#extra fun fact: jordan is named after my uncle!

[yeoldwebkinzcollector]

Welcome Leo! He is an easily flustered english teacher who is passionate about his work...usually just within the privacy of his own space!

fun fact: before i got Leo i had gotten a lion webkinz that i purposely didn't name leo bc kid-me thought it was too basic. when i got a leopard though i thought, eh why not? now Jordan and Leo are good friends :)

[2o3dinge]

Colin & Jared hot takes: They could’ve actually met in Dublin in 1995.

There’s this funny synchronicity: Jared, at 23, is staying in Colin’s hometown for "two or three months" shooting his first ever movie with a leading role in which he pretended to be a 17-year-old black-haired Irish boy in the 1970ies.

Colin, at 19, was that kind of boy in real life in the 90ies. Like Jared's character he was also kind of in-between phases, not sure which way to go, but already contemplating acting. After dropping out of secondary school prematurely (according to himself), he'd been in Australia for a while in 1994. Back home again he jobbed as a model (e.g. on an Irish daytime TV show wearing a red thong and not much else), waited tables and took a lot of ecstasy (according to himself). This was before he listened to his brother Eamon and tried his luck at the Gaiety drama school in '96.

Jared was in town shooting his very first movie "The Last of the High Kings" which is an adaptation of a coming of age novel by Irish writer Ferdia MacAnna. Miramax produced. Gabriel Byrne, Stephen Rea, Colm Meaney were in this, too, all established Irish actors. And Jordan Catalano from "My So-Called Life", who was neither established nor Irish, but very hot news! According to a post by the Irish Film Institute, people do remember this well. They tried to get hired as extras.

Would Colin and his three older siblings, those upper middle class kids who were all into performing arts (and who all found their destination there eventually) have missed this? Their uncle being an established musical actor in London, Eamon the director of an arts school in Dublin, Catherine enrolled at the Gaiety acting school - wouldn't they have known about it too, maybe try to nab a job in this?

Fun fact: the exam scene was shot in Castleknock college, a private school that Colin went to for several years (and was kicked off)

Who else does remember the summer of 1995?

Jared does. Unusually expressive when reminded of it. Over the years he’s said these things…

But a big part about music is getting out and sharing it with people, and we’re very much a live band, so it’s important for us to be on the road. We’re psyched to be able to come back to Dublin, which is a very close place to my heart too. The first time I was in Dublin was in 1995, so it’s been a long time. I talk with Irish people and I feel like I need to just shut up.

Hot Press (February 24, 2010)

"The Last of the High Kings was my very first film. It was an Irish movie, and I played a young man from Howth. I've had a long love affair with Dublin, and to be able to come back and play a show with my band in the O2 recently meant a lot to me. It was a pretty amazing experience being in Ireland for the film in 1995, and coming back in 2010 was great."

Irish Independent (March 7, 2010)

He would get his first movie break in Ireland when he starred in the lead role of a young Dubliner experiencing a sexual awakening in the late 1970s. The Last Of The High Kings was based on the Ferdia MacAnna novel of the same name, and Leto remembers the movie with affection.

"I spent some great months in Dublin in the summer of 1996," he says. "It's such a beautiful city, so different to any place I'd been."

Few American actors can nail a contemporary Irish accent, but Leto managed it. "I'm getting a bit nostalgic just listening to your accent, man," he says. "I got really into the role and spoke with an Irish accent 24/7 while making that movie. Friends would call me from the US in the middle of the night and wake me up and they'd think they'd got the wrong person because I would speak like an Irish guy even when I'd just woken up and wasn't conscious of what accent I was speaking with." [...]

He would get his first movie break in Ireland when he starred in the lead role of a young Dubliner experiencing a sexual awakening in the late 1970s. The Last Of The High Kings was based on the Ferdia MacAnna novel of the same name, and Leto remembers the movie with affection.

He's had to content himself with small parts in other fine films -- Fight Club and American Psycho, among them -- as well as the odd turkey. Oliver Stone's Alexander is often cited as the worst big-budget film of the decade, but Leto prefers to talk about the fun he had with Colin Farrell.

"I don't know if you've spent any time in Colin's company, but that guy is just so amazing. His zest for life is infectious. I consider him to be a good friend and hopefully if he's in Dublin when we're there, we'll get to hang out."

Irish Independent (January 25, 2008)

... it's still a theme in 2022 ...

While world-famous now, Leto’s first leading role in a movie was Irish film Last of the High Kings, which was shot in and around Howth in Dublin in the mid-90s. His face lit up as he recalled his first experience making a movie in the Irish capital, which is now a hub for international productions.

