Or not...
On top off three hours of sleep, I was caught the thunderstorm of yesterday morning. By caught, I mean a mirco-flood of water swept down the road behind me and swamped me up to my mid calf. It was great. (Guilt #1: Okay, it was not great but it was not a tragedy. It was inconvenient. A month after Irene, where people are still homeless due to the flooding, I have no right to complain.) It left me with wet clothes for the day. Lovely, no?
Then there were the pickups for Habitat. Three quarters of a ton of mahogany doors. Yep, you read that correctly. Fifteen hundred pounds of mahogany. It was awesome. In the process, I did tweak my back.
So, by two in the afternoon, I was sore, still wet, and my back had started to ache. (Oh, noes! The tragedy!) I prevailed upon Teacher Dave to stop at a huge superstore (based out of Arkansas) so that I could pick a pair a shoes, socks, and a clean and dry shirt (I neglected to bring a change of clothes again.) which led me to Guilt #2. I was suffering from wet feet and I purchased new shoes, for $12, and there are so many people who do not have one pair of shoes to use regularly. Yeah, it made me feel not great, especially since the people who made these $12 shoes could not reasonably afford them.
A brief aside on the Arkansas based retail giant: I know that there are people who have serious issues with them, but thanks to someone that I dated last year, I started going there (before that, there was one time, with FAU that I went into one so he could pick up a copy of the original edition Star Wars DVD for his daughter. Han shot first. It was the first time in almost a decade that I had been in one of them.) and I looked into their business model, what they are doing in the community and their effect on American society and while they still have a lot to do, they are trying to be better at being part of the progressive society that America should strive to be.
Anyway, I purchased new shoes (I have a weakness for the cheap Chuck Taylor knock-offs.) and changed and Teacher Dave and I headed to McGeary's (Hot Mulled Cider, try it!) and then to the Hill Street...while heading to the Hill, the thunderstorm returned, and the new shoes were...soaking wet. (Of course!) The walk also ruined my umbrella. I think that I am going to go back to the lessons that I learned from my time in Seattle. Umbrellas suck. Buy wet weather gear. Use that in lieu of something silly like an umbrella. Which means I need to head to L.L. Bean and pick up some wet weather gear.
After a stop at Price Chopper (I had to get Teddie's Peanut Butter for HJ77, I came home, showered, changed, and sat down to watch some television. At this point, my body slowly shut down into a near coma like state and I slept for a glorious full night.
I needed it, and now I have dry shoes.
For the weekend, I hope to see all y'all at both the Farmers' Market and Wolff's Oktberfest!
Friday, September 30, 2011
My Top 25 Songs of the 2011...so far (September)
So here they are...
The top 25 songs that I have listened to according to iTunes this year to date.
1. Modern Man - Arcade Fire
2. See America Right - The Mountain Goats
3. Southland Plantation Road - The Mountain Goats
4. No Children - The Mountain Goats
5. Ready to Start - Arcade Fire
6. Crosses - Jose Gonzalez
7. Down by the Water - The Decemberists
8. Empty Room - Arcade Fire
9. Paranoid Android - Radiohead
10. The Suburbs - Arcade Fire
11. Rococo - Arcade Fire
12. Subterranean Homesick Alien - Radiohead
13. Circles - Bob Mould
14. No Cars Go - Arcade Fire
15. Please Forgive Me - David Gray
16. America - Simon & Garnfunkel
17. Peg - Steely Dan
18. Oceanographer's Choice - The Mountain Goats
19. Today - Smashing Pumpkins
20. Freedom - Wham!
21. Gaper's Delay - Holy Roman Empire
22. Dry the Rain - The Beta Band
23. Modern Love - David Bowie
24. Pump It Up - Elvis Costello
25. This Is The Day - Ivy
The top 25 songs that I have listened to according to iTunes this year to date.
1. Modern Man - Arcade Fire
2. See America Right - The Mountain Goats
3. Southland Plantation Road - The Mountain Goats
4. No Children - The Mountain Goats
5. Ready to Start - Arcade Fire
6. Crosses - Jose Gonzalez
7. Down by the Water - The Decemberists
8. Empty Room - Arcade Fire
9. Paranoid Android - Radiohead
10. The Suburbs - Arcade Fire
11. Rococo - Arcade Fire
12. Subterranean Homesick Alien - Radiohead
13. Circles - Bob Mould
14. No Cars Go - Arcade Fire
15. Please Forgive Me - David Gray
16. America - Simon & Garnfunkel
17. Peg - Steely Dan
18. Oceanographer's Choice - The Mountain Goats
19. Today - Smashing Pumpkins
20. Freedom - Wham!
21. Gaper's Delay - Holy Roman Empire
22. Dry the Rain - The Beta Band
23. Modern Love - David Bowie
24. Pump It Up - Elvis Costello
25. This Is The Day - Ivy
Thursday, September 29, 2011
Two of the songs I sleep downloaded...
