- Monk begins the end tonight, Obsessive Influence. It’s a good show really, and I must say I never considered the impact it might have on TV. Good for it. I did like the bit in the article about Psych and The Mentalist because Psych came first and it’s more fun. And a great hour of TV once a week. Good old USA network. You used to have JAG reruns, now it’s NCIS three times a night. Which I appreciate because I can get caught up on those in between years I didn’t watch. Early bon voyage, Monk.
-Is it strange that I only really know about a cultural icon in one genre through the medium of another? This weekend is the Newport Jazz Festival, in its 55th year (one year older than my father…and four years younger than the recently late John Hughes, another cultural icon), and last was the city’s Folk Festival, celebrating its 40th year. Why is this significant? Well, because of my roundabout reference which gives a clue to how my brain seems to work. Associative. See, I know what the Newport Jazz Festival is, or that it exists at all, because it was mentioned in High Society, the musical version of The Philadelphia Story, which is one of my favorite movies. Cary Grant and Katharine Hepburn were in The Philadelphia Story (incidentally, one of the days this month in TCM’s month of stars is Cary Grant day, but Katharine doesn’t seem to get one…) and Bing Crosby, Grace Kelly, and Frank Sinatra (he also gets a day this month with TCM, and the movie poster on the website for him is High Society) were in High Society with this guy in a supporting role named Louis Armstrong. He and Bing (ever awesome) did a song about jazz and it was mentioned Bing’s character’s home was being lent to the festival. I’m not a huge jazz fan, but I do recognize some of the names from the schedule, Dave Brubeck of course and the Marsalis last name, a brother of Wynton.
But to get back to my original question, I suppose it’s not that strange. How many kids (well, people) my age or younger are only going to know about the Woodstock concert (A Moment of Muddy Grace) because of the movie that’s coming out soon? Along those lines, Julia Child…Meryl Streep plays her in a movie coming out today and a good half of the movie is basically about how awesome she was. Her kitchen is in the Smithsonian for pity sake, there was a huge…okay, a few articles really…deal about her pots coming to the Smithsonian from an exhibit in California where they’d been sent after her death until the exhibit closed, which it just did. But Julia herself? She was mentioned as part of a rant by Toby about PBS on the West Wing…I don’t even think I’ve ever seen an episode of her show. She was mentioned, I know she was a big deal in the cooking world but still…that reference is still there. And what about something like Mr. Potato Head? Are kids going to know what the toy is because of Toy Story and not because they see it in stores or their parents manage to find one?
Life’s funny that way. Vonnegut said, “Life happens too fast for you to ever think about it. If you could just persuade people of this, but they insist on amassing information.” The thing is, now dead Kurt Vonnegut (who wrote rather well, really), we’ve built a whole culture online helping people amass information and giving them the chance to think about life. What do you think this blog is anyway?
Showing posts with label music. Show all posts
Showing posts with label music. Show all posts
07 August 2009
01 June 2009
Musings, Part AA
And we've rounded the alphabet!
- I'm not sure if they could have crammed any more positive adjectives in this review, but good for them: 'Up': A Pixar-Styled Lift, Pretty Much Guaranteed. Well, I think Up was adorable. Great messages, beautiful scenery and lovely. Pixar's 'Up' Dominates Box Office. And yes, I teared up.
- Good for her: Kansas Girl, 13, Wins National Spelling Bee. Girls rule.
- NY Phil clarinetist Drucker Retires After 60 Years. That's a long time to be in one job but good for him. Yay clarinetists!
- Giles! Anthony Head: From Taster's Choice To TV Crime.
- So the MTV Movie Awards, being generated via fan votes, i.e. teenage girls, are usually pretty stupid and IQ draining but as the NPR blogger pointed out, this is actually kind of chuckle worthy while pointing out something true and a staple of action films: "Cool Guys Never Look at Explosions". A Needle in the Haystack of Stupid at the MTV Movie Awards.
- Dead Man's Switch: CC Me from the Other Side. This is a pretty interesting idea. The concept that we live on online after we're gone occurred to me after a friend of a friend, who I sort of knew but not as well as I would have liked in retrospect, was killed (which leads to a whole other thing and to sum up I now can say I went to school with a guy who's on death row...not something I really needed to check off the to-do list). Facebook suggested him as a person I might know months after he was gone. Unless someone had his password his profile is now frozen the last way he left it on Facebook forever, unless they take them down and I haven't heard about such a policy, only one for fake profiles not...deceased ones. I figure I'll, if I get the gumption to do so, write up a list of passwords that someone will need to access my various online...presences lets call them, and indicate I'm no longer among the living. I might even suggest permanent away messages or final postings where appropriate. Then I'd just have to hide it well enough that the average potential burglar can't find it but after I'm gone someone will be able to with relative ease. Hmm. Quite a pickle.
- Okay...now this is even more weird. Not only was Benny Goodman born on the same day I was...he died the same year I was born. Is this fate's way of telling me I really should've stuck more with music? I wasn't that good....I mean, I was okay, 1st or 2nd chair in the top band in high school but still. Weird. Benny Goodman: Forever the King of Swing.
- I'm not sure if they could have crammed any more positive adjectives in this review, but good for them: 'Up': A Pixar-Styled Lift, Pretty Much Guaranteed. Well, I think Up was adorable. Great messages, beautiful scenery and lovely. Pixar's 'Up' Dominates Box Office. And yes, I teared up.
- Good for her: Kansas Girl, 13, Wins National Spelling Bee. Girls rule.
- NY Phil clarinetist Drucker Retires After 60 Years. That's a long time to be in one job but good for him. Yay clarinetists!
- Giles! Anthony Head: From Taster's Choice To TV Crime.
- So the MTV Movie Awards, being generated via fan votes, i.e. teenage girls, are usually pretty stupid and IQ draining but as the NPR blogger pointed out, this is actually kind of chuckle worthy while pointing out something true and a staple of action films: "Cool Guys Never Look at Explosions". A Needle in the Haystack of Stupid at the MTV Movie Awards.
- Dead Man's Switch: CC Me from the Other Side. This is a pretty interesting idea. The concept that we live on online after we're gone occurred to me after a friend of a friend, who I sort of knew but not as well as I would have liked in retrospect, was killed (which leads to a whole other thing and to sum up I now can say I went to school with a guy who's on death row...not something I really needed to check off the to-do list). Facebook suggested him as a person I might know months after he was gone. Unless someone had his password his profile is now frozen the last way he left it on Facebook forever, unless they take them down and I haven't heard about such a policy, only one for fake profiles not...deceased ones. I figure I'll, if I get the gumption to do so, write up a list of passwords that someone will need to access my various online...presences lets call them, and indicate I'm no longer among the living. I might even suggest permanent away messages or final postings where appropriate. Then I'd just have to hide it well enough that the average potential burglar can't find it but after I'm gone someone will be able to with relative ease. Hmm. Quite a pickle.
