ALLCAPSDOOM

Book wrap-up!

2012-01-12T20:34:00.000-08:00

Now let's talk about my best/worst list for books.

Worst Book: Rosamund's Revenge, Madeleine Conway. TERRIBLE, TERRIBLE BOOK. This wasn't surprising though.

Unexpected Terrible Book: The Other Queen, Philippa Gregory.
Even if her books are never historically accurate there is enough bodice ripping and good imagery to go around. This book was historically accurate and SO COMPLETELY BORING.

Worst Series: Three Days to Dead, Kelly Meding. There's a whole series behind these books but I stopped after one. SO predictable.

Unexpected Surprise, Nonfiction: Hunting Eichmann, Neal Bascomb. Saw this on a National Geographic special and thought I knew the story. It kept me turning pages like nobody's business!

Unexpected Surprise, fiction: The Sookie Stackhouse series, Charlaine Harris. SHUT UP DON'T JUDGE ME. The last few books were mediocre bordering on terrible, but those first few? HELL YEAH.

And now, dun dun dun:
Runner Up Best Series of the Year: Parasol Protectorate Series, (Gail Carriger). A great fun steampunk Victorian series.

Best Series of the Year: Feed, by Mira Grant. They're a trilogy about zombies. I didn't expect to like it but I can't stop thinking about it. Amazing.

Runner up Best Young Adult Novel of the Year: A Northern Light, Jennifer Connelly. This was a book set in MY HOME REGION with a girl that reminded me a lot of myself. I may have shed a few tears. SHUT UP.

Best Young Adult Novel of the Year: Jellicoe Road, Melina Marchetta. A book that probably requires two readings, but is so spectacular and gripping you can't help but to finish it in one sitting.

Most Important Book I Read This Year: Shake Hands with the Devil, Romeo Dallaire. It's grisly, soul-destroying, and all true -- an eyewitness account of the genocide in Rwanda. It made me feel incredibly guilty as an American citizen.

Best Book of the Year: Feed & Deadline, Mira Grant. Seriously, I'm still thinking about these books months after I read them. SMH.

SO that's this year's wrap up! Stay tuned, I'm gonna post a meme that looks pretty awesome about reading habits next time.

Books, Yearly Roundup Style!

2012-01-07T22:31:00.000-08:00

Okay, so according to my goodreads tabulator, I read 114 books. If I stick with their formatting -- the one that counts Time Machine and War of the Worlds as one book, I lose. If I don't, I win. So therefore, I win.

Roll Call!
January:
01. Highway to Hell: Dispatches from a Mercenary in Iraq, John Geddes
02. Esperanza's Box of Saints, Maria Amparo Escandon
03. Memories of My Melancholy Whores, Gabriel Garcia Marquez
04. The Lady in the Tower, Alison Weir
05. The Men Who Stare at Goats, Jon Ronson
06. The Translator: A Tribesman's Memory of Darfur, Daoud Hari
07. The Lost City of Z: A Tale of Deadly Obsession in the Amazon, David Grann
08. Body of Work: Meditations on Mortality from the Human Anatomy Lab, Christine Montross
09. Neverwhere, Neil Gaiman
10. The Wordy Shipmates, Sarah Vowell

February:
11. A Place Where the Sea Remembers, Sandra Benitez
12. Mary, Queen of Scots and the Murder of Lord Darnley, Alison Weir (aka the book that Ate February)
13. The Secret History of the Pink Carnation, Lauren Willig
14. Playing Baseball With the Enemy: A Baseball Prodigy, a World at War, and the Long Journey Home, Gary W. Moore

March:
15. The Manual of Detection, Jedediah Berry
16. Rough Justice, Peter Elkind
17. Ash, Malinda Lo
18. The Breaking of Eggs: A Novel, Jim Powell
19. The Better Part of Darkness, Kelly Gay
20. Poison, Sara Poole
21. Dime Store Magic, Kelley Armstrong
22. Harem, Dora Levy Mossanen
23. The Ghost Writer, Robert Harris
24. Fragile Things, Neil Gaiman
25. The Darkest Edge of Dawn, Kelly Gay
26. The Chess Machine: A Novel, Robert Lohr
27. Hunting Eichmann, Neal Bascomb

April:
28. Shake Hands with the Devil: The Failure of Humanity in Rwanda, Romeo Dallaire
29. A Game of Thrones, George RR Martin
30. The Thirteenth Tale, Diane Setterfield
31. Three Days to Dead, Kelly Meding
32. Podkayne of Mars, Robert Heinlein
33. Finding Nouf, Zoe Ferraris
34. Amalia's Tale: A Poor Peasant, an Ambitious Attorney, and a Fight for Justice, David Kertzer
35. The Other Queen, Philippa Gregory

May:
36. and the shadows took him, Daniel Chacon
37. A Little Bit Wicked: Life, Love, and Faith in Stages, Kristin Chenoweth
38. Tipping the Velvet, Sarah Waters
39. Working for the Devil, Lilith Saintcrow
40. Sixty-One Nails, Mike Shevdon
41. Bury Me Deep: A Novel, Megan Abbott
42. Naamah's Curse, Jacqueline Carey
43. Telex from Cuba, Rachel Kushner
44. Blue Nude, Elizabeth Rosner
45. Jellicoe Road, Melina Marchetta
46. A Northern Light, Jennifer Donnelly

June
47. Decoding the Heavens: Solving the Mystery of the World's First Computer, Jo Marchant
48. Lucrezia Borgia: Life, Love, and Death in Renaissance Italy, Sarah Bradford
49. Captive Queen: A Novel of Eleanor of Aquitaine, Alison Weir
50. Unbearable Lightness: A Story of Loss and Gain, Portia de Rossi
51. The Greatest Knight, Elizabeth Chadwick

July
52. One Hundred Years of Solitude, Gabriel Garcia Marquez
53. Heartless, Gail Carriger
54. Escape, Carolyn Jessop
55. Surrender the Dark, L.A. Banks
56. Guerrillas: Journeys in the Insurgent World, Jon Lee Anderson
57. Mistress of Rome, Kate Quinn
58. Slammerkin, Emma Donoghue
59. Blindness, Jose Saramago
60. The Bad Girl, Mario Vargas Llosa
61. PopCo, Scarlett Thomas
62. The Welsh Girl: A Novel, Peter Ho Davies
63. The Flanders Panel, Arturo Perez Reverte

August:
64. The King's Pleasure: A Novel of Katharine of Aragon, Norah Lofts
65. Feed, Mira Grant
66. Point Omega, Dom Delillo
67. The Scarlet Lion, Elizabeth Chadwick
68. The Wars of the Roses, Alison Weir
69. Daughters of Rome, Kate Quinn
70. Classic Stories 1: The Golden Apples of the Sun/R is for Rocket, Ray Bradbury
71. Hungry: A Young Model's Story of Appetite, Ambition, and the Ultimate Embrace of Curves, Crystal Renn
72. Christ Stopped at Eboli: A Story of a Year, Carlo Levi
73. Shades of Milk and Honey, Mary Robinette Kowal
74. Dead Until Dark, Charlaine Harris
75. Chicken Soup for the American Idol Soul

September:
76. Chicks Kick Butt, Rachel Caine (ed.)
77. Rosamund's Revenge, Madeleine Conway
78. The Lady Matador's Hotel: A Novel, Cristina Garcia
79. A Single Man, Christopher Isherwood
80. Caesar's Women, Colleen McCullough
81. Living Dead in Dallas, Charlaine Harris
82. Club Dead, Charlaine Harris
83. The Professor and the Madman: A Tale of Murder, Insanity, and the Making of the Oxford English Dictionary, Simon Winchester
84. A Palace in the Old Village: A Novel, Tahar Ben Jelloun
85. Dead to the World, Charlaine Harris
86. Dead as a Doornail, Charlaine Harris
87. Rat Girl, Kristin Hersh
88. The Second Duchess, Elizabeth Loupas
89. Definitely Dead, Charlaine Harris
90. To Be Queen: A Novel of the Early Life of Eleanor of Aquitane, Christy English
91. All Together Dead, Charlaine Harris

October:
92. From Dead to Worse, Charlaine Harris
93. Snow, Orhan Pamuk (aka the book that ate October)
94. Dead and Gone, Charlaine Harris
95. Dead in the Family, Charlaine Harris
96. The Other Tudors: Henry VIII's Mistresses and Bastards, Philippa Jones
97. Dead Reckoning, Charlaine Harris
98. Deadline, Mira Grant
99. Tomorrow Sucks, Greg Cox (ed.)
100. A Partisan's Daughter, Louis de Bernieres
101. Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children, Ransom Riggs

November:
102. Louisiana Vampires, Lawrence Schimel
103. The Story of a Marriage, Andrew Sean Greer
104. America Libre, Raul Ramos y Sanchez
105. Grave Sight, Charlaine Harris
106. The Life of Elizabeth I, Alison Weir (aka the book that ate November)
107. The Time Machine, HG Wells
108. The War of the Worlds, HG Wells

December
109. Mr Cavendish, I Presume?, Julia Quinn
This was apparently book 2, but the first book just tells the story from a different perspective. I'll be reading it later, but for now I wanted to say I really enjoyed this romance novel. It had a pretty strong heroine, and there was a really really steamy bodice ripping scene. YES IT DID.

110. Blade Runner (Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?), Philip K. Dick
A neglected classic for me, but I picked it up for 50c at Goodwill, and I really enjoyed it. I have a soft spot for dystopias. I want to rewatch the movie though.

111. The Illuminator, Brenda Rickman Vantrese
Much like Weir's Captive Queen, this is the story of a middle aged woman trying to survive in a man's world. And it's very bleak and depressing and ends terribly. I didn't like the ending at all -- it made little to no sense. Whatever, it satiated my need for historical fiction.

112. Something Wicked This Way Comes, Ray Bradbury
I think this book loses something in today's world -- we don't have childhoods like these anymore, they're not that 1950s idyll that we imagine and harken back to. I do think that this book is more suited to television and movie than the text.

113. Fahrenheit 451, Ray Bradbury.
Even more prescient today than it was when it was written. We're actually picking up on a lot of the tech he discusses -- the television in any room, projection tvs, the ability to direct and control what we see on the the television. However, the afterword and commentary completely soured me. Instead of responding to critiques about the lack of characters of other races or including women in his stories for more than decoration, he says that the critics should write their own stories and he'll continue to write his just white male universe. SMDH.

114. The No. 1 Ladies Detective Agency, Alexander McCall Smith
Surprisingly, I didn't care about the mysteries. I liked the flashback sequences, the descriptions of the country, the people. I really enjoyed everything in the book. I can't wait to read more of this series!

115. Hell Hath No Fury: True Stories of Women at War from Antiquity to Iraq, Rosalind Miles and Robin Cross.

YES this was great! It couldn't include anyone and everything, and I take a bit of dismay in the fact that a lot of women from Asia and Africa were merely described and not named, but I hope they'll expand on this topic in future texts. And what was wonderful were some of the source listings that they drew from, so I can harvest more stories of awesome women.

So that was my 115 books!

This year's challenge is to read 52 books from around the world -- each one from a different country. I received a kindle for Christmas, so this will be a bit easier, I think. I'm also gonna try to get 120 books in total this year, so I don't have to force it.

I will be posting my best/worst list sometime soon, so keep an eye out for that!

Year In Summation Meme

2011-12-30T21:48:00.001-08:00

What did you do in 2011 that you'd never done before?

Got an e-Reader. Worked as a blogger for the Times Union.

Did you keep your New Years' resolutions, and will you make more for next year?

I didn't really make them and I probably won't this year.

Did anyone close to you give birth?

Raquel, Amanda, Kim. Aww yeah, baby palooza.

Did anyone close to you die?

No, thank God.

What countries did you visit?

None. I barely even went out of the state I was so broke-sauce.

What would you like to have in 2012 that you lacked in 2011?

More travel. That is the mega deficit in my life.

What date(s) from 2011 will remain etched upon your memory, and why?

Nov. 17. Besides the fact that it was my birthday, it was the (presumably) first of many birthdays shared with both the BF and his mother.

What was your biggest achievement of the year?

Reading 115 new books. I am amazed at myself - the original goal was 75.

What was your biggest failure?

I don't think I really had one. Lots of minor ones, but nothing major.

Did you suffer illness or injury?

...Surprisingly, no!

What was the best thing you bought?

Bus tickets to see BFFL Candice in NYC.

Whose behaviour merited celebration?

Many people. But first and foremost Jesse, because he actually knows me at this point and still enjoys my company. SMDH.

Whose behaviour made you appalled and depressed?

Besides the customers that I have some days? No one, really.

Where did most of your money go?

Rent, student loan repayment program.

What did you get really, really, really excited about?

Seeing my BFFL Candice 2x in one year. Seriously? That never happens. EVER.

What songs will always remind you of 2011?

I kiiiiiinda associate Carbon Leaf music with this year, bc when they played Alive at Five is when Jesse and I had our first date. Weaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaak I know.

Compared to this time last year, are you:
i. Happier or sadder? Happier.
ii. Thinner or fatter? Ugh, heavier again. I usually don't mind, but I hate buying new clothes.
iii. Richer or poorer? I think it's about even, actually.

What do you wish you'd done more of?

Travelling! Cleaning all of the things.

What do you wish you'd done less of?

Cleaning all of the things.

How did you spend Christmas?

Back home up north. My broski drove me up there and we watched Captain America, Thor, and X-Men:FC, and entertained two small children!

What was the most embarrassing thing that happened to you in 2011?

I dunno. I had a surprisingly unembarrassing year. Although I get all embarrassed talking about things relating to the BF.

Did you fall in love in 2011?

Yeah, I did. Dammit.

How many one-night stands?

LOL no.

What was your favourite TV program?

American Idol, even though I wanted to throttle the television.

How would you describe your personal fashion concept in 2011?

I rocked my dress pants and still the NY&C tops I've had for years; off work it was all jeans and my Patriots hoodie.

What kept you sane?

Jesse.

Do you hate anyone now that you didn't hate this time last year?

Nope. Someday I will update the hate list, which really consists of like 3 people eve.

What was the best book you read in 2011?

I would have to say Feed by Mira Grant. Despite being about Zombies, I can't get it out of my head and for good reason.

What was your greatest musical discovery?

Everyone is gonna say Adele, but they're not wrong.

What did you want and get?

An e-Reader. before you get mad at me and say "what about a relationship?" Well, I didn't want one and i wasn't looking.

What did you want and not get?

A middling camera and a new bed, but I will, oh I will next year.

What was your favourite film of this year?

The Muppet Movie. Haters may hate.

What did you do on your birthday, and how old were you?

It was the first of the tri-birthday -- Jesse and his mom have my birthday as well. We went to see Immortals after breakfast at Cracker Barrel, then we bummed around the mall and bought books, and then had dinner at Cheesecake Factory with his parents and sister. Then there was cake, and we went to Wolff's for our birthday boots, which he finished and I did not. He then encountered the unlocked construction equipment on the way home. Hilarity ensued.

What three things would have made your year immeasurably more satisfying?

More travel, more music, more time with friends.

Which celebrity/public figure did you fancy the most?

Henry Cavill and Michael Buble and David Cook. AKA the usuals.

What political issue stirred you the most?

Women's rights, but really any social justice issue.

Who(m) did you miss?

Candice & Phil & Julie & Raquel and all the other denziens of the internet I love of everyone ever.

Who was the best new person you met?

uh Clearly Jesse. I guessssssssssssssss.

What is a valuable life lesson you learned in 2011?

That opening your heart to others isn't nearly as scary as you expect it to be, and that sometimes people come into our lives when you least expect it.

What quote can be used to sum up your year?

HATERS GONNA HATE. :D

September books!

2011-09-30T20:03:00.000-07:00

The #s represent the position read in year to date. I am closing in on my goal of 115 and and am contemplating upping it to 125. I want to see how October pans out before I do that.

76. Chicks Kick Butt, Rachel Caine and Kerri Hughes, Eds.

This short story collection of women writers with strong female characters was pretty darn good. It was a mix of authors I had read, others I wanted to read, and a third group that I had never heard of. My GoodReads synopsis (because I can't remember the story names at this point):

My favourite stories: "In Vino Veritas," Karen Chance; "Monsters," Lilith Saintcrow; "Nine-Tenths of the Law," Jenna Black; and "Monster Mash," Carole Nelson Douglas.

My interests definitely don't cover fey, necromancers, or nearly incomprehensible Norse mythology, so a few of these stories were less relevant to my sci-fi/urban fantasy interests. But you definitely can't go wrong with a bunch of kick-ass heroines.

77. Rosamund's Revenge, Madeleine Conway.
I had a great piece of luck picking Mario Vargas Llosa's book off the cheap books table at Christmas Tree Shop, but the last time I went it was covered in crappy romance novels. And I figured I would try one out to see if I was missing anything. At the very least I was hoping for a good old fashioned bodice ripping.

Well, Conway ripped something, but it wasn't a bodice. NO BODICES WERE HARMED IN THE WRITING OF THIS BOOK. I am disappoint. Anyway, it was a bad rip off of Pride and Prejudice.

78. The Lady Matador's Hotel, Cristina Garcia

Another entry in the magical realism genre and I absolutely loved it. Garcia uses an interesting story framing device -- it's told from the perspective of several characters at the hotel over the course of the week, as well as the local media in an unnamed city in Latin America. The conclusion is quite obvious, but it is well worth the read.

79. A Single Man, Christopher Isherwood

A man struggles to live life after his longtime lover's death. Also an interesting framing device -- positing us in as clear observers of the main character as almost a subject in an experiment, but watching him go through the motions of his life in a day.

80. Caesar's Women, Colleen McCullough

Book 4 in a series on Ancient Rome. McCullough posits that this story is really about the...errr...women around Caesar, but they are merely a framing device for the great man himself. And boy does she have a crush on him. It's very detail heavy -- I learned more about the Roman Republic in this book than I ever did in all the studying I did in Latin class and in the few history classes I took on Rome. If you can get through it, it's well worth it historically (even if Phil disputes her take on Marcus Tullius Cicero ;).

81. Living Dead in Dallas, Charlaine Harris.

What can I say? I really am enjoying these books. They are remarkably easy to get through and they're just like brain candy. Bits of problematic takes on race and sexuality crop up from time to time, so beware of that. And I can't get how all these supernatural people just find Sookie sooooooooo irresistible

82. Club Dead, Charlaine Harris

See #81.

83. The Professor and the Madman: A Tale of Murder, Insanity, and the Making of the Oxford English Dictionary, Simon Winchester.

I learned many new words! The story was a bit thin to be stretched out like it was, but I also loved the historiography work he put in on it -- the history of dictionaries is something we kind of take for granted. And the impetus for the book was an interesting anecdote in the annals of history. (PS: Americans helped write the OED. Including a guy from Troy NY!)

84. A Palace in the Old Village, Tahar Ben Jelloun

A man moves his family from Morocco to France to earn a better life for them. As he reaches retirement age, he realizes that it may have been a mistake -- his family has become Frenchified and barely recognizes the heritage he tries to give them. It's an interesting look at a generation gap and the ideas of the parents versus those of the children.

85. Dead to the World, Charlaine Harris

See #81

86. Dead as a Doornail, Charlaine Harris

See #81

87. Rat Girl: A Memoir, Kristin Hersh

Hersh is the former lead singer for the band Throwing Muses. I knew of her from her solo efforts -- when I belonged to a Michael Penn fanlist on Yahoo groups, the members were raving about her, so I checked out her music. I saw her promoting the book on Twitter and during Borders' closing sale I picked it up. It's an unconventional memoir of an unconventional woman -- she started performing in bars at 14. During a year of her life in 1986 she ended up becoming diagnosed with bipolar disorder, and she had to struggle to adjust to that diagnosis. It's an interesting way of presenting a time in her life where she says she doesn't remember much of it.

88. The Second Duchess, Elizabeth Loupas.

You knew I couldn't stray from my historical fiction for long! This one is the story of Barbara of Austria, the second wife of Alfonso d'Este, grandson of Lucrezia Borgia. His first wife, Lucrezia de Medici died in strange circumstances and he is believed to be the cause. As she is learning the lay of her new land, Barbara also must deal with the rumours of her predecessor as well as dodge whoever may be trying to kill her too. Also told from the perspective of Lucrezia's ghost, it's an interesting murder mystery in Renaissance Italy.

89. Definitely Dead, Charlaine Harris

See #81

90. To Be Queen: A Novel of the Early Life of Eleanor of Aquitaine, Christy English.

I am a sucker for all things Eleanor of Aquitaine. She's one of my favourite historical personages and I can't get enough takes on her personality, either fictionally or historically. This book delves into her early life -- her rise to power in Aquitaine and Poitou, and her marriage to King Louis of France. English does a pretty good job of keeping us on Eleanor's side -- my only critique is that she keeps Eleanor at a bit of a distance from us. Otherwise, I almost think it makes a great bookend to Alison Weir's "The Captive Queen," a novel of Eleanor and her second marriage to Henry II of England.

91. All Together Dead, Charlaine Harris

See #81, although I want more Sophie-Anne Leclerq. Just saying.

11 September

2011-09-12T21:07:00.000-07:00

I usually like to write about the Chilean September 11, but I came across this amazing poem on Tumblr and thought it was important to share it with you. It's long, but I'm not cutting it.

Emmanuel Ortiz (born 1974)'s poem, Moment of Silence:
http://www.kersplebedeb.com/mystuff/music/Moment-of-Silence.mp3

Before I start this poem, I’d like to ask you to join me

In a moment of silence

In honor of those who died in the World Trade Center and the Pentagon last September 11th.

I would also like to ask you

To offer up a moment of silence

For all of those who have been harassed, imprisoned, disappeared, tortured, raped, or killed in retaliation for those strikes,

For the victims in both Afghanistan and the U.S.

And if I could just add one more thing…

A full day of silence

For the tens of thousands of Palestinians who have died at the hands of U.S.-backed Israeli forces over decades of occupation.

Six months of silence for the million and-a-half Iraqi people, mostly children, who have died of malnourishment or starvation as a result of an 11-year U.S. embargo against the country.

Before I begin this poem,

Two months of silence for the Blacks under Apartheid in South Africa,

Where homeland security made them aliens in their own country.

Nine months of silence for the dead in Hiroshima and Nagasaki,

Where death rained down and peeled back every layer of concrete, steel, earth and skin

And the survivors went on as if alive.

A year of silence for the millions of dead in Vietnam - a people, not a war - for those who know a thing or two about the scent of burning fuel, their relatives’ bones buried in it, their babies born of it.

A year of silence for the dead in Cambodia and Laos, victims of a secret war … ssssshhhhh…. Say nothing … we don’t want them to learn that they are dead.

Two months of silence for the decades of dead in Colombia,

Whose names, like the corpses they once represented, have piled up and slipped off our tongues.

Before I begin this poem.

An hour of silence for El Salvador …

An afternoon of silence for Nicaragua …

Two days of silence for the Guatemaltecos …

None of whom ever knew a moment of peace in their living years.

45 seconds of silence for the 45 dead at Acteal, Chiapas

25 years of silence for the hundred million Africans who found their graves far deeper in the ocean than any building could poke into the sky.

There will be no DNA testing or dental records to identify their remains.

And for those who were strung and swung from the heights of sycamore trees in the south, the north, the east, and the west…

100 years of silence…

For the hundreds of millions of indigenous peoples from this half of right here,

Whose land and lives were stolen,

In postcard-perfect plots like Pine Ridge, Wounded Knee, Sand Creek, Fallen Timbers, or the Trail of Tears.

Names now reduced to innocuous magnetic poetry on the refrigerator of our consciousness …

So you want a moment of silence?

And we are all left speechless

Our tongues snatched from our mouths

Our eyes stapled shut

A moment of silence

And the poets have all been laid to rest

The drums disintegrating into dust.

Before I begin this poem,

You want a moment of silence

You mourn now as if the world will never be the same

And the rest of us hope to hell it won’t be.

Not like it always has been.

Because this is not a 9/11 poem.

This is a 9/10 poem,

It is a 9/9 poem,

9/8 poem,

A 9/7 poem

This is a 1492 poem.

This is a poem about what causes poems like this to be written.

And if this is a 9/11 poem, then:

This is a September 11th poem for Chile, 1971.

This is a September 12th poem for Steven Biko in South Africa, 1977.

This is a September 13th poem for the brothers at Attica Prison, New York, 1971.

This is a September 14th poem for Somalia, 1992.

This is a poem for every date that falls to the ground in ashes

This is a poem for the 110 stories that were never told

The 110 stories that history chose not to write in textbooks

The 110 stories that CNN, BBC, The New York Times, and Newsweek ignored.

This is a poem for interrupting this program.

And still you want a moment of silence for your dead?

We could give you lifetimes of empty:

The unmarked graves

The lost languages

The uprooted trees and histories

The dead stares on the faces of nameless children

Before I start this poem we could be silent forever

Or just long enough to hunger,

For the dust to bury us

And you would still ask us

For more of our silence.

If you want a moment of silence

Then stop the oil pumps

Turn off the engines and the televisions

Sink the cruise ships

Crash the stock markets

Unplug the marquee lights,

Delete the instant messages,

Derail the trains, the light rail transit.

If you want a moment of silence, put a brick through the window of Taco Bell,

And pay the workers for wages lost.

Tear down the liquor stores,

The townhouses, the White Houses, the jailhouses, the Penthouses and the Playboys.

If you want a moment of silence,

Then take it

On Super Bowl Sunday,

The Fourth of July

During Dayton’s 13 hour sale

Or the next time your white guilt fills the room where my beautiful people have gathered.

You want a moment of silence

Then take it NOW,

Before this poem begins.

Here, in the echo of my voice,

In the pause between goosesteps of the second hand,

In the space between bodies in embrace,

Here is your silence.

Take it.

But take it all…Don’t cut in line.

Let your silence begin at the beginning of crime. But we,

Tonight we will keep right on singing…For our dead.

EMMANUEL ORTIZ, 11 Sep 2002.

(Link to the tumblr post I found it in.)

BOOKS FOR JULY

2011-09-03T21:12:00.000-07:00

Hello friends! I just finished another book, and I realized it's Sept 3! Time to talk about the books I read last month.

64. The King's Pleasure, Norah Lofts.

This was a historical Tudors novel written in the 1950s and boy does it show. The maligns on Anne Boleyn's physical character are present, and I felt that Lofts did a lot more telling than showing. I didn't like the foreshadowing usage. Read Anya Seton instead.

65. Feed, Mira Grant.

In the mid 21st Century, cancer and the common cold are cured, but unfortunately the side-effect was zombies. They're somewhat contained now, but the remaining human population no longer trusts its news media sources and is relying on bloggers for information. So Georgia and her brother Shaun get selected to cover a presidential campaign and end up in way over their heads.

Now I have such zombie fear as you've never seen. But I loved this book. Yes, there are zombie attacks, and they are scary. and the mysterious conspiracy isn't all that shocking. But the bond between brother and sister is really what drives the book.

66. Point Omega, Dom DeLillo.

I totally misinterpreted what this book was about. An aspiring filmmaker goes to the desert to seek out one of the masterminds behind the Iraq War and interview him. Instead he spends his time in the desert boring the hell out of the reader as he vaguely contemplates banging his host's daughter.

67. The Scarlet Lion, Elizabeth Chadwick.

A followup to "The Greatest Knight," continuing the Marshal family saga this time in the court of King John. A little repetitive at points, but I definitely enjoyed the story as much as I did TGK. If you're into medieval historical novels that really try to get it right, Chadwick is for you.

68. The Wars of the Roses, Alison Weir.

Another Weir compendium, this time about the historical roots and how the Wars of the Roses came about. It gets complicated especially toward the end when names are repeated apace. Thank goodness for the genealogical trees at the back of the book.

69. Daughters of Rome, Kate Quinn

A prequel of sorts to "Mistress of Rome," Quinn takes us to the year of Three Emperors by telling us the story through the lives of 4 women all named Cornelia. She continues her themes of having at least one woman in the story bed a strapping man who is a prisoner or in dire straits but is incredibly handsome and amazing. It is damned good reading, although a bit predictable.

70. Classic Stories 1: R is for Rocket & Golden Apples, Ray Bradbury.

Bradbury's writing always fuels in me a nostalgia for the space race age. The stories are ridiculously outdated, but they are nice to read in a "look how they saw this coming" sort of way. There are some of my favourite pieces in here including "The Long Rain."

71. Hungry: A Young Model's Story of Appetite, Ambition, and the Ultimate Embrace of Curves, Crystal Renn (TW: eating disorders)

Renn is a plus-sized model who overcame an eating disorder trying to remain at a size 0 in order to stay in the world of modelling. She is funny, very interested in the statistics and reasons for disordered eating. This was an easy and good read, but I wish the editors had done a better job -- it's riddled with errors and bad transitions.

72. Christ Stopped at Eboli, Carlo Levi

Levi was exiled to an impoverished region in the mountains of Italy for a sentence of three years. He spent one in Eboli, and wrote a journal of his experiences. It is an incredible look at a place neglected by time and government. Keeping in mind that Levi is a bit sexist and classist, it is nonetheless a unique look at a place and time gone unmentioned in most of history, Italian or otherwise.

73. Shades of Milk and Honey, Mary Robinette Kowal.

A science fiction book set in a Regency-esque England. It tries to be Pride and Prejudice, but it was more like The Wayward Muse and merely bored me. The magick in the world was a minor plot point that could have been excised. I was mostly whelmed by this book.

74. Dead Until Dark, Charlaine Harris.

Okay NOW I see what all the hype is about. Everyone and their mom watches True Blood (except me and Phil). But seriously? Sookie Stackhouse is funny, interesting, and I really enjoyed this book! It was a quick little story and I look forward to the rest of the series.

75. Chicken Soup for the American Idol Soul

Haters gonna hate. Some of the tales in here were really good looks at the contestants' views of the process, others were great looks at back stage workers knowing how they got the show to be the way it was, and others were just there.

I've read 3 more books in September so far, but you'll just have to wait til Oct to see what they are. Tell me what you're reading! I have to pick a new book to start, but since I cleaned up again at the Borders' closeout sale, I have plenty of choices!

