Can I Kick It?

YES I CAN!




Watching YO! MTV hits, which is showing clips of old Yo! MTV Raps shows from 1989-1990 (my junior year in high school), which leads to videos from Biz Markie, LL Cool J, A Tribe Called Quest, etc. Which leads me to search old skool videos on YouTube, which leads me to this: Fraggle Rock meets DJ Kool's Let Me Clear My Throat (live).

And YES, I was doing the Ed Lover Dance. Tori, who had been watching all this silliness, just said, "Mom...you're NUTS"!

Autism: The Musical

If you subscribe to HBO, you should really catch this documentary. If you don't subscribe to HBO, you should...at least for the month, just so you can maybe catch it. ;-) I think it's available on HBO On Demand now.

EDITED 4/1/08: I just found that Autism: The Musical is available online! Check it out!

Dear God. I cried through the whole thing. I even laughed through some of it! And I fell in love with Wyatt, a sweetheart of a kid with a bully at school and a penchant for the word "dick" (he's the first little boy in the clip, on the swing). A couple of the kids reminded me of Ash, but it was Loryn I kept thinking about, and the big questions that the film brought home for us: What happens when Dave and I are gone? Will she ever have "real" communication? Will she ever live on her own? Is it enough, just to love her the way she is?

One of the questions I've asked myself ever since she was little, and we knew Autism before we got the official word from the docs: Will she ever say, "I love you, Mommy"?

The answer is yes. Yes. YES! Two nights ago, out of the blue, she told me she loved me.

So, there's that.

Salem

Meet Salem, one of our new kitties. She is pretty adorable, no?

The kids named her. I named her brother (Buster) after this guy:

I wanted to name her Lucille, but no dice.
The kids weren't having it.

From Yahoo! News: Comedians to gather for autism benefit

Cuz there's nothing funnier than Autism!

Story here:

NEW YORK - After being surrounded by the dramatic heavyweight stars of the Oscars, Jon Stewart will play host again, this time amid a bevy of comedians.



Stewart will host the second biannual "Night of Too Many Stars: An Overbooked Benefit for Autism Education" on April 13 at the Beacon Theater in New York. The show will air live on Comedy Central (8 p.m. EST).

The night will feature standup routines, sketches and short films from a gluttony of comic talent, including Will Ferrell, Adam Sandler, Steve Carell, Tina Fey, Conan O'Brien, Stephen Colbert, Sarah Silverman and Amy Poehler.

It's the second such benefit and was organized in part due to Robert Smigel, whose son, Daniel, is autistic. Smigel's most famous character, Triumph the Insult Comic Dog, will also be attendance.

The night will raise money for schools and education programs for autistic children and adults. A portion of the proceeds will also go to the advocacy group Autism Speaks. The first "Night of Too Many Stars," held in October 2006, raised more than $2.6 million.

It was also the first event to air live on Comedy Central. This year's broadcast will also be streamed online the day after. A $1.99 download of the show will be available on iTunes and xBox Live Marketplace, with all proceeds going to charity.

Also appearing will be Matthew Broderick, Jonah Hill, Kevin James, Rosie O'Donnell and Susie Essman.

In all seriousness, I don't know that I can fully support Autism Speaks (or other groups like them). I find that underneath all their "feel-goodery" there is this notion that "these kids are different, and we need to fix them...the sooner, the better!".

However, I do think Autism awareness is awfully important, and I donated what little cash I could afford to the last benefit, in 2006.

And fuck it...I'm all about a good laugh! ;-)

I only hope this guy (MISTER Amy Poehler) will show up again:

Too mopey to write a "real" post.

Warning: This is the official Poor Pitiful Paige entry.

I've got a neck/back problem, and it's 5:45 am.

Hells no, I'm not up this early...are you frickin' kidding?

I haven't really gone to bed...yet. I took a muscle relaxer when I came home from work this afternoon, which knocked me out for 3 hours or so. Around 9:00 this evening I awoke (feeling much like an extra in Dawn of the Dead) and chowed down on some leftover Chinese takeout (which is all-together a separate blog entry in itself).



Alas, some good news (for me, anyway...most of you will be slightly ambivalent at best, sickened at worst): I read that Season 1 of Tim and Eric Awesome Show: Great Job! is being released April 22.

So there's that.

Check out John C. Reilly in this clip. Really. It'll make me feel better, if you do.

TV as school?

One of my good friends and fellow unschoolers posed this query on our local online homeschool group:


I know many of you don't do TV at all or only in a very limited capacity. But for those of you whose families *do* watch: what are your favorites? What should we check out and be able to "call it school"?

Here is my reply, which took a couple of hours to put together. Lots of good stuff here. So much, in fact, that I got a little lost hopping from link to link, reading reviews and articles and planning future tapings on our DVR.


