My future husband
My best friend (Happy birthday, Julie!!!!!!!!!)
Used book sales
Beth Orton, Comfort of Strangers
Katamari Damacy flash game
Chobits
Trail mix with fancy raspberry chocolate chips
My stuffed AFLAC duck
My music projects for Teh Partay
Taco C strawberry margaritas
Blog-troversy
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Music:
AllofMP3
Reefer Madness
Art Brut
Tortoise
Jenny Lewis with the Watson Twins
Reading:
The Corrections
Running in Heels
Web:
30Boxes Calendar
Digg
Media Takeout
Chain Reading
Meebo
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Well, as November draws to a close, I have had to face up to the inevitable realization that I’m not going to win at National Novel Writing Month. With everything that has been going on, it’s just not happening. I have accomplished quite a few things the last couple of weeks, though…
- Worked on lots of client projects at work
- Ate lots of turkey and pumpkin pie
- Sang karaoke with friends
- Drank quite a bit of wine and cider beer
- Saw RENT (which was fabulous)
- Saw Harry Potter (which was AMAZING)
- Got engaged to the love of my life (which goes well beyond amazing AND fabulous)
I also plan on accomplishing a few things this week:
- Going back on my diet
- Doing more Christmas shopping
- Getting Christmas decorations and wrapping paper
- Putting up my Christmas tree
The holiday season is already thick upon us…I have my office party to go to on Friday, and then we have a CD exchange party to go to on Saturday. Our church Christmas party is the next weekend, we have Christmas with Shawn’s dad & stepmom the weekend after that, and then Christmas with my parents and his mom on the actual weekend of Christmas. THEN we have Christmas with my brother & his family the Thursday after Christmas…and then New Year’s Eve. I’m tired already!! But, I love this time of year and I’m going to enjoy myself. I hope everyone had a great Turkey Day!
Word Counts - Today: 0 | November: 0 | 2005: 0
Ten things (in no particular order) that you can only see at the Texas State Fair:
1. a midget puking in a trash can
2. albino turtles, albino snakes–their exhibits are liiiiiiiiive
3. men walking around in leggings stuffed into cowboy boots (we never did figure out WHY)
4. some of the worst fashion choices this side of the Mississippi River
5. fried peanut butter, jelly, and banana sandwiches
6. some guy trying to return his turkey leg for one that was “more tender”
7. a ride that doubles as an airbrushed homage to Magnum, P.I.
8. $25 parking
9. t-shirts that say “Git-Er-Drunk, then Git-Er-Done”
10. Big Tex’s crotch (which was all you got in frame if you tried to take a picture in front of Big Tex)
We had a pretty good time at the fair on Saturday. Our group collectively gorged ourselves on Fletcher’s Corn Dogs, fried oreos (among other fried goodies) and funnel cakes. We rode some cheesy (or pukey) rides. Shawn fulfilled his manly duties by winning me a giant stuffed wolf/dog. We got lost on the way back to the car. Good times were had by all.
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So, on our river adventure we attempted to pass some time by talking about the top 5 albums that changed our lives. I had trouble thinking of a 5th, but I think I finally have them all:
Tori Amos - Little Earthquakes (1992) : When we were in 7th grade, my friend Elizabeth introduced me to the greatness that was Tori Amos. I rapidly fell in love with her music and discovered the greatness that was The Adventure Club on 94.5 The EDGE in the years 1992-1994. The next year Elizabeth gave me a tape that had Little Earthquakes on one side and Under the Pink on the other. Little Earthquakes was one of my first CD purchases when I finally got a CD player of my own. I am still a Tori fan to this day, and she was the first artist to introduce me to music that really moved me and inspired me to create on my own.
Depeche Mode - Violator (1990) : One of my most vivid memories of junior high is walking into my first junior high dance and hearing “Personal Jesus” being played. Was that the only good memory from said dance? Maybe. But I loved Depeche Mode then and I love them now. A conversation in the car on our way back to Dallas yesterday made me remember that Violator needed to be the 5th album to round out my top 5. Depeche Mode was a really big break from what I normally listened to back then, and it started me on a journey that culiminated when I finally saw DM live back in 2001 on the Exciter tour.
