Look out. I'm wearing red corduroy, and I feel sassy.

I don't think I mentioned that the lady who I housesat for has an original Howard Finster woodcut angel. I can't describe how cool that is.

Let the Celebration Continue
Me: Happy EP Release Day.
Darren: Thank you. I feel like it's my birthday. In fact, I think I've had more people call me today than on my birthday.
Me: Well in some ways it is the birth of a new musical endeavor.
Him: [laughter] I guess you're right!

I found a full stream for "Claire"... words can't express the joy. Must. Get. Hands. on. This. Album.

I Lied
Last night Connie and I went out for dinner, and halfway through the meal, a gentleman (read gross old man) sitting on the other side of the wall/barricade between booths from me asked if my hair color was natural and then proceeded to compliment me to death about it. Umm... trying to eat here... and trying not to laugh as Connie is making faces that the man can't see.

As we were leaving, he again complimented the hair in every way possible ("thanks again... I'll pass that along to my mother, as I really had nothing to do with it") and said that some day he would marry a redhead (uncomfortable giggle)... and proceeded to ask if I was single (THE LIE: "Not really").

I like to think that the phrase "not single" is really open to interpretation. There is:
1. Not single, take-note-of-the-wedding-ring-buster not single
2. Not single, not-married-but-not-available not single
3. Not single, not-dating-but-smitten-with-one-particular-individual-and-therefore-you-have-no-chance not single

I happen to fall in category three. I'm in deep smit...... And while the odds are Johnny Depp won't leave that beautiful woman any time soon, that old guy just doesn't have a chance while there is a glimmer of hope in my mind. :)

And speaking of couches, my roommate rearranged our living room. [My segue isn't nearly as good as Erin's.]

Happy EP Release Day!

Random Tuesday Question #6: To which cartoon or comic strip character can you most relate and why?
Pacha from The Emperor's New Groove, because sometimes I feel like there are several Kuzcos in my life. (No one who reads this though... I nub all you!)

Uhh...
I just had an embarrassing phonecall. Michael had called me from the bus asking me for some phone numbers. Not 30 seconds later, I got another call with the same background noise and some guy asking someone to get him some gloves. So I was all, "Helloooooo, are you talking to meeeeee?" thinking it was Michael calling back. Nope. It was Guy #16. Right. I'm retarded.

My Features Form with a Change in the Weather
This series of perfect days is distracting me. I want to be outside with a book and blanket. I think that someone just told the trees that Autumn started last week, because this morning there was a perfect carpet of gold and orange leaves on the front steps of the office. Crunch, crunch.

"If you're lonely while you're alone, you are in bad company."
--Jean-Paul Sartre

BillyBussey.com: ridiculously talented digital artist/flash animator that Jay introduced me to several years ago. I just watched his new intro for the first time... so cool.

ZipDeCode: Zooming zip code map. I've been going through typing every zipcode I can remember.

Three Weeks
THREE WEEKS! I've been having a little anxiety about flying over that much water since I experienced a little vertigo whilst merely flying over Lake Michigan a few years ago. At least Tash will be there to distract me on the way over.

Where Have I Been?
I'm offended that I didn't know about The Push Stars until last Friday. I don't know who to blame except myself. They're opening for Martin Sexton in Indy next weekend... why couldn't it be when I'm there the following?

Song for the Day
Claire (clip) - The Push Stars
~And there, this is your answer Claire
I can't guarantee that I'll be true
But on the sleepless city nights
I'm just a shadow 'neath the street lights
Who would die for you
I would die for you~

Girls Just Wanna Have Fun
And fun we had. It was wonderful to have Allison and Erin here this weekend. (Wonderful except for the CR Incident. And the dog bark at 4AM. And the poo on the Chucks moment.)

It was a bev-nappnig, coffee-drinking, classic-movie-watching, free-food-getting good weekend.

Late Night Owl
What a great week for late night. Wednesday Conan had visited with Terry Gross, one of my favourite radio personalities.

