Thursday, February 14, 2008
The Definition of Distress
I believe y'all remember Tal, the cool dude who captured The JohnnyB in a heartbeat. We now call him Taltul, as he is so incredibly adorable. Oh yes, he's still cool. Very. He is now 15 months old, chasing his older brother (Nitz) all around the house and acting like a real dude.
Until... last week Nitz got his revenge, once and for all.
First, bear with me while I present a short cross-culture lesson.
Here we go: in Israel we do not clean the floor with those fancy spongy mops that pop up here in Target every day. Y'see, we simply do not believe in smearing the dirt all around... Instead, we pour water with detergent from a bucket (most floors in Israel are tile) and then collect them with a big squeegee (called magav in Hebrew). Once this is done, we dry the floor with a clean floor cloth. When I just arrived here and gave this TLC to our kitchen floor (it also works on vinyl), The JohnnyB was stunned to see how clean and bright it actually was underneath all the layers of, well, mopping. Sadly, you can't get a magav in the US, so it's a good thing I listened to the movers and brought one with me when I shipped my stuff here.
End of lesson.
Last week Nitz decided to act as if he is cleaning the floor, grabbed one Magav and started dancing around with it very happily.
Being the sweetheart that he is, he thought he should share the joy with his younger bro, Taltul, grabbed a second Magav and gave it to him - - -
- - - and perhaps for the first time in his life, Taltul the mini-Lionheart got scared out of his mind.
My sister who was lucky to witness this, reports that he just stood there forever, looking at the thing all the way up and back down, not daring to move his feet even an eighth of an inch, and wearing the most distressful expression on his face.
He had no clue what to do with this baton - and yet felt obliged to hold on to it as if that is the last straw; as if once he lets go, global warming will instantly commence and all species would become extinct in a second. (except for ants and idiots, that is. Those will thrive forever). Alas, so much responsibility on the shoulders of such a little guy.
And so he stood like that totally freaked out and scared shitless for a minute or two, and soon came to the inevitable brilliant conclusion he'll have to spend his whole life holding on to that strange thing that was bestowed upon his custody for guardianship until someone else steps up to take it from him - and what are the odds of that happening? (hmm... that's exactly how I feel sometimes since I became the president of our art organization. I fully and absolutely relate to his agony!!!).
Eventually, realizing he is doomed to a fate more tragic than Sisyphus' and heavier than Atlas', Taltul burst into (very manly) tears.
Of course, being related to me, my sister (the loving grandma) and my niece (the loving mom) did not rush to help him. No way. My sister hollered for my niece to come out of the shower and grab a camera, and thus it was documented. Knowing them, I am sure they were also laughing their heads off (hence the blurry photos).
Apparently, the one who came to his rescue was Nitz, who took the magav and set his little brother free. Only then could he breathe again. And I am told that later, when Nitz tried to deposit the magav in his hands, Taltul shook his head and his body in the most expressive 'NO WAY' ever recorded in the history of mankind.
After days of begging, my niece agreed to share the photos, and I just had to create this slide show to commemorate it.
Taltul is too young to be embarrassed by this, but one day, when he grows up...
Labels: Family, Movies, People, Profoundness
Sunday, January 27, 2008
Roaaaaaaaaaaaaaaar!!!
We went to see the movie "I Am Legend" tonight.
I have to disclaim: I am not a horror movies type of gal, and never been a fan of this genre. I usually find them boring and silly, sometimes even funny, as they are so totally out of proportions. Zombies, monsters, aliens, demons - I mean, c'mon!
I do highly appreciate psychological thrillers, as those can truly scare the hell out of me.
But - it was The JohnnyB's birthday, and I screwed up with one of the gifts I got for him (subscription to a magazine, that, um... he already is subscribed to... I don't want to talk about it!). And, he's been wanting to go to this movie for ages.
Plus, in the last couple of weeks, I saw a movie with Will Smith, which has left in awe of his acting skills. Have you watched "The Pursuit of Happyness"? Well, the kid who played the reckless Fresh Prince of Bel-Air has grown to a top-notch actor.
So we went.I did not come out of it a groupie of horror movies, but Will Smith played his role incredibly.
Since we caught this movie only now, we saw it in an old quirky cinema, that sold stale popcorn. The place smelled of pee, and by the look of the chairs, those responsible for this odor did not bother to go to the restroom to leave their mark. And, to top it all, as one of the characters was saying the finishing sentence of the movie, the end of that very last sentence was cut in the middle (I kid you not!) and the lights went back on, leaving us no chance of seeing the cast or the director. I'm pretty sure won't be going to that theatre ever again, but now I am soooooooooooooooo glad we went to see it there, as the screen was small... I wouldn't want to watch this one on a full screen. Hey, in some places, it played in iMAX!!!
The movie is bursting with nocturnal zombies all over the place. And yes, it was scary. Not the constant roaring and the glaring eyes of those creatures, as much as the impact of the terrible silence that pulls you into the reality of the movie.
Right as we were going out of the movie theatre, I heard someone calling my name - and it was webbieL from our watercolor club. I was still overwhelmed by the movie, so I guess I acted very weird (The JohnnyB states I was looking around very nervously). I was still in that freaked-out state as we drove back home in the dark empty streets, wondering when will the first zombie stick his unpigmented face in the window and roar at us with sharpened teeth.
When we got home, The JohnnyB was so thoroughly amused by my reaction that he took me by the hand to check that all the closets are safe and the house is zombie-free.
OK, OK - laugh all you want. But - - - - now The JohnnyB is feeling sick... he even took Airborne.
Coincidence??
I dunno.
One thing's for sure: I'm gonna check his hair, eyes and gums in the morning. You don't mess with the plague.
Labels: Damn Technology, Movies, Scary
