Random Thoughts

I just went for a walk with my dog around my mom's suburban neighborhood and saw a potato at the curb of one of her neighbor's houses. Just one potato. All by itself. No trash around. No other food. It did not appear to have been cooked - just one raw potato hanging out by the curb. And that's all the excitement that happened on our walk.

In other news, I have been organizing and packing for a month long trip around the country where I will be (a) interviewing for internships, (b) visiting friends I have not seen in far too long, and (c) going to experience the inauguration festivities in D.C. I have no idea how to pack for this trip - especially when trying to fit everything into a suitcase that can easily travel on subways and trains. I have to have casual clothes, interview clothes, party clothes (for New Year's Eve parties in Chicago), shoes to go with all of those clothes, and the usual traveling necessities like books and an iPod. And my computer since I am both addicted to the internet and attempting to get some dissertation work done while traveling. Grr. Maybe I need some Space Bags.

And I just realized the other day how much I'm going to miss my dog. I know this is pathetic, but the longest I have left her is 6 days, so 4 weeks of not seeing her is rough. I know, I know. She's a dog. But still...

More Thoughts on the Weather

I have lived in a number of cities in various regions of the United States. Hartford, Kansas City, Nashville, Austin, Eugene... I have known people in each of those cities who have lived in cities/regions where I have not lived. In each of these cities, the ones in which I have lived or the ones where I have known people from, the weather can change dramatically in a matter of a single day. For example, this past week in Kansas City, it went from below freezing temperatures, with snow and ice on the ground, on Christmas, to 68 degrees the day after. Everyone responded with the typical, "gotta love Kansas City weather. it can change on you in no time at all." But the thing is - it is not at all specific to Kansas City. A friend who is home in Ohio right now said the same thing this past week about Cincinnati. My favorite movie of all time, Waiting For Guffman, describes the fictional town of Blaine, Missouri, as a town where, "...if you don't like the weather, just wait 5 minutes..." Everyone thinks that quickly changing weather is something specific to their city/town/state, but it's not. It happens all over.

Winter Driving

I just spent the last three days on various interstate highways in the western half of the United States. I-5, I-84, I-80, I-29, I-435. For a while I-84 and I-15 were the same road, but I'm not sure that I will really count driving on I-15... This post will basically be the highlights of my trip - highlights or just random events that have stuck in my head.

• After putting on chains in the snowy dark on the way to Black Butte a couple of years ago and again at some other point in time, this daylight chain-up was pretty simple.  All went well.  I was glad I had them, as I-84 in northern Oregon was covered in snow.  Well, covered for a while, at least.  Then I was debating about whether to pull over to take them off due to a sudden drop in snow level on the road, when one of the chains made the decision for me.  It came off somehow, so I pulled over to remove the remaining chain.  Because I was unsure whether we would hit more snowy roads where I would wish I had chains again, we stopped in Pendleton, Ore. to buy new ones.  Of course, the Les Schwab and the auto parts store were both sold out of my tire size.  So on to LeGrande.  Fortunately the Les Schwab there had my size.  We purchased new chains, but then returned to the store to see if they could recycle the chain we had left from the old set.  Turns out that Les Schwab chains are guaranteed for life, and since the old ones were Les Schwab (although ancient and not actually purchased by me in the first place), they gave us a full refund on the set we had just purchased.  And - I didn't have to use them again.
• Once we hit Idaho, the roads were completely clear.  No ice.  No snow.  Same thing through Utah and Wyoming. Well, as far as the roads are concerned.  The stretch of I-80 between Laramie and Cheyenne is approximately 40 miles, and I spent most of it traveling at 25 miles per hour.  But the road was no slick...  Instead, the 45+ mph winds were blowing the powdery snow that was along the edge of the road - so much so that I had no visibility.  Nor did anyone else.  Everyone was driving with hazard lights on, as the only way to see another car was if their lights were flashing.  I followed the curves of the road, not by seeing the lines on the road or even the mile-marker posts, but rather by listening for the groove in the pavement on the right side that tell you when you are going off-road.  I basically drove along those grooves until I found a semi-truck whose lights I could follow.  I think every muscle in my body was tense - much more so than driving on the snow and ice in Oregon.
• Speaking of tense muscles. I hold all of my tension in my shoulders and back.  I had a full-body hour massage on Tuesday before I left Oregon.  That was probably a mistake.  I should have saved it and gotten it this week, as my muscles took a beating over the last few days.
• Suncor Energy in Cheyenne, Wyo. smells like burning trash.  It was perhaps the most disgusting smell I have smelled in a long time. (I really wanted to write smelt instead of smelled...)  I just tried Googling Suncor Energy Cheyenne smell, and nothing really came up.  I'm surprised more people haven't written about or discussed the stench that that place is creating. It made me cry.  And I was driving.  So really, it is sort of dangerous.
• Wyoming in general seemed like a pretty pointless state.  Except there was an amazing grouping of wind energy windmills under construction.  They were so awesome. We would have missed them except that they decided to shut down I-80 from this one random city up until Laramie, so we had to take a bypass instead.
• Nebraska is also a pretty pointless state, but roads were clear and skies were sunny for the entire drive across the state, so I sort of don't care what else is in the state.  Also, we drove through downtown Lincoln, where my parents lived for one semester when my dad went to the University of Nebraska.  I had never been there before, so it was kinda nice to hear stories from my mom.
• Ava had her first hotel experience.  She was pretty good, but got scared when the hotel staff slid the receipts under the door.  I mean, really, if you had no idea about hotel receipts, you'd probably be scared too...

Snow Days

You know you live in a town where it rarely snows when you see someone outside in their shorts and t-shirt scraping their car windows with a plastic hanger. That and the fact that every road is a giant sheet of ice because the town does not own salt trucks. Maybe they own one, but I haven't seen it.

