Touch the Sun

By Madeleine J. Corbett



A songstress in the making. I mean, when I read this poem, I could "hear" it set to music. She's been messing around w/ the harmonica & would like to add to her xmas list one of those things to hold the harmonica around her neck so she can play guitar at the same time (oh yeah, she has also added an accoustic guitar to her list)

**and I just noticed this, isn't it interesting that kids all draw mountains the same -even when they live close to real mountains & can see every day what they look like. At least Mad has the ability to put some perspective in hers.

oooh where's USC?

47th

& BU is 81st

now that deserves a double snap:P

you private school "snobs" can kiss my grits

mwahahahaha -we know how to party (under the radar) AND hire/tenure accomplished profs

this just in:

Rocky Mountain News
August 22, 2006

The party's still over at the University of Colorado.After being ranked America's No. 1 party school, CU-Boulder is off the Princeton Review's Top 20 list for the second year in a row.

The ratings are driven by the results of student surveys. So far, no one in the CU administration is calling for a recount.

"We have never been so delighted to be identified with a low ranking," spokesman Barrie Hartman said. "What a marvelous way to begin a new school year. We are dealing very seriously with student drinking problems. I think the effort is finally being recognized."

From 1997 to 2004, CU made the Top 10 party school list in all but one year (1999), when it fell to 25th. It was No. 1 in the 2003 survey.


and this :


CU-Boulder Ranked 11th Best Public University For Fourth Straight Year
Aug. 28, 2006

For the fourth straight year, a survey by the Institute for Higher Education in Shanghai, China, has ranked the University of Colorado at Boulder the 11th best public university in the world.

A total of 500 international universities, both public and private, were ranked in the 2006 survey, undertaken by the Institute for Higher Education at Jiao Tong University in Shanghai, China. The survey ranked Harvard University first, followed by the University of Cambridge, Stanford University, the University of California-Berkeley and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology among all universities, both public and private.

The ranking criteria included Nobel Prizes and Fields Medals (the highest scientific award for mathematicians) received by faculty and alumni, and the number of highly cited researchers in several broad categories. The criteria also included the number of articles published in Nature and Science -- widely considered the world's top two research journals -- as well as the total research paper citations by faculty and students and the academic performance of universities with respect to institution size.

"We are very pleased to be recognized once again in this international survey," said CU-Boulder Chancellor G.P. "Bud" Peterson. "Research, teaching and service are the primary mission of CU-Boulder, and this is another indication that our outstanding faculty continues to perform in all of these areas extremely well."

CU-Boulder ranked 34th among all universities, both public and private, in the 2006 ranking by the Institute for Higher Education.

snow????!!!!

I (im)patiently awaiting snow season...yeah, I know, I know. There's, like, 2 months until any of the resorts open. But is it wrong to check the ski report occasionally in between? Hey, at least I don't call Eldora's hotline on a daily basis & decide whether or not I should go to class based on the previous night's accumulation (Nikki, you did not just read that. I'm using my best jedi mind tricks here. Your mother is a saint & was a perfectly studious student). In the meantime, here's something to feast your little eyes on:



today's webcam shot...(sigh):



this is better (3 days ago):



forget visions of sugarplums dancing in my head:



best of all: Breckenridge OPENS November 10, 2006!

for your viewing pleasure today

I found this old video clip a couple nights ago & thought you all might enjoy it!



Photo Sharing - Upload Video - Video Sharing


Fi is wearing Mad's "elf" dress & a hat that we got from my Aunt Iva as part of a p.j. set when Snick was a BABY!!! (Lib's wearing Mad's Halloween fairy costume)

SP8: a success!

My wonderful not a secret anymore pal Lori sent me all these wonderful goodies...can't wait to knit up few pairs of socks. And I'm adding clogs to my birthday wish list so I can show off the groovy patterns! 

at"tempting"

this is 13 inches of my Tempting II that is supposed to be finished by Thursday! hahahahahahaha. I guess I am decidedly NOT the world's fasted knitter. 

closet doors revealed

the almost finished closet doors. I want to paint the handles too so they don't stand out so much. I ended up not decoupaging the entire doors b/c the paper had an uneven pattern that I had to doctor alot to make work even this way.  

mirror mirror on the wall

the mirror (only one left on clearance -exactly what I was looking for...love being in the right place @ the right time) in the little girls' room low enough for a little girl to primp, of course. I painted & gold flaked the sign to match 

I really must do something about this

this lack of posting on this particular blog. Maybe I just feel not productive enough to actually post anything. Well, darn it, I'd post pictures galore today except blogger won't let me...so blame the messenger service not the messenger :P

wish we could have been there Denise! (thanks Chris for thinking of us!) 

