More Muppets...and wuv, tru wuv*

I laughed so hard today that I cried a little bit. I went to see Muppet History 101, a series of clips of Jim Henson's early work, one of which was the first appearance of those pink and orange tubal creatures dancing to the jaunty Java tune. It's ridiculously hilarious (like most Muppet skits really!) and I laughed and laughed til I was wiping away tears. I remembered a later version of the skit from The Muppet Show when I was a kid so it had nostalgia value too.

Here is the modern version.

I love it - especially the way the big Java (as they came to be known) takes it so seriously. But it doesn't tickle my funny bone quite as much as the original black and white version where the big Java dances a little more manically (it's rare footage - not lying about on YouTube).

Muppets and sex v2.0

If you thought I couldn't work Muppets and sex into another post, think again! My favourite Muppet is Grover. He's nerdy, kind and well mannered...similar traits to those I look for in a man now that I think of it. Hmmmmm. Anyway, I have a plush Grover who sits on my bed and the last thing I do when I make my bed is to plop Grover down against the pillows.

Sometimes, to my never-ending amusement, he lands in quite a saucy pose. He reclines against the pillow with his legs parted and his arms out in a gesture of invitation. I imagine he's saying, "Oh, hello there ladeeeeeeeez. Come on. Come and get some furry blue monster loving. I know you want me." (It helps if you read that in Grover's voice in your head).

Here he is....

Love and sex

I don't normally read the letters to the editor in the Sunday newspaper magazines, but today I'm glad I did. This is what a woman from New South Wales wrote -

"Sex is awesome when you're young but real love is so much more than that ("Sex and the Suburbs", August 17). My partner of 28 years and I were washing up at the end of a long day. Nat King Cole came on the radio, singing "When I fall in love, it will be forever", and we danced closely around the kitchen with our aprons on. My head was on his shoulder. He is in his late 70s and we don't know how much longer we will have together but we prize every minute and go to sleep holding hands. Real love is a beautiful and tenuous thing - and unexpected. Hold onto it with both hands wherever and from whomever it comes."

We hear so much about marriage breakdown these days and not enough real-life love stories like this one, I think.

My fave word family welcomes two new additions

Puppet. It's just a funny, cutesy word. I heard it a lot today during Muppet History 101.

Cumulonimbus (the fluffy cloud - see comments on Hatches, cool clouds and spaving). I love the way it rolls off the tongue. Sadly, it's not a word you can slip into everyday conversation (unless you're a meteorologist, I guess).

* I'm quoting from The Princess Bride there just in case you thought it was sickening schnookum-wookums talk.

What are your fond memories of The Muppet Show? Who's your favourite Muppet and why? Am I the only 30-something with a stuffed toy on her bed? Got any tru wuv stories to share (yours or others')?

The joy of specs...and sun kisses

I'm not sure this qualifies as a 'simple pleasure' since it involved spending a few hundred dollars, but it's given me a boost, so what the hell! I got some new glasses today (spectacles, not drinking receptacles). It's like having a micro-makeover.

After more than five years of wearing the same fairly conservative burgundy metallic framed glasses, I decided it was time for something new. The old ones haven't dated and I still like them, but at the start of the year I had my long, wavy hair chopped into a short, spiky crop and I thought it was time I had some funkier specs to go with my new 'do.

And now I have two new pairs! They were two for $250, so I thought, why not? (That's more than $100 less than I paid for my last pair of lenses alone...but I guess it's still spaving!). Now I'll get to choose which pair to wear every day. I've got a spectacle wardrobe! I can colour co-ordinate with my outfit. They're accessories now, not just a necessity. (I'm tragically colour co-ordinated - sometimes I even match my underwear to my outerwear).

I should take a photo of me wearing them but I'm feeling lazy so I'll just tell you what they're like for now. They're both metallic and rectangular, one with a simple black frame and red plastic arms. The other is rimless along the top, with a gunmetal grey and blue frame and arms.

***

Clouds might make the world more photogenic, but you can't beat being out and about on a glorious spring day like today. I think it's the first day since the end of summer that the sun has kissed my bare forearms. Mmmmm...warm. It's great to leave the heavy winter jacket and gloves at home.

Jasmine is blooming everywhere and its heady perfume permeates the air like no other flower's. It seems like I can smell it wherever I go, even when I can't see it. It smells divine.

***

I got asked for directions today when I was walking home from picking up my new glasses. I like being asked for directions, although I don't think I covered myself with glory today. The couple were not native English speakers. I had a little trouble understanding them and I'm not sure I made myself clear, particularly as I ummed and aahed over the easiest way for them to get to their destination (it wasn't close and they wanted to walk).

I was surprised - but pleased - they approached me because I've got a kinda punk Elvis quiff hair do today and shop assistants had been giving me a wide berth. At least I don't scare tourists. Yay!

What's a smell that you love? Did any simple pleasures give you a boost today?

Hatches, cool clouds and spaving

The cygnets have hatched! Yay! There's three of them, tiny and fluffy. I feel like a proud aunty!