Yes, that is a thing...
Or at least it is a thing for me.
I downloaded some music with in a state of sleep(lessness) or something where I was not fully conscious of what I was doing...
Anyway, here are two of the songs.
One is a classic cover of a classic song and I forgot how much I liked it...possibly more than the original by the Cure.
Dinosaur Jr's cover of Just Like Heaven
And then there was All At Once by The Airborne Toxic Event
I wonder if I sleep tonight will I end up downloading other music and will it be as cool as last night?
Or at least it is a thing for me.
I downloaded some music with in a state of sleep(lessness) or something where I was not fully conscious of what I was doing...
Anyway, here are two of the songs.
One is a classic cover of a classic song and I forgot how much I liked it...possibly more than the original by the Cure.
Dinosaur Jr's cover of Just Like Heaven
And then there was All At Once by The Airborne Toxic Event
I wonder if I sleep tonight will I end up downloading other music and will it be as cool as last night?
Wow...what a day...
I have other things that I should be doing right now, at 12:30 on Thursday morning, but I just watched an incredible 5 minutes of baseball. I watched Boston lose and then the Rays win. Things like this do not happen, but...it was fun to watch. I feel for HJ77 and my friends and family who are Sox fans, I am happy for friends and family who are Rays fans (yes, I have both friends and family who root for the Rays) and I am excited that one of the New York teams is going to be playing in October. (Karl Ravich's line from SportsCenter: "We started September complaining about a lack of drama. We were idiots.")
It was an odd day. I was struck with hyposomnia again, and feel asleep between 4:30 and 5:30 am, waking at 7:30 to respond to a couple of e-mails and texts and forcing myself out of bed at 9. I ran some errands, and had a meeting before meeting my father for lunch and then helping him out with his new social media project. Yes, my father is now on Twitter and has his own domain. He is entering a brave new world, without all the good soma.
Then I picked up TEA from school and we spent the afternoon and evening together. First stop, the comic book shop (Earthworld, in case you were wondering. They are wonderful there. The staff is amazing and helpful and they love that TEA asks questions and answer in a non-curmudgeonly way.) where we picked up a number of #1s of the new DC reboot, including the third re-print of Justice League (Green Lantern asking Batman what his superpowers are is hilarious in a very geeky way.) and Batman #1.
Then to Junior's so TEA could get wings and a pizza and I could get a salad (Hey! I had a late lunch.) and we could relax. While we were enjoying our meal, the table behind us was populated by a "family" that was having an intervention and there was a kerfuffle. "I was able to pay for this while I was in jail" was an overheard statement. I just handed the waitress my card without seeing the check so we could get out of there post haste. Why Junior's?
Having left Junior's early, we needed to kill a little bit of time before seeing the movie we had been trying to see together for almost a week, so we went to Tierra Coffee Roasters for a coffee and hot chocolate respectively ("Mom wouldn't mind if I had a decaf." TEA likes coffee. Good for him. It is one of the best things in life.) and we looked at comic books, and I fired up the netbook to check a couple of things. It was a strangely adult moment of the two of us and it made me feel really proud to be his father. He is turning into an incredible young man.
Then the movie...
Dolphin Tale
It was a good family movie and it had me in tears more than a couple of times. Yes, there are some great actors who were wasted, but ultimately it is a film about the challenges we all face, that there are losses that we need time to recover from, and there is a subtle indictment of the efficacy of our two wars and the toll that they take on our young men and women and their families.
Yes, TEA made fun of me for crying. It is his right. He is nine.
After the film, I took TEA home and then got involved in a computer issue with him that was...well...a little involved and less than complete. Something to address at another time.
Now, I am home and trying to figure out if sleep is worth it seeing that I have things to do and not a lot of time to do it.
It was an odd day. I was struck with hyposomnia again, and feel asleep between 4:30 and 5:30 am, waking at 7:30 to respond to a couple of e-mails and texts and forcing myself out of bed at 9. I ran some errands, and had a meeting before meeting my father for lunch and then helping him out with his new social media project. Yes, my father is now on Twitter and has his own domain. He is entering a brave new world, without all the good soma.
Then I picked up TEA from school and we spent the afternoon and evening together. First stop, the comic book shop (Earthworld, in case you were wondering. They are wonderful there. The staff is amazing and helpful and they love that TEA asks questions and answer in a non-curmudgeonly way.) where we picked up a number of #1s of the new DC reboot, including the third re-print of Justice League (Green Lantern asking Batman what his superpowers are is hilarious in a very geeky way.) and Batman #1.
