EastGirlsWest

Check it out - the best of our fair city this fine weekend, as discussed on These Days this morning. I’m liking John Vanderslice and Joan As Police Woman at the Casbah (Friday and Saturday, respectively), and had fun telling Tom about dining in the dark. That’s right, as in: you can’t see your food.

David recommends the Ocean Beach Jazz Festival, some hard core musical nostalgia, and this wacky play about time travel. Communicating Doors is playing at Cygnet Theatre, and we (me, The Husband) went to see tonight! We enjoyed, and definitely endorse a trip to The College Area to enjoy this show.

Listen here. And plan your weekend carefully! There’s much to do and you must be judicious.

UPDATE: Check out Angela’s review of Communicating Doors over at her blog. I agree with every word, and would only add that this play piqued my interest in finding my own time portal almost as much as the film Sliding Doors.

Les Simpsons

So when The Simpsons Movie opened last week, it wasn’t just released in the U.S. While most films are distributed internationally after the domestic launch, The Simpsons Movie “premiered simultaneously on millions of screens worldwide. And while the film took in $72 million in the U.S. over the weekend, the foreign take was in excess of $100 million.”

The film’s promotion was inescapable in France last month. The photo above wasn’t taken in Paris - but a tiny, quiet town near the Pyrenees called Mazamet. (I walked amost every street in the central village and didn’t even see a movie theatre.)

So why do they love Homer so far away from home? Well, funny is funny in any language, and our Simpsons are nothing short of hilarious. Another theory: our European friends adore the way “The Simpsons” mocks America, holding up a funhouse mirror to our politics and pop culture as we laugh and laugh and beg for more. If you’ve seen the movie, the scenes in the White House say it all.

I finally saw it last night, and think I’ll be singing “Spider Pig” for weeks to come.

My mom came for a visit. We went to see the Annie Leibovitz exhibit at the San Diego Museum of Art.

We also saw the movie Notes on a Scandal. Dench and Blanchett are sublime.

Also, hiked at Torrey Pines State Reserve. And went to The Getty Museum in LA.

Shopped at the Hillcrest Farmers Market (San Diego I Feel Good About).

Me and The Betrothed went to see the French Kicks at The Casbah. Wore my new t-shirt from Mighty Girl, which was a big hit.

Oh, and I went to Chicago and ate here, worked here, and saw much missed old friends.

I’m reading What is the What.

Went to see Blowup at MoPA. After, had my favorite roasted duck and white bean soup at The Tractor Room.

P.S. I’m on the teevee tomorrow night. Tune in at 8:20(ish)!

Love that Melissa Ethridge just won an Oscar. Love that she kissed her wife in front of the camera before going on stage. Love that she thanked her wife in her acceptance speech.

Just read this and am so excited! Michael Moore is returning to the screen, this time with a look at our fantastic health care industry here in America.

On a related health note, several people have written to inquire about how my new medication is working, so I think it’s time for a report:

First things first - I’ve gotten used to stabbing myself in the thigh with a needle! The first few times I did it were a little traumatizing. I’d pump myself up to put the needle in, do it fairly easily, and then think “holy shit, I just stuck a needle in my thigh” and start freaking out. Then my hand would begin shaking which made it difficult to inject the medication. Now, a few weeks later, I’m much less dramatic about it. Also, I have an Enbrel buddy system! My sister, who now lives with us, is on the same medication. Last week, we sat down together and ate popsicles while we administered our weekly dosage. The Betrothed says, “It’s like goddamn Trainspotting around here.”

So is it working? Well, it’s definitely doing something. After what I put my body through on the Ireland trip (15 hours on planes, not enough sleep, all day on my feet - stomping around on 500 year old stone floors), I really should have felt like crap. But, I didn’t. Instead, I maintained my standard level of feeling mildly uncomfortable.

Since then, I’ve gradually started to improve. Swelling has diminished to the point where I can frequently see the outline of the bone structure in my hands (this is big!), and my ankles are visible as such. I’m noticably less tired, and feeling less stiffness joint pain. It’s helping, but I still have a ways to go before I feel more like my pre-RA self. Of course, part of what I need to continue to work on is accepting that I will never feel exactly like my pre-RA self…

My rheumatologist said it could take anywhere from one to eight weeks for this to really kick in - and I’ve heard stories of it taking even longer. So I’m trying to focus on the positive changes so far, and be patient. In the meantime, my sister has me on an incredibly healthy meal plan, a course of supplements so extensive it required a chart, and an exercise regime that is nothing short of cruel. I have no doubt her (attentive, loving) bossiness is having a positive impact, as well.

So basically I’ve spent the last year feeling like I was trapped in the body of an 80-year-old woman. And now I’m feeling more like a 55-year-old woman. And as soon as I get back to 35 you will DEFINITELY hear about it.

An Inconvenient Truth ends with a call to action. The producers ask the audience members to “tell everyone you know about this film.” So, assuming I know most of you reading this, and happy to reach those that I don’t, here’s me enthusiastically doing my part.

We went to see the movie last night, and left impressed, horrified, and galvanized. I suppose our reaction was predictible, but that doesn’t make it any less meaningful. Even if you feel you don’t need any more convincing that global warming is terrifying and real - go see it. Even if you think this film has nothing new to teach you - spend the $10, it’s worth it. And if you’re worried Al Gore will be boring? He’s not. It’s gratifying to finally see the Al we knew was in there all along, but who became so lost when he was running as fast as he could for president and Naomi Wolf was advising him to wear more brown. He doesn’t wear brown once in this movie, and he’s funny and passionate and earnest and real. You’ll want to listen to what he has to say.

The 10 warmest years on record were all within the last 14 years, and 2005 was at the top of the list. The number of Category 4 and 5 hurricanes has almost doubled in the last 30 years. Cores of polar ice show that carbon dioxide is much, much higher than ever before. The film is packed with powerful statistics, and stark photos of melting ice, receding rivers and rising oceans. It’s depressing, for sure…but it won’t leave you without hope. Gore shares his conviction that the solution is in our hands. And he provides some easy ways to start right here.

UPDATE: I just read that yesterday was the hottest June 27 on record in San Diego.