From the Geek Files
If you've ever wondered what would happen if a Federation Battleship tried to dock on the Borg Cube... Starship Dimensions is for you. Spaceships and spacestations drawn to scale that you can move around to compare and contrast size and overall girth.

Start planning for poker night. Get your own official deck of Iraqi's Most Wanted Playing Cards. They appear to be on sale right now. Yippee! (via Lt. Smash)

I got my Bonds raglan t-shirts from Gowings yesterday. We Americans are missing out... that's all I have to say. Unless you've felt how comfortable these shirts are, you can't possibly understand why I bothered ordering three plain t-shirts from an international company. It's like giving yourself a hug all day long.

I Say "Tomato"; You Say "Domate"
Heading to Azerbaijan? Learn Azeri before you go.

Cellibrate Good Times... Come On
Here's a list of amusing cellphone slang... including "Schitzophonia" which is the appearance given when one is walking down the street talking loudly on a cell phone using a not easily visible headset. I found out that I used to be "cellibate", but now I am a "cellout".



Song for the Day:
Mexico - James Taylor

I forgot to mention that there was a DeLorean at the carshow on Saturday. There is only one word for that... Awesome!

If this wasn't made clear to you before, I hate Creed. And though I think that you deserve whatever awful experience you may get by spending money to go to one of their concerts, I did find it interesting that several fans are suing Creed because of the lead singer's poor performance. (see excerpt at the Smoking Gun) Launch suggests that they have a chance... although The Guardian raises the point of what a dangerous precident this might set.

Song for the Day:
Isn't She Lovely - Stevie Wonder
"Gee, you're so lovely."

Twenty Questions
1. Who is your best online friend? Tash
2. Who is your oldest online friend? Jason?
3. Who is your newest online friend? Dan?
4. Do you write your own HTML or use an editor? Which editor? Write it, baby.
5. Which browser do you prefer? Explorer.
6. What's on your computer desk, apart from the PC? Nothing exciting... standard speakers, phone, Beaker finger puppet.
7. Which page is your start page? just msn.com -- have yet to change it
8. How many email addresses do you have? 6 that I check with any sort of regularity
9. Which version of Windows do you use? XP
10. How many hours a day do you spend online? at least 8
11. If you use a graphics program, which one do you use? Photoshop
12. How many emails do you get a day? depends on the workday... average 40-70
13. Which is your favourite website? none really stand out at the moment
14. Which instant messenger do you use? Trillian
15. Which is your favourite computer game? I was a huge Myst fan
16. Do you use chatrooms? If so, which is your favourite? no
17. What size monitor do you have? 15 inches
18. What sort of connection do you have? if Comcast would get their act together, I'll be having cable here one of these days
19. What's your favourite computer add-on e.g. webcam? t.v.
20. When did you first get online? 1994

What a busy weekend! Aaron the Boy decided to come down at about noon on Friday... and I'm glad he came down for a little getaway. It worked out perfect as I had no big plans for the weekend.

We had such a full day yesterday... we:
∙ Explored downtown Nashville.
∙ Had lunch at The Factory.
∙ Stopped at a car show.
∙ Went to Green Hills Mall.
∙ Changed a tire.
∙ Went to Opry Mills.
∙ Dinner at Demo's.
∙ Went to Galleria Mall.
∙ Saw Identity.

Can I just say that I had no idea what Identity was going to be about? Aaron just said it was the new John Cusack movie. So I thought it was going to be a cute little John Cusack movie... but no. It was great, but I had heart failure a couple of times.

Possible Spoiler Alert... The only problem was that right at the end, the film literally melted before our very eyes. It was right at a point where we thought we could have left and known that it was a happy ending. But we decided to wait for them to splice the film and run the last bit. So they cut a little bit out, and it came back on right as the last key was being found... and so that changed matters a little... and it really interrupted the pace. It was so tragic. But we all got free passes to another film. Good movie though!

Today we went to the Mainstreet Festival, and it was good. Now I'm tired.

