Saturday, January 3, 2009

Is it too soon to start planning the perfect playlist?



Okay. So I had been obsessed, and with the lack of new material by Blur, and nothing from Gorillaz since 2005, and my inability to get excited about Chinese operas, I had stopped doodling Ultimate Blur Concert Playlist.

But while walking home from work I started thinking about it again....

If Only All Returns Were This Awesome!

I was standing outside the White Flint Metro reading Fugitive Days by Bill Ayers when a girl comes up to me.

"Excuse me, do you have four quarters?"

In her hand is a dollar. I start to shake my head. "Let me make sure just in case," as I begin digging through my bag for my coin purse.

I have seventy cents: two quarters, one dime, two nickels.

"It doesn't matter," she said as she swapped them. "I'll be saving more than thirty cents anyway."

And that is the story of how I made a dollar out of seventy cents. If only banks could do this shit. I'm not sure what she was doing with the change (I assume some weird metro thing that wouldn't take her dollar) but man did that turn awesome for me in a hurry.

Confession: I hate audio books

I recently discovered that I am not a fan of audio books.

It had seemed like a good idea. Rather than listening to music on a twelve hour car ride, listen to a book. I love to read. This could knock out at least two novels?

Either The Gunslinger by Stephen King isn't very interesting, or the audio book was awful. We didn't get past the first disk.

We did make it through Mystery of the Blue Train by Agatha Christie, but I was struck over and over by the fact that I can read faster than they talk. I was impatient. The novel wasn't going fast enough. Everything felt stilted.

Occasionally, I would also want to review the material we had covered -- nearly impossible in an audio book.

The most enjoyable audio book was The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo, by Stieg Larsson, but the voice the reader had for Salander was so terrible that it was distracting. A good story, but why the voice for a woman would be lower than the male characters infiltrated my thoughts more than once.

I'm definitely going to stick with reading. Not because of any kind of moral superiority but because they get on my nerves.

Friday, January 2, 2009

OMG Blur to play Coachella???



According to this, Blur are in talks to play Coachella, as part of their reunion tour.

OMG WTF? Is it possible that a reunited Blur are going tour America and I will be there? Maybe? Maybe a new album?

In other Blur news, I was excited to see Damon Albarn's name on the cover of Paste Magazine. When reading, I was disappointed. I hadn't really done any Blur research in a while, but everything was something I already knew; blah blah blah about the Chinese Opera and world music. Tell me something I don't know, Paste.

Fox News Viewer Message



Keep your eye on the ticker.

TV FAIL: Leaving Cancelled Shows Hanging


I just finished Veronica Mars. It isn't a season finale in which they leave things open ended; it is like there are missing episodes in the season. Nothing is resolved. It is like filming was halted once the show was put on the cancellation block.

Do shows owe it to their viewers to somewhat tie things up?

This is a concern as Pushing Daisies has also been lined up for cancellation. Part of the problem is that even I've stopped watching it.

Do shows owe it to the faithful to tie things up, or is it punishment for not spreading the word and getting other people to watch?

Another show that comes to mind that left everyone (who watched it) hanging was Dead Like Me:



This had no ending either. It was like they had been halted before they could finish filming the season.

But there's a new box set coming out, with new episodes of what happens to the characters in the future! Did they feel bad for us? Or did they think enough of us had gathered, raised a stink, and they could finally make money off of their viewer? Why not do this sooner?

There are also tentative future plans for Veronica Mars.

Do television shows have a responsibility to keep us happy even though we have not been as loyal viewers as we should have been? Or by keeping us hanging, are they hoping that we'll complain to the studio or the network to keep them on or put them back on air, a la Family Guy?

Whatever reason, it isn't cool.

Thursday, January 1, 2009

Goal for 2009: Read Less

Okay. I've read about a thousand posts about people's goals. My goal is to read less. I read a lot. I specifically should be reading less books.

I read a mix of books, but I'm thinking I need to scale back on the less respectable "literature". This means a massive scale back on Teen Fiction. Thank god I got those Vampirey Books out of the way, huh? This came to me while I was thinking about rereading The Princess Diaries and reading the later ones for the first time. Ugh. I need to stop.

I also looked around at the store for The Cider House Rules. I've already read it twice. There are John Irving books in the world that I haven't read.

Instead: I need to read something more challenging. I also should be writing more. Reading, especially teen novels or novels I have already read should not take up so much of my time.

