Then (The Volcano Sequence)
By Alicia Ostriker
after that it snowed
a crispy inch or so
and after this the sky
resumed her rinsed blue scintillance
and after that I remembered the birds
so I filled the feeders with two kinds of seed
and after this a cardinal
a red-capped woodpecker
and some finches
have been flying around
Now you are smirking at me
See how simple it really is
to receive a blessing
--------
Monday morning we got up early, even though it was a holiday, to drive downtown and see one of the cutest things I have ever seen:
The National Zoo panda pages say that this black tub is his favorite place to play (scroll to article at the bottom of the page dated December 27th).
When we arrived at the panda enclosure, he was fast asleep curled up inside. Then he stretched, and you would have thought the Redskins had just made the playoffs or something from the cheers.
And then he lifted his sleepy panda head and smiled...
...before curling up and going back to sleep in a different position!
We didn't want to deal with the Metro with a recently sick child, so we drove down early to make sure we could get parking (we're zoo members, so it's free) and spent a few hours walking around the rest of the zoo before our alloted time to see the panda cub. I brought my new camera so I could test out doing some things with it, and I have many great outdoor photos, some decent through-glass indoor reptile photos and some rather mediocre bird house photos, but all in all I was very happy with the camera and I just need how to use it better. I am sure the panda photos would be better if I had one of those monster telephotos that some of the people were carrying and if I had brought a tripod that required shoving small children out of the way to set up, but I am just as happy to have gotten such good photos with my D50 and its basic lens without being so burdened!
We didn't get home till quite late in the afternoon, at which point I rushed to write some Star Trek news (new game, new New Voyages stuff, nothing that really excited me) and then it was dinnertime. In the evening I watched the Golden Globes, partly in case there was anything that needed covering Star Trek or Desperate Housewives-wise and partly just for the fun of it. I had no idea so many of my imaginary boyfriends and girlfriends were planning to attend so it was a nice surprise to turn on the TV and see Russell Crowe grinning at me. And I was mostly pretty happy with the results and the show...mostly.
Anyway, nothing made me furious awards-wise...I don't mind the wonderful Rachel Weisz beating Michelle Williams though I would have been really happy for Michelle, I could have rooted for Donald Sutherland but who can root against Paul Newman, I am assuming that both Shatner and Spader will lose to Hugh Laurie at the SAG awards since the latter won tonight. I'm sorry Candice Bergen didn't win either for Boston Legal but I hear that Sandra Oh is great on that other doctor show I can't watch because there might be, you know, medical stuff, so fine. I am SO happy that Geena Davis won for Commander in Chief -- whatever issues I have with that show, they have nothing to do with her acting -- and SO happy Reese Witherspoon won, even if Ryan appeared to be drunk all night (either that or desperate for attention, which would be pretty pathetic, but that marriage has seemed so solid even though she's three times as famous as he is that I will forgive him if she will). Speaking of marriage, I hate the whole idea of The 40 Year Old Virgin but Steve Carrell thanking his wife so many times that even the Lost guy thanked her too was really sweet.
And speaking of wives, I didn't care which desperate housewife won so long as Mary Louise Parker lost, even Eva Longoria, but no such luck...though then the actress I most dearly hope never to see on The West Wing again thanked John Spencer, so I was forced to forgive her. And Felicity Huffman won the much bigger film actress award and I am thrilled for her and for Transamerica, which I still have not managed to see, but I figure maybe now it will be around until the Oscars so I will have a chance. I still want to see Match Point too, but I wonder whether its shutout will mean A History of Violence will have a shot at nominations, because even though I have been told that I will never make it through that movie, I would be quite happy if Viggo Mortensen got an Oscar nomination. I don't see how he can, though, because the best actor field is SO deep. Phoenix is a total lock, and as he said it's very funny that he won in the comedy or musical category, but he'll replace one of the Globes' five dramatic actors (my boyfriend Russell, very deserving winner Philip Seymour Hoffman, my personal favorite Heath Ledger, Terrence Howard and David Strathairn, and if Nathan Lane or Johnny Depp ended up with a nomination it's not like I'd complain unless it was at Ledger's, Phoenix's or Hoffman's expense).
I was very happy about Walk the Line's best-film-and-acting sweep, I was very happy Brokeback Mountain took director, screenplay and picture though I felt badly for the actors, I loved Ang Lee's speech and the songwriters (go Bernie!) but what the fuck was with the clip? They showed Heath kissing Michelle and Jake kissing Anne and, um, given all the gay cowboy movie jokes they sure did a good job convincing me it was a love story about a man and his wife plus another man and HIS wife and never the twain shall meet except for fishing -- isn't that the cover story, not the real story? Pathetic. Also, this is mean but I was hoping James Newton Howard would lose just because Peter Jackson fired Howard Shore, so I was delighted John Williams won as composer!
Um. I am going on way long about this stupid awards show, aren't I? I had a bad moment of thinking that on MLK day I was going to watch a category with several women of color nominated would go to some mediocre blonde, but S. Epatha Merkerson won and that rocked. Oh, and speaking of guilty pleasures in that category.
Heh. Meeeeeow. (
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