My dog, though, thinks that it is a delicious treat waiting for her every time she goes outside.

Update: I saw the salt/sand truck! So perhaps our city owns at least one.

Spam

Subject line of some spam email I just got: Tap her hole and drill her. Surprisingly (or not), I'm just not really into that...

Also, I don't really smell when I sweat. I know that seems random to you, readers, but that is because you do not see me in front of my computer all sweaty, having just finished working out.

Deadlines and Waiting

Dear internship sites,

There are 8 business days left before December 15, the magical date by which you all said you would tell me about interviews. I have heard from 3 of you, but have 11 left. It would be nice to spread this out and get one notice per day until the 15th, rather than having this uncomfortable silence until the very last moment. I'm sure you have heard of stress and anxiety before, since you specialize in treating these things. My January schedule and, well, specific details of my life sort of hinge on this. So yeah, I'm nervous.

Any information is greatly appreciated.

Thank you.

Crock Pots and Dead Things

I went to Target today for a few things in preparation for Thanksgiving and just daily life.  I would like to shop locally for the basic things, but Target just makes life way easier. So anyway, I was purchasing a Crock Pot because my roommate moved out and took her belongings with her, bitch...  I was deciding between an incredibly cute red 4-quart oval shaped one and a more traditional stainless steel 5-quart round one, and for the 2nd time in 3 weeks, I had to call a family member from the same aisle in Target.  The first one was during the purchase of a blender when I had to call my mother.  This time I called my sister, probably because my mom was at work, and also because it's been a few days since I talked to my sister.  Her comment was basically that bigger is always better, and while you can always put less in a bigger pot, you cannot put more in a smaller pot. I guess she has a good point, I just really wanted the red one.  So logic won over style, and I am the new owner of a 5-quart stainless Crock Pot.  My creamy corn will be quite happy for Thanksgiving.

On the way home, I hit a squirrel.  I had no choice.  There was a truck one side of me and a parked car on the other.  The squirrel was going left, then right, then left again, not sure how to avoid this dangerous situation he was now in, so even if I had been able to swerve to avoid him, I'm not sure I would have chosen the correct direction since he couldn't make up his mind.  The sound of an animal under your car, hitting the tire, is horrible.  Perhaps we could initiate some squirrel education program where we teach them to look both ways before crossing the street?  It would save lives and people's conscience.

Music Post #7

It's been a while since I wrote about new music, so I have a little catch-up to do.  I also saw 2 concerts in the last 2 nights, so I figured that I would throw some comments about that as well.

Concerts:

Of Montreal, Roseland, PDX: I knew this would be an over-the-top theatrical show.  I saw the pictures on Pitchfork.  My former roommate saw them in Boston and thought it overpowered the music a bit.  My ex-boyfriend saw them in DC and described the show as a "live-action erotic indie music cartoon."  Well, it lived up to the hype.  It was also the best crowd at a Portland show that I have been to - probably due to the inevitable need (of most) to dance to Of Montreal's music.  It improved dramatically when I made it past a wall of standing tall people, and into the crowd of movers.  They ended the encore with 2 covers: Take Me Out by Franz Ferdinand and Smells Like Teen Spirit by Nirvana.  The latter turned the jumpy-dancey crowd into moshers, providing most of them the first mosh to a Nirvana song in their lifetime, especially given that it was an all ages show.  I realized that many of these concert-goers were born 4 years or maybe even less before Kurt Cobain killed himself.  They did know, however, that Nirvana was something to mosh to.  It was a fabulous show, and I ended the night stripping myself of soaking wet shirts - soaked with sweat from dancing in the hot hot heat (temperature, not music). UPDATE: After talking to my exes (roommate and boyfriend), I found out that there is little variation in the show.  So little that it was some band/crew member's "birthday" at all 3 of the concerts (Boston, DC, and Portland).  I think Smells Like Teen Spirit was the last encore song at each show, as well.  I guess that is fine - why change things up if you have a good thing going.  Just feels a little less spontaneous, which can sometimes be a nice feeling at a show.

Yeasayer, Aladdin Theatre, PDX: I had a very unsettled stomach when we got to this one.  Fortunately for me, the Aladdin is a seated theatre, so I sat through the whole show (except for when they played 2080, when I stood and danced as much as my aching stomach would allow).  It was still a great show (although openers Icy Demons sucked).  I love the odd mix of people in the band - they do not look like they go together, which always attracts me for some reason.  And I loved any time they all sang together.  It was a nice follow-up to the chaotic craziness that was Of Montreal - smooth and together and simple showmanship.  The only "extra" that they had on stage with them were glowing/colored balls throughout the stage.  I think it worked.

New Albums: (if I like it a lot, it is in bold.  if I am not sure or indifferent, it is in plain text.  if I do not like it, I will say so.  NOTE: I edit this entry as I listen, so if something has no comment by it, one may be added later - check back!)

