A to Z cds: Day 58

270. Come Away With Me ~ Norah Jones (last listen: 3-5 years): I haven't listened to this cd in a while, as you can see. But her voice is still really beautiful. The songs aren't so remarkable in and of themselves; it's her voice that makes this cd so special.

271. Pearl ~ Janis Joplin (last listen: 1-3 years)

272. Greatest Hits ~ Janis Joplin (last listen: 1-3 years): There's a lot of duplication between this disc and Pearl but the differences are stunning. For example, this disc has possibly the greatest Janis song "Piece of My Heart" on it. Man, the feeling in that song is so palpable. It's great. I also really like Bye, Baby.

273. Walking Distance ~ Robert Earl Keen (last listen: 3-5 years): This cd is something I acquired after listening to Gravitational Forces. In some ways it's a much better cd since the songs tell some great stories and these are all REK originals instead of a few covers. I really like the song "Feelin' Good Again."

274. Gravitational Forces ~ Robert Earl Keen (last listen: 3-5 years): I came to REK through Squater. I really love this guy's voice and his style. Plus, he (REK not Sqauter) is good pals with Lyle Lovett. I'd have to say that the only song I really don't like on this disc is the title track. But REK's cover of "I Still Miss Someone" is one to not miss. I also love the kick off of "My Home Ain't in the Hall of Fame."

A to Z cds: Day 57

265. Masquerade ~ Wyclef Jean (last listen: 3-5 years)

266. The Preacher's Son ~ Wyclef Jean (last listen: never): I think I bought this cd out of habit. Like, well, Wyclef has a new disc I should get that. But I have never listened to it. So far, I really like Party to Damascus, which contains some actual Arabic. Although, all I can really make out is habibi which means darling.

267. Brushfire Fairytales ~ Jack Johnson (last listen: 1-3 years): I still remember the first time I heard Jack Johnson. All I could think it that this disc is something you want to listen to while sun bathing with a beer on the beach just hanging with your pals. I still think that. I know a lot of people like to criticize and say all his songs sound the same. It's a valid critique but I will still listen to all these discs. They are just so relaxing and soothing. Favorite songs: The News, Mudfootball, It's All Understood

268. On and On ~ Jack Johnson (last listen: 1-3 years): Favorite songs: Cookie Jar, Holes to Heaven, Traffic in the Sky

269. In Between Dreams ~ Jack Johnson (last listen: 6 months - 1 year): Favorite songs: Better Together, Banana Pancakes, Do You Remember

YA Lit: It's addictive

For some reason, possibly good writing, I have been on a Young Adult Literature kick for some time now. I didn't feel as though right now was a particularly good time to stop so I read some more books.


Enna Burning by Shannon Hale is the second book in her trilogy that began with The Goose Girl. Enna Burning takes place some time after The Goose Girl and although we are not given how much time I am approximating it's about 6 months to 1 year after the end of Goose Girl. This time the story is centered on Ani/Isi's best friend Enna. Enna is a forest girl. One day in the forest Enna's brother, Leifer, mysteriously learns how to control and make fire. He becomes fire. When their country Bayern becomes embroiled in a war Leifer joins the fight. He is not able to control the fire so Enna ends up teaching herself the magical language of fire. In the process she secretly begins to become something of a freedom fighter. But soon Enna, like Leifer, is unable to control the fire. Only Ani/Isi and Enna together can try to control the fire before it takes over Enna completely.

I thought this book was really well done and quite a good follow up to The Goose Girl. I thought about suggesting this work to my niece but I think I will wait until she's a bit older as there is an attempted rape scene in the book that I found a bit too graphic and disturbing for an eleven year old. I am very excited to get my hands on River Secrets.

Last night I finished Maureen Johnson's The Key to the Golden Firebird. This book centers on the three Gold sisters. When their father dies, the lives of May, Brooks, and Palmer are sent into a spiral. Their mom has to work more; they are the sometime charity cases of the Camp family and their neighbors. They make bad choices when it comes to boys. And none of them are dealing very well with the fact that their dad is dead.

I thought this book was really good. I even cried in a couple of places. One thing that bothered me though was that Palmer's story seemed to get the short shrift. I wish her family could have dealt more with some of her issues. I think this book could have used another chapter or two but over all I thought it was a fast but engrossing read.

Books Read in 2007:

The Keys to the Golden Firebird ~ Maureen Johnson
Enna Burning ~ Shannon Hale
Fool Moon ~ Jim Butcher
Queen of Babble ~ Meg Cabot
The Goose Girl ~ Shannon Hale
The Princess Academy ~ Shannon Hale
Avalon High ~ Meg Cabot
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows ~ J.K. Rowling
A Thousand Splendid Suns ~ Khaled Hosseini
The Bermudez Triangle ~ Maureen Johnson
Fray ~ Joss Whedon
The Dragonriders of Pern ~ Anne McCaffery
Embroideries ~ Marjane Satrapi
13 Little Blue Envelopes ~ Maureen Johnson
The Cider House Rules ~ John Irving
Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince ~J.K. Rowling
Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix ~ J.K. Rowling
Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire ~ J.K. Rowling
Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban ~ J.K. Rowling
Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets ~ J.K. Rowling
Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone ~ J.K. Rowling
The Good Men: A Novel of Heresy ~ Charmaine Craig
An Abundance of Katherines ~ John Green
The Count of Monte Cristo ~ Alexandre Dumas
Looking For Alaska ~ John Green
Band of Brothers: E Company, 506th Regiment, 101st Airborne from Normandy to Hitler's Eagle's Nest ~ Stephen Ambrose
Drinking, Smoking, and Screwing: Great Writers on Good Times ~ edited by Sara Nikles
Forever in Blue: The Fourth Summer of the Sisterhood ~ Ann Brashares

Some bullshit

You know, at lot of things about television I just let go. Things that annoy me or I find to be ridiculous. Sometimes I do spout off. I know that my Everwood rants are famous around here, especially since this is my blog where I rant. But this is just crappy.

