I do a blog for work, about the programs we air. Today, I posted a series of adorable kangaroo photos from the BBC series Kangaroo Dundee, which begins tomorrow, June 3 on KET. If you’re not in Kentucky, check local listings to see if your public television station is airing it.
As I said, the photos are extremely cute.
I can’t stand it!
Click below to see them all, and learn more about the program Kangaroo Dundee. Enjoy!
If you know anything about American country and folk music, you know the name John Prine.
He’s famous for, among other things, penning the lyrics to his early song “Paradise,” which I always sing when traveling to the western part of the beautiful state of Kentucky and across the Green River —
And daddy won’t you take me back to Muhlenberg County
Down by the Green River where Paradise lay
Well, I’m sorry my son, but you’re too late in asking
Mister Peabody’s coal train has hauled it away
You may not have heard this song, entitled “In Spite of Ourselves,” which he sings below with Iris DeMent. I hadn’t. As you’ll hear in Prine’s remarks, the song appears in the end-credits in the 2001 movie in which he co-starred with Billy Bob Thornton, Daddy & Them.
Fun fact about Mr. Prine: Along with Ed Wood, of “worst director in Hollywood” fame, he and I share the same birthday, October 10. Mark your calendars, now — and celebrate for a month of Sundays.
When you watch a lot of crime dramas, it’s inevitable that you’ll start to view your own surroundings with the eye of a police investigator.
Not a real detective, though. I have no idea how they actually do their jobs. I’m a trained flatfoot in the long illustrious tradition created by Arthur Conan Doyle; that is, clues are everywhere and you just have to notice them, and whatever you find has profound significance to the way the DB was killed.
See? I told you I watch a lot of these things. DB = dead body.
Now let’s take a quick look at my murder scene. There I am, dead. The circumstances are very suspicious indeed. Tras was in Venezuela so he’s not a suspect. All my children have airtight alibis as well. In other words, anyone that could legitimately want me dead is in the clear.
So let’s look at the evidence surrounding my person and see if we can find the killer.
You know what that means. The victim is a Devout Catholic. Is there any other kind? Sort of like Observant Jew, the religions all have their built-in modifiers.
So naturally, since I’m a Devout Catholic, the killer must be someone from my parish. The priest is a likely suspect. Nuns are even better; after all the Beatles put “creeping like a nun” into our collective consciousness. So a creeping nun is a guilty nun. Case solved.
Keeping it real: I do have a copy of that booklet in my purse. I only vaguely remember how it got there. My mother may have given it to me, or I could have actually picked it up after Mass, where I go on Sundays. So give the poor nun a break.
It, therefore, must be the murder weapon. Test that thing for my blood (which has been wiped off, but you know they can still detect it). Because you know, a kitchen implement that’s out of place is a big giant clue that screams Murder Weapon.
Reality: There are very few knives, mixers or other kitchen implements of destruction that are actually put away in my non-gleaming kitchen. Any one of them could have killed me, according to this theory — even the bread maker. (It might have it in for me. Bread maker: I have my eye on you.) Anyway, in what universe does a home, especially with children, exist in a state of House Beautiful? Especially when its mistress is lying in a pool of blood.
This is practically definitive evidence that I’d been carjacked, held at gunpoint, forced to change the radio station off NPR, and brutally killed by a teenage terrorist.
After all, why else would my radio not be tuned to the news, which as anyone who lives with me, lives near me, or works with me knows, I never listen to anything else. If it’s news, I’m there. Also there for public radio shows, like This American Life, Fresh Air, Serial, or Invisibilia.
Oh I do occasionally listen to a couple of classic rock stations, which, shockingly, play songs from the ’80s, which as everyone knows, was just a couple years ago. (I graduated from college in 1985.) That stuff’s CURRENT, man. Sigh.
Anyway if Kanye West and/or Lady Gaga was blaring from the Prius speakers, somebody else was in the car. Case closed.
Reality: I’m currently obsessed with Uptown Funk. Every time I get in the car I turn to Your Pop Station in order to sing at high volume along with Bruno Mars. About 60 percent of the time I do. Don’t believe me — just watch! Heh.
