I was in Japan during the Atlanta Olympics, and to my utter delight they showed 24 hours of Olympics, zero commercials, and while all the narration was in Japanese, they almost never cut away to an announcer, they kept a running score up in numbers I could read so I always knew times and placements, and they showed all the events that they covered start to finish, no interruptions. Of course, they showed every single freaking judo match there was and might little gymnastics, but if I wanted gymnastics overkill all I had to do was go down to the Navy base and watch Armed Forces TV. I preferred my Japanese version by far!

All this talk of children and repitition and them trying to figure things out reminds me of my friend's daughter who was five when Diana died.

She sat glued to CNN all the next day. They couldn’t get her to go outside or watch a movie. Finally my friend asked her why she kept watching when, as we all know, CNN, was simply repeating the same information over and over and over again.

Her daughter said, “Well, mommy, I’m trying to figure it out. They keep saying that she’s dead and they show the car, but then they show her walking around, and she’s always got a different outfit on every time they show her.”

My friend just rolled her eyes and said “videotape”. She said all of a sudden it was like she saw light bulbs going on in her daughter’s head. Of course, we also think that her idea of heaven may be a place where you get a different outfit every thirty seconds, but I’m not sure that that’s not my idea of heaven too.

While this is not my idea of heaven, I was pondering the clothes thing yesterday, while looking through a catalog that had petite clothing ( a rare thing). Now, I am not a shopper. I don't consider myself a clothes horse. I still have shirts in regular rotation that I had in college (~15 years ago). As I was mentally selecting things in the catalog, I felt I couldn't justify actually purchasing any, because I don't need any new clothes. So my question is, how many shirts does a working adult need? And since I tend to wear clothes seasonally, do I consider long and short sleeves together, or separately? This was seriously bothering me, I even went and counted the shirts. I also went and refolded all my clothes and sorted everything out, which did need to be done, so it was a good, if neurotic, thing to do.

There's a catalogue with petite clothing?!*?!*????? Which company???

You have to need clothes before you buy them? I suppose this could be why I have to store out of season clothes in the basement. Maybe I have too many?

AnneH, The catalog was JJill. I usually get my petite pants from LLBean, because they fit me well. I did just discover some Columbia pants that came in Short. And one of my most comfortable pairs of pants is from Talbots. Actually I have 3 pairs because when I find a good pair, I get them in black, blue and tan.

Thanks, JDG, I hadn't heard out them (I'm in Canada) but thanks to google, have already found their website. I'll have to check out LLBean and Talbots too.

ETA: Yes I am at work. Why do you ask???

Just in case anybody's interested I do have a degree involving Early Childhood Ed (in Music no less). I can tell you the repetition thing is all about introducing new sounds. Then the child might or might not experiment, then you need to repeat it to see if they can identify what they've heard. The general rule of thumb I used during student teaching was a minimum of 3 exposures, and no more than 10 until I asked the "students" to participate. Ironically enough, this is what convinced me not to teach music right out of college. Instead I got the crazy idea to teach behavioral change at the State Pen.

Somebody else here likes Rugby? My moniker Rgby717 is meant to pay respects to my favorite sport-Rugby. I discovered it while in NZ (Home of the All Blacks) and have actually ordered digital cable in order to be able to record the games and watch them. Not only should it be an Olympic Sport, they should replace one of the flunk out events like "speed walking."

J.Jill clothes are awesome, AnneH and JDG. I'm 5'2" on a good day and, erm, curvy, and their petites are perfect for me, as opposed to those of some other stores where I either still have to hem the skirts and pants, or the dresses/tops fit strangely around the shoulders and bust. JJill is pricey, definitely, and my budget doesn't often stretch that far, but I've gotten some wonderful new and like-new pieces on eBay, including a couple of cotton dresses and pants that I've practically lived in this summer, all for under $20 apiece. Worth checking into, IMO. [/commercial endorsement]

Ohhh...a new catalogue. I'll be sure to check it out. My most recent order was from La Redoute. Alas, no petite section. JCrew offers one though. Talbots is great, but I've only shopped there once. The shock of spending the equivalent of my rent on two suits still hasn't worn off yet. I think that was 5 years ago. Another great spot for petites? Ann Taylor. Love her.