They must have hatched a little while ago because the cygnets are already swimming solo, rather than riding on their parents' backs. I saw them from afar as I was walking to work this morning. First I spotted the two adult swans on the river and I knew this meant the babies had hatched because one swan always sits on the nest to keep the eggs warm. I looked a bit harder and could just make out the tiny grey cygnets against the grey-brown water as they swam with their parents towards the nest on the other side of the river.

They were too far away to take a decent photo unfortunately. I'll try and get one on the weekend. There was a picture of them in the newspaper today though. Apparently Mr and Mrs Swan have been named Oscar and Lucinda by the rowing fraternity from the boat sheds near their nest. How surprisingly literary of them.

***

The clouds were really cool when I left the house this morning. As much as I like sunny, clear blue skies, clouds do make the sky more interesting. The world is far more photogenic with some clouds in it, I think. It looks all dark and moody. OK, nice for artsy fartsy shots anyway; maybe not for your happy holiday snaps.

I took this shot this morning.

And here's some more of my recent artsy fartsy photos with cloudy skies.

Love that reflection of Melbourne Central in the puddle.

***

There's something about dogs playing that never fails to make me smile. Yesterday and this morning I saw a guy from my street out walking his dog. The dog, possibly a Border Collie cross, had a stick that was nearly as long as he was, but rather than playing fetch with his owner, the dog just ran along ahead of him with the big stick sideways in his mouth as if he was saying "No, I won't let you have my stick!'.

***

I've discovered a new word. Well, a new made up, combo word. "Spaving" - that's when you buy something on impulse just because the price is drastically reduced. Spending and saving all at once.

Some people abhor those made-up combo words but I like them. I've even made up a few of my own. Glumpy (glum + grumpy), blurple (not quite blue and not quite purple) and facon (meat-free, fake "bacon" for vegetarians).

Do you like made-up combo words? Got any faves? What's something that never fails to make you smile?

The pleasure of giving...and disco balls

I gave away some of the $50 I found on the street the other day. I dropped $5 in the guitar case of a busker in the mall playing blues on the electric guitar, then I gave $20 to a guy nearby selling The Big Issue and told him to keep the $15 change. He said "Thanks, love" and I felt very pleased with myself. I know without a doubt that spending the $50 on a new top or something for myself would not have produced anywhere near the same feeling of joy.

Practising generosity has got to be among the best ways to make yourself feel good. According to Choosing Happiness by psychologist Stephanie Dowrick, "it is impossible to reach out to other people through your emotions, imagination, concern, interest and actions without also benefitting yourself. Your world grows larger; your problems grow smaller".

Stephanie Dowrick on generosity
It takes you beyond yourself.
It brings out the best in you.
It opens your eyes to the reality of other people's existence.
It lets you make connections in the most unexpected places.
It lends itself to small gestures as well as large.
It subverts greed, fear and insecurity.
It doesn't depend on learning, privilege or status.
It doesn't depend on being religious or 'spiritual'.
It is as vital in our public institutions as it is in our bedrooms.
It is impossible to manufacture, measure, sell or waste.
It springs from a belief in our inborn goodness.
It is an act of faith that our lives matter.
It benefits our minds and bodies as much as it does our spirits.

Oh, I gave The Big Issue magazine to a friend at work since I already have it. And the rest of the $50? I frittered it away on nothing, like I usually do when I have cash in my wallet.

***

I love Melbourne, the city where I live, and one of the things I like the most about it is the cornucopia of culture hidden down its many lanes and alleys. I like that the City of Melbourne actively encourages art to flourish in non-descript little side streets through its Laneway Art Commissions, among other projects.

This is my favourite Laneway Art Commission for 2008.

It's a bulging wall! The red brick wall is the side of a building on McKillop Street and the bulgy bit is the artwork. It's called As it Happens and it expands throughout the day and then shrinks almost flat during the night. I saw it before I knew that it was a piece of art and it was mind-boggling to say the least, especially as the first time I spotted it, it was at full bulge and the second time it was almost flat. What the?! I don't know how they do it, but it's cool.

Today I also walked past the disco balls in Rankins Lane near my work. I love the juxtaposition of glitzy mirrorballs in a lane lined with rubbish bins.

I had worked near this lane for years without noticing the disco balls. It just goes to show that no matter how well you think you know a place, if you look, there's always something new to discover.

Anybody discovered any cool new things recently?

A new favourite word...and baby swans

I have a new favourite word. Snug. It's not like I heard it for the first time today, but for someone reason I've just decided that I love it. It makes me think of being wrapped up in the arms of someone you love and feeling safe and secure, or being tucked up in bed on a cold rainy night. It imparts coziness, warmth and comfort. It's also kinda funny to say.

It joins my little family of current favourite words - glee (obviously), pudding and magnanimous.