I'm [not] a Creep, I'm [not] a Weirdo
Have you ever come across a site that seemed interesting, but reading it made you feel like a complete voyeur or something? I stumbled across this page yesterday, and it stuck with me. From what I can tell, it is a bunch of guys who I am guessing knew each other from college and are trying to stay in touch with this group blog. They seem cool and probably would have been people I wished I could have been friends with if we had met at school or somewhere. The most recent entry was really sad and what made me feel strange for reading.

Yeah, so anyway, I poked around some of the links (I think it actually came from this guy.)... and found a cool site as a result:

Brick Apple... New York City done with Legos. I was going to make some comment about the weird things that people come up with to occupy their spare time... but then I started thinking about what I do in my spare time and decided not to cast the first stone.

Last night I was exposed to Spongebob UNO... featuring the NEW Super Absorbancy Card. It is the greatest. Under the super absorbancy rule, when the card is put down, the person with the least number of cards gets a card from each player and draws one from the deck. Nice twist. Plus it's Spongebob.

A Work Story
One of our clients' albums went gold recently. Funny thing is that with this particular album, they put our office address inside rather than their management office. Fine and dandy, but this means that there are at least 500,000 copies of that album floating around with my work address inside.

So today I went to the mailbox, and inside I found a letter written in colored pencil -- no envelope. It was from one of those people we affectionately call "superfans". Apparently she and her family had come down here and decided to find out where our office was. "We were surprised to see [such and such address] is actually a house. That's really cool! We will probably drive by later and see if any cars are here." Nice. If only she knew how close to the lead singer's house she actually was!

Friday Five
1. What was the last TV show you watched? I broke no-tv week last night, and we had the Michael Jackson / Martin dude interview.
2. What was the last thing you complained about and what was the problem? Being the only one in the office today.
3. Who was the last person you complimented and what did you say? Karl -- "You rock."
4. What was the last thing you threw away? My Starbucks cup
5. What was the last website (besides this one) that you visited? RenaissanceFestival.com

Venus Hum CD Release : May 9th ... Exit/In.

People who know who I am talking about will understand when I say that I got the new stuff from Paul, and I declare that it is good. I'm particularly fond of one song that they are giving to Toby... which he apparently wants to use as his "big single". (I miss you, T...) There was also an instrumental tune that I have to believe was influenced by our Sigur Ros experience.

My friend Aaron might be coming down this weekend. Yay! Just in time for the Franklin street festival.

Song of the Day:
You are Mine - Paul

Happy Anniversary, Mom & Dad! (Didn't quite forget.) Thanks for getting married, having kids, and staying married. :)

This morning Michael suggested a trip to New York for Field Day Music Festival. Tempting. There are at least a dozen bands that I would really like to see... with several others that I wouldn't mind seeing... but the odds of him finding a spare $160 plus money to get there don't seem very likely.

Licensed to Kill -- I've never seen such blatant honesty from a company before... "Licensed to Kill, Inc. is a tobacco company. We knowingly kill people for profit. And we're proud of it. In fact, it is the explicit aim of our corporation."