- Okay...now this is even more weird. Not only was Benny Goodman born on the same day I was...he died the same year I was born. Is this fate's way of telling me I really should've stuck more with music? I wasn't that good....I mean, I was okay, 1st or 2nd chair in the top band in high school but still. Weird. Benny Goodman: Forever the King of Swing.
28 May 2009
Musings, Part Z
- Fallingwater as a Lego set? Count me in! A Frank Lloyd Wright Masterwork- In Legos.
- Up! Looks awesome and I'm glad critics seem to like it. Pixar's Small Wonder. And a brief history of the company: "Up", Up and Away With the Kids. And Giacchino's done the score again? Awesome. And the director did Monsters, Inc and worked on Wall-E? Awesome. 'Up' and Away With Pixar's Pete Docter.
- Interesting times we live in: Bush v. Gore Foes Join Forces to Fight Gay Marriage Ban.
- In Praise of Broadway's Orchestrators. You know, you don't think about it much but a composer can't crank out all of it for a show. A symphony maybe, but a show? Not quite.
- Benny Goodman! Born on my birthday. When I decided (apparently, at least that's the story my parents tell) to be born late I must have been planning even then to follow my dad and play clarinet so I'd have to be born on a famous clarinetist's birthday. How Benny Goodman Won Over America.
- I wonder where the closest one to DC is...Company's 'ATM for Books' Prints On Demand.
- DC's just exploded with Lincoln related exhibits at museums for the bi-centennial. And now the Archives got a letter written by him. Lost Lincoln Letter Donated to National Archives.
- Up! Looks awesome and I'm glad critics seem to like it. Pixar's Small Wonder. And a brief history of the company: "Up", Up and Away With the Kids. And Giacchino's done the score again? Awesome. And the director did Monsters, Inc and worked on Wall-E? Awesome. 'Up' and Away With Pixar's Pete Docter.
- Interesting times we live in: Bush v. Gore Foes Join Forces to Fight Gay Marriage Ban.
- In Praise of Broadway's Orchestrators. You know, you don't think about it much but a composer can't crank out all of it for a show. A symphony maybe, but a show? Not quite.
- Benny Goodman! Born on my birthday. When I decided (apparently, at least that's the story my parents tell) to be born late I must have been planning even then to follow my dad and play clarinet so I'd have to be born on a famous clarinetist's birthday. How Benny Goodman Won Over America.
- I wonder where the closest one to DC is...Company's 'ATM for Books' Prints On Demand.
- DC's just exploded with Lincoln related exhibits at museums for the bi-centennial. And now the Archives got a letter written by him. Lost Lincoln Letter Donated to National Archives.
20 May 2009
Musings, Part X
- Not That High School Musical. Glee is actually not bad, it's got a pretty good cast from what the pilot shows and it was actually a pretty fun hour.
- I hope he's screaming in agony in hell: The Fuhrer Returns to Berlin, This Time Saluted Only By Laughs. I think the combination of the play, and the banners that replace the swastika with a pretzel (genius, by the way) is the best thing that can happen to Berlin. They acknowledge the burden but slap the man responsible in the face, well, metaphorically. Satire at its best.
- Well, whenever I get homesick I can just go here: Disney Buys Land for Future Resort Hotel at National Harbor.
- Hubble! A Space Mission Worthy of Our Attention.
- Designing 'Up'-Well-Rounded Boy, Meet Old Square. I still think Carl's adorable. Grumpy old man or not, he's cute. And he's a balloon salesman? Awesome.
- Do two occurances qualify as a curse? I have now been to a concert at the DAR Hall here in DC twice now, once this past October for Jason Mraz and once last night for Keane. Each time there was a woman near me who was either high off of something (I'm going with drunk) or just really was the type of person who needed to go to a concert in a club without seats so everyone was being loud and dancing along. Last time the woman wanted people to be standing because heaven forbid we use the chairs we paid for and some of us are still getting used to the concept that concerts mean more than staying still and quiet while appreciating the music quietly until a piece is over (and make sure it doesn't have multiple movements because clapping after one? total faux pas). Last night the woman must have not had any bones because she was all over the place dancing, security managed to calm her down though I think, all I cared about was that she was out of my line of sight.
Beyond that, the concert was great. Wow are they energetic. Lights, always moving. You could tell that the lead singer was absolutely drenched in sweat by about the 5th song. Putting aside the energy he put into the performance, those lights have to be incredibly hot, they're certainly bright enough on my end. Great group, great songs, great supporting acts. Mat Kearney (the one I'd heard about) even quipped about his claim to fame saying that you write these songs for yourself and friends and someone decides a doctor should make out to it and you say of course that's what you wrote it for. Grey's Anatomy used "Breathe In, Breathe Out". I think my ears have fully recovered.
- Also, trying to ride the Blue/Orange lines of the Metro through the downtown stations around 5:30 is akin to suicide or hell or a highly concentrated new Disney attraction line. Crazy, insane, I'm so glad I live on the Red line, though it has it's crazy times as well.
- So, I confess I have read the first 3 Twilight books. I have an electronic copy of the 4th and I guess I'll read it one day (I've skimmed enough to get the main details) but I'm currently in no hurry. I wanted to see what the fuss was all about. Yes, it's an interesting take on the whole vampire-human thing with werewolves thrown in because they always seem to be the other piece of the triangle. I liked the first but then...they got whiny. Bella got on my nerves and I never cared for Jacob. And I like vampire stories in general, it's kind of fun comparing the different ones and how they deal with the whole human-interaction thing: sun, no sun, how to kill them, blood issues, etc. Maybe my problem with vampire book series is the style of Meyer's writing and her tone. Perhaps these books will be better, there are certainly more of them and hey, adults are the focus, not teenagers who I suppose are inherently whiny. Vampire-Loving Barmaid Hits Jackpot for Charlaine Harris.
- Question: Who's the Longest-Running Fictional Character Ever? Sort of who you'd expect.
- By the way, love the originality of NCIS: Los Angeles. I was really pulling for a new intialization, as NCIS was the spinoff from JAG. Alas, not to be.
- Rocky and Bullwinkle's on Hulu? Score.
- I hope he's screaming in agony in hell: The Fuhrer Returns to Berlin, This Time Saluted Only By Laughs. I think the combination of the play, and the banners that replace the swastika with a pretzel (genius, by the way) is the best thing that can happen to Berlin. They acknowledge the burden but slap the man responsible in the face, well, metaphorically. Satire at its best.
- Well, whenever I get homesick I can just go here: Disney Buys Land for Future Resort Hotel at National Harbor.
- Hubble! A Space Mission Worthy of Our Attention.
