Queen Mediocretia of Suburbia

Putting the TMI in absentminded

Month: October 2019

  • Weekly Paint Progress 10/31

    This week,the gourds: Went from this: To this: So, about half done. I only spent an hour on it. Of course, it all needs to be a lot more vibrant. More orange, and then if that doesn’t work then the opaque orange instead of the transparent. The bad thing about that is that I mixed…

  • iPhone Annoyances

    I have had this conversation at work at least ten times in the last month. “Ellen, your phone is breaking up. I can’t hear you / you sound like you’re underwater / it’s all garbled / what are you saying?” I then yell into the phone, “IS THIS BETTER?” and the people claim it is,…

  • Review: Zombieland Double Tap

    We almost didn’t go see ZombieLand Double Tap, the sequel to the delightful ZombieLand. Gary read some poor reviews. The general complaint was that it was just the original ZombieLand repackaged. I said I liked the original, what I remember from ten years ago, and I wouldn’t mind seeing it repackaged. And it was just…

  • Soda at the Movies

    Gary is loyal. Some might call it “stubborn and set in his ways,” but I call it loyal. For example, he has a favorite movie theater. There’s nothing great or special about this theater. The only thing I like about it is that they finally repainted it a grown-up maroon, instead of the carnival of…

  • Science Woman Moisturizes: the Results

    Okay – the control is on the left. The right side is after seven days of smearing some Lancome lard on half my face. And neck. My right, your left. Doesn’t matter. There is no difference. I confess, I am very skeptical about before and after photos, especially ones where the lighting is different. I…

  • Big Box O’ Jerry Part Four: The Miscellany

    The Starter Family I was flat-out astonished to see my name in the obit and funeral program as “survived by.” I mean, they had to acknowledge my brother Dave, because Dave was the only one there when Jerry actually died. (He famously gave away Jerry’s eyeballs post-death: the poor nurse took the word of his…

  • Weekly Paint Progress 10/24

    We interrupt the Big Box O’ Jerry for the Thursday Weekly Paint Progress, because if I don’t hold myself to this I will not progress. Here’s the subject. I’m indeed scaling it down. No ambition for this one, not trying anything new. I’m not even devoting a canvas to this, just canvas-covered board. It already…

  • Big Box O’ Jerry Part Three: The Photos

    Family #2 Photos Jerry had a boy and a girl with his second wife, Suzanne. As is always the way in “our” family, there are countless photos of the boy child and almost none of the girl. Then again, I suppose my half-sister Julia took her photos with her when she left, but I do…

  • Big Box O’ Jerry Part Two: The Crowder Letters

    Last Letter to Jerry The most poignant letter was probably from a doctor Jerry saw in early May, 1987. It has some very direct quotes, like, “…more than one person who saw you in the clinic felt that they could smell alcohol in your presence. You continuing to drink is a sure way to commit…

  • Big Box O’ Jerry Part One: The Italian Notes

    The standoffish period lasted two hours, if you are wondering. Unlike Mom, Jerry kept no love letters for children to discover after his death — or if he did his mother disposed of them. There is some other interesting correspondence, though. The Italian Notes There are three tiny notes in Italian on some tiny intricate…