I'm thinking that the Muppet comeback and my almost being done with a fine arts degree in writing might not be just a coincidence.




Actually, it probably is, but a girl could always dream.

Okay. It's probably not a big secret that I love pop music. It's not the only thing I listen to, but if my CD player told you how many times I've listened to "Hips Don't Lie," you might be slightly appalled.

So, now here is a blog feature in which I make a list of things I wish to tell the pop community.

1) I love Lady Gaga as much as the next person, but I'm really tired of her telling me what I can't do in her songs. First, she claims I can't read her poker face, then she tells me not to call her telephone, and now she's telling me (or Alejandro, but really, what's the difference) not to call her name. What can I do, Lady Gaga? Let's focus on the positive, and quit telling me what to do. ("Paparazzi," however, is wonderful...as it goes, garage glamorous, even if it is about stalking.)

2) Miley Cyrus, why are you growing up? Don't you realize you have the tween market at your fingertips? That your main competition is Justin Beiber, and his dad isn't Billy Ray AND he didn't have his own Disney show.  MILEY, SELL OUT. Be Disney's star. You'll make so much money in a few years you can join a nudist colony if you wished! Plus, I read somewhere you can't even name a Jay-Z song, when everyone knows "99 Problems" is one of the world's best song.

3) JUSTIN TIMBERLAKE PRETTY PLEASE WITH CHERRIES ON TOP MAKE ANOTHER ALBUM!

I'll leave it at that for now.

Do not worry, city of Wilmington. Your children now know how to call the hogs. And University of Arkansas, thanks to Tim's hog head and my hog nose, you will receive an influx of North Carolina residents entering around 2020. Coach K can't work forever.

Now, I'm not an overly aggressive driver, but I'm not above giving a person the stink-eye if he didn't use his blinker, or takes up every lane because she suddenly needs in the turn lane.(Likewise, I often feel I deserve the stinkeye for my own driving mistakes. It's all fair.) Or, like today, to the lady who cut me off in the Harris Teeter parking lot by zooming into the parking space I was clearly headed towards, and was closer to. This wasn't a huge deal - there was a spot open just one over, but I did lock eye contact just as I narrowed my eyes, to communicate I noticed the injustice.

She gave me a good look down as well. So much, in fact, I was a little afraid to get out of my car. I didn't regret the stinkeye, but it wasn't worth having a confrontation over. And yet, there it was, waiting for me to get out of my car to speak to me!

I avoided eye contact as much as possible, but she tracked me down.

"Hey, what's your name?"

I briefly wondered if I should tell a lie. But I didn't.

"Oh," she said. "Man, you look just like a girl I used to know, but her name was Cathy. Sorry, that's why I was staring at you."

Whew.

But maybe the sad part of this story is that my stinkeye is completely ineffective. Did she not notice at all?

Tim and I have taken the plunge ,and now the joke of choice is how we're gonna get ripped. Because nothing says ripped like Tim and Allison.

Surprise! Bon Jovi came and played a free concert at Wilmington.

Just kidding! It was just a Bon Jovi tribute band. But, they had the bad football guy (Puck?) from Glee!Just kidding! Who knows who that guy is. (Sorry the picture is dark. I didn't notice the similarities until after they had taken off their sunglasses. You might just have to trust me on their resemblance.)

My last post about photographing hummingbirds was not very successful, but I couldn't pass up the opportunity to show you my new friends who apparently didn't get the memo about hummingbird feeders.
This purple finch pair (a male and female, but the female was the only one who came around in the 10 minute span I was taking pictures) have quite enjoyed my fake nectar. Only, now no hummingbirds come around.

Ahem.

UPDATE: Minutes after posting this, a different breed of finch landed on the feeder. What's the deal? And is it racist to just really want hummingbirds?

In my quest to become Flannery O'Connor, I feel I have to find out this bird information.