Is that your professional opinion, sir?

This is the receipt from my Toyota Matrix's first oil change. I love how my mechanic gives me my car's diagnosis in lay terms.

Still, it feels good to have a VERY NICE CAR.

I'm famous.

If you're a regular reader of this blog, you probably know that I already know how to knit. But as you can see, I give an Oscar® worthy performance in this screencast on knitting instruction by Brian Sawyer on the Hacks Blog.

(And if you don't know what a hack is yet, here's an example of some Blogging Hacks from hackszine.com.)

I missed the lunar eclipse.

I missed seeing the lunar eclipse yesterday, even though I checked the time and bearing and drove out trying to see it.

I saw my first lunar eclipse in Belmont, Massachusetts. 1997, I think. I was on my way to an ensemble music class (I played flute, and the class included piano, violin, and cello.) The moon looked orange, just like this.

I really wanted to see the orange moon again this time, but in Eastern Massachusetts the total eclipse was just after moonrise, and it was also a cloudy night. All I saw was gray.

I think I could have seen it if I had driven farther and looked harder.

Photo of the 2007 total lunar eclipse in Massachusetts credit to Mike Theiss, from Weather Underground.

Where has this man been all my life?

A few nights ago, I woke up in the middle of the night, with a memory. I was a pre-teenager, seeing someone named Johnnie Ray on the Jerry Lewis telethon, which I was watching with my parents. They commented on how out-of-shape he looked now that he was past his prime. I was struck by his dramatic and extreme way of using his voice and body.

Waking up in the middle of night for me usually entails a quick Google search or email check along with the usual glass of water or juice. This time, of course, I googled Johnnie Ray and found on YouTube video of him in his prime. I was enthralled by what I found:



According to most biographies, including this excellent one by Linda Rapp on glbtq.com, Ray's style was a transition from Sinatra to Elvis. Bobby Darin clearly borrowed, too. (This answers.com article has more pictures.)

I've never wished I were born 20 years earlier...until now.