- Designing 'Up'-Well-Rounded Boy, Meet Old Square. I still think Carl's adorable. Grumpy old man or not, he's cute. And he's a balloon salesman? Awesome.
- Do two occurances qualify as a curse? I have now been to a concert at the DAR Hall here in DC twice now, once this past October for Jason Mraz and once last night for Keane. Each time there was a woman near me who was either high off of something (I'm going with drunk) or just really was the type of person who needed to go to a concert in a club without seats so everyone was being loud and dancing along. Last time the woman wanted people to be standing because heaven forbid we use the chairs we paid for and some of us are still getting used to the concept that concerts mean more than staying still and quiet while appreciating the music quietly until a piece is over (and make sure it doesn't have multiple movements because clapping after one? total faux pas). Last night the woman must have not had any bones because she was all over the place dancing, security managed to calm her down though I think, all I cared about was that she was out of my line of sight.
Beyond that, the concert was great. Wow are they energetic. Lights, always moving. You could tell that the lead singer was absolutely drenched in sweat by about the 5th song. Putting aside the energy he put into the performance, those lights have to be incredibly hot, they're certainly bright enough on my end. Great group, great songs, great supporting acts. Mat Kearney (the one I'd heard about) even quipped about his claim to fame saying that you write these songs for yourself and friends and someone decides a doctor should make out to it and you say of course that's what you wrote it for. Grey's Anatomy used "Breathe In, Breathe Out". I think my ears have fully recovered.
- Also, trying to ride the Blue/Orange lines of the Metro through the downtown stations around 5:30 is akin to suicide or hell or a highly concentrated new Disney attraction line. Crazy, insane, I'm so glad I live on the Red line, though it has it's crazy times as well.
- So, I confess I have read the first 3 Twilight books. I have an electronic copy of the 4th and I guess I'll read it one day (I've skimmed enough to get the main details) but I'm currently in no hurry. I wanted to see what the fuss was all about. Yes, it's an interesting take on the whole vampire-human thing with werewolves thrown in because they always seem to be the other piece of the triangle. I liked the first but then...they got whiny. Bella got on my nerves and I never cared for Jacob. And I like vampire stories in general, it's kind of fun comparing the different ones and how they deal with the whole human-interaction thing: sun, no sun, how to kill them, blood issues, etc. Maybe my problem with vampire book series is the style of Meyer's writing and her tone. Perhaps these books will be better, there are certainly more of them and hey, adults are the focus, not teenagers who I suppose are inherently whiny. Vampire-Loving Barmaid Hits Jackpot for Charlaine Harris.
- Question: Who's the Longest-Running Fictional Character Ever? Sort of who you'd expect.
- By the way, love the originality of NCIS: Los Angeles. I was really pulling for a new intialization, as NCIS was the spinoff from JAG. Alas, not to be.
- Rocky and Bullwinkle's on Hulu? Score.
04 May 2009
Musings, Part R
- Well, it's official. I have an eclectic personality. At least according to the Society
of American Florists online quiz on my floral signature. Cool. By the way, flower meanings? Kind of interesting to read. And no two sites completely agree on what something means all the time. Like for one lavendar is constancy and another distrust. If you're into the flower meaning thing, which is pretty interesting, then you're probably really confused by those. Heaven forfend you get a bouquet with lavendar in it. Or orange blossoms which can be innocence or fertility. Again, not exactly the same thing. At least they can agree on some. Like peonies? For healing.
- Bye, Justice Souter, you were cool: Supreme Court Justice Souter to Retire.
- Happy Early Mother's Day. NPR's Mother's Day Playlist got me thinking about what song reminds me of my mom. Pretty easy answer, "Wonder" by Natalie Merchant because she always says its her song about us, my sister and I.
- Why do I always ignore or put off looking into the latest thing? At least musically I often do. Or perhaps we can just say I was busy when this became big? Anyway, new musical love: Fleet Foxes. Seriously, amazing sound. Granted if you actually read the lyrics, kinda dark, I mean in "White Winter Hymnal" blood on snow is compared to the color of strawberries in summer...which...okay, yeah, that's red. Gorgeous sound though: Live concert.
- On another note for music, depending on who you look at my tastes are alternative or indie these days. Online radio stations: Indie. iTunes catalog: Alternative mostly with some Indie that's apparently both. I think I'm going to stick with calling it alternative because I associate indie with movies and I can admit I'm a mainstream movie girl. At least I can still say what I don't like and leave the rest up to the sound of the individual bands.
- People are creative, did you know?: Battles of the Bulge.
of American Florists online quiz on my floral signature. Cool. By the way, flower meanings? Kind of interesting to read. And no two sites completely agree on what something means all the time. Like for one lavendar is constancy and another distrust. If you're into the flower meaning thing, which is pretty interesting, then you're probably really confused by those. Heaven forfend you get a bouquet with lavendar in it. Or orange blossoms which can be innocence or fertility. Again, not exactly the same thing. At least they can agree on some. Like peonies? For healing.
- Bye, Justice Souter, you were cool: Supreme Court Justice Souter to Retire.
- Happy Early Mother's Day. NPR's Mother's Day Playlist got me thinking about what song reminds me of my mom. Pretty easy answer, "Wonder" by Natalie Merchant because she always says its her song about us, my sister and I.
- Why do I always ignore or put off looking into the latest thing? At least musically I often do. Or perhaps we can just say I was busy when this became big? Anyway, new musical love: Fleet Foxes. Seriously, amazing sound. Granted if you actually read the lyrics, kinda dark, I mean in "White Winter Hymnal" blood on snow is compared to the color of strawberries in summer...which...okay, yeah, that's red. Gorgeous sound though: Live concert.
- On another note for music, depending on who you look at my tastes are alternative or indie these days. Online radio stations: Indie. iTunes catalog: Alternative mostly with some Indie that's apparently both. I think I'm going to stick with calling it alternative because I associate indie with movies and I can admit I'm a mainstream movie girl. At least I can still say what I don't like and leave the rest up to the sound of the individual bands.
- People are creative, did you know?: Battles of the Bulge.
23 April 2009
Musings, Part O
- This sounds pretty cool and very unlike the stately Albert Hall: Graffiti makeover for Albert Hall. Too bad I can't be there to see it.
- When in doubt, there is an association for it. Case in point: the US Pea and Lentil Trade Association, affliated, of course, with the US Dry Pea, Lentil, and Chickpea Council.
- How fun: Ask Not For Whom the Cliche Tolls. Happy birthday, Shakespeare. The big 445...I think that can be considered over the hill. And the story's a scavenger hunt!
- Interesting question: Does Music Define You?. As I said in a comment on the site (my first...Ooooo), I think we define ourselves by it, just like social or political issues, but perhaps we aren't define by it. We are more than the box a social or political issue places us in and we can like more than one type of music. Sure, there can be a similar color palate but at the end of the day it becomes a painting that's more than monochromatic.
