Archives for 2011

Happy Birthday To Me

Today is my birthday. I am 35.

When it’s my daughters’ birthdays, I write them letters here. I fill this space with all of the things that made the past year special, all of the things I look forward to in the year ahead. I talk about their strengths, how much I love them, and the many ways they made me smile over the year.

For myself, I’m having a really hard time today.

It’s funny, because I’ve never been the type to get wigged out about age before. I’m not sure what triggered it this year – the errant gray hairs that stubbornly refuse to grow a little slower so I can at least attempt to keep up with covering them up with dye. Maybe it was the realization that I’m halfway to seventy. Or perhaps it’s because I’m now old enough to get elected as the President of the United States – some law made at some point decided that 35 was officially old enough to either ruin or make the country great.

I’m not sure.

I love birthdays – even my own – and so the fact that I’m mired with some idiotic sadness pisses me off. Today is my day and I’m supposed to be happy, and hell, I should even be wearing a tiara (and I’m sure I have one around here somewhere).

I hope this isn’t a sign of what is to come. I saw my mom celebrate her 60th birthday this year with as much enthusiasm as if it were her 20th, and I know that that is what I come from – a long line of people who love birthdays, love the celebration, and don’t really care so much about getting older, but love to have a day of their own – a day to celebrate the day you landed on this planet (sounds graceful, right? THUNK. From the heavens I fell onto the planet – from space to Illinois. Whoomp).

But I also know that changing the attitude is up to me, so, I could start by stop being such a horse’s ass about the stupid number, and just put a smile on my face and enjoy the day.

Sigh.

Maybe this is just early onset senility.

I hear that happens to old people.

I had a chaotic year, a crazy year, but I had a year where I got to travel, spend time with friends and family, meet some awesome people. I saw new places, old places I hadn’t seen in far too long. I lost a job. I got a new one. My hair grew several inches (some of those hairs were gray). I found out I’d get to be an aunt. I made cheesecakes that could make you cry, they were so delicious. I made people laugh. I made myself laugh.

I have no idea what 35 has in store for me, but I hope to quickly snap out of my funk to have my eyes open to what comes my way.

 

I’ll always love you though New York…

A week ago tonight, I had a belly full of New York pizza and feet tired from a day spent walking – exploring Central Park, walking miles to and around the park. Exhausted from our full day and an early morning flight, my mom and I were probably hanging out in our hotel room at this time, winding down and preparing to start all over again on Saturday morning.

I have said before how much I love big cities – and NYC is no different. The love I have for New York is similar to the love I have for Chicago is similar to the love I have for San Francisco. All three cities are vibrant and radiate with a lovely chaos. The architecture, the landscape, the motion. But New York is different than Chicago which is different than San Francisco. And those three are probably in many ways similar to other cities across the country, and just as different.

(You with me so far: Things are alike but different)

I could have spent another four, eight, twelve, whatever days in New York and still not finished exploring all I wanted to see. We wandered through the Village, eating brunch in some random restaurant (waffles! yummy!). We found the Washington Square arch, and I took a picture of the Waverly Place sign for my daughter.

I love like a fountain
And it left me with nothing
Just the memories of walking through Washington Square
-Counting Crows

I took far more pictures of the Flatiron Building than seemed reasonable, but the shape and the unexpectedness of it, looming so high above just somehow pleased me and I couldn’t stop with the pictures.

Battery Park looking over the Statue of Liberty as the sunset, the Empire State Building and the Chrysler Building lit up like Christmas out my hotel room at night, the crowded heat of a subway station on a Saturday afternoon as trains were cancelled, rerouted and who knows what (probably old hat for the residents of NYC – but all new to the touristy folks trying to get back to Manhattan from Queens when all the trains we were “supposed to” take were cancelled).

For all my fear of flying, I am a surprisingly relaxed traveler. I don’t necessarily always need to know where I’m going. Subway switcheroo? No problem. We’ll get there eventually. My mom, she looked so upset with the uncertainty – but that never hit me that day. Maybe because I just figured, Worst case scenario, we get a cab. No big deal. WE CAN DO THIS. And you know what? We did. Sure, it took a little longer than we’d anticipated but… where else did we have to go? We’d get there when we got there.

The noise – the sirens, the rush of crowds? All of that. I love all. of. that.

And I was sad to leave.

