Girl Detective

After I saw the new black-and-white Zot! collection at Big Brain Comics, I went back to my shelf for the out-of-print Zot! Book 1, which collected the first ten issues of Zot! by Scott McCloud. The issues were in color, and published by dear, departed Kitchen Sink. McCloud has gone on from his 80’s series to push the boundaries of comics production, and write books about the history and future of comics: Understanding Comics, Reinventing Comics, and the new Making Comics.

In his introduction, McCloud makes it clear that the first ten issues of Zot! were his training ground. He acknowledges, but doesn’t apologize (much) for the simple story and evolving visual style. Nonetheless, this collection still delights. It came out around the same time as Alan Moore’s Watchmen and Frank Miller’s Dark Knight Returns, and is a refreshing, hopeful, counterbalance to those dystopic visions–a comic sorbet, if you will. Zot is Zachary Paleozogt, a blond teen superhero from an alternate Earth. When he crashes into ours, literally, he meets Jenny Weaver and her brother Butch, and wacky hijinks ensue in the pursuit of a golden key to the door at the end of the universe.

Butch, to Zot: What do you know about being a superhero, anyway? What’re your powers? A Gun?? Boot jets?? Feh! Y’gotta be mnore aggressive, kid! Get mean. Kill a few people! And stop grinning so much!!

Zot: ?

Butch: All the good heroes act like they big problems all the time…

Zot: But, what if I don’t have any big problems?

Butch: That’s OK, neither do they! They just act like they do! C’mon, get serious! Give it a try!

Zot: Uh, all right. [Glares, then bursts into laughter.] I can’t do it!

Butch: Hopeless…

Zot! is a sweet book with substance, great for young adults and jaded older ones, too.

One of the source materials for Shakespeare’s Hamlet was a legend recorded by Saxo in Historiae Danicae, published in 1514. The brother of the king killed Prince Amleth’s father, then married the queen. A friend of the uncle planned to hide in the queen’s chamber so he could overhear a conversation between her and Amleth, like Polonius does in Shakespeare’s play. Amleth “in his mad antics (crowing, flapping his arms, and jumping up and down on the bedding) discovered him and killed him.”

The description of Amleth’s mad antics reminded me at least as much of Tom Cruise’s infamous appearance on Oprah as it did of the version of the scene from Shakespeare’s play.

When we returned to MN from the east coast, 5yo Drake began to snuffle pathetically, and his eye itched and wept. I called my retired-allergist father and asked what had triggered these allergies. He said mid August was weed season, early evening was the worst time of day, and had a few recommendations:

Children’s Benadryl
Opcon A
Nasalcrom
Air conditioning rather than open windows.

He said weeding the yard wouldn’t make much of a difference, since week pollen travels quickly and for long distances. Which is good, because I’m no match for all the weeds in our tiny yard.

5yo Drake and I enjoy different things at the fair. He wants to ride rides, watch rides, and eat cotton candy and caramel apples. I want to watch the chef demonstrations and food panels, visit the Fine Arts and Creative Activities buildings, eat a fish taco, drink minty lemonade and get a mocha frappe. Fortunately, there were a few things we agreed on and shared:

Fresh peach and pluot
Cedar Summit cups milk
Tom Thumb mini donuts
Lingonberry sno cone
Tater Tots on a stick
Wild rice hamburger
Roasted corn on the cob
1919 root beer
Nitro ice-cream cone

Next year I think we’ll go once as a family, and I’ll get a sitter so I can go by myself on MN Cooks Day.

your kid is in the same class as the kid of the guy from the band [you used to worship], commented my friend A.

A friend with no kids has a high pressure, high stakes job. One 12-hour shift, she experienced non-stop need–people needing her care, attention, and help with administrative details.

“It was utterly exhausting,” she said. “And I realized, this is what mothers deal with, EVERY DAY.”

The mothers among us nodded, and smiled tiredly. Yep.

Or merely human? Pre-parenthood, I had no idea how much mess, noise, chaos, poop, and screaming was in store. I thought there would be unpleasantness balanced with joy. But I’ve found the joy to unpleasantness ratio discouragingly low up to now, with kids at 2.5 and 5yo.

Many mothers have told me that the 5 and 7 sibling age period is when things improve. I doubt it is a coincidence that those ages mean that both children are in school.

It has been a long summer. Beautiful weather, and many joys. But also much drudgery and frustration. I think we’ll all be happy to spend time with other people when preschool starts next week.