• +/- - Xs on Your Eyes: This is a little boring, but fine.  It don't hate it, but I don't love it.
• All Girl Summer Fun Band - Looking Into It
• Anathallo - Floating World: Ida's suggestion - it's ok.  Kind of reminds me of Sufjan Stevens, although not as strong.  I like the songs off of their album Canopy Glow better than Floating World.
• Arizona - Glowing Bird: Another Ida suggestion - eh...it's a little boring on first listen.
• Atlas Sound - Let the Blind Lead Those Who Can See But Cannot Feel
• Karl Blau - Nature's Got Away: Everyone raved about this.  Maybe I need to give it more time...
• Bloc Party - Intimacy: I really like a few songs, but overall I say, "eh."
• Chop Chop - Screens: I loved this.  It's very poppy, so if you don't like semi-cheesy pop music, you my not like this.
• Crystal Stilts - Alight of Night: I am torn on this one.  Some songs, sometimes, I love.  Other times, it feels too lo-fi to handle.  A little too much droning - to where it sounds like someone in pain.  Each listen has felt different, though, so maybe it's me...
• The Dears - Missiles: Some people have raved about this album.  I have yet to like any song on it.
• Fight Bite - Emerald Eyes
• Frederik - Na Na Ni: Another Ida suggestion - haven't listened.
• Friendly Fires - Friendly Fires: I LOVE this album.  Dance pop that is really addictive.
• Jared Mees and The Grown Children - Caffeine, Alcohol, Sunshine, Money: This is hit-or-miss songwise.  Some songs I really like, and others I want to skip.  I guess you can't expect to love every song on an album, but perhaps my standards are too high then, cause it's disappointing to me to have to skip songs.  Some of them are great, though.  Trampling Daisies is one.
• Loch Lomond - Paper the Walls: I loved the one song of theirs that I have had for months now.  I'm just now starting to listen to this album, so I will keep you posted on it.
• Love is All - A Hundred Things Keep Me Up at Night: I really like this so far.  They are playing in Portland tonight, but I couldn't do 3 concerts in a row...
• Miniature Tigers - Tell it to the Volcano: This is so-so, although a few songs stand out and are really good - like Giraffe.  Giraffe is also particularly appealing because my animal theme radio show a few months ago was greatly lacking in giraffes.
• Noah and the Whale - Peaceful the World Lays Me Down: Pitchfork hated it, in part because it's all been done before.  Sure, it follows lots of pop music rules and recycles some ideas that have worked, like male/female vocals and "quirky" instrumentation, but I still like it.
• The Rosebuds: Life Like: This is pretty and nice.  Much better, in my opinion, than their last album.
• Samamidon - All is Well: Ida suggestion - haven't listened.
• School of Seven Bells - Alpinisms: Dream-pop with female vocals that remind me of Papercranes.  Smooth, layered sounds with subtle synths.
• Taken by Trees - Open Field: Vocalist is from The Concretes.  If you like The Concretes, you'll probably like Taken by Trees.
• Tobacco - Fucked Up Friends: This is techno-electronicish stuff.  It's pretty good if you're in that kind of mood.  I am only sometimes in that mood, so I have yet to get a good rating of this.
• Shugo Tukumaru - EXIT
• Vic Chesnutt, Elf Power, & The Amorphous Strums - Dark Developments: I haven't listened to the whole album, but I saw them perform last week and really enjoyed it.

Moms

My mom is arguably one of my best friends. Sure there are small details of things I might not tell her, but mostly by her own request or to keep her from worrying too much. I talk to her almost daily, and she is usually the first person I call when I need advice or when something big happens. Last week, after the TV networks called the election for Obama, I called my mom. She had fallen asleep while watching the returns, so I woke her up. She left her phone on, though, because she knew I would call. That's just the way we work.

A few years ago, I was in a serious relationship with someone who had grown up in the town where I currently live. His parents were still in town, and we had dinner with them (separately, as they were divorced) on a regular basis. His mom and I became very close, and she helped fill this sort of missing spot that I had since my mom was so far away and only accessible by phone. She and my mom have a lot in common: ideologies, views of raising children, past experiences of being divorced and becoming single mothers... And so when my boyfriend and I broke up, I was unsure how to proceed with my friendship with his mother. After hearing advice from a number of people, some claiming that it suggests I have not moved on from the relationship, others just saying it's "weird," I decided to say "fuck it" and just did what I wanted to do. And that is to maintain our friendship. So on a somewhat regular basis, she and I still get together for dinner or for walks or just talk on the phone. I value her thoughts on things going on in my life, and I love hearing stories about her life in Germany before moving to the US. After a few months hiatus due to my ridiculously busy schedule, we had dinner last night again. And I just remembered all the reasons I am so thankful to have her in my life. No one can ever replace my mom, but to have someone who feels like family in town to share a good meal and sit by the fire with is just so great.

I didn't title this post "Story #_" because it isn't really a story. It is probably boring to most people, which makes it fit fairly nicely into the overall theme of this blog, but it's just something that had been on my mind since last night, and I felt like getting it out in some way. This whole week has been somewhat emotional for me - perhaps in part due to the profoundness of the election - and so small feelings are becoming more intense. In a good way, but instense nonetheless.

Story #14: Deodorant

A couple of weeks ago, we had a party.  It was in honor of the first year graduate students in our program, and everyone had chipped in for a keg.  After a while, the people in our program get a little drunk, and the evening always turns into a dance party.  Always.  It was hot.  People were sweaty.  I understand this.  Everyone understands this, so I don't think anyone was being too judgmental about anyone's sweat...

So I was quite surprised when I went to the bathroom late in the night to find my deodorant sitting by the sink.  My bathroom is tiny, so I keep all of my toiletries, including deodorant, in the hall linen closet.  This means that someone actively searched for my deodorant and found it in the hall closet.  I'm assuming they used it, and then left it in the bathroom.  Granted, I'm glad I know it was used rather than just using deodorant the next day after it had been on some random person's sweaty pit the night before, but...seriously?  Who does that?  I can't think of a single person at the party I would expect to do something so gross.

Music Post #6

New music from the last few weeks.  Bold means I like it.  If nothing is written, it means I haven't decided what I think yet...

