Vivaldi

In 2008 we will be treated to a movie about Vivaldi's early life. I can't wait. My student sent me this link, with the comment that she'd died and gone to heaven. I'm with her ...

Spring

Can anyone clear up the confusion about the first day of a new season? Yesterday was the first day of spring according to radio station hosts, and yet my calendars say it is today. Hmm. Does it have something to do with time differences? Not that it REALLY matters, but these things are somewhat important to me to get right. I'm inclined to believe the evidence however, that being the sighting of a robin yesterday, most definitely the first robin we've seen this year. He made his appearance early! Usually we don't see the first robin here (in Calgary) until around the end of the first week in April. I was overjoyed to see him, as this is for me the true sign of winter coming to an end.

Made me cry, I laughed so hard

In Pharmacology, all drugs have two names, a trade name and a generic name. For example, the trade name of Tylenol also has a generic name of Acetaminophen. Aleve is also called Naproxen. Amoxil is also call Amoxicillin and Advil is also called ibuprofen.

The FDA has been looking for a generic name for Viagra. After careful consideration by a team of "government experts, it recently announced that it has settled on the generic name of Mycoxafloppin. Also considered were Mycoxafailin, Mydixadrupin, Mydixarizin, Dixafix, and of course, Ibepokin.

SPfizer Corp. announced today that Viagra will soon be available in liquid form, and will be marketed by Pepsi Cola as a power beverage suitable for use as a mixer. It will now be possible for a man to literally pour himself a stiff one. Obviously we can no longer call this a soft drink, and it gives new meaning to the names of "cocktails", "highballs" and just a good old-fashioned "stiff drink". Pepsi will market the new concoction by the name of "MOUNT & DO."

Thought for the day: There is more money being spent on breast implants and Viagra today than on Alzheimer's research. This means that by 2040, there should be a large elderly population with perky boobs and huge erections and absolutely no recollection of what to do with them.

A Snowy Day

Look who visited this morning? Isn't he pretty?


And this fellow popped by a week ago or so.


And our ghosts are back, though they've lost a little weight.

AAARRRGGHHH!

Winter's not over yet. We had a chinook over the past week which resulted in all the snow going away and NOW it is all back again because it's been snowing all night. There's got to be about five or six inches out there (pics later; it's still dark out). Funny, yesterday morning I went for a long walk in my running shoes!!! for the first time in months and it was warm. Later on I was out in a t-shirt, still warm, then about an hour after that you could feel it; the wind had turned from west to north, and you just could sense something was coming, and sure enough. However, I have decided to focus instead on the fact that all this snow will bring very green grass in another month or so. That's the upside.

Kneecaps

I am a quick person. I move quickly. It's the type of energy I have. Plus I'm always in a hurry and often attempt to multitask. Also, I have a super-tight schedule. All the same, you'd think with all my yoga training that I'd be more aware of the present moment and pay more attention to what I'm doing. But no.

Yesterday morning I was out in the backyard filling the bird feeder (man, those birds eat a lot!) and I was coming back in through the sliding glass patio door and I guess misjudged my distance of my left knee to the door frame, and walked into the door frame. Quickly. This was not fun. My kneecap cracked the door with such force that for the first second or two, I was in a state of shock, I think. I thought, no, this can't be. Nothing can hurt this much. Then I cried. I haven't cried after hurting myself for many years when I slipped on ice while, again, moving fast, my feet went out from under me on rough pavement sprinkled with gravel and landed on my left hip. I tore the jeans I was wearing, and the bruise on my hip was about six inches long and about four wide.

The door incident was five minutes before the arrival of a student so I was not in a good shape to tutor, though I got through the hour, and she was sympathetic. This morning it feels not too bad. This was the third thing in the rule of three. Number 1 was when I dropped a plant on the living room carpet. That was Tuesday about noon. Then later I dropped a bowl of eggwhites on my kitchen floor, which I'd just washed. Arrrrrgh. Well, things ought to improve now, I think. Is there something with the moon or one of the planets and Capricorn? Chandira? Any thoughts?

Half Nelson

Just saw this outstanding movie. Ryan Gosling turns in a remarkable performance, as does Shareeka Epps; she doesn't quite steal the show, but nearly. I found the ending a little less than satisfying, but like life, the plot and the ending are messy. No violence, nothing unrealistic, nothing black and white. Nothing predictable or solvable in a two hour time frame. I highly recommend it.

Today

Is the first day of March, the month whence spring arrives!!! Though you'd never know it around here. Winter seems to be dragging along this year, and I've never looked more forward to spring. 21 more sleeps.

I just read an article today that foretells of disaster around December 12, 2012. Apparently an underwater lava lake is due to burst, which could put us in a nuclear-style winter for 10 years at best, cause tsunamis and tectonic plate shifts which will devastate entire continents. Not exactly what you'd call good news. Man, that's only five years away! And, no, it was not in The Weekly World News, it comes from Maclean's, Canada's most respected news magazine, not known for sensationalism. The article offered no hope for how to survive this doomsday except for making for the hills of South Africa, which apparently are impervious to both sorts of damage. Well. There you have it. Apparently, most scientists agree with this forecast, and the Mayans, considered the world's best-ever astronomers, foresaw this date also. Too bad they're not around anymore to discuss this with.