***

I headed out on my lunch break today to find people less fortunate than myself to donate the $50 I found on the footpath yesterday so that I wouldn't feel so bad about profiting from someone's loss. I was specifically looking for a young guy who sells his own hand-drawn cards out the front of a department store in the mall, but he wasn't there today. I saw someone selling The Big Issue but I already have the latest magazine. I could have just given him some money, I suppose, but I suspect most Big Issue vendors would prefer to exchange goods for money rather than being treated like a beggar. Maybe the young card seller will be there tomorrow.

I might not have achieved what I set out to do, but it got me out of the office and away from my computer for a change. It was a beautiful spring day to be out and about - not a cloud in the sky.

***

I walked home on the south side of the river tonight to check on Mr and Mrs Swan who are taking it in turns to sit on their nest near the rowing boatsheds. I first noticed they were nesting about two or three weeks ago when I walked past on my way home. I was astounded that they would build their nest in such a vulnerable area - right on the river's edge, just metres from the boatsheds which are a hive of activity in the early morning and late afternoon, and so close to a popular walking and bike path. But so far so good.

I think the swans are the same pair I saw cruising the river during last summer with two cygnets in tow. Those babies must have grown up and left home now. Did you know that swans are among the few creatures that breed for life? They also "court" for two years before they start breeding.



I have this picture on my computer desktop and every time I see it I go, "Awwww! So cute! So fluffy!" I can't wait for the eggs to hatch or to see the cygnets hitching a ride on their parents' backs as they swim in the river - that's what the cygnets do when they're tiny.

Anyone want to share their favourite words with me?

Complaining makes me happy today

I got an unexpected phone call today that gave me quite a buzz. You see, last week I fired off an email brickbat to Macro Wholefoods Market expressing my indignation at its new range of "healthy" food for kids, which includes potato chips, corn chips and "cookies".

I don't have a problem with Macro selling these products, but I do have an issue with spurious advertising claims, particularly about food for kids. I forgot all about the email until this morning at work when my mobile phone bipped at me. It was the founder and CEO of Macro! He had just returned from Beijing to find my crotchety email on his desk. Needless to say, I was quite surprised - but also impressed that he would pick up the phone to call someone who enquired if his company is happy to drop its concern for people's health if there is a buck to be made.

I was less impressed with his defence, but I won't bore you with the details. I will tell you that he invited me to be part of a coterie of customers whose opinions he values. Goodness me! He gave me his mobile phone number and asked me to let him know what I think of the company's first catalogue which should hit my mailbox any day now. All righty!

I felt a bit pleased with myself. It's nice when someone takes notice of you. Just goes to show that sometimes it's worth giving feedback to the companies whose products and services you use. And not only negative comments either. I recently sent a complimentary email to my internet provider and got a free T-shirt and beanie in response. A month's free net access would have been more useful (although an appreciative email in reply would have been enough), but I thought it was a nice gesture all the same.

Apart from that, I had to look pretty hard to find some small pleasures today...and what did I find, but $50 on the footpath near my house! Wheeee! It was a brief source of glee, however, because obviously it belongs to someone else and I know that I'd be bummed if I lost $50. I felt bad, but it's a busy footpath; I wasn't going to walk up and down it in the dark asking anyone if they lost some money, was I? (It's also a very affluent area so maybe it won't be missed so much).

Last time I found $50 on the ground, I bought a pair of black trousers that I never wore and ended up taking to my local op-shop with the tags still attached. And then the shop burnt down.

I think I will give the $50 to a homeless person this time.

Did you get a buzz out of anything today?

Sunshine, Muppets and soft-porn

Mother Nature turned on a textbook sunshiney morning for the first day of spring. I woke up to warm yellow light flooding in my windows. It was still an hour before my alarm was due to go off though and I was very cosy and comfy in bed, so I rolled over and had a little week day "sleep in". Aaaahhh. I love that.

I walked to work under a perfect blue sky and I got nearly all the green lights on the way, too. It pleases me when the little green man appears just as I reach the curb, and I can cross the road without breaking my stride. I don't know why. Maybe it allows me the brief illusion that the world around me is running on my schedule?

You know that silly song Mahna Mahna from The Muppet Show (and numerous ads since)? Mahna mahna do-do-do-do-do and so on? A friend told me yesterday that it was originally from a soft-porn movie. Haw haw! I googled it on my lunch break today, and it's true! A song sung by furry puppets on a family show was first heard in rudie movie!

It was written by Italian composer Piero Umiliani for a 1968 Italian mondo movie about life in Sweden called Svezia, Inferno e Paradiso (Sweden, Heaven and Hell). According to IMDb, the movie "shows contraceptives for teen girls, lesbian nightclubs, wife swapping, porno movies, biker gangs, and Walpurgis Night celebrations. It also examines Sweden's purported drug, drinking and suicide problems." Whoah!

I'd post the clip from Svezia, Inferno e Paradiso if I could figure out how to, so click here if you want to see. Despite the subject matter of the movie, this snippet is pretty tame - a bunch of fully clothed Swedish women gambolling through the snow and sitting be-towelled in the sauna. No boobies.

Hmmm...Muppets and soft porn. Maybe not an auspicious start to this blog.

Anyone else have any little moments of glee to share?