- Why can't it be May 8th yet? Star Trek's stellar return.
- I don't get it: TV plan to find Jade musical star. I wouldn't care about Jade Goody or her life (and recent death due to cervical cancer) except I was in London when the whole Big Brother thing happened with her. Her racist comments were all over the London free papers (which, yeah, little better than tabloids sometimes but a couple were like the Express, one of DC's free Metro papers that's more like a condensed, admittedly ad heavy Washington Post) that semester. She seemed...crass and just unappealing in every way. And yet, in the past two years (has it been that long already?) she seems to have reinvented herself...by putting her whole life on camera it seems. I just don't get the appeal. Any of it.
- Monkey See has become one of my favorite blogs (and just over a month ago, I barely wrote in my own and didn't frequent, well, any...just goes to show, times change...and quickly) and a daily source of pop culture amusement, particularly today: Caution Signs Endangered Movie Characters Really Need. I really want to plot contrivance one...think a company will pick it up and market it?
- Curse you BBC iPlayer and ITV player...why do you only have to work in the UK? This is why Americans love nice Brits who post British shows on YouTube that would take us months, if ever, to get if we're lucky enough to get BBC America.
- When in doubt, there is an association for it. Case in point: the US Pea and Lentil Trade Association, affliated, of course, with the US Dry Pea, Lentil, and Chickpea Council.
- How fun: Ask Not For Whom the Cliche Tolls. Happy birthday, Shakespeare. The big 445...I think that can be considered over the hill. And the story's a scavenger hunt!
- Interesting question: Does Music Define You?. As I said in a comment on the site (my first...Ooooo), I think we define ourselves by it, just like social or political issues, but perhaps we aren't define by it. We are more than the box a social or political issue places us in and we can like more than one type of music. Sure, there can be a similar color palate but at the end of the day it becomes a painting that's more than monochromatic.
- Why can't it be May 8th yet? Star Trek's stellar return.
- I don't get it: TV plan to find Jade musical star. I wouldn't care about Jade Goody or her life (and recent death due to cervical cancer) except I was in London when the whole Big Brother thing happened with her. Her racist comments were all over the London free papers (which, yeah, little better than tabloids sometimes but a couple were like the Express, one of DC's free Metro papers that's more like a condensed, admittedly ad heavy Washington Post) that semester. She seemed...crass and just unappealing in every way. And yet, in the past two years (has it been that long already?) she seems to have reinvented herself...by putting her whole life on camera it seems. I just don't get the appeal. Any of it.
- Monkey See has become one of my favorite blogs (and just over a month ago, I barely wrote in my own and didn't frequent, well, any...just goes to show, times change...and quickly) and a daily source of pop culture amusement, particularly today: Caution Signs Endangered Movie Characters Really Need. I really want to plot contrivance one...think a company will pick it up and market it?
- Curse you BBC iPlayer and ITV player...why do you only have to work in the UK? This is why Americans love nice Brits who post British shows on YouTube that would take us months, if ever, to get if we're lucky enough to get BBC America.
13 April 2009
Musings, Part I
- So, Jesuits. Pretty cool people usually. Within the myriad Catholic religious orders, they’re the most famously academic. If you see ‘Jesuit’ attached to the name of a college, you know it’s going to be a good one. Most are more than just a priest, they’re encouraged to be in the world and keep going in whatever profession they came into the order with, which was usually something academic. Here’s another reason they’re cool, a sense of humor: God to Man: Get Over Yourself .
- Leave Pixar alone, Pixar’s Latest Film Has Wall Street on Edge. I think Up looks great, then again I like…everything Pixar has done (even Cars which isn’t really my…well, it doesn’t speak to my very limited sports interests and isn’t my music genre of choice). I loved Wall-E. It was adorable and amazing to look at and Up doesn’t look any different. And the cranky old guy? He looks kinda cute. How cool would it be to float away in your house by means of hundreds of balloons?
- This recent NY Time article, Somali Pirates Said to Seize Ship with US Crewmen reminds me of a Daily Show report from last year, from after the election called The Buccaneer Stops Here. One of the many things I love about the Daily Show, besides the irreverent humor that nonetheless makes very good points about, well, everything, is John Oliver’s reports. I’m not sure why he’s my currently my favorite correspondent, possibly the British thing, possibly because he tried to refuse to do Dickensian English during his first reports on the show, during the Queen’s visit to the US, but I find him hilarious. So the whole pirate thing in the news brings to mind his report from November. Watch. Enjoy. Laugh.
- It’s funny how certain things become associated with other things in your mind. I think that’s one of the ways I learn, I link stuff up in my head and it may not make sense, but it seems to work out okay. So the association of today is Vienna Teng’s new album. I love her stuff. Unwritten Letter #1 is one of my top…three favorite songs. Anyway, her third album either came out or I found it when I was studying abroad in London. I, as I always do with new music, listened to it pretty much constantly for a while there. That semester in London was also when I decided to see what the deal was with Doctor Who, since I was in the country it came from. Turns out, the newly revamped series (the only part I’ve seen) is pretty much…awesome. I could go on and on about how cool it is and how great the 10th Doctor’s hair is (it’s pretty awesome) but since I was watching Doctor Who and listening to Vienna Teng’s third album those two are now linked in my brain. I can’t watch an episode without one of the songs sort of starting up in my head and vice versa with listening to the cd. I have the same problem with Eiffel 65 and one of the Where in the World is Carmen Sandiego? computer games. The game was pretty cool but the show, of course, was better. Oh Rockapella.
- An ode to peanut butter: Peanut Butter: It’s More Than A Sandwich. I like PB. Jif is the best kind, hands down no others need apply. Despite having sort of sworn off peanut butter and jelly sandwiches (I decided freshman year of college that 13 years of them in school was quite enough to last a lifetime) I still enjoy PB toast and PB in other things, mostly Reese’s Peanut Butter cups which are my favorite candy. And the article is right, it is very American. You can’t find proper PB in Europe. Not just because we process things different but because they have things like Nutella and don’t understand our fascination with PB. PB is one of those simple foods that is just plain good on, well, quite a lot of things actually. My mom swears the best PB is from the top of a fresh jar, which yeah, is probably true. I’m not sure I’d refrigerate PB like the author of the NPR article does but a friend of mine refuses to refrigerate butter (which is just weird to me) so maybe it’s just a quirk.
- It’s kind of amazing to have friends who remember your quirks and indulge them for you.
- Leave Pixar alone, Pixar’s Latest Film Has Wall Street on Edge. I think Up looks great, then again I like…everything Pixar has done (even Cars which isn’t really my…well, it doesn’t speak to my very limited sports interests and isn’t my music genre of choice). I loved Wall-E. It was adorable and amazing to look at and Up doesn’t look any different. And the cranky old guy? He looks kinda cute. How cool would it be to float away in your house by means of hundreds of balloons?