I can cut too 

appropriate use of scissors 

M&M bff 

haven't seen one of these in denver in quite a while

  

I just realized how behind I am in posting...

the only recent posts I've made have been Monday Music Mambo memes...and today is different only in that I'm actually posting it on a MONDAY!



1. Name a musician/band or two connected with your state. They could be from your state, have a member born in your state, played a famous show in your state - you get the idea. If you're not from the U.S., pick a musician or band from your own country.

This is easy peasy: John Denver, The Fray, Yonder Mountain String Band, Big Head Todd & the Monsters, Jello Biafra, String Cheese Incident, Leftover Salmon, Cabaret Diosa.

Most famous show I can think of is U2 @ Red Rocks (circa 1980's re: Sunday Bloody Sunday video)

If you live in a place without any famous musical connections, you can answer this instead.

2. What's your favorite place to see a concert? Is it a small club, a large sports arena, a concert hall, an outdoor ampitheater? Tell us why you like to see music in that place.

(I'm answering this anyway just b/c I have bragging rights that come w/ living in Colorful Colorado) My favorite place to see a show is Red Rocks...fab accoustics, best ambiance, always great memories in the making.

music meme for (oops) monday

1. Who sings like an angel? Give me one male and one female.

Kayla -big sister to Maddie's friend Chris; she sings solo in our church as well as with the choir...and she's like, 14.

Chris Issac

2. Name three songs with the word "angel" in the title.

Angeleyes -ABBA
Angel -Jimi Hendri
Angel -Massive Attack

3. Many musicians over the years have died and gone to the big concert hall in the clouds - or the firey backstage lounge downstairs. Who is your musical guardian angel (or, um, demon, as the case may be)?

Brian Jones (Rolling Stones)

remember this guy?

One of my all time faves. And yes, I missed him when Rollins Band & X came through this sad little cowtown-wants-to-be-L.A. But I did happen to tune in the other night when Rollins Band was playing on IFC. And Henry shows up barefoot & in plum silk p.j.s Sorry, there is no other way to describe the outfit. I was slightly taken aback. I mean this is HENRY friggin' ROLLINS. I don't know if this is his new, more mature, laid back look or what. But it was not what I was expecting. And it just didn't fit either. Ya just can't sing all hard & punk rock when you're dressed like that and expect to make it work. Don't get me wrong. The band sounds GREAT. But I kept getting stuck wondering about Henry's getup instead of really listening to the music..."yes, that's Henry"..."Yes, that is henry"..."I can't believe that's Henry"..."why is he dressed like that"..."so that's what Henry's feet look like"..."He's still got that punk rock stance while he sings"..."not bad for an old guy"..."why is he dressed like that?"..."is he not so buff anymore & he's covering up?"..."his feet just look odd without combat boots"..."or some kind of black shoes"..."geez his hair's getting gray"..."and thin"..."why in the world would he dress like that & sing like THAT????" Can't even tell you what the song was about.

and now I am the mom of an 18 yo...(sigh)

who thinks I live in the wrong zip code. As in she refers to her dad's house has home & lists it on anything requiring an address. The concept is foreign to me. Our home is in a very nice neighborhood. We live conveniently close to all possible cultural events. We just don't live in "Boulder County" (or Broomfield Co for that matter). She is a zip code snob. And she is blind to anything that doesn't occur in Boulder despite the fact that Denver is ripe with activities & culture & art & a plethora of fun ways to spend time (or money). I never thought she would turn into one of those "Boulderites" who think that the world revolves around 22 sq miles; you know, the kind who thinks Denver is soooooooo far away, far too far to drive there. A whole lightyear of 30+/- miles, god forbid. Of course, what did I expect? She's been in Boulder since 3rd grade. I have only myself to blame for not insisting that she change schools when we moved. And now she's going to CU. Not too adventerous she. I know when I graduated, I couldn't wait to move the heck AWAY from my hometown & explore something new. Well, it's her loss at the moment; what will it take for her to expand her horizons?

I found these in an old tablet. The top is Maddie's 1st grade "journal" The bottom is Nikki's -looks like middle school. She used to want to be a writer. Wonder what this was - fiction? journal?  

I watched this last night

And now I feel a need to make an addendum to my previous post re: Metallica.

