Danny Gans, RIP

In a former career, I planned sales and incentive meetings for top producing financial consultants at a major brokerage firm in NYC. In the early 90s, I came across an entertainer named Danny Gans. He was one of the most inspirational gigs that I ever booked. Danny had an amazing gift for impersonations. Recently, he had been performing in Las Vegas. I just heard the news of Danny's death. Danny died in his sleep this morning. He was 52 years old. RIP funny guy, you amazed millions!

Sweet Baby James is 61!

Here he is in his younger days singing one of my favorite songs with his former wife, Carly Simon. Happy Birthday, James. My heart is on the Vineyard today.

9th Annual Martha's Vineyard Film Festival

Joining the ranks of Sundance, Cannes and Tribeca, the Martha's Vineyard Film Festival is a highly anticipated event for inspiration and community. The film festival begins tomorrow in Chilmark and runs through Sunday.

"Arriving on the Vineyard in the off-season, you sense right away the island is focused on filmmaking. The festival is filled with excellent films and the people who love them. Add to that the comfortable sofas, delicious food and cozy digs...it's a perfect weekend away."

Irene Taylor Brodsky

The Statusphere Is Taking Over the Blogoshpere

Heh.
Facebook, Twitter, and FriendFeed rule. Our CPA (continuous partial attention) is devoted to these micro communities.

Mad Men, Season Two

Yipee! Yahoo! The bloghusband downloaded Mad Men season two from iTunes. We've already watched the first two episodes.

Gordon Ramsay's Perfect Scrambled Eggs

via videosift.com

1984 Apple's MacIntosh Commercial

Introduced 25 years ago at the Super Bowl XVIII
Get well soon Steve! I love my Mac;-)

Always on my Mind

On this anniversary of Elvis's birth in 1935 here's a recording near and dear to many fans. Elvis recorded this beautiful rendition of the tune Always on my Mind in 1972, but Willie Nelson's version won a few Grammy Awards ten years later.