Then to Junior's so TEA could get wings and a pizza and I could get a salad (Hey! I had a late lunch.) and we could relax. While we were enjoying our meal, the table behind us was populated by a "family" that was having an intervention and there was a kerfuffle. "I was able to pay for this while I was in jail" was an overheard statement. I just handed the waitress my card without seeing the check so we could get out of there post haste. Why Junior's?
Having left Junior's early, we needed to kill a little bit of time before seeing the movie we had been trying to see together for almost a week, so we went to Tierra Coffee Roasters for a coffee and hot chocolate respectively ("Mom wouldn't mind if I had a decaf." TEA likes coffee. Good for him. It is one of the best things in life.) and we looked at comic books, and I fired up the netbook to check a couple of things. It was a strangely adult moment of the two of us and it made me feel really proud to be his father. He is turning into an incredible young man.
Then the movie...
Dolphin Tale
It was a good family movie and it had me in tears more than a couple of times. Yes, there are some great actors who were wasted, but ultimately it is a film about the challenges we all face, that there are losses that we need time to recover from, and there is a subtle indictment of the efficacy of our two wars and the toll that they take on our young men and women and their families.
Yes, TEA made fun of me for crying. It is his right. He is nine.
After the film, I took TEA home and then got involved in a computer issue with him that was...well...a little involved and less than complete. Something to address at another time.
Now, I am home and trying to figure out if sleep is worth it seeing that I have things to do and not a lot of time to do it.
Tuesday, September 27, 2011
Radiohead on Colbert
| The Colbert Report | Mon - Thurs 11:30pm / 10:30c | |||
| Exclusive - Radiohead - "Codex" | ||||
| ||||
The music was awesome and then the discussion of global warming and global climate change was great. Thom Yorke is still one of the least attractive people on this planet but he is my favorite "rock star".
Because I have a personal life...
When TEA and I were watching football on Sunday, I casually asked TEA if there were any cute girls in his class that he may or may not be interested in.
He gave me a look.
"What?"
"No, Dad."
"What do you mean? There aren't any cute girls in your class?"
"Dad!"
"What?"
"There is my life outside and part of my life that is personal."
"Excuse me?"
"But Dad..."
"TEA, I am your father and you can talk with me about anything. You should talk to me about anything."
"Okay Dad"
"So, I am asking if there is anyone that you think is cute. I am not teasing you, I just wanted to know about what is going on in your life."
"No, Dad. Not really."
"Not really?"
"No, Dad, there isn't."
"TEA if there is anything I can talk about it is awkward interactions with girls."
"Yeah, Dad, I know."
What does that mean? He knows?
This moment in parenting theater was brought to you by "I Really Love My Son".
He gave me a look.
"What?"
"No, Dad."
"What do you mean? There aren't any cute girls in your class?"
"Dad!"
"What?"
"There is my life outside and part of my life that is personal."
"Excuse me?"
"But Dad..."
"TEA, I am your father and you can talk with me about anything. You should talk to me about anything."
"Okay Dad"
"So, I am asking if there is anyone that you think is cute. I am not teasing you, I just wanted to know about what is going on in your life."
"No, Dad. Not really."
"Not really?"
"No, Dad, there isn't."
"TEA if there is anything I can talk about it is awkward interactions with girls."
"Yeah, Dad, I know."
What does that mean? He knows?
This moment in parenting theater was brought to you by "I Really Love My Son".
Monday, September 26, 2011
Let's Go Crazy?
My allergies, which I only luckily get every three years or so, acted up with a force that is wonderfully unique. Seriously, I tweeted earlier that I want to take a tack hammer to the space between my eyes and I was not kidding. Something else will come to my rescue (Alfalfa supplements have been suggested) but as of now, nothing is working for me.
That does not mean that I am total shutdown mode though, and I had to do some running around this afternoon.
Just because my head was pounding did not mean that my journey was going to be without music. (Really, leaving the house without a book and music would be really odd behavior on my part, I expect to be buried with an iPod and a book just in case I get bored in my casket.)
Using the power of the shuffle, I heard a song that I had not heard since...well...last Friday with Teacher Dave but I did not expect it to shuffle on up (Think about what would be on my Shuffle for a minute...Radiohead, Arcade Fire, Matt Nathanson, David Grey...not something like this.) and it made me feel instantly better (for at least the time the music was playing).
Yep, I was rocking out to Prince in the middle of Price Chopper. I was dancing with my headphones on to Prince in the frozen food aisle (I needed a pizza) and it was awesome in a way that I was completely making even more of a fool of myself than usual.