I took 2 1/2 weeks to read the Arden 2nd Series Hamlet, edited by Harold Jenkins. I read the introduction, play, footnotes and long notes at the end, and the effort was well spent. I’m going to follow the reading with at least one dvd production. It’s in print as a book, but was intended to be experienced in a theater.

Is this the second greatest story ever told?

More on Hamlet as I’m able. So many passages to quote–perhaps you should just read it again, too. I highly recommend it!

We have moved 5yo Drake and 2.5yo Guppy into the same room, with Guppy on the bottom bunk and out of his crib. Bedtimes have been unpleasant in the week or so since it happened. Boys up, running about the house, trying to sneak peeks of the television and movies that G. Grod and I watch at night. And from us, there are escalating threats about horrors like closing the top-of-stair gate, turning off the hall light, and closing the bedroom door.

But the boys are waking later in the morning. I get quiet time to myself. But no trifecta yet; Guppy is waking at least once a night after the transition, and I’m wondering if I need to break out the Ferber and Mindell books again.

2:20 am.

THUMP. “Waaah!”

Me, up, out of bed, and saying, “G, wake up, I need you” as I rush into Drake and Guppy’s room, home to the new bunk bed. (I wish there was a video of this to submit to the Mom Olympic committee: how many seconds from sleep to rescue of a hurt child.)

2.5yo Guppy had fallen out of bed. He was upset, but unhurt–cried for a while, asked for some water and settled down. G, still groggy, wondered why I’d woken (awakened?) him.

And, to show that, in so many ways, kids are so alike, here is the story of when Drake had trouble with his crib.

I’m going to Minnesota Cooks day at the State Fair today. You?

During my recent visit with family, my husband G. Grod disassembled 2.5 yo Guppy’s crib, and put up bunk beds in 5yo Drake’s room. Guppy finally has all his teeth, and he slept well in a bed, and in the same room as Drake, when we were away. The transition home has been less than smooth. Guppy can climb up to Drake’s bunk, but not down. Drake excels at winding Guppy up, and the four of us have been up and down our three floors about an hour after “bedtime” every night trying to get them to settle. Loud thumps from jumping shake the house.

I hope the novelty wears off soon.

Ugh. Saccharine, smarmy, and boring to boot. Neither funny, nor charming. I gave up about halfway through. Instead, I read more of Hamlet.

Our little family of four went to the MN State Fair this morning, foregoing the double-wide stroller so we could park n ride. I found that the closest park n ride to us, Highcrest Park, isn’t ideal. The buses aren’t frequent to and from even though they’re listed as running every 15, they run less often. We’ve done better at the surface lots at the U of MN. They’re a bit farther to drive, but a much shorter bus ride, with much more frequent buses.

It’s very hard to keep the boys moving; they’re prone to stop and stare. While some might romanticize this–oh, look, they’re stopping to smell the “roses” of the fair!–it can be quite frustrating for G. Grod and me, who aren’t mesmerized by dirty water trickling into a drain, bumper cars, and watching the sky ride cars go ’round. These are ironic, too, in that 5yo Drake refused to visit supposedly kid-friendly things like the baby animal barn. The boys’ initially slow pace wound down as the morning wore on, but they LOVED the river raft ride, kidway rides and sky ride. We ate pork chop on a stick–LOVE!–french fries and a strawberry malt for breakfast. For lunch, a pronto pup, fried cheese curds, lefse with butter and brown sugar, jerk sausage on a stick, birch beer and a pickle pop, the latter of which was, not surprisingly, a mistake. And I was careless with my sunscreen–my nose is red.

I still haven’t been to fine arts building, or the little farm hands with Drake, and there are still some favorite foods I haven’t gotten too, like the mocha on a stick, corn, lingonberry ice cream, Sweet Martha’s cookies, and mini donuts. Plus the Nitro ice cream and handmade tater tots sound good.

Oh, so much food and so much to see. So not-enough money and time.

I returned to the fair last night for Sharon Jones and the Dap-Kings, who played live at the free bandshell. It was a great show with fabulous music and huge energy. They played again tonight, so I hope a lot of people got to see it tonight, too.

And I got corn fritters with honey butter and a root beer, to accompany the show.

What? It’s not Christmas? Well, maybe that’s the most wonderful time for you, but for me, it’s the Minnesota State Fair.