On Tuesday, it warmed my heart to see Roland and Curt (Tears for Fears) back together again. And I must say that Curt is still looking pretty darn good. I have wanted to see them for forever, so if any of you live in cities where they are touring, would you please go in my stead?

And last night, I watched Come and Take It Day (with the beautiful Jesse Borrego, last seen as Gael on 24) on public television and went to bed early. (Sorry, Tash... any other night I would have been awake at 2AM - hope everything is okay. DMB ticket was sent. See you soon!!)

Bookish
I spent one of my Barnes & Noble gift cards today. Not that I've been reading a lot lately, but I do have a significant plane ride ahead.
-- How Ronald Reagan Changed My Life by Peter Robinson
-- No Plot? No Problem! by Chris Baty... because NaNoWriMo is around the corner.
-- Things You Should Know By Now by Jason Boyett
-- Walk On: The Spiritual Journey of U2 by Steve Stockman... I can't decide if I really want to read this one or not.
-- It's All Downhill from Here by Andrew Schwab... this is the most anticipated one, as I think it will hit home for me. War stories, anyone?

Declaring a State of Emergency
We, here at the office, appear to completely out of all absorbent material including but not limited to toilet paper, kleenex, paper towels, and the like. And while toilet paper and paper towels both include the word "paper", paper itself simply will not do the trick. Looks like I'm going to Publix for lunch.

Quickly now...

Survivor Orange Magnolia
It's not too late to join in. Last week's unified Reward/Immunity Challenge win by the women threw most of us off, so it's definitely still anybody's game.

The Game:
1. Who will win the Reward Challenge? Women
2. Who will win the Immunity Challenge? Men
3. Who will be voted out? Scout

Bonus Questions:
4. What will the reward be? A map or key to allow them to access food
5. Will it rain during Tribal Council? No
6. Who gets first confessional? Ami

Bonus Bonus Question:
7. What do maggots taste like? Chicken

Link to Read Later
Australia - New Zealand Advice

The Bachelor
If there is a surprise twist on this season of The Bachelor, I think it will be that Krysta reveals that she is actually Brett Butler. Hello? Did you hear her talk??

Okay, gotta go...

Where's WaldoLeslie?
In what I believe to be her primetime debut, Leslie's episode of Hawaii is on tonight. Try to spot her in the "semi-chase scene" in the blue Jetta with Florida license plates.

Who Let the Dogs Out
I woke up this morning to a familiar sound. Though its familiarity didn't register immediately. I heard the sound of something falling. And the sound of something rolling around. And then I heard an unmistakable crunching. Newman had knocked my BBQ Pringles off the table behind the couch and proceeded to EAT THEM!

I Talk Big
My little messageboard kids aren't playing nice. One of the label guys and I have been trying to shut one kid up, so I threatened to ban his IP before I realized I don't have that capability. Hopefully my menacing tone works instead.

He really needs the Posting and You tutorial. (That was hilarious, thanks Steve. "Shut up and go outside forum whore.")

Geek Alert
Holy Larger Than Life Monitor, Batman. This would be too cool.

Geek Alert Part 2
I know, I know... the Star Wars DVDs came out yesterday. No, I'm not buying them... if for no other reason than to have at least one thing on a Christmas list so that my mother doesn't harrass me for the 8 weeks prior to Christmas about whether I want anything in particular. *phew* But I felt it was time to dig out my link to Star Wars: The Musical, because it is a brilliant work of musical excellence. (Also it should be noted that apparently some high school did their own version, but there is no recording available.)

Going Down in a Blaze of Glory
RTQ#5: If God let you decide how you would "leave this world", how would you choose to die?
I wanted to say something noble like... run over by a car after pushing a small child out of the way. Or something memorable like... freak photocopier accident. But no, I'm going with carbon monoxide poisoning, because those people generally peacefully in their sleep. (And I, like Steve, am a wuss when it comes to death.)