Prince prompted me to, in fact, go crazy, and it was wonderful.
That does not mean that I am total shutdown mode though, and I had to do some running around this afternoon.
Just because my head was pounding did not mean that my journey was going to be without music. (Really, leaving the house without a book and music would be really odd behavior on my part, I expect to be buried with an iPod and a book just in case I get bored in my casket.)
Using the power of the shuffle, I heard a song that I had not heard since...well...last Friday with Teacher Dave but I did not expect it to shuffle on up (Think about what would be on my Shuffle for a minute...Radiohead, Arcade Fire, Matt Nathanson, David Grey...not something like this.) and it made me feel instantly better (for at least the time the music was playing).
Yep, I was rocking out to Prince in the middle of Price Chopper. I was dancing with my headphones on to Prince in the frozen food aisle (I needed a pizza) and it was awesome in a way that I was completely making even more of a fool of myself than usual.
Prince prompted me to, in fact, go crazy, and it was wonderful.
In praise of...Doctor Who
As a kid, I loved Doctor Who and it has always held a fond place in my mind as a good way to spend an hour while having absolutely no idea what was going on in the teevee machine but being fascinated nonetheless.
Then they rebooted the series and it being more than the campy show of PBS of my memory, it was something special.
Someone who is new to the Doctor posted this on Cracked.com over the weekend...
"How Doctor Who Became My Religion"
Still, after much analysis, I came up with a three step answer. More specifically, one realization composed of three parts. I'll take you through the analysis, but because this is the Internet which exists only to oversimplify things to the point of being incorrect, the basic realization was:
Watching Doctor Who Is Like Having A Relationship With God.
And I don't mean the Doctor is a metaphor for gods we know, the way the lion is Jesus in The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe. I mean the Doctor is a god. But one we can see and understand. And he loves us more than all the other creatures in the universe. He would die for us, but what he really wants to do is live with us. So it's no wonder the show has fanatics. It's not a show. It's a philosophy. A religion.
While I will not go nearly as far, I will admit that I will happily stay home on a Saturday night in order to catch an episode.
One of the episodes that blew me away was the current season's mid-season finale also know as "A Good Man Goes To War"
Another take, with the eponymous poem:
Even Radiohead admits their fandom.
Radiohead - Up on the Ladder
"I'm stuck on the TARDIS, trapped in outerspace."
So, what do you think? Do you love Doctor Who? Hate it? Have you ever experienced it?
Then they rebooted the series and it being more than the campy show of PBS of my memory, it was something special.
Someone who is new to the Doctor posted this on Cracked.com over the weekend...
"How Doctor Who Became My Religion"
Still, after much analysis, I came up with a three step answer. More specifically, one realization composed of three parts. I'll take you through the analysis, but because this is the Internet which exists only to oversimplify things to the point of being incorrect, the basic realization was:
Watching Doctor Who Is Like Having A Relationship With God.
And I don't mean the Doctor is a metaphor for gods we know, the way the lion is Jesus in The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe. I mean the Doctor is a god. But one we can see and understand. And he loves us more than all the other creatures in the universe. He would die for us, but what he really wants to do is live with us. So it's no wonder the show has fanatics. It's not a show. It's a philosophy. A religion.
While I will not go nearly as far, I will admit that I will happily stay home on a Saturday night in order to catch an episode.
One of the episodes that blew me away was the current season's mid-season finale also know as "A Good Man Goes To War"
Another take, with the eponymous poem:
Even Radiohead admits their fandom.
Radiohead - Up on the Ladder
"I'm stuck on the TARDIS, trapped in outerspace."
So, what do you think? Do you love Doctor Who? Hate it? Have you ever experienced it?
Important Movie Quotes - Fight Club
The Rules:
The Trailer:
My favorite, which is not in the trailer, or in the movie, but in the book, is:
"I want to have your abortion."
The Trailer:
My favorite, which is not in the trailer, or in the movie, but in the book, is:
"I want to have your abortion."
Sunday, September 25, 2011
Important Movie Quotes - Mad Max: Beyond Thunderdowm
"Ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls, dyin' time is here."
Wouldn't you love to see a press conference start with something like that?
"That's a good question and my issues with the Common Council are well known so I can only hope that my new policies will have a beneficial effect on these negotiations."
"What are your new policies?"
"Oh, Dyin' Time is here."
Wouldn't you love to see a press conference start with something like that?
"That's a good question and my issues with the Common Council are well known so I can only hope that my new policies will have a beneficial effect on these negotiations."
"What are your new policies?"
"Oh, Dyin' Time is here."
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