The only thing that sucks for me and ordering clothes online is that I know I'm too lazy to return things. I just gave away a brand new shirt on Wednesday because I've had it for a month and there was no point in holding on to it. That's $17 I won't see again...because I wouldn't spend $4 to send it back.

I spent a nice chunk of change on clothes in Costco yesterday though. Especially since I was only supposed to be buying lotion and clementines. You can find some cute stuff in there! Ironically, I bought a nice suede Bernardo jacket. I almost put it back after I saw the tag and remembered from where I knew that name.

Boo hoo! J Jill doesn't send catalogues outside of the States. Wow! Land's End, LLBean and American Girl might go out of business if they didn't send catalogues to my friend Karen here. I always say they should give her a volume purchasing discount.

I do see that they have a store in Buffalo's Walden Galleria though. I will definitely be checking that out in September (if I can stand the border lines the week of the RNC convention).

I'm 5'1" and, ahem, curvy, also.

After a number of years of working in the nursery at church (ages 3 and under), I've decided that there are two times for kids that age: now and not now. Now is the only one that counts because not now is, well, not now and it will never be now. So if something is not happening now, it may never happen. Now is all you have.

Being 5' 10", I never pay attention to whether a catalogue has petite clothing. So I'm finding it really interesting that J.Jill clothes work on petites, because I love the way they fit on me, too. They must put a lot of thought into their sizing.

Sometimes I get this way, too. When it's when things are going great, since they're great now, that's all that matters. All is right with the world! When it's when things suck (can almost be used interchangeably with "when I'm at work"), it seems like maybe I'll never be happy again. I have to remind myself I'm over three, and I know about different times and object permanence.

That whole "again again" thing might explain why my daughter's favorite song at age three was "Master of Puppets." Not exactly a complex refrain...

Hmm, I always thought it was "pensative" people. Which I now find is not really so much a word. Well, you learn something new every day!

How about this one? When the white eagle of the north is flying overhead / and the reds and golds of Autumn lie in the gutter, dead ... yatta yatta yatta ... live hand-in-hand and together we'll stand on the threshold of a dream

Or Standing at the crossroads of what is, will be and was / the obvious eludes us / not because the zeros line up we should change our way of thought / more, if we do not, the road ahead in dangerously fraught ...

Uh, apparently I knew far too much Moody Blues poetry.

But JJill has an online catalogue, and you can order through the website, no? I'm saying this w/out checking the facts, so I could well be wrong.
We have a JJill in the mall near my house. That store is so beautifully designed, it makes me feel serene just to walk through the door. I'm 5'6" and wear a lot of their clothes. Also Eddie Bauer (They also have petites), Ms. Taylor and some Banana Republic. Another designer I really, really love is Eileen Fisher. V. expensive, so I have to pretty much exclusively shop sales, but nice stuff.
My current sartorial whine is my difficulty avoiding hip-hugger pants. I'm not so much in favor of low rise pants, and it's very hard to find trousers that come up to the waist without making one look like the Dowager Duchess of Frump. But really, I've had two kids. I did not embrace an abdominal regimen after said births, choosing instead the Cupcake Workout. Low rise jeans just accentuate the negative, shall we say.

You know the thing that gets me most about that Moody Blues bit? It always makes me think of the part in "Thriller" where Vincent Price breaks in all "Darkness falls across the land/The midnite hour is close at hand..."

And vice versa. And the less things that remind me of Thriller, really the better.