Today's Twenty Questions...
1. When you buy a greetings card are the words or the picture more important to you? I make them... so they are equally important.
2. What's your favourite kind of cake? I don't particularly care for cake.
3. Do you ever make gifts for people, if so what, or do you buy them? I like to think I'm a little crafty... I'm always making little things that eventually get in the hands of other people.
4. What's your favourite holiday - i.e. Christmas? St. Patricks Day
5. Are you going on holiday this year? If so, where? Should all go financially as planned, I will take a little trip overseas before the year is out.
6. What was the best party you've ever been to? It would have to be the dance party my roommate and I had before we left Michigan.
7. If you are married, describe your wedding. If not, what would your ideal wedding be like? I'm not picky... I think just having one would be nice... some day... with no cake.
8. What's the most romantic thing that's ever happened to you? That's tough. Hmm.. I was kissed unexpectedly in an elevator one time. Not that it was especially romantic... but very movie-esque.
9. What's your favourite romantic song? "With or Without You" - U2
10. Which celebrity would you like a dream date with? dream date?
11. Which female celebrity do you find beautiful? Milla Jovovich
12. Which male celebrity do you think is attractive? Hugh Jackman?
13. If you could be a fictional character from a book who would you choose? Oh, I always wanted to be Laura Ingalls Wilder.
14. If you could be in a television sit-com, which would you choose? I don't need one... my life is funny enough as it is.
15. Which character would you like to be? me?
16. What's your favourite girl's name? I used to be fond of "Kellen"
17. What's your favourite boy's name? "Jacob", I think
18. What's your supermarket of choice? Why? Kroger... because I have such fond memories of the Ghetto Krog.
19. What is your best character trait? My comedic timing... maybe. :)
20. What is your worst habit? I shouldn't be allowed to have a bank account for my lack of record keeping.

I am going to smile all day.

I just walked to the post office. I met an elderly man on the sidewalk. He said "good morning" and tipped his hat as we passed.

It's not every day I get a hat tip.

I smile.

Spoke to Darren this afternoon. He forgot about Thievery Corporation tonight. But he said he'd try to get there if he got off work early. Sad.

Greetings to our readers in Pennsylvania!

It's just one of those days...

I am cold.

I am always cold.

And just when I think it is getting nice enough outside that I might be able to wear short sleeves... on comes the air conditioning.

Now I don't like to be all sweaty in my own home either... but come on people. Does it need to be colder inside in the summer than what it is outside in the winter?

Here is another person's thoughts on the strange concept -- And don't forget your scarf when you go inside.

Did I mention that Jessica and I are commited to learning Dutch this time? With a couple of good websites (see below), my friend here named Connie who is originally from the Netherlands, and my aunt who will email me in Dutch if I ask her... I think we have a good shot at learning something. I'm a little bit ahead because of the little bit I learned in 3rd grade and hearing phrases around my grandparents' house. Dictionary.com now translates to and from Dutch... and I'm quite certain it did not before.

Learn Dutch Vocab
Speak Dutch
Taalthuis.com

From Christopher:

You Are Tangerine You are a beautiful person, in a wistful kind of way. If you could, you would spend all your time daydreaming and writing poetry. You are a tragic beauty. You are sensitive and caring, and you don't take insults well. You don't smile much, but when you do, you really mean it. People like to be around you because you are a calming influence. You have an appreciation for all things beautiful, and you probably have some potted plants. You also most likely own a cat. You like Sundays and hot tea. You will spend your entire life yearning for quiet beauty, which is a rarity in this world, so you read a lot. Everyone you know thinks you're "nice." Take the Which Led Zeppelin Song Are You? Quiz

Happy belated Easter to all.

I was adopted into the Campbell family for the day... which was nice like last year. I designed the fruit and cheese platter. And now I can say that I've had lunch with a boy band.

Reminders for me:
∙ Read this page when you're done learning Dutch.
∙ the cheapest camo shirts found so far for my merchandise experiment on crack

At Jessica's prompting, this household is observing TV Turn-off Week. It's not a big loss for me, except that I'm behind an episode of 24... which means I may have to tape tonight on FX and of course, tomorrow on Fox. I'm sure Survivor will be taped by Tina, though it's not as important to me.

Campus Nonsense... this might be one to rile some of you up. "CampusNonsense posts reports from student activists which expose the antics of leftist radicals."

After roaming the aisles at Borders for several hours last night, Daniel, Stephen, Jessica, and I came back here and played a new card game -- Meow. It is like UNO on crack. With all of the ridiculous rules, it ends up being so funny. Here's how to play:

-------------------------------------------------------
The Rules of Meow
A Variation of UNO using 2 decks of normal playing cards for 2 or more players. (Add decks accordingly.)

Object:
To be the first one to get rid of all your cards.