- This recent NY Time article, Somali Pirates Said to Seize Ship with US Crewmen reminds me of a Daily Show report from last year, from after the election called The Buccaneer Stops Here. One of the many things I love about the Daily Show, besides the irreverent humor that nonetheless makes very good points about, well, everything, is John Oliver’s reports. I’m not sure why he’s my currently my favorite correspondent, possibly the British thing, possibly because he tried to refuse to do Dickensian English during his first reports on the show, during the Queen’s visit to the US, but I find him hilarious. So the whole pirate thing in the news brings to mind his report from November. Watch. Enjoy. Laugh.
- It’s funny how certain things become associated with other things in your mind. I think that’s one of the ways I learn, I link stuff up in my head and it may not make sense, but it seems to work out okay. So the association of today is Vienna Teng’s new album. I love her stuff. Unwritten Letter #1 is one of my top…three favorite songs. Anyway, her third album either came out or I found it when I was studying abroad in London. I, as I always do with new music, listened to it pretty much constantly for a while there. That semester in London was also when I decided to see what the deal was with Doctor Who, since I was in the country it came from. Turns out, the newly revamped series (the only part I’ve seen) is pretty much…awesome. I could go on and on about how cool it is and how great the 10th Doctor’s hair is (it’s pretty awesome) but since I was watching Doctor Who and listening to Vienna Teng’s third album those two are now linked in my brain. I can’t watch an episode without one of the songs sort of starting up in my head and vice versa with listening to the cd. I have the same problem with Eiffel 65 and one of the Where in the World is Carmen Sandiego? computer games. The game was pretty cool but the show, of course, was better. Oh Rockapella.
- An ode to peanut butter: Peanut Butter: It’s More Than A Sandwich. I like PB. Jif is the best kind, hands down no others need apply. Despite having sort of sworn off peanut butter and jelly sandwiches (I decided freshman year of college that 13 years of them in school was quite enough to last a lifetime) I still enjoy PB toast and PB in other things, mostly Reese’s Peanut Butter cups which are my favorite candy. And the article is right, it is very American. You can’t find proper PB in Europe. Not just because we process things different but because they have things like Nutella and don’t understand our fascination with PB. PB is one of those simple foods that is just plain good on, well, quite a lot of things actually. My mom swears the best PB is from the top of a fresh jar, which yeah, is probably true. I’m not sure I’d refrigerate PB like the author of the NPR article does but a friend of mine refuses to refrigerate butter (which is just weird to me) so maybe it’s just a quirk.
- It’s kind of amazing to have friends who remember your quirks and indulge them for you.
08 April 2009
Musings, Part H
- I’m not sure how I feel about this idea; Thin and Inexpensive Netbooks Affect PC Industry if only because I want a computer to do more than just access the Internet. I can understand if you just need the internet and need more than a phone but if you’re going to have a computer, have a computer. I myself want an iMac. One with a huge hard drive so I don’t have to worry about space for a few years (at least that’s the hope, depends on how much video I find and no, I don’t really have space on the desk for an external hard drive) and so I can get some stuff off my iPod (namely BSG podcasts) that I put on there to free up space on my laptop. Irony is, now my iPod is full. Which hasn’t happened before…but I’ve gotten a lot more music while having this iPod compared to the last one, which was a 15 GB.
- Thank you writer Raina Kelley: Five Truths About Reality Dating Shows you just summed up why I hate reality shows, the dating ones in particular. I don’t understand why they are so popular. With the most recent Bachelor as evidence (solely gained through reading blurbs on it and never once letting the channel surfing get anywhere close to it with any length of a pole, 10, 11 or otherwise) all reality dating shows do is show the worst sides of people, unfortunately mostly women. I don’t understand why they let themselves be paraded around and given little more consideration than a shirt or tie selection for the guy in question. We watch TV and movies to see people that aren’t us, why would we want to watch our lives, we’re living them and besides, normal people? Boring. All reality shows do is reinforce stereotypes of people in a faux parallel world where the situations are carefully written and tailored so the outcomes are what they are: predictable, embarrassing, usually disgusting, degrading, and a pox on our society. I hope I never become a woman who is so desperate for some kind of comfort, whether it be through an “attractive” or “powerful” guy, each measured by the size of his bank account, that I’ll dump all of my self-respect and hope for real (not reality) love that I attach myself to someone relatively well off in such a painfully atrocious fashion. I may be square, but as Huey once said, it’s hip.
- So, who wants to show this to the US government? Facebook, YouTube At Work Make Better Employees
- Not to keep (rather, again) complaining about this but this article brought to mind some interesting comparisons, Inside the Duggar Family’s Conservative Ideology to what I remember about traditional Hindu culture, and if I remember correctly, often to current Indian culture as well. These families are teaching their daughters to have no concerns, no skills beyond that of a domestic, motherhood centered life (and in this age, unless you are well off, you can’t raise a family on one income alone, particularly a large family). From what I remember, women in India were to be obedient to their father and brothers, then to their husbands, and finally to their sons, keeping the obedience to the husband to his death, if she wasn’t required to do the whole funeral pyre with him thing. One would think that these Christians (I won’t say so-called though I’m sure they’d call me a so-called Christian) wouldn’t like following the practices of a “heathen” culture. The same kind of obedience is found in Islamic cultures as well. I was really hoping that my daughters (when and if I have them, plural or singular it matters not, though I’m not doing more than 3 kids I’d actually like to enjoy them and I’m sure not having to contend with more than two siblings is a good thing for most kids’ quality of life as well [I only have 1 sibling]) wouldn’t have to put up with the cult of domesticity, as my AP US History book called the whole keep women barefoot in the kitchen (whether literally or figuratively) movement. I really hoped we’d gotten past that. But no, history cycles and we’re doomed to repeat it so I guess they will. I only hope that the work of the women in the early parts of the 20th century were enough to override the more pernicious aspects of the Co’D. I’ll keep my fingers crossed. And teach them that yes, babies are cute, but only one or two at a time. And if you’re going to go against your upbringing…get a tattoo or something, don’t go towards a whacko religious movement/cult.