Lament to Borders

2011-07-25T13:49:00.000-07:00

I moved to Albany in August 2006. This will be the 5th year I have lived here on the 23rd. I took my last few remaining bucks and headed for Crossgates Mall to find a job one of the first days I was here. I wandered up and down and I saw that there was a darkened bookstore waiting to open -- I vaguely wondered if it was the same store I had applied for a few months back but ultimately didn't get hired for.

A week later, it opened. I started working at the store across the hall from it, New York & Company. As a result, I spent a lot of time inside. I tried many things to save myself money, but I could never resist the bargain books. Or the ridiculous amounts of coupons I would get.

I know I was known on sight by the booksellers, even if they didn't know my name. One of the shift supervisors always knew I worked in the mall, even when I moved over to Colonie Center. It was nice -- I always was able to go in, browse, and just be left alone with the books.

When Borders instituted their paid rewards program, I was the first to jump on it. I don't regret that decision in the least. I always felt far more comfortable in Borders than in any other bookstore, and the Crossgates Mall bookstore more than any other one -- even the one back home. I never felt the same spirit of camaraderie that I did there with Barnes and Noble, Chapters, you name it.

Borders is closing its doors now, and it is so weird, because like I said, it came here at the same time I did. We ventured into Albany at the same time. That's why losing my bookstore, even if it is a chain, hurts. And I have worked liquidation sales before (I worked for Ames at the time they closed) so I know what the booksellers are going through.

I went there today, and I didn't expect the ridiculous amounts of people wandering through. I didn't feel comfortable, and while I left with a bag full of books as per usual, I didn't find it as relaxing as I usually do. I don't know really what I expected -- the scavengers come out to play and panic when a liquidation sale is announced. There are plenty of books, and at 10% off, it's not the greatest deal. I'm very grateful to Borders for letting me still use my member discount until Aug 5, which is why I did buy a couple more books than I usually do.

When Borders finally closes in September, I will try to dip my toes into the bookstore waters again. But I don't think I'll have that odd sense of kinship with it. It's like a door closing on my story of Albany.

If you're gonna cry history, use the logic.

2011-07-21T19:19:00.000-07:00

Okay so I don't know if y'all recall me talking about how Chile exhumed Salvador Allende's remains to determine if he died from self-inflicted gunshots or not.

Well, the inquest resolved the other day and they said it was suicide.

Okay, sure, I can accept this. I went looking for an English language source on the story (gee I don't know why the US news doesn't find this important) and I found this article: The Left's Big Lie on Allende. Yeah, I don't know why I clicked either.

The first line led me to write this post.
History: President Salvador Allende of Chile really did commit suicide in 1973, an inquest concluded on Tuesday. Now will the Left stop saying the U.S. and Chile's army did him in?

History is correct. He did kill himself, according to the inquest. Wanna know why he did it? Because the US Funded coup -- tanks, munitions, guns, ammunition, paid off soldiers and generals were storming the presidential palace to kill him and over throw his government. So, yes President Allende took his own life. But not because he wanted to do so. I'm fairly certain he didn't wake up that morning and say "hey friends, I'm gonna kill myself, k bye." Clearly he tried to defend the LEGALLY ELECTED GOVERNMENT that the military should have been supporting and at the last desperate moment, when he could no longer salvage even his own life, he took his.

So no, US. We are not off the hook for Allende's (and those of the thousands of desaparacidos that followed) death. Good try though.

June books

2011-07-04T18:11:00.000-07:00

I am 1% ahead of my pace for the year -- trying to read 100 books this year. Here are June's:

47. Decoding the Heavens: Solving the Mystery of the World's First Computer, Jo Marchand.

Marchand tells the history of the Antikythera device -- a forgotten artifact discovered at the turn of the century by sponge divers. She goes back through the history of the historians trying to solve the case, and it's an interesting look. It's very obvious that she's a magazine writer -- the transitions are jarring, and the language is a bit off, but it was well worth the dollar I paid for it. However, all the math did give me some headaches.

48. Lucrezia Borgia: Life, Love, and Death in Renaissance Italy, Sarah Bradford.

Clearly my love for the television series The Borgias led me to this, but it was definitely well worth the read. Very academic. Bradford digs Lucrezia out of the dungheap of history, and like Alison Weir did with Isabelle of France and Eleanor of Aquitaine, helps repair her reputation using good scholarship.

49. Speaking of Weir... Captive Queen: A Novel of Eleanor of Aquitaine, Alison Weir.

Okay, remember how much I didn't really like Innocent Traitor and The Lady Elizabeth? Forget them. Weir finds her voice in Eleanor. Maybe she's better at writing middle-aged women, because this look at Eleanor's turbulent life with her second husband just worked better. I didn't want it to end.

50. The Greatest Knight, Elizabeth Chadwick.

Heh, I was on a definite Middle Ages kick. This book novelizes the life of William Marshal, the stalwart man who rose from humble origins to the confidence of Queen Eleanor and her sons. This too was a very good read. I finally liked a historical fiction book about a time period that I know well. You should be impressed.

51. Unbearable Lightness: A Story of Loss and Gain, Portia de Rossi.

de Rossi is brutally honest about her struggle with anorexia and bulimia. She writes with humour and grace about subjects that were clearly difficult for her to discuss with anyone -- going about her job and hating herself every single day for who she was pretending to be. I found this book mesmerising. Clearly there are trigger warnings for eating disorders in this book.

52. One Hundred Years of Solitude, Gabriel Garcia Marquez.

This book I definitely need a re-read, but I liked it! Marquez pretty much leads the magical realism "genre", and I love books with that sort of trope. I see now why Isabel Allende gets compared to him, not only for being a South American writer -- the story of a family through several generations through an entire book. I still think The House of the Spirits is better, but I respect this one.

Right now I am reading the 4th book in the Parasol Protectorate Series, Heartless. This book is by Gail Carriger.

This meme is based on books read so far this year.

favourite book: Hunting Eichmann, Neal Bascomb.
This was un-putdownable -- gripping and intriguing even though we knew the outcome.

most powerful book: Shake Hands with the Devil, Romeo Dallaire.
Oh god, where to begin. This is Dallaire's memoir of the Rwanda genocide in 1994. Simply stunning.

brilliantly funny Esperanza's Box of Saints, Maria Amparo Escandon.
This seemed like a particularly predictable prose, but Esperanza's journey is comedic without being pratfallish and is consistently entertaining.

best ache-y, heart-breaking, tear-jerker read: We'll go with fiction only in this one: Jellicoe Road, Melina Marchetta.
If you haven't read this, you need to do so.

most beautiful story Ash, Malinda Lo.
The love story in this book is simply spellbinding.

delicious rainy day comfort read Better Part of Darkness, Kelly Gay.
This urban fantasy is a quick, fun, entertaining read. Charlie's awesome.

adrenalin-fuelled, unputdownable award: I wasn't going to duplicate, but Hunting Eichmann defintely fits here. I kept putting it down and picking it back up over and over.

the beautiful prose award: The Thirteenth Tale, Diane Setterfield.
Oh my gosh, this was deceptively simple and yet well-written.

most atmospheric and vivid setting: A Northern Light, Jennifer Donnelly.
Turn of the century rural New York town. She does my land justice :)

i-so-want-to-go-there award: Neverwhere, Neil Gaiman.
I don't even really like Gaiman all that much and I loved Neverwhere.

most original and imaginative: Body of Work, Christine Montross.
Montross writes of her time in medical school -- the hours spent with her cadaver Eve, and contemplating all that is implied with a cadaver.

best under-appreciated, hidden gem book A Little Bit Wicked, Kristin Chenoweth.
A cute book, a lot of chuckles, and a bit of sweetness and light. Just like I imagine Ms Chenoweth to be like.

i-had-no-idea-i-would-love this-so award: Captive Queen, Alison Weir.
Weir's fiction has always been problematic to me, but her latest effort blew me away. She did well!

most haunting story: Jellicoe Road, Melina Marchetta.
Read it!

outside my comfort zone but gosh how i loved it: Blue Nude, Elizabeth Rosner.
I didn't think I would find the story of an Israeli model and a German painter interesting -- I usually don't like "arty" books. But this was a page-turner.

series that i'm loving: Charlie Madigan series (Kelly Gay). there are only 2 books so far, and I liked both of them a lot. Urban fantasy set in Atlanta, with a single mom cop character.

most memorable voice award Tipping the Velvet, Sarah Waters.
Nan has stuck with me even now, months after I finished the book.

completely awesome premise award: The Chess Machine, Robert Lohr.
A midget, a chess-playing machine (shaped like a Turk), murder, mayhem, and 18th century politics.

would make the best movie Definitely the Charlie Madigan series.

want to re-read already: One Hundred Years of Solitude, Gabriel Garcia Marquez.
I just finished it, but I definitely want to re-read this. I think it's one of those books that requires re-reads.

Book reviews - April and May

2011-06-02T21:52:00.000-07:00

Okay here are April & May's books/reviews:

and the shadows took him, Daniel Chacon.
A young Hispanic boy lives his childhood as he is moved from California to Oregon while his father struggles to become a respectable middle class man in a very white town. This was really good. The characters popped out - they weren't cliches, and their fights and frustrations felt real. It was a bit predictable in parts, but I couldn't stop turning pages on this one.

A Little Bit Wicked: Life, Love, and Faith in Stages, Kristin Chenoweth
this book turned me into a bit of a stan for her. It reads just like how I think she would speak, despite having a ghostwriter. There's a surprise visit by Mister Writer (aka Aaron Sorkin) in the book. Their romance is really the reason why I picked it up. I lent this out to my coworker Jess who reminds me a lot of her.

Tipping the Velvet, Sarah Waters.
This is a novel set in Victorian England, following the career of Nan King, a young woman who falls in love with a performer who appears in men's clothing. She follows her off to London, and ends up on an odyssey of love, sex, and politics. I don't think all the foreshadowing was necessary, but I found this a genuinely enjoyable book. It tugged at my heartstrings a little bit.

Working for the Devil, Lilith Saintcrow.
I picked this up for the cover art alone, and tried to read it in March. It didn't grab my attention so I set it aside. Picked it up again a few weeks back and I found it more intriguing. I liked that Danny was a tough chick who kept insisting that she didn't need any help -- she comes to realize that she needs to let others inside at other points. I did see the twist at the end coming, but it didn't make it any less poignant. I will probably continue the series.

Sixty One Nails, Mike Shevdon
Claiming to be "Neverwhere for a new generation," I picked it up. I was not impressed. Sure, it turned pages, but the Gary Stu narrator couldn't be interested in a woman who wasn't stunning looking -- she shapeshifts to match his ideal of beauty. I was more interested in the world building, which was pretty well done. But stick with Neverwhere if you want a really good "wrong side of the tracks" fantasy story.

Bury Me Deep, Megan Abbott
One of my favourite books this year, actually. This is a novel set in Arizona in the 1930s. A small town girl moves with her troubled doctor husband to Arizona. While he leaves her to go practice medicine on miners in Mexico, she ends up with some wild friends and embarks on an affair with a prominent town leader. Somehow it goes awry and she ends up in the middle of a giant mess. Incredibly chilling and frightening.

Naamah's Curse, Jacqueline Carey
I love her worldbuilding, but I can't help to draw parallels to her other big heroine, Phedre. I know, I have to stop, they're not the same person. Moirin is a pretty plucky heroine, but I don't know if I'm a big fan of the follow the man all around the known world in order to be reunited" theme, but I do enjoy how Moirin basically convinces everyone ever to sleep with her by merely existing.

Telex from Cuba, Rachel Kershner
I didn't think I would get along with this at first. I had to look up "telex" and it's a slightly more advanced form of telegraphing, and a prior take on fax machines. They're still in use today, according to Wiki. But this is the story of several American families in Cuba -- working for the fruit companies and the mining companies that were robbing the Cubans blind. It was an interesting look at the women and children of the American execs who are forced to play nice with the other white people on the island because they are isolated. I didn't really care for the French terrorist/Cuban escort section (her name was Rachel K). But overall, I definitely found this book very interesting.

Blue Nude, Elizabeth Rosner
Rosner is from Schenectady NY, which is why I ended up picking this up after I set it down a few times. It's the story of two foreigners - Danzig, an art professor who has lost his interest in painting, and Merav, an Israeli artist's model who was in their Army in her youth. Rosner writes about painting and modelling, but it's about the fallout from World War II, even a few generations removed, for people of Europe and Israel. Very worthwile read.

Jellicoe Road, Melina Marchetta.
GO. Read this book. You will not be disappointed. I can't adequately describe this book without spoilerizing it, so go.

A Northern Light, Jennifer Donnelly
You guys, a book was set in my home region! No, I'm serious! This one is simply amazing and made me cry. Set at the turn of the century, a young girl has dreams of going to college and learns a new word of a day to keep her mind limber. But life in the North Woods isn't always that simple and she has to decide between her ambitions and her family.

Best quote:
"Why did little towns in Herkimer County never get a mention in anyone's book? Why was it always other places and other lives that mattered?"

This made me nearly cry. I've always felt this way, and it's part of why I bought this book -- it's set near my home, and I can feel the story -- I can smell it, I can taste it, I can feel the heartbreak, and I know that even though it's set 100 years ago, it's still the same.

Exhuming the 1970s American Foreign Policy

2011-05-23T18:17:00.001-07:00

I've spent many a September 11 reminiscing about the heavy handed US policies of the 1970s. When I was in university, I worked on researching the coup d'etat in Chile which happened to take place on 11 September 1973. I find the parallels and the meaning behind both days to be something worth examining.

It is telling though, how little American media and Americans nowadays at a whole know or care about Latin American affairs if they don't directly affect our supply of oil or kill our kids, or emigrate illegally (see Venezuela, Colombia, Mexico). This wasn't always so. See in the 1970s, the idea of having a dictatorship that was BFFs with our goverment was far more palatable than a legally elected socialist regime. So the US got into helping fund coups and pretty much endorsing crimes against humanity in parts of Latin America.

Salvador Allende was a physician who championed socialist ethos. His election was fraught with controversy but was won fair and square. The US tried to intervene secretly even before he was inaugurated, and his three years in the office were completely undermined by boycotts and other nasty tricks the CIA used to try to force his hand.

Allende didnt' back down, and on 11 September 1973, the military revolted. Led by Agustin Pinochet (for whom there is, presumably, a nice spot in hell somewhere), they stormed the Presidential Palace (La Moneda) and in the ensuing firefight, Allende was killed. The official story was that he committed suicide, but many who knew him doubted he would have done so.

In January, the Chilean government announced that it had exhumed Allende's body to put to rest whether he killed himself or he was assassinated. (Even if he killed himself, he was still assassinated, clearly.)

I found this article earlier today only in Spanish, and it's telling that the first English link Google came up with for me was from a non-American source. (And the only reason I have the Spanish-language articles is because I added a section on Google News for Chilean news services.)

As I went looking for an article in English for this post, I found also that Nathaniel Davis, the ambassador to Chile in the 1970s, recently died. He was famous for saying that the US wasn't really involved in the coup and the machinations to bring down Allende, but de-classified documents released by the CIA at the beginning of the decade showed otherwise. As the ambassador, Davis may not have known what they were up to, but he was responsible for the safety of Charles Horman, the journalist who went missing in Chile and was one of the desaparacidos - thousands of disappeared people who were ultimately murdered by Pinochet and his regime.

I am curious to see what the results are of this autopsy. If it was a murder, instead of a suicide, does it make that much difference to the people of Chile who were murdered by the thousands after his death? I'd like to think it would bring renewed war criminal charges against people like Henry Kissenger, but I won't hold my breath.

what in the wide wide world of sports is this

2011-05-16T18:30:00.001-07:00

It was a bit of a weird day at work, not gonna lie. I opened up the gates and the usual mall-walkers filed in for their routine touch everything and not buy a damned thing spiel (my favourite is seeing how many of them ignore me or just answer my "Hi How are you," with a "just looking" growl). Then two minutes later a lady walks in with a return.

Then as I process that return, a line forms behind her with four other people, all wanting returns.

My boss came back from the bank then and panicked a bit. Then I had the lady who paid for a 135 order with two 100 bills and all the change that I had just gotten was wiped completely out.

Things settled down after that though and we recovered nicely monetarily wise, which was a+++.

My boss went in search of stickers for our board, and I was talking to the other associate, when I heard someone knock over our sign and mumble something. So I walked up to the front of the store and saw one guy standing while two other dudes were on the ground on top of this guy telling him to get on the ground while they cuffed him. It apparently took two tries and the guy lost his hat, money, and shoe in the melee.

The presumably plainclothes cops (because they weren't wearing uniforms) then asked the fellow who was standing to open his jacket and checked to see if he'd stolen anything too. I'm guessing, but uncertain that the cuffed buddy was caught stealing sneakers from Champs, and they caught up with him after a brief chase and a collision with my sign.

Bizarro.

Books of March

2011-04-30T20:30:00.000-07:00

Hello friends, it's that time again where I tell you what I read and how I liked it. March was a good month for me because I powered through 8 books AND took a day off from reading. I'm ahead by 3 books on my pace of 100 for the year, so I'm super stoked.

First up was Shake Hands with the Devil: The Failure of Humanity in Rwanda, Romeo Dallaire.

This was a difficult book. Coming on the heels of Hunting Eichmann, it was a bitter pill to swallow. The initiatives put in place to keep another Holocaust from happening were completely neglected in Rwanda, because the timing was bad. Dallaire was the chief of the UN Mission there, and he reports the red tape, the inhumane and nearly indescribable torment and sheer scale of awfulness that humans can do to each other. Simply chilling and a very, very important book. It made me rage at my own government -- the US, France, The UK, and Belgium take their share of blame from Dallaire's book -- it was, as I said, a difficult book. I think everyone should read it, but keep in mind it is a very difficult story to get through.

So after that I had a hard time deciding what to read next, and since the show was starting a week from the day I finished SHWT, I decided on A Game of Thrones, by George R.R. Martin (who is on Livejournal, but I don't know his username. It's probably something like his name or some such.) Anyway, I only got my feet wet in fantasy by reading a Renaissance-inspired world (the Kushiel series) and GoT is set in a medieval-esque world, so that helped me get into it a little bit. And when informed me that the book was vaguely based on The Wars of the Roses, it snapped into place a little bit more for me and helped my enjoyment of the first book. There is however, trigger warnings for incest (which helpfully discovered for me beforehand). I have yet to watch the show but I think I will, and read the next book at the very least.

The Thirteenth Tale, by Diane Setterfield, has long been at the top of my To Read list. And I found it on a bargain rack at Borders so I picked it up. SO GLAD I DID. It opened with a heroine researching into a life of someone else, much like that horrid Pink Carnation book, so I side-eyed it but continued on anyway. I was rewarded with a book about memory, love, loss, and a mystery that wraps itself up into a nice, tidy ending. It was a little too convenient, but very enjoyable nonetheless. I kept turning pages and alternately not wanting the book to end.

On the same trip that I picked up that book, I also got Three Days to Dead, by Kelly Meding. The blurb on the back cover embedded itself in my brain -- a bounty hunter wakes up in the body of another woman on an autopsy table and has three days to solve her murder. It was a good concept, but it was slow and boring in its execution. If the author had twisted the tale in different directions, or hadn't made the supposed love interest into a boring, wooden character who would risk everything ever for the Mary Sue I mean main character, it would have worked. There are more books in the series, but I won't be continuing it, tyvm.

Then I got out one of my dollar books to kill an evening: Podkayne of Mars, by Robert Heinlein. NB: I had known of Heinlein, and only that he was one of the Sci-Fi Gods (authors that people revere for leading the heyday of SF works) but never had read anything of his.

Nor will I again -- this sexist piece of garbage was about a I think 16 year old girl, but the "saviour" of the book was her eleven year old brother who of course was better at everything than her. I just wanted to punch this book in the face several times.

I decided Finding Nouf (by Zoe Ferraris) would be a good palate cleanser. This is a murder mystery set in Saudi Arabia -- one of the wealthiest men in the country's daughter is found murdered in the desert, pregnant at 16 and unmarried. A friend of the family and a female medical examiner take on the case of trying to find out who killed her, working within the confines of their society's laws and regulations. It's an interesting look at a place I don't read a lot about, and while I didn't love it, I think I'd read the rest of the series too.

Next up was Amalia's Tale: A Poor Peasant, an Ambitious Attorney, and a Fight for Justice, by David Kertzer. This is a case study of a woman from rural Italy who worked as a wet nurse for a foundling home. When she contracted syphilis, she did what was an unexpected thing at the time -- she contacted a lawyer, who just happened to be looking for a case to make his name. He sues the foundling home on her behalf, and finds out that this was a common practice and many women had been given syphilis from infants who were too young to show signs of the disease before being "farmed out" to these mothers. It's a good look at a time period and a place that normally go unnoticed by historians.

Finally, I read The Other Queen, by Phillipa Gregory. I had been wanting to read this for a while and nearly bought it off the bargain rack but when I was cleaning I found I already had purchased it at Christmastime. Whoops. Anyway, this was Gregory's interpretation of Mary, Queen of Scots and her imprisonment in England after she fled there for sanctuary from Scotland. Gregory used the same tri-partite structure that she did in The Boleyn Inheritance but here it just falls flat and turns repetitive -- she has the three characters replay nearly every scene from their POV and it's so boring. The chapters are a page to a page and a half at some points, and it's just frustrating. Not worth the read.

I haven't started a new book yet. Back in January I started a collection of short stories mostly set in Nova Scotia by Alistair Macleod, and tonight I read four more of them, but I haven't picked up a new tome yet. We'll see how it goes though.

You must be this tall to ride the internet.

2011-03-22T17:19:00.000-07:00

Apparently everyone who interacts with me on the internet expects me to be shorter. It confounds me. I'm a tall-ish lady -- aided by ridic long legs and a 5'7.5" frame who wears heeled shoes all the time. Is it because I'm above average height for a woman? I met a few people at a Times Union Bloggers meeting and one gentleman said he expected me to be shorter, because my username was ALLCAPSDOOM. Compensating for height with caps? I dunno.

He's not the first -- I know that Phil is always confounded at my height whenever we see each other IRL. I'm a tall-ish lady, people.

Strangest thing just happened: I was typing up this entry and the lamp went out. I flicked on the humidifier because it was closer and the light went back on. It was very strange. I sorted it out though -- the lamp wasn't plugged in as tightly as it should be, and I also had Netty plugged into that outlet. So as I move the netbook about I was flicking the light off and on. However it doesn't explain why the light blew in my ceiling fan earlier and now the fan won't even run on that. Weird. I think it's just busted, but I won't worry about it today -- I gotta clean my room out before I let anyone in to look at it.

Books!

2011-02-28T17:26:00.001-08:00

I only read three books this month, which pales to the 11 I read last month. To be fair, one of them was 750 pages and took all my time up. I spent the rest of the month working on mailing out books too, although I have had rubbish luck with my copy of Suite Francaise. I listed it before and forgot to mail it so the request expired. So I relisted it when I did my book cataloging and someone snatched it up.

Today I got a message in my inbox stating that she got the envelope that it was in, but no book. I know that I sealed it up properly, because I was doing five other packages at the time and sealed them after writing the contents on the outsides of the envelopes. So I emailed GoodReads to ask what they can do for us. I hate to lose books, and I hope we get this resolved amicably. I've shipped almost 40 other books and this is my first incident, so I guess that's good.

So onto the books I read:

Mary, Queen of Scots, and the Murder of Lord Darnley, Alison Weir.
So many of you know that I'm in love with anything Ms Weir writes, correct? This is the 750 page monstrosity that she explains right up front requires that much pagination because you have to take in the scope of the conspiracy and all the players involved, and you need all the backstory. And she's not wrong. The problem is that Mary herself isn't as compelling a figure as Elizabeth or Isabella or Eleanor, and after 400 pages of Mary making the wrong decisions at the worst possible times you kind of get tired of her. Weir tries gamely to make her interesting, but I was quite happy to get to the end of this one. This is definitely a requirement if you want to read all of Weir's books, but don't make this your starting point by any means.

The Secret History of the Pink Carnation, Lauren Willig.

Oh my lord. This was miserable. I wanted to punch everyone and everything in it. It read like a sitcom set in the turn of the 18th century, but stocked with modern characters wearing fancy dresses. The cartoonish proposal scene was beyond criminal, and the entire "present day" scenario made me want to puke. Self-insert characters never fare well. And apparently there's a whole freaking series of these books. Hell to the no.

Playing with the Enemy: A Baseball Prodigy, a World War, and the Long Journey Home, Gary W. Moore.

This is the story of Gene Moore, a phenom prospect signed by the Dodgers just prior to World War II. He played baseball for the Navy during the war and ended his career in a meaningless game against German POWs he had taught to play. His son writes the book and right away it turned me a bit off to find out that Gary Moore's job was as a motivational speaker. The dialogue in the book would fit into any self-help book, and it's slightly exaggerated. But as you ease into the book, it becomes more and more interesting, and You find the story far easier to swallow. I'll admit it, this book brought me near to tears a couple of times.
The subject matter is close to my own researches -- my senior thesis for my BA was on baseball during WWII. I wish this book had been out then.

Currently reading local author Jedediah Berry's "The Manual of Detection." (If you consider he was born in the Hudson Valley somewhere and currently lives in Northampton MA, then yes he is local.)

I should forget my book more often.

2011-01-30T18:26:00.001-08:00

So I went to work yesterday and I forgot my book and I can't be without one, that would be scandalous. So I had to get coffee (that's required by Act 1434 of my Bloodstream) and I searched the "Bargain" books at B&N. Borders has mad cheaper books, that's for sure.

I got Sarah Vowell's The Wordy Shipmates bc I had seen her on The Daily Show years back and remembered she was funny. This book is about the Puritan origin mythos of America, and her investigation into it. And within the first 25 pages I was cracking up left, right, and center. Tonight though, less than halfway into the book, I found the winning line:

"If Nancy Drew were trying to get to the bottom of Winthrop's petty rivalry with Deputy Governor Thomas Dudley, the book might be titled The Mystery of the Pretentious Wainscotting. What happened was, the assistants had agreed to build a fortified new town across the Charles River from Boston, which, per New England's usual creativity with naming things, they called "New Town." (It would eventually be renamed Cambridge, after they founded a university there. Because whatelse would men who attended England's Cambridge University name a university town?)"

This book is precisely what I would write if I wrote history books. Complete with sarcasm and pop culture references. It's like she hacked my brain. Or rather, I hacked hers.

Also, can we talk about the repeat names in New England. New York, you are no exception either. Duplicate town names make the baby AJ cry. (Try to find another Gouverneur. I DARE YOU.)

Oh for the hate of Bieber...

2011-01-26T22:03:00.000-08:00

American Idol -- New Orleans!

Uhoh, this can't bode well. He's crying real hard and making a damned fool of himself. Thanks, Idol. Maybe they're going to be a lot meaner this time out? Let us see.
Why are we playing Mississippi Queen for ohhh bc it's on the Mississippi. Despite it being in Louisiana.
Wow. Uh JLo isn't sparkling but she definitely went ridic blonde.
I don't think we need a clip of Ryan failing at speaking French though. Let's get to the auditions.

Steven's chair is broken, and JLo has a futuristic outerspace outfit on.
Vocal teachers always do well in audition rounds but they do not do so well in Hollywood or in the Top ten -- see Anwar Robinson, and any number of failed contestants in Hollywood Round.
Jordan Dorsey is really adorable though. "I teach piano." "So you play the piano?" No shit, Randy. GJ.
Okay, are we going to waste the WHOLE hour on unnecessary crap? Oh I like this guy. I love Steve lipsynching to the song. Oh JLo went Gaga for this outfit -- not pointed padded crazy but Bows on the shoulders.
Maybe he can break the curse -- he was really spectacular. And he has an excellent cheerful personality.

Oh good, more really annoying horrible contestants. And Ryan doing his worst to promote Nawlins.
Wow she is loud.
Also, is JLo's outfit one shoulder? WTF.
Sarah and Steven are bonding over their giant lips. UGH vibrato. She sounds like all the other women on the radio these days, so I bet she'll do well.
"You had me sold from the second you laid eyes on me." Steven. Wow.

Oh a ship builder you say. And he is so well dressed. Um HI. /shallow -- Jovany
oh dear. This guy Idolizes Marc Anthony? Oh dear. And he's going to strip for her. WHY.
I am however, a sucker for anyone who sings competently in a foreign languages. Wow, Randy -- be incredibly stupid and ask Jennifer about the Latino singer. Of course she knows all the Latino singers ever.
OH No. So we have found this season's Casey James? Also I didn't need to see Randy Jackson's treasure trail. AT ALL. THank you Idol. I think.
Wow Seacrest, way to insist upon seeing a woman undressed. You are a douche. Also, I love that Jovany's family had signs for him.

Wait a minute, why did Louisiana get all this STOP IT RYAN SEACREST WITH YOUR FAKE FRENCH.
"So Coach, did you ever paddle his ass?" -Steven.
Let's see if Jacqueline can actually sing or if she's just gonna use her connections to get in.
Actually, yes. A little shrieky, but not too bad. Also, singing the Pretenders is awesome.

Brett Lowenstern is "different -- a red apple in a pile of green apples." Oh it's a message promo. It's saccharine and gag-inducing, and since they are doing such a well made promo pimping package, he's likely to go through. Wow. Steven is the greatest thing to happen to this panel EVER. He really can sing, so damn. I think he's one to watch too.
Well how am I going to be surprised if you show Steven telling us how awesome he is? Good cutting, Idol.

Gabriel Franks has nice hair. I seriously doubt he's the next American Idol. He is failing at his number. OH dear lord he's going to sing Bad Romance. Oh and the handclaps. I'm a little afraid that they WILL send him through.
What.
How is he uh not going crazy? I haven't seen any meltdowns and screaming about how they are meant to be in Hollywood. What is this?
Thank you boat, for saving us from listening to dude.
Alex Itardo -- he is another Idol Camp person. Oh no, Proud Mary. Let's see -- this tends to get destroyed. And yet another hack attempt at it. Find Treynce and JHud doing this one instead.

