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Thursday, 20 November 2008

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    Greetings from Michigan: The Great Lake State
    By Sufjan Stevens
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    Heaters Over Air-Conditioners...


    The cold has finally arrived, and I'm ecstatic. I never understood why I loved fall and winter as much as I do. I'm sure the holidays have a lot to do with it, but it's more the comfort level. I've always preferred shivering over sweating, and I look awesome in sweaters.

    I like the way the air smells. I've said a million times over that cold has a specific smell. Most don't get it and think I'm crazy, but I've met some folks who agree. It's just such a fresh, exact scent. And I love it.

    Christmas is rapidly approaching, and I am way behind on shopping. No one's telling me what they want, and I have the feeling they're all getting gift cards or coal. Or both: coaly gift cards, which will make those trips to redeem them beautifully embarrassing. Mwahahaha. I mean, really, who has dirty gift cards? That's just silly.

    Nina and I attended Jebb and Jessica's wedding last Saturday, and it was amazing. It was a bit surreal, though. This was the guy who played the same Green Day and Weezer songs with me over and over in his room when we were in high school. We'd fumble through our chords, talking about the ladies all the while. And then, there he was, kissing his new wife. I am overjoyed for them. They really are the embodiment of my idea of a perfect couple. I love you guys. Thanks so much for letting us be a part of your lives.

    That's all for now. My head's still brimming. Just can't write it all down.

Friday, 07 November 2008

  • Currently Listening
    No, Virginia...
    By The Dresden Dolls
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    A change is gonna come...


    Wow. So much in one day. I stood in the voting lines, disorganized as they were, watching a thirtyish lady about to have a coronary. She was so flustered, running back and forth, trying to figure out which line went with which half of the alphabet. I'm pretty sure she regretted her role on the election committee an hour after they opened the doors to the elementary school. She didn't ask people to move out of her beelines, she...well, I likened it to a rhino charging its prey. Do rhinos charge? Yeah, pretty sure they do.

    Don't get me wrong; I'm not making fun of her. I'm certainly not saying I wouldn't have found myself going a little crazy in her shoes. I'm not complaining about the bedlam, either. None of it mattered. It was 6 AM when I got to the voting line, and there were 50 would-be balloteers in front of me. It was a little nippy. I was tired. But none of it made any difference. I was part of history that day. Sounds idealic, but I truly felt bigger than myself. I felt important, along with many of you guys. That's what mattered.

    I'll be up front; I voted for Obama. For a while, I was for McCain, but the idea of an angina attack and Palin taking over a key lead in the free world scared me. I didn't see eye-to-eye with many of his plans and moral ideals, and I still feel Obama, over time, will serve as a more positive catalyst for advancement than McCain would have been. Did I hate the McCain/Palin ticket? No, not at all. It just wasn't enough. Pairing McCain's viewpoints with Bush's was like comparing red with magenta. Different, but too close to wear together to work. No, I don't have red jeans people, stay with me.

    And I really hated his healthcare plan.

    So, I feel I made the right choice, for me anyway. I'm satisfied that Obama won, but I'm also just happy so many folks made their voices heard. It was a true event. And good to see.

Saturday, 23 August 2008

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    Illinoise
    By Sufjan Stevens
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    Some musings....


    Haven't written in a long, long, long, loooong time. Whenever I want to write, I get lazy and tell myself I'll do it later. Then I realize how lame that is. I think of something every day to write about, but usually, it'd just take a sentence or two to say what I want. Well...

    So be it. So what if a post is two sentences long or six paragraphs? No one reads this anymore anyway!

    Super Nintendo

    Man, I brought this thing back out, blew off the dust, and had some fun these last few weeks. Don't play that often, but I forgot how colorful the games were. I'll play "Super Mario World" or "Donkey Kong Country", and they really hold up. I like my 360 as much as anyone else, but sometimes, a blast to the past is just what you need after a day of people yelling in your ear. Plus, I enjoy running into stuff in Mario and laughing.

    Food for My Peepers!

    No, I'm not pouring cream corn into my eyes, though I bet I could market that as a radical cure for glaucoma. Market it to SUCKERS! Yeah! Err...anyway.

    I've been reading again! I finally read Plath's The Bell Jar, a book I've somehow managed to put off for years. It was good, but I still don't quite get the "crotchal bleeding" section. And it irks me, because when I find out, it'll then be obvious. More cream corn in my FACE!

    Almost done with the new Sedaris, which is kind of a let-down so far. Maybe I just expected it to be another Me Talk Pretty. But, let's be honest; there will never be another Me Talk Pretty... The Michael Ian Black book of essays is hilarious, which was a nice surprise, considering I loathe the guy on TV.  I read in this quiet room at work, and have stifled many a chuckle. Guy's out there, but it works when he writes about what it may feel like being Billy Joel going to a party where there's inevitably going to be a piano. Ironically, there's even a chapter where he pokes fun at the "idea" that is David Sedaris. Not brilliant, but damn funny.