Hildy, I hear you on the low-rise jeans. I like to have a pair of lightweight denim jeans that are light enough to wear in the summer. I had a pair that I loved, but the SO put them in the dryer (long story) and they shrunk a bit. So then I lost a few pounds, and they dropped down to the desired point on my ankles, but rode low on my hips. So I gave up and purchased another pair (they're hard to find) via catalogue. From JJill, interestingly enough. And they hit that same point on my hips. So I gave up again, and now if I need to wear my lightweight jeans, I go through all sorts of confusion over what shirt to wear. I'm long-waisted to begin with, so anything tucked in has potential to look weird. When I was a teenager and low-riders (then hip huggers) first came into fashion, I wore billowy peasant blouses. I'm no longer the billowy peasant blouse type, though. I'll be going through this exercise tomorrow, because we have tickets to a a baseball game, and the evening will start out pleasant and then become cool. Perfect weather for lightweight jeans, in other words. And what top?

Go for the bare midriff! All the cool people on MTV are doing it.

My mother is a JJill addict - they have petite, regular and women's sizes, and not the usual outrageous price differences between. And they have been v. good with her when she calls and asks the fit of clothes - it seems their customer service staff has been kept well informed of the variations of clothes, when a photo doesn't show how clingly or easy to care for, etc.. It's sometimes a little Chico's for my liking but I'm also sitting her in a Miller tee shirt, so...

Heh, I lost 30 lbs just so that I could once again wear the clothes that I just knew fit me. When I was in college I knew that a Gap size 6 would fit me. Didn't matter what the design was, a size 6 just fit. Right hips, right length, etc. It was like they measured me to get their size 6 standard. I loved it - I never even tried anything on. So, fast forward 4 years - I'm married to a man who has the fastest metabolism in the world and eats like a pig. I gain 30 lbs and am a size 14, and no longer have the luxury of 'a quick jeans stop at the Gap'.

I joined weight watchers, and my goal wasn't to get to a certain weight, it was to get back to my Gap size 6. And I am proud to announce that as of three weeks ago I'm back. Woo! I never knew what weight I was when I was a size 6, so it's interesting to know now that I was 10 lbs off (too low) in my estimation.

On another note (pun intended), I'm thinking of buying the new fourth gen 20 Gig ipod. Any ipod owners out there with advice? Like, where the heck I can find one? No one has them in stock. And I'm travelling next week and would love to have it by then. Sigh.

I could be their mother; I'm pushing 50. Even if I thought I could manage the look, I'd feel ridiculous.

OTOH, on Wednesday I went in to see Dr. Roto-Rooter (gastroentrologist) to set up my baseline colonoscopy, and he said I didn't look old enough to be there, and that I both looked and apparently was very healthy. (I think I'm in love with him.) I just hope he has the same opinion after the exam.

Still, no bare midriff. I'm not afraid of "dressing young," but no bare midriff.

I have a 3rd gen iPod, and it is the best thing I've ever bought. I even replaced my car stereo so that I could hook the ipod up to my car. My friend ordered a 4th generation a few weeks ago along with a new computer, and his is on back order still (but the computer came). You can try ebay, but if you need it quick you might be out of luck. I'd also keep bugging the people at the large electronic stores, see if they'll put you on a list or something.

europa, I depend on MacMall for all of my computing and music needs. They haven't failed me yet, and have great rebates and free shipping on orders over $99.

I *heart* my silver iPod mini. I don't need something to hold every song I own (that's what my computer's for), so I just keep a playlist of 500-700 songs in the mini AND it fits in my pants pocket with no visible bulge.

Well at least not from the iPod ;)

Snerk.

I've been checking all of the local retailers today, and the Best Buy website just changed from listing it as out of stock to being in stock at my local store. Now if only the afternoon would go by quickly so I can get out of here and go shopping! I think I'm feeling *cough* a little sick and *cough* need to go home early today.

ETA: The MacMall site is pretty nice - if only they had them in stock, they even have $10 overnight shipping! I think I may be accessorizing my new toy via that website - their prices are very good.

