*In this case, ten bits of miscellany:
1. Fourth-graders in our city get musical instrument lessons in school. (It was free up until last year; Proposition 2½ didn't pass, so now it's $150 for the year. Still a great deal.) I strongly encouraged Pete to choose the clarinet because it's the easiest instrument to learn, it's similar to the recorder (which they do in third grade, and he liked), and it doesn't weigh a lot. But no, he chose the saxophone, which is not only very heavy—he has to carry it to and from school every Monday—but also WOW! Is it ever loud! His first lesson was yesterday; as he put it, "We pretty much just learned how to not break it." BLAAAAAT!
2. Today Pete had a dentist appointment. The hygienist applied the super-duper powerful (= expensive) fluoride treatment and told him he could eat or drink, but not to brush his teeth for 4 hours. Then the dentist gave him a stern talking-to about being a better brusher, explaining that you don't even need toothpaste to brush, so you can brush in your bedroom, while watching TV, in the car, etc. So Pete practiced brushing with his new toothbrush in the car on the way home. Yes, that's correct, he immediately brushed all that fluoride right off. Sigh.
3. I just agreed to take on another cookbook editing project; this one is all about cocktails! I'm serious! Where's my lampshade hat?
4. I've been having a lot of fun with this Eyeballing Game. So far my best score is 3.72. I excel at the right angle, but I suck at the triangle center. My favorite is the convergence.
5. Someone dug up this video of a debate Sarah Palin had with her gubernatorial opponents in 2006. Doggone it, she wasn't all folksy and adorable back then—she wasn't even droppin' her g's!
6. This has been circulating all over the place; the differences between the candidates will be much clearer to you after you read it, I swear. (cough, cough)
7. Bruce Springsteen was spotted at a supermarket near my house last week! Apparently he and Patti Scialfa were in town to visit their son at Boston College. I would have just about died if I'd been shopping and ran into the Boss.
8. Check out this anti-racism speech from the AFL-CIO's Richard Trumka and tell me you wouldn't vote for him for president. I got chills!
9. You know how the click sound of a shutter in an analog camera is now reproduced in some digital cameras via a sound clip? There's a word for such a design feature: skeuomorph.
10. Go Sox!
I played clarinet all through school (in the early years it SQUEAKED something terrible), and then also played sax in high school, which I loved. My son played sax, too, and after some time (if they stick with it) it can be very pleasurable to listen to!
Posted by: Tonya | October 07, 2008 at 09:27 PM
That video from Richard Trumka gave me chills also. I think our music programs are still "free." I hope so! Both my girls played the violin and did choir in elementary school. Music is very important and undervalued in our schools.
Posted by: Margaret | October 07, 2008 at 10:21 PM
Loved the sarah palin video. She didn't wink or pose once!
Posted by: amy | October 08, 2008 at 07:43 AM
Hijo kicks my butt in the eyeballing game on a regular basis. I am also terrible at the triangle center, but that is one of Hiijo's best. We have yet to break six, but we are working on it.
Posted by: Janeen | October 08, 2008 at 10:43 AM
Oldest is playing trombone. School provides some, but we were the lucky family that got to buy our own. Thanks, Craigslist!
Eyeball game - there's going to be some wasted time today. Can't form a parallelogram but I can bisect an angle.
Posted by: Kelly | October 08, 2008 at 10:46 AM
Woo-hoo, I'm a pretty good eyeballer. I got a 0 (!) on the middle of the line segment and 0.2 on bisecing the angle, and a 1.2 on the equidistant to the sides of the triangle, and a 1.3 on the center of the circle. I would never have guessed I could do that stuff. These things are fun.
Posted by: Wendy | October 08, 2008 at 02:33 PM
Re: #9 ... You must be a an AWAD (A Word a Day) fan! I love the site and I love the daily e-mail (usually read once a week - arrrrgh). http://wordsmith.org/awad/
Posted by: Jeananne | October 09, 2008 at 12:02 AM
Re: #10 - I'm guessing you're a one sport girl as you didn't get wound up over the Celtics last year nor do you mention the Patriots.
Posted by: Jeff | October 10, 2008 at 12:24 PM
Jeff, you're right. I don't mind basketball, but I actively dislike football. I can appreciate the excitement when my home-town teams win, and I'm happy for my friends and family members who are big fans, but that's about it.
Posted by: Karen | October 11, 2008 at 03:14 PM