Mrs. Wigglebottom and I Go for a Drive

After our disasterous morning, the dog and I decided to go for a drive, in part because we prefer to not listen to the Butcher shout words of encouragement so loud at Michigan State.  We decided to follow Old Clarksville Pike and how I wish I were some kind of forensic historian, because I felt like someone who knew waht she was seeing probably could have told you many cool things about the road and why it is where it is and such.  That’s not me.

I still did see some cool stuff.  The first was Hutton Valley, Population 4, one of whom was mowin his lawn.  I’m going to make an educated guess that one of the other citizens of Hutton Valley was a stone worker.

And there was this cool building at the top of the ridge.

Then we ended up in Fredonia and wondered at the strange, small red building.

Then we came home via Ashland City Highway and discovered Neptune.

And Mrs. Wigglebottom tempted fate by pooping on some antique Neptunians.

These were the two most interesting graves, because the decorations seemed so deliberate.

Then we saw the river.

And then we got to Scottsboro, our left turn to go home.

Here’s a close-up of the sign, so that the next time someone tells you that the folks in Scottsboro shouldn’t have a say in what goes on down in Bell’s Bend, you can point them to history.

When we got home, I took pictures of the trampled herb garden to show you.  I really hope the littlest herbs spring back.  It wasn’t just the trample that’s got them so shocked.  I think that being put outside on such a wild day after living so comfortably in my window was probably a lot to take in.  I hope they perk up.

Mrs. Wigglebottom keeps her own council.

In Which I Almost Have to Shoot My Dog

So, Mrs. Wigglebottom and I went out to take pictures for your enjoyment.  This involved me taking pictures and her…

Oh my god… It makes me mad to remember it…

her running through all the places I planted yesterday and peeing on my roses!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

What the fuck?!

Anyway, if you want your chance to have a dog less devoted to making you have a stroke, Newscoma needs some help finding homes for hers.

And I have a chance for you to look at many pictures of the daffodils in my yard that did not bother to bloom this year.

Sunday Gardening

I’ll have pictures later on, but I thought we might talk about two things.

1.  Have I ever told you about our efforts to grow cactuses from seed?  Let me just say that they are about the opposite of tomatos in terms of ease of growing from seed.  But I think that we are finally having some luck, not just with the prickly pear, which are relatively new seeds, but with seeds that the Butcher has had for years and years (hmm…).  The interesting thing, though, about growing cactus from seed is that they grow so slowly that you really have an opportunity to see what’s going on.  Some seeds seem to sprout literally over night.  One day you have dirt and the next day you have a tiny seedling.  How did that happen?  But with cactus seeds, you can see how they slowly, slowly swell up and then kind of break open and send a tiny root down and stretch up.

I like it.

2.  And this probably has more to do with gardening than the first.  What plants do you just find easier to buy than to go through the hassle of growing from seed?  For me, this is always rosemary.  Is there a person alive who’s ever gotten rosemary to grow from seed?  If so, I don’t know them.  I have a bunch of lavender seeds that are in the perennial herb garden out front, but I also bought a lavender plant at Home Depot yesterday.  Funny enough, I ended up with two different varieties of lavender seeds and the plant I bought is a different variety than either of those two.  It’ll be interesting to see how those look.

Is This Jamie Kennedy’s Attempt to Get a Free Meal?

We watched Heckler last night, which is a documentary about heckers, incuding douchy critics and douchebag bloggers.  The filmmakers interview a lot of folks about heckling, but the thing the film coelesces around is Jamie Kennedy going around reading or saying back to the hecklers/critics, “Why are you so mean to me?”

In lesser hands, this would sound whiny–like why are you so mean to ME, poor put-upon me?  But I think the reason it works so well is that Kennedy seems truly interested in trying to understand them, why are THEY so mean to another person, who in this case, happens to be him, a guy who can turn it back on them.

It’s interesting to watch him pull aside hecklers and ask them why they’re doing what they’re doing and to see the hecklers try to pass it off as saying, “To help you get better” and then him say, “Okay, so you have my attention.  What would make me better?  What, exactly, should I be doing differently?” and then the hecklers say “Be funny.”

Which, you know, in writing it, sounds kind of like a score for the hecklers, but in seeing it, seeing him willing to open himself genuinely up to these folks and basically say, “I am listening, really trying to hear what you’re saying.” and to see them kind of flounder and only come up with douchiness in response is pretty appalling.

Yeah, I mean, sure, of course there could have been some folks who did take a moment to try to give thoughtful answers, and, if they exist, we don’t see them.

There’s a lot of discussion, too, about what the “proper” role of the critic is and, of course, I disagree with the folks who are trying to argue that you have to have done what you are criticizing in order to properly criticize it.  But the broader point that many of the folks are trying to make–that the critic should be engaged with the thing the are criticizing–the movie or the performance–and not the performer, personally, seems well-placed.

But, yes, back to the title of my post.  By the end of the thing, you just want to invite Kennedy to your house and set him at your kitchen table and feed him a meal while everyone talks about basketball or something.