It's very *cough* important not to spread *cough* germs among your *cough* coworkers, europa. I think you need to leave the office immediately!

Yes, you don't look well at all!

Wow, I'm impressed that you can just know your size and be able to pick out some stuff. I have to try everything on, because everything fits so differently. I have an American Eagle skirt that is a size 4 and Airwalk pants that are a 13, and both fit well. Most of my clothing is a size 9. What really bugs me is I have two pairs of pants from the same company, yet the size 7 pair are looser than the size 9. The hell?!?

Hey Europa, I'm also doing WW with the goal of about 30 lbs (maybe 35, we'll see...). I'm at 15 and it's been about 4 months. How long did it take you? I know everyone's different, blah blah blah, just curious about your experience.

I'm feeling pretty good about myself right now, but want to lose more to fit into some custom made deer leather pants I had made for me a few years back... ahhhh incentive. It a great program, I love it.

mel42024, the key is that it is a specific brand. I don't wear a size 6 in everything. I own everything from size 4s to size 12s in different brands that fit just fine. I'm just a walking Gap ad because it's the easiest place for me to shop and find things that fit right.

BhP, I've been going since the beginning of March. Lost 30 lbs exactly and am at a screeching halt right now. My goal is actually another 10 away but I'm very happy where I am right now. When I was in college I didn't ever weigh myself because I was physically fit, healthy, and comfortable with myself, plus I didn't own a scale. When I had to set a WW goal I guesstimated my weight from back then. Now I'm pretty much back to where I was 4 years ago and I'm still 10 lbs over goal. I think I may have to adjust my goal.

I really, really like WW. I'm eating so much better now. My problem was the aforementioned monster-metabolism husband. He can eat anything and is as healthy as can be, so he eats a ton of junk. And what was I to do when I opened the fridge and the cabinets and saw his goodies? Now I buy my own stuff and eat much better.

ETA: 15 more minutes and I am so out of here for the weekend.

Make that five and you've got a deal!

Thanks for the info, Europa. I have psoriatic arthritis and it got really bad when I hit 30 (plus the whole metabolism change that no one warns anyone about...) so gained about 40 pounds in just a few years. Weight Watchers kicks ass, it's so wonderful. Though I think I'm losing a lot slower than you... ah well! My meds mess with my metabolism so I'm still learning how to manage it all. Anyone out there who wants to lose weight or just learn more about healthier eating ... check out WW!

And Mama Tiger thank you so much for sharing info about your daughter. Your posts are always insightful, and it's cool to get a more insider's view about dwarfism. Have you seen the CSI ep where they went to the Little People convention in Vegas? A couple of friends of mine (well, friends of my honey's) went to the con last year - one is a little person, the other is like 6 foot 10 inches. For real!

Have a great weekend everyone.

Yes, I've seen the CSI episode. Gag. Kind of fed all the bad stereotypes, especially the one about the dwarf hating himself so much. As you can see, Charla is probably a whole lot better "ambassador to the dwarfs," if there can be such a thing! Also, the lead dwarf character has a totally different type of dwarfism than he was supposed to have on the show. Oops. :-(

And I would swear I heard about an LPA gathering that was sharing a hotel with a tall peoples' organization. Which would have been a sight to behold, I suspect!

I'm home with my new ipod! Yaaaaaay! [/ken]

I'm also currently downloading the latest Windows updates because I'm waaaaaayyy behind and technically on an unsupported Win2K for the ipod. Whatever.

Happy weekend everyone!

Yay, weekend! I only have to work 12 hours instead of 14! Wait, that's not that reassuring. Damn.

I just finished watching The Butterfly Effect, and I was completely impressed by it. I had been intrigued by it ever since I saw the first previews for it, and I wasn't disappointed. I bawled my eyes out. (And, yes, for me, that is an indicator of a good movie.) Who knew that Ashton Kutcher could actually act?