- I came across this on the NPR website, it’s a list of the 100 top musical works of the 20th century, originally broadcast in the year 2000 . I like lists like this. I like going through them and seeing which I’ve heard (hopefully a lot) and which I haven’t but really should, and which I just don’t understand how they got on the list. It’s like the AFI movie lists. Looks like I’ll have to set up an Excel list for music now…
- Thank you writer Raina Kelley: Five Truths About Reality Dating Shows you just summed up why I hate reality shows, the dating ones in particular. I don’t understand why they are so popular. With the most recent Bachelor as evidence (solely gained through reading blurbs on it and never once letting the channel surfing get anywhere close to it with any length of a pole, 10, 11 or otherwise) all reality dating shows do is show the worst sides of people, unfortunately mostly women. I don’t understand why they let themselves be paraded around and given little more consideration than a shirt or tie selection for the guy in question. We watch TV and movies to see people that aren’t us, why would we want to watch our lives, we’re living them and besides, normal people? Boring. All reality shows do is reinforce stereotypes of people in a faux parallel world where the situations are carefully written and tailored so the outcomes are what they are: predictable, embarrassing, usually disgusting, degrading, and a pox on our society. I hope I never become a woman who is so desperate for some kind of comfort, whether it be through an “attractive” or “powerful” guy, each measured by the size of his bank account, that I’ll dump all of my self-respect and hope for real (not reality) love that I attach myself to someone relatively well off in such a painfully atrocious fashion. I may be square, but as Huey once said, it’s hip.
- So, who wants to show this to the US government? Facebook, YouTube At Work Make Better Employees
- Not to keep (rather, again) complaining about this but this article brought to mind some interesting comparisons, Inside the Duggar Family’s Conservative Ideology to what I remember about traditional Hindu culture, and if I remember correctly, often to current Indian culture as well. These families are teaching their daughters to have no concerns, no skills beyond that of a domestic, motherhood centered life (and in this age, unless you are well off, you can’t raise a family on one income alone, particularly a large family). From what I remember, women in India were to be obedient to their father and brothers, then to their husbands, and finally to their sons, keeping the obedience to the husband to his death, if she wasn’t required to do the whole funeral pyre with him thing. One would think that these Christians (I won’t say so-called though I’m sure they’d call me a so-called Christian) wouldn’t like following the practices of a “heathen” culture. The same kind of obedience is found in Islamic cultures as well. I was really hoping that my daughters (when and if I have them, plural or singular it matters not, though I’m not doing more than 3 kids I’d actually like to enjoy them and I’m sure not having to contend with more than two siblings is a good thing for most kids’ quality of life as well [I only have 1 sibling]) wouldn’t have to put up with the cult of domesticity, as my AP US History book called the whole keep women barefoot in the kitchen (whether literally or figuratively) movement. I really hoped we’d gotten past that. But no, history cycles and we’re doomed to repeat it so I guess they will. I only hope that the work of the women in the early parts of the 20th century were enough to override the more pernicious aspects of the Co’D. I’ll keep my fingers crossed. And teach them that yes, babies are cute, but only one or two at a time. And if you’re going to go against your upbringing…get a tattoo or something, don’t go towards a whacko religious movement/cult.
- I came across this on the NPR website, it’s a list of the 100 top musical works of the 20th century, originally broadcast in the year 2000 . I like lists like this. I like going through them and seeing which I’ve heard (hopefully a lot) and which I haven’t but really should, and which I just don’t understand how they got on the list. It’s like the AFI movie lists. Looks like I’ll have to set up an Excel list for music now…
06 April 2009
Musings, Part G
- In times gone by, I actually wasn’t too enamored of the idea of going to a rock concert. I’m not quite sure why, maybe because I always appreciated the CD more or the cleaner sound on a recording. Concerts to me were supposed to be serious things, classical things. And part of me still feels that way. However, now that I have taken the opportunity to go hear one of my favorite artists live here in DC and am doing so again in May, I understand the appeal. Granted, in October there were people in a box down the way from me that were awfully loud and really shouldn’t have been drinking but otherwise, the crowd sort of added to the experience, also the slight changes in how the songs were performed were also welcome. I probably am annoyed at them more because I’ve been taught, my entire life, that you don’t make a scene in a concert. You are quiet; you enjoy the music but do so silently. Probably should stop thinking that way. Anyway, the concert I attended and am attending are in relatively low key venues, the DAR Constitution Hall which is no Verizon Center, which is for the bigger (more bombastic acts, like the recent Britney Spears [bleck, I can’t believe I’m typing her name] offering). Even though I’ve had no problems and have made sure to keep my ticket within reason (under $70 in each case for a seat on the box level) I understand the plight of those in the recent NY Times article In Online Era, Fans Need Digital Smarts to Get Concert Tickets. My mom and sister are lucky enough to get to go to Coldplay later this year in a rather large venue. Their tickets were a couple hundred. DC may not get the really popular shows but at least you can find reasonable tickets for the good stuff.
- Even after walking through jello at my fifth grade fun day/class send off and subsequently swearing it off for, well, years this article makes me hungry for orange jello…maybe in the shape of a castle? Their T-Square Is the Jelly Mold.
- Yay Disney!: A Museum to Show Walt Disney’s Human Side. Yes, I grew up in Orlando and yes we went to Disney World several times a year. It is the happiest place on Earth, after all. I like the spirit of the parks, of the company, of the films. In my leadership class in middle school, I even chose good old Walt as my leader of choice to do a project on. So some stuff may be shady, gives him color. Just look at what the guy created and inspired to be created. Good for you, Mrs. Miller, definitely a museum I’d visit. And if I get to California sometime soon (even if it’s not soon) I totally will.
- Another human portrait of a big historical figure can be found in the op-ed The Origin of Darwin. Three cheers for Darwin. Happy birthday. Well, belated.
- The strange: R. Crumb Zaps the Bible. Genesis via comic strips? Hmm…wonder if he’ll try to make it funny.
- What is wrong with the electorate that we keep having these problems: Ruling Favors Franken in Minnesota Senate Contest I’m all for Franken getting seated in the Senate, I think it’d be great. Well, only because I know he is seriously interested and involved in politics. But seriously, get it over with one way or another people, geez. I apologize for Florida, I have before and can continue to do so, we started this whole mess back in 2000 but that doesn’t mean you should follow our example. It means you really, really shouldn’t. Get it together people, seriously.
- Even after walking through jello at my fifth grade fun day/class send off and subsequently swearing it off for, well, years this article makes me hungry for orange jello…maybe in the shape of a castle? Their T-Square Is the Jelly Mold.
- Yay Disney!: A Museum to Show Walt Disney’s Human Side. Yes, I grew up in Orlando and yes we went to Disney World several times a year. It is the happiest place on Earth, after all. I like the spirit of the parks, of the company, of the films. In my leadership class in middle school, I even chose good old Walt as my leader of choice to do a project on. So some stuff may be shady, gives him color. Just look at what the guy created and inspired to be created. Good for you, Mrs. Miller, definitely a museum I’d visit. And if I get to California sometime soon (even if it’s not soon) I totally will.
- Another human portrait of a big historical figure can be found in the op-ed The Origin of Darwin. Three cheers for Darwin. Happy birthday. Well, belated.
- The strange: R. Crumb Zaps the Bible. Genesis via comic strips? Hmm…wonder if he’ll try to make it funny.