This trip made me realize that I want my children to travel. When I was younger, my family never went on vacations – we just couldn’t afford it. That’s always the way it was and I never really realized I was missing out. Sure, my brother and I would fly to visit our grandparents in the summers but I started to learn the ropes of travel later, after college, during my first job when I would travel often for trade shows. My first trip for work was to Vegas and I arrived hours before my coworkers – I was so freaked out – because now, instead of meeting them all at the airport, I had to pick up the rental car on my own, drive in a strange city, and find the hotel somewhere on the Strip. I was a wreck.

It’s taken awhile to get a bit more at ease with travel. I don’t want it to take my kids that long. While our adventures may not be fully global (alas, that money tree JUST WON’T GROW), I want them to feel at ease traveling and not be intimidated by it.

I don’t want them to be upset by a rerouted subway schedule on a Saturday afternoon.

I was a tourist and I explored and then I put on my fancy dress, went to a wedding in what appeared to be an abandoned warehouse in Queens and I danced until I felt my feet were on fire and the next morning said goodbye to a beautiful city to come back home to Michigan.

But I think I’ll be back.

Thursday Ten: I HEART NY Edition

1. I didn’t tell y’all I was going to New York last weekend, but I WENT TO NEW YORK LAST WEEKEND. Hard to believe a week ago tomorrow I was boarding a plane to spend four days in glorious sunny NYC, but I did. I love the energy of NY – and while I love big cities, they each have their own vibe and their own energy. I traveled with my mom (and lived to tell about it!) and saw so much of the city. It was fun.
Bow Bridge

2. Today at work, I moved to a NEW DESK. You wouldn’t think it warrants all caps, but it totally does. Know why? Because that new desk, while still distinctly cubicle-esque, is not at all like a fishbowl. I was pretty amazed at how much easier it is to work without the constant traffic of people around me. Remember, I’m used to working from home, and can go into hermit-mode while I’m working easily (and not mind at all). Bonus? I’m by a window now. If the sun ever comes out again, it’s going to be nice.

3. Pumpkin has been home from school for a few days with a fever and a cough. She’s on track for going back tomorrow (fever free for 24 hours – WHOO!), but those days when she was sick and sleepy and mopey? That was tough. Know what else is tough? I’m getting her cooties now. Bring on the popsicles.

4. So, I was one  of the bajillion people downloading iOS 5 last night. Took awhile, but I’ve got it. Seems pretty okay so far. I even set a location based reminder to myself this morning – so when I left my driveway and got about a mile down the road, my phone told me “Go to work!” Awww, man… do I hafta?

5. My sister’s 20 week ultrasound is scheduled for two weeks from now – two weeks! Can’t wait to see if the baby cooperates and I can find out if I’ll be having a niece or a nephew. I’m also very excited to be part of the plan to surprise the rest of the family with the baby’s gender — I’ll be going along to photograph my sister (with something pink or something blue) immediately following the ultrasound. We’ll then hurry up and print pictures so they can deliver them to grandparents-to-be. SO. EXCITED.

6. I wore a super fun dress to the wedding in NY this weekend. It was a sassy sequined dress from Express. What I didn’t anticipate about this dress? Sequin wounds. The skin on the underside of my arms is scratched and in some cases scabby from the sequins rubbing against my arms all night. WHO WOULD HAVE THUNK IT? (Well, you will…now)

7. Today on my cappuccino cup, it had the standard writing “1/2 S, 1/2 N” and “C” and then…. “WC“. Uh… no whip? Who puts whipped cream on a cappuccino? Anyway, the drink was right, but – I’m not sure when someone will tell the new girl that she doesn’t have to specify “no whip” on a whipless drink.

8. ArtPrize is over and done and much of the art is gone too. The streets are quieter, less congested, and my phone gets better reception downtown than it has IN WEEKS.

9. And, again – no new music. What is your favorite song this week?

10. I’ve just barely managed to finish this before Project Runway comes on. You know I can’t write a blog when Project Runway is on.

Thursday Ten: Mournful Edition

1. There’s nothing much I can say that hasn’t already been said more thoughtfully or eloquently already – but I am saddened by the death of Steve Jobs and honestly, I’m surprised how sad I am over the death of someone I never met. I admired his creative mind though – and his products and his vision made a huge difference in the lives of many (she says as she types a blog post with her iPhone not a foot away). Consider the universe dinged, Steve.

