I couldn't sleep last night so I ended up watching "Vanilla Sky," which was airing on Bravo. I'm not crazy about watching feature films on commercial television so that right there is a huge problem. A film as complex and convoluted as VS needs to be viewed carefully, especially when you're gripped by the premise and the plot (is there really one?) but don't care at all for the lead (Tom Cruise plays obnoxious--and so well, too!--through so much of "Vanilla" that it's hard to feel any real sympathy for his character when his world goes rock bottom.)

It's been almost eight years since I first saw the movie and I think I liked it much better then. Today at my library I checked out the Spanish movie it's based on ("Abre Los Ojos" or "Open Your Eyes.") From what I've heard it's far superior...can't wait to watch it and compare notes...

 It sort of looks like weed, but it's actually an herb called mugwort.

Ever since I was a kid I've had the most intense dreams and nightmares. The very first nightmare I ever had (which, strangely, I can still can recall all these years later) involved a giant-sized spider opening the door to our family room (basement) and crawling down the stairs, its huge eyes staring at me and freezing me in my tracks.

I don't have too many "monster" dreams these days, but I have had some personal history somehow show up in my dreams despite how much I don't want it to...I've tried lucid dreaming, thinking peaceful thoughts before I fell asleep...nothing.

So since I can't really control the content of my dreams I've tried my best to try and have some good dreams to go along with the bad ones. Just like spicy foods before bedtime can cause horrific nightmares, there are some other foods and some herbs that can cause pleasant ones...

And that's where mugwort comes in. Mugwort is VERY hard to find in health food stores or any other offline place. But  online it's a breeze. Mugwort has been known (though it's pretty much impossible to scientifically prove) to increase the quality and intensity of dreams.

I haven't bought mugwort in pure form yet, but I did buy this product (which has 15 mg of mugwort):


And it really works! The other night I had one of the most vivid dreams I've ever had. Kava Kava, by the way, also can alter our dreams...

(more later!)

The much-talked-about Madonna episode of "Glee" premieres on Tuesday, April 20th. The cd and digital versions of the album that goes with it also debut that day (see lace-gloved hand above).

Looking at the cover of the upcoming TV Guide that hits news stands this Thursday (the 15th) I can't help but think most of the cast were either still in diapers or yet to be born when Madonna first burst onto the scene. They didn't go to school dressed like Madonna (when it wasn't Halloween!) because it was the style or hear "Like A Virgin" on the radio when it was still in the Top 40.

It's funny...my generation probably will always think of their Madonna as the one who wore leather and lace (I could never have gone to school and carried that look off like some of my classmates--including my sister!--did so well.) And a kid in high school in the early 90s has the Madonna who wore underwear over her outer wear..and today's kids have...extremely muscular and very slender Madonna who knows her way around a guitar and a riding crop:)

Out of view in the TV Guide cover is Jane Lynch dressed to the nines as this Madonna (wish I could have found the WHOLE cover):

 (Well, maybe she's always been muscular?) You'll get to see Lynch's Madonna next week if you watch the show!

My co-workers and I sometimes (discreetly, of course!) laugh at the new romance titles that cross our fiction desk. _What the Librarian Did_ by Karina Bliss is no exception. But it's not the title as much as the tagline: "She's got a secret that's long overdue."

The even funnier thing is I picked it up when I got to my desk in the back and started reading it and (so far!) it's not that bad!:)

 Now about those librarian stereotypes...those of us who work in the field rarely dress like the woman on the cover and some of us may be just as likely as the guy on the cover to sport tattoos (discreetly, of course!)

I'm trying to think of any other profession that has such a stuffy reputation and I'm coming up empty...from what I've seen it's one that's pretty false!

Listening to "Superstar" right on my MP3 player...it's funny how even though you know you put certain songs on your player, shuffle can still catch you by surprise. Karen Carpenter's voice has a certain haunting sound in some of her songs, but you have to wonder sometimes: was it always there or is it her tragic death that makes us think of those songs that way?

Her brother Richard has released (what seems like) endless compilations of their material (repeating the same classic songs over and over again for what some cynics--and sometimes I have to wonder-say is monetary reason).

All I can say for sure is the only Carpenters collection you really need is The Singles: 1969-1973. It contains all of their material from the height of their popularity and when both of them were at their best...amazing stuff!!!