- What is wrong with the electorate that we keep having these problems: Ruling Favors Franken in Minnesota Senate Contest I’m all for Franken getting seated in the Senate, I think it’d be great. Well, only because I know he is seriously interested and involved in politics. But seriously, get it over with one way or another people, geez. I apologize for Florida, I have before and can continue to do so, we started this whole mess back in 2000 but that doesn’t mean you should follow our example. It means you really, really shouldn’t. Get it together people, seriously.
27 March 2009
Musings, Part B
- I really wish I could write one of NPR’s This I Believe essays. Problem is, I’m sure my one overarching belief, if I indeed have one, has been said already by one more eloquent than I. I tried once. Couldn’t manage to get it right. I tried to write about the importance of the space program. Something about the majesty of space tied with anecdotes of watching them lift off in my backyard at home. Because I could and did. We’d watch the countdown on the TV then race through the house to the backyard and look east and watch the small glowing dot rise above the houses with the smoke trail behind. We even got tickets a couple times and watched it down at one of the viewing areas close by the cape. Now that’s spectacular. And night launches? Every bit as amazing as pictures tell you. Anyway, too bad I couldn’t crack it. Perhaps one day I can write about my belief in the power of a book and make it sound different from something they’ve already got.
- Why is it that for some bands the song(s) I love from a particular CD isn’t (aren’t) the single(s)? Cases in point, Snow Patrol’s “Chasing Cars” was huge, probably thanks to Grey’s Anatomy, but I liked “Open Your Eyes” much better on that CD (Snow Patrol’s, not the GA soundtrack). And The Fray’s first CD, “How to Save a Life” was the single (also probably thanks to GA) but “Little House” was a much better song in my opinion. I’m not sure what the single is from Snow Patrol’s latest, but I adore “The Golden Floor”. Simply love every second of it. It’s also a good thing I buy the whole album when I like a song on it or else I would have missed some great stuff that takes a few runs to appreciate. Like Keane’s latest, Perfect Symmetry, at first (few) listen I didn’t think it was as amazing as Hopes and Fears, on which I love almost every song equally, I didn’t even think it sounded like the band in the first place. Now I think it does and there are some great songs on there. Hopes and Fears is still the best of their 3 though.
- I wonder if it’s weird to miss Battlestar Galactica already, not because of the story or characters, because I’m kind of still ticked off about how all of that ended up (Kara just disappears, really? Lee’s left all alone, really? Baltar gets a happy ending, really? Blah blah, life isn’t fair, whatever. This is fiction. Thus happy can happen. Of course not that BSG was ever really happy…whatever, not the point of this tangent) but because it means the music is over? By music I mean the fabulous soundtrack provided by Bear McCreary. I don’t think I’ve ever spent two weeks listening to related soundtracks in this fashion before. Sure, I tend to listen to things on repeat after I first get them but not at the exclusion of other new things. And never have I tried so hard to find a particular (non-canon/slightly canon/writers messing with fans) couple’s theme before. I think I nailed it down though. I think.
- Third related music musing in a row, it really is true (at least for me) that the first version of a song you hear is your favorite/becomes your standard. The first version (believe it or not) of Bob Dylan’s “All Along the Watchtower” I heard was Bear McCreary’s in BSG. Now I find the Jimi Hendrix version to be…eh. I mean, it’s still a good song, lyrics wise, but there’s something about the way McCreary used the guitars and had the group do the lyrics that just…it’s been described as an eerie version, which okay it sorta is but it’s a cool version too. It sounds…modern, I guess. More rock like, or at least alternative (which, by the way, does alternative just mean no long guitar solos? Or is it just modern/current rock? Whatever, it’s still my genre of choice though I should probably look up a musician’s definition of it sometime beyond knowing which bands fall under the category). The same thing applies to some of Frank Sinatra’s hits. I just don’t like his version as much as say James Darren’s or Harry Connick Jr’s. Except Fred Astaire’s version of “Night and Day” I don’t like as much as the newer versions, say the one in De-Lovely or by others though I’m sure I heard Fred’s first. Maybe his is just a standard of how I don’t like it to sound. Hmm.
- The idea of Twitter annoys me. Maybe because I heard about it first from the Daily Show episode that talked about the non-State of the Union presidential address where Stewart talked about Senators and Representatives “twittering” during the speech, thus not really paying attention. I blame Twitter for Facebook’s new design. I liked my status thing. I liked it being called a status, not a “share” thingy. If you have random comments about stuff, use a blog…I hereby promise to go over 140 characters in each post. Still though, NPR’s pop culture blog’s, Monkey See, positive comments about Christopher Walken’s does cause curiosity to bloom, however unwillingly (Tweets of the Rich and Famous ). And I have hereby committed a listed internet discussion mistake (Ten Toxic Things You Should Never, Ever Attempt to Discuss on the Internet ). Whatever. I love my Mac. There, another. Others that I have comments on: home schooling is a mistake and I love Coldplay’s “Clocks” and “Trouble” because I appreciate a good piano part in a rock/pop song. I have no real feelings on the others…I’m sure I could come down on one side or another though.
- The thinking, connected, informed person’s Urban Dictionary: Schott's Vocab For a more regional Urban dictionary, it seems the Dictionary of American Regional English, On to Z! Quirky Regional Dictionary Nears Finish, is close to being finished. I wonder if all the stuff from my Baltimorese shirt will make the dictionary. Maybe those are mostly dialect instances though. What’s weird is that I kind of want a set of the regional English dictionary. Because it looks like a set, 4 volumes at least. I think they’re supposed to have an online version though. Which would be equally cool. Amazing how a punishment my fifth grade teachers had, copying the dictionary starting from page one (one kid made it to the middle of the A’s) now seems like an interesting read.
- I think this is my problem with CBS: Open Up For More of What's on CBS's Menu See, I like the quirky, the out there, the non standard. I adored Pushing Daisies which ABC cruelly dumped, though I do admit I like Better Off Ted which seems to have been put in its place. Maybe it’s just that I don’t care what the critics like or don’t like. I make up my own mind after reading a summary. If it sounds interesting, I give it a go. And yes, I do watch The Mentalist.
- Hooray for DC: Prime-Time Location I love Bones. It’s interesting, the corpses are always…interesting and its set in a DC. I say a because it’s the Jeffersonian not the Smithsonian and that graveyard in the pilot near the Washington Monument? Doesn’t exist. And if it did, no way would that girl have been able to be buried there. I’m sure its hard enough to get into Arlington. Still, its nice to see pretty aerial shots of the Mall.