This reminds me of a really good book I read on a plane one time called Last Breath by Peter Stark. It gives a first-person account of what it would feel like to die by various causes like drowning, hypothermia, and my personal favourite... scurvy.

Dog Days
I guess Newman read my mind last night and didn't start scratching himself (and thereby making the jingle-jingle of his collar that wakes me up) at first light this morning. So I overslept this morning.

I have a whole commentary on the shower at that house too, but I'll save that for another day.

Do people care if I post without having some clever game/website/riddle/name-generator?

Because right now I'm just trying to keep circulation going in my right arm. There's nothing quite like throwing pop-flies for Dalton and the neighborhood baseball players for two hours to make one feel old and out of shape when one's throwing arm cannot even close a car door two days later.

So I'm housesitting in Green Hills, and I have no food. While the Wild Oats is up the street a little ways, I didn't want to be healthy. It has been a gas-station-food day.

This dog and I really need to come to an understanding about what is the proper time to be awake. Here he is... sleeping at my feet as I type (at 1AM) and has been since about 10:00. Maybe if I kept him up later, he'd sleep in past dawn.

Posting could be slow in the next week, as I will be housesitting where there is no cable, much less cable modem. I can only pray for a neighbor with a wireless connection.

But I leave you with this new little gem. The "mystery artist" live last spring. (EP release week from Tuesday... just sayin'.)

Happy 5th Anniversary, Jack & Manda! And you know what that means: No more trying to set her up with sexy foreigners.

Me: 5 years. I haven't done anything for 5 years.
Manda: I hadn't either.
Me: But now you've done Jack.

Can I repeat that?


And you know what else this means? It means that we've been friends again for five years. Congratulations to us for not bugging the crap out of each other again. Or you the crap out of me... whatever the case may be. :)

Job Predictor: What Your Name Says About You

Okay, so "danielle" came up with: Your ideal job is a Headteacher. So immediately I thought, this thing is crap. But then I put in "manda", and "movie star" came up... and "jack" generated "church minister". So Leslie, I hate to break it to you, but you're going to be prime minister, and your husband is going to be a nun.

Here's an original band review. John & Gene's band in comic review form. That guy is so right... they do rock the house.

Pray for this lady. She's got 12 hours in a plane and then U.S. customs to deal with... but YAY!!! Tash is coming to my hemisphere!

Cry Me a River
Somehow I managed to still tape the wrong channel even after going home at lunch to make sure I had it right. I blame the television. So instead of catching Survivor, I taped some program on PBS.

It had puppets singing a catchy song...

Sven said, "Ted, send ten tents,"
Ted said, "Sven, send ten cents."
When Sven sent Ted ten cents,
Then Ted sent Sven ten tents.

Or something like that.

Not as good as Survivor, I'm sure.

Wunderbar
So I wasn't home, because I went to see Kiss Me, Kate. It was a well-done production in this cool little black box theatre.

Interestingly, I sat a few seats down from this pretty little blonde girl. College student. Dressed to the nines. Cute by most men's standards, I would guess. But shortly into the first act, I felt like I was in a Seinfeld episode.

The poor girl's laugh. Oh my gosh. Seriously. It is hard to describe, but if I had to, I would definitely use the words "nasal" and "honk" somewhere in the description.

I'm so mean. Poor thing can't help it. But it's true. And as mentioned a few days ago... if it's true, it's funny.

Quote of the Day
This is by far the best excuse I've ever gotten from someone who hasn't emailed in a year and a half:

Any moment in time can be infinitely divided into two equal parts thus making the concept of "now" entirely irrelevant. Since there is no such thing as "now" and no way in which either past or present can be contained or scientifically justified there is, in my conclusion, no such thing as time. Thus if time does not exist, then no time has elapsed since I last spoke to any of you and thus none of you have anything to whinge about.

Wallpaper-by-number: You have to think that would get so tedious after about one strip that one would ending up taking a roller brush to it in the end.

