Sometimes it Snows in April

Further Nearer from the Start
This weekend, Chez Healing is taking 50 families to a ski resort, free of charge - an attempt to provide those of us living in C-Camp with some semblance of a vacation. Of course, life in C-Camp doesn't always work out to benefit from such generosity, as is our case. Vampboy's immune counts are too low for us to go, as the thought of him developing a fever and being in a rural hospital three hours from Chez Healing is a risk we can't take. Of course, we know this in our heads, but are hearts once again sink with the frustration and disappointment that comes with not being able to lead a "normal" life. On the flip side, Vampmommy and I will use the time to do some spring cleaning around the house, and hopefully send Vampboy off with a grandparent for a little while so we can have a date.

"You like me -- you really really like me!"
I channelled Sally Field this week when I discovered I've been tagged with a meme by Denver Dad. For those not in the blogging-know, a "meme" is a get-to-know-you question that is passed from blogger to blogger. My fellow father-blogger has tagged me to name my three favorite songs. Over the passed few days, I've moved from incredible honor at being asked, to a level of hysterical anxiety in which I need to come up with an answer before my head explodes.

Damn you, Denver Dad! Those who know me know that this question is impossible to answer -- for my music collection is vast, my tastes varied, and my passion for a good tune is practically unmatched. So how do I do this? Should I go for the three all-time favorites, or faves of the moment? Should I go with the three that have the most personal meaning, or the three that amuse me? Perhaps I should go with tried and true answers that my friends will not be surprised by -- or perhaps I should pick something obscure to everyone in an attempt to raise my "cool-music quotient". Perhaps I should list three tacky songs in protest of the idea of having three favorites -- Cybill Shepherd, anyone?

Well, because I can't expend more of my dwindling synapses on the existential implications of my choices, here are three that come to mind right now. Note that they will probably change in five minutes:

Bjork - "All is Full of Love" . The day that Vampboy was being taken into surgery to have his tumor removed, I sang this song in his ear as I walked him to the operating theatre. Simple yet beautiful. I think I'll have it played at my funeral.

Cocteau Twins - "Wolf in the Breast". During Christmas break while a freshmen in college, I spent two weeks huddled in my bedroom, listening to the album Heaven or Las Vegas, reading Ann Rice's Vampire Chronicles - and the "Vamp" in "Vampdaddy" was born. This song stayed in my head for quite some time afterwards, and when I listen to it now it sounds like home.

Depeche Mode - "It Doesn't Matter". This was a bit of a courting song between Vampmommy and I. A little strange if you know the song, but that speaks to our history. We both smile when we hear it these days.

There -- I can now return to normal functioning. Of course, the other element to the tagging is that I need to pass the meme on to three other bloggers. I'm still a bit new in reaching out to my fellow-writers, but I'll throw this one out to Metrodad (although he's probably received this a thousand times now), Crankmama (probably the same) and Papa Bradstein .

Bonus Track
Amanda Palmer is a freakin' genius.

Who is she, you might ask? She's one half of the Dresden Dolls, a punk-cabaret band out of Boston. They are in heavy rotation on my end for a few reasons. First off, the other half of the group, Brian, is from New Hampshire. This proves once again that cool, talented artists do come from the Granite State (we're not as backwards as you think!). Second, the college-era me would find Amanda wildly fascinating, and if she was around when I was in college I would join her in wearing white-face and doing improvisational movement theatre right in the Harvard Square Pit.

Today my appreciation of them has gone to a new level, thanks to the video below. Not only is this a phenomenal display of surreal talent that is completely up my ally, but the song speaks exactly to the underlying frustration and ennui Vampmommy and I experience living in C-Camp these days. It made me feel better about our weekend getaway that now isn't, and I'm sure it will put a smile on Vampmommy's face. So, if you have a few extra minutes, check this out. And remember -- I'd be the man with the chicken.