Jacee Badeaux is fifteen. Let's see if he unleashes the Bieber. He'll sing Otis Redding. he sings it competently but there's no soul in it. I mean to be fair this is the auditions and I am a little annoyed that they dropped the age limit instead of raising it again.
Okay, so the pimp machine is out in full force. Sweeping dramatic music and there's a sob story coming. I'm guessing she's no Angela Martin coming up.
PS Can we talk about how much Angela would have schooled everyone last season? And now she can't compete anymore bc she hit the age limit?

Paris Tassin has a baby who is disabled. So she's singing for her. Singing Carrie Underwood, and the pimping pays off, she's a wonderful singer. And JLo is a crying mess. Full disclosure: I may have gotten a little choked up. SHUT UP.
Oh man if she can do better than this I am looking forward to it.

Milwaukee time!

Wow, Randy you fail at Aerosmith. If he was playing a Journey song, would you have figured it out?
Guys, why is there a statue of the Fonz in Milwaukee? And gross, someone got Gokey on my screen.
"slap that baby on the ass and call it Christmas." Steven. I think this season of Idol is a winner just for Steven's quotes and singing ad libs.
Oh, Scotty McCreery has a package, so he's going to Hollywood. And he can pitch. Wow, that is a really good country voice. But will he be able to handle the theme weeks? Remember Josh Gracin's debacle with disco week in Season 2.
Really, really really really really LOVE Steven Tyler right now.
Oh and he's a polite gentleman too! Shaking the judges' hands and thanking them for the opportunity.
Oh so we get the crazy fan montages next. Ugh, Hollywood week now, please. Aww, JHud singing Feeling Good for the WW commercials. She's just missing the E and T for her EGOT. Get her on telly stat.

Joe Rupka is going to "kick this thing straight to the moon." Great. The next Ryan Seacrest? Somehow I doubt he will be making his own record and playing it on the radio. Ugh. Did we need to exploit Jennifer again? And he's going to ruin "The Longest Time" by Billy Joel. Oh, that's not ominous -- "Do you sing?" "No, I'm tone deaf." - Joe's mother or grandmother.

15yr old Emma Henry gets to drive to her audition. Is that allowed? NY's age limit is 16, and 18 on Long Island, if I'm not mistaken. What is with her hair? And uh, STOP it with the making me feel old, Idol contestants. "I was five when Kelly won." Like last season's Colorado contestant, she sounds light and fluffy like Lily, and they almost have matching hair. Is there a requirement that Colorado contestants have crazy whitish hair?
Please tell me they tell her that she needs more work and won't go through this year but she should try again next year. Yes, JLo. Look, kid you are FIFTEEN. There is next year and a lot of time for you to get better. Ugh, Randy, don't do it. Oh drag in the sob story.
"dawg's gonna turn into a pussycat now."
Ugh Randy caved. And of course the soaring music. Expect the inevitable Hollywood week flameout.

Guys, I can't even with this trainwreck montage. Why do we need to see horrible singers beg for their musical lives? It is not going to end well for anyone.
"If Gaga were here, she'd go running out of the room screaming, 'What have I done'?" - Randy
I have never heard of Summerfest before. How is it the biggest music festival?
Sob story time, complete with video of her workplace -- she's going to Hollywood. Let's see if she'll be as good as the hype?
Naima Adedapo backs up the talk and the giant earrings. I look forward to seeing her.
"You can call me late for dinner and I'd still love you. But not lunch." -Steven

Why is that guy holding a six foot toothbrush?
Poor JLo -- hers was autotuned, and that auditioner was not.
Jerome Bell is a bar mitzvah singer. Let's see how well this works. He's shouty, but not bad. Steven should approve of the yelling.

UGH

UGH No
It's Bieber time.
GROSS.
IDOL. HDU.
Thia Magia singing "Chasing Pavements," and it's a little rough but I like her voice. It's distinctive and different.
Oh good, a montage of fifteen year olds. And a Taylor Swift backing track. GREAT. Let's see how quickly they all melt down in Hollywood week. I'm such an optimist.

SHUT UP SEACREST.Now we get our screamers that they've been "promising" all episode.
Oh, A Civil War Reenactor. This wil end well. "NO. He's not a hippie. Hippies believe in SEX." Nathaniel Jones signs "The Lion Sleeps Tonight." The only person who should be singing while wearing a Civil War uniform is Corb Lund. NO EXCEPTIONS.
Okay Harvard Lady, shut up and get on with it. Molly DeWolf Swensen, I guess, but we're gonna call her Harvard Lady bc I can't remember that many names right now.
Randy, you pointd out that she was a Harvard student and that she works for the White House. And then you ask where she's been? Good job, genius.

Really? Can we just skip past all the haters and sob stories?

So JLo thinks that wearing a music note on her shirt makes her a real singer.
Haley Reinhart has Steven wrapped around her little finger. JLo is not impressed by her co-judges today. Does she have her "Serious Business" ponytail on today?

Tiwan Strong is a throwback and I like him. He's one to watch.
Things I should NEVER hear Ryan Seacrest say: "are you cramping?"

Steve Beghun is a CPA who has no friends. He is a wedding and funeral singer. He is a very nondescript fella. Excepting that voice. What is this
Wow, JLo's son and I had the same reaction to this guy. Also for someone who has no friends, he seems to have a bunch of people supporting him.

Vernika is the one we keep seeing on the commercial breaks leading to the cray cray. I HATE HATE HATE HATE HATE HATE HATE HATE this song. She probably has a good voice but it's a terrible song. "Half of these people can't sing better than me." Yeah, less than 1 percent of the singers are going through. And to the other contestants? I get that "you mad" but there is no reason to assault the cameramen.

Albert Rogers III is apparently a Barack Obama impersonator. Rough beginning and it's not getting any better. "It was like vanilla fudge from Eleanor Rigby." Aww, Steven, he's being the nice guy.
Student teacher Scott Dangerfield gets Steven to sing Janis Joplin. And he can sing too, so I'm okay with this. Oh dear, now we got the "million percent." Also, it's apparently the "unassuming" season.

Gee, I wonder if Mister I have a sob backstory (go ahead call me heartless) will make it to hollywood.
There are two of my dad? Although mine's a Giants fan. Megan Frazier.
Haha, Football went o
oh
oh
we're singing Bieber.
Megan
why
why are you doing this to my ears.
"you've had your country singers and your beatboxers. it's time for some opera." -Megan

Alli is a huge Aerosmith fan and loves STyler. NGL, I would totes want a hug from Steven.
Alyson Jados sings "Come Together," and rocks it out like Carly and Crystal. I think she's my favourite so far.
"You will have your turn in the barrell." -Steven.
Montage of people who we will see only briefly in Hollywood, and never again.
Chris Medina was trending on Twitter, so now we get to see why. He can sing, but I feel we saw better singers than him, but yeah, he's pretty good. I wonder if they'll exploit this like they did for Danny Gokey's late wife. /not cynical

IDOL

2011-01-19T19:42:00.000-08:00

Addressing the controvery of judges, man. Wait, when did they announce this in front of a live studio audience? Was this at an audition site or was this at one of the tour shows?
JLo got turned into a Cullen. Her outfit is sparkling. A bit of a change in theme song, I've noticed. They actually added singers to it.

Remember they dropped the age limit to 15, in order to find Bieber clones. So uh, let's see what happens when we hear how awful these kids are. Between JLo and Steven Tyler, who has had the most botox there? Steven's looking for the next Janis Joplin. How will he deal with the Bieber fever? JLo -- stop being nice. LOLOLOLOL he has to reinforce that Jackson used to work with musicians bc all he says is "DAWG. It's HOT."

Seacrest, motivational speaker for hire.

OMG I think I love steven Tyler on this show. This is going to be AMAZING.
Interscope instead of 19. Ah, Simon, you win again.
Time to go to New York! Well, New Jersey once again. GROSS. Hey, that's Constantine Maroulis, season 4 5th place finisher and Rock of Ages mainstay! (Shut up, I once liked him.)

I kinda want JLo's skirt. Shut up. OH come on Hallelujah once again? SO over it. Okay so Rachel isn't bad, or as annoying as she was the last time. WHY IS JLO SO SPARKLY IS THIS A TREND
Caleb, a musician from NYC -- Steven likes him a lot. And sings backup. OH MY GOD THIS IS AMAZING. WHAT IS...I sell that shirt that Seacrest is wearing in my store.
Kenzie is trying too hard to sound sexy for a fifteen year old. And taking on Carrie Underwood is a tough trick, but she's not too awful. OH our first judges argument. SHE'S FIFTEEN SHE DOESN'T KNOW WHO THE OTHER TWO ARE!
Montage of people who we won't hear sing and are redshirts for hollywood week.
Achille is our first trainwreck. "Still a better singer than Amanda Palmer." -Laurie.
Awww, it's her first no! Poor Jennifer.
UGH REALLY NO WE DO NOT NEED A JERSEY SHORE SHOUTOUT HERE.
Tiffany loves JLo and Jersey hair. Will she make her cry tears of oh god you're so terrible or god you're so amazing? OH DEAR LORD. AWKWARD MOMENT NUMBER TWO.
Oh goodie, original songs. Did she really just play her chest? OH come on Randy, why would you go there? Wait, she can actually sing? And singing Celine, wow. If she stops crying, she will be really good. Oh, gee, I wonder who let them use the J Lo song? ;)
Montage of awful trainwrecks is go. What is with appealing to the women judges? Oh it's because they won't come out and say NO. Um, even her fingernails sparkle. JLo is the original Cullen.
Robbie is our first sob story. OH MY GOD HE WAS SEVEN WHEN THE SHOW STARTED I FEEL OLD. Oh he's going to do the Beatles. And he definitely has the talent. HOW DOES SHE KEEP SPARKLING?
did you just..."marinated on the vocals?" Randy. I know you needed to expand your vocab but uh. I don't even.

Can I nuke anyone who does the fist pump?
So Steven likes ogling women. Who knew.
Chris Cordeiro is an Eagle scout. Who surfs facebook during his videos. It is not going to end well. "My Way," poor Frankie's gonna be spinning in his grave. Uh, shades of John Stevens anyone? Ryan Seacrest should not say "give it to me" on camera. No.

buddy no1curr about your freaky nervous burping. Michael will be destroying "Proud Mary" by Tina and Ike Turner. "Make him stop." -JLo. STOP ENCOURAGING HIM, STEVEN.

Ashley is nearly local -- Springfield, MA. She works at a mall. ONE OF US ONE OF US. Are we serious with the BritBrit rn? I was expecting Britney but she sings something I don't know possibly from a musical. Showtune popstar? WHAT. JLo's gonna break and say yes. AAAND she did.

Victoria Huggins is really annoying. WHAT HATH YOUTUBE WROUGHT. STEVEN TYLER SHE IS SIXTEEN YEARS OLD. STOP IT. MAKE HER GO AWAY.
Uh oh, Sob Story Time. Well, it's a dramatic one at any rate. She's from Kosovo, and her family are refugees. A conflict most Americans aren't aware of. Melinda is really good though, so I am okay with the sob story.
DAY TWO of New Jersey Auditions, man.
Devin, the singing waitress. JLo is still sparkling. I don't get it. Here we go pimping the front runner. Keep an eye out.
Parade of trainwrecks, led by the singing surfer and the teacher duetting with the judges.

OH DEAR. That guy is chasing a bird -- your argument is invalid. Yojipop is bringing JPop to America. OH.

He is going to sing.
Party in the USA. He does have the moves tho. He should be on America's Next Best Dance Crew.
Cue Montage of everyone fucking up Party in the USA. If Miley can't sing it, what hope do we have? JK.
Brielle has a sob story of her own. Let's see if she has teh voice to match. She's already caught the tanning bug and hair colouring the kids are doing these days. She's okay. She'll be a front runner. STOP IT IDOL DON'T MANIPULATE ME INTO CRYING YOU JERKHOLES. I AM SUCH A SYMPATHY CRIER.
Travis is a high school kid. Sob story alert time. I'm gonna go out on a limb here and say that he does well.
What kind of phrasing is this? I like the tone, but I don't know if I like the rendition of the song.

tl;dr: JLo sparkles, Steven Tyler is alternately a comedian and a creepy pervy old man. A couple of pimped contestants. No Biebers, and fewer sob stories and train wrecks. Also, I think Phil hates me for life.

The Sing Off and V. Important X-Factor News.

2010-12-07T18:25:00.000-08:00

In Idol News, er X-Factor news -- rumour has it the Judging panel has been chosen for Simon Cowell's import. Joining Cowell are Nicole Scherzinger (she's on the Sing Off right now), Cheryl Cole (trying to break into America, since Girls Aloud isn't going to come over here), and....Will Smith. Are we serious, X-Factor? It's a rumour, unsubstantiated, but we will see.

Now, the main event.
The Sing-Off
Premise: 10 a capella groups compete for a prize of 100,000. & a recording contract.
Hosts: Ben Folds, Nicole Scherzinger, Shawn Stockman (If you don't know what bands these people are from, shame on you. Or not).

Wait, so this is hosted by Nick Lachey? Or his brother Drew?
Eleventh Hour (Kettering [OH] HS)
Stret Corner Symphony (Nashville, TN)
Committed (Huntsville, AL)
The Backbeats (Los Angeles, CA)
On the Rocks (University of Oregon)
Jerry Lawson & Talk of the Town (Oakland, CA)
Pitch Slapped (Berklee College of Music) (Lead singer is wearing shorts and tights. No.)
Groove for Though (Seattle, WA)
The Whiffenpoofs (Yale)
Men of Note (Cherry Hill, NJ) (Colin's town Representing) (No they are not guidos.)
And already this opening number group singalong is miles, MILES, MILES ahead of any group sing on IDOL ever. (Mental note: stop comparing this show to Idol. Or do.)
Oh, Nick Lachey is hosting. I was right, it was a Lachey brother. Is he the one that married Jessica? Why do I not even remember?
Each group gets to choose a song, their signature.

Kettering:
If you didn't meet in the detention hall, how can you be like the Breakfast Club? I thought that was the whole point.
Signature song: Baby (Justin Bieber)
I like this girl's facial expressions though. And a capella music can redeem the Biebs, I think. My experiences with a capella are usually all male groups, so I'm enjoying the women taking lead on the song.
I think I love the fact that Ben Folds actually talks about the music and the singing notes and such. I also like the fact that he picks out things that they did vocally that worked and pointed out things that didn't quite work. It's refreshing to see an actual CRITIQUE.
Okay, so Glee reference out of the way. It seems like Nicole is the Paula of this show. No critique from her.

On the Rocks
"the Singing Fraternity" who sang the Bad Romance clip that went round YouTube.
Signature Song: Bad Romance
Very Gaga-esque start. They've got a lot of the video down. I feel like the background singers are overwhelming the lead singers. Maybe not the third guy, I take that back, I barely hear him now.They sound good other than that, though.
I'm just waiting for Stockman to say "You worked it out."
And I thank Ben for clarifying the musical faults of the band -- I heard it a little off too.
Nicole is still trying too hard.

Groove for Thought
Signature Song: I Wish (Stevie Wonder)
Stevie is often the kiss of death for Idol contestants. Little bit more cheese than the last two contestants put up, and I'm not sure this will work in their favour. They're good, but it just kind of falls flat after the first two performances. (Who is Take Six?)

Pitch Slapped
I hate their name. They're from Berklee College of Music. Who had an Idol contestant last year. Not the group, but the school (Ashley Rodriguez). I am already annoyed by these guys. They know they're good, but it's like they're snobbish about it. IDK.
Signature Song: Good Girls Go Bad (Cobra Starship)
Alright, props for the Cobra Starship. Also that girl's glasses are irritating me. I'm trying to like them but it's not working. They can sing, but ugh. DNW. And the faux-Timberlake stare of the lead singer dude? Fuggedaboudit.
Ahhh, an actual critique out of Nicole. Even though she made the Pussycat Dolls joke.
Oh, nice -- five go, they eliminate one, and then the next five and eliminate one. I kinda like that -- then you don't forget about a group through the middle of the show.

Jerry Lawson and Talk of the Town
Jerry Lawson was in the Persuasions, and he came back to singing after hearing the group he joined. They were a Persuasions cover band ;)
Signature Song: Save the Last Dance (The Drifters)
Expertly covered by Michael Buble, but not in a capella form. This is a polished act. And as we all know, suits make the men. No gimmick outfits for these guys, just a neat, polished look. And the music is expertly handled. I think I have a new favourite. (Sorry Kettering.)
Shawn loves these guys. Actually, all of the judges agree. "You just can't buy class like that." - Nicole. So much truth.
My guess at elimination: Groove for Thought. There's no way that they're gonna eliminate Jerry Lawson & Talk of the Town.

Elimination time! Yay the kids and the Old Fogies are safe! They get to sit in the Opera Boxes of Awesome. On the Rocks are safe, because they don't suck. Actually to be fair none of these groups suck. OH SNAP they sent the Berklee kids home. YESSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS.
Time for another five groups!

The Whiffenpoofs. These are the Yalies. Apparently they invented the thing. They suit up, and they mean it. Of course they all golf.
Signature song: Grace Kelly! (Mika)
Slow opening, but I am really enjoying this. These guys really know what they're doing. A New England school does it right. And the falsetto, damnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnn son. They look ridiculous, but I love it. And that, friends, is a capella.
Lachey....really? A GWB joke? Was he a Whiffenpoof? (I just love typing Whiffenpoof) And I love that Ben says he can't unsee that. And Whiffenpoof Penguins is a going to be a great Band Name someday. And Shawn is actually hilarious.

Men of Note
Hey it's Colin's hometown. So they stalk the ladies at the mall. Classy. I like that they play lacrosse though.
Signature Song: For the Longest Time (I do love me some Billy Joel)
I feel like this song was always a capella. It's kind of a cheap out, but I do love this song. It sounds like a capella paint by numbers, but I do like it. What was the "brrrrring" about at the end?
Nicole thinks that there was something missing, and I am inclined to agree. Shawn says they were nervous and tight at the beginning, and warmed up toward the end. I like Ben. He's nice about his critiques, but still makes a point to tell them that they're going to have to work to make their arrangements complete their set of singers.

Street Corner Symphony
Are they really doing a Johnny Cash song a capella? That's crazy. I like that they "unpractice."
Signature Song: Everybody Wants to Rule the World (Tears for Fears)
Wow, someone actually almost sounds synthesyzer esque! And the lead guy is really channeling the original without making it a copy. I kinda wanted a bit more Southern countrified sound to it, but I can work with this. I like the slowed down effect at the end. OH he looks like Gary Levox. That's who he reminds me of visually.
"Play Freebird." - Ben Folds. (Well, he didn't say it but he implied it).

OH LACHEY, you just said my catchphrase. "We will see who will GO BIG, and who will GO HOME."

The Backbeats
They took some from a group that performed on last season's competition. Let's see how they do.
Signature Song: If I Were a Boy (Beyonce)
I like that we have such a deep voiced female singer as a leader. She's got a powerhouse vocal in there too. She needs to work on enunciation though, she's difficult to understand at times.
It wasn't a competition before, Nicole? She's not wrong, the lead singer definitely "Shut it down." Shawn, you are also right. It is so impressive how she could go up and down several octaves without even trying. And this is a group that came together just last year!

Committed
Never really sang pop music before. And kinda dissed the UO guys ;)
Signature Song: This Love (Maroon 5)
There's a song I thought would make a great a capella song when I first heard it. A little excitable for the lead singer, but they're getting into it. With a beat like that, you can't sit still. The second singer nearly matches Levine's intensity in the original. I think I would have just let the beat drop at the end, I don't think it needed the little extra harmony at the end, but I liked it.
Sing Off is the best "shew" for displaying talent. Voices of butter. It's got Shawn broken. (What's a bell tone? I like that they use terminology that I DON'T know).

Elimination guess: (Easy.) Men of Note. It's not really fair to those guys, but their bracked was full of intensive and amazing competition.
Elimination time! Easy calls, for both Committed and The Backbeats. And we knew the Yalies schooled everyone, so they were in. It comes down to Jersey v. Tennessee. Gonna go with the Southerners taking the box. Yep. Streetcorner Symphony was more polished than Men of Note.
See, unlike Idol, the ones getting eliminated were actually really good. It's hard to say goodbye to these groups even though we didn't have a lot of time to get attached to them. Except the Berklee group. I hated them from their package. (That's what she said).

books!

2010-12-01T22:12:00.000-08:00

As I was in transit on 1 November and getting into the swing of things at my new job, I never got round to posting the new series of book reviews. So here goes!

Katherine, Anya Seton.

The story of Katherine Swynford, the mistress of John of Gaunt. Seton heavily researched all of her novels before writing and you can clearly see it in her writing. A lot of it, as the introduction says, is Freudian theories applied to their relationship, but for the purposes of the story it works. While I had read Alison Weir's sparkling biography of Swynford previously, I definitely enjoyed the story that Seton told. It fleshed out Katherine in a spectacular way. She's a woman who grows, learns, loves, and lives her life, as best she can in the time period she was born into. Definitely a must read for those who love romantic stories or those who love well written historical fiction.

Silver: My Own Tale As Written By Me With a Goodly Amount of Murder, Edward Chupack.

I was whelmed by this novel. It had such an interesting premise -- it's Long John Silver's rendition of his life, before and after he met Jim Hawkins. There were parts that were vaguely interesting, but I didn't find it as good as the book jacket made it sound.

Storm Front, Jim Butcher.

Book one of the Dresden Files and I was hooked. I was a little annoyed at how Harry had to over explain that he was such a NICE GUY and chivalrous and all that. But it was a cute and enjoyable story with an interesting narrator. So I read the next two books in the series, and accidentally absconded with Candice's copies.

Fool Moon, Jim Butcher.
This was pretty darn good, I kept turning the pages and not sure what was going to happen next except that Harry would get grievously injured. It just ain't right.

Grave Peril, Jim Butcher
The cliffhanger at the end of this book wasn't as intriguing as it should have been, and I saw the major twist coming with the fairy godmother and the vampires at the end. I'll read book four though, as soon as my to-read pile drops

Cleopatra's Daughter, Michelle Moran.

This is the story of Cleopatra and Marc Anthony's children, Cleopatra Selene and Alexander Helios. Once I got over the presumptious narrator, who keeps reminding us that she is so smart and all that because she was raised to be a queen at a young age and therefore we can't judge her for being so rational at the age of 13. And the predictable ending of who she ends up with, even if it was historically accurate, was a little over the top. But you know what, I genuinely did end up caring about her, and I set out to read more about Cleopatra Selene. She was an amazing woman in her time, making sure as Queen of Mauretania that her family and culture were not lost.

I think I'd try reading something else of Moran's later on.

Sex with Kings: Five Hundred Years of Adultery, Power, Rivalry, and Revenge, Eleanor Herman.

I read Sex With the Queen and I loved every glorious, gossipy moment of it. So I figured SwK would be just as good, right? Oh it has plenty of gossip, and it's all dirty and devious, like Mme de Montespan getting witches' potions to poison the king with to keep his attention. But I just got so tired of reading about the same four French mistresses. Yes,they were incredibly devious, deadly, and difficult, but I could have used different people. I kept in mind though, Herman wrote this book first. SwtQ came much later and she had access to better material. So if you can only read one, do SwtQ.

Shadow Gate, Kate Elliot.

This world is still as turbulent and crowded with characters. And of course we're introduced to MORE new characters. To be fair, Elliot does kill off a few. And I did enjoy Cornflower's backstory, which was nice although a bit disconcerting. I am a little tired of her making sure that everyone has a TRUE LOVE that they are pursuing or protecting. And I am a little dismayed by what Mai became in the 2nd book. All they keep saying is how good she is at negotiating but we don't see much of it at all in this book. She sits around being rescued by people the entire book. But I look forward to the conclusion.

Heat Wave, Richard Castle.

Anyone who watches the show Castle will enjoy this book. It is a Castle episode in book form! Completely adorable and fluffy and mindless. Just like the show!

A Lion Among Men, Gregory Maguire.

I really didn't care for this book as much as I did Wicked. But it was marginally better than Son of a Witch, even though there was about the same amount of moping. I like where Maguire is headed with this series, but I am not that excited to rush out and get it when it inevitably comes out.

The Electric Church, Jeff Somers.

Set in a post-apocalyptic New York City, this is a dirty, gross, and murderous book. It is dark, gritty, the best type of noir. And yet there's something about this book that I couldn't quite swallow. I don't really know what it was. I think I'll keep reading the series, because seeing Cates become kingpin of NYC is a really intriguing prospect.

Soulless and Changeless, Gail Carriger.

While the author's "about me" irritated me and struck me as pointlessly pretentious, I ignored that and concentrated on the important bits: vampires, werewolves, Victorian London, and steampunk, oh my. These books are delicious, fluffy bits of cute adorable Anglophilia love. And tea. Don't forget Alexia's tea.

Right now I am currently reading the third book in the Parasol Protectorate Series, Blameless.
I started Jonathan Strange and Mr Norrell and I couldn't get into it. The same for The Queen's Lady, by Barbara Kyle. I'll come back to both when my to-read pile is empty.

Hey CDTA. What the fuck.

2010-12-01T20:00:00.000-08:00

So the Capital District Transit Authority is installing a new express bus thing called BusPlus. It will start in 2011, and the line that would be most relevant to my interests is the one from Schenectady to Albany, as it goes right past my home stops and my work stops.

This is the BusPlus program's primer.

This is a great idea, and I am all for things that make our bus system more efficient. Those of you who read my twitter know how irritated I can get with the delays and minor problems with the bus system. So any way of improving things is just dandy with me.

My problem with this BusPlus idea is simply this: Someone did not think out the timing of replacing the stops involved. They replaced shelters at the spots along the BusPlus route. One of the drivers explained how it works: it goes from downtown Albany to downtown Schenectady and doesn't stop at every stop -- just the silver and red BusPlus stations (IE North Allen & Central, or Westgate Plaza). It will stop at all of those. They replaced all of the ones in the Albany section, as far as I can tell. I cannot vouch for Schenectady, as I do not live there.

They fixed all the Albany stops except one. Colonie Center, Northway Mall.

Guess when they decided to redo these stops? Anyone? Bueller?
Yeah, mid-November. I asked another driver how long that they planned to work on it, and he said it would be finished after Christmas. In the meantime, they completely tore down the old shelters and moved a stop.

First of all, there are at least three reasons why doing it now is a TERRIBLE idea.

1) It is the stop for the MALL. At peak holiday shopping time. You turn it into mud farmer central and demolish the stop, and make it increasingly difficult to get on or off at the stop. With larger amounts of traffic -- pedestrian, bus, or motor vehicle - it is not safe to do that.

You moved the stop going down to Albany, so now it is located across Central Ave, by the dry cleaner's. It's well lit, which is great, but the problem there is you have to cross both the entrance and exits to Northway Mall. Which, might I remind you, has shops in it that people will be going to, doing their holiday shopping. Large amounts of pedestrians in an unregulated driveway + large amounts of traffic + buses = problems.

2) It is NOVEMBER. And there is no shelter at the bus stops. Sure, most bus stops don't have shelters. But they also don't have a lot of people using those stops. And it's cold. Today's weather is the perfect example. The wind was outrageous, the rain was drenching, and there is no shelter for these people who are waiting for their buses. There are parents with small children who are exposed to the elements here.
Wait til it starts snowing. Class act.

3) Okay, I kinda combined 1 and 3. My point remains that it is a ridiculous time to redo this stop. I am really irritated by this. Especially as the later hours the mall has, the fewer buses run. So you have more crowded buses, more really cold people waiting to go home, and it's not a good scene. I just cannot imagine how this stop wasn't redone in August or September instead of now.

One other thing: I was quite fortunate to have, the night before they tore the shelters down, to have seen a sign tacked up in the shelter explaining that starting the next day, 14 November, they would be redoing the stops. Having been there at that same stop the day before, I distinctly do not remember seeing the sign. Great way of communicating something that important, CDTA.

30 day televison meme!

2010-06-30T19:53:00.001-07:00

As if you weren't bored by the 30 day music meme, now I'm gonna do the 30 day television meme!

I promise not all the answers will be Battlestar Galactica or Lost.

Day 01 - A show that should have never been canceled
Day 02 - A show that you wish more people were watching
Day 03 - Your favorite new show (aired this t.v season)
Day 04 - Your favorite show ever
Day 05 - A show you hate
Day 06 - Favorite episode of your favorite t.v show
Day 07 - Least favorite episode of your favorite t.v show
Day 08 - A show everyone should watch
Day 09 - Best scene ever
Day 10 - A show you thought you wouldn’t like but ended up loving
Day 11 - A show that disappointed you
Day 12 - An episode you’ve watched more than 5 times
Day 13 - Favorite childhood show
Day 14 - Favorite male character
Day 15 - Favorite female character
Day 16 - Your guilty pleasure show
Day 17 - Favorite mini series
Day 18 - Favorite title sequence
Day 19 - Best t.v show cast
Day 20 - Favorite kiss
Day 21 - Favorite ship
Day 22 - Favorite series finale
Day 23 - Most annoying character
Day 24 - Best quote
Day 25 - A show you plan on watching (old or new)
Day 26 - OMG WTF? Season finale
Day 27 - Best pilot episode
Day 28 - First t.v show obsession
Day 29 - Current t.v show obsession
Day 30 - Saddest character death

ABC continually screws over its television series that are critically acclaimed. (See: Daisies, Pushing; Night, Sports; anything likes)

So it should come as no surprise that this show aired on ABC. I thought about picking Sports Night because I feel it was unjustifiably cancelled in its 3rd season but then I remember this show only had half a season and it wasn't enough. Cupid was a midseason replacement show starring Jeremy Piven and Paula Marshall, and was created by Rob Marshall (Veronica Mars fans might know of him).

The concept was simple: this guy in Chicago claimed that he was actually Cupid, the God of Love and he could only get back to Mount Olympus by putting 100 couples together. Since he's cray-cray, the powers that be had him visiting psychologist Paula Marshall, and having therapy sessions with her. He starts to make a believer out of her.

I'm hoping this series becomes available on DVD soon. It's ridiculously hard to find.

fuuuuuuuu carpenter ants

2010-06-28T20:44:00.000-07:00

So first I'll get my dream out the way. Yes, I had another weird dream. This time it included the Top Gear cast but did not include Monique which would have been awesome.