“That was my very first movie that I’d starred in. And of course, Dublin was a very different town. ”But even before we all had the internet, there seemed to be unfounded rumours of celebrity deaths. There was a rumour, I guess, it was reported on the news that I had died. So people would come up to me on the street and be like ‘I thought you were dead’.

“And I’d be like, 'Oh my god, that’s hilarious, but no not yet'. That was bizarre, that happened all the time filming,” he recalled which much laughter. “Then when the movie came out I was mentioned on the news, I believe, as an ‘upcoming Irish actor'." Leto, who has since performed here multiple times when touring with his band, clearly has very fond memories of the film, which co-starred Gabriel Byrne.

“It was a beautiful experience, it changed my life," he said. "I love the country, any time I see someone from Ireland I have a warm feeling, I feel like family. It’s a great place, a very special place, I miss it."

Buzz (March 28, 2022)

re: a "long love affair with Dublin"

[alifurt]

Michigan - Week 3

Our third week started with us hemming and hawing about taking Vivian in to urgent care. She had been going to the bathroom every 30 minutes (quite literally) for a day by now and even though she said it didn't hurt or wasn't uncomfortable, I wanted to make sure it didn't get worse than the disruption of frequent bathroom breaks. So Wednesday afternoon when my mom got home from work we decided to finally go in to have her looked at and she ended up diagnosed with a UTI of which did indeed require medicine to remedy the issue. My mom stayed with Conner and Claire in the waiting room that was prepared with toys and snacks (if anyone ever needs a nice urgent care in Commerce, the one on Union Lake Road sort of across from Kroger is great) while Vivian and I went in to talk to the NP. Afterwards we went home and got ready to go have dinner with Jesse, Adam and Odin at their house. Claire stayed home with my parents while I took the big kids over to eat and play. It was nice to get together and we got to celebrate Jesse’s birthday a little while the kids played and I didn't have to be distracted by little Claire which was so nice since the big kids played so well together.

[Despite the situation, Viv was happy as a clam - probably because I promised she could have some of the fruit snacks that the waiting room was stocked with]

[Conner, Odin, Viv with Jax photobombing in the back]

Thursday we were home most of the day with my cousin Beauman who came over to spend the day! They played video games inside and swam and just had an all around great time as they always do with Beau! After a fun day, I left the kids with my parents to get treated to a facial at Robin's salon, About Face, then I had dinner and drinks with Robin and my cousin Jen. It was a wonderful (and much needed) night off from the kids and it was nice to get to spend extra time with my cousin and Robin.

[Lovely ladies - me, Jen, Robin]

[Out to dinner]

Friday morning my parents were off work so we took advantage of the beautiful day by going to the zoo. When the kids woke up we got going quickly so we could have breakfast on our way at the Original Pancake House. Unfortunately the medicine Vivian was on created a new symptom and much of breakfast was spent in the restroom. We considered not going to the zoo but the kids really wanted to - despite Vivian's issue - so we got some pull ups as an emergency precaution. The Detroit Zoo was awesome. Everyone agreed that the penguin exhibit was the clear favorite as you start off looking at them from ground level and the full glass wall makes the kids feel like they are right there with them - Claire loved that when a penguin came right up to her. Then you walk down some stairs and go into a tunnel under their swimming area and they zip all around you underwater. We all enjoyed sitting and watching the penguins zoom around. There was a similar underwater exhibit for the Arctic with seals but the penguins were a little more fun. The second favorite was the butterfly exhibit and it made me excited to check out Woodland Park Zoo's (our zoo in Seattle) new butterfly enclosure too! After a fun morning and early afternoon at the zoo we loaded into the car to go to Busha's place to join her for an ice cream social.

[Conner doing a dance with a penguin friend]

[Claire loved watching the penguins]

[Amazed at the penguins zooming around them]

[The view from below]

[The butterflies loved my shirt]

[Me and my gang]

[Pops and Claire making their way]

[Foggy shooters]

[Claire kissing the snake]

[All tuckered out after a fun zoo adventure]

[Ice cream with a very happy Busha]

[Vivian and Conner were ready to wheel Busha away!]

On Saturday morning we woke up, got ready and went straight to breakfast at McDonald's to meet up with with my girlfriends, Erica and her little girl Jordan, Alex and Amanda. It was nice as the kids could play while we all caught up a bit with minimal interruptions. My mom and Erica's mom, Marie, walked up midway into the visit as well which was nice as the kids were all excited for them to have arrived. Nothing better than a chill morning of no pressure breakfast and play!