2. The winner of ArtPrize was announced tonight. While I’m not at all surprised what won, I don’t love the piece. I’m disappointed, but it could have been worse.

3. I forgot Pumpkin’s picture day this week. School pictures are overpriced and usually poorly done, but I always buy them. I hate that I forgot.

4. After just over two months of work, I am finally to the point where I turn in the proper direction when I get off the elevator. This seems like it wouldn’t be that tough to remember… but it is.

5. Starbucks occasionally has these cards for free music and I always pick them up (I’ve earned them with my cappuccino habit). Recently, one of the songs was Lady Antebellum’s “Just A Kiss”. I always download these free songs – you never know. This song is such country-tinged pop, but the melody gets stuck in my head constantly.  Can’t help it.

6. The Princess’s pinky finger is pretty much healed the way it should. Whew.

7. I wish caffeine made me feel more awake. I like cappuccinos, but, I don’t feel particularly any more awake once I’ve had caffeine. Today, I had a pain reliever with caffeine, a cappucino, and a mug of tea and I just wanted to fall asleep at my desk, except… I felt like my heart would explode. Whoops.

8. I got to go outside during my lunch hour today – what a beautiful fall day. Mild temperatures and blue skies. THIS is my favorite time of year.

9. Competitive gymnastics season starts next month for The Princess – it’s a fun thing – but I hate the unpredictability and last-minute-nature of the schedule. All compete dates are listed as “Saturday or Sunday” for their given weekend, and often we don’t find out until the week of which date it is. SURELY they could come up with a better system than this. (It drives me crazy)

10. Painting your nails before starting to type a blog post is a stupid thing to do. Don’t do that.

The Thing About ArtPrize

West Michigan is a kind of okay place. There are a lot of people who love it, a lot that don’t and many who are somewhat neutral about it. I am, for the most part, quite neutral about it here – and find that the saving grace of west Michigan is ArtPrize.

Art Prize, 2011

I make no attempt to hide my love of ArtPrize – I love how the streets are filled with people and with art, and I love wandering around with my camera capturing what’s out there. I love it. I love every moment of it. And when one year is over, I look forward to the next year. This is its third year, and I was even more eagerly anticipating ArtPrize this year than last.

So why am I so mad right now?

Well, I don’t know. And I do know.

The Top Ten for this year was announced Thursday evening and it was… mostly disappointing. I say mostly because there were a few pieces in the Top Ten that I love. One of them being the one pictured at the top of this post. One being this one right down there.

Rain By Lynda Cole

But.

There are pieces in the Top Ten that have me scratching my head wondering what the hell people are thinking? And I’m not the only one. And because so many people are outraged, there’s talk of the “elite” – the art critics who think they know better than anyone else what constitutes art, and that this outrage over the popular vote is implying that somehow the population of West Michigan is just not bright enough to be trusted to vote.

Art is tremendously subjective. This I know.

I love ArtPrize because it takes art, in so many different media, and makes it accessible to everyone. Those of us who don’t go to museums the rest of the year (admittedly, I am not a frequenter of our museums), may be more likely to go during ArtPrize. I love to see the lines outside of the museums – and the families walking around looking at the various pieces. I love taking my kids to see the different venues and talking about art, and what we like and why, and how do these pieces make us feel.

ArtPrize is a conversation starter. It opens up a dialogue that we might not otherwise be having.

And that’s great.

And because it’s so subjective, is it really for me to say that those pieces that are in the Top Ten that I loathe (yes. loathe) are not art? Are they less worthy because I don’t like them? Do they have less merit?

I don’t know.

I just get so frustrated when I think of the amazing pieces that fell through the cracks.

That once again photographer Ryan Spencer Reed’s work was not recognized. His series on the Sudan left me sobbing in the hall of the convention center where it was displayed. His work last year – photographs of the ruins in Detroit – were equally breathtaking, haunting, and phenomenal… and yet, somehow some piece of driftwood gets the recognition that these photographs are not? {There are other examples – though Reed’s photographs are the first that come to mind – and you really should take a look because they are amazing.}

023 | 365

None of these exhibits are on equal footing and I think that’s the fundamental problem with ArtPrize and the voting process. Not all venues are created equal. Naturally, pieces displayed at bigger venues are going to have a bigger audience.