Starting the Game:
Seven (7) cards are dealt facedown to each player. The remainder of the cards are put in a Draw Pile with one card turned face up as the Discard Pile. At the word "Go", everyone picks up their cards. The first person to lay a card that matches the suit or value of the card in the Discard Pile is the starting person, and the round continues clockwise from that person.

Continue laying cards to follow suit or value of the top card on the Discard Pile.

Card Values:
Aces (A) = Skip (the person after the one who laid the Ace loses a turn)
Twos (2) = Draw Two (the next person must draw two cards and loses a turn...unless that person also has a Two, in which case they would lay the Two and the person following them would have to draw four and loses a turn. A maximum of four cards is ever needed to be drawn.)
Fours (4) = Draw Four (the next person must draw four cards and loses a turn)
Eights (8) = Reverse (the direction of play is reversed)
Jacks (J) = Wild (jacks may be played at any time regardless of suit. person lays card and expresses which suit they would like to change it to.)

Speaking Rules:
1. There is no speaking during the game unless noted below.
2. When laying spades, you must say the name of the card you are putting down. (i.e. Two of spades... king of spades.)
3. When giving a penalty card, you must state the reason for the penalty. (i.e. Penalty card for going out of order. Penalty card for not saying jack of spades. Etc.)
4. If you receive a penalty card, you must say "Thank you" or you risk getting another penalty card.
5. When you are holding only one card, you must say "Last card".
6. When you lay your last card, you must say "Meow".

If anyone needs to speak outside of these parameters, they must say "Stop". At this time, everyone must put their cards face down. Anyone can speak freely until the person says "Start", and the cards may be picked up again.

Penalties:
If you are caught breaking any of the rules by going out of turn, speaking when not required, or not speaking when required, you will be given one additional card and lose your turn.
-------------------------------------------------------

It really is fun, though it can get really violent. There is also a rule that if you win two games in a row you can add your own new rule -- such as, you have to say "Huzzah" when you lay a King... or something like that.

Good times.

I have been obsessed with Google Catalogs today.
Loose Ends -- cute catalog with stuff I'd never need
Solutions -- which has the oval playing cards that I'm tempted to get
Dining & Company -- I love their milk glass dinnerware.

I went to Constance's book signing this morning. I bought a couple of extra copies for friends... I think every woman should read her book.

People speculate that the Atkins diet not only damages liver and increases cholesterol... but it also decreases gracefulness. That's not funny... I know. My roommate is mourning.

After reading my new May issue of Real Simple, I got a little brainstormy. On page 175, they show an office magically transformed into workable space. One of the neat things about it were these round disks on the wall... which turned out to be "magnet boards". In reality, they should just be called "metal disks", because that is all they really are. So the wheels started turning, and I thought, "Hey, I have those oven burner covers that I never used for that wedding gift... metal.. round.. aha!"

Those designer magnet boards run $15.00 a piece. Oven burner covers? Well, here you can get them in various colors and patterns for around $6... for four. Or you can get four Coca-cola ones here for $25.

So I hung my stainless steel covers on the wall above my desk in a one-large/two-small/one-large formation. (Something like this: ∙:∙ ) Now I have my little notes and pictures hanging up ... using my handy dandy marble magnets that I made, of course. :)

This week has been too beautiful outside and too busy inside to do much in the way of reading others' sites. How I long for the days when I lived with my friends. When we didn't have "jobs", but we played gigs and sold jewelry to pay for rent, a couple utilities, and food once in a while. Life sure changes in four years.

Remember Melissa, the slightly wenchy chick from The Real World New Orleans? She blogs.

I don't know about anyone else, but my heart sunk when I heard about the looting of the Iraqi Museum last week. I guess I don't understand looting altogether... It was just sickening to watch one of the distraught ladies who worked there just wailing over the loss.

