My Flower Garden Picks... part 1 of many

There are few things in this world that I love more than gardening. I am seldom happier than when my dog and I are wandering through my gardens. Though I don't have any pictures of my own garden (because Maine looks like death in March) I thought I'd post my favorite plants to get my spirits up. My first is bee balm-- though I haven't had tremendous success with it thus far. If you can get it to survive those first few years it spreads and is quite lovely. Like it's name suggests, it attracts buzzing visitors aplenty to your garden which is good for your plants.

Begonias are another favorite, though they prefer shade and will burn right up in the sun. I usually try to keep some along the side of my house and in my new shade garden out in the back yard. They are vibrant, ruffled, and continue to bloom consistently all season.

Clematis is a plant I haven't tried yet, but I am madly in love with them. I'm hoping to add a few to the garden this spring. They are available in a number of purples, reds, and blues and are happiest in the sun.

Coneflower comes in red, yellow, or purple. They are also a sunlover, but bloom all season long. They also attract bees galore, and are great for flower arranging because their stems are nice and sturdy. I've had a lot of success with them-- they're pretty hardy.

I have to say, I wouldn't reccomend putting a hydrangea in a wheelbarrow-- but they are really beautiful plants. I just got mine last year and I can't wait to see it bloom again! It was a consistent bloomer all summer (it's called an endless summer) and it needs a LOT of water. It can do full sun, but prefers partial shade and needs a lot of attention.

Gerbera Daisies are a great, easy to grow, bright, happy flower. Though they take a while to regenerate if unfertilized, they are a sun lover and once you cut one another one is usually about a week to two weeks from blooming. They're on the higher end of the price range for an annual,

but they are worth it.

Getting your hopes up...

Sometimes you can't help but get your hopes up-- even when you know you shouldn't.

I really hope it works out, Jazz.

Borders: A place filled with evil

Sometimes you just have a hankering to see a particular movie-- a thirst that can only be slaked by watching THAT particular film. Yesterday, I had such a thirst for Wes Anderson's "The Life Aquatic: with Steve Zissou."

Since I didn't own the film, I left my house in search of it. I tend to buy movies rather than rent them because of how expensive it is to rent and because there are some movies I can watch over and over again and never tire of them.

For some reason, I headed to Best Buy first. I was sure they would have it, but after talking to 3 sales people I was informed that they don't carry it. Royal Tennenbaums? Sure-- and for 15 bucks, Darjeeling Limited? Of course! But The Life Aquatic: With Steve Zissou??? No!

I left that filthy place, and headed to Borders... where I did indeed find a copy of Life Aquatic, BUT for $32.99. I laughed out loud and placed the movie back on its shelf and left. Now, I love Borders... I do. I can't help it. I love books and their selection is incredible-- but I couldn't bring myself to pay $32.99 for a DVD, no matter how much I wanted to watch it.

So finally, I went to Bull Moose, where I should have gone in the first place, and the special edition 2 disc set of Life Aquatic was *drumroll please * 22 bucks. So, I saved ten dollars and ninety-nine cents (and Bull Moose is on the way home) going to the smaller business AND got the version of the DVD that I wanted. So, I think to myself why would Borders do that? Are there really saps out there who will pay 33 bucks for a DVD???

And then I realized the awful truth... A few years ago, Hamlet came out on DVD and I went straight to borders and paid about 35 dollars for it. I wanted it so bad, I paid a RIDICULOUS amount of money for it. Well, you know what, Borders? You're mean and I don't think you're very ethical. There, I said it. I think that you charge way too much for your DVD's and that you should apologize: not just to me, but to every poor sap who spent more than they could afford on a DVD. Did you ever stop and think, Borders? Did you? Y'JERK!

Robin Williams

Robin Williams had heart valve replacement surgery a week and a half ago. He apparently was experiencing shortness of breath while on tour and they discovered he had an irregular heartbeat.

This man is, in my opinion, one of this century's greatest, and the thought of losing him inspired me to have a Robin Williams marathon this week. I kicked it off last night with "Death to Smoochy." Tonight I'm planning to change it up with "Hook" followed by "Birdcage." Tomorrow is "Dead Poets Society" and if I have time "What Dreams May Come."

What are your favorite Robin Williams movies? Have you noticed how many times the man gets to fly in movies? It's pretty astonishing. =)

Cantus, the Wandering Minstrel

My favorite muppet-- Cantus the Minstrel, performed by the late Jim Henson. The lyrics of his songs introduced me to poetry.

The most memorable one for me is, Let Me Be Your Song:

Music grows in the rose
Rock and rain and the blowin snowstorm
Everything seems to sing
Everywhere I go...

I'm ready for spring

Though I do have a few tulips that are beginning to peek out from under the mulch in my garden-- I am impatient! I want my gardens back!!! I'm so desperate for flowers I've resorted to buying them at the grocery store and searching the internet for signs of spring.

To hell with the Kindle 2: A BOOK IS MORE THAN A TEXT

There's a new device on the market called The Kindle 2. Basically, like an MP3 player for text. I can't contain my horror. Now I realize that with all new technologies there are people who resist them, and in the end those people end up looking like buffoons; but go ahead and mark me with the scarlet B. I don't want one.

It's not just the text of a book that makes it a treasure-- it's the smell of the pages, the texture-- it's the aesthetic experience of viewing the font. The size and weight, the color... all of these things contribute to my love of certain volumes. I like that they are separate from eachother-- complete between two covers... not a file on a digital whatsit. I can lend them to friends, pencil in my reactions in the margins... I buy almost all of my books in hardcover-- especially when its something I know I will reference for many years to come.

A few examples of my treasures:

I love Virgina Woolf.

Alright-- I said it. I did. Want to know why?

"Women have served all these centuries as looking-glasses possessing the magic and delicious power of reflecting the figure of man at twice its natural size. Without that power probably the earth would still be swamp and jungle. The glories of all our wars would be unknown. We should still be scratching the outlines of deer on the remains of mutton bones and bartering flints for sheepskins or whatever simple ornament took our unsophisticated taste."

"I refuse to allow you, Beadle though you are, to turn me off the grass. Lock up your libraries if you like; but there is no gate, no lock, no bolt that you can set upon the freedom of my mind."

"I do not beleive that gifts, whether of mind or character, can be weighed like sugar and butter, not even in Cambridge, where they are so adept at putting people into classes and fixing caps on their heads and letters after their names."