On the Finer Points of Will Smith, Naked Monkey Bandits, etc.

You know we use our record player constantly, right? The boys are absolutely fascinated by it and its various accoutrements, and I don't have the heart to tell them that the technology is outdated by nearly 30 years. They'll grow up thinking every other kid listens to LPs at home of wacky old musicals and classical recordings. (Luckily their uncle has an Xbox, so perhaps they won't turn out completely screwed up.)

So anyway... Steve's mom sent us home with a Stevie Wonder album, and I'm in love with it. You'd know a lot of the singles--standard Stevie Wonder stuff--and we here at the Case casa love to groove to the funky strains of his songs. I was reading up on the history of this particular album (when it came out, how it fit into his repertoire, etc.) and was thrilled to read that, after 2 years of hot anticipation in the mid-70s, it was finally released with 2 LPs, one EP, and a 24-page lyric book.

That's the one we have! We have the original!

(Note: When I communicated this all to my mother, including the fact that it was released in 1976, she got all sigh-y and said, "That's the year I graduated from high school." I told her that she should be glad she's so retro. That sort of thing is really big now.)

OK, so after all of that draw-out buildup, here follows a conversation that Stephen and I had a couple days ago while we listened to "I Wish" for the 67th time that afternoon:

Me: "You know, Will Smith used this song as his basis for 'Wild Wild West.'"

Steve: "Really?"

Me: "Yeah. Can't you tell from the beginning?"

Steve: "No. I don't recognize it."

Me: "Yeah! Here, listen." (Here I hum the part to which I am referring.)

Steve: "Nope. All I remember from that song is 'Wild wild west' being repeated over and over."

(Here we both repeat that line a couple times in funny low voices. It's the only part of that song we know.)

Steve: "Isn't it weird to think that Will Smith used to be famous for his songs?"

Me: "Yeah. Wasn't that his first movie?"

Steve: "No, he was well-known by then."

Me: "You sure?"

Steve: "Yeah. Hadn't Men in Black already been made? I'm pretty sure."

Me: "I dunno."

(Pause here to keep Baylor from flinging his lunch onto the floor.)

Me: "Hey, wait, wasn't Will Smith the Fresh Prince of Bel-Air?"

Steve: "Oh, man, yeah, I think he was. That's weird."

Me: "No kidding."

Abrupt end to Will Smith debate in light of the fact that Jack is furtively sneaking food to the dog.

Maybe this conversation isn't that funny, but right afterward, I mused over it and thought, Wow, I wonder what it would be like to be a celebrity and have people ruminating over the fine points of your career just in casual conversation. Plus who puts that much thought into Will Smith? We had just recently seen both I Am Legend and Hancock, so this conversation seemed particularly poignant.

And for the record, I couldn't sleep for like three nights after I saw I Am Legend.

Freaked. Me. Out.

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In more Charlotte is Awesome News, today she had her first taste of rice cereal (mixed with mama's milk), and I am pleased to announce that she was a pro at it from the start. When we first introduced cereal to the boys when they were about 5 months old, neither of them were too receptive to it. In fact, Baylor burst into angry tears just a few moments into the whole ordeal, and I don't think he has yet fully recovered. I fully expected, based on my past experience, to take three or four weeks introducing the cereal to Charlotte, who I was sure would be absolutely confused by the concept of a spoon, considering how much she loathes bottles.

To my profound astonishment and delight, she swallowed her first spoonful without any difficulty and promptly opened her mouth for more. In fact, anytime the spoon hovered anywhere near her face, she opened her mouth wide and squealed for more. When I called Stephen in to see, he was dully impressed and compared her expertise to the dismal cereal failings of her brothers, calling them something like "Goobert" and "Goofhound." She ended up eating it twice today, including a big bowl right before bed, which I hope stays on her tummy and helps her start sleeping through the night.

A mama can dream, after all.

And in case you were wondering, no, we didn't take any photos. I didn't expect any success, so I wasn't prepared. When the boys had their first cereal, we took approximately 400 pictures and at least 2 short videos, all of which we promptly sent to their adoring grandmothers. Poor Charlotte. This is what happens when you're trying to feed a 4-month old baby while two naked, freshly-bathed monkey bandits run around you, climbing all over and threatening to pee all over creation unless Dad gets diapers on them quick.

If I were you, I'd avoid the Case house every evening around 6:30. Unless you enjoyed getting peed on by naked monkey bandits, then by all means, come on in.

And... with that lovely picture, I'll close. Sleep well, bloggy buddies. Or, if you're one of my South Korea readers (hi, Kaila!), then have a fantastic day.