Anyone familiar with audible.com?

I just bought a Sony Clie for work and it came with a subscription to Audible.

There are 23,000+ downloads available at the website. Yowza. Anyone have recommendations on audiobooks or similar audio programs? Thanks - enjoy the weekend!

So, Orlando just had its first casting call! I went with my boss. We would've been a great team: he's Army (ex-Ranger), I'm a hacker. He's black, I'm white. I approach interpersonal problems with an attempt at understanding and reconciliation; he approaches them with a hand grenade. We would've made great TV.

Unfortunately, we blew it in the taping. I did most of the talking (mile-a-minute, no less), while he mostly just sat there. Yeah, our personalities really came out. After they shut off the camera, he called me a "mike hog" -- I had to wonder why he didn't do it on-camera. Of course, I should've asked him to contribute on-camera, too, so it's not like either of us blew it alone.

I imagine getting a callback is a million-to-one chance. I'm still going to dream, but I'm pretty much just depressed about it. Especially since the eligibility requirements say you can't apply with the same team twice.

judebert, sorry you feel you blew it. It was a great idea to do a boss/employee team. The guy I've talked to about doing the race (now that I know my best friend only hauls ass when there is shopping in the offing) is a guy I buy print from.

He's willing to do any gross or massive eating tasks. I'm willing to do all the navigating. And he's got a very happy go lucky, golden retriever kind of personality. Whereas I am (gulp) rather the guard dog on duty type when under stress. Of course, we both feel the need to lose massive amounts of weight before trying, because we'd both end up limping like Lance if we did it in our current conditions.

We think that different kinds of relationships would be interesting on the race. (I wonder if he'd lose his cool with me. I kind of hope so. That whole salesrep/client dynamic can be stifling to real honesty.) Boss/employee would be great, too. Or pastor/congregant, rabbi/student, something not friends and not family. I think there's much more risk of trainwreck. But that's not a bad thing.

Did you see the DVD? I rented it a couple weeks ago, and it included 4 different endings -- the one seen in theaters, the one the directors prefer, and two that are kind of in between. I can certainly understand why they were persuaded away from their preferred ending: true as it was to their premise... man what a bummer to experience it in a theater.

No, I didn't because I don't have a DVD player. I was actually hoping that my bf would want to rent it on DVD sometime, but it turns out that he had already seen it. Oh well, I'll see it sometime.

The alternate endings for 28 Days Later really disappointed me. Honestly, they were crap. I'm actually glad that they used the ending that they did.

Ah well, trying to stir a slow SUnday up by procrastinating here. Thought I'd toss a couple questions out into the mix.
1. WHat was your first concert? (No lying, you Milli Vanilli goers)
2. What was the best concert you ever saw?
3. What artist, dead or alive, do you most regret not seeing?

For me, the first concert was a threefer at Harvard Stadium consisting of the Pousette Dart Band, Joan Armatrading, and James Taylor. My best concerts are actually also three: Talking Heads on their Stop Making Sense Tour, a double bill of Peter Tosh and Jimmy Cliff, and Bruce Springsteen at Fenway Park last September.
And what artist I most regret not seeing was a very young, newly discovered REM at my college gym (Circa RadioFree Europe.) I went to a very lame party instead. My friend went and ended up partying with the band afterwards. Stupid, stupid me.

1. WHat was your first concert? (No lying, you Milli Vanilli goers)

I'm trying to remember. It was, I believe, the Doors, in, of all places, my high school auditorium. Someone at my school had connections to an agent, and lots of the groups on their way up played my high school auditorium for a two-year period. I wasn't even in high school then (my sister was), but needless to say we went to all the concerts. Stood right at the edge of the stage in front of Jim Morrison....he was the walking dead already, when you looked into his eyes there was just no soul. It's hard to explain, but still gives me the shivers. Saw the Young Rascals there, Jimi Hendrix, the Yardbirds, Cream (20 minutes of a Ginger Baker drum solo was the worst torture I have ever endured at a rock concert), and I can't remember who all else. It was pretty amazing.

