Here are some new tunes for your listening pleasure.

1. The Shapeshifters - Quit Your Job
2. Aesop Rock - Zodiaccupuncture
3. Pete Miser - Scent of a Robot
4. Thomas Fehlmann - Lindt
5. Galactic - Bongo Joe
6. Rondo Brothers - Stereo Pirate
7. Emiliana Torrini - Sunny Road (Manasseh Mix)
8. Harmonic 33 - Bossa Nova Supernova
9. Djinji Brown - Red Lights and Cognac… & Table Talk
10. Blackalicious - Rhymes For The Deaf, Dumb And Blind
11. Circus Vs. Andre Afram Asmar - Sir Romancealot
12. Trabant - Org Org
13. McEnroe - Working In The Factory
14. Sixtoo - A to zero
15. Call Him Mr. Kid - Le Crocodile

I planted this last Wednesday with the children. Marie wanted me to put radishes in because they grow quickly and it will satisfy the children’s want for instant gratification. I think I’m way more excited than they are!

It’s growing already! That wasn’t so hard. Why have I never planted a garden before? I hope the rest of it grows nicely too. This is so much fun!

I can’t believe not one person is selling black plastic ants on eBay right now. I need little black plastic ants.

I’m off to Google…..

This little bug has been with me since lunch. He won’t fly away.

We watched Sin City last night. At first I didn’t like it much at all, now I’ve warmed up to it a bit. It’s a lot to take in. It’s very violent, and obnoxious, and super cheesy. I think perhaps if I knew the story, I would’ve appreciated it more. I would definitely say it’s a movie for the fans.

I was extremely bored in the beginning, the characters were such crap. The whole high rise scene seemed pointless and the “Hartigan”/”Nancy” story was just silly. I’ve never seen Michael Madsen play such a flat character. By the middle of the film though I was really beginning to take an interest. That’s definitely the best segment. The little wolf-boy character played by Elijah Wood was my favorite.

The part with the street girls was just so over the top and gratuitous. I felt like Clive Owen was playing the same character he does in the BMW movies. And I was so happy that “Miho” didn’t talk. That was nice. The only good thing in that segment was Benicio Del Toro. He’s always a treat.

Then it goes back to the “Hartigan”/”Nancy” story again, and even back to the guy from the high rise scene. By this point I was just praying for it to end.

But, honestly, other than all that, the movie was absolutely stunning. It looked perfect, just like a comic. I love, love, love Rodriguez’s style. The stark black & white scenes were beautiful. And the dramatic pause of the end of some scenes cracked me up. You can just imagine the last frame of a strip. To be continued. I bet it would be fun to do a graphic novel to story board comparison. (hint hint, dvd creators!)

Was it Creepshow that started each story as a comic book then zoomed in on one frame to live action?

I think that upon a second viewing I will enjoy the movie more. Going into it with more understanding of the story and expecting the campiness will probably make it a lot more entertaining. Kind of like how Once Upon a Time in Mexico was. (damn, another Rodriguez film) The first time I saw that I was disappointed. But the second time, since I knew what to expect, I thought it was a lot of fun.

Final verdict - If you go in with low expectations, expect 3000 lbs of cheese, and have a high tolerance for blood and violence, you should have a good time. I’ll definitely buy it when it comes out on DVD. The visuals and the “Marv” segment are worth it. :-)

Today at Waldenbooks I got a copy of Mexico - The Beautiful Cookbook (from the awesome Beautiful Cookbook series) on sale for only $10!!!

I can’t wait to go home and look through it.

I found a few interesting facts today while researching travel in Beijing on travelchinaguide.com.

The most important one being:

• Trousers are still necessary for women traveling to China, since many temples are forbidden to those who wear skirts.

  I’ve gotta buy some pants for the trip!

Another really valuable one is:

• ATMs that accept foreign cards are few and far between. Do not rely on them as a way of obtaining cash in Mainland China.

  This is especially relevant considering our recent experience in Barcelona.

And apparently the food of the Guangdong province (where we might also go) is best known for cooking snakes, racoon, dogs, and monkeys. Gross!

We watched Willy Wonka last night. I’m am so excited for the new version!!

I have to watch the trailer at least once a day. It looks soooo creepy!

Johnny Depp.