Do you know what day it is?

That's right, kids!

It's the first day of Survivor Orange Magnolia! So whether you're a Survivor fanatic or if you quit watching the moment Richard Hatch first dropped trow, the time is now.

There really is no science to this. Frankly, you don't even have to watch the show. Last season I just pulled names out of the air. "Martin gets voted off this week. There is no one named Martin? Uhh, then I'll go with Rob."

So go check out this season's teams, and then go here to post your predictions for this week's episode.

1. Which tribe (men or women) will win the first Reward Challenge (1 point)? Men
2. Which tribe (men or women) will win the first Immunity Challenge (1 point)? Men
3. Who will be the first Survivor voted out of the tribe? (1 point) Scout (though this makes me sad, because my junior high science teacher called me Scout)

Bonus Question:
4. Which of the female tribe members will show off her bikini first? Dolly
5. Which tribe will get fire first? Men (I think this is part of the reward)

Bonus Bonus Question:
Where the heck is Vanuatu? Kinda over down there in the ocean.

Dangit, I need to go home and reset my VCR. Wrong channel. I need TiVO.

Quotes that Made Me Laugh
"Nothing like a buffet to make me sing like I'm friggin' Oliver."
--Tournament of Stuff

"But here's the thing. Open the wrapper like you would if you were going to swallow the stuff. But instead of swallowing, snort that stuff up. You might want to take two powders, one for each nostril. Now, it won't necessarily make what you're worrying about go away. But it'll give you a whole new, much more immediate and intense burning pain to worry about."
--BSTommy

Eeeeeeeeeeee
I found out my childsitting isn't until technically the first weekend of October. That means that my girls can come see me in a couple weeks!

Happiness is...
...phonecalls that make you laugh so much your face hurts.

"The funniest things are true."
"That's so true. And funny."

More Happiness
A certain someone who has worked with Radiohead and Coldplay called yesterday asking about these guys. Whee.

No word on whether they're evacuating. Speaking of, I saw the raddest satelite image of Hurricane Ivan. (smaller version for dialup folks)

Pet Peeve Party
One thing that bothers me a little bit is how people respond to the question "what kind of music do you listen to?". I sorta hate it when people say "I listen to all kinds of music" and then proceed to list 20 bands that all sound the same.

Have you seen the missile balloons picture? Good stuff.

Erin's Random Tuesday Question
RTQ#4: What is the most random/strange/disturbing item you can find on ebay? Post a brief description and a link in the comments.

At first I was going to go with the Kangaroo Scrotum Coinpurse or the [Eff] Communism Patch... or this house built on a bridge is pretty weird/cool... but I'm going to go with the Young Innocent Human Soul.

(But these Happy Bunny Poison Mints made me think of Erin.)

Can't Touch This


Speaking of fresh dance moves, if anyone is going to see Napoleon Dynamite again... or even for the first time (though shame on you for waiting so long)... in the near future, would you tell me if the one dance routine is based off the dancing spiderman. Michael pointed that out last week, and I had never made the connection... but no one else has said it.

I've been watching Oprah and crying. Her generosity is amazing. She just gave new cars to every single person in the studio audience... plus she gave this girl a makeover and is paying for her college tuition.

From My Video to My Radio
Am I the only one who watched and loved Kidd Video as a child? There an awesome site dedicated to it, including the music.

"He's a Romeo video... Romeo video... Video Romeo."

Dude, I haven't heard that song in almost 20 years, but I can still sing it.

Rad.

Achtung
Mystery Artist's EP is on amazon.com... even though that tracklist is wrong. Listen to three tracks including the radio single. The third makes my world spin these days.

