As part of replacing my '80s cassettes with CDs, I recently purchased the Jam. And I'd completely forgotten how much I loved the song "That's Entertainment" from 1980. It's really one of the best songs ever -- even on the Rolling Stone top 500 of all time list -- and the more you play it the better it gets. My kids have probably heard it at least 30 times in the car. Miles is running around the house singing "slashed seat affairs!" Anyway, here's the video.
I think the song is an ironic take on the "That's Entertainment" movies from the '70s, which were these incredibly upbeat documentaries on the golden age of Hollywood Musicals. The song has a beautiful acostic guitar constrasted with gritty lyrics. It's hard to understand everything Paul Weller says, so I had to look up the words, but the opening lines, sung over a light acoustic sound are "a police car and a screaming siren, pnuematic drill and ripped up concrete...." It's brilliant.
So as my creative exercise for last week I decided to take a crack at it from my own perspective as a Mom in the new millenium.
Paul Weller's version:
A police car and a screaming siren
A pnuematic drill and ripped up concrete
A baby waiting and stray dog howling
The screech of brakes and lamplights blinking -
that's entertainment.
A smash of glass and the rumble of boots
An electric train and a ripped up 'phone booth
Paint splattered walls and the cry of a tomcat
Lights going out and a kick in the balls -
that's entertainment.
Days of speed and slow time Mondays
Pissing down with rain on a boring Wednesday
Watching the news and not eating your tea
A freezing cold flat and damp on the walls
that's entertainment.
waking up at 6 a.m on a cool warm morning
opening the window and breathing in petrol
an amateur band rehearsing in a nearby yard
watching the telly and thinking 'bout your holidays
thats entertainment
Waking up from bad dreams and smoking cigarettes
Cuddling a warm girl and smelling stale perfume
A hot summers' day and sticky black tarmac
Feeding ducks in the park and wishing you were faraway
that's entertainment.
Two lovers kissing amongst the scream of midnight
Two lovers missing the tranquility of solitude
Getting a cab and travelling on buses
Reading the grafitti about slashed seat affairs
that's entertainment.
Mine:
Late dinner and two screaming kids
Bedtime Now! then folding laundry
Wash the dishes and make the lunches
Sauvignon Blanc and the New York Times
That’s entertainment.
I want the pink cup! and scramble eggs
Sweeping crumbs and picking up legos
Princess toothpaste and putting on sunscreen
Drive your carpool and get late to school
That’s entertainment.
Days of speed and slow time Mondays
Meeting at school on a boring Wednesday
The pediatrician and missing yoga
Can’t find a sitter and crayon on the walls
That’s entertainment
Waking up at 3am and its not yet morning
A leaky pull up and changing the sheets
Kindergarten waitlist for the nearby school
Watching TV and thinking ‘bout your credit card
That’s entertainment
Waking up from bad dreams and making coffee
Plucking greys and no time for a haircut
Jeans too tight and sticky black sweater
Two carts at Trader Joe’s and wishing you were far away
That’s entertainment
Husband watching the Wire at midnight
Two people missing the tranquilty of sleep
Buckle the car seat and go to swim lessons
Looking at United for the lowest fares
That’s entertainment
Stay tuned... I'll be rewriting Stairway to Heaven next! I guess it is safe to say that I have too much time on my hands.
Tuesday, June 24, 2008
Sunday, June 01, 2008
Deceptively Delicious
This will be my first blogger book review.
I was at the library with the kids last week, and while we were checking out, I saw a copy of Deceptively Delicious by Jessica Seinfeld sitting on the counter. So I checked it out too. This was the first time I've ever checked a cookbook out of the library. But I'd read so much about it - the plagurism allegations and stuff -that I was a little curious.
I'm giving it a thumbs down.
The retro style, which would be cute in an ad or a brochure, is downright annoying in a 100 plus page book. It has only been a few days, and I'm already tired of its pink plaid spine on my counter. Give me the Fleur d'Lys on Julia Child any day.