2. What was the best concert you ever saw?

Hands down, no question, Simon & Garfunkel at Carnegie Hall. Right before they released Bookends. Unbelievable. Just un-fucking-believable.

3. What artist, dead or alive, do you most regret not seeing?

This one is also easy: Two months before we moved to the thriving metropolis of Granville, Ohio when I was 16 years old (a town of 3,000 people about 40 miles east of Columbus, and home to Denison University), a group came and gave a trial run-through performance of a new work in the college gym. It was The Who, and they did the complete Tommy. And I missed it. Shit.

Edited because on rereading I realized it sounded like I was up onstage with Jim Morrison, which I wasn't, although he did nearly stomp on one of my hands

The ony 'concerts' I have ever been to and have ever wanted to attend are those given by 'Weird Al'.

I take it back I was taken to see Captain and Tennille as a child by my parents.

Ah, I was all excited that we were going to talk about "concerts" until I realized that I use a different definition from (probably) everyone else here. Because mine was Herbert von Karajan conducting the Berlin Philharmonic in Orchestra Hall, Chicago (first half, Brahms Symphony No. 4; second half, Strauss Also sprach Zarathustra; encore, Daphis & Chloë Suite 2), when I was in high school. And my best concert was probably seeing Mariss Jansons conductiing the Pittsburgh Symphony in Schoenberg's Gurrelieder 6 years ago. And the artists I most regret missing are the wonderful singers who were appearing with Chicago Lyric when I was growing up and could have gone: Maria Callas, Jussi Bjoerling, et al.

But I suspect that that's not what everybody else is talking about. :-)

1. What was your first concert? (No lying, you Milli Vanilli goers)

I'm probably going to be the odd one out here, but my first concert was Godsmack, Mushroomhead and Alexisonfire. It was an excellent show at a small venue in London, and I got to meet Mushroomhead afterwards and go on their tour bus.

2. What was the best concert you ever saw?

I have to go with In Flames, Killswitch Engage and As I Lay Dying. (Don't look at me like I'm crazy!) It was at the Kool Haus in Toronto, and I had wanted to see In Flames for a long time. Phenomenal show.

3. What artist, dead or alive, do you most regret not seeing?

Hmm, that's a tough one. I'll have to think about it and get back to you.

First concert: More embarrassing than Milli Vanilli. I won't confess. Let's just say I was a silly pre-teen little girl.

Best concert: U2 in 1983 - just on the cusp of breaking big. There was one moment in the concert that gave me chills - the band went off stage and the audience just kept quietly singing the last song they had played. Bono walked back out with an amazed look on his face and they started playing again. This later became a set piece in their concerts, but every other time I've seen them before the concert movie that taught everyone the trick, Bono had to walk back and out and try to get the audience to sing, the singing didn't start spontaineously. It was an amazing moment. I was singing quietly and didn't even realize it. I seemed to realize I was singing at the same time as everyone else - I started looking around and was seeing everyone else do the same thing with a look of confusion and awe on their faces.

What artist, dead or alive, do you most regret not seeing: The Who when Keith Moon was still alive.

edited because taking a post to a word processing tool to spell check and then repasting can cause problems

Okay, miri, what did you do last night to result in that mangled post? I promise I won't tell!

Rinaldo, All in all, if it's music, it's all good. I mean, I might not know what you are talking about, but then again, I don't know the bands that mel is talking about, either, since I am old and in the way.
miri, now I'm dying to know your first concert. Barry Manilow? Bay City Rollers? Debbie Gibson? 'n Synch?

I just remembered another concert I should put in--Stevie Ray Vaughn at the Lowell Memorial Auditorium, just after he got sober. Out.Standing.