It was extremely weird. I joined the cast to be the American girl they were teaching how to drive for the new series, and somehow (Gods, I don't know how) Jeremy and I ended up in a relationship. But it was like a platonic one and his wife was chill with it. I don't even know.

I do know I was watching Top Gear before bed and I was thinking earlier in the day how much I'd love to move to London for a year or two. (Not gonna happen, but I can dream).

So since it's the 28th of June, I will list all the books I read this month (plus one I forgot to include last month). Because I injured my ankle I've been reading a lot more books than normal, so I'm hoping once I feel better I will not get through so many so quickly.

Miracle at St. Anna, James McBride
Spike Lee recently made this into a movie, and I dug this out of the bargain bin at Borders. I didn't really have any expectations for this, since I hadn't seen the movie, but the basic plot intrigued me. A group of African-American soldiers gets separated from their unit in Italy and has to rely on a village for survival. It's an interesting look at racism and how African American soldiers felt fighting a war for a country that didn't even care about them in a place that only a few of them knew of. SOmething was lacking and I'm not sure what, but it was an interesting read.

Sex With the Queen: 900 Years of Vile Kings, Virile Lovers, and Passionate Politics, Eleanor Herman.
I've read a lot of royal compilation books since I'm obsessed with royalty (I think it's the English in me). But it was a breath of fresh air to read this book, which gave me a bunch of stories I didn't even know! And she tells them so well, it's like reading a gossip mag but informational and interesting at the same time. Loved this book 100%.

The Secret Bride in the Court of Henry VIII.

The story of Mary Tudor, Queen of France and how she comes to marry the Duke of Suffolk is this book's tale. The Tudor period is a dark, dramatic, ridiculously insane period of English history that is interesting enough without having to fictionalize it. And I have yet to find anyone besides Phillipa Gregory who can. Diane Haeger tries, but it took til halfway through the book for me to care about Mary's fate. It helped that I kept picturing Charles Brandon as the man who plays him on TV.

Naamah's Kiss, Jacqueline Carey
This is the first book in a new trilogy in Carey's Terre d'Ange series. I was a little wary of this book because I always felt that the Imriel series wasn't nearly as well done as the first trilogy. With this book set 150 years after the events of the original two series, it makes it easier for the reader to get used to the new cast of characters, not always looking over their shoulders to see when X awesome character might show up. The story's a bit weak and Moirin is more of a Mary Sue than Phedre was but it was still an enjoyable read.

Smoke and Mirrors, Neil Gaiman.
I heart short story collections. I am starting to heart Neil Gaiman. So this was a good collection. I didn't dislike any pieces and "Snow, Glass, Apples" is really chillingly good.

The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo, Stieg Larsson.

This book everyone has been raving about like crazy but I was afraid I would hate it because the description on the back was kind of annoying. I figured out the solution to the puzzle well ahead of Mikael and Lisbeth, but the story was incredibly rapturous and I couldn't put the book down til the end. Definitely highly recommended.

I decided to read another book that's part of a trilogy next:
The Hunger Games, Susanne Collins.

This is the story of a post-Apocalyptic North America where the country is 12 districts run by a Capitol. After defeating the districts in a rebellion, the Capitol now hosts a game for teenagers in which they must kill each other to win. Two kids, a boy and a girl, are chosen from each district. And Katliss's sister is chosen, so she takes her spot. It's incredibly moving book. When I started it, I was like, "I will just read one chapter." I couldn't put it down. I got to Part II and set it down. Thirty seconds later I said, "well, one more chapter." I finished the book. Incredibly wonderfully disturbingly captivating.

So I went for one more book in a trilogy.
Daughter of the Blood: The Black Jewels 1, Anne Bishop.

This was the most disgusting, ridiculous, misogynistic, misiandristic, misanthropic piece of crap I have ever read in my life. Incest, rape, child molestation, and child abuse run rampant in this world and the hero is a 700 year old man who is in love with a 7 year old girl. This is completely and utterly devoid of merit and I will not be continuing this series.

PS: I have these fucking carpenter ants in my house and I want to cut a bitch bc they keep divebombing me.

that's why they're solo

2010-06-27T19:46:00.001-07:00

Last day of the 30 day meme! I had another weird dream but I don't recall most of it now, so I can't tell you about it.

Today I read two books and wrote a page of my new book. One of the women who lives upstairs is a bibliophile so I think we're gonna be good friends. I also locked myself out of my house and found out how secure my room is.
Day 01 - Your favorite song
Day 02 - A song that makes you happy
Day 03 - A song that makes you sad
Day 04 - A song that reminds you of someone
Day 05 - A song that reminds of you of somewhere
Day 06 - A song that reminds you of a certain event
Day 07 - A song that you can dance to
Day 08 - A song that makes you fall asleep
Day 09 - A song from your favorite band
Day 10 - A song that no one would expect you to love
Day 11 - A song that describes you
Day 12 - A song from your favorite album
Day 13 - A song that you listen to when you're angry
Day 14 - A song that you listen to when you're happy
Day 15 - A song that you listen to when you're sad
Day 16 - A song that you want to play at your wedding
Day 17 - A song that you want to play at your funeral
Day 18 - A song that makes you laugh
Day 19 - Your least favorite song
Day 20 - A song that you know all the words to
Day 21 - A song from a band you hate
Day 22 - A song that is a guilty pleasure
Day 23 - A song that you used to love but now hate
Day 24 - A song that you hear often on the radio
Day 25 - A song that you wish you heard on the radio
Day 26 - A song you can play on an instrument
Day 27 - A song that you wish you could play
Day 28 - A song that makes you feel guilty
Day 29 - A song from your childhood
Day 30 - Your favorite song at this time last year

I liked the two songs that I posted as my favourite songs of all time earlier last year as well. So as usual, I'm gonna twist the theme. The song that I listened to the most this last year (according to Last.fm, which is quite the awesome site -- we should be friends) is the following (and it was a surprise to me)

For FB readers (we should be friends), the song is "Strut" by Adam Lambert. For those of you who don't know who he is, it will come as no surprise that he was an American Idol contestant.

PS: When he sings "I wanna take a make-believe vacation," I always accidentally hear it as "I wanna take a maple leaf vacation." Try to unhear that.

Love it when a plan comes together.

2010-06-25T20:03:00.000-07:00

I had the strangest dream. It involved Monique (who I have yet to meet IRL) planning to drive from Manitoba to Albany to go to a park in Wisconsin. So she's on her way and my mom, who doesn't live in Albany wakes me up to tell me not to go. I tell her I'm going anyway, and I let Monique in the door. She's wearing leggings and a green outfit I remember well from NY&Co, and is nearly 6'3". She stands in the kitchen washing dishes while I talk to my mom about her. She introduces herself as from Minnesota, then corrects herself and says Manitoba. I make a joke about saying that to the customs officers, and my mom laughs. Then as we're going to the car, she says "I got you tickets to the new movie of Footloose, and it starts at 8, so don't forget." I remind her we're going to Wisconsin and we won't have time for the movie, and she hands me three checks instead, made out for 50, 50, and 100 dollars respectively, but in the name is printed "OH NO" in all caps, in a computer font. She says to use them well, and I woke up.

What the fuck, brain? I suspect that it was its way of reminding me that me and Chrissy were going to see the A-Team again tonight, but the rest of it I don't get. Sorry you got dragged into my dream world, Monique.

So guess what, it's meme time!

Day 01 - Your favorite song
Day 02 - A song that makes you happy
Day 03 - A song that makes you sad
Day 04 - A song that reminds you of someone
Day 05 - A song that reminds of you of somewhere
Day 06 - A song that reminds you of a certain event
Day 07 - A song that you can dance to
Day 08 - A song that makes you fall asleep
Day 09 - A song from your favorite band
Day 10 - A song that no one would expect you to love
Day 11 - A song that describes you
Day 12 - A song from your favorite album
Day 13 - A song that you listen to when you're angry
Day 14 - A song that you listen to when you're happy
Day 15 - A song that you listen to when you're sad
Day 16 - A song that you want to play at your wedding
Day 17 - A song that you want to play at your funeral
Day 18 - A song that makes you laugh
Day 19 - Your least favorite song
Day 20 - A song that you know all the words to
Day 21 - A song from a band you hate
Day 22 - A song that is a guilty pleasure
Day 23 - A song that you used to love but now hate
Day 24 - A song that you hear often on the radio
Day 25 - A song that you wish you heard on the radio
Day 26 - A song you can play on an instrument
Day 27 - A song that you wish you could play
Day 28 - A song that makes you feel guilty
Day 29 - A song from your childhood
Day 30 - Your favorite song at this time last year

A song that makes me guilty? How? I can't even remotely think of a song that would make me feel guilty. I own up to most of the stuff I did nowadays -- I never used to but I do now, and I am trying to become a better person for that. So I don't feel regret and I don't feel guilty about anything. Whatever happened happened.

So I think I'll change this one too. This one will be "A song that reminds me of work."
This one is inspired by my BFF Chrissy, because I spent the evening chilling with her.

This is Patrick Wolf's "The Magic Position."

गुड न्यूज़ EVERYONE

2010-06-24T19:37:00.000-07:00

Ok ok kids I have to say this, there is NEW FUTURAMA on my television so I'm gonna post quickly and GO WATCH IT. You don't even understand, I watched this show from the beginning when it aired before the Simpsons and I fell in love with it from day 1. I still quote this show more often than the Simpsons or The Princess Bride so you know it's serious stuff. This is super duper exciting.

AUDIENCE PARTICIPATION TIME: What is your favourite Futurama quote?

Now MEME TIME:
Day 01 - Your favorite song
Day 02 - A song that makes you happy
Day 03 - A song that makes you sad
Day 04 - A song that reminds you of someone
Day 05 - A song that reminds of you of somewhere
Day 06 - A song that reminds you of a certain event
Day 07 - A song that you can dance to
Day 08 - A song that makes you fall asleep
Day 09 - A song from your favorite band
Day 10 - A song that no one would expect you to love
Day 11 - A song that describes you
Day 12 - A song from your favorite album
Day 13 - A song that you listen to when you're angry
Day 14 - A song that you listen to when you're happy
Day 15 - A song that you listen to when you're sad
Day 16 - A song that you want to play at your wedding
Day 17 - A song that you want to play at your funeral
Day 18 - A song that makes you laugh
Day 19 - Your least favorite song
Day 20 - A song that you know all the words to
Day 21 - A song from a band you hate
Day 22 - A song that is a guilty pleasure
Day 23 - A song that you used to love but now hate
Day 24 - A song that you hear often on the radio
Day 25 - A song that you wish you heard on the radio
Day 26 - A song you can play on an instrument
Day 27 - A song that you wish you could play
Day 28 - A song that makes you feel guilty
Day 29 - A song from your childhood
Day 30 - Your favorite song at this time last year

This should be unnaturally hard but isn't. I would love to play an instrument but none more so than drums. I'm a dashboard drummer who has no sense of rhythm which makes it difficult, but I muddle through. So here's my choice.

This is, for Facebook readers, "In the Air Tonight" by Phil Collins. Cause it has great drums.

Just stop...believing

2010-06-23T18:36:00.000-07:00

Can I just say I don't get why historical fiction about the Tudor era is never as well written as the actual history itself? The only fictional book about that era I liked was "The Other Boleyn Girl" and it was inaccurate as all get out. Whyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyy it has so much promise.

Day 01 - Your favorite song
Day 02 - A song that makes you happy
Day 03 - A song that makes you sad
Day 04 - A song that reminds you of someone
Day 05 - A song that reminds of you of somewhere
Day 06 - A song that reminds you of a certain event
Day 07 - A song that you can dance to
Day 08 - A song that makes you fall asleep
Day 09 - A song from your favorite band
Day 10 - A song that no one would expect you to love
Day 11 - A song that describes you
Day 12 - A song from your favorite album
Day 13 - A song that you listen to when you're angry
Day 14 - A song that you listen to when you're happy
Day 15 - A song that you listen to when you're sad
Day 16 - A song that you want to play at your wedding
Day 17 - A song that you want to play at your funeral
Day 18 - A song that makes you laugh
Day 19 - Your least favorite song
Day 20 - A song that you know all the words to
Day 21 - A song from a band you hate
Day 22 - A song that is a guilty pleasure
Day 23 - A song that you used to love but now hate
Day 24 - A song that you hear often on the radio
Day 25 - A song that you wish you heard on the radio
Day 26 - A song you can play on an instrument
Day 27 - A song that you wish you could play
Day 28 - A song that makes you feel guilty
Day 29 - A song from your childhood
Day 30 - Your favorite song at this time last year

I can't play any songs on an instrument so let me change the meme to be A really good mashup

This is DJ Tripp's mashup of "Don't Stop Believing" by Journey and "Just Dance" by Lady Gaga. Why I like this I do not know.

unholiest of unholies! i will never feel clean again.

2010-06-21T19:30:00.000-07:00

Ok so I have the unholiest mashup of mashups in my head running right now. File it under occupational hazards: a song from High School Musical 3 and Justin Bieber. SOMEONE PUT ME OUT OF MY MISERY.

I worked today without the ace bandage on my ankle and it's doing a lot better. What is weird though is that my calf muscle is mad at me. It keeps hurting if I move a certain way and it wasn't doing that at all before. Is it possibly injured as well? IDK.

Also, I want adult clothing stores to carry the gorgeous stuff we got in for the kids today. Because it is pretty. Also also we have a binder for 7.50 that is ridiculously cute so I am getting it for my own use for my books.

Day 01 - Your favorite song
Day 02 - A song that makes you happy
Day 03 - A song that makes you sad
Day 04 - A song that reminds you of someone
Day 05 - A song that reminds of you of somewhere
Day 06 - A song that reminds you of a certain event
Day 07 - A song that you can dance to
Day 08 - A song that makes you fall asleep
Day 09 - A song from your favorite band
Day 10 - A song that no one would expect you to love
Day 11 - A song that describes you
Day 12 - A song from your favorite album
Day 13 - A song that you listen to when you're angry
Day 14 - A song that you listen to when you're happy
Day 15 - A song that you listen to when you're sad
Day 16 - A song that you want to play at your wedding
Day 17 - A song that you want to play at your funeral
Day 18 - A song that makes you laugh
Day 19 - Your least favorite song
Day 20 - A song that you know all the words to
Day 21 - A song from a band you hate
Day 22 - A song that is a guilty pleasure
Day 23 - A song that you used to love but now hate
Day 24 - A song that you hear often on the radio
Day 25 - A song that you wish you heard on the radio
Day 26 - A song that you can play on an instrument
Day 27 - A song that you wish you could play
Day 28 - A song that makes you feel guilty
Day 29 - A song from your childhood
Day 30 - Your favorite song at this time last year

Well, I always used to wish that I could hear Laura Pausini on my radio, but with the new cds we got in we finally have one of her English songs on there. HURRAY! So uh, if I could have a song on the radio -- I think I'd like to hear this duet again:

This is Crystal Bowersox & Lee DeWyze, the second and first place contestants on this season of American Idol doing the duet from the film "Once" by Glen Hansard and Margeta Irklova(sp). The bright shining moment of the dismal pathetic excuse for a season that was season 9.

there's gonna be one less lonely girl (shouldn't that be one fewer lonely girl?)

2010-06-20T17:57:00.000-07:00

So the laptop keeps bluescreening because I may or may not have thrown it across the room the other day. It may or may not have had it coming. So I have no internet on my computers and am borrowing my roommate's for the moment. Here is your daily meme.

Day 01 - Your favorite song
Day 02 - A song that makes you happy
Day 03 - A song that makes you sad
Day 04 - A song that reminds you of someone
Day 05 - A song that reminds of you of somewhere
Day 06 - A song that reminds you of a certain event
Day 07 - A song that you can dance to
Day 08 - A song that makes you fall asleep
Day 09 - A song from your favorite band
Day 10 - A song that no one would expect you to love
Day 11 - A song that describes you
Day 12 - A song from your favorite album
Day 13 - A song that you listen to when you're angry
Day 14 - A song that you listen to when you're happy
Day 15 - A song that you listen to when you're sad
Day 16 - A song that you want to play at your wedding
Day 17 - A song that you want to play at your funeral
Day 18 - A song that makes you laugh
Day 19 - Your least favorite song
Day 20 - A song that you know all the words to
Day 21 - A song from a band you hate
Day 22 - A song that is a guilty pleasure
Day 23 - A song that you used to love but now hate
Day 24 - A song that you hear often on the radio
Day 25 - A song that you wish you heard on the radio
Day 26 - A song that you can play on an instrument
Day 27 - A song that you wish you could play
Day 28 - A song that makes you feel guilty
Day 29 - A song from your childhood
Day 30 - Your favorite song at this time last year

Since I don't listen to radio (mainly because I don't have a car) I do not know what the cool kids listen to these days over and over on the airwaves. So I'll go with a song that plays a lot at work. Which all the kiddies love.

Yes, that is Justin Bieber. I am sorry.

yeah life's like this

2010-06-17T19:30:00.000-07:00

Day 01 - Your favorite song
Day 02 - A song that makes you happy
Day 03 - A song that makes you sad
Day 04 - A song that reminds you of someone
Day 05 - A song that reminds of you of somewhere
Day 06 - A song that reminds you of a certain event
Day 07 - A song that you can dance to
Day 08 - A song that makes you fall asleep
Day 09 - A song from your favorite band
Day 10 - A song that no one would expect you to love
Day 11 - A song that describes you
Day 12 - A song from your favorite album
Day 13 - A song that you listen to when you're angry
Day 14 - A song that you listen to when you're happy
Day 15 - A song that you listen to when you're sad
Day 16 - A song that you want to play at your wedding
Day 17 - A song that you want to play at your funeral
Day 18 - A song that makes you laugh
Day 19 - Your least favorite song
Day 20 - A song that you know all the words to
Day 21 - A song from a band you hate
Day 22 - A song that is a guilty pleasure
Day 23 - A song that you used to love but now hate
Day 24 - A song that you hear often on the radio
Day 25 - A song that you wish you heard on the radio
Day 26 - A song that you can play on an instrument
Day 27 - A song that you wish you could play
Day 28 - A song that makes you feel guilty
Day 29 - A song from your childhood
Day 30 - Your favorite song at this time last year

Oooh, we're back to the hard questions again. I try to let the songs I don't like anymore slip from my memory, because life's too short and there are too many new songs out there to be enjoyed. But I gotta pick one. Got damn this is hard. Even the stuff I loved as a kid, I still love ironically. I find some songs are overplayed and there are some that I won't listen to anymore because I'm tired of them (I put Celine Dion down for a while because she was oversaturated).

No wait, I know! (This whole post has been brought to you by stream of consciousness.)

Time to go back to the WayBack Machine! In the summer of 2001 I worked in the Electronics Dept. of Ames Department stores. And we had this tape on a loop that played the latest in CDs and movies (DVDs AND VHS!) And there was this song on there that caught my ears occasionally and I kinda loved it. Since I lived in the middle of nowhere and didn't have continuous internet access at that time I didn't know how much ~controversy~ this young woman had stirred up, I just knew she was from a town near mine on the other side of the river and that was cool enough for me.

Now? I can't stand this song or her and her stupid cat ear hoodie she wore as a "judge" for the auditions this year. (Girlfriend is a different story because that song I love in an ironic sense).

So prepare to make your ears bleed:
[Facebook Readers - this is Avril Lavigne's Complicated.]

i can barely recall but it's all coming back to me now

2010-06-16T17:52:00.001-07:00

So Captain Klutz-A-Lot strikes again. I was walking home from the grocery store and I tripped over a curb I didn't see and went flat on my kness. Injuring my ankle in the process so I had to limp home. Right now I have it elevated on top of my penguin and putting it to sleep accidentally in so doing. I feel that this is better for me than it tweaking in pain every thirty seconds, which is what it was doing during dinner.

Day 01 - Your favorite song
Day 02 - A song that makes you happy
Day 03 - A song that makes you sad
Day 04 - A song that reminds you of someone
Day 05 - A song that reminds of you of somewhere
Day 06 - A song that reminds you of a certain event
Day 07 - A song that you can dance to
Day 08 - A song that makes you fall asleep
Day 09 - A song from your favorite band
Day 10 - A song that no one would expect you to love
Day 11 - A song that describes you
Day 12 - A song from your favorite album
Day 13 - A song that you listen to when you're angry
Day 14 - A song that you listen to when you're happy
Day 15 - A song that you listen to when you're sad
Day 16 - A song that you want to play at your wedding
Day 17 - A song that you want to play at your funeral
Day 18 - A song that makes you laugh
Day 19 - Your least favorite song
Day 20 - A song that you know all the words to
Day 21 - A song from a band you hate
Day 22 - A song that is a guilty pleasure
Day 23 - A song that you used to love but now hate
Day 24 - A song that you hear often on the radio
Day 25 - A song that you wish you heard on the radio
Day 26 - A song that you can play on an instrument
Day 27 - A song that you wish you could play
Day 28 - A song that makes you feel guilty
Day 29 - A song from your childhood
Day 30 - Your favorite song at this time last year

I try not to believe in guilty pleasures because you shouldn't be ashamed of the things you like. And you all know that I love pretty much all music. I am that person who listens to everything, with no qualifiers. I like country and I like rap. I don't like everything in all genres, but I appreciate the craft that goes into even the cheesiest of pop songs. Except Heidi Montag. Nothing's gonna save that trainwreck.

I guess if I had to go with a guilty pleasure it would be this song, which I only learned because our music player tells us the name of artists who sing them. Everyone hates on her but the woman can sing!

[Facebook readers, this is Céline Dion's It's All Coming Back to Me Now. Bonus points go to Wendy who will recognize Jim Steinman's craftmanship behind this song.]

For some reason I can't explain, I know St Peter will call my name

2010-06-15T18:15:00.001-07:00

I spent some time this afternoon contemplating how terrible my Spanish has gotten. Me, someone who taught it in college, can't even remember the number 70 in the language. I remember it in Italian, but no one comes in the store speaking Italian. It's mostly Spanish and bits of Portuguese, Arabic, Hindu, French, and a variety of Eastern European languages. But the bulk of the non-English speakers speak Spanish, and I feel like I can capitalize on those sales and make the customers feel more comfortable if I were a bit more fluent in it. So I'm going to start memorizing vocab words again. I know the grammar structures, and I know my basic verbs, it's just words that I would need. My comprehension's still there, depending on the accent (I was taught Puerto Rican Spanish, which helps, but a lot of our customers speak Mexican or Central American Spanish and I'm unfamiliar with that accent.

Day 01 - Your favorite song
Day 02 - A song that makes you happy
Day 03 - A song that makes you sad
Day 04 - A song that reminds you of someone
Day 05 - A song that reminds of you of somewhere
Day 06 - A song that reminds you of a certain event
Day 07 - A song that you can dance to
Day 08 - A song that makes you fall asleep
Day 09 - A song from your favorite band
Day 10 - A song that no one would expect you to love
Day 11 - A song that describes you
Day 12 - A song from your favorite album
Day 13 - A song that you listen to when you're angry
Day 14 - A song that you listen to when you're happy
Day 15 - A song that you listen to when you're sad
Day 16 - A song that you want to play at your wedding
Day 17 - A song that you want to play at your funeral
Day 18 - A song that makes you laugh
Day 19 - Your least favorite song
Day 20 - A song that you know all the words to
Day 21 - A song from a band you hate
Day 22 - A song that is a guilty pleasure
Day 23 - A song that you used to love but now hate
Day 24 - A song that you hear often on the radio
Day 25 - A song that you wish you heard on the radio
Day 26 - A song that you can play on an instrument
Day 27 - A song that you wish you could play
Day 28 - A song that makes you feel guilty
Day 29 - A song from your childhood
Day 30 - Your favorite song at this time last year

As soon as I saw this entry on the list I knew what I would answer for this one. And no, it's not Ashlee Simpson. She is not a band.

I. Hate. Coldplay. And yet I cannot resist this song! It appeals to the geek in me. "I used to rule the world -- seas would rise when I gave the word." Or even better, the chorus: "I hear Jerusalem bells are ringing, Roman cavalry choirs are singing; be my mirror, my sword, my shield, my missionaries in a foreign field."

I still hate them, but this song is epic. And endorsed by ! You can't get higher praise.

anytime i need to see your face i just close my eyes

2010-06-14T20:38:00.000-07:00

Ok, scuse you customers, but I'm allowed to work at a children's store even if I don't have children. Maybe I don't have kids because I don't want them, maybe I work here because the pay is good and the company's good. But for you to say "why do you work here then if you don't have kids?" That kinda makes me mad.

On a side note, I love seeing little babies, but I feel that my biological clock doesn't work because seeing them doesn't make me want them. I'm very okay with this.

Day 01 - Your favorite song
Day 02 - A song that makes you happy
Day 03 - A song that makes you sad
Day 04 - A song that reminds you of someone
Day 05 - A song that reminds of you of somewhere
Day 06 - A song that reminds you of a certain event
Day 07 - A song that you can dance to
Day 08 - A song that makes you fall asleep
Day 09 - A song from your favorite band
Day 10 - A song that no one would expect you to love
Day 11 - A song that describes you
Day 12 - A song from your favorite album
Day 13 - A song that you listen to when you're angry
Day 14 - A song that you listen to when you're happy
Day 15 - A song that you listen to when you're sad
Day 16 - A song that you want to play at your wedding
Day 17 - A song that you want to play at your funeral
Day 18 - A song that makes you laugh
Day 19 - Your least favorite song
Day 20 - A song that you know all the words to
Day 21 - A song from a band you hate
Day 22 - A song that is a guilty pleasure
Day 23 - A song that you used to love but now hate
Day 24 - A song that you hear often on the radio
Day 25 - A song that you wish you heard on the radio
Day 26 - A song that you can play on an instrument
Day 27 - A song that you wish you could play
Day 28 - A song that makes you feel guilty
Day 29 - A song from your childhood
Day 30 - Your favorite song at this time last year

I'm a song memorizer! There are entire songs that I know in Italian or Spanish simply because I remember all the lyrics. But my specialty is all the Savage Garden discography. While I claimed allegiance to the BSB clique in high school, my heart truly madly deeply belonged to Darren and Daniel of the Australian band Savage Garden. I still love Darren solo, and lord knows how jealous I was of when she met him a few years back.

[Song for FB readers is Savage Garden's "I Want You."]

a fucking flying tank! for real!

2010-06-12T21:19:00.000-07:00

Um, I want you to run, not walk to your nearest theater and see the A-Team Movie. You won't be disappointed unless you kill puppies in yr spare time. The best moviegoing experience I have had in a long time, and I will see it in theaters again and again.

You guys don't know but the A-Team is one of my favourite shows ever. Like on the face of the planet, it's like they came up with a concept that was designed specifically for me. And the casting for this movie is spot on. I don't know where Sharlto Copley has been all my life but I ell him a lot. And even the guy they cast as Mr T scuse me I mean BA Baracus was pretty darn awesome.

PS: They fly a tank. YEAH that's right. FLEW a tank. How more badass can you get? JFC, get to the theater already!

Day 01 - Your favorite song
Day 02 - A song that makes you happy
Day 03 - A song that makes you sad
Day 04 - A song that reminds you of someone
Day 05 - A song that reminds of you of somewhere
Day 06 - A song that reminds you of a certain event
Day 07 - A song that you can dance to
Day 08 - A song that makes you fall asleep
Day 09 - A song from your favorite band
Day 10 - A song that no one would expect you to love
Day 11 - A song that describes you
Day 12 - A song from your favorite album
Day 13 - A song that you listen to when you're angry
Day 14 - A song that you listen to when you're happy
Day 15 - A song that you listen to when you're sad
Day 16 - A song that you want to play at your wedding
Day 17 - A song that you want to play at your funeral
Day 18 - A song that makes you laugh
Day 19 - Your least favorite song
Day 20 - A song that you know all the words to
Day 21 - A song from a band you hate
Day 22 - A song that is a guilty pleasure
Day 23 - A song that you used to love but now hate
Day 24 - A song that you hear often on the radio
Day 25 - A song that you wish you heard on the radio
Day 26 - A song that you can play on an instrument
Day 27 - A song that you wish you could play
Day 28 - A song that makes you feel guilty
Day 29 - A song from your childhood
Day 30 - Your favorite song at this time last year

I don't hate a lot of music, since I'm a fan of all music as a concept. But there are several that I dislike with a passion. Longtime readers of this blog remember that I was insistent upon removing Ashlee Simpson's existence from this world. I switched targets and now I hate Demetri Martin, that talentless hack of a "comedian." Uh reality check, Mr Martin, you're not funny.

So for the worst song ever to exist I had a hard time choosing. I mean even Paris Hilton has a CD! (Again giving me hope for my own American Idol audition). I can't decide between these two songs, so here they both are. What's your least favourite song ever?

[Facebook readers: Jessica Simpson's horrific cover of Take My Breath Away]

[Again, JSimp doing "I Wanna Love You Forever."]

nerrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrd

2010-06-11T19:02:00.000-07:00

So I was watching Star Trek: The Next Generation on BBCA, because I'm a nerd, and it was "Ensign Ro." That reminded me how much I really really really miss DS9 and how much I love Michelle Forbes (who later appeared on both of my 2000s favourite TV shows). I gotta figure though the only reason that BBCA shows it is because Patrick Stewart stars in it. Not that I'm complaining. While some of the plots and hairstyles don't hold up, a lot of it reminds me why it was my favourite show while growing up. (NEEEEEEEEEEEEEEERD)

I don't have any funky dreams to tell you about today, so we'll just launch into the meme.

