herbiehancock

"Please touch gently, with one or two fingers only.  And remember, any animal that has a mouth can bite, so don't touch them by their heads."   This is what the animal expert from the zoo told the children at one of our branch libraries this week.  She needn't have worried about me touching them the wrong way, because I had no intention or desire to touch the creatures she brought with her. A representative from an area children's zoo came to one of our branch libraries this week to present a program on the classification of animals.   She brought along some creatures for the kids to see and pet if they so desired.  It was my job to take pictures of the event.   I'd much rather be holding a camera than an African Millipede, thank you very much. I'm not particularly fond of having a Red Rat Snake wrapped around my arm either.   (I noticed she had a bandage on her thumb.  I couldn't help but wonder if that was the result of an animal bite.)   W...

Holy shitballs! Yes, I've been lazy again. What can you do? This one was too good to pass up Put the words "Grant Morrison," "his," and "psychadelic indie western" together and you create a little tingly feeling in my privates. I've been a long time fan of Morrison's comic work and to see that his unique storytelling is coming to the big screen is extra exciting. Check out the info on comicsalliance.com: Grant Morrison on His Psychedelic Western Indie Movie, Sinatoro The poster is pretty sweet as well

If you're like me, you learned this song from watching Bugs Bunny make a fruit salad on Elmer Fudd's head.  This is one of the songs the City Orchestra played at this week's concert.  My son is playing the upright bass as you probably already know.  This is the Barber of Seville. Also, my blogging friend, Becky, is having a giveaway over at her blog , and she wanted me to invite you all over there to enter.  You never know, you might be the big winner!  She's giving away an awesome prize which includes a long list of really great items.  Why not click on the link for  her blog  to get all the details and get yourself entered?  Have a great weekend everyone!

(reminder)

-The lowdown: Jane (Samantha Mathis) is a drug addicted stripper (and hooker, because they're one in the same, evidentally). After ODing, she finds out she is HIV positive. While leaving the hospital, she is followed by Tony (Long-Haired Teenage Joseph Gordon-Levitt), an orphan (or something) who (quasi-spoiler alert) has AIDS. From his dad. Ouch. -Anyway, they bond and shit, she goes cold turkey and he starts coughing up blood, and she goes to the set of some artsy porno (in a motel, duh), where the film-school director wants her to channel Catherine Deneuve in Repulsion . -She runs off before anything goes down, and during the subsequent withdrawel scene, the camera goes into the shadowy, claustrophobic angles of the same film. That's not to say this is some brilliantly choreographed cinematography, but it was an interesting parallel. -Right. Otherwise, the camera work is shit, very TV-movie, and the movie itself is reactionary, hysterically grabbing you by the should...

-Yes, well...not nearly as scary as it was hyped to be. I mean, certainly Clint Eastwood is fine, if laughably unnatural-looking in suede pants and fucking sidebars, but I didn't find Jessica Walter creepy so much as annoying and, yes, occasionally batshit insane. As per the seventies, lots of shots showing off their location budget, lots of long, lumbering walks in down the street, weird sex where the girl is practically tearing the skin off of the guy's back. -I hate the song 'Misty'. I despise it. -If Clint Eastwood were a radio jockey, it would be for hardcore country music. Wanna know what that is? No you don't.

I wrote about the City Orchestra that has recently formed in my little town a few days ago and showed pictures of their performance in the atrium at the hospital.   They had their second performance last night.  It was originally scheduled to be held on the courthouse square in the gazebo there, but thunderstorms had been rolling through our area most of the afternoon, so the concert was moved to the ice rink instead so that it would be under cover in case more rain came through.   The City Orchestra was to perform first and then the City Band.   This picture was taken before the concert began.  Some of the musicians are still arriving and those in the audience are trickling in with their lawn chairs to set up in the rink to listen to the performance. They are starting to warm up in this picture.  That's my son with his bass standing there in the center of the picture. They are still getting set up here.  This gives you a better view of the number of ...

See, while I love my grandparents, I hate the state of Florida. This puts me in a conundrum, as they live in Florida. Fucking South Florida, where old people are abandoned by their families to a live of sunscreen, shallow pools, and pottery classes. Truly a hell on earth. But hey! It's just a few hours away from Miami! You know what that means! TONY MONTANA, FUCK YEAH! Oh. Right. Goddamn Florida.

well, this is my last post until next week after the move. we load up the truck tomorrow morning and drive down to l.a. saturday, finally moving in sunday. phew! there's still so much to do, but i know it will all get done. it feels so weird to be leaving san francisco. so much has happened here - great friendships, a blossoming relationship with my fiance, a career change, crazy parties, adventurous street festivals, mind-blowing concerts, and a multitude of other memories. i'll miss you san francisco! you will always and forever be my home. {photo from here } next time you see me i'll be blogging from los angeles! i hope you all have a great weekend and we would love all your positive moving thoughts!