[McD’s meetup!]

After a couple hours at McD's, my crew had to pack up shop to meet my dad at his company picnic. We were immediately greeted with goody bags for the kids filled with tons of stuff that the kids were so excited about! Vivian's was different than Conner and Claire's as they had some younger things in them which I got really excited about - new sippy cups and wipes (we were almost running out so that was perfect timing!!!). The picnic was amazing for young families as there was a bounce house, clown who did face painting and balloon animals and the much anticipated turtle races. My dad had been talking up the turtle races all week and boy was the excitement to a peak and boy did it pan out - the kids loved it! They got so into the race (which was simply putting turtles in a bucket and uncovering them at the same time to see who crawled out of the circle fastest. The kids were given number cards randomly and they got prizes if their numbered turtle won (no surprise, the races continued until everyone was a winner). Before the races, they also got to name the turtles, which Vivian was very proud of. It was a great event and I am so glad that we were able to be there to celebrate all the accomplishments of my dad's company and meet some of the very nice people he has the pleasure of working with and some of which who have shared in the joy of my children as they've come into the world. After a long day at the party for lunch and even dinner, we were all pooped out and had a low key night. If I recall correctly, I think this was one of the nights that Conner fell asleep in the car and I transferred him to bed immediately thinking it would be a super easy night (for once!) but instead he woke up an hour later in a fit of tears and took another hour to calm back to sleep.

[Conner discussing his sparkly dinosaur tattoo]

[Viv modeling her sparkly rainbow and stars face paint accompanied by her new stuffed turtle]

[The girls giving the turtles a pre-race pep talk and picking favorites]

[The race begins!]

[Oh and did I forget to mention these happy kids happened to be the winners of the candy count - because we needed candy like a hole in the head!]

[My mom and Conner in the photobooth]

[Things were interesting....]

[Heyyyyyyy! (Conner with his sucker.... forever)]

Sunday was a nice, low key day after all the excitement of the party Saturday. The kids swam with Sienna (a neighbor girl who was over often when she heard or saw the kids out in the yard or lake) and then the highlight of the day was a sunset flight in Pop's airplane. Conner and Viv had been looking forward to flying in my dad's plane since arriving in Michigan. In fact as we were landing - not even on the ground in the commercial jet - Conner was giddy and even said "I'm so excited! We can go in Pop's plane now!" My dad let Conner sit in the front to be his co-pilot and even fly the plane. Conner's piloting skills were a little wobbly but we were lucky he preferred to have the plane climb rather than nosedive and Conner absolutely hated when we did some negative G forces saying "I do NOT want to do that again, please do NOT do that!" while Vivian begged to have her tummy jump again. Of course the rule is everyone has to be on-board with the roller coaster feeling so we had a tame rest of the flight other than the steep turns as we zipped around my grandparents house, aunt and uncle's house and my parent's house of course too!

[Swimming with Sienna]

[Almost ready for takeoff!]

[Conner was sooo excited to get to fly - while I was nervous he’d take over during takeoff!]

[Viv asking for more ups and downs]

[Me and my girl]

[Beautiful Union Lake Sunset]

Monday was my mom's day off so we went to Marshbank Park to play on the playground for a bit before running over to Costco to pick up a few things. We spent the rest of the afternoon and evening on the lake.

[Claire’s first time in a little sprout ponytail]

[Cool dude Conner loved the roller slide]

[So did Viv!]

[Atop the hill at Marshbank Park - such an ordinary moment that looked so heavenly I couldn’t resist incorporating Zachary <3]

[An evening dip in the middle of the lake with M.E. and Pops after work]

[Look I was there too!]

My mom had her office day for work on Tuesday so we were able to use the car and even encouraged to get out of the house so she could stay home to work in peace. It was nice to get out and do some errands. We stopped in at Target and Buy Buy Baby to look at car seats for Viv as she has hit her weight capacity (we learned this at her appointment for the UTI). After browsing we stopped at Buffalo Wild Wings for some lunch before heading home to nap. After nap Jesse and Odin came over and we went swimming for fun and to relieve her pregnant body from the super hot and humid day we were having (we initially planned a walk but figured the lake was better suited). Three doors down, Lucy's grandson, Dominic, was swimming so we all swam together and the kids were able to play on all their fun lake toys - kid sized kayaks, paddle boards and a giant floaty island. This was the beginning of a fun friendship for the kids as Dom enjoyed playing with them and it was so convenient that we pretty much ran into each other each night on the lake cooling down after long hot days.

Week three had come to an end and we were pretty much in the swing of lake life by now - although still not bedtime.