• Antony & the Johnsons - Another World: Backed by symphony orchestra.  Beautiful and soft.
• Brazillian Girls - New York City
• Cold War Kids - Loyalty to Loyalty
• Deerhoof - Offend Maggie
• Gregory + The Hawk - Moenie and Kitchi: Beautiful, melodic.  Sometimes melancholy, sometimes sweet...
• I'm From Barcelona - Who Killed Harry Houdini?: Big sound - a la Polyphonic Spree.  I think they may even have the same ridiculously large number of "band" members.
• Lake - Oh, The Places You'll Go: Poppy, peppy. My guilty pleasure.
• Land of Talk - Some are Lakes: Mixture of light and pretty female vocals with fuller sounds.  Each song is a bit different.
• Margot & The Nuclear So and So's - Animal!/Not Animal: So I listened to Animal! first and felt a little let-down after loving their Daytrotter Sessions EP so much.  But Not Animal definitely lived up to my expectations.  Much more in line with the Daytrotter stuff.  I feel like there are tons of musical influences and references, but I can't place it really.  Perhaps it is too much of a mix to really pinpoint precisely.
• Mason Proper - Olly Oxen Free: has a sort of Flaming Lips-esque sound somehow.  Or maybe that was just one song...
• Jennifer O'Connor - Here With Me
• Pivot - O Soundtrack My Heart: eh...sounds like something anyone could make on their computer.
• Marnie Stern - This is it...: Maybe too much heavy guitar for my taste, but other people are loving this.  It's probably good, just not my style.

Story #13: Obesity

I haven't written in a while in part because I have been busy with work and media interactions. Because this blog isn't about my professional life, I am not going to get into the details of all of this. BUT - I work in the obesity field and today I interviewed with a Singapore radio show. After hearing about this interview, my sister's friend asked, "Are there fat people in Singapore?" A quick Google search suggests that obesity is an issue in Singapore, but that perhaps they are doing a bit more on a large scale to prevent it. We always think of obesity as an American issue, but the response to this work suggests that it's a worldwide issue. It could still be due to the Americanization of the world. Who knows...

Story #12: Eugene's Week of Music

This past week was a rare event in this small Oregon town where I live.  There were good concerts almost every night, and a few nights had too many shows to choose from.  I saw Ben Kweller on Monday, Stars on Tuesday, and Brightblack Morning Light on Wednesday.  Here is my quick recap.

1. Ben Kweller.  I hate country music.  Occasionally country music will be more folk or bluegrass than country, and then it is decent, but for the most part, I'm not a fan.  Apparently Ben Kweller's new music is country.  He began playing, and I thought, "oh man, what have I gotten myself into?"  Fortunately for me, he only played 3, maybe 4 new songs, sticking to his old stuff for the most part.  The crowd was pretty big and made up almost entirely of big Kweller fans.  Not big in size, but big in excitement, dedication, and most apparent, sing-along-ness.  Knowing his crowd well, Kweller pulled out his classics upon request (at one point directly stating that he takes requests, then playing songs in requested order for most of the show).  He played a song on the guitar that is normally played on the piano.  It was phenomenal to see him play the guitar like that.  And he just has this energy - you know he lives for this, loves it - he's just up there having a good time.  And my nostalgia came back in full-force when he played some of the old favorites, particularly In Other Words.  I am a huge sucker for the piano.
2. Stars.  Smaller crowd than Ben Kweller, although not too much smaller.  Much less into the music, or at least much less knowledgeable of the music than the Kweller crowd.  For the first 4 or 5 songs, I felt like they were trying too hard to be cool.  I felt a little embarrassed for them, as they sort of looked like the stereotypical aging rockers who are yearning to stay cool and young and "hip."  But after a while, they become more comfortable and lost the fake, forced "rocker" antics.  They became much more enjoyable to watch at that point.
3. Brightblack Morning Light.  This was perfect for a chill night sitting at a table with friends.  Unlike other shows in loud concert-hall type venues, this is music that you can talk over, and still feel like you're enjoying the show and not being rude.  I think it was probably a good ending to the set of 3 shows in as many days for that reason.

And completely unrelated: I am currently writing this from the window seat of a local coffee shop.  Outside is a car that instantly reminded me of my first real "date" in high school.  A Nissan 240SX.  My first date where a guy picked me up in his car and took me out.  He drove that car.  His was totalled a couple weeks later, so it's just this random one-date memory that this car sparked for me.  We went to a football game, dinner (although I can't remember where), and then went dancing at a local 18+ club.  I was not 18.  He knew the bouncer.  I thought I was the coolest sophomore in high school ever for being at this club.  The fact that I felt that excited is probably evidence of how lame I actually was.

Story #11: A Weekend of Thoughts

This is my fourth year of graduate school.  The annual "welcome back" party held by the department occurred last Friday.  In prior years, the bar began to close around 8pm, then people hung around for about a 1/2 hour longer before heading out to another nearby bar to continue the night.  My first year there was a "stolen" bottle of wine that got us in trouble (does it really matter if it is consumed at the party or afterward?  Doesn't the department pay for it regardless, so why should the catering company care...), and since then I feel like they've been trying to curb the drinking a bit.  This year "last call" started right at 7pm, and they were packed up by 7:15.  Sure, this should cut down on alcohol costs at the party, right?  To stop serving an hour earlier?  Except that we're poor graduate students who take every opportunity for free drinks.  So instead of sticking with the full glass of wine in your hand when last call is called, people were downing their glasses and heading back for more.

Last night, I attended a "hoedown" at some stables in a town south of Eugene.  I took zero pictures, although I had brought a camera to capture the events of the night.  It is nearly impossible to take pictures and square dance at the same time.  I would definitely have messed up the right left pull by if I had a camera out.  I need to do more square dancing, I think.  I was laughing the entire time - and sweating despite the fact that we were outdoors in 45-50 degree weather.  There were also sack races, human wheelbarrow races, and a 5-legged race.  Our team for the latter race was totally together and organized, but couldn't beat out those who basically ran and dragged the slower members across the finish line.  On the bus back to Eugene, this had to be stated on behalf of the bus driver: "The bus  driver requests that you put out your marijuana cigarette...  She says it is 'extremely illegal.'"  I'm not sure I would have used the "extremely" adverb.  It seems like one of the "less illegal" drugs to me.