So they were at the forefront of the thrash metal scene & brought it mainstream, so to speak. I never was the kind of person to say that they sold out because they made a ton of money; more power to them -it's what capitalism's all about. BUT it was the Black Album that made them more accessible to a wider audience b/c they changed their style to be radio friendly. Unfortunately that involved going "softer". Granted they still put forth some political views -but it was in a toned down musical style. And that was a disappointing sell-out. It was Metallica's hard driving thrash style that endeared them to me. It was the wimpy Black Album that drove me away...they finally had a ballad. A ballad. Metallica. Sigh.

Further still was the next CD, Load...the one I didn't even waste my money on b/c they wanted to get "bluesy" and hard rockish. Well I say, leave the blues to those who are truly talented in that area. It's not everyone who can pull that off. And leave the "hard" rock to those who can't live up to Metallica. It was like a watered down version of Metallica. A band who wanted to be like Metallica but couldn't b/c they just weren't that talented.

Then they started wearing eye makeup. Another thing that endeared Metallica to me -they were all testosterone. I can live with short hair. But eyeliner just does not belong on a thrash metal band. Well fine, it's true, they weren't thrash metal anymore. What exactly were they? What happened to my favorite band?? Who are these guys? Good, I suppose that they wanted to change it up a bit. But I'm just not feelin' it anymore. I think they were finally following instead of leading the pack at this point (for instance, Ozzy's been wearing eyeliner since dirt was invented.) why oh why oh why.

I think I'll stop now b4 I get all melancholy.

Guess I always was a Led Head at heart

I'll post today b/c I'm too lame to remember to do this on Monday:
Monday Music Mambo meme from Blogdrive Insanity


**1. What's your favorite album cover from your collection?

This is my favorite album cover...the concept was & still is ingenious.  



**2. What album cover makes you wonder what the designer and/or band was thinking?

I was fascinated with this album cover as a small child. I must have been 6 or 7. It was so bizarre & taboo (nudity on an album cover in my small hometown in W. PA). What a concept...those strange blonde children like Village of the Damned meets Flight of Icarus meets Stonehenge 


3. Do you own the White Album by The Beatles or the Black Album by Metallica?
I think I lost custody of the Black Album via the divorce. Not a huge loss. Metallica's last great album was And Justice For All. Now they're just a bunch of wanna still be angry old guys with nothing to really bitch about b/c they're just so damn wealthy. Although, they do have a new kick ass bass player who brings new life energy to a bunch of dinosaurs. Has the bass player always been the driving force behind Metallica??? Case in point: Cliff Burton RIP. Jason Newsted -luckily escaped with his talent intact. Now Robert Trujillo attempts CPR. Good luck. They lost me when they started wearing makeup and whining about Napster.

**Yes, I still have the originals (including the brown paper wrapper) & no, they are not for sale

results posted when I find them online

Madster & I ran our first 5K yesterday. I had originally registered myself -an unsuccessful attempt at motivating myself to get back outside in the early a.m. While picking up my registration materials on Sat, Mad requested that she would like to run with me as a mother/daughter team. Hence we were "Team Corbett". She had her new running shoes, after all, which would help her to run faster.

We woke at 6am -all of us- & G made his scrummy Irish oatmeal. We were out the door by 7:17am. The atmosphere was very exciting in front of the capitol building as 700+ women were getting ready for the race. It was the RYKA Iron Girl event. run/walk 5k or 5mi. I can now cross that off my list of things to do in my life. Of course now I want to do it again & by myself in order to really gauge how well I can do...and do it again to decrease my time...and repeat over & over. It was a lot of fun. For me anyway.

Maddie started to poop out a bit after the 1st mile. She wanted to run really fast then almost stop completely as she walked slowly to catch her breath. I couldn't convince her to run a nice, easy pace throughout...what do I know, I'm only her mother. But other women kept giving her encouragement as they ran by. I'm really proud that she actually finished. She was a little concerned that we might not get a medal & she wasn't interested in running across the finish line...until she saw that everyone was getting medals, at which point she picked up her pace for the last 1/2 block. We finished in something like 54 minutes...yay! I was hoping to get across in less than an hour...and we did it! We enjoyed the catered breakfast & were home by 10 am. Would that we could do that everyday...hey, I can dream can't I?

This morning she was complaining how much her thighs hurt (lack of exercise, I told her) & that she never wants to walk 3 miles again. We'll see about that. Maybe she'll change her mind & we can run the Iron Girl every year. And maybe Fi & Lib will join us when they're old enough. I look forward to it.

this is the funniest SNL skit EVER

I found it just for you, G!

holy crap batman

Thanks to G for the midday info...& I was having such a miserable day so far. I don't think this movie can get any better (looking). I feel like I'm 8 again & can't wait for xmas/summer/birthday...it will take freakin' forever for 2008 to get here....