Well, you know us...we learn from every thing! Books, TV, music, internet...they're all equally valuable here. I don't like calling any of it "school" though...*ugh*...what an ugly word that is . That's why I like the NLSV "Educational Freedom" parties. No mention of that vile place whatsoever!

Anyway, here are some rambling thoughts about what kinds of things we've been enjoying lately, specifically from television.

MHD (High Def Music): I just recently blogged about some of the cool shows I've recorded on MHD. Chili Peppers Live in Milan, Storytellers-Green Day, etc. All good stuff.

VH1's Best Week Ever (Oh, come ON...a good dose of pop culture is just as good as Shakespeare anyday)! We don't watch much on VH1 at all, except for this little gem. Oh, and their I Love the 80s (and 70s and 90s)!

On BBC America, we're watching Robin Hood (another good friend suggested this one to me). Also, on BBCA, Whose Line is it Anyway (the original, British version, of course)!

Oh hell...I'll just make a list of some of the stuff I've got saved (or am set to record) on the DVR.

On NBC, we watch The Office, 30 Rock, and My Name is Earl. These are just fun to watch together...no real learning going on, unless you consider the human behavior element in these shows ( if you've ever worked in an office, you'll know that The Office is spot on)! Arrested Development, natch...still the best show ever. I record it for the hell of it...we already own the entire series on DVD. It's just that good of a series.

HOLY CRAP...You can watch all the episodes for free on MSN, right now! GO do it!


OK, on to the impressive, snobby stuff! ;-)

PBS HD: Everyday Edisons

BBCA: ShakespeaREtold: Much Ado about Nothing

Caligula: Reign of Terror (not sure which channel this was on, probably History)

The Planet Earth series on Discovery HD

On HCI (History International):

Investigating History: The Holy Grail
Adventure of English (history of the English language)
Strange Egypt
Naked Archaeologist (Jesus: The Early Years and John the Baptist)
Infamous Murders (Murder by Decree and Intent on Murder)
What the Victorians Did for Us
The Worst Jobs in History (Shepherd boy, nettle farmer, sin eater...good stuff)!


On Discovery Health I'm recording Reality Matters: Teen Sexuality and Healthy Decadence with Devin Alexander: Chocoholics Unite!

On Biography: Ancient Mysteries with Leonard Nimoy and The Unexplained: Cannibals

On ALTVN (I admit, I have NO idea what ALTVN stands for...if you know, give me a holler. I'm stumped). Anyway, two shows that looked promising were: Til Debt Do Us Part and Fixing Dinner.

((Hmmm...both of these showed up as Canadian TV shows...the plot thickens.))

On HIST (History Channel, duh), I'm recording Spider Man Tech and The Amazing Story of Superman for my geeky fan-boy. OK...for me, too. Comic lovers unite!

Other, random shows we usually record: Law and Order SVU, Legends of the Hidden Temple , on Nick GAS, The Magic Schoolbus, on TLC, Penn and Teller: Bullshit!, on Showtime, Weeds (also on Showtime), and Heroes (NBC- Just started watching this one). OH, Gray's Anatomy (Yes, I'm a chicky-poo).

Of course, I'm recording American Idol, but I root for the worst singers. I'm that girl.

Happy TVing!

Jon Stewart on The Blame Game (VT Tragedy)

Lolo (again) and Late-Night BSing

The "BSing" above refers, of course, to Penn and Teller's Bullshit, on Showtime. We love this show.

This week was about the BS of Exorcisms. Boy, people can be dumb. I thought that the guys would make mention of the 8 year old Autistic boy who suffocated during a church's "exorcism" back in 2003, but the show was more about the general Bullshit crazy "ministers" and what a joke it all is.

I don't know...it's a great show, and all of us watch it. But Lolo especially enjoys it!

I'm so excited!

My first video uploaded to YouTube!

This is a clip my friend Dan shot of Loryn, dancing to the Bullshit theme song. Lolo loves this show (more for the theme song than any other reason, though this particular episode was about breast hysteria!). Anyway, she just started dancing to the theme song, so I played it again and Dan got out the camera.

That's me dancing on the couch. I was in PJs, hence the bouncing tits. :-)

Taste the happy.

You Are Gonzo the Great

"Is something burning in here? Oh, it's just me." You're a total nutball who will do anything for attention. The first to take a dare, you'll pull almost any stunt. You're one weird looking creature, but your chickens don't mind!

The Muppet Personality Test

Of course...Gonzo! He likes chickens, too! Coo Coo Ka CHA!

Coo Coo Ka Cha!

What can I say? I'm sick, and mopey...and this show really cheers me up when I'm down. Come on!