Story #10: Your Local Anchor(wo)man

I rarely watch the local news.  I rarely watch TV at all.  I get my news from the internet.  This means I never hear about sweet local kitties stuck in trees, but I honestly don't care.  So I guess I never really wondered what anchormen and women do in the 'downtime' when the weatherman or remote reporters are doing their parts of the news.

But today I found out.  I was on Gmail chat, and received a message from my closest friend from high school who is a reporter for a local station in Tulsa, Okla.  She said hi, as many messages often begin.  Then she told me that she was anchoring the news. She is technically a reporter, but does some anchor shifts on occasion, so I thought she was just telling me (for whatever reason) that she was anchoring later that night.

Nope.  What she meant was that she was anchoring at that moment.  Apparently, they were in the weather section, so she signed on to Gmail while sitting at the anchor desk.  I guess it just seemed odd because I assumed that they would be expected to be focused on the news and on the show itself for 100% of the news hour.  I am apparently wrong.  When you are hearing about tomorrow's 30% chance of rain, the anchors are chatting away about nonsense or maybe even looking up internet porn.  I mean, who really knows?

Music Post #5

New music this week (bold means that I like it so far; if it says nothing next to it, I probably haven't really listened enough to form an opinion yet):

• Black Moth Super Rainbow/The Octopus Project - The House of Apples and Eyeballs: This is 2 years old, but I just found it.  It's ok, although I think I like each of these bands separately better than together.
• Delta Spirit - Ode to Sunshine: I saw them live last week, opening for Dr. Dog.  I liked them a lot, perhaps even more than Dr. Dog.  The album lives up to the live performance so far.
• Dressy Bessy - Holler and Stomp: This is one that came recommended to me, and I can definitely see people enjoying it.  It's an odd mix of heavier guitars and annoying girl pop.  I'm not that impressed.
• Passion Pit - Chunk of Change: Pop/electronic - tons of energy.  I recommend it.
• Prkr - The Felt City: "synthpop" which is totally hit-or-miss for me.  I kind of like the song G.P.S. Kids, but the others are little to heavy on the synth.  Kind of electronic/pop rather than pop/electronic, if that makes sense.
• Joshua Radin - Simple Times: Joshua Radin is one of my guilty pleasures.  I'm not "supposed" to like it, but I don't care.  I do.  It's sweet and pretty and, sure, a little cheesy, but I still love it.
• South Side Stalkers - The Sound of Speed: isn't that album title awfully close to a certain Coldplay single from a few years ago?  I got it because it was compared to Belle & Sebastian and Mates of State.  And lately I've been loving Swedish pop.  So far, though, it's more cheesy and annoying than anything else.  I should have known when there was a song called "Ukelele Love Song" on the album...

Story # 9: Overheard Conversation

Overheard in the park tonight by a group of high school boys: So I never had sex on ecstasy until last week, and holy shit, man...

I feel like my high school experience was so sheltered. I'm not sure that is a bad thing.

Link

Um, yet another one. This one about passing gas from Dooce.com.

Link

This morning I hit snooze for only 1/2 hour.  Monday morning, it had been an hour.  One whole hour of 9 minute sleep intervals, interrupted by slams of my hand to the top of the clock.  When I was in college, my alarm was at the foot of my bed, rather than next to my head.  This was strategic in design, but not effective in practice.  I just became really good at sitting up and hitting snooze while still basically remaining asleep.  That way I would fall into bed and be back to my dreams as my head hit the pillow.

Today I read this post on one of my favorite time-killer websites.  And I realized why I love her blog so much.  She is just like me...

Thoughts by Dooce.com

*Also note that her current masthead reads: Musings of a Self-Absorbed Moron.

Music Post #4

More new music.  I think listening to new music needs to be my full-time job.  How does one get paid for that and not have to write music reviews?  Hmm...

• Brightback Morning Light - Motion to Rejoin
• The Broken West - Now or Heaven
• Kimya Dawson - Alphabutt: kids album where B is for butt and F is for fart - edit: the song Alphabutt is my kind of music - the rest of the CD is too child-ish - maybe it would different if I had kids, although I'm not sure I'd want them singing along to some of it...
• Ani DiFranco - Red Letter Year: eh.  I deleted it.
• Margot and the Nuclear So-and-Sos - The Daytrotter Sessions EP
• Parenthetical Girls - Entanglements
• Starfucker - Starfucker
• TV on the Radio - Dear Science: so far it lives up to the internet hype...

Story #8: Goodbyes

Why do people always stare at bad things?  Car accidents, bloody paper towels on sidewalks (yes, I'm serious), people crying and hugging as they say goodbye...  

K left today.  She is currently driving cross-country in a stuffed car to Providence, Rhode Island.  The last time I saw her car that stuffed was 2 years ago when she moved in, the first day I ever met her.  Today before she left, we went to breakfast, and she ran across the street to make a deposit at the bank.  I told A, her boyfriend, my other roommate, that I hoped she didn't cry because then I would lose it.  Well, we were both fine until the sidewalk, outside her packed car.  Then we both started crying.  And this man in an Oregon Ducks shirt, holding a giant camera, just kept staring at us.  I don't think I saw him ever turn away, although I clearly wasn't watching him the entire time.

So when I went to my car with my friend M, we discussed this staring man and how weird it was that he was watching my roommate and I cry on the sidewalk.  And then I made my friend take a picture of a bloody paper towel.  I am obviously a hypocrite.