Another reality is that I’m most likely not the enigma I believe myself to be. Having children means you’ve got people to detail, in the most unflattering way possible, each of your habits, quirks of speech, how you laugh, how you answer or say good-bye on the phone, etc. Also to enumerate how many times you’ve told a particular story about your days in band.
So please, show this to the police when my lifeless body is discovered in one of the above scenarios. Contact my office, where I’ve got a current approved photo on file that can be given to the media.
This is totally true. I don’t want unflattering Facebook photos to be splashed all over the newspapers (are too still newspapers!) and the Action News.
What? I like to plan ahead.
I know I’ll never be a poet. For one thing, I rarely have any deep insights that would benefit from a pithy exploration of inner psychological details, historical events, or trees.
I am, however, particularly drawn to writing headlines, coming up with puns to make even the strongest editor cry, and cracking jokes. Which makes me the perfect writer for crafting misleading descriptions of popular works of literature which intentionally miss the point.
And so today, I offer you my list inspired by the supposedly true story of a description of The Wizard of Oz which once appeared in TV Guide. It is said to have read A young girl travels to a magical land where she kills the first person that she meets, then joins with others to kill again.
To Kill a Mockingbird — Recluse reluctantly drawn into community affairs.
Jurassic Park — Entrepreneur surprised when genetic experiments go awry.
The Bonfire of the Vanities — Arrogant bond salesman arrested for murder.
Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil — New Yorker documents Southern bachelor’s protracted legal battle.
The Princess Bride — Improbable romance diverts recovering boy.
Of Mice and Men — Social interactions perplex mentally challenged farm worker.
Roots — Black author’s genealogy quest proves successful.
Lonesome Dove — Accidental shooting impacts Old West events. 
Raising Arizona — Man finds ingenious solution to wife’s fertility problems.
The Crying Game — Romance blossoms between kindhearted IRA foot soldier and English free spirit.
A Simple Plan — Downed plane provides Minnesota couple with windfall.
My Left Foot — Handicap limits boy’s interactions with others.
The Stand — Altered virus proves remarkably efficient.
Amadeus — Institutionalized musician reflects upon colleague’s career.
The World According to Garp — Fatherless writer settles into domestic life, with mixed results.
Dangerous Liaisons — Complex coiffures, raiment provide little hindrance to promiscuity.
Cold Mountain — Walking home can take a really long time.
The Bridges of Madison County — National Geographic foots bill for randy photographer’s conquests.
O Brother Where Art Thou? — Latent musical ability discovered in trio of escaped convicts.
Girl With a Pearl Earring — Servant girl’s domestic duties interrupted by master’s whims.
The Sixth Sense — Hallucinations worrisome for Philadelphia youth.
Vanilla Sky — Man grapples with issues surrounding reconstructive surgery.
The Executioner’s Song — Ex-con struggles to re-enter society.
Mulan — Young Chinese girl discovers father’s armor fits her comfortably.
The Sound of Music — Austrian postulant revises career choice.
A Tree Grows in Brooklyn — Arboreal nuisance achieves rapid growth in urban setting.
Back to the Future — Son seeks origin of parents’ romance.
Boogie Nights — Aspiring actor makes logical career choice.
Catch Me If You Can — Ambitious student explores several career options.
Coal Miner’s Daughter — Mountain lass marries young, moves far from home.
Escape from New York — Experimental penal colony established despite risk.
Lemony Snicket’s A Series of Unfortunate Events — Orphans persevere despite custody issues.
Saturday Night Fever — Spare-time pursuits of paint-store employee documented.
One Hundred and One Dalmatians — Societal consequences of lack of spay/neuter policy explored.
Rear Window — Shut-in occupies time between girlfriend’s visits.
The Da Vinci Code — Man offers surprising interpretation of Biblical events.
An American Werewolf in London — Injured during a trip abroad, a college student finds romance with nurse.
Back to the Future — Son seeks origin of parents’ romance.
Splash — Woman from overseas adjusts to American life.
A Few Good Men — Naval official surprised by consequences of his actions.
Alien — Space voyage diverted by unexpected event.
Apollo 13 — Astronauts struggle with home, work issues.
Beetlejuice — Young couple surprised by accident’s outcome.
Total Recall — Man struggles with realization of marital betrayal.
NouveauSoileau 