Patty Griffin - Flaming Red (1998) : This was the first I heard of Patty Griffin, who is one of my musical idols. After collecting all her albums, I can definitely say it was a big change from the more dulcet acoustic tones of Living with Ghosts. But this album shook me up. It changed the way I looked at being a musician. It made me want to rock out with a guitar. I saw Patty open for the Dixie Chicks when I was in college right after this album came out and I wanted desperately to be just like her. Her song “Fly” (recorded both on her own album and on the Dixie Chicks’ same-title album) was my anthem when my college boyfriend and I broke off our long-distance relationship. Well, that and a lot of angry chick-rock and melancholy REM, Counting Crows, and Live. 1000 Kisses and Impossible Dream are my favorite Patty albums, but Flaming Red will always be my first.
Sarah McLachlan - Fumbling Toward Ecstasy (1994) : I originally put my first Beatles album in my top 5, but while that was life changing (hello, first Beatles album!) it didn’t directly shape me in the way that Fumbling Toward Ecstasy did. It was the first album I bought at the greatness that is CD Source, and I used to listen to it on my Sony Discman on repeat while I holed up in my room and wrote teen angst-filled poetry in one of my many journals. I was listening to this album when I wrote the first poem I ever read in public at a writer’s group. I might not be as prolific a writer today if I hadn’t written that, because it introduced me to my favorite teacher in high school, who encouraged me and taught me and helped me more than she may ever know, and a group of amazingly creative students that I may have never connected with otherwise.
Puccini - La Boheme (recording feat. Pavarotti, 1990) : This is lauded as the greatest recording of Puccini’s famous opera, and I am inclined to agree. It was also the first time I heard La Boheme in its entirety and it inspired me to want to study classical music and someday become an opera singer. Now, I may not have accomplished all of that, but I still have an enduring love for La Boheme. It fueled my love of its modern cousin RENT and I desperately wanted to see the 2002 Baz Luhrmann production of the opera, since I love his lavish creation on Romeo+Juliet, Strictly Ballroom, and Moulin Rouge. It’s too bad my voice has changed enough that I can no longer pull off my favorite Puccini arias with quite the same aplomb.
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So The Monkey Attack Victim was discussing things that she might tell her younger self if she had the chance, in order to facilitate a few key changes that might have made life easier in places. I have a few things myself that I’d like to say to…myself:
- Credit cards may be allowing you to eat now, but you’re still not going to have money to pay them back any time before you’re 30. At least pay your minimum on time.
- Long distance relationships are a BAD IDEA.
- It’s OK if you do things to make yourself happy.
- If you have a bad feeling about someone, it’s probably correct.
- No matter how sad you get, do not drink a fifth of Jack and smoke a pack of cigarettes in one night. You will want to die the next day.
- Don’t go to Padre.
- Don’t let your parents buy you a Taurus. Hold out for the Honda.
- Don’t go on that 2nd interview with the strange company, because you WILL be standing outside all day if you do. It’s totally Boiler Room without Ben Affleck.
- Stand up for yourself even when you think you can’t or shouldn’t.
- Don’t stop dancing. You’ll get fat.
- Don’t feel guilty because you quit music for awhile. You’ll still sing.
- Your true love is out there and he’s probably a lot closer than you think…you’ll meet him when you’re ready for it. Be patient and quit dating idiots.
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The music baton, passed on from my friend Shannon:
Total space my music is taking up on my boss’s computer: 1I just got a new computer at work, but on the one I gave up on Monday, 13.4GB
The last cd I actually spent money on was: …In The Heart of Mankind by Deadman (actually an iTunes purchase)
The song that’s playing right now: Every Breath You Take (Police cover) - Juliana Hatfield
5 songs I can’t stop listening to:
1 Light Before We Land by The Delgados
2 Nightswimming by R.E.M.
3 Neighborhood #3 (Power Out) by The Arcade Fire
4 Does He Love You by Rilo Kiley
5 Freakin’ Out by Graham Coxon
5 people who i hope will run well the race set before them:
MOL Junior
GenSlay
YayCoffee
Dale MOL
Keymaster MOL
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In a poll conducted by BBC, Radiohead’s OK Computer was selected as the #1 album of all time. #2 was U2’s The Joshua Tree and #3 was Nirvana’s Nevermind. On BBC Channel 4, Michael Stipe called OK Computer a “classic, brilliant record.”
You all know what this means…MOL Junior is going to declare war on the UK and their damn computer music.