- Oh, Broadway. I love Guys and Dolls and totally agree with Jeremy McCarter, Back on Broadway, that it is one of the best musicals out there but Oliver Platt as Nathan Detroit? Oliver Babish as Nathan Detroit? The lard seller whose name escapes me but married Lena Olin in Casanova as Nathan? Really? I mean, I know that in the movie version they had to add another song to appease Frank Sinatra but he’s great, amazing, as Nathan. I even love the song they added, Adelaide. I can sorta see Lauren Graham as Adelaide but she will always be Lorelai Gilmore (even with admitting the whole going back to Christopher bit of the last season which I refused to watch until he was gone again) to me. But Oliver Platt I can’t see. Nathan is more wiry and slinky, quicker, slicker than the eloquence and presence Oliver Platt usually brings to roles, at least those I’ve seen and can remember off the top of my head. I wish the cast the best and if I were in NYC I’d see it but I just have trouble picturing it in my head.
- Why is it that for some bands the song(s) I love from a particular CD isn’t (aren’t) the single(s)? Cases in point, Snow Patrol’s “Chasing Cars” was huge, probably thanks to Grey’s Anatomy, but I liked “Open Your Eyes” much better on that CD (Snow Patrol’s, not the GA soundtrack). And The Fray’s first CD, “How to Save a Life” was the single (also probably thanks to GA) but “Little House” was a much better song in my opinion. I’m not sure what the single is from Snow Patrol’s latest, but I adore “The Golden Floor”. Simply love every second of it. It’s also a good thing I buy the whole album when I like a song on it or else I would have missed some great stuff that takes a few runs to appreciate. Like Keane’s latest, Perfect Symmetry, at first (few) listen I didn’t think it was as amazing as Hopes and Fears, on which I love almost every song equally, I didn’t even think it sounded like the band in the first place. Now I think it does and there are some great songs on there. Hopes and Fears is still the best of their 3 though.
- I wonder if it’s weird to miss Battlestar Galactica already, not because of the story or characters, because I’m kind of still ticked off about how all of that ended up (Kara just disappears, really? Lee’s left all alone, really? Baltar gets a happy ending, really? Blah blah, life isn’t fair, whatever. This is fiction. Thus happy can happen. Of course not that BSG was ever really happy…whatever, not the point of this tangent) but because it means the music is over? By music I mean the fabulous soundtrack provided by Bear McCreary. I don’t think I’ve ever spent two weeks listening to related soundtracks in this fashion before. Sure, I tend to listen to things on repeat after I first get them but not at the exclusion of other new things. And never have I tried so hard to find a particular (non-canon/slightly canon/writers messing with fans) couple’s theme before. I think I nailed it down though. I think.
- Third related music musing in a row, it really is true (at least for me) that the first version of a song you hear is your favorite/becomes your standard. The first version (believe it or not) of Bob Dylan’s “All Along the Watchtower” I heard was Bear McCreary’s in BSG. Now I find the Jimi Hendrix version to be…eh. I mean, it’s still a good song, lyrics wise, but there’s something about the way McCreary used the guitars and had the group do the lyrics that just…it’s been described as an eerie version, which okay it sorta is but it’s a cool version too. It sounds…modern, I guess. More rock like, or at least alternative (which, by the way, does alternative just mean no long guitar solos? Or is it just modern/current rock? Whatever, it’s still my genre of choice though I should probably look up a musician’s definition of it sometime beyond knowing which bands fall under the category). The same thing applies to some of Frank Sinatra’s hits. I just don’t like his version as much as say James Darren’s or Harry Connick Jr’s. Except Fred Astaire’s version of “Night and Day” I don’t like as much as the newer versions, say the one in De-Lovely or by others though I’m sure I heard Fred’s first. Maybe his is just a standard of how I don’t like it to sound. Hmm.
- The idea of Twitter annoys me. Maybe because I heard about it first from the Daily Show episode that talked about the non-State of the Union presidential address where Stewart talked about Senators and Representatives “twittering” during the speech, thus not really paying attention. I blame Twitter for Facebook’s new design. I liked my status thing. I liked it being called a status, not a “share” thingy. If you have random comments about stuff, use a blog…I hereby promise to go over 140 characters in each post. Still though, NPR’s pop culture blog’s, Monkey See, positive comments about Christopher Walken’s does cause curiosity to bloom, however unwillingly (Tweets of the Rich and Famous ). And I have hereby committed a listed internet discussion mistake (Ten Toxic Things You Should Never, Ever Attempt to Discuss on the Internet ). Whatever. I love my Mac. There, another. Others that I have comments on: home schooling is a mistake and I love Coldplay’s “Clocks” and “Trouble” because I appreciate a good piano part in a rock/pop song. I have no real feelings on the others…I’m sure I could come down on one side or another though.
- The thinking, connected, informed person’s Urban Dictionary: Schott's Vocab For a more regional Urban dictionary, it seems the Dictionary of American Regional English, On to Z! Quirky Regional Dictionary Nears Finish, is close to being finished. I wonder if all the stuff from my Baltimorese shirt will make the dictionary. Maybe those are mostly dialect instances though. What’s weird is that I kind of want a set of the regional English dictionary. Because it looks like a set, 4 volumes at least. I think they’re supposed to have an online version though. Which would be equally cool. Amazing how a punishment my fifth grade teachers had, copying the dictionary starting from page one (one kid made it to the middle of the A’s) now seems like an interesting read.
- I think this is my problem with CBS: Open Up For More of What's on CBS's Menu See, I like the quirky, the out there, the non standard. I adored Pushing Daisies which ABC cruelly dumped, though I do admit I like Better Off Ted which seems to have been put in its place. Maybe it’s just that I don’t care what the critics like or don’t like. I make up my own mind after reading a summary. If it sounds interesting, I give it a go. And yes, I do watch The Mentalist.
- Hooray for DC: Prime-Time Location I love Bones. It’s interesting, the corpses are always…interesting and its set in a DC. I say a because it’s the Jeffersonian not the Smithsonian and that graveyard in the pilot near the Washington Monument? Doesn’t exist. And if it did, no way would that girl have been able to be buried there. I’m sure its hard enough to get into Arlington. Still, its nice to see pretty aerial shots of the Mall.
- Oh, Broadway. I love Guys and Dolls and totally agree with Jeremy McCarter, Back on Broadway, that it is one of the best musicals out there but Oliver Platt as Nathan Detroit? Oliver Babish as Nathan Detroit? The lard seller whose name escapes me but married Lena Olin in Casanova as Nathan? Really? I mean, I know that in the movie version they had to add another song to appease Frank Sinatra but he’s great, amazing, as Nathan. I even love the song they added, Adelaide. I can sorta see Lauren Graham as Adelaide but she will always be Lorelai Gilmore (even with admitting the whole going back to Christopher bit of the last season which I refused to watch until he was gone again) to me. But Oliver Platt I can’t see. Nathan is more wiry and slinky, quicker, slicker than the eloquence and presence Oliver Platt usually brings to roles, at least those I’ve seen and can remember off the top of my head. I wish the cast the best and if I were in NYC I’d see it but I just have trouble picturing it in my head.
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