I looked up travel advice about Iraq on Lonely Planet. These are some of the travel tips:
∙ Security is very tight in Iraq. The authorities consider all foreigners to be spies.
∙ Never, never, never make a negative remark about Saddam Hussein.
∙ Never talk about politics.
∙ Never talk about religion.
∙ Never talk about the UN-sanctions.
∙ Never critise the Iraqi government.
∙ Never make any critical comment on Iraq or it's people.
∙ Never mention Israel.
∙ Never point at or stop in front of a palace of Saddam Hussein or any other official building.

Yeah, okay.. on second thought, maybe we won't take that vacation to Baghdad this year.

CreateBands.com -- only mildly entertaining for only so long, but here is your chance to play Lou Perlman.

And once you are done with that, there is X-Wing vs. Tie Fighter. Sort of Space Invaders with a twist. Addictive. (And turn your volume down first if you are at work... which none of you are.) :) Send your thanks to TaintedBill for that one.

Last but not least...
I pledge allegiance to the Rocky Top Brigade and to the creed by which they stand. I'm not a native... I don't have Titans car decal... I haven't been bitten by a brown recluse... but I live here now... I've been to three Predators games... and they have welcomed me with open arms.

And if you'd rather pass something else... here's online Pass the Pigs. Your childhood favourite and mine.

Passing Gas... and Other Towns Along the American Highway: stories and pictures behind some of the weirdest-named towns in America. ("Explaining how to find her café in Gas, Kansas, Bonnie Steward said, 'Come down Route 12, but if you blink, you’ll pass Gas.'") For the record, I have been to Hell, Michigan.

Remote Viewing... a legitimately learned skill or just some hokey blather? Take the course and decide for yourself.

So much for that "doing the taxes ahead of time" thing. Yeah, I need to run to the post office sometime this afternoon.

OnePaper: For weeks now, I have seen newspaper stands for this "One Paper" sprouting up near every store and stoplight... but I have yet to see the actual publication. I thought that maybe the first issue had not been published yet, and they were just getting ready for the big launch or something. I went to their website today and found that there is a "current issue"... however, I have gone past the stand by the post office every single weekday for the last couple of months, and nary a paper is to be found. My conclusion is that the secret is all in the name. There really only is one paper... and you just have to be the first person to the stand in order to see it.

Spiderman... dancing... he's so... agile.

Summer mentioned this afternoon that she and Peter are going to see Coldplay in Chicago in a couple months. She said she would check on the possibility of getting additional tickets with the group they are going up with. That would be amazing since we all missed them when they were here.

Hans and I boycotted the awards last night. :)

Can I go home yet?

Last night I fell in love again. (I know, my heartstrings are easily tugged.) Last night I watched one of our clients' kids. And though the kids were wonderful, I adored their huge Great Pyrenees Lucy. She was gigantic but so gentle. Tasia even said that Lucy was smiling at me when I was petting her. That makes me want to get a puppy one. Too bad I don't live on a farm or ranch or something.

Darren mentioned our concert-going experience. (warning... has music.)

Friday Five
1. What was the first band you saw in concert?
Goodness, I can't even remember. Crystal Gayle sang at our fair one year.

2. Who is your favorite artist/band now?
It's hard to put my finger on a favorite... but I'm listening to Faultline a lot these days.

3. What's your favorite song?
For today it is "Warning Sign" by Coldplay. Tomorrow it will probably be something else.

4. If you could play any instrument, what would it be?
I wish I could expand on my 3-chord knowledge of the guitar.

5. If you could meet any musical icon (past or present), who would it be and why?
I don't even need to meet him, but I just wish I had the chance to see Jeff Buckley perform live. I imagine it would be a life-altering experience.

And my dad is getting a new bike. Sometimes my parents are too cool for words.

I have some great stuff for you here today people. Quite random... but please make sure you look at this first one:

Read My Lips: "Are you tired of hearing politicians talk? Well, hear them sing instead. Listen to Saddam Hussein singing Imagine. Or to the love duet featuring Bush and Blair. Johan Söderberg has lip-synked some of the most hated and loved people in history to some of the most hated and loved songs of all times." The Bush/Blair love song is so worth it!