The BBC Top 20:
1. RADIOHEAD - OK Computer
2. U2 - The Joshua Tree
3. NIRVANA - Nevermind
4. MICHAEL JACKSON - Thriller
5. PINK FLOYD - Dark Side of the Moon
6. OASIS - Definitely Maybe
7. THE BEATLES - Sgt Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band
8. MADONNA - Like a Prayer
9. GUNS N’ ROSES - Appetite For Destruction
10. THE BEATLES - Revolver
11. R.E.M. - Automatic for the People
12. THE BEATLES - The White Album
13. QUEEN - A Night at the Opera
14. COLDPLAY - Parachutes
15. OASIS - (What’s the Story) Morning Glory
16. ALANIS MORISSETTE - Jagged Little Pill
17. LED ZEPPELIN - Led Zeppelin IV
18. THE VERVE - Urban Hymns
19. JIMI HENDRIX - Are you Experienced
20. THE SMITHS - The Queen Is Dead
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(taken from genslay…but also on my mind the past couple days)
Now these are by no means the only CDs I owned or listened to growing up…nor do they necessarily represent my favorite artists…but these were the ones that ALWAYS stayed in rotation on my stereo, no matter what. The old favorites, if you will, that I’d pull out when I was feeling bad, wanting something to make me happy, needing background music I’d enjoy, etc. etc.
1. Tori Amos - Boys for Pele
2. Sarah McLachlan - Fumbling Towards Ecstasy
3. Tori Amos - Little Earthquakes
4. Tori Amos - From the Choirgirl Hotel
5. Lisa Loeb - Tails
6. Bjork - Post
7. Counting Crows - August and Everything After
8. Bjork - Homogenic
9. Pixies - Death to the Pixies (whoever stole this needs to give it back)
10. Luscious Jackson - Natural Ingredients
11. Liz Phair - Whip-Smart
12. Frente - Marvin the Album
13. Depeche Mode - Violator (I know, obvious)
14. Fiona Apple - Tidal
15. Belly - Star
Wow, I was really into the ovary rock. But I still listen to, well, to 100% of the stuff on that list.
Honorable Mentions: RENT Original Broadway Cast soundtrack, Jewel - Pieces of You, Cranberries - Everybody’s Doing It, So Why Can’t We?, Tori Amos - Under the Pink, Sheryl Crow - Tuesday Night Music Club, No Doubt - Tragic Kingdom, Smashing Pumpkins - Siamese Dream, Smashing Pumpkins - Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness
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I had planned on blogging yesterday, but I was too busy getting worked up reading MOL Junior and going into a redhead temper over chauvanistic comments and uninformed hatred of Radiohead and electronically-created music. You know you wish you’d been there, too. I pretty much owe most of the MOL Nation a big ol’ asskicking now. Any takers to be first in line?
So what have I been doing lately? Not a whole hell of a lot. Reading, listening to music, watching TV, hanging out, doing Internet stuff. My life is exciting! I’m not so creative today, y’all, sorry about that.
READING:
Getting Things Done, by David Allen
The Time Traveler’s Wife, by Audrey Niffenegger
LISTENING:
Extraordinary Machine, by Fiona Apple (the album that Sony refuses to release, that has been leaked all over the Internet, that I downloaded with no shame, because I would buy it IF THEY MADE IT AVAILABLE FOR PURCHASE. Corporate stiff idiots.)
Picaresque, by The Decemberists
I’m a Bird Now, by Antony and the Johnsons
Frances the Mute, by The Mars Volta
Three, by Archer Prewitt
WATCHING:
Gilmore Girls Season One (I need to finish that so I can get new Netflix)
Home Movies on Adult Swim OnDemand (I love digital cable)
Spirited Away, one of the best animated films I can remember seeing
The Ashlee Simpson Show, because it’s like a train wreck in a lava lamp
Alias, because I have an unfortunate crush on SpyDaddy
SURFING:
43 Folders, which is an absolutely fascinating blog related to the Getting Things Done process of organization, with a Mac-centric focus. So cool. They have a really interesting Google Group too. This stuff really helps you develop a great way of organizing yourself and being more productive.
LifeHacker, which will be your new favorite site.
Go Fug Yourself, Conversations With Famous People, and Stereogum (also an mp3 blog), because I can’t get enough of faux Britney/K-Fed conversations, or snarky celebrity fashion commentary.
MobileRead Networks, a really great site about mobile computing, ebooks, portable news, and loads of other techie tidbits. I am an editor for MobileRead!
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listening to...
Good Omens: The Nice and Accurate Prophecies of Agnes Nutter, Witch
The Host: A Novel
One Hundred Years of Solitude
The Buccaneers (Penguin Great Books of the 20th Century)
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