There are a lot of family references in the book. Even little cartoons of the children chiming in about how much they love the recipes. I'm sorry, but we're talking about Jerry Seinfeld's family here. I loved the Seinfeld show as much as anyone else - probably more since I was so proud that it was our college diner that was featured. But I'm sorry to say, that I'm just not interested in these little Jerries. In fact, I'm pretty turned off if you must know.
There are also many pages of parenting advice. Pages with cartoon Jessicas extolling us on how to get kids to behave at the table or to get kids to pack their own snacks. Jessica Seinfeld? Okay, I'll admit that I'm not such a great mother. But I haven't falledn so low that I need to get parenting advice from the wife of a celebrity....
So finally, and most importantly, there's the whole concept of the book. To sum it up, how to sneak pureed vegtables into other foods so your kids get more nutrition. I'm definitely on board with the sneaking. I regularly add shreded zuchinni into our pizza. But I had to wonder how much nutrition is really added to your kids diet if you sneak a tablespoonful of sweet potatos into the mix for their French Toast. Isn't it all drowned in syrup anyway?
The aspect of recycling food does have some appeal to me. There was a very disturbing article in the New York Times this week about how much food Americans waste. Why not make scrambled eggs the final resting place for our leftover calliflower?
But in the final analysis, I just can't get myself whipped up about this idea. Probably because my kids eat pretty well. It might feel nice to have a freezer full of pureed vegtables that are regularly added to my kids diet. But really, I'm much too lazy.
I was at the library with the kids last week, and while we were checking out, I saw a copy of Deceptively Delicious by Jessica Seinfeld sitting on the counter. So I checked it out too. This was the first time I've ever checked a cookbook out of the library. But I'd read so much about it - the plagurism allegations and stuff -that I was a little curious.
I'm giving it a thumbs down.
The retro style, which would be cute in an ad or a brochure, is downright annoying in a 100 plus page book. It has only been a few days, and I'm already tired of its pink plaid spine on my counter. Give me the Fleur d'Lys on Julia Child any day.
There are a lot of family references in the book. Even little cartoons of the children chiming in about how much they love the recipes. I'm sorry, but we're talking about Jerry Seinfeld's family here. I loved the Seinfeld show as much as anyone else - probably more since I was so proud that it was our college diner that was featured. But I'm sorry to say, that I'm just not interested in these little Jerries. In fact, I'm pretty turned off if you must know.
There are also many pages of parenting advice. Pages with cartoon Jessicas extolling us on how to get kids to behave at the table or to get kids to pack their own snacks. Jessica Seinfeld? Okay, I'll admit that I'm not such a great mother. But I haven't falledn so low that I need to get parenting advice from the wife of a celebrity....
So finally, and most importantly, there's the whole concept of the book. To sum it up, how to sneak pureed vegtables into other foods so your kids get more nutrition. I'm definitely on board with the sneaking. I regularly add shreded zuchinni into our pizza. But I had to wonder how much nutrition is really added to your kids diet if you sneak a tablespoonful of sweet potatos into the mix for their French Toast. Isn't it all drowned in syrup anyway?
The aspect of recycling food does have some appeal to me. There was a very disturbing article in the New York Times this week about how much food Americans waste. Why not make scrambled eggs the final resting place for our leftover calliflower?
But in the final analysis, I just can't get myself whipped up about this idea. Probably because my kids eat pretty well. It might feel nice to have a freezer full of pureed vegtables that are regularly added to my kids diet. But really, I'm much too lazy.
Matchy Matchy
Today, at the Sports Basement, I found a really cute chocolate brown North Face fleece for Mia. It was so soft, I wished I had one too. So I went over to the women's section and found the same one for myself. Now we will match.
When I was little, my Mom and I had matching dresses - white with red polka dots. I think my doll had one too.
What a difference a generation makes.
When I was little, my Mom and I had matching dresses - white with red polka dots. I think my doll had one too.
What a difference a generation makes.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