The eponymous Billy asks, nay, demands your attention to these questions, the first ever for horror bloggers (I think). See, I'm not a horror blogger, but goddammit, neither are half the people who did it anyway. So. 1: In Ten Words or Less, Describe Your Blog: -Это blog, о фильмах, и музыке, и mustaches иногда. 2: During What Cinematic Era Where you Born? A: The Classic Horror Era (late 30's to 40's) B: The Atomic Monster/Nuclear Angst Era (the late 40's through 50's) C: The Psycho Era ( Early 60's) D: The Rosemary's Baby Era (Mid to Late 60's) E: The Exorcism Era (Early to mid 70's) F: The Halloween Era (Late 70's to Early 80's) G: Th...

That's right, ladies. The seductive allure of Blogathon has dragged me in yet again. This time, it is courtesy of The Kid , who asks us: why do we hate remakes so much? Or something like that. Well, seeing as how I'm much too lazy to go looking around for pictures, we're freestyling it. Yo. Okay, here's why I hate remakes: a lot of the time, they show a blatant disrespect and/or disregard for their originals. Especially remakes of Asian horror films, a trend that might've been put to rest with The Uninvited , or maybe even The Unborn (though it isn't a remake, the generic title, blue tinting, and themes or oddly-jointed demons coming for re-venge could easily be mistaken for such). You see, they're all too glad to attach the original's good name in press releases, but when it comes time for execution, well, what they do can land anywhere between ineptness, scorn, and all-out hatred. This is, of course, not true for all cases. Many non-horror film...

-Now, gentlemen, I know, deep down, way down to the pit of your balls, you can be mature adults. We don';t all run on pure geek/12-year-old fuel, y'know. We can all tell when a movie is rather ubpar, despite its good intentions. It features the dubious acting of Rose McGowan! I mean, I know you, as men of a certain age, won't see a movie based solely on images like: (This, by the way, is her Sexy Face. In case you couldn't tell) Because we're better than that, guys. We're movie bloggers! We're probably the only mass group of individuals who all live up to their moniker of 'pretentious douchebags'! We got class , dammit it! Surely, sisters, we can rise above the juvenile free-for-all that is Planet Terror ! And yet, that is a machine gun leg. To clarify: a leg, made entirely out of machine gun. HOLY SHIT, I WANT ONE! WHERE DO I GET ME A MACHINE GUN LEG?! DON'T HOLD OUT ON ME, RODRIGUEZ! This is the greatest movie ever. Seriously, I judge movies b...

The cast of Gossip Girl has been filming some scenes for the tv show's 4th season in Upper West Side and they were spotted with their signature looks. Blair Waldorf in a belted shirtdress paired, Miu Miu platform heels and Celine handbag. Vanessa Abrams wore a clashing pair of tap shorts and printed blouse. Serena in a berry-colored maxidress and Chanel shoulder bag. New cast, Juliet Sharp, sported a business look with matching neutrals. Vanessa in clogs and fringed messenger bag.

that's right folks! that super secret surprise that i didn't want to mention last friday was my tattoo appointment. i wasn't sure if the design was going to be finished in time for my appointment so i didn't want to say anything, but everything worked out perfectly and i got it! my new friend is a little tree swallow taking flight. it represents everything that happened to me over the past 5 years living in san francisco, all the ways that i've grown, and my free spirit. i went to clio sady at the diving swallow tattoo in oakland. i had seen some of her designs online and then i met a barista at ritual coffee with awesome tattoos clio had done, so it was settled. clio is awesome! a great artist, super easy to work with around designs, and very gentle in the chair. it actually didn't hurt at all! i know that it depends greatly on where you get a tattoo on your body, but i only felt a slight scratching as she was doing it. peice of cake! i love my little bi...

Fuck. Yeah.

-I was gonna write about Mutual Appreciation , mumblecore, blah, but I lost the DVD before I could watch it. And, y'know, it was from the library, so I'm kind of fucked if I can't find it in a week. So I'm pulling out the good ol' mental stock. -Words would do the magnificence of the Dude a great injustice. -And yet, is it wrong that my favorite performance was Julianne Moore's? I mean, the voice. -Oh, Donny. -Walter is also pretty badass. -What's worse, children? Germans or nihilists?

On July 27, 1985, I wore this dress, and this fellow watched me walk down the aisle. Tomorrow is our 25th wedding anniversary. Like most couples who have been married for a long time,  we have had our share of both good and bad days . We have two sons who have filled our lives with much joy. I'm working all day on our anniversary tomorrow, and my husband is out of town until the day after that, so we celebrated our anniversary with a mini-vacation over the 4th of July weekend when we both had three days off.   For our Silver anniversary we went to Silver Lake, Michigan.  The weather was beautiful as was the view.  On the other side of the lake were large sand dunes.  They don't look very big in this photo, but they looked quite big when we were climbing up and down them.  We watched the fireworks while we were there from the balcony of our hotel room.  They shot the fireworks off from the dunes out above the lake. This is my husband sitting on one of t...