To sum up:

1. Read less
2. Write more
3. When reading, make it challenging

Here's to another year of fighting for equal rights!

Wednesday, December 31, 2008

I Make Mistakes In The Form Of Shopping Mall Trips

I made a mistake, just four days before Christmas. I went to a shopping mall unprepared. I thought it would be fun to go shopping with a friend, who needed gloves. I had a $10 any purchase at Victoria's Secret. It was a Monday afternoon, about 2. What's the worst that can happen?

It wasn't terrible, but Jesus Christ, where did all those people come from? Don't they know that we're in a huge recession and that Christmas go canceled? It's fucking Monday afternoon, you all have no jobs, and you're out spending money?

My friend, who apparently has stopped his updating, and I ran into a mutual acquaintance.

"I thought, shit, Monday afternoon would be perfect to shop for my girlfriend. But apparently, everyone has no job and is just out spending the money they don't have."

Exactly my sentiment! I was there because I had foolishly decided to take a week off from big city life to see my parents. (I would have no doubt have been replaced at both my jobs if I wasn't so damned awesome for this audacity.) What were these other people doing at the mall? Aren't we on the verge of all being poor? Do you all think you're as awesome as me in that you'll be allowed to return to your jobs?

Anyway, it was crowded. The message: don't go to shopping malls before Christmas.

Top Five Things That Would Have Shocked Me Five Years Ago

1. Blur would not have produced an album in five years. That they have played a reunion show is a step in the right direction, but fall of 2003 was when I first got into Blur, and it hurts my soul that I got into at the end.

2. I am living in a Big City. I couldn't really see past moving out of my parents house.

3. I have actual jobs. In 2003, I had miraculously gotten my first job: paper carrier at the Southern Illinoisan. It mostly blew because I was sleepy all the time. This is when I first started skipping first hour because I slept through it. But it was the only job I could get. Its relieving to know now that with my last retail job, I sent in an application and they contacted me within four hours.

4. I have a boyfriend. This would have seemed beyond me at 17. After all, I read too much, talk to loudly, and am extremely uncoordinated.

5. I just restarted writing. I used to write all the time. I used to obsessively document the facts of my life. I used to write short stories. I used to be damned prolific. This blog is nothing compared to how much I used to write. Even the novel is almost nothing compared to how much time I spent writing.

That is my end of year round up. Excitement.

Tuesday, December 30, 2008

James Monroe Sucks Hugely Because He Does Not Resemble Teevee Characters...Ugh


I've been having trouble coming up with a television character for James Monroe.
Basically, he sucks. Era of good feelings and all that kinda shit. I mean, he was president while some important business was goin' down, but other than that? What did he do? The Monroe Doctrine? What teevee character has a doctrine? What teevee character had good feelings eras?
Give me ideas. I'll keep watching shows to come up with the character he is.

In Praise of my Winnie Wagon


Isn't it cute? It helped me get library books returned, kitty litter from Target (35 pounds!), and groceries from Safeway.
I have joined the homeless and old ladies; I now have a convienent grocery cart to help me with my heavy items.

Apologies To John Irving


I have a fantastic memory failing with this book. I don't remember when I first read it. I own the copy above, the trade paperback, but I'm pretty sure I bought it after I read it from the library.

Key words: pretty sure. I'm also pretty sure I read it after The Cider House Rules, or did I read it before because The Cider House Rules was out of the library? I can't be sure.

One thing I am sure of: I have described A Widow For One Year as my favorite John Irving novel. I've read it several times, but again, my memory fails. I think I haven't read it in at least two years.

So when I sat down to read it again, it was a shock. This is not just my favorite John Irving novel. That is an insult. This may be one of my favorite novels. The beginning is too beautiful, so simply crafted. I was in awe of its brilliance. In fact, that's what the praise on the back said: "Wisely and carefully crafted..." -USA Today

And its true. My breath was taken away when I skipped to the last page and read the end. Its just so perfect, so fitting that even though I skipped three hundred pages, I still had tears in my eyes.

This is my apology to John Irving: I had not given A Widow For One Year its proper due. It is not merely my fave John Irving book, but it is one of the best I have ever read and one that I enjoy rereading.

My conscience is now clear.

Monday, December 29, 2008

Sunday, December 28, 2008

Blur are to reunite? WTF?



I don't know if I believe this. I mean, I've been jerked around by these cats before.