Blogeriffic!

While we were in Santa Fe, we came across an art studio with some really amazing photography. Barbara Bowles photographs vintage pick-up trucks all over New Mexico. She finds them in all kinds of conditions, and in all kinds of locations. Some are still running, and some have been out of commission for decades. The way the trucks rust and loose their color is just amazing. We purchased a few note cards and arranged them in a series. We hope to order some large prints in the future. You can see her work at http://barbarabowles.com. Her work reminded me of another photographer in Dallas, Laurie Lawrence. Lawrence is best known for her western photography, which can be seen on the outside of the Forest Blvd. Western Warehouse building as you travel up 75. But unlike Bowles' vivid color photos, Lawrence hand develops her black and white prints, usually in sepia tones. Lawrence does have some color auto photographs, but doesn't showcase them on her website. You have to be lucky enough to catch one of her shows to see them! I've got a cowboy print of Lawrence's in my home, and it is just Texan enough to be cool, but not so hick-ville that you roll your eyes. Check her stuff out at http://3lphotography.com.

On a recent vacation to Santa Fe, the hubby and I visited an awesome spa called Ten Thousand Waves.  It's in the style of a Japanese bath house, which sounds a little odd, but is so spectacular!  There are several different baths you can reserve to have all to yourself, or you can soak in a communal bath if you are on a budget.  The baths are all open-air, which is especially lovely being up in the mountains!  In addition to the baths, there are also the traditional massage and spa treatments available, all infused with Asian techniques which makes it feel a little more special than the standard spa.  They even have lodging, which I did not experience for myself, but seems very lush and relaxing. 

I'd almost wish that a place like this existed in Dallas, but I just don't think the disgusting weather and air here would make for a very successful zen bath house.  If you ever get the chance to visit Santa Fe, you must leave an afternoon open to visit Ten Thousand Waves.  Go ahead and splurge on the Ofuro private bath.  It is worth every penny! 

So, I feel like a looser because I didn't know that tomorrow was voting day. I mean, I've seen the signs around for "Official Voting" places, but they've been up for so long, I kind of started to ignore them! Here are the stupid questions I had to ask my mother (who votes at every election, religiously - GO MOM!) and I will list them below, so that no one else has to feel stupid like me!

Q: Is Tuesday the only day we can vote?

A: Yes, you ignoramus, Tuesday is the one and only chance you will have to place your vote, if you didn't already take advantage of the early voting. Tuesday is it! No more chances after that!

Q: What if I can't find my voter registration card?

A: Who cares! Certainly not the people at the voting booths! Just bring your drivers license to show them.

Q: How do I know if I'm registered to vote?

A: Well, chances are that when you were 18 years old and had to go to the DMV to renew your license from when you initially got it at 16, they made you do it right then. And no, you don't have to renew your voting card like you do your drivers license. Once it's done, it's done for life.

If you still think that you need to register to vote, you can get an application here, but you are too late for tomorrow's election. Apparently, "the application must be received in the Voter Registrar’s office or postmarked 30 days before an election in order for you to be eligible to vote in that election."

Q: Where can I vote?

A: I don't know where YOU can vote, because I don't know where YOU live! I know where I can vote, because I have seen the signs in my neighborhood for the last couple of weeks. But generally speaking, elementary schools or libraries in your neighborhood will be the place to go. To find out for sure, call this guy:

Elections Administrator
Bruce Sherbet
2377 North Stemmons, Suite 820, Dallas 75207
Tel: (214) 819-6300
Fax: (214) 819-6301

 

So there you go folks! Get out there and vote! And if you work, and are trying to use that as an excuse to not vote, the places to vote are open from 7AM to 7PM, so you can go before or after work. OR, you can tell your boss that they could get in a lot of trouble if they try to prevent you from voting by FORCING you to stay at work! (That's not really true though, given the hours that polling places are open, but it's a tactic you could try if you were feeling hostile.)

It's been a while since my last post. If you are interested to know what the delay was, you can read my husbands blog to find out.

But, I do not want to dwell on negative things, so I would like to take this opportunity to talk about the tv show that I am currently obsessed with. But first, some background history!

Every few years a network will put out a tv show that becomes the highlight of my week (in tv land anyways) and that surpasses all other shows - period. Then eventually the show looses it's momentum, changes writers, changes time slots, and eventually gets canceled. Or, in rarer cases, the show is too successful and the actors on it too talented to stay on prime time tv, so the show gets canned so that the actors can star in moveis. The first show that I obsessed over was of the latter sort. My So Called Life was a short-lived, but never the less AMAZING show on MTV. This was the show that inspired my weekly ritual of disconnecting with the world for an hour, refusing to take phone calls, peeing only during commercials, leaving me feeling both exhilarated and heart-broken at the end of the hour. I have very fond memories of the one season it aired.

The next show I obsessed over was Friends. We all know that Friends was canceled because it fizzled out after 10 years. It was a sad moment when it ended, but it's syndication keeps me fully entertained. Then came Sex In The City. Now, when the show first aired, I was able to TiVo it. But then I moved, no longer had cable, and had to wait until it was syndicated on TBS, at which point the obsession picked up right where it left off. Alias was another AMAZING show, so good in fact, that I had weekly Alias parties with my family every Sunday night. But then Jen Garner hooked up with Michael Vartan in real life, then broke up in real life, and in my opinion the show tanked after that.

Since Alias ended, I have been left with no tv obsession! I've merely been floating from show to show, desperately searching for that one spectacular plot line, that one eye-widening, jaw clenching, keeps me on the edge of my couch seat, kind of show to transfer my obsession to. I am proud to announce that my newest obsession is.... (drum-roll please)

HEROS ON NBC!!!!!

THIS SHOW ROCKS! There is simply no other way to put it. This show might even rock more than all the others mentioned above. Because for the first time in my tv obsession history, I'm actually shouting at my tv "No Way!" and "Awesome!" and other totally geeky things like "ohmigodthisisthebestshowever!" The best character on the show, Hiro (pun intended, I'm sure), is a nerdy Asian Treckie, who discovers he can teleport himself though time and space, which he will eventually put to use trying to save the world. It sounds silly, but I swear, if you watch it, you will be an instant convert. The show is so smart and entertaining, and never fails to put an interesting twist at the end. ( whcih I NEVER see coming!) And to top it off, on the Heros website, Hiro has his own blog!!!! I'm such a geek for this show! I love more than anything else on tv right now! When my mother and I discovered we were both secretly in love with this show, we had to squeal and jump up and down - yes, it's that good.

So please, check out Heros and Hiro's blog. And remember "Save the cheerleader, save the world". Fans of the show have no idea what that means yet, but you can bet your last dollar we'll all tune in to find out Monday at 8PM!

Recently I found where someone posted a spoof that Family Guy did of one of my all-time favorite childhood cartoons. Some of you might remember the original, but I happen to be a Family Guy fan, so this was highly amusing to me:

http://www.devilducky.com/media/39922/

Something else fun I found was a website where someone has written down every lyric to every song Phoebe on Friends sang!

http://www.friends-tv.org/ph-songs.html

 

Hope you guys enjoy them!