Subliminal Thoughts
I Say... You Think

1. Self-esteem :: strong
   
2. Migraine :: gran mal headache
   
3. Phoebe :: Phebe, my old housemate
   
4. Nervous :: system
   
5. Punctual :: puncture wound
   
6. Liver damage :: alcohol
   
7. Legal disclaimer :: work
   
8. Reverend :: Rynbrandt
   
9. Supple :: apple
   
10. Binder :: 3-ring

Did you all see my beautiful friend as the Princess? Totally hott... and redheaded. :)

My internal clock is off. I stayed up until 4:30 yesterday morning and slept until 3... and repeated the process last night... except I got up much earlier. I'm restless.

I feel a Wilson Phillips song coming on.

Stop and Take a Minute

A Tribute
Like only BlueDaniel could do.

I'm How Old?
Today I was going to use "bite me" as a simple retort to an email I received, and the phrase made me giggle out loud.

Which Survivor of the Impending Nuclear Apocalypse Are You?


You're Selling What on eBay??
We all know my Manda is an eBay maven. She sells freaking coupons on there... and people buy them. But even she hasn't stooped to this level: one vial of actual rainwater from Hurricane Frances. (Though it may be something to consider if she doesn't evacuate this weekend for The Reason That Shall Not Be Stated.)

Wanna See Something Funny?
*snicker* Silly Disney. Fish don't have legs.


Steve made the greatest comment about it looking like Nemo has goiter. Now that, my friends, is funny.

What Am I On?
Nothing really... but I'm in such a giggly mood.

Why All the Questions?
No reason. Ooo... but I will say that I watched Resident Evil last night only because I love Milla. Is she not the most beautiful thing ever?

How Do You Spell "H"?
This morning I was thinking about how you can spell pretty much any letter phonetically... "eff", "tee", "dee", "el". But then I got stuck on "h".

"Ach" is like as in "Bach" to me. "Ache" is clearly wrong. Would you go with "aytch"? I don't know. Happy Friday.

It's Official!
Plane tickets are purchased!
The arrangements are made!
Flying to Auckland with tash.
Visiting my long-lost dear friends in Brisbane.
Going to my family on the Southwest coast.
With a little adventure in Perth thrown in for fun.

Oh my goodness... I'm going to Australia.

Check this out! That's Darren under the frosting! I'm going to have to track down that issue.

Wax On, Wax Off
Last night I caught a little bit of the end of Growing up Gotti. (This time I have to give Paris Hilton a little credit, because I didn't know who the crap they were either.) I spent the entire time fascinated by how the sons sound exactly like the Karate Kid.

Thought for the Day
I really hope that chiggers play an important role in the ecosystem. It would make my suffering a little more bearable. Pass the calamine.

Thought for the Day: Part 2
I think the people I know and love need to move away from Florida. Yeah, sure it's a beautiful sunny paradise... but so was Atlantis.

Instead of people asking "where were you when Kennedy was shot?" or "where were you when the Challenger exploded?", people are soon going to be asking "where were you when Florida broke off the continental U.S. and sunk to the miry depths of the ocean?"

Random TuesWednesday Question
RTQ #3: What reality show do you think you could win, if offered the chance to be on it?
I've been told I would be good at The Apprentice, but psha... that would be like having a real job. I think I could get pretty far in Big Brother, not that I'd ever want to subject myself to that.

Go Team!
So this morning for some reason I found myself singing my high school fight song. Why? No clue. Here it is... to the tune of "Anchors Away"...

Here's to the Orange & Blue
They stand for right
Here's to our loyal sons who
For their colors fight (fight, fight, fight)
'Gainst every haughty foe
They'll do or die
When they hear our battle cry of
Fight SiouxlCenter! Fight SiouxlCenter! Fight! Hey! Hey!
So my question is two-fold:
Do you remember the lyrics of your school fight song?
And are they as idiotic as mine?

SIDE NOTE: As a result of those rarely-mentioned cheerleading years, I also know a nice little routine to go with that.

Image Quiz: Guess what search terms were entered based on the pictures that come up. Kills a little time... of which I have no more spare.

I didn't hang up on you. It was the battery. And no I don't charge my cellphone. People call it when it's charged. I'm going home now. Phone there is probably dead too.