Day 01 - Your favorite song
Day 02 - A song that makes you happy
Day 03 - A song that makes you sad
Day 04 - A song that reminds you of someone
Day 05 - A song that reminds of you of somewhere
Day 06 - A song that reminds you of a certain event
Day 07 - A song that you can dance to
Day 08 - A song that makes you fall asleep
Day 09 - A song from your favorite band
Day 10 - A song that no one would expect you to love
Day 11 - A song that describes you
Day 12 - A song from your favorite album
Day 13 - A song that you listen to when you're angry
Day 14 - A song that you listen to when you're happy
Day 15 - A song that you listen to when you're sad
Day 16 - A song that you want to play at your wedding
Day 17 - A song that you want to play at your funeral
Day 18 - A song that makes you laugh
Day 19 - Your least favorite song
Day 20 - A song that you know all the words to
Day 21 - A song from a band you hate
Day 22 - A song that is a guilty pleasure
Day 23 - A song that you used to love but now hate
Day 24 - A song that you hear often on the radio
Day 25 - A song that you wish you heard on the radio
Day 26 - A song that you can play on an instrument
Day 27 - A song that you wish you could play
Day 28 - A song that makes you feel guilty
Day 29 - A song from your childhood
Day 30 - Your favorite song at this time last year

This one cements my nerd status. That and my pseudocanuck status. I thought about choosing Three Dead Trolls in a Baggie's "War of 1812," but then I get pedantic and complain about how inaccurate it really is ;)

[Facebook Readers: Arrogant Worms - Canada's Really Big (live)]

And I would answer all of your wishes if you asked me to

2010-06-09T20:33:00.000-07:00

So I overslept by a lot today and it was weird. You see I watched the National Geographic Channel before I went to sleep and it was about hunting Osama bin Laden. So of course I dreamed that Osama was chasing me, and I had to keep moving from safehouse to safehouse and having the FBI protect my family. It was weird.

Day 01 - Your favorite song
Day 02 - A song that makes you happy
Day 03 - A song that makes you sad
Day 04 - A song that reminds you of someone
Day 05 - A song that reminds of you of somewhere
Day 06 - A song that reminds you of a certain event
Day 07 - A song that you can dance to
Day 08 - A song that makes you fall asleep
Day 09 - A song from your favorite band
Day 10 - A song that no one would expect you to love
Day 11 - A song that describes you
Day 12 - A song from your favorite album
Day 13 - A song that you listen to when you're angry
Day 14 - A song that you listen to when you're happy
Day 15 - A song that you listen to when you're sad
Day 16 - A song that you want to play at your wedding
Day 17 - A song that you want to play at your funeral
Day 18 - A song that makes you laugh
Day 19 - Your least favorite song
Day 20 - A song that you know all the words to
Day 21 - A song from a band you hate
Day 22 - A song that is a guilty pleasure
Day 23 - A song that you used to love but now hate
Day 24 - A song that you hear often on the radio
Day 25 - A song that you wish you heard on the radio
Day 26 - A song that you can play on an instrument
Day 27 - A song that you wish you could play
Day 28 - A song that makes you feel guilty
Day 29 - A song from your childhood
Day 30 - Your favorite song at this time last year

Is it wrong to steal someone else's wedding song as a song you would play at your wedding? If I ever get married I'd love to hear this song at it. It's just perfect!

[For facebook readers, this is McFly's All About You]

This is my friends Julie and Aidan's wedding song and I just love it. And them <3.

In case you're wondering about the new days on the list, I found a duelling list that was 30 days and I decided to add them in because I am having a blast doing this meme. It forces me to post every day, and even if I don't get comments I like the idea of writing something each night.

Mad love to the Military.

2010-06-08T19:24:00.000-07:00

Before today's meme, I have three things to bring to your attention:
1) I belong to a site called PineCone Research. They do market research surveys online, and they pay you $3 for every survey you do. The surveys themselves take no longer than 20 minutes, and sometimes you get to try new products before they hit the market, which is way cool. tl;dr (too late) they're looking for new people to send surveys to. If you're interested (US only, I think) please leave your email, and I'll forward you the sign up message.

2) Holy shit how cool is this?

3) can ignore this: OMG you guys, the NCIS season finale? Made up for a seriously sucky season. Amirite? PS: Who else [spoilers] knew Mike Franks wasn't dead? PS: theories on what happened and who the Army Ranger guy is working for would be spectacular.

Day 01 - Your favorite song
Day 02 - A song that makes you happy
Day 03 - A song that makes you sad
Day 04 - A song that reminds you of someone
Day 05 - A song that reminds of you of somewhere
Day 06 - A song that reminds you of a certain event
Day 07 - A song that you can dance to
Day 08 - A song that makes you fall asleep
Day 09 - A song from your favorite band
Day 10 - A song that no one would expect you to love
Day 11 - A song that describes you
Day 12 - A song from your favorite album
Day 13 - A song that you listen to when you're angry
Day 14 - A song that you listen to when you're happy
Day 15 - A song that you listen to when you're sad
Day 16 - A song that you want to play at your wedding
Day 17 - A song that you want to play at your funeral
Day 18 - A song that makes you laugh

Ok, so this song makes me cry buckets EVERY single time I heard it. And if I want to be really sad I throw it on. I'm a sucker for military-related songs, and this is no exception. It's a great song if you need a good cry. Runner up would be the Dixie Chicks' cover of "Travelling Soldier." FFFFFFFFFFFFFFUUUUUUUUUUU, waterworks.

[For Facebook readers, the song is Carrie Underwood's Just a Dream. Video/audio can be heard at original source]

You can't rush fashion...

2010-06-07T20:33:00.000-07:00

I suspect the lack of inclusion of stirrup pants is merely because I haven't lit enough people on fire for wearing them yet.

Day 01 - Your favorite song
Day 02 - A song that makes you happy
Day 03 - A song that makes you sad
Day 04 - A song that reminds you of someone
Day 05 - A song that reminds of you of somewhere
Day 06 - A song that reminds you of a certain event
Day 07 - A song that you can dance to
Day 08 - A song that makes you fall asleep
Day 09 - A song from your favorite band
Day 10 - A song that no one would expect you to love
Day 11 - A song that describes you
Day 12 - A song from your favorite album
Day 13 - A song that you listen to when you're angry
Day 14 - A song that you listen to when you're happy
Day 15 - A song that you listen to when you're sad
Day 16 - A song that you want to play at your wedding
Day 17 - A song that you want to play at your funeral
Day 18 - A song that makes you laugh

A song that I listen to when I'm happy, eh? Hmm. I listen to everything, but I think I know what will fit this category.

I know Juliebella will agree with me on this one, right?

for Facebook readers, this is Natasha Bedingfield - Unwritten)

the light is electric yeah

2010-06-06T19:54:00.001-07:00

Today's entry is brought to you by the fact that I am missing the skin off half my right foot. Story continues after today's meme.

Day 01 - Your favorite song
Day 02 - A song that makes you happy
Day 03 - A song that makes you sad
Day 04 - A song that reminds you of someone
Day 05 - A song that reminds of you of somewhere
Day 06 - A song that reminds you of a certain event
Day 07 - A song that you can dance to
Day 08 - A song that makes you fall asleep
Day 09 - A song from your favorite band
Day 10 - A song that no one would expect you to love
Day 11 - A song that describes you
Day 12 - A song from your favorite album
Day 13 - A song that you listen to when you're angry
Day 14 - A song that you listen to when you're happy
Day 15 - A song that you listen to when you're sad
Day 16 - A song that you want to play at your wedding
Day 17 - A song that you want to play at your funeral
Day 18 - A song that makes you laugh

Oh this one's easy. It wasn't easy when I was thinking about it a few days ago, knowing it was coming up, but it played on my mp3 player and I realized it was perfect for this meme. So enjoy:

For facebook readers, the video is Seether's FMLYHM.

It's such a bitter, jaded, and angry song which sums up Seether's entire repertoire, but if I recall correctly this entire album was a reply to the lead singer breaking up with Amy Lee of Evanescence. She of course started it with the album "The Open Door," so you know. If you're famous musicians you gotta fight your breakups through music, it's only logical. (Note: this is not sarcasm).

I'm ambivalent about Seether. They know how to rock, but they also tend to be pretty damned misogynistic with their lyrics and it bothers me to listen to some of it. How do you feel about them?

So I'm missing skin from the top of my foot and here's why: I was moving my stuff around today to try to make my room more habitable. I positioned the bed where I wanted it except that it was half on top of some boxes that I'd neglected to move out the way. So I did the logical thing, and shoved the boxes over to the right. Forgot my foot was underneath, so when the bed dropped it hit my foot.

This didn't scrape my foot, I'll have you know. What happened next did. My left foot slipped and I fell onto the bed, throwing my entire weight on the bed on top of my foot. That uh, kinda hurt. And removed a layer of skin. Ouch.

and everything, it will surely change, even if i tell you i won't go

2010-06-05T19:49:00.001-07:00

No one cares, right? ;)
Day 01 - Your favorite song
Day 02 - A song that makes you happy
Day 03 - A song that makes you sad
Day 04 - A song that reminds you of someone
Day 05 - A song that reminds of you of somewhere
Day 06 - A song that reminds you of a certain event
Day 07 - A song that you can dance to
Day 08 - A song that makes you fall asleep
Day 09 - A song from your favorite band
Day 10 - A song that no one would expect you to love
Day 11 - A song that describes you
Day 12 - A song from your favorite album
Day 13 - A song that you listen to when you're angry
Day 14 - A song that you listen to when you're happy
Day 15 - A song that you listen to when you're sad
Day 16 - A song that you want to play at your wedding
Day 17 - A song that you want to play at your funeral
Day 18 - A song that makes you laugh

So once again this is a difficult question. You see, I don't really do albums so much anymore -- I collect singles and delete pieces of albums I don't like. But the answer to this one is ridiculously simple. Anyone who knows me knows how much I stan* for Mr. David Cook, American Idol Season 7 winner. <3

Because the universe loves me, DC's first album came out the day after my birthday. So I bought the CD the same day it came out and listened to it nonstop. I'm fairly certain that Bridget got tired of it and wanted to toss it out the window but I couldn't stop listening. So David Cook's self titled album is my favourite CD of all time.

And the best track, one that on the right day can move me to tears, is Permanent.

Simply amazing and powerful.

*stan is shorthand for an obsessed fan. Those of you who know Eminem's song "Stan" about a crazed fan will see the origins of the name.

holding up this fortress with imaginary horses

2010-06-04T20:06:00.000-07:00

I feel neglected and need commentary, dammit. Is it because it ends up crossposted to blogspot/FB? I get more comments over there. Is this thing on? ;)

Day 01 - Your favorite song
Day 02 - A song that makes you happy
Day 03 - A song that makes you sad
Day 04 - A song that reminds you of someone
Day 05 - A song that reminds of you of somewhere
Day 06 - A song that reminds you of a certain event
Day 07 - A song that you can dance to
Day 08 - A song that makes you fall asleep
Day 09 - A song from your favorite band
Day 10 - A song that no one would expect you to love
Day 11 - A song that describes you
Day 12 - A song from your favorite album
Day 13 - A song that you listen to when you're angry
Day 14 - A song that you listen to when you're happy
Day 15 - A song that you listen to when you're sad
Day 16 - A song that you want to play at your wedding
Day 17 - A song that you want to play at your funeral
Day 18 - A song that makes you laugh

There are two songs that describe me pretty well but it's the same theme in each, and they're both female singers, so I'm gonna go with the easy (read: lazy) choice. Ahh, what did we do in the days before youtube?

Every. goddamned. word of this song is me. You don't really understand how much this is me, from the begininng line "grew up in a small town" to the theme of wanting to leave and see the world. "I'll do what it takes til I touch the sky." But I won't forget all the ones that I love. I just don't even know, you guys. This song is exactly, down to each syllable, every example completely and utterly my life. There couldn't be a better song that sums me up in a nutshell.

I gotta take a risk, take a chance, make a change, and break away. But I gotta keep moving on, moving on, fly away. <3 But I won't forget the place I come from.

(In case you were wondering, this was the other song I considered. It's the same theme but less Ehjay.)

I'm gonna love you with my hands tied.

2010-06-03T20:38:00.000-07:00

Day 01 - Your favorite song
Day 02 - A song that makes you happy
Day 03 - A song that makes you sad
Day 04 - A song that reminds you of someone
Day 05 - A song that reminds of you of somewhere
Day 06 - A song that reminds you of a certain event
Day 07 - A song that you can dance to
Day 08 - A song that makes you fall asleep
Day 09 - A song from your favorite band
Day 10 - A song that no one would expect you to love
Day 11 - A song that describes you
Day 12 - A song from your favorite album
Day 13 - A song that you listen to when you're angry
Day 14 - A song that you listen to when you're happy
Day 15 - A song that you listen to when you're sad
Day 16 - A song that you want to play at your wedding
Day 17 - A song that you want to play at your funeral
Day 18 - A song that makes you laugh

My music is so eclectic I'm not sure what would surprise you to learn that I love. I am that rare person who literally DOES listen to everything, including Rap and Country, the two exceptions to all music "fans."

My friend Tabitha was surprised to find out I liked Death From Above 1979 but that's in my indie/rock/alt rock wheelhouse, so I can't consider them.

McFly is too British and Boy-Band-y for me to choose for this one. Those are also strong sets in my wheelhouse.

I can pick songs people would be surprised that I hate, but that's not the point of this meme. (Although it would be a good one.) If it was a "what group did you hate that people would be surprised that you like now" question that would be easy -- The Decemberists.

And you guys know I love me some Idol, whether it's Pop, American, or Canadian. So any of those contestants are right out. (Except Danny Gokey, because he's just annoying.)

So I thought long and hard about this (heh, I said long and hard). The only answer I could reasonably come up with was this:

The answer for the Facebook readers: Lady Gaga - Teeth.

I dunno why, but the Lady Gaga hath grown on me. And this song is just FUN.

whataya want from me

2010-06-02T19:03:00.000-07:00

Day 01 - Your favorite song
Day 02 - A song that makes you happy
Day 03 - A song that makes you sad
Day 04 - A song that reminds you of someone
Day 05 - A song that reminds of you of somewhere
Day 06 - A song that reminds you of a certain event
Day 07 - A song that you can dance to
Day 08 - A song that makes you fall asleep
Day 09 - A song from your favorite band
Day 10 - A song that no one would expect you to love
Day 11 - A song that describes you
Day 12 - A song from your favorite album
Day 13 - A song that you listen to when you're angry
Day 14 - A song that you listen to when you're happy
Day 15 - A song that you listen to when you're sad
Day 16 - A song that you want to play at your wedding
Day 17 - A song that you want to play at your funeral
Day 18 - A song that makes you laugh

I try not to choose favourites except at work ;)
But does this meme mean a band or an artist? Because I can say without a doubt that Laura Pausini is my favourite artist, without a doubt. Favourite band rotates. Usually Canadian, though, that I can tell you. I love Tragically Hip & Great Big Sea, but I've kinda fallen out of love with GBS lately. Carbon Leaf is good, but not magical. And Dropkicks are amazing, but I can't listen to them nonstop. I don't have that one ~MAGICAL~ band that I instantly adore and need to own everything ever by them.

I'll give you another Laura track (remember this will be a mix when I'm finished with the meme):

Laura Pausini - Come una danza
(This is just such a fun track to listen to, no matter what mood you're in).

The answer to the favourite band took some thought. I go through phases in music. I went from boy bands to singer-songwriter Lilith Fair type stuff to elevator music to alt rock to metal to celtic to celtic punk (which still sticks around) to today's little bit of everything.

But you know I think about it and I have to go with the band that I discovered through advertising on Fark.com years ago when I was an early member there. (5 digit account number! If that means anything anymore. And yes it was a low #)

And this song is super amazing in its acoustic form, as well as its original electric form. My sister got to see them live and I'm jealous because I was originally gonna see them myself before I went and got a new job.

For Facebook readers:
Breaking Benjamin - The Diary of Jane (acoustic)

Music time again

2010-06-01T20:24:00.001-07:00

Music time again

2010-05-30T20:12:00.000-07:00

Ok, so this one I also had a difficult time with. I think this list hates me

Day 01 - Your favorite song
Day 02 - A song that makes you happy
Day 03 - A song that makes you sad
Day 04 - A song that reminds you of someone
Day 05 - A song that reminds of you of somewhere
Day 06 - A song that reminds you of a certain event
Day 07 - A song that you can dance to
Day 08 - A song that makes you fall asleep
Day 09 - A song from your favorite band
Day 10 - A song that no one would expect you to love
Day 11 - A song that describes you
Day 12 - A song from your favorite album
Day 13 - A song that you listen to when you're angry
Day 14 - A song that you listen to when you're happy
Day 15 - A song that you listen to when you're sad
Day 16 - A song that you want to play at your wedding
Day 17 - A song that you want to play at your funeral
Day 18 - A song that makes you laugh

The only one I can think of for this day is kind of sad

I remember tuning to MTV after a day of sitting in various rooms in my dorm and watching the coverage of 9/11 that fateful Tuesday. The video for this song appeared and it just seemed to sum up the day and the response afterward.

Does 9/11 invoke any songs for you?

Goodreads is awesome, btw.

2010-05-29T21:51:00.000-07:00

Book review time! I read a bunch of books this time out.

Lost States: True Stories of Texlahoma, Transylvania, and Other States That Never Made It, Michael J. Trinklein
My brother told me about this book and I added it to my wishlist. He had a copy and I read it in an hour because it's a quick piece. A lot of the stories I already knew but there were some that were surprising and new to me. Definitely an interesting book to check out, and the maps are awesome.

We Need to Talk About Kevin, Lionel Shriver.

This was a book that Ash had read a few months back and raved about how good it was. I was walking through Barnes & Noble one day and it jumped out at me from a random shelf, so I bought it. And I am very glad I did. This is the story of a mother whose child becomes a school shooter. She tells the story through letters to her estranged husband, and it's completely mesmerizing. This is the book that The Unprofessionals tried to be -- a story about an upper middle class woman who doesn't know what to do with her life, and how she interacts with a young man, a teenager really. It brings up nature vs nurture,and asks all the important questions. This is superbly written and increasingly captivating as you get to the quiet climax.

Dispatches from the Edge: A Memoir of War, Disasters, and Survival, Anderson Cooper.

CNN's Anderson Cooper became a household name for his work during Hurricane Katrina, but my mom and I had been fans for a long time before that. She was the one who told me that his mother is Gloria Vanderbilt, and that his brother killed himself from jumping out a window. This book is a window into his mind and thoughts and the rationale behind why he chose to jump from war to disaster, from country to country. While it was a good and quick read, I don't know if I would recommend it for people who aren't fans of Coper.

The White Queen, Philippa Gregory.

Continuing the trend of writing trilogies based on the turbulent past of England's Tudor dynasty, Gregory starts her new one based on the life of Elizabeth Woodville. A young widow catches the eye of a king, and marries him out of love, allegedly. His life cut short, she has to fight for every inch to save her children and their claim to the throne of England.

I liked this book, and then I didn't. The witchcraft she uses as a deus ex machina is good in parts, but overused and preachy in others. Elizabeth herself comes off as incredibly needy and clingy, but the story is enjoyable in parts.

English, Wang Gang.
This is a book translated from Mandarin Chinese to English, about a young boy in the extreme rural parts of China, a place so remote that we never hear or know anything about the region. It's an interesting character study, and an intriguing look into a part of history and a country that is so rarely understood by westerners.

Bel Canto, Ann Patchett.

I was out at I believe Troy Night Out, where all the shops and restaurants and such are open later on Fridays or what have you, and we wandered into this new consignment shop. The woman had books for sale, and a granddaughter who was named Journey. She said it was for the band, but her daughter had chosen it for other reasons. The kid was cute and the book was cheap.

Based remotely on true events, Patchett writes a story that relies heavily on Stockholm Syndrome. A group of hoi palloi in an unnamed Latin American country (Peru) gathers at the Vice President's residence to see a concert by a famous American opera star. The opera star had been lured there to entertain a rich Japanese business man who the country wanted to invest in infrastructure. A rebel group had other ideas and takes the group hostage.

For several months the wildly comedic group lives together, and become BFFs. And while it's not entirely realistic and a little bizarre, it is entertaining. And that's all I asked out of this book.

That's Not in My American History Book, Thomas Ayres.
This was slightly annoying. I couldn't remember if I had read this book or not, because I knew almost all the stories in it from either that book or other similar texts. Not worth buying.

Idol Finale: Yacht Rock Edition. (Contains Spoilers)

2010-05-26T19:38:00.001-07:00

Well, Live via Tape Delay.

Vote For the worst is doing a drinking game where everytime the word "paint" (as in salesman) or "mom" (as in single) is said, take a drink. I won't do that, but I'll keep a tally for you.

Paint: i
Mom: i

Reviewing that Chicago audition tape.
Lee's wearing a colour but looks like someone replaced him with a cardboard cutout. Poor dude. He's nervous.

Random stars standing up for a standing ovation. I don't know who any of these people are. /old

Uh, Randy? I'm all for mixing patterns and colours but a solid neon blue tie and a green print? Forget it. Scrap it and start over.
Uh, finalists? Is this Catholic School Idol? PS: Crystal, I want your ring.

Oh god, a group sing. Is that that Orianthi chick again? She can play some guitar, I'll give her that. Oh, they're all wearing -- OH GOD THEY'RE SINGING ALICE COOPER. And this is totally pre-recorded. Because they hate us. What the hell is going on? Why are there zombies? Why is this happening on my television? And how much did they pay him to be on the show?
Oh wow, one of the people I didn't recognize was Carrie Underwood. That's pretty sad.

Kris Allen's performing next, doing his song The Truth. Wow, Idol, you fucked up the audio on your reigning champion. Class act. But Kris, you're pretty amazing. And I'm still kicking myself for not watching last season. He's so ridiculously adorable, I don't even care. If David Cook wasn't the permanent owner of my American Idol heart, I would make room for Kris Allen. <3 Speaking of Cookie, I hope he's on tonight show. Oh, another note about this song: the version for radio has Pat Monaghan of Train singing with him on this song. I haven't heard that song, but I love this one. Seriously, if you're still holding out on listening to Kris Allen, stop and go find a song by him.

Hey, that's Bo Bice. Where did they find him?

Oh time to fete Simon Cowell. LOLOLOLOOL he gave Ryan a breath mint. trying to say something about Ryan? Oh dear god, Idol with Randy and Ryan, but no Simon? I'm not sure I can take it.

Siobhan and Aaron are up next. Oh, I missed that voice. Not Aaron. He can stop singing now. I also need Siobhan's dress in my life. Oh really, Idol, do we need the cheese? OH GOD KILL IT WITH FIRE IT IS HALL AND OATES UGH NO DO NOT WANT. REALLY WHY DOES IDOL HATE ME. This must be 1970s Idol, what with Alice Cooper & now Hall & Oates.

What's next? Michael McDonald?

Hi, Michael Lynche. You're singing more Yacht Rock.* Someone put this season out of my misery. HOSHIT I WAS RIGHT MICHAEL MCDONALD. QUICK I NEED TO GO BUY A LOTTERY TICKET. If Idol had any cultural relevance left it is clearly gone with tonight's show.

GDI Seacrest, Dane Cook is not the Cook I wanted to be performing. WHOA IT IS THAT GUY WHO IS YOUR BROTHER!**

Uh oh, Lacey Brown is doing her best Pat Benatar impression. At least that's what I gathered from the accidental jump ahead that my DVR does. It's Didi Benami, boys and girls. And she's missing part of her dress. Let me guess, Christina Aguilera's about to school them all. This sounds like a dirge. I suspect if we let Crystal and Siobhan rip into it, it would have been a better song. Ok, to be fair, Beautiful is a bland song. Fighter works for this group of girls. Uh, lurking dancers are lurking? Oh yeah, cause school's in session. Although I do not understand the Leia look she's got going on. Ok, bored now. Next?

Ricky Gervais? Why did he come on the finale? Oh, I guess they're BFFs.

Hey, everyone it's our favourite paint salesman, Lee DeWyze. (Well, not my favourite ex-paint salesman). See, Lee, if you had done this last night you would have won. Look, it's his BFF andrew Garcia.

True measure of awful: Zoe left the room when Andrew started singing. Which 70s "rock" star do they have to sing with them? Or overrated 90s singer, for that matter? Oh dear, are they gonna bring Hall and Oates out again? Of the two Maneater songs I know, I do not like this -- wait, who were the two old guys at the beginning if it wasn't Hall & Oates?***
Idol, you're KILLING ME. KILLING ME. Hall and Oates AND the Idol Backup Singers? This is like AJ's version of Musical Hell.

Janell Wheeler, a failed Top 24 contestant is practically invisible in the sea of Crystal fans. Crystal's performing "Ironic." Kinda like this show, amirite? UGH ditch the backup singers. LOLOLOLOL, overrated 90s singer, Check. Oh come on, Idol. "Would she go down with you to a theater?" COP OUT. Raise your hands if you've never belted this song out loud in your room. Bonus points if a hairbrush was your mic.

Apparently Alanis is on Team Crystal.

*: Yacht Rock
**: Renaldo Lapuz
***: I like Nelly Furtado's song better

Yeah, now a real Idol takes the stage and schools this season's crop. That rock that Mike Comrie gave her can be seen even in long shots. How is she able to move wearing that Chain Maile around her shoulders?

Wow, can we be any less excited about winning a car?

Casey gets to sing Poison. Are they cheering Casey or the fact that Bret Michaels is lurking right behind him? Our first bit of current cultural relevance, oddly enough. And Casey didn't bring the goat to sing this song for him, which is nice. Also, Casey is very tall.

Is it time for more Simon love? Oh sweet more cities. Myspace auditions?
Oh dear god they really hate me. First Hall & Oates, and NOW Chicago? Really? Just because Lee's from Chicago? But they keep saying Mt Prospect, IL. YAY MATT ROGERS <3 I love him!

Pants on the ground! The highlight of my evening. This is uh. That's William Hung. Oh dear god I still have 45 minutes of this to go. I really don't remember a finale being this torturous.

LOLOL they're offering discounted tickets to this tour because no one wants to see these Idols. This will work out in my favour. Oh Paula, I actually MISS you. "After years of sitting between two guys who have bigger boobs than I do..." Really? A standing O for Paula Abdul? Please come back, Paula. I can't believe I'm saying this. Ok, now I'm over her. Let's get to the real reason we're watching the show.

GDI Simon, you need to bring X Factor here ASAP, I need the snarky British judge on my TV.

Hey, that's Season 1 Winner Kelly Clarkson. I kinda want her haircut. And Season 2 Winner Ruben Studdard! And Season 3 Fantasia. And Carrie Underwood. And Jordin Sparks! This means...Taylor Hicks. Remember him? And it's Season 8 Winner Kris Allen! ...wait a freaking minute. IDOL I FEEL CHEATED. Look, it's all those people who didn't win. Aww, I do love you Elliot Yamin. But I really really really wanted to see one particular idol.*

But that was actually really sweet. And I enjoyed that performance.
Uhoh, looks like another group sing is lurking. Which 70s, 80s, or 90s superstar is going to suprise us with a performance? Oh it's Janet Jackson. Who is wearing like 80 microphones. I must say I really don't like the incredibly squared shoulder look. Ok, bored now. I'd almost rather listen to another group sing. Note to Idol: Do not actually give me another group sing.

Oh, Ryan, I thought tonight was about 70s rock stars.
Paint: II
Mom: II

Also, if you haven't heard them do "Falling Slowly," you're missing out on a real treat.**

LOL, Lee singign the line "what would you do if I sang out of tune." Cause he has a hard time staying in key. Oh man I can hear Laurie screaming from here. Wait. Wait really? We're gonna have Joe Cocker on this show? That's it. I'm done. I can't take this show seriously anymore.***

UNLEASH THE BACKUP SINGERS! I think Lee's just pretending to sing at this point, because all he's doing is smiling.

Paint: III
Mom: III

So it's not Price Waterhouse Cooper doing the votes this year. Dim the lights and we're about to crown an Idol. But not before we drag it out another seven minutes. Lee looks like he's about to throw up. I think they decided not to go over how last night went like they normally do because Lee got terrible reviews from the judges.

Wow, it's now White Male Idol, apparently. never mind the fact that he totally choked last night.Whoa Mike Lynche totally bumrushed him. Oh poor kid. He's adorable. Oh I wanna give him a giant hug. <3 Not even gonna lie. Oh geez, now he has to sing. There we go, this is what you should have done last night to justify that title.

Be advised that the previous cut contains spoilers about last night.

*Mr David Cook was not involved in the Winners Sing-A-Long. And Adam Lambert cancelled his appearance on the show tonight for diva reasons.

**: Here's Crystal and Lee doing "Falling Slowly"

***WE all know this is a lie. I never take this show seriously.

Three entries in one!

2010-05-26T13:20:00.000-07:00

It's hot, I nearly got mowed over by traffic attempting to cross Everett Rd to get to the grocery store, and I need to unpack my entire life today. I am doing none of these things and instead am sitting in front of an oscillating fan listening to American Idol radio on Last.fm getting ready for tonight's yawnfest of a Finale. Wake me up if David Cook is performing.

Final Idol Post of the Year! Well, this season.

If this show was any more of a lovefest I would have to puke. This fawning over Simon and these two weeksauce contestants was ridiculous.

Each contestant sang three songs. First was contestant's choice of a song they had sung previously.

Lee sang "The Boxer," which Laurie strenuously objected to. I found it lacking compared to the clipped version we'd heard the previous week during his hometown visit. It just wasn't working for me.

Crystal did "Me and My Bobby McGee," which led me to yell at Randy Jackson because he's an idiot. (redundant, I know). The slowed down part of the beginning of the song was the best part of said song. She turned into a shrieking mess after that.

Lee went next with Executive Producer Simon Fuller's choice. (This used to be Clive Davis's choice, but I guess he's not BFFs with 19E anymore. Simon Fuller chose "Everybody Hurts" by REM for poor Lee. First the backup singers emerged, and destroyed the song. And Lee got covered by the music. And he was a bit out of key. And uh, this is not how a finale should go.

Crystal got saddled with "Black Velvet." Which has been destroyed by anyone who ever tries to sing it. Thousands of auditioners each year get tripped up by such a difficult song. And Crystal's no exception. She completely annihilated the song, and her breathing was off. It was difficult to watch.

So the final song is one that they'd release as their single as the winner. This is usually one song written by a) a songwriter from 19E b) winner of a songwriting contest c) Kara DioGuardi. So what did Lee sing?

..."Beautiful Day." By U2. And the band and backup singers swallowed the poor boy whole. Kinda harsh. He still looked like a deer in headlights, but all we know is that he's a "nice guy." Great critiquing there, judges.