Music Post #3

This one is not about recently obtained music, but party playlists. We had a going-away party for K tonight. She has relied on me for party mixes for the past 2 years. It's always tricky to time the music when it's not live, but I think after enough parties, I have gotten to a point where they turn out pretty successful - success measured by the number of people dancing - and then not leaving because the next song is too good to leave. So here was tonight's playlist. Note that I went back and re-played the 80s/90s mix that appears in the middle once people had been motivated to dance by the hip-hop. I never want to break the hip-hop out too early, but it always ends up being the music that motivates people to start dancing. So here's the list:

• Ratatat - Wildcat
• Say Hi - Northwestern Girls
• Islands - Where There's a Will There's a Way
• Yeah Yeah Yeahs - Gold Lion
• Feist - 1234
• Pixies - Debaser
• Daedelus - Fair Weather Friends
• The Ting Tings - Great DJ
• Hot Chip - Over & Over
• The Gossip - Standing in the Way of Control
• Junior Boys - In the Morning
• of Montreal - Id Engager
• Fujiya & Miyagi - Collarbone
• The Outfield - Your Love
• Erasure - A Little Respect
• Cansei de Ser Sexy - Let's Make Love and Listen to Death from Above
• Justice - D.A.N.C.E.
• Daft Punk - Around the World/Harder, Better, Faster, Stronger
• The Knife - Heartbeats
• MGMT - Kids
• Blur - Girls & Boys
• EMF - Unbelievable
• Estelle - American Boy (Feat. Kanye West)
• Akon - Wanna Be Startin Something
• Ace of Base - I Saw the Sign
• B-52s - Love Shack
• Salt-N-Pepa - Shoop
• Paula Abdul - Straight Up
• Cardigans - Love Fool
• Bell Biv Devoe - That Girl is Poison
• The Darkness - I Believe in a Thing Called Love
• Young MC - Bust a Move
• Ace of Base - Beautiful Life
• Deelite - Groove is in the Heart
• Architecture in Helsinki - Debbie
• Usher - Love in this Club
• Lil Jon and the Eastside Boys - Get Low (Feat. Ying Yang Twins)
• Ciara - 1 2 Step (Feat. Missy)
• Sir Mix-A-Lot - Jump on It
• Eric Prydz - Call on Me
• Girl Talk - Play Your Part (Pt. 1)
• Outkast - Hey Ya
• Black Eyed Peas - My Humps
• Michael Jackson - Billie Jean
• Justin Timberlake - My Love
• Jay Z - I Just Wanna Love Ya
• Enrique Iglesias - Don't Turn Off the Lights (um, this one was due to an earlier conversation between roommates)
• Wyclef Jean - Sweetest Girl (Dollar Bill)
• Usher - Yeah (Feat. Lil Jon & Ludacris)
• Kanye West - Stronger
• Nelly Furtado & Timbaland - Promiscuous
• Timbaland - Give it to Me
• Britney Spears - Toxic
• 50 Cent - In Da Club
• Timbaland - The Way I Are
• 50 Cent - Ayo Technology (Feat. Justin Timberlake & Timbaland)
• Destiny's Child - Say My Name
• Juvenile - Back that Ass Up
• Gorillaz - Feel Good Inc.
• Groove Armada - I See You Baby
• Biz Markie - Just a Friend
• Beck - E-Pro
• The Notorious B.I.G. - Hypnotize
• The Roots - The Seed (2.0)
• Black Eyed Peas - The Request Line (Feat. Macy Gray)
• Bananarama - Venus

Story #7: Symphony

Thanks to Ck who had press passes, I went to the symphony tonight for free. We sat in the front row, which was a first for me at the symphony. I sat in the front row last March when I saw Wicked on Broadway, but never for a symphony. Turns out, front row is not all that great for a number of reasons - but mostly due to the way in which the sound blends together, or doesn't, when you're up that close. I also was unfortunately seated on the wrong side of the piano.  I could not see the pianist or his hands at all, which was a disappointment.  But sitting that close did allow for random observations about the symphony that I never really noticed before.

• Very few people in the strings section of the symphony were married.  Or maybe they were married, but not wearing rings.  Why did I notice this?  I'm not sure, but I think it started because one cellist had a wedding band on his right hand, which intrigued me.  So then I started looking at the rest of them.
• I like to see when the musicians look to the conductor versus just looking at their music.  I found no real rhyme or reason to the timing.  In fact, they seemed to look at all different times.
• Intermission is a poor time to go to the restroom.  Old ladies have small bladders.  Many old ladies attend the symphony.  They served free champagne before the symphony.  The first two pieces, pre-intermission, were over an hour long.  Put this all together, and you have a line that stretched almost across the lobby.  I didn't have to go that badly...
• Old ladies also like to talk.  We walked one of them back to her car afterward so she would not have to walk alone in the dark.  She told us so many stories, I can't even begin to count.  I also cannot begin to count because there was no separation, no moment when one story ended and another began.  She would begin talking about one thing, and then throw in some extraneous information, and then suddenly we were on an entirely new path.  Of course, I know, I have no room to talk when it comes to details and extraneous information, but wow.  This woman was amazing.  We heard about her grandchildren in San Diego, her 102-year-old mother, her Norwegian neighbor, the raspberries she purchased on sale last week, and how the separation of church and state is wrong.  Eventually, after standing next to her car for quite a while, she hugged us and thanked us, and we went our separate ways.
• The symphony itself was good.  Terrence Wilson played with them during Rachmaninoff's Piano Concerto No. 3.  He also played a short solo piece - I think it was Chopin Etude Op. 10 No. 4 - to a standing ovation, although they give them pretty liberally at the Hult Center.  The Firebird by Stravinsky was full and good, and I like the piece for its energy, particularly toward the end, but I would say I was most excited for the Rachmaninoff.