It’s opening day, and I’m going with the boys and our babysitter. I’m going to have to clean up my food plan from past years and be more conscious when I’m with the kids. (This year’s food map, here.)

Idea: 1. Big, strong food, e.g., wild rice dog or Sausage Sisters, 2. Snack food, e.g., cheese curds or french fries, 3. Treat, e.g., mini donuts or Sweet Martha cookies.

Why, yes, I _do_ have a talent for rationalization. I think it’s all those years studying and working in marketing.

Added later, post trip: I was brave and didn’t take the stroller for 5yo Drake and 2.5yo Guppy. We used the park-n-ride on 6th Street at the U of M. But as the boys got tired they got slower and fussier, so the trip to the parking lot felt endless. We ate a Twisted Sister from Sausage Sisters, a pickle on a Stick, Mouth Trap cheese curds, drank a green apple soda, had cider freezies and a lemonade for the road.

Sharon Jones and the Dap Kings are playing, for free!, at the bandshell tonight, so I may go back if G. Grod is up for putting the kids to bed. I think the fair trip will have sufficiently tired them out.

From Food Alliance Midwest:

A Farm to Table Tour
6th Annual Minnesota Cooks Event at State Fair

SAINT PAUL, Minn.– Food Alliance Certified growers, extraordinary Minnesota chefs, and hungry fair-goers will all come together on Tuesday, August 26th at the 6th annual Minnesota Cooks program at the State Fair. Minnesota Cooks is a unique event that celebrates the fabulous foods produced right here in Minnesota and educates consumers about the importance of supporting locally grown food and sustainable agriculture through discussions and demonstrations with area chefs, farmers, and celebrities. The program will begin at 8:30 AM with a special, first-time breakfast show and will continue with a show at the top of each hour from 10:00 AM until 5:00 PM on the Minnesota Cooks Stage in Carousel Park, just west of the Grandstand Ramp.

The Minnesota Cooks event features 16 of Minnesota’s premier chefs who will present 45-minute demonstrations using ingredients supplied by sustainable Minnesota farms. During their presentations, chefs will interact with charismatic emcee Scott Pampuch, chef and owner of Corner Table Restaurant in Minneapolis, about their award-winning recipes and will engage in rich discussions about the sustainable philosophies they hold for their restaurants. During the last 10 minutes of each 45-minute demo, local celebrities as well as audience members will have the opportunity to sample the delicious dishes created. Between each show, Light of the Moon, an eclectic, bubbly string quartet from Saint Paul, will serenade the audience with their wide variety of songs, serving up blues, gospel, and bluegrass.

“The Great Minnesota Get-Together is the perfect venue for the Minnesota Cooks program because it brings farmers, consumers, and chefs together to showcase the great food we have to choose from right here in our state,” said Doug Peterson, Minnesota Farmers Union President. “With the growing energy costs and concerns, Minnesota Cooks also highlights ways you can use local resources to reduce those costs while also contributing to our local communities.”

Available for complimentary distribution at the event will be the beautiful and informative Minnesota Cooks 16-month calendar, produced by Renewing the Countryside. The calendar is packed with stunning photography and enticing recipes and will weave the meaningful stories characteristic of chef/grower relationships.

Participating chefs, many of who will be available for greetings and calendar signings during the event include:

Judi Barsness, Chez Jude, Grand Marais
Anna Christoforides, Gardens of Salonica, Minneapolis
JD Fratzke, The Strip Club, St. Paul
Jorge Guzman, Tejas Restaurant, Edina
Brian Hauke, Red Stag Supper Club, Minneapolis
Nathalie Johnson, Signature Cafe, Minneapolis
Jeff Klemetsrud, Savories Bistro, Stillwater
Donna Lovett, Marriott City Center, Minneapolis
Mike Phillips, The Craftsman, Minneapolis
Alex Roberts, Restaurant Alma, Minneapolis
JP Samuelson, jP American Bistro, Minneapolis
Nick Schneider, Cafe Brenda, Minneapolis
Tracy Singleton & Marshall Paulsen, Birchwood Cafe, Minneapolis
Carla Blumberg, Chester Creek Cafe, Duluth
Dick Trotter, Trotter’s Cafe, St. Paul
Lucia Watson, Lucia’s Restaurant, Minneapolis

Minnesota Cooks is sponsored in part by AURI and is co-presented by Minnesota Farmers Union, Food Alliance Midwest, and Renewing the Countryside.
For more information about Minnesota Cooks, please visit the website at www.minnesotacooks.org or contact Jill McLaughlin of Food Alliance Midwest at 651-209-3382 or e-mail info@minnesotacooks.org.