The museums didn’t open until noon – and so it shouldn’t surprise me that many of the pieces selected were not pieces displayed in museums. Surely, it creates a logistics problems for the museums (who are already facing a higher volume of traffic – and not charging admission), so I get it. But… apples to apples or apples to kumquats.

LADY OF DANCE by Kim Rudolph

Ultimately, I guess that while I’m not thrilled with my Top Ten choices, there is definitely one piece that stands above the rest for me, and I will vote for that piece and I will cross my fingers that that piece wins and not some “crazy crap” (thanks for those eloquent words, o ye king of ArtPrize).

I hope that changes take place before next year’s event. I hope that maybe there was a bit of growing pains that they can work through to maybe level the playing field for the artists somewhat. What the answers are for that, I don’t necessarily know.

While I am frustrated, I am ultimately still head over heels in love with ArtPrize. There’s really nothing else like it here, and whether or not everyone else takes the time to really walk around and look, really look, at what’s out there… I do. And I love it. I love it, my kids love it, and I promise to hold off on being a hater until I see what next year brings.

It’s a great thing for an okay town, and it needs to keep being great. I hope it will be great again next year.

Thursday Ten (On Friday. Some weeks are just like that)

1. This week has flown by and I feel like the world’s crappiest blogger, but hey, you know what? That’s okay! I’m not getting paid to be here! I’m here because I want to be and I write because I want to – awesome, right? That said, I like to write, I like to fill this space – so I don’t really like it when I haven’t written in awhile. I miss it. So… how are y’all? Good, right?

2. My eye decided to be a big jerk this week. My doctor and eye doc aren’t sure what’s wrong or what caused the intense stabbing pain – but whether it was an infection or something else, the result is my cornea is worn down. So, I’ve got lots of drops (ugh), and I can’t wear my contacts for awhile (double ugh), and my eyes are tired and ugh (ugh ugh ugh), but they feel like they might be getting better, so…we’ll see.

3. The ArtPrize Top Ten was announced last night, and I will have to write another post about it because while I’m pleased with a few of the pieces on that list, I am somewhat dismayed by the popular vote. As someone who spends a lot of time visiting a lot of venues, I sure do wish others would visit more besides the “big attractions” because there’s a LOT TO SEE OUT THERE, and I think some really phenomenal pieces were overlooked in favor of…crap. [Post to come in the next few days. I do have some favorites in the Top 10, so I know where my vote is going – but… people… get out there and EXPLORE.]

4. I was able to shoot an event last night – the first of its kind that I’ve been hired to do. I was very nervous going into it, but I felt okay while there, and I love some of my shots, and the people were fine. Though… shooting parties with buffets is tough – I refuse to photograph people putting food into their mouths or chewing – so…. once people started eating, it got a little more difficult to photograph things! And that’s when I’d shoot wine glasses on window sills.
029 | 365

5. On my way home from the event last night, the sky was an amazing orange color – I actually exited the highway so I could pull over and take a picture. There was also a rainbow in the opposite direction – but by the time I pulled over, it was gone. But this sky? Took my breath away. I never want to get to the point where a sunset doesn’t take my breath away.
I'm sorry, I can't talk right now - I have to pull over and look at the sky.

6. I haven’t had time to buy new music this week. Or listen to new music. Though, every time I turn on the radio in the car these days, I am amazed how similar everything sounds – all auto-tune and bass. My birthday is in less than three weeks – I must just be getting old.

7. MY BIRTHDAY IS IN LESS THAN THREE WEEKS. And I’ve gotten my first two birthday “cards” – from Victoria’s Secret and DSW Shoes. (“Happy Birthday Sarah! Buy stuff!”)

8. I’m really hungry and thinking of Qdoba. Just so you know.

9. I had to take The Princess to have her finger re-xrayed this morning. We waited an hour. AN HOUR. I wasn’t happy. Here’s hoping it’s healed though.

10. It’s pumpkin season. Pumpkin lattes, pumpkin muffins, pumpkin whatever. I hate the taste of pumpkin. Does it really need to go into everything?

Thursday Ten: The Week Feels A Hundred Years Long Edition

1. One of the most difficult things about working is that my Thursday ten post doesn’t get written until it’s late. I mean, it’s already FRIDAY in the UK. They’ve had to go the whole day without knowing what was going on in my world. A travesty. I’m so sorry.