For you LOTR-heads out there, this guy makes replicas of the rings.

And these are some of the most unusual rings I've ever seen.

I've seen people get excited about Route 66... but apparently this person has a thing for Interstate 88.

This has got to be the coolest pedistal sink I've ever seen. Someday I'll have just the right bathroom for that...

Sometimes it is about choosing the lesser of two evils. I'll be back tomorrow.

How to Get Kicked out of a Judo Tournament 101: Pluck your eyebrows.

Cutest Blog Title in a Long Time:
Gratuitous Sax and Senseless Violins :)

And then in the Slightly Weird Category:
www.pluck.it

Okay, so Danielle found another one...

20 Questions:
1. Who is your oldest friend? Draw between Barb, Lisa, & Nate.
2. Who is your newest acquaintance? Jason & Brianna
3. What is your oldest memory? Santa's Workshop in Colorado with the fam.
4. What is your newest gadget? Gadgets? We don't need no stinking gadgets!
5. What is your oldest item of clothing? My "Terry Bransted Governor" wringer t-shirt circa 1987... autographed :)

6. What is the newest thing you've bought? Lunch
7. How old is your oldest relative? Probably Great Aunt Alice
8. How old is the youngest member of your family? One year, seven months
9. What is the first tv programme you can remember? M*A*S*H
10. What is your first school memory? The Letter People
11. Where is the first place you visited out of state/country? Minnesota
12. Who was the last person you spoke to? [bossman]
13. What is the newest website you've visited? see link above
14. What is your newest skill? I learned how to Salsa a couple weeks ago
15. Do you have any hobbies you've had all your life? All my life is a pretty long time... piano playing is right around 21 years though
16. What did you do to celebrate your last birthday? Christmas parties
17.
18. Who was your first school teacher? Mrs. Mouw
19. What is the first thing you do every morning? Hit snooze
20. What is the last thing you do at night? Read, shut off the lamp

Happy Birthday, Erin!! I wish you were still doing your music buyer thing so that you could be down here this week. Last year was so much fun.

I think I figured out what I want to be when I grow up. I want to be that person who picks out the little musical themes played in the background of shows like The Real World.

Okay, I admit, I watched probably four episodes of TRW yesterday. The thing that struck me was how many times they played an intro to a Coldplay song. Now, I'm not sure how many credits you'd get for a show like that, but I'd have to think they are making a pretty penny on the intro to "Clocks" alone.

And if I can't work for MTV, I want to be the person who does the music buttons for NPR. Since, that person is the coolest person in the world... pretty much. (And I still can't get over that they use a Verve Pipe song on all the promos for one of the programs (which one exactly escapes me at the moment). Makes me want to dig out that cd every time -- since they were regional favorites when I lived in Michigan, but I couldn't bring myself to listen to them anymore after the 47th version of "The Freshman" came out.)

Gripe of the Day:
Why is every domain name registered? And who is in charge of those porn sites that register perfectly nice names once their registration runs out? Someone yucky registered an old domain I used to have. Sad.

I was happy to see they are doing something with Brentwood. I have always thought it has a bit of an identity crisis, since no one knows exactly where Nashville ends and Brentwood begins or where Brentwood ends and Franklin begins.

Shoot, I missed it...

Happy Birthday Mick! (yesterday)

Off to bask in the sunshine....

Hey Tuvai... here's some reading material for you, if you've paid any attention to reality television lately. ManlyThoughts.com provides hours of entertaining commentary on Survivor, Joe Millionaire, and Big Brother.

Quote of the Day:
"So did [bossman] declare today Extremely Casual Friday or what?"
-- Michael, upon seeing me this morning in my baggy jeans, Iowa Hawkeye t-shirt, flip-flops, and ponytails. (Retort: "Bugger off, I wore a skirt a couple days ago.")