    Saving Money

    ...is hard as hell, but inch by inch, I'm getting better. I listen to Dave Ramsey for a half-hour a day, and he has me wanting to pay off my debt like gangbusters. All I want is for tax and bonus time to come. That 4000 will mostly be going to my student loan and credit card, which will be mostly paid off by then, if I can keep up the momentum. Also saving, which would be easier if I stopped paying off debt. It also helps if you make a lot of money, which I don't, by Steve Jobbs standards...maybe even Oscar the pioneering web maven's standards, but still, doing okay.

                                                      ***

    About it for now. There are a lot more odds and ends, but it's almost 4, so those odds and ends would make little sense. Adieu, nits!

Saturday, 10 May 2008

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    Narrow Stairs
    By Death Cab for Cutie
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    Goodness. And lots o' it.


    I just have to say, a lot of good has happened in the last couple days! Bullet time!

    The Nin (pronounced "neen")

    Nina scored a JOBBBB! Well, she already had one, but this is a lot awesomer. She starts next Monday, and I know she'll do well. My Nina's smarter than all average bears, which is a huge compliment, though it doesn't sound like it!

    Also, we're doing very well! She's in Chapel Hill until Monday, and I misses her, but it's cool. I'm glad she's gettin' a break from ol' Chucktown.

    Death Cab and a sigh of relief...

    I downloaded the new Death Cab - gonna buy later - , and it is ABSOLUTELY SWEEEET. The single is still just okay, but it's grown on me. And "Cath..." is now in my top five favorite DCFC tunes. The album is amazingly well-written, and there is so much going on in each track, which is usually annoying and reeks of overproduction, but the layers here provide a rather enjoyable experience. Kinda like an indie-rock club sangwich!

    But yeah..."Cath...".....several times today. Addicted.

    Jebb and his Wii-Wii

    Hehe. Uhhh...Jebb and Jessica got a Wii! Which is cool, but the best part is, it's another reason for hanging out. Jebb's been an awesome friend to me these last 8 months, and I'm glad Nina and I have his friendship. We still make each other laugh constantly, which has always been our leitmotif. More on that dude in an upcoming post.

    Everything else...

    People are all good, and I realize that the ones in my life are there for a reason, and the ones who aren't...well, aren't. I'm a lucky boy, to say the least.

    Oh, and I'm stoked about Indiana Jones!

Thursday, 24 April 2008

  • Currently Watching
    Who Framed Roger Rabbit (Vista Series)
    By Bob Hoskins, Christopher Lloyd, Joanna Cassidy, Charles Fleischer, Stubby Kaye
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    As I watch "Who Framed Roger Rabbit?", I realize how fast the time goes. I remember being a little kid, watching this one, along with "Return of the Jedi" and "Goonies", among others. Now I'm 28, and I'm still really digging this flick. It's definitely one of those that has laughs for both kids and adults a la the "Shrek" franchise. Anyways, I wrote about it a while back. Just makes me feel 9 again.

    Today's my birthday, and I'm just excited to be off and spending the evening with Nina and my friends. That's all I've wanted for my birthday for years. So, yeah, already a good one, and I'm all of two hours into it.

    For the last few years, I've really just seen my birthday as another day, so some musical noes, if you please....

    - Heard Weezer's new one, "Pork and Beans"? Pretty good, if I do say so myself. It makes me think of earlier  Weez, dare I say..."Blue Album" Weez??? Listen to the chorus; you'll hear what I'm sayin'.

    - Be sure to check out "She and Him". It's a collaboration between M. Ward and actress Zooey Deschanel, and it's actually really listenable, not just another horrid crossover. Most of it's original, but there are a few covers. I listened to "This is Not a Test" three times while driving to work today.

    - The new REM leaves me sitting on the fence, wondering what happened to REM, only to answer that they're yearning to remain in the spotlight and will do whatever it takes, including adding seven tracks of distortion to every song. It's not awful, but all I wanna do is throw on "Eponymous" or "Automatic" when each new track blares through the speakers.

    - And finally, Death Cab. Ahhh, my favorite band....what, with their seventy minute-long intro to their new single. I am completely torn. But I am waiting to hear the whole album before jumping to conclusions or jumping off a bridge...which is kinda what the hype of "I Will Possess Your Heart" makes me wanna do.

    That is all, my friends, for now. Still plan to devote a post to the one who makes my heart beat, but I want it to be good, not filled with old-man musings and musical bites.