Crystal did a song called "Up Over the Mountain," and it opened beautifully. Until the lurking backup singers came in to ruin it. IDOL. Not everything needs a freaking choir.

So if I had to pick a winner, I'd say Crystal. While she was shrieky, she pulled it out at the end. Then Will Young, Pop Idol Series 1 winner schooled them both and sang a wonderful live version of "Leave Right Now." Complete with footage of what could have been from this season if Katelyn, Lily, and Alex had made the top 12. Jerks.

What did you think? Will you tune in for season 10, despite the lack of Simon Cowell?

Day 01 - Your favorite song
Day 02 - A song that makes you happy
Day 03 - A song that makes you sad
Day 04 - A song that reminds you of someone
Day 05 - A song that reminds of you of somewhere
Day 06 - A song that reminds you of a certain event
Day 07 - A song that you can dance to
Day 08 - A song that makes you fall asleep
Day 09 - A song from your favorite band
Day 10 - A song that no one would expect you to love
Day 11 - A song that describes you
Day 12 - A song from your favorite album
Day 13 - A song that you listen to when you're angry
Day 14 - A song that you listen to when you're happy
Day 15 - A song that you listen to when you're sad
Day 16 - A song that you want to play at your wedding
Day 17 - A song that you want to play at your funeral
Day 18 - A song that makes you laugh

Day 2 -- A song that makes me happy!

It's a newer song so I'm sure I'll get sick of it. Try this one:

Kris Allen - Live Like We're Dying.

I think I like this song just for the line "We've only got 86400 seconds in a day / to turn it all around or they'll throw it all away"
Runner up: "we should be careful who we let fall out of our lives"

Kris Allen was the winner of Season 8 of American Idol, and I am so incredibly late to the bandwagon for him. This man is so talented. If you haven't checked out his cover of "Heartless," by Kanye West, you are MISSING out on a real audio treat. Do it!

An Australian band that my only Australian friend did not introduce me to, The Whitlams are "piano rockers," according to Last.fm. Phil sent me one of their songs years ago, I think it was "You Sound Like Louis Burdett," and since he's probably Australian I don't know who he is, but the song was catchy. I found this track by them around the same time and it brought me to tears. It's so incredibly moving.
It also has the ability to make me think of Lost and the character of Charlie Pace. To be fair, I'm certain this song came out before the show, but it fits.

The Whitlams - Buy Now Pay Later (Charlie No 2)

Music, or a distraction from packing.

2010-05-22T19:53:00.000-07:00

Kayla left me today, and took all her stuff. I am going to move tomorrow night, so if any one of you motherfuckers spoils me even a little bit about the Lost finale I swear we will no longer be friends. I am 100% serious.

Anyway, I have just a smidge more packing to do so I am doing a meme to kill a bit more time before I force myself to finish it. (FINISH IT!)

Day 01 - Your favorite song
Day 02 - A song that makes you happy
Day 03 - A song that makes you sad
Day 04 - A song that reminds you of someone
Day 05 - A song that reminds of you of somewhere
Day 06 - A song that reminds you of a certain event
Day 07 - A song that you can dance to
Day 08 - A song that makes you fall asleep
Day 09 - A song from your favorite band
Day 10 - A song that no one would expect you to love
Day 11 - A song that describes you
Day 12 - A song from your favorite album
Day 13 - A song that you listen to when you're angry
Day 14 - A song that you listen to when you're happy
Day 15 - A song that you listen to when you're sad
Day 16 - A song that you want to play at your wedding
Day 17 - A song that you want to play at your funeral
Day 18 - A song that makes you laugh

It's hard for me to choose, but I can listen to these two songs over and over again and never get sick of them. I'm not going to choose between them.

(Neil Finn - Try Whistling This)

(Laura Pausini - Primavera in Anticipo con James Blunt)

I plan to upload all of these songs from this meme into a mix for you all at the end.

kara is a pigeon, your argument is invalid.

2010-05-21T18:13:00.000-07:00

This post is brought to you by Strawberry Coolatas. Those motherfuckers are delish. Props to DD for giving me a batch of coupons via mail.

I am 2/3 complete with Operation Pack My Shit. I hate packing. I also hate unpacking. The next time I move it better be to fucking Antarctica. (No lie: those of you on FB saw me post a link to a job search in Antarctica! And they hire retail people. Hell I'd be a retail clerk in Antarctica, negl).

After today's 90 degrees, I'd much rather be in Antarctica, let me tell you, internets.

PS: I can't watch Lost as it airs because I will be moving in that timeframe so I will be offline Sunday AM until I get a chance to watch it. I hate Spoilers and especially for this show. I can't believe it's ending. I feel like the time went even faster than Battlestar, which I could kind of figure the endgame for, but not who was gonna make it to said endgame.

What's your favourite series finale? I don't think I've seen one that totally satisfies, excepting Star Trek: The Next Generation.

Well, that's why they're pimped.

2010-05-18T19:54:00.000-07:00

Idol STYLE! Judges' & Contestants' Choice songs tonight.

First they did contestant's choice, which is always interesting.

Casey did a song I'm only vaguely familiar with: "OK, It’s Alright With Me."

This was well sung, and the goat was kept tied out back for most of it. But it just left me cold and I couldn't get into it.

Crystal did what Wendy's wanted her to do all season: "Come to my Window," by Melissa Etheridge.

Like the judges, I kept hearing Etheridge's original in it, and Crystal tried her darnedest to make it work, but I can't get past the original. And this is really the only time that has ever happened on Idol unless the song was horrifically butchered. (See: Urban, Tim - Apologize)

Lee did what the boards were scuttlebutting he should do: Simple Man, by Lynryd Skynyrd. I probably butchered that.

Lee, however did not butcher the song. Apparently it's his favourite song, and you can see it in every line of the song as he sings it. I totally rocked out to this one.

Judges' Choice. See these leaked out on the internet a week ago, so I was totally unsurprised by the choices. Well, that's a lie. But I knew them ahead of time.

Casey - Kara & Randy picked "Daughters" by John Mayer

That's enough John Mayer. It's a terrible song, but Casey did a good job on it. I was impressed enough to think that Crystal actually might be in danger after her lackluster performance of "Come to my Window." I paused to get a snack and returned.

Crystal - Ellen chose "Maybe I'm Amazed" by Sir Paul 'I Don't Know What Province I'm In At Any Given Moment' McCartney.

I thought she would nail this one out of the metaphorical ballpark and she totally did. Setting aside her instruments, it proved that Crystal has the chops to be a dynamic performer. I truly enjoyed this performance and I know Casey is in serious trouble. Cougars, get texting.

Lee - Simon thinks they're brosephs, so he chose "Hallelujah," one of his favourite songs for his favourite buddy. Never minding that this was already performed on this season of the show. (See: Urban, Tim.) Then he said he expected someone to have a moment with this song, which is wrong. (See: Castro, Jason.)

However.
Anyone else remember WAAAAAAY back in Season 2, when Clay Aiken was going up against Ruben Studdard in the finale? He did "Bridge over Troubled Water." Which he sang wonderfully. But it was forever and ever and ever destroyed for me by the attack of the Choir.

This? Is what happened to Lee doing this song. There he was, singing along wonderfully to a horrible movie theme version of the song, and all of a sudden a huge choir appears out of nowhere. I SEE YOU, BACKUP SINGERS. Way to go, ruining a perfectly good performance again. If Lee Dewyze loses this week I am squarely blaming you.

However, I feel that Lee had the best night, and Casey is on his way out. I could be surprised, and like Melinda Doolittle in season 6, Crystal the Frontrunner Bowersox could be out in 3rd place.

PS: Since NameTwin really wants to go see the tour, we're gonna go see this group of Idols on the summer tour when they stop here in Albany 17 July. Yeah, I know. I was broke as fuck when Season 7 came to town, but what the hell.

CAN WE TALK ABOUT LOST HERE? SPOILERS.

Uh, lost giveth and taketh away again. Mega props to Michael Emerson in this episode. Both in Sideways World and here, he proved his mettle and I simply adored it. PS: Don't think Richard is dead. Like Lepidus, he's not done yet.

Also, they teased us with Jack's sideways babymama, but since Elizabeth Mitchell hasn't shown up yet since LA X, I'm betting the farm that she's the bbmama.

GUYS

WE ONLY HAVE ONE MORE EPISODE LEFT.

WHAT WILL WE DO

I just don't get folks sometimes.

2010-05-14T18:36:00.000-07:00

You know, one of my friends on FB joined one of those groups on FB. And while ostensibly I should know how horrific the commentary on that page is, it just horrifies me that people feel this way about other living, breathing people.

It makes me sick, and the fact that they are doing it in the name of the flag of our country, one that embraced immigrants from every walk of life and every nationality, just makes me want to throw things. I often wonder how many of these people actually have seen the "welfare abusing Mexicans" that they claim to be defending their flag and country from. (It doesn't hurt that most of these posts are written in increasingly illiterate forms of English). I don't know how to reach out to people with this viewpoint and try to help reach a compromise. It really bothers me to see such a divisive split in schools of thought, where any little bit of dissent is a bad thing.

Maybe I'm an over-educated college graduate liberal, but all I can think of is this wonderful speech from The American President, which is one of my top ten movies of all time. It says exactly what I want to, but far more eloquently. Thank you, Mr. Sorkin, for writing such an amazing speech.

America isn't easy. America is advanced citizenship. You gotta want it bad, 'cause it's gonna put up a fight. It's gonna say "You want free speech? Let's see you acknowledge a man whose words make your blood boil, who's standing center stage and advocating at the top of his lungs that which you would spend a lifetime opposing at the top of yours. You want to claim this land as the land of the free? Then the symbol of your country can't just be a flag; the symbol also has to be one of its citizens exercising his right to burn that flag in protest. Show me that, defend that, celebrate that in your classrooms. Then, you can stand up and sing about the "land of the free". --Andrew Shepherd (Michael Douglas), The American President

My heart is in Bolivia right now.

2010-05-11T20:39:00.001-07:00

Idol time!

Songs of the Cinema + Duets. Is that something they introduced last season? I feel like maybe S2 had them but I really don't remember. Also, why didn't Ryan mention the television classic The Jamie Foxx Show?

Lee Dewyze - Kiss from a Rose
I was bored with this, and think it was a bad song choice. Weaksauce from a contender for top two.

Michael Lynche - That Song from Free Willy
This was ok, slightly better than Lee's, but I still don't care.

Crystal Bowersox & Lee Dewyze - Falling Slowly
Like the judges, I loved this. I want the iTunes studio version. Their voices complimented each other nicely and I really loved the camera work, for once.

Casey James - Mrs Robinson
Dear goat, that's a tiny guitar. PS: You still sound like a goat being lead to slaughter. No dice. Ugh, Randy, way to kill the joke. I totally forgot Kara's the token cougar on the show.

Crystal Bowersox - I'm Alright
I don't remember this song from Caddyshack but I can recognize a yacht rock song when I hear it. Crystal does an excellent job on it as well, although it was a little shouty.

Michael Lynche & Casey James - Have You Ever Really Loved a Woman
I remember Daughtry did this by himself and it still sucked, because the song sucked. Casey can play a guitar, that's for sure, but ugh, this was completely and utterly terrible. I don't know WHAT the judges heard. Props to Ellen for making the easy joke.

Best of the night: Crystal & Crystal/Lee
Worst of the Night: Casey & Casey/Michael
Bottom 2: Casey & Lee (Oooh, look, I'm being ~controversial~)
Going home: Casey

PS: Allison Janney on Lost, in an episode that was merely mediocre and I need deconstruction from Doc Jenson to save. your thoughts?

PPS: Just watched the Top Gear special in Bolivia and I must say how much more I want to go to freaking Bolivia and Chile. GDI, boys. Also, uh, the British I mean Jeremy Clarkson are really xenophobic, damn.

oh. my. frakking. television

2010-05-04T19:28:00.000-07:00

HOKAY so we have a really important Lost episode to discuss in comments below and after the cut but I need to do my AI post real quick and get it out of the way.

Harry Connick Jr. is still a sexy, sexy man. Love him. And his ~~organ~~piano. Also, why is Sir Anthony Hopkins in the audience? Did they finally lobotomize him?

As if you hadn't guessed, it is Big Band Night on Idol. Two caveats: 1) it's ALL His Way tonight as the top five take on Frank Sinatra. I was nervous as fuck for this for my bandwagon, so we'll see. Also, HCJ did the arrangements for each of the contestants, an idea I was 100% behind.

So first up:

Aaron Kelly - Fly Me to the Moon
A bit of a weak opening, but I actually enjoyed it. Might be a dark horse spoiler, coming in third after all!

Casey James - Blue Skies
Still very goat-like, but if you can get pa-wait, forget it, I can't get past GoatBoy. I don't like it. Even HCJ hated it. You can tell. FINALLY Kara gets a cluebyfour. "You sound like a lamb." I HAVE BEEN SAYING THIS EVEN BEFORE VOTE FOR THE WORST DID, PEOPLE.

Crystal Bowersox - Summer Wind
She knocks this one out of the ballpark. ALso I want her dress. Also, I lvoe this. I don't know if I agree with the judges.

Michael Lynche - The Way You Look Tonight
I was waiting for the inevitable Broadway comparisons, but I didn't get any. Well-sung.

Lee DeWyze - That'S Life
I was nervous for my boy, and starting to get bored with him, but he OWNED it. Like that was a star-making performance. Ladies and gentlemen, if you need your Idol Bandwagon, this is the train to hitch your wagon to. He doesn't hold a candle to Mr David Cook, but he is quite special.

Best: Lee
Worst: Casey
Bottom 2: Casey & Aaron. Casey goes home.

THIS IS YOUR SPOILER WARNING

OH MY FRAKKING GOD.

FIRST KATE NEARLY GETS SHOT
THEN SHE DOES GET SHOT FINALLY AFTER SIX YEARS OF ME ASKING FOR HER TO GET SHOT

AND SHE STILL DOES NOT DIE!

FUCK YOU LOST, FOR TAKING AWAY SUN AND JIN, HOW DARE YOU? HDU! OH MY GOD I MAY HAVE GOTTEN SOME JEARS IN MY EYE. AND FOR ONCE, MATTHEW FOX USES JEARS FOR A GOOD PURPOSE. OH MY GOD THAT WAS SIMPLY AMAZING.

AND THE REVELATION THAT LOCKE IN SIDEWAYS WORLD NEARLY KILLED HIMSELF AND HIS OWN FATHER, INSTEAD OF THE OTHER WAY ROUND. OH MAN. AND SAYID :( DESMOND FIXED HIM TO BE A SUICIDE BOMBER TO SAVE LIVES.

OH MY GOD LOST, IF THIS IS THE ENDGAME AND ONLY THE BEGINNING OF SUCH WHAT DO YOU HAVE LEFT IN STORE FOR ME? GDI!

THOUGHTS?

2010-05-01T18:05:00.000-07:00

I will be in NYC tomorrow. For someone with an upstater complex, I sure do love me some NYC.

Book time!

2010-04-28T20:25:00.000-07:00

This month's books seemed to go in a thematic order or so you will see. Plus a bonus book I forgot to write about from last month!

15) Love & Obstacles - Aleksandar Hemon.
Last month I wrote about his book The Lazarus Project and how much I loved it. This collection of short stories, loosely autobiographical, is so much better. I spent most of this book reading it in downtown Albany in the sunshine and I think that helped my enjoyment of it. Don't miss this one. Hemon is quickly becoming one of my new favourite authors.

16) East of The Sun - Julia Gregson
I was skeptical about this one. It's the story of a group of young women in 1920s Great Britain who set off for various reasons to India. It seemed like a fluff chick lit piece and I didn't really care for the beginning. Once the story got to India, it was far more interesting. Gregson could have shaved a good 100 pp off the book and made it a fine novel. It does have a bit of White Man's Burden to it, but if you read it with that in mind, you might enjoy it. For a dollar, it was not a bad read.

17) The Space Between Us - Thrity Umrigar.
I got this one at the book swap I went to at St. Rose, and I couldn't have enjoyed this one more. Well, enjoyed is a relative term. The book is depressing, with slight hints of not being completely sad. It's like the counterpoint to East of the Sun, with an all-Indian cast(e). One of my favourite books so far this year.

18)Mistress of the Monarchy: The Life of Katherine Swynford, Duchess of Lancaster - Alison Weir.
Once again Weir gets her hooks into a medieval subject and makes the most of the material that's available to her (read: not much). Katherine herself is hard to draw out, and while Eleanor of Aquitaine and Isabella of France had more substantive records, Katherine is just a valuable and interesting subject. Fans of Weir will enjoy this, but don't make this your first of her books. PS: Fans of Geoffrey Chaucer will enjoy this one, as it contains a lot of discussion about him. I learned a lot about him myself.

19) Gods and Soldiers: The Penguin Anthology of Contemporary African Writing - Rob Spillman, ed.
This is the book I forgot to recap last month. This book truly does what Spillman set out to do -- show us all the parts of Africa, from Egypt to Guiana to South Africa and Namibia. Laila Lalami is also a part of this collection, further reinforcing the need for me to get more of her writing. There's a lot of authors in here that I truly enjoyed and will be looking into getting their books. And I really appreciate Patrice Nganang's piece which gave me the most to think about in the entire collection, and that's saying something. Definitely worth reading if you can get your hands on it.

Well, that's all for this month. What have you read lately? The next book I'm reading is Miracle at St. Anna, by James McBride.

I only post on Tuesdays

2010-04-27T20:51:00.000-07:00

So I was expecting a TRAINWRECK OF EPIC PROPORTIONS for Shania Twain week. I was super duper psyched expecting so many failures -- I couldn't wait to leave work and get some popcorn and make a night of it.

And I didn't get any popcorn and I didn't get any trainwrecks. GDI, Idols. You're supposed to be a weak class, what the fuck?

Ok here we go:

Lee DeWyze - You're Still The One
You're still the one stuck in my head, song. GDI. But Lee started out a bit shaky at the very beginning, very nervous. He "worked it out, dawg," and made another good performance. I'd argue the best of the night, but I'm biased. #TeamLee

Michael Lynche - It Only Hurts When I'm Breathing
This was a ridonkulously good performance. Big Mike can sing, and the more he performs the gladder I am that they did save him after all. He kept the preening to a minimum.

Casey James - Don't
This was miles better than last week. He even kept the goat tied up out back. I genuinely enjoyed this performance for once. I even told Name Twin so via text while I was watching it.

Crystal Bowersox - No One Needs to Know
This is a cute little song, and she sings the hell out of it. However, Simon's not wrong. This has a coffeeshop feel, and I know I'm always annoyed when I hear a band in a coffeeshop or a Goodwill* and can't hear myself think.

Aaron Kelly - You Got Away
This is not a bad week for anyone, it appears. Aaron does a nice job, but I was simply whelmed. I feel like it won't be enough to save him. Although he did dedicate it to his mommy.**

Siobhan Magnus - Any Man of Mine
Leave it to Siobhan to sing the non ballad of the night. Well sung, but I feel like she didn't have the staccato vocals this song calls for, and I am just not feeling it like the judges are. Ok, the ending is a keeper.+

Best of: Lee & Big Mike
Bottom 2: Aaron and Casey (I really am unsure at this point, I feel like they're the weakest fanbases though)
Going Home: Aaron

*I once did see a band practicing in a Goodwill store.
**I am auditioning for Idol this summer and I plan to dedicate any appearances I have on TV to my mom, who made me watch this show seven seasons ago. PS: I can't sing and I know it, but I am gonna audition anyway.
+I can't remember what my point was gonna be here.

stanning for dcook

2010-04-21T21:31:00.001-07:00

I now have either an inxplicable rash on my arms or another sunburn. GDI it's not like I went out tanning. MY ARMS ITCH make it stop.

PS in other news, I may have shrieked and flailed like a little girl when David Cook appeared on Idol Gives Back. Yes, I am a hopeless fangirl. There is no cure. DC <3

PPS: I am srsly wanting another DD Iced Tea. I got one on a lark today and it was delicious.

A new week, a new twist.

2010-04-20T21:35:00.000-07:00

I posted this to blogspot first instead of my livejournal. The reason for that is ridiculously simple: every week blogspot catches my HTML errors and LJ doesn't. My AI recaps require a lot of simple codes that I always fubar, so I figured why not start here?

So THIS is American Idol: Idol Gives Back/Songs of Inspiration/Alicia Keys night.
I don't get to vote so I hope no one fucks up royally. I can't save you, save yourselves!
PS: Did I just see a Simon/Ryan fanfic sign?

Casey James - Don't Stop (Fleetwood Mac)
Doing his best goat impression, he chooses to make the song paint by numbers. The man can play the guitar, but I am not sold on the singing. Ehh. PS: Saying you liked doing the song is a curse of death on IGB week. I remember a certain gorgeous young Australian male who said the same thing about both a Fleetwood Mac track and an Aerosmith track and lost on IGB week. Beware the Michael Johns curse.

Lee DeWyze - The Boxer (Simon & Garfunkel)
Is it wrong I was hoping he was gonna sing the Carbon Leaf song?
Something Dave Karger said in the Idolatry video this week stuck with me as Lee was singing. He complained that Lee doesn't sing, he mostly growls through songs like Nickelback's lead singer Chad Kroeger. I can buy it, but I feel this week Lee sang the hell out of this song. Team Lee for AI9! He even got the emotions into the song.

Tim Urban - Better Days (Goo Goo Dolls)
Uh, the Goo Goo Dolls were my high school band crush and NGL, they still are. John Rzeznik (and yes I can spell his name without thinking tyvm) has the most magnetic voice, I don't even care. SHUT UP. Anyway, I love this song so it better not suck.
Uh, it was a karaoke version, and there was a point where even I noticed he was offkey. He has such a puppydog face though. "PLEASE LIKE ME" he seems to say while singing.

Aaron Kelly - I Believe I Can Fly (R. Kelly)
Well, Seacrest made the obligatory last name joke so I don't have to. I like the countrified twist on it, and I feel like he'd have a good niche as a country Justin Bieber. ALthough I don't know if it was entirely necessary to sing all the notes possible at the end.

Siobhan Magnus - When You Believe (Whitney Houston and Mariah Carey)
Love the beginning. She's got a voice on her and I missed seeing it. I also love that someone took the time to graft plants on her outfit. Oh, I guess they're butterflies.
To be fair, I think I've only ever heard this song once before, so while it was a Mariah & Whitney song I think she did it justice.

Michael Lynche - Hero (Chad Kroeger & Josie Scott, who I had to google to remind me)
I do love this song. He does it like Eleanor Rigby and I really think it works for him. I'm on the Big Mike Bandwagon, but I don't think we needed a closeup of him licking his lips after the final note.

Crystal Bowersox - People Get Ready (Curtis Mayfield)
Acapella intro. Would have loved it if she'd done the whole thing sans instruments. If you're not on an Idol Bandwagon, might I recommend Crystal's? Wow, she just kinda...broke down at the end. Whoa.

Best of the Night: Lee, Crystal
Worst of the Night: Casey
Bottom Three: Aaron, Casey, Tim
Going home: Aaron

they don't make music like this anymore do they?

2010-04-19T20:14:00.000-07:00

Prove me wrong!

PS: Pat Benatar is NOT disco, Youtube.

2010-04-16T18:41:00.000-07:00

I was helping this lady in my store, telling her about the awesome clearance sale we were testing and everything. I go to ring her up and she refuses to put in her email address which is fine, cause it's optional. Then she busts out this whopper of a line. "It's illegal for you to require my email address for discounts."

Baffled, I said, "uh, no it's not. Also your email isn't required."

"Well you shouldn't have to get my info to give me discounts." Uh, I'm gonna go with NO here. You see, my store kind of has customers that stop shopping here after a certain age and it's easier (read: cheaper) to have the customer sign up for our mailers periodically instead of mailing out thousands of fliers to parents whose kids are too old for the store.

Also, it is not illegal. So there.

That reminds me of the lady who screamed at me that because the Government knows how much money she makes she doesn't have to give me that information. Because I work for the Government. And the CARD Act doesn't require annual income on credit applications any more or anything....

Look, I get it, frustrating having to say no to every damned sales pitch that gets tossed your way at every store. But there is no excuse for being an utter bitch to me. None. YOU walked in my store, and decided to buy something. And my job is to sell you those things regardless of whether or not you think you need them. I'm not gonna badger you about it. But I find myself recoiling after I say the words, "go ahead and enter in your email for me" and expecting a bitchy reply every single time.

I often wonder how likely it is that people don't have email addresses in this day and age. Maybe it's because I've had an email address since I was 17, but I just don't understand how people this day and age don't have one. Is it really that uncommon? Is this a privilege that I have?

Team BIG MIKE & TEAM LEE

2010-04-13T20:12:00.000-07:00

It is that time of the week again: where I watch American Idol so you don't have to. I know you were all looking forward to the compilation of the horrors of Lennon/McCartney night, but she already saw them so I can't torture her with them. Meanie.

Anyway, it's Elvis edition which gives me flashbacks to Season 5, and Chris Daughtry. But tonight's mentor is Season 8's own Adam Lambert, who I totally think is awesome. Most of you know I didn't watch last season because I didn't have cable and AI loses its punch if you don't watch it same day.

Crystal Bowersox - Saved
A song in her wheelhouse. Another excellent performance and I truly enjoyed the scream at the beginning.

Andrew Garcia - Hound Dog
He has a parachute in his pocket. Love that Adam told him straight up he was boring. (OH. See what I did there?) Lounge-singer esque. Vocals sound good, and like Ellen, I was entertained. Surprised the others didn't like it, thought it might have been his "hallelujah" moment. (Apparently where Jason Castro started to suck less, but I begged to differ. But I hate hippies. And can't explain my love for Crystal Bowersox.)

Tim Urban - I Can't Help Falling In Love
Turban? Really, Seacrest? Really? Again I don't hate it. Sounds like something my customers and their children would listen to in my store.

Lee Dewyze - A Little Less Conversation*
This is the song Daughtry lost on :(
I like this version too, it's different from Chris's take on it, and I really love his smile. SHUT UP I LOVE HIM.

Aaron Kelly - Blue Suede Shoes
Another for the Disney Radio Express. I could hear this song alongside Selena Gomez (who may I just say has more computer in her vocals than Britney does). Definitely one for the kiddies. I wrote: "Disney Idol?" Some fancy footwork from Aaron though.

Siobhan Magnus - Suspicious Minds*
Wait, was THIS the Daughtry Elimination song? I know he did both.
I feel like I'm in an 80s infomercial or Church. Until she got to the chorus. I agree with the judges, her split singing personality isn't working in this song.
Siobhan's hair is taller than Seacrest.

Mike Lynche - In the Ghetto
Consider this me climbing on the Big Mike Bandwagon. He sold this song and it was, alongside Lee's, my favourite of the night. Adam Lambert gave it a Standing O. Not mad they saved him now.

Katie Stevens - Baby What Do You Want Me to Do?
She sounded better in the clips with Adam. The edge isn't there. Simon's right, it was loud and annoying.

Casey James. I tried to get the name of the song but I can't figure it out. No clue.
I totally forgot him. I kept wracking my brain to figure out which Idol I was missing. I did this to Katie last week. This has that bleat that I find so annoying, and I can't stand it.

Best of the Night: Lee, Mike, Crystal
Worst of the Night: Aaron, Siobhan
Bottom Three: Aaron, Andrew, Katie
Going home: Aaron & Andrew.

so, are you an Elvis man, or a Beatles man?

LOST SPOILERS HERE

So tonight's episode was all about Hurley, but I couldn't help but notice once again how awesome Desmond is. PS: I totally yelled at the TV when Locke brought Desmond to the well. I knew he was gonna throw him down, but then he didn't, but I didn't calm down. I knew that Scottish unlucky bastard was going down there.

Also, I enjoyed a cathartic response when Desmond smacked Locke in his wheelchair a scene later. Even if it's in a different universe, it's nice to see that Desmond's ~~getting vengeance~~ set himself up to send Locke to meet Jack and himself to meet up with Sawyer, a cop.

And now, my favourite GIF featuring our favourite Scot:

I'd cut off my feet to spite my face but that might hurt.

2010-04-08T20:34:00.000-07:00

1) My feet hurt. See, I can't wear open toed shoes to work anymore, it violates our dress code. It sucks. So I bought a pair of cheap flat ballerina type shoes to wear and they hurt my feet. So that's a no go. Back to socks and shoes until I can find a better solution. Kim suggested Crocs and as ugly as they are I've heard they are ridiculously comfortable. So let us hope.

2) Big Mike got saved on AI. I don't think I would have used it on him, because what happens if Siobhan or Lee ends up as part of the double elimination next week? Ahh well, at least there is a save rule. There wasn't one when I watched seasons 2-7.

4) My Time Warner DVR is a piece of shit and I hate it. Ever since they "upgraded" it, it hasn't worked right. It freezes, it deleted ALL my scheduled recordings and I only noticed with three minutes to go before American Idol started (I always, always, always watch on tape delay) that it and Lost weren't recording. Then tonight I had planned to come home, make dinner, and eat dinner while watching Lost. And yet, the DVR didn't record it.
So I checked my scheduled recordings, and Lost is set to record next week, but no trace of this week's Desmond-centric episode. So I had to go and download it. YAY. PS: Desmond, I love you.

5) OH GOD I HAVE PARTY IN THE USA STUCK IN MY HEAD OH GOD OH GOD GET IT OUT

didgeridoo and bagpipes too?

2010-04-06T21:23:00.000-07:00

this is American Idol -- Lennon and McCartney style. AKA the night that Laura runs away cursing my name.

Aaron Kelly - Long & Winding Road
This could have been good. It sounds like a Rascal Flatts tune and he does his best but there's something lacking. The bad note at the beginning and the power of ONTD-AI and VFTW may doom him. DOOM!

Katie Stevens - Let it Be
I don't know why she discounts country music. I can hear it in her. Although if they start that debate again I'm strangling both Simon and Kara.

GODDAMMIT, SIMON.

Andrew Garcia - Can't Buy Me Love
This reminded me of his Maroon 5 audition, which was amazing. I can see the corny side but I still loved it.

Mike Lynche - Eleanor Rigby
I seem to remember a certain American Idol husband of mine doing this song. I was dismayed to find someone doing it, but Mike did a completely different version of the song and if you don't watch him perform, he does an amazing job.