2. Sometimes amidst the chaos, some good opportunities sneak through. I was asked to photograph an event and I’m very excited about the opportunity. A little nervous too, but mostly excited. And honored. SO HONORED to have been asked. And, yes, to be getting paid to shoot the event. All good.

3. In light of this upcoming job, I decided it was time to upgrade the camera. VERY. EXCITING. I have yet to use it, though – too bad new cameras don’t come with a fully charged battery for impatient photographers.

4. This was the type of week that can be called a “Venti” week. When a grande just won’t do.

5. I’m still listening to Grace Potter and the Nocturnals on repeat. I love this video because it just looks like so much fun. And the guy is playing an ice bucket.

6. One of the ArtPrize exhibits I have been looking forward to is Ji Lee’s “Pieces of Peace” – which involves these little Buddhas lined up outside a building in Grand Rapids for people to take and to photograph elsewhere. Of course I took one four. I may need to start a new photoset on Flickr for my little buddha’s adventures.
PIECES OF MIND - JI LI

7. This morning, as I was helping Pumpkin with her homework, one of the questions involved her having to draw stars. She had never drawn a star before. So I taught her the easy way to draw one, and when I got home from work, she had another sheet of paper she’d covered with stars. It’d have never occurred to me otherwise to teach her how to draw stars.

8. The Princess’s finger seems to be getting a little better – though she’s still babying it quite a lot. We have another week until it gets re-xrayed. Here’s hoping it’s improved – I think she’s antsy to get back to gymnastics.

9. My gosh, is it even Thursday anywhere anymore? (Kidding. Kind of.)

10. Tomorrow I have the day off – you know how good that feels? I still have a lot to get done – but I get to wear jeans! And a ponytail if I want to! And go see art! And take my girlies out for donuts in the morning! And probably have another venti (Why not?)!

A little monkey fun

Dale Rogers MonkeysIn case you didn’t know, today is opening day for ArtPrize in Grand Rapids – and some of you probably remember how last year, I got all geeked out about ArtPrize because face it – it may just be the most awesome thing about west Michigan (Okay, it IS the most awesome thing about west Michigan).

Well, this year probably won’t be too different, because here we are at opening day and I’ve already gone out to check out the art a few times – including yesterday BEFORE THE EVENT WAS EVEN OPEN.

There are certain pieces each year that get quite a bit of pre-opening day press. There are pieces I look forward to seeing and keep an eye out for – pieces I just HAVE to see. Year one of ArtPrize, that piece was “Nessie”, the giant Loch Ness monster that happily lived in the Grand River for months before finding a new home at the zoo. Last year, it was Beili Liu’s Lure/Forest – the red thread exhibit that I fell in love with (and ultimately placed in the Top Three of ArtPrize).

This year the piece I had been waiting for were these metal monkeys by metal artist Dale Rogers. Yesterday at lunch, while walking around downtown with my mom, we spotted the artist on the bridge, hanging the monkeys. “We’ve been waiting for the monkeys!” we told him.

He then offered to let me go up in the cherry picker with him and someone from his studio to see just how the heck he hangs those big metal monkeys.

I don’t love heights. You know this. Walking across the Golden Gate Bridge in California this summer was a nerve-wracking experience for me. This bridge? Not nearly as high (really, not even close) and yet, on a bridge, on a cherry picker kinda deal AT THE VERY TOP OF THE BRIDGE?), well, I got a little nerve-sweat.

But it was cool and it was an amazing experience, and I got to see just how the monkeys are secured on that bridge (so those of you who might be worried about the wind – don’t be – those monkeys are up there securely). And I’m ever so grateful for the opportunity, and grateful the artist didn’t immediately lower the basket and kick me off when he realized that I was going to be a slightly nervous passenger.  I’m glad I didn’t let my little height phobia thing get in my way. It was truly exhilarating and the highlight of my day yesterday. Possibly the highlight of this WEEK, even.

For this ArtPrize junkie, there truly was no better way to kick off this year’s adventure.

I will always have gum

I am going to be an aunt.

I am going to be an aunt and I am very very excited about it.

Well, I am very excited about it – but surely I’m a notch less excited than my sister and her husband who have moved heaven and earth for this to be possible – who have undergone countless tests, medical procedures and heartache along the way.

