1. So yesterday I discovered to my surprise that the VMonster and I had never actually met. Not once. I even stupidly insisted that we had -- "I can't believe you don't remember!" I said, chiding her -- only to be reminded that I had actually skipped out just after she did her reading at SF State. Oops. (An illusion obviously fostered by the fact that I read her blog regularly -- but that's probably the case with people I know from online.)
I'll post the pictures of Izzy and Leah and Vida and Risa and the Halloween cookies they decorated if the VMonster doesn't beat me to it. (We also ate them out of house and home -- I had the tastiest pumpkin soup, and Izzy kept coming in every few minutes asking for more food.) We had a blast; Izzy was already asking when we could schedule another playdate! (Thankfully she wasn't asking about those Polly Pockets!) Yes, I know you folks out in blogland are jealous -- just as the VMonster had predicted.
2. And the fact that the Vmonster's partner Andrew (sorry, I really had to post this) is only one degree removed from the lyrics below (a song in my 1600 Greatest Songs Of All Time, immediately recognizable by you-all who grew up in the '80s) is so cool:
Like a butterfly
A wild butterfly
I will collect you and capture you
(Actually the best line is in the chorus: "Who do you want me to be / To make you sleep with me?" but it doesn't have the John Fowles resonance of the butterfly lines.)
3. Two increasingly regular reads here from the mind of Gladys Nubla, which I have to re-plug: Getaway and Makeweight. I'm envious because I'd love to have blogs like these if there were more quality control over here at The Wily Filipino.
4. It's been something of a blogger weekend: saw the Gura and Tatang Retong on Saturday. Tatang's still not used to the week-old wedding ring going "ding" against tables and other hard surfaces; we also talked about the Marcoses (a favorite subject of his from way back in '95 when he would raise hell on soc.culture.filipino).
5. Which brings me to the news a bunch of people have been sending me: on the David Byrne - Fatboy Slim Imelda Marcos musical. (Casting call from July -- and more details -- here.) As you folks know I'm obsessed with Imelda -- just checked my website for the first time in months and discovered that I've had over 104,000 (!) visitors to that page -- so I'm looking forward to what will certainly be a big, fun display of intellectual camp. But I'm also apprehensive, certainly, that the depredations of the Marcos regime (and, most important, the almost total absence of any retributive justice) have now become fodder for a disco-dancin' good time. The description -- "a timeless story with more contemporary resonances than are comfortable" -- gives me hope, however.
6. And a song in my head all day: Rilo Kiley's "Portions for Foxes." "Baby you're bad news / And you're bad news / I don't care, I like you / And you're bad news / I don't care, I like you / I like you."
Posted by the wily filipino at October 17, 2005 10:39 AMDadgum, just when I thought it was safe to go back to the theatre... Maybe they'll buy Ime's jewelry at auction and use them as props in the musical... It's David Byrne. Sometimes he's real good. Still, what's this world coming to??
Posted by: o.p. on October 17, 2005 02:14 PMAww, Wily, thanks for the shout outs. Coming from you, that's an honor indeed. :)
Posted by: Gladys on October 17, 2005 04:15 PMLet's hear it for playdates! Yes, we will do it again soon, as long as you promise not to bundle Izzy in fifty pounds of clothing...
Posted by: ver on October 17, 2005 04:29 PMO.P.: It's something of a point of pride for me to have been the only Talking Heads fan in my entire high school (the University of the Philippines Rural High School, ha!), so I'm still looking forward to this.
Gladys: once I finish grading my posts will get a little more serious. =)
Ver: [note to self: 15 degrees warmer in San Mateo!] She was actually about 10 minutes away from a very rare meltdown when we left -- it happens when she's over-excited!
Posted by: the wily filipino on October 18, 2005 07:46 AMAww, I was so hoping for a new posting from you this evening. I had convinced myself you were blogging live during the meeting.
Posted by: Ktrion on October 19, 2005 05:26 PMI have Byrne's CD, Grown Backward, and like it a lot, including his opera singing with Rufus Wainright, and by himself. I have hopes that he'll do a good job with this. But we'll just have to wait and see, I guess.
Posted by: Jean on October 19, 2005 08:35 PMKtrion: OMG -- I've read your blog before, but never made the connection... expect a shout-out from me in the next entry.
And the next time I see you in the hallway: we have to talk! =)
Posted by: the wily filipino on October 20, 2005 01:21 AM