Crystal Bowersox - Come Together
Carly Smithson did a version of this song. (Did they not have a L-M night in season 8?) Her version, like Crystal's, was smooth and sexy. I loved it.

Tim Urban - All My Loving
The first one I hadn't heard before. I'm going to blaspheme here and say he reminded me a bit of Michael Bublé. But with a bajillion percent less talent. Not horrible.

Casey James - Jealous Guy.
I'm not that familiar with John Lennon's solo work, so I originally wrote the title as "Gentle Sky." Hey, it sounds Lennon-esque, sue me.
I hated this. The vibrato that annoyed me is back in full force and I did not enjoy this in the least. Simon and I are broken up again. How was this the best performance of the night when Crystal performed ahead of him?

Siobhan Magnus - Across the Universe
Fiona Apple did a lovely cover of this song and so does Siobhan. This reminded me of her performance on House of the Rising Son, and she was so lovely and restrained on it. Just amazing.

Lee Dewyze - Hey Jude
He's got the confidence and the smile and I just love it and him. He'd make a great band lead singer, I'm not even lying.

Can you guess which performer used the didgeridoo and which used the bagpipes? You might be surprised.

My verdict:
Best of the night: Lee, Siobhan, Crystal
Worst of the Night: Casey, Aaron.
Bottom three: Aaron, Katie, Tim
Going home: I want to say Tim again.

David Cook, how I love you.

2010-04-03T22:03:00.000-07:00

This week has reminded me how much I truly love one Mister David Cook, my American Idol season 7 winner. Sure, Lee did an excellent job this week, but DC remains my favourite male contestant ever to take the stage. I can't wait to get his second album which is, according to his twitter almost done. Also, Kristen, we're gonna go see him out on tour even if he's not with Ryan Star. Just warning you now.

Here is the evidence that Season 7 > Season 9, DCook vs Lee Dewyze.

What do you think? (hoping that the embeds come through on Facebook. If not, please go to the original source)

travel travel travel, plus bonus AI coverage

2010-03-31T20:26:00.000-07:00

If any of you are familiar with my mall layout and maybe two of you are, you will note that there's a Liberty Travel agency next door to my store. This is one of the worst things for me to have as a neighbour.

Every day they change the destinations and prices of round trip tickets to far off destinations. The prices for round trip to London keep going down, and I keep my eye on the Sydney and Santiago prices. I am very lucky I have no vacation time accrued yet to spend my hard earned money on a trip to some cool place like those. But it's not helping my wanderlust. I want to get up and go somewhere cool, not just across town to Colonie every day.

I have to keep telling myself, once I get moved into the new apartment, once I get settled in a new place I can work toward the goal of getting into the Peace Corps. My goal is to have an apartment chosen in the next two weeks, and if possible, moving most of my stuff by early May. This is of course contingent on finding a place that will allow me to move in early and is ok'd by my roommate.

I just... I want to be irresponsible and go somewhere different. I want to go and visit far off locales. I want to do what Emma did and spend three months travelling North America, or Europe, or South America. I feel trapped, and that this is very much a #firstworldproblem.

I think that's partially why I am more interested in moving to Schenectady instead of somewhere else in Albany. It's going to help, living in a place I'm not as familiar with, and at the same time it will remain basically the same.

PS: American Idol keeps cracking me up. Tim Urban, the first genuine VFTW candidate since Sanjaya! keeps squeaking through. He got Didi eliminated tonight, and I'm both horrified and amused by the whole thing. Additionally, to torment Laura, Lennon/McCartney songs are the theme for the next week. I look forward to the trainwreck.

american idol post cause it's tuesday

2010-03-30T22:52:00.000-07:00

american idol: no caps, no html edition

stop trying to make simon/ellen happen.

siobhan magnus - through the fire (chaka khan)
i see you, backup singers, lurking. oh no, siobhan, that was bad and you should feel bad. oh wait, she does.

casey james - hold on, i'm coming (sam & dave)
i enjoyed this one. i keep feeling like he's forgetting the words but usher said he had forgotten them in rehearsal, so that could be why

mike lynche - ready for love (india arie)
forgot big mike could play guitar. this was really good!

didi benami - what becomes of a broken heart
this was very pagenty. ryan, that was a hot mess of a post-song interview

tim urban - sweet love (anita baker)
i feel he is singing to his puppy dog. just like constantine maroulis did in season 4. also this sounds lounge-y but for tim it's not bad. also, simon, in case you forgot, i love you.

andrew garcia - forever (chris brown)
i hate chris brown, but i didn't hate this cover. this is the andrew we loved in auditions. good show. also i love andrew's mom.

katie stevens - chain of fools (aretha franklin)
is it sad i forgot about her for a minute? wow everyone except siobhan stepped up tonight, even little katie. this song isn't the best for her but i just want the judges to shut up and cease their goddamned bickering. thank you ellen, for staying out of the fray.

lee dewyze - treat her like a lady (the cornelius brothers)
damn is there like plague going round these contestants? crystal, paige, aaron, and now lee. also, i really see him as a lead singer of a band like breaking benjamin. this was my favourite performance of the night and he has officially become my american idol boyfriend.

crystal bowersox - midnight train to georgia (gladys knight and the pips)
why are the backup singers always lurking? crystal is on fire tonight and i want her dress.

aaron kelly - aint no sunshine (bill withers)
he's getting much better, but this wasn't that awesome. maybe this season won't suck after all. who am i kidding?

favourites: lee, andrew, crystal
least favourites: didi, siobhan, tim
bottom three: tim, didi, katie
going home: tim or katie.

Books! but only a couple :(

2010-03-29T20:46:00.000-07:00

I only read three books this month, it was very traumatic. April will be better! I know there's two days left but I don't think I can finish another book in that time, so here go the reviews:

12) Émilie's Voice, Susanne Dunlap.
This book reminded me of The Wayward Muse, as an expert in the music field writes a fictional book about a real person, Marc-Antoine Charpentier. It was as far as I can tell factually true to life, like Rosetti in Muse, but like that book it just never really jumped off the page. All I wanted was a happy ending for Émilie, and I didn't get it. Not worth the time I spent reading it.

13) Darkness at Noon, Arthur Koestler.
This is the book I was reading while I was doing my orientation at my new job and the ironies of it made me laugh. This book is set in pre-World War II Soviet Union, which I feel is a missing part of history for many of us. Koestler compiled this book, a work of fiction from the real life situations his friends and colleagues went through while he defected to France and Britain.

The story is about a senior official in Stalin's regime who has outlived his usefulness and his "adventures" in a prison awaiting death. It is entirely fascinating and philosophical. I truly enjoyed the brain workout I got from this book. The ending comes as a relief and with a hint of sadness, and I feel that was Koestler's vision. Definitely find this one if you want a book with lots of thinking ;)

14) The Lazarus Project, Aleksandar Hemon.

Hemon's book was one I had anticipating being so good that I added his other books to my wishlist before I even cracked it open. And I wasn't disappointed. The reviewers compare him to Nabokov, who I have never read, but if he's like Hemon, I probably will.

Vladimir Brik, a Bosnian of Ukranian descent escapes Sarajevo before the war and moves to America. He marries a salt-of-the-earth Irish-American girl, and tries to live the life of a happy American and a struggling writer. He decides his new project is writing the (true) story of Lazarus Averbuch, who was a young Jewish immigrant/refugee from pogroms in Ukraine. Averbuch survived all that to end up dead at the police chief of Chicago's home, only trying to deliver him a message.

Hemon layers the book with dark photographs and interweaves both Averbuch & his sister's story with that of Brik and his friend Rora, a photographer who joins him on his journey through Eastern Europe. This is an adventure you do not want to miss, as nothing appears as it seems and you won't expect what comes around the corners. I'm excited to read more from Hemon.

Also, but unrelated:

(thanks Laurie!)

uh oh spaghetti os

2010-03-26T17:30:00.000-07:00

Tomorrow I get to go to my friend Genevieve's son's birthday party and my friend Jen's birthday party.

I bought a new outfit for it, and I did something I never thought I'd do -- I bought a pair of leggings. Wait, wait haters, they didn't have stirrups attached. And if I ever did buy a pair of those you'd be justified in shooting first and asking questions later. But the dress I bought is too short to wear with tights, but it's so cute: this one, in the blue colour. That's where the dress hits me, but I'm not comfortable wearing it that way, so leggings it is.

It could be worse, I could have bought these.

americAn idol post & lost recaps (lost is at the bottom so you don't get spoiled)

2010-03-23T21:21:00.001-07:00

I am so tired but I want to pound out this recap before I go to bed. I'm not gonna cut the AI stuff and will cut the Lost part, because I'm lazy like that.

I liked the original theme they picked for this week: Teen Idols. Instead they gave us Miley Cyrus as a guest mentor and Billboard #1 Hits as a theme. THat's just mean. Plus she and Joe Jonas and Demi Lovato, whoever the fuck they are are performing tomorrow night.

Lee DeWyze - The Letter (The Box Tops)
aka the song that every. male. contestant. ever. has to sing during Hollywood week
Lounge singer lite. Also I feel that this arrangement sucks. If he'd done a rock version of it it would have matched his vocals.

WHAT IS WITH THE SIMON/KARA TOUCHING

Paige Davis - Against All Odds Fffffffffffff Slezak keeps calling her Paige Miles Davis so I have no idea what her real last name is. ALso this is apparently Mariah Carey's version of Phil Collins' song. Apparently Paige got her voice back. The bad one, at any rate. Also, Miley drank some of Simon's "We Love Paige-aid." Simon seems to have quit cold turkey though.

Tim Urban - Crazy Little Thing Called Love, Queen.
OH DEAR GOD, I wrote when Ryan announced it. This is boring but it doesn't suck. Jonas Bro Lite jumped into the audience. I uh, don't hate it though. Ellen said what I was thinking - High School Musical 4.

Aaron Kelly - I Don't Want to Miss a Thing, Aerosmith.
HEY
HEY AMERICAN IDOL
HEY
DO YOU REMEMBER WHO DID THIS SONG
AND DID IT WAY BETTER?
THAT'S RIGHT, MY AMERICAN IDOL, DAVID COOK.
(I feel like I didn't hate it. Also, Swaybots are go. Also also I feel like someone did a country version similar to this. Also also also I was thinking David Archuleta, which means that Seacrest has hacked onto mine and Simon's wavelenght.)

Crystal Bowersox - Me and Bobby McGee, Janis Joplin
I feel this was a predictable choice, but she blew it out of the water as usual. Does Crystal really know who Miley Cyrus is? "Strong powerful women signed this guitar. Also, Miley Cyrus."

Mike Lynche - When a Man Loves a Woman, Michael Bolton.
I gotta admit, I'm on the Big Mike bandwagon. He's consistently good and while it's nothing I would rush out and buy in stores, I'm liking it. Randy, don't touch Ellen, you are not Simon and Kara.

Andrew Garcia - I heard it through the grapevine, Marvin Gaye
This was a hot mess. Simon had it right when he said we overestimated this dude. You know who would be awesome on Idol right now?

Yah that's right, Alex Lambert, my Mulleted Wonder.

Katie Stevens - Big Girls Don't Cry (Fergie)
For Katie Miley is an excellent choice of mentor. Just stay away from stripper poles though, Katie. Katie sounds like a country-ish Fergie and I don't hate it. Kara seems to be pulling a Paula, if I'm not mistaken. "Chalk and Cheese," Simon? Even me and my Simon-to-English dictionary can't figure this one out.

HEY
HEY SIMON AND KARA
STOP IT
IT'S NOT FUNNY

Casey James - Power of Love Huey Lewis and the News
The vibrato isn't as annoying and that makes me feel better. HOwever there is nothing interesting to this performance. He needs to put the guitar down. Also, Ellen, how can you forget Crystal? Simon, it's not just you, I'm back on Team Simon.

Did Benami - You're No Good, Linda Ronstadt
Not really liking this as much as I liked last week's. This is boring. Although I feel like she almost started crying at the judges.

Siobhan Magnus - Superstition, Stevie Wonder.
Wasn't there a movement to ban Stevie from Idol? Also is it wrong that I voted for her before I heard her song choice or her performance? (I watch on tape delay). Siobhan's hair is a bird, your argument is invalid. I feel that through the medium of hair she is expressing the loss of her fallen colleagues. first Katelyn, now Lacey. I fear if Big Mike gets kicked off if she'll go all Sinead O'Connor on us.

PS- It has come to my understanding that Siobhan is a HANSON stan. Those of you who know what I mean, how does this affect your perception of her?

OK can we just say how much i am in love with richard alpert right now, and also hurley a little bit too?

once we got over the hokey exposition to set up ricardo's background, there was nothing better than this episode. i kept getting a feeling in the pit of my stomach at every turn in the episode. first the man in black appeared and used the same lines to richard that dogen told sayid a couple of episodes prior.

the way they twisted and used poor richard as their pawn, it just kept shaking my perception of the show and what we know to be true/false. and the end revelation that the man in black will kill the candidates that ilana's there to protect, even though she doesn't know how and which one of the kwans she is supposed to cover.

i could watch this episode over and over again. this was one of those amazing, battlestar galactica-esque episodes that made that show so amazing to me to begin with. i also feel that it would make a good standalone to introduce someone to the show, as weird as that might seem.

so oh my god tell me your feelings on this episode and how awesome richard was. best episode of the season (thus far). LOVE IT.

another day, another writer's block post.

2010-03-21T20:01:00.000-07:00

What's the first major news event that you remember hearing about as a child? Where did you learn about it? How did it impact your world view?

I like this question because it made me think a lot about memory and how it works. The minute I read the question my mind jumped to the Challenger Explosion in 1986. I was all set to answer it when I felt that wasn't quite right. For one thing, I was three when it happened. Now, my parents taped the footage from that day when we lived in Burlington VT. (Nikerym was almost a year old at this time.) (Yes, I lived in Vermont as a small child.) (Yes, I am aware that this may explain a few things about me.) Anyway, they taped it and bought the paper from the next day with the articles and preserved it.

A few years later, when we'd settled in Gouverneur NY, I remember finding the newspaper in the downstairs closet and carefully reading the articles and asking my parents about it. I think we watched the footage then (RIP, Peter Jennings -- they don't make newsmen like you any more, sir). Since my family's got a devoted interest in sci-fi and space things, it didn't surprise me.

When I was in the 4th grade, we were given an assignment to write a short little essay on something that someone in our family lived through -- a major event in history. Alas, I didn't really have anything like that, my mom tried to come up with some ideas for me from her side of the family but all we had was the parts for the radiator that my great-grandfather invented, and that my grandfather served during WWII, but none of that really fulfilled the assignment.

She suggested the Berlin Wall falling, but I wasn't really keen on that, and then she remembered the Challenger disaster. I want to say she said we watched it together when it happened but I really don't remember too well -- I was nine or so when this conversation took place. So I went in depth on the Challenger explosion in my paper.

As you can see, the Challenger sticks in my brain because of that, but I don't think it was the first thing I heard about as a child. I tried to think of other things but none of them made that big an impression on me.

Also, I got one of those formspring things. Feel free to question me there.

Why St Patrick's Day is Awesome to me, Despite not being Irish.

2010-03-17T20:52:00.000-07:00

Four years ago today two of my favourite ladies and I hit the town. And by town I mean George St, which for the uninitiated is North America's longest street of simply bars. This evening was filled with more than one memorable moments, including me photographing a busted up shopping cart, Ash threatening to buy me a cod to kiss, and Candice trying to eat Ming, the hamster. This ended with the cab chase down the nearby street, since George Street was blocked off for the paddy wagons and ambulances.

I haven't had that much fun going out on an evening in a long time, and I miss those ladies and that city desperately. If you want to see my albums from that trip, you can see them here: Newfoundland ♥. (IF we're not Facebook friends and you would like to be, simply add me).

I really wanted to write out a nostalgic romanticized post about this, but my head is pounding and I have to work in the AM again. I am liking my new job so far, and I got to see so many cute children today, I love it. They're easy to distract too.

TEAM SIOBHAN

2010-03-16T22:44:00.000-07:00

Right quick American Idol recap for your reading pleasure (or not), Rolling Stones Edition

Mike Lynche - Miss You.
Very musical theater esque.

Didi Benami - PLay With Fire
She does look mad. Why are the swaybots going? Also she really sounds like Adele.

Casey James - It's All Over Now
Dude. The Vibrato. Lose it.

Lacey Brown - Ruby Tuesday
Swaybots are go. Lacey, that was bad and you should feel bad. Also your hair is a bird. And I liked the arrangement.

Andrew Garcia - Gimme Shelter
Oh, no guitar. Yes, this is the Andrew we liked.

Katie Stevens - Wild Horses
Someone had to do it. Little slow, but well sung. Swaybots are go again, and Simon flipped someone off.

Tim Urban - Under My Thumb
Oh dear he's playing guitar. Oh dear lord. Hey, why is it ok for Tim to rearrange a song and make it suck but not Todrick? At least he was entertaining.

Siobhan Magnus - Paint it Black
I don't care I love her I love her I love her. Katelyn Epperly Hair Homage? Also, Laurie, who never watches AI was so impressed that she turned on her phone JUST to vote for Siobhan. The last time that happened? David Cook. *knock on wood*

Lee Dewyze - Beast of Burden
Also the vibrato's not that bad this time. His tone can waver into annoying but if he was fronting a rock band I wouldn't hate.

Paige Miles - Honky Tonk Woman
I said this wasn't a diva song but as I think back on it I don't hate it. ALso, a romper = instafail.

Aaron Kelly - Angie

THIS is what this song sounds like when done well, young Mister Kelly. Yours was terrible. Also your swaybots were broken.

Crystal Bowersox - You Can't Always Get What You Want
Acoustic version. I enjoyed this as usual.

Best of the night: Siobhan, Crystal, Didi
Worst of the night: Aaron, Lacey
Going home: Andrew (I feel like we only eliminate one a week from now on)

Alas, earwax.

2010-03-15T17:49:00.000-07:00

Today's Livejournal Writer's Block Question:
If you could choose which fashions would go out of style permanently, what would you choose, and why?

Gee, I goddamned wonder. ;)

Actually, I had a discussion about this with one of my coworkers. I said that we don't need the 80s or the 90s to come back, we should go back to 1920. I said this before I saw the really nice Victorian-esque jewellry we got in and now I really want Edwardian fashions to come back instead. Or more Mad Men-esque outfits. While I don't watch the show, I am in love with the clothing. Also it doesn't hurt to have the gorgeous Christina Hendricks wearing the clothes.

this is a Non-American Idol Post.

2010-03-11T19:37:00.000-08:00

We're not talking about how my heart is breaking for young Alex Lambert, the Mulleted Wonder, and how he should be on the Top 12 instead of most of the dudes and some of the ladies.

Tonight I'm gonna talk about how my weakness is ~~mulleted singers who sound like British dudes I adore~~ Coca-Cola. See, even though I'm not Catholic, I like to try to give up something for Lent, and I usually fail at it. Last year was an exception with the french fries, which I made it through and haven't eaten nearly as many of since. So I figured I'd try soda. Not caffeine, cause that's a baaaaaad idea, but soda. Simple, right?

One week in I totally wanted a Coke, so badly I went to CVS and walked up to the cooler and nearly took one out but I got an Arizona iced tea instead. Good job, me.

Got through the first couple weeks ok, but then every time I'd see someone drinking Coke I wanted one very badly. VERY badly. Then yesterday I spotted my nemesis. You see, for the Canadians & Australian in the house, our soft drinks are made with High Fructose Corn Syrup, as are most things here in the States. (Try not buying anything with HFCS, it's harder than you think.) It has a sticky sort of aftertaste when you drink it, although it's still palatable. Then I discovered when I moved to Albany the glory that is Kosher Coke. You see, according to some part of kosher dietary laws that I'm unfamiliar with, HFCS is not allowed during Passover. So in order to satiate the people who can't drink it during the duration, Coke makes Passover Coke. AKA Kosher Coke, AKA Mexican Cola AKA Awesome in a Bottle. It's noticeable by its distinct yellow cap. (Oddly enough, they also make a Diet Coke with the yellow cap but I don't understand that because diet colas are made with artificial sugar and not HFCS.)

So today I was in the grocery store and I got a bottle of spaghetti sauce, and I couldn't resist buying the Kosher Coke. And I chose to drown my sorrows for my mulleted AI boyfriend in Kosher Coke. Don't judge me.

American Idol Recap!

2010-03-10T20:13:00.000-08:00

Lee Dewyze - Fireflies (Owl City)
I said, “Oh Dear God,” cause I hate this song but I like what he did with it! But lose the vibrato, my dear boy. (Potential AI Boyfriend)

Alex Lambert - Trouble (Ray Lamontagne)
I still love this kid’s voice, he reminds me of James Morrison. I liked it, but I kinda drifted off a bit.
“Don’t be a cocky banana. Nobody likes that.” - Ellen.

Tim Urban - Hallelujah (Jeff Buckley)
My exact words were, “What? NO!” And yet he doesn’t suck doing it. What is this fuckery? Also, I’m certain that this song should be b& from competition. Also, Ellen should hug more contestants.

Andrew Garcia - Genie in a Bottle (Christina Aguilera
Not feeling this that much, there’s no spark to it. Good end to the song though.

Casey James - You’ll Think of Me (Keith Urban)
He’s still got the vibrato but it’s not as bad this week. Really good. Watched this twice cause Miss Distin is in love with her future American Idol husband.

Aaron Kelly - I’m Already There (Lonestar)
Started weak, but he’s got the country genre in the bag. It’s a little rough in the middle, and a little annoying but I don’t hate ALL of it. Shut up, Kara. YES SIMON. You tell her.

Todrick Hall - Somebody to Love (Queen)
Oh dear lord. Someone needs to back off the helium. A rough start but I don’t hate the rest of it. Sounds par for the dudes for the evening, actually.

Michael Lynche - This Woman’s Work (Maxwell)
Whaaaaat. I don’t know the song originally. But once you get past that horrific falsetto at the beginning, this is a fantastic take. What the hell, why is Kara crying?

My favorites: Lee, Alex, Michael
Should go home: Aaron, Todrick
Will go home: Aaron, Andrew.

aww yeah it's Tuesday!

2010-03-09T18:38:00.000-08:00

I love me some American Idol, so hold onto your hats, it's recap time again!

First "out the box" as Randy ridiculously puts it is young Katie Stevens, singing one of my personal favourite songs: Breakaway by Kelly Clarkson. (Like Citadel by Anna Nalick, it's like my personal theme song.)

I like her voice but she's so boring. Also, who told her that fake eyelashes were a good "eye-dea?" Also, shoulder pads shouldn't be worn by someone who wasn't born before they went out of style the first time. Just sayin'. Also, Kara? Another contestant who is too young? Maybe you should have given her spot to Angela Martin or Tasha Layton. /not bitter

Siobhan Magnus, The House of the Rising Sun, The Animals.

Oooh, love the acapella intro. My notes continue on to say YES YES YES YES I LOVE HER. Siobhan is officially my favourite this season. Ellen is on a roll tonight: "I'm from New Orleans, and I've been to that house." Simon and I are having disagreements again, so he can suck it.

Lacey Brown, The Story, Brandi Carlisle.

I HATE HATE HATE THIS SONG. For those unfamiliar with it, here's the original torturous version:

I don't hate Lacey's version and it is much better than last week and a complete 180 from "Landslide".

Katelyn Epperly, I Feel the Earth Move, Carole King.

Channeling her inner Carole King, complete with the hair, Katelyn is sticking with the piano (Wurlitzer? Whassat?) Like the growly bits she did here and there, but whelmed. Ellen is seriously funny tonight: "Is THAT a guitar?"

Didi Benami, Rhiannon, Fleetwood Mac.

Unlike the last time someone did Fleetwood Mac it ended horrifically and for some reason she's still on the show, Didi's take on this song was really amazing. I love her voice and I'm glad she gained some confidence. But what the fuck was up with the horrible camera direction this week? Splitting between the guitar and her face was just bizarre. And the wash was incredibly distracting! Also the AWFUL AWFUL backup singers strike again! (This is gonna be a tough elimination week, I think, I wrote then).

Paige Miles - Smile, written by Charlie Chaplin?

She sounds nervous. Also, may Mighty Thor strike down the vibrato until it is no longer available for musicians because I hate it. This is not going to end well for Paige. Also, why is Cowell feeling himself up, and why did we have to cut to it?

Crystal Bowersox, Give Me One Reason, Tracy Chapman.

She has a giant ring on her finger. I liked this a lot, and she's just heads above the rest of the competition. Including my favourite, Siobhan. (Who I think needs to win, because Crystal would sell a billion records even if she left the show now). Katelyn looks pissed off. Also, Crystal makes this look SO easy.

Lilly Scott, I Fall to Pieces, Patsy Cline.

This was terrible. I liked the mandolin's inclusion but other than that I feel that she didn't do anything new to the song and it was kind of shouty and off base somehow. The judges disagreed with me though...

So, my verdict:
best of the night: Siobhan, Crystal
worst of the night: Paige, Lilly
Elimination guess: Paige, Katie

Books, or why I love them.

2010-03-08T20:12:00.000-08:00

Livejournal's Writer's Block Question for yesterday:
Is there any book you can read over and over again without ever getting sick of it? Do you discover something new every time you read it?

Why yes, there are two books in my life that I can simply read over and over and over and over and over and never get sick of them. I've read one in its original language and the other I'm working my way through. (Who is surprised that my two favourite books were not originally in English? Bueller?)

My favourite book of all time, and one I am constantly re-reading as a source of inspiration in both my life and my writing is The Count of Monte Cristo by Alexandre Dumas. This book is so amazing and means so much to me. My current facebook quote is from the last lines of the novel:

"Darling," replied Valentine, "has not the count just told us that all human wisdom is summed up in two words? - `Wait and hope.'"

My own philosophy toward my reading materials and my interests in life comes from the middle of the text:

My kingdom is bounded only by the world, for I am not an Italian, or a
Frenchman, or a Hindu, or an American, or a Spaniard -- I am a cosmopolite. No country can say it saw my birth. God alone knows what country will see me die. I adopt all customs, speak all languages.

It's a long read (over a thousand pages) but entirely life-changing for me, who encountered it in French class.

My second favourite book, and one I read all the time (except right now because I damaged my copy far beyond repair and need to buy a new one) is The House of the Spirits, by Isabel Allende.

In a previous post I mentioned that I love the country of Chile, and I never truly explicated why. This book is the gateway to that love. It's not just the history of Chile, it's a family story, with bits of spirituality and just a bit of supernatural beauty that makes this book a winner. It was Allende's first novel and she's only gotten better (ask my friend Phil if I'm wrong). Like Monte Cristo, this book influenced the type of books I want to write, and how I write. It's a little more accessible than Dumas, but just as important to me.

Since the book was originally written in Spanish, I'm trying to read through it in that language. It's a little harder for me because I have a deeper background in French than Spanish, so I have to keep pausing to absorb what I've read, even though I know the story by heart. I will persevere though.

Ladies' Night On Idol!

2010-03-03T19:52:00.000-08:00

I started it late, worried sick whether or not Bow-er-Sox(!) would be able to perform after reading dismal things on the internet about her. She was hospitalized for what the internet scuttlebut said was the 'beetus, and there was a possibility that she wouldn't make it for the show tonight.

She did! And she was first.

Crystal Bowersox - As Long as I Can See the Light, CCR.
This is why they delayed the show a night and I am SO glad they did. Straight out the gate with a home run.
Kara of course effed up and said that she did "You Oughta Know" last week, when she did "Hand in My Pocket." Ryan, eager to save us from another Paula-gate, corrected her as quickly as he could.

Haeley Vaughn - The Climb, Miley Cyrus.
Maybe it's my innate hatred of Miley Cyrus but I do not like this song. Haeley's too cloyingly sweet, so maybe she can land a job with Nicole Richie's headband line, since she makes her own headgear. I wrote down, "WHAT THE FUCK IS KATELYN EPPERLY WEARING" at this point. Enunciation of the middle of words would be nice, but I can't throw stones since I can't properly say a multiple consonant cluster to save my life (Kitten, middle, bucket, you know the list. Try me IRL!)
Kara says she's a year too young. Guess who is a year too old next year, Kara? Angela Martin. And she would have sung the hell out of this song. /not bitter

Lacey Brown - Kiss Me, Sixpence None the Richer
This is the band that covered Crowded House, so I have little respect for them, but I wrote simply this: "I am neither under or overwhelmed by this performance." I assume I was simply whelmed, but that can't be the case as I am not in Europe.

Katie Stevens - Put Your Records On, Corinne Bailey Rae.
I don't even care that it sounds too old for her, I loved this song on her. She did an amazing job and I don't care that's she's only 17, I'd probably buy her album. Or download it like I did for certain Idols from last year.

Didi Benami - Lean on Me, Bill Withers.
My favourite memory of this song is my cousin Mike going round the house in AL blasting this song and singing it as loudly as he could over and over again. I mention that because all I liked about this performance is her outfit.

Michelle Delamour - With Arms Wide Open, Creed.
I hate Creed. Hate hate hate hate hate more than most people hate Avril Lavigne's Sk8r Boi (he was a sk8r boi she said see you later boi). But Michelle made this song palatable. She's still one of my favourites, and I made sure to vote for her because I think she's on the bubble :( But uh I feel compelled to mention that she stole Bjork's Oscar outfit.

Lilly Scott - A Change Gonna Come, Sam Cooke.
I remember someone from season 6 doing this, either Syesha Mercado or David Archuleta. I'm still WTFing at Katelyn's outfit at this point. She got a little shouty at the end but still palatable, again.

Katelyn Epperly - The Scientist, Coldplay.
This is one of the few Coldplay songs I can stand and it was because Aimee Mann did a gorgeous cover of it (and i need to youtube the Natasha Bedingfield version Simon referenced). Katelyn put me to sleep, like she did Ellen. (Excellent subtle burn, Ellen, btw).

Paige Miles - Walk Away, Kelly Clarkson
This is one of my favourite Kelly songs, and Paige did a nice job of it. I can see why they like her and her voice, and I hope she sticks around a bit more.

