Albums? Discs? Isn't This All Hopelessly Old School?

So Pajiba.com has started doing fun once-a-week, waste time at your desk questions like “the first three sonds that pop up on your “shuffled” iPod. Today’s was five “Desert Island Discs” – the five albums you, personally, would want with you if you were stranded on a desert island. It’s not a “best of list,” just your own wishes.

Here’s what I wrote (and by the way, the preview function on their page made it look like I’d put in no spacing, so instead I put in extra and looked like a dork!)

“Wow, this is tough. There's a radio station here that does "desert island discs" but they only let you pick three, so I thought this would be a breeze. I thought wrong.

1. U2 - The Joshua Tree
2. REM - Automatic for the People (this is supposed to be personal "comfort music" so don't hate me for not picking Murmur or Fables of the Reconstruction or something)
3. Tori Amos - Little Earthquakes
4. Van Morrison - Moondance
5. Paul Simon - Graceland

Ooh, that last choice was tough. Sorry Aretha Franklin, Kate Bush, and David Bowie!”

Upon further review, I wish I’d added some Queen.
And the only reason Kate Bush's Hounds of Love didn't make the cut is that I figured the same moods could be covered with the Tori Amos.
Also, I do listen to new stuff, I swear!

On the off chance someone’s starting reading this yet, what’s your five?

btw. excellent movie reviews over at Pajiba. I'm hanging out a bit there while Television Without Pity works out some weird intermittent connectivity issues (I'm going into TWoP withdrawal, people!)

Ah ha ha ha HA

I'm really paying attention to what I find funny these days. And man, this stuff is it! Normally, I don't find a lot of movie comedies all that great. And maybe these movies won't be. But their trailers crack me up.

With this one -- Blades of Glory -- it's the line "Matching junk."

In this completely different movie (it's a kid flick where no one better be saying "matching junk"!) it's the T Rex and his "big head and little arms"!

I've been watching them over and over, and they're still funny. During some really stressful work moments, my boss and I have been watching the Blades of Glory trailer in her office. We're considering it a team-building exercise. :)

Firstly, Pamela Ribon is a goddess. Secondly, this little piece about the Violent Femmes is a prime example of why I worship her. I can identify and also just love the evocativeness of the writing.

Does everyone who ever got introduced to the Femmes have a story about hearing them from an older, hipper, more rebellious kid? Or is it just people roughly my age and Pamie’s? I first heard the Femmes from a girl named Meg. I was supposed to be her Geometry tutor but I can’t say we really got much learning done. I mostly remember riding around in her Beetle with loud, loud music blasting. And trying to pretend that I was cool and this was no big deal, I did that all the time and I totally already knew the Femmes and all the words to all their songs. Of course, I knew them not at all, but I knew that they were rebel music, angry music, and most importantly, cool music.

After I graduated from college (and was, I hope, much cooler than I'd been in high school), I saw the Violent Femmes live at HFStival in Washington, D.C.
Almost every cool band I’ve ever seen live was at one of those day-long festivals. They were so much better run than Lollapaloza, at least to my recollection. I saw Courtney Love (she dived into the mosh pit to attack a guy wearing a t-shirt that said something about Kurt), the Ramones (they went on right after the special surprise guest of the evening – Tony Bennett. How’s that for some audio whiplash?), James, the Rollins Band, Afghan Wigs, Bush, PJ Harvey. . . good times.

At some point, I’m not sure exactly when, my sister and I were in a car together for several hours and I played th Femmes for her. We listened for hours, at high volume. I think we were convoying with my parents, because I remember laughing with her about the fact that they were probably listening to Click and Clack in their car. I don’t think we fought that whole car ride, and I credit the Violent Femmes. Beara still loves the Femmes (and my sister is not a rock/punk/rebel kind of girl!).

43Things

I've done a quick cut and paste so I can share my list of goals from 43things here. I'm over there as LaneT if you want to follow along!


1. identify 100 things that make me happy (besides money) -- see previous entry

2. keep my house clean – this actually has to start with MAKE my house clean

3. work my way out of my current "financial crisis" – I had to put that last part in quotes, because otherwise it sounds too dramatic. But nevertheless, between last year’s root canal (they're not as bad as they sound!), the maxed-out credit cards, the unexpected $1K car repair bill, and the need to pay for my work-trip to Chicago up front and get reimbursed later, the next few months are tight, tight, tight.

4. drink more water

5. wake up when my alarm clock goes off – This is step one to waking up earlier. First I have to wake up when intended!

6. have better posture

7. meditate daily

8. run a 5k – I’m going to use the couch to 5K plan

9. take more photos

10. fly in a hot air balloon – I really want to do this at the Arizona Hot Air Balloon Fiesta but I’ll take something a little closer to home

11. write poetry – I actually wanted to call this one “Start writing poetry again." Ironically, the site had a much less wordy option, and i think poetry should NOT waste words.

12. pay off credit cards

13. eat more fruits and vegetables

14. work on a Presidential campaign

15. be more involved with my church -- I started going when I first started this blog, as one of my ways to try getting a life. It's pretty much the only thing that stuck!

16. knit a scarf -- this should really say "knit a whole scarf" I sort of know how to knit but I keep giving up because my stitches are so uneven!

17. keep my blog updated -- look, I'm doing it right now! :)

18. Take a vacation in British Columbia

19. Plan my trip to Chicago -- it's for work, but that doesn't mean I can't have fun

20. Start saving for a condo -- after I deal wih #3

21. Give myself a weekly manicure -- I love to pay for a pedicure, but manicures just don't last on me so I'd rather not pay for one on a regular basis.

22. Make a calendar of inspiring quotations

23. Organize a July 4 party

24. Make weekly coffee dates to keep up with friends

25. Lose 10 pounds -- dude, this is so just a beginning

26. learn to setup RSS feeds -- I'm so ignorant, I'm not ever sure I phrased that correctly.

16 Things That Make Me Happy (84 to go!)

I've joined the social networking site 43 Things.com -- it's designed to help you set goals (silly to serious) and get support in making them. I only have 26 so far, but the advice on the site is to have 20-43 so that'll do it!

I can't figure out the short-cut way to get my list of goals onto this site, so until I have time to type them all up again, I'll start by telling you about one goal idea I got from the site, "Make a list of 100 things that make you happy (besides money)." I've started with that one because I figure if I know what things make me genuinely happy, I'll have an easier time setting goals that I'll actually find fulfilling instead of doing the things I think I should, the things other people expect me to want. On first thought, only 16 things that make me genuinely happy occurred to me, but I'll have more.

The first 16:
1. Popping bubble wrap
2. Warm laundry, right from the dryer
3. Flower bouquets
4. Listening to just the right music for my mood
5. Snow
6. A really rich cup of coffee
7. Squirrels
8. A good haircut
9. Getting a pedicure
10.How I feel after a workout
11.Puppies
12.Strawberries -- small and sweet, or chocolate-covered
13.Rollercoasters
14.Singing
15.Storms
16.Driving with the top down on my Mustang

Does it make me a little pathetic that I could only do 16? I'm pretty sure it doesn't, because these are really like little serotonin shots straight to my brain!