Uncle Mel

is my favorite person -- ever! He always has some witty thing to say, like being able to sing "Ding dong the wicked witch is dead" from the Wizard of Oz movie at just the right moment. Or mimic Scooby Doo's "huh?" when he doesn't understand the instructions I gave him. He's the guy, who when was asked if he wanted to spend three weeks camping across the country, looked at me and said "The only sleeping bag I want is the one in a tent that says Four Seasons." When my six year old daughter was crying hysterically because she broke a small work of art on display in his gallery, he just said "we cry about people, not things" and patted her head gently, knowing full well that he would be purchasing a new, broken piece for his permanent collection from the artist.

Uncle Mel, in a cruel joke, has leukemia. He is 46.
He isn't doing so well after chemo round number three.

Please think good thoughts about Mel. The universe needs more Mels.

name that sound

does anyone know the name of the sound that happens when you rub against leather or balloons, or slide on an air mattress?

let me tell you what a fabulous girl i have

okay this ranks up there in the top five most embarrassing moments of my life

my daughter is about to graduate from high school. she and many of her classmates have been working on yearlong projects. for five months the kids take english class. the other five months they do a project which involves intensive journal and research writing. at the end of the term, the teacher, two students, a mentor and community member evaluate the progress and project.

because i once took dance, and my mother, a dance critic, has dragged me around the globe seeing hundreds of performances, i was good candidate to be the community evaluator and watch Alice's project, which was trying to choreograph and perform a dance in the style of modern dance pioneer, Martha Graham. Alice never heard of Martha prior to this year.

of course, i assumed Alice's work would be crap, because 99 percent of all dance is (a few notable exceptions: Pina Bausch, Matthew Bourne, and Bruce Woods). but to my amazement, it was spectacular, especially for an eighteen year old!

so, what do you think happened? i started bawling when i had to evaluate it. this in front of forty people.
i think i was overcome by emotion by seeing a teenager have so much raw potential and talent. it was humbling.

did my daughter stomp her feet and die of embarrassment with her blubbering, sniffling fool for a mother? she just rolled her eyes, resigned to fate, that this is just another of those classic justine moments.

i am so lucky to be loved as is.

Creative Writing class

Wow!!!!!!!!

I love Creative Writing! No more words "the discursive trajectory of the pantopticon subjective using Marxist notions of value." Academic writing be gone!

For one, the professor (the published author Helena Viramontes) is exceptional. She really brings out your best, or at least the will to do your best.

She has also exposed me to two fantastic books: Bird by Bird by Anne Lamott (which is about how to write) and Lynda Barry's One Hundred Demons, which is so funnyslashpainfulslashbrilliant that you can't put the book down. I have learned that writing is about telling the truth. Explaining understanding as you see it.

Anyway. Got a short story in the works. 21 pages so far. About the effects of using people and being used: Hello Mr. Ouchie.