Siobhan Magnus - Think, Aretha Franklin.
I love this girl. I don't know where she came from or what she smokes before each interview/performance but she needs to keep it up. Team Siobhan!

And Ellen's line of the night: "They said don't mix sleeves with a blanket and look at the Snuggie."

My favourites: Crystal & Siobhan
Should go home: Didi & Haeley
Will go home: Didi & Lacey.

It's the Opposite of Pants on the Ground.

2010-03-02T19:02:00.001-08:00

Why is Ryan touching everyone tonight? What are they blurring out in front of Kara anyway? Also her dress is sideways. I do not understand.

Billboard Hits night

Michael Lynche - This is a Man’s World (James Brown)
Nice strong start. Little slow for me, but the vocals are ok.

John Park - Gravity (John Mayer)
That’s enough John Mayer. (/obligatory).
Can I get an upbeat song in here pleaseeeeeeee? The vocals are ok but I don’t like this song.

Casey James - I Don’t Wanna Be (Gavin DeGraw)
Oh dear, he’s gonna play guitar. Eeelectric guitar. This is where being an actual musician and not just a singer comes into play. Brother needs to lose the vibrato though. Also a haircut. Half expected him to smash the guitar.
Randy, STOP namedropping.

Alex Lambert - Everybody Knows (John Legend)
Mullet playing an instrument. Still a nervous Nellie; sounds like James Morrison which I can get behind a bit. Mostly cause James Morrison is English. Oh brother, no that note was a bad idea.
Randy, what? Way legit? Apparently the mullet gives him super powers. Oh lol, Ellen and I are on the same page.

Todrick Hall - What’s Love Got to Do With It (Tina Turner)
Subtle, understated, smooth. I think I like it. Except what is with guys doing horrific last notes? And apparently Todrick is the only one who isn’t allowed to make songs his own.

Jermaine Sellers - What’s Going On, (Marvin Gaye)
What. “I rocks my onesie.” Uh. I kinda dig the tie-dye bowtie, but I dunno about the song. Simon, that was kind of a burn.

Andrew Garcia - You Give Me Something (James Morrison)
Is also a breakdancer. Who knew? I got nothing, it was good.

Aaron Kelly - My Girl (The Temptations)
Oh dear lord. Like a less talented David Archuleta. And I say this as a David Cook fan.
Ok, he’s totally part tomato. Yay, Simon and I are on the same page again.

Tim Urban - Come On Get High (Matt Nathanson) [VoteFortheWorst]
Oh the girlies are at it again. Actually, I’m scared, he’s not bad. One of my favourites tonight.

Lee Dewyze - Lips of an Angel (Hinder)
He’s adorable and can sing. Reminds me a lot of a certain Season Six winner that I loved. One to keep an eye on.

So who should go home?
Tim Urban & Jermaine Sellers.

Who will go home?
Jermaine Sellers & John Park.

a post in three parts.

2010-02-27T21:42:00.000-08:00

HAPPY BIRTHDAY PHIL!
I can't do sparkledong font anymore because of Edward Cullen. Like everything in life, it's Twilight's fault.

Anyway since it's almost the end of the month and I just finished a book I figured it was time for my monthly book reviews. I read a lot, but this was aided by sitting home waiting for the electricians to repair my hizzouse.

(These are not in the order I read them in, they're in the order I pulled from the stack of books I read this time out).

04) The Unprofessionals, Julie Hecht.

This is the story of a middle aged woman who lives in Mass and her friendship with a drug addict teenager. It sounded interesting, but I didn't think so while reading it. The main characters are never named, which is a nice touch, but once I got to the part about the rich white kid becoming a heroin addict and his out-of-touch-on-purpose confidant who has to have the same Armani white linen skirt or something, I couldn't take it. I get that it was supposed to be esoteric and a commentary on life for the upper middle class, but it just screamed FIRST WORLD PROBLEMS and I didn't find it funny or interesting in the least.

05) Alone in the Kitchen With an Eggplant: Confessions of Cooking for One and Dining Alone, Jenni Ferrari-Adler, ed.

This? Was simply amazing. A collection of short stories about something I know all too well -- cooking dinner for yourself. Highlights included Jeremy Jackson's "Beans and Me", Phoebe Nobles' "Asparagus Superhero," Courtney Eldridge's "Thanks, but No Thanks." There's a lot more in here that are really good but if I kept going I'd list all but one or two. The two I didn't care for were both along the same lines -- that everything was much better when they were married and no longer single, and everything was amazing once they didn't have to cook by themselves anymore. But other than that all these essays were well written. A must have for anyone who has ever cooked for themselves or tried to. I still can't believe this was only a dollar. It's worth more than that. I can't recommend this enough.

06) Ottoman Empire & Islamic Tradition, Norman Itzkowitz.

This book I was assigned for a class -- Abby might remember because I think she was in that class with me, with Professor Church. I know we had to read only small sections, and I didn't remember any of it when I came across it a couple months ago. This book isn't really designed to be read just for funzies, you definitely need to take this in for discussions and read alongside other books on the subject. It's densely packed into those few pages. Definitely not for the Ottoman n00b.

I found that book I swore I left in Genevieve's car, but didn't. It got put in a bag of books and I found it when I was moving stuff around.

07) A Dangerous Friend, Ward Just.
Set during the Vietnam war, a young man leaves his family behind in search of a higher calling in Vietnam. Sydney, a political scientist, goes there to "help," but ends up finding out that the conflict has a lot more dimensions to it than it appears on American newscasts.

This was a bit slow to get into, but once I did, I wanted to know more about what happened. I think Just could have skipped the bit at the beginning with the non-involved narrator, and jumped right to Sydney's situation. Once the action gets moving, when he saves Dede in the marketplace, the book takes on a more poignant note. If you're interested in the Vietnam War at all this is a good book to read, but if you're not into a book that is mostly about male characters who sit around and smoke a lot, this really might not be your shindig.

08) Black Dahlia Avenger: The True Story, Steve Hodel

For those of you unawares, the Black Dahlia was a young woman named Elizabeth Short who was brutally murdered in Los Angeles in 1947. Officially her case remains unsolved, but Hodel discovered her actual murderer's identity.

This is as much a biography of Hodel and his family as it is about Short and her demise. It's an entirely fascinating look at that time in history and how it represents women, as well as how a murderer with the right connections could get away with a whole spree of murders and hide it until after his death. Hodel, a former homicide detective, does the story justice. Since I'm a Forensic Files junkie, I found this book fascinating, but I think it's really good for its candid discussion of the double standards of 1940s-50s Los Angeles.

09) Birds Without Wings, Louis de Berniers.

The author of Corelli's Mandolin, de Berniers produces a prequel of sorts. Setting this one in Turkey/the Ottoman empire at the verge of World War I, he introduces us to a village of both Muslims and Christians who live together in a sort of harmony. Using a generation of children and the biography of Mustafa Kemal Ataturk, he shows the effects that irridentism and war had on this small town, a microscopic version of the rest of the country.

This was, as usual, a masterpiece. de Berniers is a wonderful writer who has the gift of making a village come to life, with its odd inhabitants and everything. This book differs from Corelli's Mandolin by using a larger cast, but maintains the trick of having each chapter narrated by a different character, intercut by a famous historical figure. The only thing I found to be annoying was when de Berniers accidentally (I'd like to think so anyway) switched from contemporary to present time in the same sentence. The book didn't need the present day interjunction and all it did was take me out of the book for a minute. But that's one chapter, and if that's the only quibble I have with the book then I got lucky. HIGHLY HIGHLY RECOMMENDED.

10) Between the Bridge and the River, Craig Ferguson.

Y'all know Craig as the host of The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson. And he's a very hilarious man on television. This holds true for his writing, because this book is disturbingly weird and hilarious. I love books where characters weave in and out of the book and all end up connected together (this is also incidentally why I love Lost). Two Scottish childhood buddies and two Southern brothers end up going through a crazy trip though life, Europe, and the United States. It's definitely a good read, but there's no way I can explain what happens in it.

11) The Bronze Horseman, Paullina Simons.

Whatever you do, I want you to read this book. I'm not even kidding. Before I even get into what it's about I just want to say how moving and wonderful this book is. I actually burst into tears at a few points, it was just so intense. And I found out it's part of a trilogy, which makes me apprehensive.

The story opens in pre-siege of Leningrad World War II. It follows a young 17 year old who is lost in dreams of Mother Russia and doing what is best for her family when one day her world is shaken by a soldier who helps her get groceries for her family. The story follows them and their trials as they get through the horrific siege of Leningrad. I seriously cannot endorse this book enough. No, go out and get it RIGHT NOW, you will not be disappointed, Phil and Ash. ;)
This is probably good enough to be my third favourite book of all time, which is an amazing endorsement because #1 & #2 have been sealed for years. (#1: Count of Monte Cristo #2 The House of the Spirits).

I just want to say thank you to everyone who has said such wonderful things in my last posts. You've all been wonderful and helpful and I appreciate each and everyone of you ♥.

american Idol

2010-02-24T19:04:00.000-08:00
Todrick Hall --Since U Been Gone (Kelly Clarkson)
-spoken word intro
-completely different version. Not my favourite genre but I can respect. Not a lot of punch to it though. What, Randy? You tell them to do a different version of a song, but then you get mad when they do?

Aaron Kelly - Here Comes Goodbye (Rascal Flatts)
If I don’t watch him I’m not annoyed by him. Pretty good song

Jermaine Sellers - Get Here (Olida(?) Adams)
I’m bored. Next?

Tim Urban - Apologize (One Republic)
Hmm, a little copy-cat esque. Oh ouch, that was a bad high note. Damn, this song is not in his wheelhouse /randy. As long as he stays away from the high notes he’s good.

Joe Munoz (didn’t catch the song)
Why the scarf? Like this guy’s voice.
Did Ellen actually say anything? 5705

Tyler Grady - American Woman (The Guess Who)
Hell yeah Canadian band. Looks like he’s having fun with it; good stage presence. Not the best vocals, but I enjoyed it.

Lee Dewyze - Chasing Cars (Snow Patrol)
First to play an instrument. The guy’s wearing a Fatboy Slim tshirt, gotta give him some props. Ok, I’m down with this cover.

John Park - God Bless the Child
E-NUN-CI-ATE. GDI. I do like him a lot though. 5708 Best of the night, sry everyone else. Wow, they are h8ing on the guys. You can tell they’re pushing for a white chick to win the competition. To be fair, most of the dudes haven’t been that great so far.

Michael Lynche - This Love (Maroon 5)
Playing his guitar too. Don’t hate this. One of the better ones tonight. 5709

Alex Lambert - Wonderful World (James Morrison?)
Uh, this kid has a mullet. Also, yeah this kid doesn’t belong. Wow this is a copycat version of this song and it did not start out well. I can see the judges HATING it. Oh son, son that was a bad high note. “The Sir is silent,” YES Simon I LOVE YOU.

Casey James - Heaven (Bryan Adams)
What is it with the 80s hairdoes? They’re hairDON’Ts. This guy does a pretty good Bryan Adams but needs to lose some of the vibrato. I’m over the Kara lust thing because it’s getting OLD. Nice burn though, Simon. “I don’t care what this cougar thinks of you.”
Andrew Garcia - Sugar We’re Going Down (Fall Out Boy)
OH GODDAMN YES. I love this. Also his glasses. Favourite of the night.

Voted for: Andrew, John, Michael, Joe.

Who I think should be eliminated: Alex Lambert, Tim Urban.
Who I think WILL be eliminated: Joe Munoz, Alex Lambert.

Also, this is my 100th post on this blog. HOORAY!

idol in the house!

2010-02-23T19:46:00.000-08:00
OH HELL YEAH WE'RE BACK.
I really really don't care, I love American Idol. And in true to form style I'm recapping tonight's performances and choosing my two for elimination. And I'm trying to break my Idol curse by voting for five contestants. They simply can't eliminate ALL of them.

So I'll just note that this is the Flower Power Edition of Billboard Charts week. Which basically means any song EVER. And most of the girls were wearing flowers in their hair. Also, much to Laurie's dismay, three contestants chose ~~poorly~~ Beatles songs. So yes, I will be posting the videos as I can find them. Beware!

SO first we had Ms Invisible Paige Miles. She chose the Canadian band (right?) Free's "All Right Now."
My notes (which got shorter or nonexistent as the show went on):
-soft opening
-tendency to oversing
-bad sign when i think it needs MOAR backup singers*
Simon may be right -- song selection. No, Kara. Shut up. Yeah, she killed it. In the wrong way.

2) Ashley Rodriguez - With Happy by Leona Lewis.
Good choice, let's pick a song by one of Simon's Protegées. Awesome. I liked the version of the song, a little more subtle. Loved her whole look. Just feel like sh needs to not eat the microphone when she sings. A lot of her consonants got spit into the mic. Also, I'm not sure I buy the Mariah/Leona comparision, Kara. (Most of this recap will be SHUT UP KARA)

3) Janell Wheeler - What About Love, Heart.
First off, it's hard to do Heart after Carrie Underwood pwned "Alone" in Season 5. Also my initial thought was that she was wearing a toga. Alas, her outfit was merely a one shoulder top and leggings. You know how I feel about leggings. A few bum notes, and the neding was baaaad. Also, Kara said something stupid and I forgot to write it down.

4) Lilly Scott - Fix it All, The Beatles.
I don't know this song but Lilly was amazing. All my notes said was "LOVE THIS GIRL <3." Yes, I literally drew a less than sign and a 3.

5) Katelyn Epperly - Oh Darling, The Beatles.
1985 called. It really wants its outfit back. And its hair. Also a bit surreal watching someone born in like 1990 sing a song from 1969 wearing something from 1985. She was really loud. Also, Kara, lets not throw stones. If Katelyn goes without makeup, I feel you should as well.

6) Haeley Vaughn - I Wanna Hold Your Hand, The Beatles.
OH DEAR GOD WHAT DID THIS SONG EVER DO TO YOU. ALL IT WANTED TO DO WAS HOLD YOUR HAND AND YOU TOOK IT OUT BACK AND SHOT IT AND THEN DROPPED IT DOWN A WELL AND THEN BROUGHT IT BACK UP AND KICKED IT AND TOOK ITS PUPPY AND THEN YOU SHOT IT AGAIN.
PS. Anyone else remember Janae Castine? Season 3 contestant who wouldn't go away? I'm hoping that is not the case with this girl.

7) Lacey Brown - Landslide, Fleetwood Mac.
She is missing part of her shirt. Also this was like torturing cats. At this point I wrote that I liked that no one was arguing with the judges. Jesus, how short IS Ryan?

8) Michelle Delamour - Fallin', Alicia Keys.
Loved it, loved her, loved it. Fearless. Hate for backup singers. Also, Kara, how can she be commercial AND unique?

9) Didi Benami - The Way I Am, Ingrid Michaelson.
Is she wearing a carpet? Boring. Also, I wrote "Nice burn, Simon," but I don't remember who he was burning.

10) Siobhan Magnus - Wicked Game, Chris Isaak
I love this song, it's one of my all time favourite songs. But let me back up and wonder how someone doesn't know what a DARK HORSE is. Really? Do they not teach English or History anymore? Anyway, I loved her cover and I'd buy that single from iTunes if I used iTunes.

11) Crystal Bowersox - Hand in my Pocket Alanis Morissette.
ALl I wrote was "really really. Lose the harmonica?" But I love her. Also I still can't see what's wrong with her teeth. Love this woman. If you haven't already I think you should watch her cover of "Natural Woman" from Hollywood week.

12) Katie Stevens - Feelin' Good, Michael Bublé.
Pedestrian and boring is what I wrote. The judges agreed, thought the song was too old for her.

So here are MY bottom two: Haeley and Lacey. They caused me the most physical pain. Who will actually be booted? Lacey & Paige. Paige's cause wasn't helped by the Idol sound people, who when they cued up the playback screwed up the sound and completely decimated Paige's recap and the first 2/3 of Ashley's. If Paige is booted, I'm certain that it played a role.

*Those of you new to my AI recaps must keep in mind that my hatred of Idol Backup Singers stretches back to the Season 2 Finale when they ruined Clay Aiken's perfectly fine cover of "Bridge Over Troubled Water."

My votes went to: Ashley, Lilly, Michelle, Siobhan, and Crystal.

Also, I desperately need a new keyboard. This one is dying and can't keep up with my typing anymore. I already injured my wrist smashing it because it moved too slowly.

Books, books, and more books!

2010-02-20T10:56:00.001-08:00
I attended this today. Since it started at 1 and it's not even 2, you can figure out how well I felt it went.

I got there, then realized I needed money, so I ducked to CVS to get out some money, and came back. I wandered around and realized that most of the presses setting up there were for poetry, and that's just not my bag, baby. I like occasional poetry but to buy a whole book is kind of pushing it for me. So I wandered over to a press out of Kingston that had some real thick hardcovers. YES. This was the jackpot. Every single title he had was something I would read. I had to listen to a young St Rose student try to get a possible submission to this guy who would have none of it, as he said he was backed up by two years. I bought two of his books, since they were half price and one wasn't even out yet. (It'll be out in April!) Twenty bucks, which I thought was a pretty good deal.

I really came not only for the books and publishers but for the book swap that was advertised. I brought a whole bag of books to swap and I was dismayed to see that there was no swapping in sight. I ended up at the English Club table where they were doing a fundraiser: for a dollar you got to "fish" for a prize. If you got a blue square, you got a book. iIf you got a red square, it was a bag of like two swedish fish, and a literary quote. The green square was a five dollar gift certificate to a local bookstore. I got a blue square, so I picked out a book.

I thought about giving them the books I had brought to swap, but I think I'll do BookCrossing instead. Candice has been pimping it and I think it would be fun. My aunts do PaperbackSwap, though.

Anyway, I came home and I realized goddamn, I really do have piles of books all around my house. Even after I built the bookshelf and PUT books on it. So no more books for me for a while (You: Hahahahaha just wait til Borders does another $1 sale; Me: STFU, but you're right.)

OLYMPICS!

2010-02-19T21:07:00.000-08:00
So! I started watching the Olympics, which you can blame Nikki for.

Things that are awesome:
-Men's Figure Skating. Johnny Weir got robbed! ;) Evan Lysacek is a STUD. And I love that we've casted the Russians as villains again, which bodes well for my petition to host the Olympics in Lake Placid again.
-NORTH COUNTRY REPRESENT! We got a bronze medal out of Andrew Weibrecht, who is from Lake Placid. His mom and dad own the Mirror Lake Inn, which I remember seeing. Also, NORTH COUNTRY FUCK YEAH.
PS The chick from one of the ice dancing teams is from Kingston ON, which makes her almost kinda North Country since she claims citizenship here.
-I am seriously in love with Aksel Lund Svindal, the Norwegian skier who was incredibly adorable in his interview package and as he did his run down the slalom hill, and and he's just super adorable shut up ok.

What's up with all these fluid nationalities though? There was one chick in the ice dancing who is from the US but now is competing for Team Georgia despite never visiting the country. And two Americans who are competing for Japan in ice dancing as well. Very strange.

Anyway, I'm off to watch some more skeleton (LOVE IT).

television television

2010-02-17T20:42:00.000-08:00
I figured I'd do a scorecard of the shows I have been watching.

Chuck - I jumped into Season 3 after seeing some of S1 and none of S2. I love Casey and Captain Awesome. The rest of the cast is fun too. It was disconcerting for the first few episodes as Angie Harmon appeared and for some bizarre reason I couldn't remember her name, and then Brandon Routh apeared and I knew that name from somewhere (ps: He was Superman), but I was more distracted by how hot he is. Yeah, I said it.

Castle - High-larious as ever. Nathan Fillion remains the reason to watch the show with his gifted comedic and acting talents, and I'm warming up to Stana Katic. Ryan & Esposito always manage to come through with a few good jabs. This show, you don't really need any background for except that Nathan Fillion is absolutely ADORABLE.

Border Wars - I really think this humanizes those guys at the border that are all gruff and mean with you sometimes at the Canadian border. I believe that in order to be assigned to the Canadian border you have to spend at least some time on the Mexican one. It's an intense job, and one I would find extremely rewarding -- like the episode where they made a million dollar heroin bust.

Human Target - Finally watched the premiere and recognized the guest actress as being somewhere in the back of my head. (Look, I made a Six joke). Chi McBride, recently from the late great Pushing Daisies plays the same character here. And Jackie Earle Haley is some weird guy who helps out Mark Valley in his death defying stunts. The pacing's a little off, and I felt like a lot of it was forced, but we'll see how episode 2 fares.

V- Finally finished the fourth episode and I'm still hooked. I can't wait to see what happens to Joshua, although I am certain what is going to happen to Erika's son (I really can't remember his name). Also, I called Lisa as Anna's daughter. I'm looking forward to the rest of the series, and I'm fairly certain I would watch Elizabeth Mitchell in anything*.

Psych - Of course they're sending Abigail to Uganda. Wouldn't want anything to come between Jules and Shawn, would they?. This show is still hilarious -- who cares if the cases don't make sense.

American Idol: I really can't figure out why Alex Lambert & Haeley Vaughan made the cut. I can tell you why Katelyn Epperly did -- Simon's tastes run to young blonde girls. This show made a mistake when it cut Thaddeus Johnson and Angela Martin. Alex is a washout, and Haeley yells every song she sings. STOP SHOVING HER DOWN MY THROAT, America!

I am feeling like I am forgetting something. I found that IFC is showing Arrested Development reruns. Since I don't have the DVDs this is the next best thing. I tape the BBC America news to get my world news fix.

*I really don't care for most blonde actresses and I can't put my finger on why but it seems like Ms Mitchell is the exception to that.

THE BOOK.

2010-02-12T17:08:00.001-08:00
Tonight I'm working on the book. I'm just writing the ending, because I wasn't satisfied with the one I wrote this summer. I'm adding a bit more exposition, and explaining a few things I left untied. My plan is to print it out and put it in a binder so I can edit the paper copy. I'm super duper excited, because it's coming closer to being done. EEE So excited. I'll be able to move on to finishing the prequel and starting the sequel/prequel. (It makes sense in my head).

So today I got up and thought I had to work, and as I checked the bus schedule I noticed my handwritten worksched by the computer and it said nothing for Friday. Paranoid, I hopped the bus anyway and arrived to find no, I didn't have to work today. Whoops! I know that Tabby and Kathy got a good laugh out of me this AM. i don't mind. I went into Borders and came out with three more books. Shut up. I'm working my way through a really long book right now but I am really enjoying it except for one teensy tiny little thing that you'll see when I review it and four other books at the end of the month. But yeah Borders had dollar books again. There weren't many left of quality, but I picked out three and I think I will enjoy them.

So from there I hopped the bus to Colonie Ctr to see my buds at the other store and go to Christmas Tree Shop because I heart that place. Then I came home and I've been home ever since, yay me. That's my life.

random shizzle

2010-02-06T21:39:00.000-08:00
I've been doing the Two Hundred Situps thing for four weeks now and I love it. Tonight kicked my ass, because I did 42 sit-ups in a row and I had never done that before. I really feel that I'm getting something out of it. When I finish the regimen in another three weeks I plan on restarting it to get better at it.

Once the weather warms up (cold weather makes breathing difficult), I'm going to try doing the Couch to 5k thing. I thought that would make a nice edition to my sit-ups, as I need the cardio. In the meantime I'm just gonna keep up walking briskly around my neighborhood.

Today people came to look at our apartment. 4 dudes came by and I was all like, uh this is the living room, it's cool, whatever. I dunno, I never showed an apartment before.

I had to work tonight but my heart was over at the SLU-Union game. I never seem to make it to either Chowderfest or SLU hockey games down here. I need hockey back in my life. I need to make good on my promise to take Miss Chrissy to a hockey game, as she's never been to one. (Yes, be shocked and awed. I was.)

Books, books, and more books!

2010-02-01T12:45:00.000-08:00
I'm numbering the ones I read this year to track how many books I devour. There is at least one that I read last year and never reviewed. Or if I did I forgot. So oh well. Here you go:

Hope and Other Dangerous Pursuits, Laila Lalami.

This is a collection of related short stories by blogger Lalami and she is wonderful. The stories are set in Morocco and Spain, and deal with young Muslim women and men who come of age in a society that is at the mercy of Western influences and strong traditional ties.

Lalami wraps all these tales around a boat full of illegal immigrants crossing the Strait of Gibraltar to the promised land of Spain. It evoked memories of Cuban and Haitian refugees in Florida, and Mexican immigrants in the Southwest. She does a masterful job of giving these people both good and bad rationales for hopping on this barely watertight "boat." Keep in mind that not everyone gets their happy ending. Definitely a keeper though.

The Best American Nonrequired Reading 2008, ed: Dave Eggers intro: Judy Blume.

I picked this up because it was a dollar. And it turned out to be a really good pick. It's not just short stories; this includes articles that were written for Maxim, lists of the best Facebook groups that year (and yes I was already a member of most of them ;), and of course an intro written by the woman who wrote most of the books we read as kids: Judy BLume. I didn't even know she was still alive, but apparently so.

Highlights:
Marjorie Celona's "Y" is a cliffhanger of a story, which left me wanting more. One of the few times I read a short story and wanted her to turn it into a book.
J. Malcolm Garcia's "The White Train" is an article he had published in The Virginia Quarterly, and rightfully so. I went into it thinking it was a fiction story but it is a very moving, well written article on scrap metal collectors in Argentina.
Emily Raboteau's "Searching for Zion" is a fantastic look at what multiculturalism wrought: she details her struggle being an African-American Jewish woman in New Jersey, dealing with class issues as well.

1) An Island Like You, Judith Ortiz Cofer.
This one I had sitting around for years, ever since I saw Ms Ortiz Cofer do a reading at St. Lawrence. She impressed me enough to buy one of her books, and she autographed it for me. I kind of forgot about it for a while and then I was going through my books and rediscovered it.

Like Lalami's book, Cofer wraps her stories around each other -- a group of Puerto Rican teenagers in 1990s Paterson NJ. She writes both boys and girls, and does quite well with each. Nothing really stands out as better than anything else, but it's a quick, enjoyable read.

2) Work Shirts for Madmen, George Singleton.

I had such high hopes for this one. Singleton's book is about a metal sculptor who, after becoming deeply alcoholic loses most of his ability to work, and turns to ice scuplting. After a horrific run-in with the GOP convention, he is completely out of a job. His wife tries to save him by getting a commission for giant angel statues for Birmingham, AL.

This could have been so good. Instead, it was horrifically confusing and ridiculously stupid. I wanted to throw the book and never pick it up again. I persevered only because I wanted to see if Singleton could clarify everything in the end. I felt like I was drunk reading it and not in a good way.

STAY AWAY FROM THIS ONE.

3) A Reliable Wife, Robert Goolrick.

This book grabbed me by its back cover alone, and the front cover art is simply beautiful. It belies the horror that is to occur during this book. I could NOT put this one down. It is a little slow at the beginning, but totally worth it. Ralph orders a mail-order bride, and she is not exactly what he expected. In fact, she plans to kill him. But he has plans of his own, and it's so amazing how Goolrick twists everything around and manipulates his characters. The stark Wisconsin winter at the turn of the century is a major character in this book. Do NOT miss this book. This is definitely in my top fifteen books I've read easily.

I just found a bunch more books I haven't read yet, along with the ones I got for my birthday. This precludes the ones I picked up Saturday waiting for a ride. I should never be left alone in Borders, it is a bad bad move. ;)

American Idol POST! (Haters gonna hate)

2010-01-26T21:27:00.000-08:00
So I watched AI tonight and it finally really sunk in why all you people HATE Kara. I mean I didn't really care for her at the beginning, but oh my god is she obnoxious. UGH I wanted to actually toss my Coke in her face like Katy Perry threatened to do.

Speaking of KP, I wasn't expecting much from her or Avril Lavigne as guest judges. I couldn't see what they'd actually bring to the table because Avril really sucks, and KP is more known for her outfits than her music.

I didn't like Avril. She really looked like she couldn't be bothered to be there and her stupid cat ear hoodie drove me crazy. I could see where she was coming from by telling that one contestant that he shouldn't be in the competition because leaving his family and going on the road isn't the best thing for them. To be fair, she is divorcing her own husband because they are incompatible and I'm assuming that time spent on the road for both of them was a problem (she was married to Deryck Whibley of Sum 41, who sounds like a douche just for the spelling of his first name, let alone the band he's attached to).

Katy Perry on the other hand, I was surprised by. She up front said she wasn't gonna take any shit and she didn't. She told everyone exactly what she was feeling and no amount of pressure from Kara ("GIRL POWER!" Uh, Kara -- you realize Victoria Beckham's no longer the guest judge, right? Also your BFF, Kristin Chenowith? Not here.) I loved that KP had no problem turning down people, not sugarcoating it like Kara or Randy did. I loved that she had a genuine reaction of dismay to the contestants ("They frisk them down before they let them in here, right?" She demanded of Simon). And I loved her seeing right through the BS that is the fluff pieces. "This is not a Lifetime movie," she told one contestant after Kara said that his story was so compelling and that was why she said yes. And I agreed with her and Simon. I wasn't blown away by the kid with the 25 foster homes. Jonah what'shisname that lived in his car in Nashville was more interesting (Season 7). Between her and Shania Twain, I very much enjoyed their guest shots.

Movies!

2010-01-21T22:41:00.000-08:00
On livejournal they have a "Writer's Block" question every day.
What is the worst movie you've ever seen? Did you sit through it or walk out? What made it so dreadful?

LOL, I actually saw Gigli. I worked as an usher/counter for the free movies we had on campus and this was one of the ones we showed for some inexplicable reason. And since I was getting paid I said, ok, I'll watch it. I almost didn't but Tim talked me into it. I should have realized he had faulty logic when he said, "you know, this movie and Glitter weren't that bad!"

Whoops.

Excepting the scene where Christopher Walken blows some guys brains out into a fishtank this movie was excruciatingly long and had no point. "I WANNA SEE THE BAYWATCH!" It was two hours plus of Ben Affleck and Jennifer Lopez looking at each other with something short of disdain. As we got the main plot wrapped up the subplot kept going, and I swear in some dimension I am still watching the movie.

It's easy to say what the worst movie you've ever seen is. Tell me what the best film you've ever seen was.