Top 10 Tuesday

Hello, all. I hope you enjoy the things I found totally awesome and precious this past week.

The Top 10

1. San Francisco Poop I have been reading on and off about San Francisco only to be charmed to learn just how disgusting the city is. Turns out its signature scent is human urine and that the sides of buildings are splotched with lovely shades of brown--of the hobo poo variety. Nice! I look forward to documenting my poo observations when and if I make it down to San Francisco when I go out west. What a San Francisco Treat! Not.

2. "Phantom Thread" This past week, I wasn't too excited to see this movie but was intrigued because I like watching a movie with a good score. "Phantom Thread"s score is nominated for an Oscar. The composer is from Radiohead but don't let that sway your opinion (although I do like the somber tunes of Radiohead). Anyway, it was a good score; however, I don't think it beats Alexandre Desplat's score in "The Shape of Water". This movie, by the way, was a treat to watch. It wasn't what I was expecting. The story unraveled delicately, like fine lace. And what a story it was! Great work.

3. "House of Light" by Mary Oliver This past week, I finished reading one of Mary Oliver's books of poetry, "House of Light". Mary Oliver watches birds that carry light in their wings. And every strobe of life is a wand. A yellow jettison of perfect light. The birds stroke dark waters. The grasshoppers eat sugar. She's a witness of the wild escapists. She's a hero of the worn and hopeless. Good book. I'm hoping to read and re-read all of her books this year.

4. Seeing Jeanette I finally saw my friend Jeanette yesterday after a several-month hiatus. In fact, I haven't spent time with many friends at all these past few months. Although I prefer to be alone, there is a small handful of people that I do miss. So, it was nice seeing her. We exchanged writing projects and now I have lovely things to read! Jeanette is by far one of my favorite people, is creative, exuberant, and a wonderful mother.

5. Naked Mole Rats Turns out naked mole rats are making headlines because they're pretty freakin' awesome. It turns out that they simply do not die due to old age wearing their bodies down. They're absolutely amazing little creatures. Although they're mammals, they are cold-blooded. Because of their underground lives, not only are they adorably hairless, but they're capable of surviving in areas of low-oxygen and high carbon dioxide. Like snakes and turtles, they regulate their body temperature by seeking out appropriate environments. Their bodies can go from using reserves of glucose for energy (like we do) to using fructose. So, are you scientists telling me that the naked mole rat is part mammalian rodent, part reptile, and part tulip?

Amazing.

6. "I, Tonya" Another movie I wasn't thrilled to see but ended up loving. The editing in this film, in my opinion, was superb and I was thrilled to see that its editing is nominated for an Oscar. Margot Robbie does fine work as the lead actress playing Tonya, the Olympic ice skater. Even though it was great acting, I still think that Frances McDormand deserves the Oscar for her leading performance in "Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri". Margot Robbie, I will say, did a better performance than everyone's beloved Meryl Streep did in "The Post". And I do like Meryl Streep. These are just my opinions. By no means am I a great critic of movies. I'm just a seasoned movie-viewer.

7. Anticipation With a lot of things on my horizon, I have been having fun thinking about the psychology of anticipation, especially in regards to travel. I will talk about this in more detail at some other time when my thoughts are more organized. Instead, I'll focus on the fact that I'm enjoying anticipating good things to come like future travels this year, spending the weekend with my lovely mother, and the snow storm that is due to tuck us in real good later tonight.

8. Watching Snow Fall Speaking of snow, it was very nice on Sunday to be sitting in Barnes & Noble, having a beverage, writing a short essay, and looking out at the snow steadily falling. In fact, so much snow fell so quickly that Barnes & Noble closed at 4:30 (plus the Super Bowl was in two hours).

8. The Super Bowl So, I'm not a football fan. I couldn't care less about football, stats, etc. I grew up amongst Steelers fans, etc. My boyfriend watches football, does Fantasy Football, and even took me to my first college football game. My dad even had season tickets to the Steelers games. He bleeds black and gold. Still don't really care about football. But I will admit that I did sit on the couch next to Brian and watched my first entire Super Bowl game. I was more interested in the commercials, as many people are. I guess what I enjoy most about NFL is the culture. It's an interesting anthropological experience. Even though I grew up amongst football fans, it has remained so foreign and other to me after over 30 years. I found it interesting to go on SnapChat's map and look at the "stories" of people who were in Philly, on college campuses, and in Minneapolis. And what an interesting field that was! It looked like a large, decorative swan tucked into itself for the night. I feel like every time I looked at it, the swan was in a different position. I couldn't believe that what was inside was inside it.

9. This Quote by Mary Oliver "There are so many stories more beautiful than answers."

10. And This Quote by Mary Oliver "Doesn't everything die at last and too soon?"

#toptentuesday