A Concert

Do you ever have that fantasy where you get to see one of your favorite bands in a small, intimate venue with your best friend and the music played proves to be even better than the CD you've listened to over and over and over? Well, I finally got to live it last Saturday when Eric and I saw the Fleet Foxes at a small community center in our neighborhood.

Who are these Fleet Foxes, you might ask? Well, they describe themselves as playing "baroque harmonic pop jams" which I happen to think is pretty cool. And watching the lead singer, Robin Pecknold, felt like watching a legend in the making. At times he reminded me of one of my all time favorite artists, Jeff Buckley, which is definitely a good thing. Besides being deathly hot in the small, cramped auditorium, it was just about perfect. And for those of you who are still wondering what a baroque harmonic pop jam sounds like, check out the video below.

That's Esquire to You

Eric found out that he passed the bar exam today and I couldn't be prouder. ¡Felicitaciones Eric!

Rarely is the question asked, is our children learning?

I was talking to Eric the other day about how infuriating it is to me to hear Sarah Palin speak, and that it would be fascinating to try and diagram a sentence of hers, because I believe that many of them do not in fact meet the definition of sentence (See 4a).

Curiously enough, Eric stumbled upon a woman who attempted to do just that, much to my delight. For those who grammar junkies, as I am, click here for the whole article. But if you aren't, no need to worry, because you don't need to be a english major to appreciate the wonderousness of this example posted below. Enjoy!

P.S. I'll be watching the debate tonight and let's hope she's taken a crash course in sentence construction. I'll keep you posted.

Not Just For Kids

Eric and I decided to spend some time outside enjoying the crisp fall weather yesterday, and thanks to my sister Stephanie had a free pass to the Minnesota Zoo in honor of National Museum Day sponsored by the Smithsonian. So we ventured off to see the new Minnesota Zoo exhibit "Russia's Grizzly Coast." It's a groundbreaking exhibit that show animals in their natural habitats engaged in normal animal activities. Seems sort of obvious, doesn't it? I don't know about you, but I tend to get a little sad when I visit zoos where the animals look bored and are confined to small spaces devoid of stimulation.

The exhibit featured mischievous and playful otters, trout, squealing wild boars, leopards, tigers, and of course, the grizzlies. The grizzly part is brilliant because they have it set up so the bears actually get to hunt for trout in a pond - the pond runs up against the glass where the spectators are watching. So essentially, you get to see the bears up close trying their damnedest to catch a fish, as well as lounge by the pool and if you're lucky engage in a friendly game of bear-tag. I could have watched them for hours.

The other highlight of the excursion was the snow monkey exhibit. Anyone who knows me, knows that I am more than a little obsessed with monkeys, and these monkeys didn't disappoint. Inevitably, people in their fascinated state drop things into the open monkey pit and it takes the monkeys all of 2 seconds to claim it as their own. When we first passed by the monkeys we spied an adorable baby monkey cradling what appeared to be a small Dalmatian toy. On our way out of the zoo we passed by again and much to our surprise saw one of the monkeys with a cell phone! All of the monkeys were vying for a chance to hold the new pink thing, and although a lot of gnawing on the phone took place it also appeared as though the monkeys were at times using the phone. I imagine the resulting cell phone bill will include some calls to China.

It was a great trip and enlightening to see that when animals are given ample space and a little stimulation, they are marvelous to watch.

Jumping the Mississippi

For Eric's 30th birthday we went to Itasca State Park for the weekend. It was the perfect time of year where the night feels crisp and the days refreshing. It was the perfect way to celebrate my wonderful husband embarking on a new decade. We walked across the Mississippi River at it's very root and wondered at the magnificence of the stars. Besides the invasion by the raccoons, it was a perfect trip. Happy Birthday darling.