Minnesota Farmers Union (www.mfu.org) is a nonprofit membership-based organization
working to protect and enhance the economic interests and quality of life of family farmers and ranchers, as well as rural communities.

Food Alliance Midwest (www.foodalliance.org) is a nonprofit, third-party certification program for environmentally friendly and socially responsible agricultural practices, and is dedicated to promoting the expanded use of sustainable farming systems in the Midwest. Food Alliance Midwest, a joint project of Cooperative Development Services and the Land Stewardship Project, is an affiliate of Food Alliance, based in Portland, OR.

AURI (www.auri.org), created and supported by the Minnesota state legislature, is a unique and innovative nonprofit corporation working to enhance Minnesota’s economy through the development of new uses and new markets for the state’s agricultural products.

Renewing the Countryside (www.renewingthecountryside.org) is a nonprofit organization whose mission is to provide inspiration, ideas, and assistance to individuals and communities looking for sustainable ways to strengthen their rural communities and reduce poverty.

On last Sunday’s episode of Mad Men, “Three Sundays”, Don Draper’s son Bobby asked what Don’s father had liked. Don, surprised by the seeming randomness of the question, paused, then answered, “Ham…and candy that tasted like violets, and came in a “beautiful purple and silver package.”

Interestingly, and I suspect deliberately on the part of the writers, many watchers thought Don said the candy tasted like “violence,” since his dad was physically abusive. (Link at Videogum, plus the clip.) Also interesting, because violet candy in a beautiful wrapper seems so incongruous for a ham-lovin’, child-beatin’ man.

I’d never heard of the mints; I found out they were Choward’s Violet Mints by reading the comments for the episode recap at What’s Alan Watching. Then, less than 48 hours later, I found the violet mints by a cash register in Philadelphia International Airport. On impulse, I bought them. The package is lovely, but the smell, especially to a sensitive schnoz like mine, is too strong. It permeated the rest of the food in the bag. It looks like lavender soap, and the taste is not unpleasant, though it’s floral and not minty. If you like chamomile or Earl Grey tea, you might like the mints. But I’m guessing that most people will feel similarly to Figaroo, who reviewed them at Writers/Artists Snacking at Work.

If you’re flying into or out of Philly, you can find them at Cibo Express in Terminal E.

R & J, an update of Romeo and Juliet set in an all-boys Catholic school, by Philadelphia’s Mauckingbird Theater Company, shows that the more things change, the more they stay the same. Four men, with some boxes, a book and a length of red fabric, bring Shakespeare’s famous love story to life. In the process, they show how universal is the story, which transcends time, sex, stage and location. Evan Jonigkeit is the student who plays Romeo, by turns wistful, hormonal, and brash. Conrad Ricamora, as the student in the role of Juliet, brings new depth and awareness to what could easily be a “damsel in distress” role. All four actors excel in the numerous roles they take on, infusing even the smaller roles with wit and emotion.

This interpretation is directed by Peter Reynolds from an adaptation by Joe Colarco, and at Philadelphia’s Adrienne theater through 24 August 2008. I highly recommend it; I am thinking and relishing the performance days later. I also highly recommend Fuji Mountain for dinner, and Capogiro Gelato, which has a good selection of local, seasonal flavors and ingredients; I chose black fig and pistachio.

More:
Philadelphia Inquirer, Philadelphia Weekly, City Paper, Edge Philadelphia, and PhillyMag.

My friend lxbean is not shy about how she feels about our family living in Minneapolis these past ten years.

“Move back! Please move back to Philly! Come back!”

Her plea might have held more weight if I had not been stuck in a nearly 2-hour traffic jam on the Schuykill “Expressway” for a normally 30-minute drive earlier in the day. And had to pay nearly $20 to park downtown. And walked by one of Philly’s stinky, steaming, summer street vents. And driven across the chemical-fume bridge from the airport and by the giant junkyard and chemical fields that line the run-down section of 76 into the city. Plus, houses comparable to ours sell for about twice as much.

I’ve enjoyed our trip to Philly. I had a lovely jaunt to NYC, saw a great production of Romeo and Juliet, had some great meals, gelato and ice cream. But I like Minneapolis, and miss our friends and our walking lifestyle. I love Philly and the East Coast. But Minnesota suits us in so many ways that I think we’re there for good.