Cirque du Soleil

For years I've been fascinated with Cirque du Soleil, but always at a distance. I've seen it on TV, and rented DVD's. I've even bought a soundtrack of the amazing music.

So, when I saw that my favorite theatre, Sundance Cinema, was featuring a showing, I took the opportunity to go!

DELIRIUM is a multifaceted event of unprecedented proportion featuring Cirque du Soleil music remixed. Driven by an urban tribal beat and awe-inspiring visuals, musicians, singers and dancers transform the arena into joyous frenzy. DELIRIUM is the quest for balance in a world increasingly out of sync with reality. DELIRIUM is an urban tale, a state-of-the-art mix of music, dance, theatre and multimedia. (this was from the press release)

The tickets were $20 each! At first I thought, I can't spend that much money for a MOVIE! But I really wanted to see it, so I began the justifying process. "A ticket to a LIVE event can go from $60 - $150 or more. I live in Wisconsin. I don't think Cirque du Soleil comes here. This is a chance to see a performance up close and personal for a fraction of the cost. In ways it might be better, as the camera will be able to see things I might miss with my eyes." (All this conversation in my head happened in a couple of moments. I was pretty easy to persuade!!)


What a treat! From beginning to end, it was an extravaganza of color and motion and sound. The costumes are so over the top! The music, especially the drumming, made me want to stand up and Dance. The performers were inspiring. It is amazing to see what the human body is capable of: The strength, the flexibility, the endurance, the sheer bravado, was stunning to watch. I was amazed, amused, and totally capitavitated. It was worth every penny!!!

08/08/08

http://www.cropcircleconnector.com/2008/080808/080808.html
This CROP CIRCLE (refer to link for details) appeared on 08/08/08, and is significant to me, even if it's only to remind me of what the number 8 represents.

The number 8 is often referred to as "harvest" since it's the culmination of the numerology scale. (Beyond 8 are mystical numbers, and/or numbers that add up to numbers 1 through 8). It is associated with Balance, Lessons Learned, Wealth, and Graduation. If you look at the number 8, turned on its side, you have the sign of infinity.

So, I believe that 08.08.08 is significant. Since I also believe that we experience what we believe, there IS something special about these numbers, and this day--for ME!

So how did I celebrate? Of course I bought a lottery ticket...good for the next 8 plays!
I did a special Power of 8 meditation, and put in place many anchors to see me through the process I've put into play.
Later in the week, I bought a special beer that was purposely bottled on 08/08/08. It was meant to be saved and drunk on 12/12/12, but that's Way to long for me to hold on to something. So I drank it, in a celebratory kind of way, while calling on my Power of 8 meditation.

Now, we'll see what happens.

It's Raining!

Funny how the weather figures into my life. Rarely do I leave the house without consulting the computer to see what's going to happen during the day. I'm to that point in my life that I can often predict what's coming by the way my body and/or joints feel! The weather is a major conversation factor, especially with strangers (safe topic?!).

So it seems funny to be excited about rain on its way. After all the complaining I did at the beginning of the summer, I thought I was ok with this warm, dry weather. Then I noticed that the grass was browning up, and the flowers were all wilting, and there was a fine coat of dust on everything. We need a good rain shower!
Then the sky got dark, the wind began to blow, and the next thing you know--RAIN!


Rain with lightening and thunder. LOUD thunder! and LOTS of rain.

It rained so hard a couple of times that I didn't want to drive the car, or leave the house for that matter! It didn't last long, but visited us in small, intense storms for a couple of days. Then the grass greened up, the trees and streets and buildings sparkled from the shower they received, the flowers perked up and new blossoms formed. I love how things look after a good rain. It smells nice too!

War on Mosquitoes

It was brought to my attention that the way to win with the "war" with the mosquitoes is to NOT call it a WAR! And it's true, the War on Drugs has been a dud. A War on Poverty brings up odd images?! The War in Iraq has turned into a fiasco.

So, I agree. I am NOT declaring a War on Mosquitoes. I'm calling it an "Ongoing Conflict" with hope for a Peaceful Settlement!

After purchasing chemicals, I can't bring myself to use them. Part of it is laziness, and part is I just don't care for the toxicity they perpetuate. I have some oils and candles, but they don't offer the protection I'm looking for. Someone told me if I eat LOTS of garlic, they may leave me alone. I wonder how much garlic that is?