Music Post #2

More recently acquired music - comments/brief reviews to be added as I get through listening to everything:

• Calexico - Carried to Dust
• Department of Eagles - In Ear Park
• El Guincho - Alegranza!: Too salsa-y or something.  I deleted it...
• Eskimo and Sons - How Does it Feel to be Crushed by One Man with the Strength of a Million: perhaps one of the longest album titles ever - so far it's soft and sweet and totally my style pretty bedroom pop - also, where was that term coined?  bedroom pop?  it fits, though.  and this is it.
• Fast Computers - Heart Geometry: nice pop/electro group from Portland, pretty easy to get into
• Philip Glass - Koyaanisqatsi: this does not need a new review, as I already know it from the movie...and I think it is beautiful
• Glass Candy - B/E/A/T/B/O/X: ok, I only have 3 songs...good and dancey so far
• The Helio Sequence - Com Plex
• of Montreal - Skeletal Lamping: advanced copy - it doesn't come out til October 23, although the official release comes with fun things like t-shirts!  yay!
• Oxford Collapse - Bits: this is, as predicted, not my style...deleted...
• Plants and Animals - Parc Avenue: the spelling of Parc makes me think of my friends who spell their names Marc - I really love this album so far.  Full sound, strings, harmonies, etc.
• Radiohead - Outside Lands live recording: it is what it is, so of course, I love it.
• Stars - Sad Robots EP: I didn't like their last LP, but this is back to their usual good dancey pop with the pretty Amy Millan vocals I loved from their earlier stuff
• Stereolab - Chemical Chords
• Tokyo Police Club - Elephant Shell

Story #6: Desk Selling

My roommate K is moving out on Saturday. The flurry of Goodwill donations and furniture sales prompted me to get rid of some of my own things. I figured, I have time and the motivation right now to list things on Craigslist, and when I actually move in June, I will be finishing up dissertation revisions and preparing many other things for the move - so I may as well sell this stuff now. I had a large desk that I know will not move easily and likely not fit in a tiny 1-bedroom apartment that I will probably move into. It is also made of MDF and is about on its last disassemble, reassemble. So I sold it for $10.

I received a number of emails about it, and one guy came over Tuesday evening to pick it up. He paid cash, and we hauled the disassembled desk to his truck.

Two days later, I received an email from the buyer. When I saw his name in my inbox, I was worried that he couldn't reassemble it or something. Nope. His email said this, "You have weird toes!" That's it. The whole email.

I was, in fact, barefoot when he came over to get the desk, and I do, in fact, have weird toes, or really just one weird toe - but I'm still a little disturbed. K expressed concern for my safety, noting CSI plotlines where some creep with a foot fetish murders some girl in order to cut off her feet.

If I don't reply to emails or phone calls, please send someone to my house and check for feet...

Music Post

My roommate K (soon to be former roommate) just requested that I post about my recently acquired music.  Probably so that she can steal it from me later.  I will post acquired albums and if I'm particularly bored possibly even write a few comments about them.  Today's post will be quite long because I just got a bunch of stuff from I, the co-DJ of my radio show.  So here it is - my recently added list.

• 31Knots - Worried Well: eh...
• Alias - Resurgam
• Azeda Booth - In Flesh Tones: this sounds like a female vocalist, but the band is actually all men.  Smooth and pretty.
• Black Kids - Partie Traumatic
• The Cave Singers - Invitation Songs
• CSS - Donkey: more consistent overall, I think, than in the past, but no stand-out songs like their classic "Let's Make Love..."
• Daedelus - Love to Make Music To: I really like the song Fair Weather Friends.  Not sure about the rest.
• Dr. Dog - Fate
• The Duke Spirit - Neptune
• Fleet Foxes - Fleet Foxes: Tiger Mountain Peasant Song makes me want to cry...in a nice way
• Horse Feathers - Words are Dead & House with No Home: beautiful, beautiful, beautiful.
• Lackthereof - Your Anchor: one of the guys from Menomena - I like it so far
• Lykke Li - Youth Novels: oh, sweet Swedish pop, I do love you
• The New Year - The New Year
• Conor Oberst - Conor Oberst: so far - I am reminded of the fact that I don't really like Bright Eyes
• Okkervil River - The Stand-Ins: album was so-so until I saw them live.  Now it is fabulous.
• One for the Team - Build it Up
• The Shaky Hands - Lunglight
• She Keeps Bees - Nests: sounds like PJ Harvey/Cat Power.  Which means I think it is ok, but others may really like it.
• Silver Jews - American Water: the lead singer's voice reminds me of Stephen Malkmus, but not as good.
• Talkdemonic - Eyes at Half Mast
• The Ting Tings - We Started Nothing
• The Uglysuit - The Uglysuit
• The Walkmen - a bunch of albums: not sure I'm sold on them yet
• The Wedding Present - El Rey: not sure I like them so far - deleted...

Story #5: Backpacking

Ida and I went backpacking this weekend to Three Fingered Jack in the Mount Jefferson Wilderness. We took my dog, as previously mentioned. A few stories actually came out of this trip.

1. We started on the Pacific Crest Trail, but took a different path back based on some directions in William Sullivan's book, "100 Hikes in the Central Oregon Cascades." Things started out well, as he directed us down a hill with no trail, but a pretty big landmark (Martin Lake) to head toward. The next step was a trail at the far end of the lake, which we found. And then lost. Or as I believe happened, the trail disappeared. There were patches of ground that were dusty dirt covered, and when the trail hit these areas, it was impossible to know where the trail continued. Add to that the fallen trees and debris, and the fact that this is not a trail that is even on the Mount Jefferson Wilderness map, and I gave up. I think that trail has disappeared. Fortunately, thanks to my innate sense of direction (seriously, it runs in the family) and my dog's ridiculous sense of smell, we made it. We met up with the trail we were supposed to eventually reach via this nonexistent trail. Something similar happened the next day, when the trail met a meadow and disappeared into the knee-high grass. This time it was all Ava. She had her nose to the ground (literally - she looked like a bloodhound), and we walked through the meadow.  The exact spot where we hit the woods again?  Right on the trail.
   