How does one manage to misplace a 24-pack of double-roll 2-ply toilet paper? I'm not quite sure either, but I managed to do it. I swear I bought some the other day when I got office supplies... but it's nowhere to be found today. With only one woman here, surely we didn't go through it all already. I'm perplexed.

Working on the KAPP* today and all weekend and then sorting out which showcases I want to go to next week and attempting to get up the nerve to ask for passes to them.

*Kick-Ass Powerpoint Presentation: a mini-cinematic wonder by Danielle

Friday Five
1. How many houses/apartments have you lived in throughout your life?
10 -- but I've actually moved 12 times.

2. Which was your favorite and why?
Well, I think I would have to say my parents' house, because of all the memories associated with it. But as for places on my own, I'd have to say my apartment in Michigan. It was the third floor of an old mansion. It was actually the ballroom back in the day. Angled ceilings, hardwood floors, fireplace, bookshelf built into the wall. It was my dream apartment.

3. Do you find moving house more exciting or stressful? Why?
There are very few things I want to do less than ever moving again... though I am sure it will be done sooner or later. I tend to be a put-off-until-the-last-minute-humanly-possible sort of person, and moving isn't really conducive to that kind of attitude.

4. What's more important, location or price?
Character.

5. What features does your dream house have (pool, spa bath, big yard, etc.)?
A library and a gazebo.



Song for the Day:
Our House - Madness
~Our house, in the middle of our street
Our house, in the middle of our ...~

To a high school friend:

Dear Amanda,
You and your family are in my prayers.

Her dad died today.

I decided that I am going to do my taxes before April 15th this year.

Chris just told me that last night he dreamt that he came to visit me, only I was living in Australia. Could he be a prophet? :)

On that note, Hans also told me today that he got the little package I sent, but that when he opened it, some ants came scurrying out. So folks, I may be single-handedly responsible for infesting the continent of Australia with American ants. (Not unlike the bunny incident.) He failed to mention how many there were or if he bothered squishing them. I honestly do not know how they could have gotten in there, because I don't think I've seen an ant yet this season... but there were two cracks on either end that I didn't tape thoroughly. Darn postal service.

I can't work today. It's too beautiful outside. If there only was a way to get a phone outside, I could do just fine with my little wireless connection.

Nice photos from Sandra's photographer guy.

Every morning I seem to catch the closing song for Tahra Time on public television... and I hate it. I guess I am definitely not cut out for children's theatre. But if they had t-shirts on that site, I would get one.

For anyone sick of the intensity in regular newspapers these days, I give you Tabloid Column: Shocking but True! (well, mostly true... okay, somewhat true... erm, or not.)

Song for the Day:
Ignition (Remix) - R. Kelly
That one is for you, Mark. I still haven't heard it... but whatever you say. If I do manage to find it, I am shutting it off after the first "woo"... surely there is at least one.

When Karl, a co-worker and parental-like friend, found out how much I spent to fix my car, we had this conversation:
K: You know, for that much you could have paid three lease payments on a brand new Mercedes.
D: I know. I know.
K: Plus you'd have more fun driving one of those.
D: I'm having fun in my car.
K: Plus you'd have all the hot guys chasing you.
D: I'm not sure I want all the guys chasing me.
K: Yes, you do.
D: But I'm trying to save my money.
K: For what? Your dowry?
D: Shut up.

:)

New Radiohead... mmm, mmm, good.

A little piece on Icelandic music. (via Jargonese)

I didn't have time to post yesterday -- work duties prevailed... but now, without further ado, I present... Danielle's Weekend in New Orleans Recap:

Our Goals for the Weekend
1. See an above-ground cemetery. (Danielle)
2. Eat authentic cajun. (Michael)
3. Be completely consumed and mezmerized by Sigur Rós. (Danielle, Michael, Darren, Adam, Paul, Deanna, Dave, Becca, Jason, Brianna)
Mission Accomplished!