I have had friends that have struggled to become pregnant – I have heard of people with infertility, and what you should say and how you should say it, and while I’ve always done my best to be sensitive – I never truly realized how devastating it is to someone going through it. Until I watched my sister and her husband go through it.

This is not one of those posts where I’m going to offer you advice on what to do when someone you love is struggling to get pregnant – there are people who do so far more eloquently than I ever could, and I can only speak for what was helpful to my sister (which is to say – not much – it’s been a very difficult road for her).

She called to tell me that she was pregnant the night before I kicked off the Avon Walk in San Francisco in July. I was in the walk hotel when the call came in. I remember jumping up and down and being so tremendously excited.

I still am.

And it’s exciting to hear her talking about baby names, and it’s thrilling to think of baby showers, and it’s fun when I send her a message and say, “That is gonna be one overly-photographed baby!” and she says, “I guess he or she better be cute then, huh?” but I know this baby will be beautiful. Not just because my sister is beautiful – because she is SO beautiful – but because this baby is already so loved. In fact, I already love my niece or nephew so much it almost doesn’t even matter if the baby is a Michigan State fan like my sister. I’ll love it anyway.

But I’ll do my best to prevent the Spartan-love.

It’s an aunt’s duty.

Thursday Ten: The Pinkie Finger Debacle Edition

1. The Princess jammed her finger on Tuesday. She jammed it doing some kind of flip off the bars in gymnastics – and between the purpley color and the swelling, it seemed like a visit to the doc might be a good thing. Sure, her coach said it was only jammed, but I’m not entirely sure where her medical degree came from (Oh wait. She DOESN’T. HAVE. ONE.) – and after hearing horror stories of fingers that didn’t get properly set, “better safe than sorry” seemed the way to go. Verdict: It’s fractured. Not much they can do about it, but it’s good to know.

2. New music that’s not really that new. Grace Potter & The Nocturnals, “Things I Never Needed”. A guitar teacher on Twitter was talking about it – and I like Grace Potter, but I’m not familiar enough that I know the whole song catalog. So I’m listening to TONS of Grace Potter.

3. Some days I order a nonfat cappuccino. Some days I order a soy cappuccino. And some days, I get to the counter to place my order and am racked with indecision. Thankfully, the gurus of coffee said – do half soy, half skim. And I did. And it was good. AND NOW I NEVER HAVE TO MAKE A MILK DECISION FOR MY CAPPUCCINO AGAIN.

4. I’m such a Sharpie pen addict, I bring my own pen to work every day. At the end of the work day, I toss it back into my bag with my to-do list notebook, but I can’t stand to use their pens. I may have a Sharpie problem.

5. Last week, I bought some new deodorant. That’s not really newsworthy – I mean, I wear deodorant daily. I have a very sensitive sense of smell, and so I really can’t stand the thought of not smelling okay. I got something different. Nah, I’m not going to tell you the brand – mostly because I don’t remember and I’m too lazy to get up – but it ended up being extremely powdery-scented. So much so that I was sitting at my desk the other day, extremely aware of my arm pits smelling like baby powder. And it was awful. I replaced it tonight. I couldn’t take it anymore.

6. Yesterday, The Princess and her friend wanted to bake so I let them take over the kitchen and make chocolate chip cookies. When she was done she HID THE COOKIES FROM ME. Seriously: I have no idea where the cookies are. And right now, I’d really REALLY like one. Do I know where they are? Nope. No clue. She’s a smart girl, that one.

7. After two days of wearing tall shoes to work, I wore flats today. My pants are too long. Or my legs are too short. Either way… I need a tailor. Or stilts.

8. Project Runway is on and my attention span is shot and I’ve barely watched it. That’s how you know it’s been a long day.

9. Tomorrow, I have the day off my new job but plenty of work to do at my old job and that doesn’t seem very relaxing, does it?  Some of the ArtPrize exhibitors have their pieces installed in Grand Rapids already – and I think me and my camera will need to take a trip to see some pretty things. Mostly because I love ArtPrize and partly because I’ve taken some rotten pictures this week. My creativity is lacking.

10. So, I need a tenth thing, and I don’t really have one, so tell me something about your week (OH MY GOD I AM SO LAZY AND UNCREATIVE TODAY). How are you?  What’s your favorite song these days? Seen any good movies lately?