2. The 2nd night out, I took Ava for a short walk (after the day full of hiking) to encourage a poo, and of course, went armed with the orange plastic shovel to aid in poo burial since we were in the wilderness.  Moments after leaving our camp area, I found myself with the orange shovel above my head, feeling thankful that the shovel was, in fact, orange because I swear I heard gunshots.  Wait, why are those shovels orange?  Perhaps people find themselves in my situation often - off for a poo and with no other protection from hunters?  In the end, I have no idea if there were hunters or not. Supposedly they are not supposed to hunt there, but I was not the only one who heard the gunshots either.
3. On the drive home, Ava slept the whole way.  At one point, she fell off the backseat of the car onto the floor of the car.  One would think that she would just get back up to be comfortable, then continue sleeping.  One would be wrong.  She just stayed put, too tired to move.  She proceeded to sleep for the next 6-7 hours of the day, with only occasional moments of interest in the outside world.  For being the most energetic dog I have ever met, I think I may have finally found something that wears her out.  And we're going again in 2 weeks...

Random Thought

Who is governing Alaska while Sarah Palin is campaigning? Similarly, do the 3 senators in this election have time to do their day jobs and campaign? How does that work? Perhaps they just don't sleep...

Story #4: Ava's New Shoes

I am going backpacking this weekend and decided to take Ava for the first time. After talking to the vet, I decided to buy her some shoes so that if we end up on some rocky terrain, she won't cut her paws. She has no idea how to walk in them, though, and they are hilarious.

Story #3: Soda Beverages

Last week was my birthday. The more laid-back version of celebration occurred on the actual anniversary of my date of birth and included a few friends, cake, Apples to Apples, and a bit of alcohol. Perhaps the greatest part of this evening was the discovery (thanks to Michelle and Clay) of a "new feeling of soda beverage" called Milkis. Carbonated milk drink, basically. This sounds absolutely disgusting, but in fact, tastes like candy. With a little vodka and a side of black and white birthday cake, it was quite delicious. Last night, I drank some more Milkis, sans the vodka and was not as enthusiastic about this carbonated milk. Something I read online compared it to an ice cream float made with Squirt. I can see that. Those Koreans have it right with their tagline, though. It is definitely a new feeling of soda beverage...

Story #2: Concerts

Last weekend, I attended a few shows at Willamette Week's MusicFestNW in Portland, Ore.  The following are musings from that experience and from a Radiohead concert in Auburn, Wash.

1. Dancing.  People in Portland, or at least the ones at the shows I attended, do not dance.  How can you watch TV on the Radio, where the lead singer is shimmying around on stage, and not move your body at least a tiny bit?  The Radiohead show was just as bad.  Part of me cuts the crowd some slack for being in an amphitheatre, but then the other part of me just can't understand how you can stand still to that music.  Sure it was a big venue, but Radiohead can fill the space.
2. Recycling.  At the Radiohead show, they asked us to remove and dispose of the caps to our water bottles.  This is problematic because, as I previously stated, I dance during concerts.  And even if I were a non-dancer, maybe I might have to use the restroom.  In either case, having a full and open bottle of water is inconvenient, if not actually gross (as in the restroom case).  They stated that it was because the caps are not recyclable [note: this is the correct spelling of that word, I checked].  My thought: Um, could you place trash and recycling bins together with a large sign about the caps?  Or make us sign a waiver saying, "By declining to trash my cap at the venue entrance, I hereby promise to throw my cap in the trash, not in the recycling bin with the bottle."
3. Bathrooms.  The demographics at the Radiohead show must have been a little skewed.  For the first time in my life, the line to the men's restroom was about 5 times the length of the line to the women's restroom.  This is despite the fact that (so I am told) the men's restroom at the White River Amphitheatre consists of a big peeing trough.  I'm sure there are stalls for the "Number 2" business, but still.  A big trough.  And a line 5 times longer than the women's.
4. Sweat.  Concert venues would benefit from a more advanced cooling system, wherein the area toward the front, where people crowd so tightly that body heat abounds, is cooled more than the rest of the venue.  I get tired of leaving concerts looking like I just got out of the shower.  I would say just turn up the A/C in the whole venue to alleviate the sweating of all involved, but I acknowledge that it could get chilly for those folks in the back.  But hey, maybe this would finally make them dance to stay warm!

Story #1: A Walk in the Park

Today I took my dog to the park. Along the way, I noted the following:

1. I have lived in Eugene, Ore. long enough to not think twice about seeing a tall bike (see image below of a tall bike) riding around. However, this particular tall bike, I realized, was not a tall bike. It was actually just a tall man's bike. I think he had to have an extended seat in order to ride that bike, he was so tall. In other towns, someone's first reaction to this sight may have been, "wow, he is tall." My reaction? "oh, just another tall bike..." (Note: I do not have a picture of the tall man's bike, so I cannot provide a good comparison image...)
2. On the way home, my dog and I passed a group of high schoolers probably up to no good, hanging out by the skate pit in the park. No one was skate-boarding or biking in the pit. They were just sitting around smoking. As I pass, I hear one kid say to another, "Damn, she's hot." A few seconds later, the one-liner is yelled. "Did it hurt when you fell from heaven?" I can't decide how I feel about this. Are they kidding? Clearly they are kidding to be using that line. But I am 27-years-old, so I find myself in this odd place of thinking, "huh, I guess I'm still hot by high school standards" or "jeez, I'm too old for this..."