1275 miles later... we are back to Nashville. I love (to visit) New Orleans. I probably would not ever want to live there... but it really lived up to my expectations. As has become roadtrip tradition, we made a documentary of sorts with Michael's video camera. (I have yet to see the footage from the Greensboro trip, but that was good too.) Eventually it will all be edited together as The Misadventures of Michael and Danielle.

Due to some technical difficulties with Amerigo, we decided to just rent a car in the end. So we were cruising in a little white Malibu. (From Avis... I have to plug them, because they were so much more accomodating when it came to our need to leave the state. Unlimited mileage... weekend rate... plus a free upgrade coupon. Enterprise was going to charge us 35 cents per mile to take out of state... umm, yeah right!)

Making really good time, we got to Long Beach around 2:45 AM. Crashed at Adam's parent's house. Saturday morning we were greeted with wake-up calls from their two gigantic rottweilers. (huge... not kidding. Gable comes up to my waist and could bowl me over no problem.) Adam's dad made his famous steaks for us for lunch... delish! Then we headed to the city.

Not knowing much about New Orleans outside of the Mardi-Gras atmosphere, I had no real pre-conception of what the place would be like... except that I always wanted to see an above-ground cemetery. (I have a thing for cemeteries... call me crazy, but I think there is a peaceful beauty to them.)

We were driving down the 10 when all of a sudden I spotted tombs on either side. It was so beautiful... I nearly cried. Jason & Brianna took us to Metairie Cemetery to have a look around. It was everything I could have hoped for... so beautiful. Plus it was overcast, so I think my photos will turn out great. There are apparently a handful of famous people buried there. (I think I only saw that of Richard Taylor.) And this is an interesting tale about the Moriarty momument. (Which we saw.)
Goal #1 -- Check.

It started to rain, so we went to pick up Adam and headed to the French Quarter where we met Darren at Virgin. We walked all over and then went for dinner at Acme Oyster House... where I had a side of red beans & rice, a side of jambalaya, and some incredible hush puppies. Brianna got crawfish so that I could sample one. (I've determined that I'm not a fan... and they've been dubbed the "cockroaches of the sea".)
Goal #2 -- Check.

Then we went to House of Blues where we met up with Paul, Deanna, Dave & Rebecca. I can hardly talk about the show; it was so amazing. The Album Leaf opened. And Sigur Rós... well, I cannot begin to describe how intense it was. There was so much passion and emotion. It was truly amazing. (Plus they did some really cool work with backlighting which made it even more incredible.)
Goal #3 -- Check.

Unfortunately, Adam's experience was tainted by nearly being puked on twice... and I was near the path that everyone was using to get through the crowd, which meant that I got a few elbows in the kidneys, etc... but Brianna and I sat on the bar for the encore which gave us a perfect view. (And thanks to the random guy who helped me jump down afterwards so I wouldn't knock anybody over or turn an ankle in the process.)

Here is what someone else thought of the show: "Sigur Ros is THE MOST AMAZING BAND I HAVE EVER SEEN! EVER! Their set was so completely breathtaking."

Afterwards, Michael, Darren, Adam, Jason, Brianna, Jonathan, Roddy, and I went to Cafe du Monde for beignets and coffee. Props to Percy the waiter.

Stayed at Paul, Deanna & Darren's that night. Slept in the spare bedroom.. which is essentially a studio with a bed behind the consul. It was kind of funny.

Sunday morning we rendezvoused at Victory and hit the road. Got to Mobile in time for a good homecooked Sunday lunch with Michael's family. (His grandfather, a WWII veteran, was the most adorable thing in the world. He would tell me these random stories about the war. Quite fascinating, but I think the others were afraid I was bored by him.) We left there at 6 and were back in town by 2 something. Good times!

Other highlights:
∙ Saw a jazz band marching through the French Quarter.
∙ Got to drive across the Lake Pontchartrain Causeway twice! (It's not every day I am on a 23.9 mile bridge.)
∙ Saw lovely historic downtown Mobile.