Meanwhile, I have a new bite on my neck (little vampires), one at the edge of my eyebrow (very attractive) and a big one on my upper thigh (itches like the dickens). The scabs from all the previous scratchings have resulted in me looking like I was put through a blender at High speed.

Snowball, the Dancing Cockatoo

The following SMILE is brought to you by Snowball, the Dancing Cockatoo.

This video has brought me many smiles, grins, and laughs. I can watch this over and over and it still makes me happy when I watch it. Snowballs enthusiasm is contagious! This clip has been around since 2007, and has a huge following.

Snowball is from a Bird Lovers Rescue, and is now world famous. Their blog can be found at http://birdloversonly.blogspot.com

There are other videos on YouTube, here is one of them!


ENJOY!

God Bless the Mosquitos

It has been a tradition of mine to bless the things that I am releasing from my life as I let them go.

GOD BLESS THE MOSQUITOES!

I've had all I can take, and now it's war, baby.  I've tried talking to them, ignoring them, swatting at them...but they haven't got the message.  So now, I'm in my annihilation mode.

Mosquitos go through four distinct stages of development during a lifetime, they undergo a complete metamorphosis; The four stages are egg, pupa, larva, and adult. The full life-cycle of a mosquito takes about a month. After drinking blood, adult females lay a raft of 50 to 400 tiny white eggs in standing water or very slow-moving water.
Within a week, the eggs hatch into larvae (sometimes called "wrigglers") that breathe air through tubes which they poke above the surface of the water. Larvae eat bits of floating organic matter and each other. Larvae molt four times as they grow; after the fourth molt, they are called "pupae".
Pupae (also called "tumblers") also live near the surface of the water, breathing through two horn-like tubes (called siphons) on their back. Pupae don't eat.
An adult mosquito emerges from a pupa when the skin splits after a couple of days. The adult lives for a few weeks.

Madison has a way of monitoring the existing mosquito population. Last year, this system registered about 300 mosquitoes in the counting area. This year that same count resulted in 3,000!!! So YES, the mosquito population is out of control.

They wait on our windows and front door. Then when the door is opened, they fly in and take up residence in the house. They lurk around all day and once we go to sleep at night, they come to feed. I wake up with bites on my arms and legs and FACE! Any part outside the covers is prime meal material, and since it's been hot, much more of me is outside the covers. I have refused to wear repellent to bed, but I may have to revise my position. Currently I'm nursing a series of bites on my forehead right between my eyes. They itch, I scratch, they scab and I look like a trauma victim.

Walking outside to get in the car brings up a cloud of mosquitoes who have been resting in the grass. They enter the car, and the drive is peppered with wild swipe and swatting motions, often resulting in the car nearly driving into other lanes of traffic.

So far I've been unwilling to use insecticides or deet repellents. I don't like chemicals. But these fricking, sucking mosquitoes have driven my past my Natural Remedy solutions. Today I'm going to the store and buying stuff to treat the grass, the car, the house and my body. THE WAR IS ON!!!

Movies on the Big Screen

Today I totally indulged myself with a favorite activity. I went to the movies, a Double Feature! (Not a scheduled Double Feature. I had to buy two tickets and plan the time so there was no big wait involved. I have to say, I'm a GREAT planner!)
First I saw Mamma Mia
Let me say that I go to the movies to be entertained. If I forget myself during the process, it is pretty much a success in my book. I'm willing to overlook many things and suspend my disbelief to be entertained. I go to the movies to Escape, and if I leave feeling happy I usually say I enjoyed the film.

That said, this movie was borderline at times. I was amused, and pretty amazed at the way the Abba songs were inserted into the plot. But hey, it was a musical so there are certain allowances to be made. I was also amazed at the people doing the singing. Meryl Streep has a good voice. Pierce Brosnan wasn't great, but he was ok and occasionally good.
The parts of the movie that made me smile and occasionally laugh out loud were the big production numbers with many people dancing and singing together. I adore synchronization! I would LOVE to be somewhere when people started dancing and singing spontaneously.

I left that theatre smiling. It was only five minutes until the next film started, so I made a beeline for the ladies room and got to my seat with moments to spare.

Next I saw Sex and the City
It was so nice to revisit the girls in New York and catch up with their lives. I was thoroughly entertained. I laughed, I cried, and I was defiantly smiling when I left the theatre.

As I got in the car to drive home, I said to myself "I could do this EVERY day" and I meant every word!