i hear music when i look at you

What could be better than Sinatra singing "The Song Is You" with the Billy May Orchestra?

Ella Fitzgerald singing "All the Things You Are," perhaps?

Or what about Peggy Lee's version of "Bali H'ai"?

My goosebumps have goosebumps, courtesy of Michael Bourne on WBGO.

june is bustin' out

Just heard a fabulous big band version of the classic from Carousel by Frank West (thank you, WBGO). I can't believe this month, the most brilliant of the year, is almost over. It's been a rough one--work, family, "personal issues," etc.

Two of my dearest relatives have been in the hospital with conditions related to kidney stones (they're doing OK, but it's tough). The kids have ended the school year with a few minor but uncomfortable ailments--Stella has some sort of virus (Coxsackie or Fifth Disease) that has put her under the weather for a few days--the rash appeared today. And Bobby bruised his eye and cheek area in a playground incident ("Daniel pushed me into Adrian") and had to get an xray yesterday that, thankfully, ruled out a broken cheekbone.

I finally gave in and, after vacuuming with our limping Hoover, turned on the AC. Ahhhh. Tonight the kids are with their dad, and after I finish a bit of the mountain of online grading, it's vegan dining with a Very Cool Poet Girlfriend and drinks afterwards, perhaps with others joining us.

temperat-ure

Summer is here, the weather changing--I never know whether to turn on the AC or not. Today I had it on, went out for a run around 2:30, felt a stiff breeze off the East River, came back, turned it off, opened the windows.

Then the temp started to rise so that by 8 p.m. it had risen to the mid-80s. Sticky again. But I'm sticking with fans only for now.

Wherever you go in the temperate zones you'll hear, "We have a saying around here: 'If you don't like the weather, wait. It'll change.'"

Don't you just love quotes embedded in quotes?

Sigh. My arm hurts, folks. I think I need to change my typing positions--I guess semireclined position is not conducive to healthy ergonomics.

Forgive me my nonblogginess. Life is just so unreadable right now it's hard to write about it. I hope you understand.

Oh, and does anyone happen to have extra reservations to see Sonic Youth at Battery Park on the 4th?

my new favorite blog: kids say the darnedest...

Breaking my nearly month-long silence to give a shout-out to Evan Said It, blogmeistered by Eric McHenry, a very tall, very fine, very funny poet I know from the West Chester Poetry Conference (and my friend Jessica). Eric reports, apparently verbatim, the cool/cute/hilarious/scary-smart things his kids Evan and Sage say.

My favorite post so far is this one. Visit and be amused, be very amused.