Career Highlight

Not much makes me giggle like a schoolgirl more than a handful of new books coming up from our tech services department that I ordered. I feel like they’re mine, obviously, but more than that, I am bursting with giddiness over the fun titles.

Bad Girls 4 Live
Pitbulls in a Skirt
Thug’s Passion
A Hood Chick’s Story
Payback is a Mutha

They say sardonically, “Ah, look, Happy Villain’s books are in,” and they’re looking at a cover that has an African American woman’s ass barely covered by a spandex skirt that almost comes down to the bottom of her cheeks, and she’s sporting some stilettos that could double as weapons. Yup. Those are mine. And it thrills me to no end. If nothing else, I can die a happy woman now because I have given our library over 150 hoochie-mama books.

This is my legacy. It makes me smile.

Opportune Opposum

I just had to share this story because, to me, it’s heartwarming. To you, probably not so much.

You may recall the story of Boyfriend Extraordinaire’s patio-dwelling pets, Possum Schwee, and Baby Possum Schwee. It proved to be a bit of a controversial post, but frankly, I don’t give a shit what people think about the possum situation, and look forward to daily possum updates.

Not all that long ago, Possum Schwee started spending more time away from the patio, and lately hasn’t been seen around. (The photos below were taken by Boyfriend Extraordinaire, while Possum Schwee was still living on the patio with Baby Possum Schwee.) We assumed s/he moved on to a new home, while Baby Possum Schwee continued living on B.E.’s patio, sharing the space with Kitty Schwee. Apparently, cats and possums get along in the wild, so those of you who were concerned about the possum hurting the cat, rest assured that they are both happy hanging out together.

About a month ago, Kitty Schwee’s owner, the man next door to B.E., reported one of the funniest updates so far about the Possum & Kitty Schwee adventures. Evidently this foolish man not only lets his housecat out all day long, where Kitty Schwee becomes so flea-bitten that he gets sick and sometimes has to be hospitalized for his anemic condition, but this man still leaves his back door open (not unlocked, but open) so that Kitty Schwee can come and go as he pleases. He’s a real winner.

Leaving the back door open hadn’t posed a problem before, but one night the man heard noises in his kitchen, and thinking it was Kitty Schwee, wandered in to see what his cat was up to. What he found instead was a disaster. The big bag of dry cat food was broken into, leaving cat food all over the kitchen counter, floor, etc. On top of the microwave sat Baby Possum Schwee, munching away on the mess of cat food he’d spread about the room.

What a dream come true for little Baby Possum Schwee, right? I mean, the house probably smelled like his buddy, Kitty Schwee, and maybe Kitty Schwee even led him into the treasure trove of free food. Who knows? But what a huge jackpot for a little, hungry possum! Yummy food, more than he could eat by himself, free for the taking!



The man totally wigged out. He didn’t want to hurt the possum, but he was terrified of this toothy rodent being in his house, so he did one of the few smart things I’ve ever heard of him doing, and he trapped Baby Possum Schwee by putting an empty garbage can on top of him, securing the little guy on top of the microwave. It was late that night and the man decided to go to sleep and figure out what to do with the possum in the morning.

The next day, the man slid a plate under the garbage can, as he scooted it off the top of the microwave, and Baby Possum Schwee just kind of went along with the weird adventure. Somehow he flipped the garbage can over and secured a lid over top, then drove Baby Possum Schwee a few miles away to a field, where he hoped Baby Possum Schwee would live a long and happy life, away from all the free food he kept unsecured in his open kitchen.

It was a bittersweet story to us because while I would miss Baby Possum Schwee tremendously, Boyfriend Extraordinaire was a bit relieved not to have to worry about neighbors complaining to his landlord about the possum living on his patio. And, Baby Possum Schwee would likely be living in an environment more suited to a possum.

So, the man actually did a good thing, much as I hate to admit it.



Then, last night Boyfriend Extraordinaire discovered something surprising: Baby Possum Schwee is back living on his patio again!

I cannot deny that I’m a bit ecstatic to know that he’s back. I so look forward to Baby Possum Schwee stories, and I think Boyfriend Extraordinaire realizes that this possum is not a threat in any way. They are not aggressive animals, despite their show of fangs.



That's a yawn.

I just cannot get enough of how cool their little hands are. They have opposable thumbs and their fingers/toes are all spread out, like a human hand. How cute is that?! They also have these wild whiskers that stick out of their face all over the place. It’s fabulous! And add to that the fact that Baby Possum Schwee is a marsupial – just knowing he’s got a little pocket on his belly tickles me.

I want a baby possum!

I <3 Baby Possum Schwee!

PowWow

In my life, I've been to a few churches, seen a number of traditional ceremonies, and been mostly unmoved by them all. I've never enjoyed the comfort of rituals nor have I found beauty in formal pageantry. Perhaps this is from a life bereft of religion, customs and heritage, being an atheist mutt.

Yet, there is one solitary tradition, completely alien to me, that I find so moving, so beautiful, and so deeply inspiring that it bears my sincerest, heart-felt awe, as no other has ever elicited from me. Just to be allowed to be a witness to these events is a highlight of my life, and as long as they'll let me in, I will always seek to go. This is as close as I get to having a religious experience. I just cannot say how absolutely beautiful the whole thing is to me.

Here are the photos I took at the Potawatomi Trails PowWow, held in Shiloh Park, in Zion, Illinois today.

Potawatomi PowWow

Part of what appeals is the ancient traditions, the connection to nature, the gorgeous languages, and the fascinating people. At the end of the Grand Entry, an elder read aloud a prayer for good things to happen today, and as I listened to this foreign language, a swallowtail butterfly lazily floated right in front of my face. I turned to Ann and smiled, and she smiled back, as if this butterfly gave us both some peace and joy. Somehow, the sun felt better, the air felt cleaner, and my head felt clearer. I don't understand many of the meanings behind what we saw there, but it just felt good.

Sometimes, feeling good is enough.

Bring On the Parodies!

If you're a reader of Cute Overload, or if you've been on the receiving end of my raving personal email demanding you watch this video and daring you not to sob like a baby, then the story of Christian the Lion is not unfamiliar to you. This video has seen a lot of play, but for anyone who hasn't seen it, here it is.



And for skeptics, it's a true story.

Now, I was okay with moving on with my life and keeping the sweet memory of a lovable lion in my heart, until I saw this on Neatorama yesterday, and again I was in tears, only this time they were tears of laughter. This is just priceless. And now I want to go to the Redwoods.



Humble apologies for making you listen to that terrible song twice in a row, but it is totally necessary to pull off the spoof.