Still alive; thanks for asking. (And requests for updates from you, oh Queen of Nonupdating, don't sway me too much.) :P

A Few Numbers

• 3 years old is my beautiful niece.
  
• 6 hours vegging in front of the television on Friday night.
  
• 1 trip to the Farmers Market.
  
• 2 hours reading/napping on the trampoline.
  
• 2 two sleepovers with Connie & Petra.
  
• 3 movies... Laws of Attraction, Garden State (Zach Braff is brilliant if only because he chose both Remy Zero and Thievery Corporation for the soundtrack, and, as Erin points out, he blogs.), The Count of Monte Cristo.
  
• 1 night at the Jazz Festival.
  
• 1 hammock hanging party in the woods.
  
• 50 chigger bites as a result. Serious. It looks like I have chicken pox. Real cute. (Granted, flip-flops in the forrest wasn't a good idea in retrospect, but when you have a hammock to hang, it must be hung.)
  
• 8 people at the Labor Day cookout.
  
• 2 games of Balderdash... I won.
  
• 10 telephone calls to my parents.
  
• 0 the number of times they bothered to mention they were going to take the motorcycle to Yellowstone this weekend.
  
• 2 hours total at my house between Saturday morning and Monday night. Woo!

Quiz Time
I challenge anyone who has never lived south of the Mason-Dixon to tell me what "Ro-Tel" is. People down here look at me funny when I call it what it really is... silly southerners.

How did it get to be the seventh of September already? Tash is going to be here in an instant.

The Secret Adventures of Mr. T... not quite as good as Star Warz: Crapisode I, and we all know what I think about that.

Warning/Apology
Listen for the last week and a half, I've been sick to death of people. I wasn't in the mood to deal. In the words of those popstars we know and love, "get over yourself, goodbye." So if I've been withdrawn, feisty or otherwise not myself, sorry... it probably wasn't your fault. I don't know if I'm over it yet, but last night didn't help.

Lunchtime Poll
Erin's Random Tuesday Question...

If you were a box of Band-Aids, what design would you be?
Snoopy.

Funny how some things remain vivid in the memory for no apparent reason. My paternal grandfather died 16 years ago last week. The last memory I have of him was visiting him in the hospital after he had a chemo treatment. I was sitting on the arm of his chair, and he showed me his Snoopy bandaid.

Can't Stop the Rock
After I got home from work, I remembered that Jesse was playing in town tonight. So I got back in the car and headed up there. I'm glad I did. He looked happier this time, but maybe it's because of the new guitar. Got to see his family again too. His mom is excited about my trip and ordered me to give everyone her love. Yay.

Ahead of The Times Still isn't with The Times
I can't count the number of times in recent weeks that I have been around people who are trying to figure out what the song is on the Garden State trailer or commercials or whatever. ("Let Go" by Frou Frou) And then friends come and say excitedly that they just bought Frou Frou, and I have to sigh and apologize for trying to tell them about the glories of Imogen a whole year ago.

Happy Scrappy Hero Pup
Did anyone else catch that Kevin Smith is making a sequel to Clerks... titled The Passion of the Clerks? On the same line, what English teacher suggests Clerks to her students? Mine.

Random Phrase that Made Me Burst into Unexpected Laughter
Big chewy pills

Everyone Knows Its Windy
Manda said they're going to evacuate this time if Frances takes an unexpected westward turn. Is it wrong of me to hope it does? COME HERE!

We all know that my hurricane was this year, but you can see if you're going to be a hurricane within the next six years. Looks like Barry is up for #2 in 2007.

Song for the Day
Promise - Nitin Sawhney (featuring Jacob Golden)
~Lately, you followed your fears under the bed
And fell for a hundred years
Into the arms of a wounded melody
The promise that love's still here~

That guy has such a silky sweet voice. It's a shame his stuff is nearly impossible to come by over here.