We have to wait until April 2008 for season 4 of BSG. That will mean that it will have almost been an entire year between airings of season 3 and 4. What makes me so mad is that there is no damn good reason for this. They've already shot several episodes. It's more than likely that the entire season will be finished or close to it by April 2008. It's like they are dragging it out on purpose to torture the fans. And there is still the possibility of them not finishing the season until 2009.

I think this is a very not cool way to treat your customers, Sci-Fi Channel. You people are a bunch of wankers. Especially because you know that for all my complaining I will totally be watching in April. You have me held captive. And I don't like that.

Doing some good

I totally stole this from Marissa. But she stole it from Erica, so it makes me feel less bad.

Anyway, are you good with words? Do you like to help starving children around the world? If so, go play at Free Rice. All you have to do is know the right meaning of the word given and they donate 10 grains of rice for every right answer. Today, I already donated 500 grains. I knew that Latin would come in handy for something other than my ACT, SAT, and, surprisingly, Persian. So, go feed some kids.

FREE RICE!

Paging Dr. Witter, Dr. Pacey Witter to the OR

Dude, if only I didn't love The Office so much. I would totally be watching Grey's Anatomy for the return of Joshua Jackson to my tv screen.

Just please don't let him hook up with the increasingly retarded Izzie. For the love of gods, let him bring Callie out of her George funk.

Links: here, there, and everywhere

So, recently people have decided to stop blogging. Or they don't blog frequently enough to make them a daily stop. And sometimes my daily stops change, so my blogroll should maybe reflect that. At any rate, the side bar has been tweaked.

On a completely non-related note, has anyone who reads this blog been to Montreal, Canada? I am going next month for a conference and I was hoping you all could tell me about some good food, music, caffeine, etc.

U-G-L-Y

You all need to watch Ugly Betty tonight. Guest stars include: The Beek aka Five-Head Dawson Leary, SPYDADDY!!!! (Squeeing like a fan girl), and John Cho. So excited for 7pm.

And speaking of SpyDaddy, what happened to Eli Stone? Greg Berlanti and SpyDaddy together can only mean good tv.

A to Z cds: Day 56

259. Janet ~ Janet Jackson (last listen: 5+ years): I was actually kind of excited to listen to this cd because I remembered it being good. And then I relistened to it. I was wrong. How I ever thought this cd was good is really inexplicable. I mean, it's just bad. And long. So long. 25 songs long. I never thought it would end. Although, I do still like the song "That's The Way Love Goes."

260. Off the Wall ~ Michael Jackson (last listen: 1-3 years): Remember when Michael Jackson looked like a normal black man? Remember that? I do. It was when I LOVED him. Back when he still made funky music and didn't scare me with his predilection for little boys. Off the Wall is seriously a great pop album. I still groove to "Don't Stop til You Get Enough", "Rock With You", Workin' Day and Night" and "Burn This Disco Out". Those were the days.

261. Thriller ~ Michael Jackson (last listen: 1-3 years): I remember my sixth birthday vividly. It was at McDonald's and at the time that was like one of the best birthday parties you could. Plus, I got two copies of Michael Jackson's Thriller on vinyl. I wanted to keep both of them because I knew I would play them until they warped. My mom wanted me to return one copy so to thwart her I opened them both and then colored on the inner picture (you know the one where he was holding the little tiger). Man, my mom was pissed at me. Heh. Anyway, this is all to show that at age six I really wanted to be Mrs. Michael Jackson. Who knew that this is when I probably had my nest shot at getting a little one on one time with MJ, if you know what I mean. And yes, I did just gross my self out a little with that last over the line comment. Anyway, I still dig "Wanna Be Startin' Something", "PYT", "Beat It", "Human Nature", and of course, "Thriller".

262. Nothings Shocking ~ Jane's Addiction (last listen: 3-5 years): I never loved Jane's Addiction with the fervor that many of my friends did. Honestly, something about Perry Farrell really freaked me out after I watched Gift and I have never been fully comfortable with him since.

263. The Carnival ~ Wyclef Jean (last listen: 1-3 years): I have major love for this cd. I really like Wyclef and the vibe he brings in his music. He does smart stuff and fun stuff. I wish I could say I have a favorite song but really I can't; I just love all of the songs. But here are some youtube videos if you want to check them out: Gone Til November, Guantanamera, Anything Can Happen

ETA: I realized I was wrong and that "Stayin Alive" is still my favorite song on this disc.

264. The Ecleftic: 2 Sides II a Book ~ Wyclef Jean (last listen: 1-3 years): Okay, this cd is also really good and in some ways better than his first solo album. I absolutely love the ballad 911 which features Mary J. Blige. I think its a really beautiful love song and it gives me chills every time I hear it. I also love the song Diallo. Have you ever been shot 41 times?

A to Z cds: Day 55

255. I am Sam Soundtrack ~ Various Artists (last listen: 3-5 years): Got this disc from Bill back in those good ol' IU days. This cd is bassically a bunch of Beatles covers. Which, you know, can go either way. I mean, some are great like Rufus Wainwright, Eddie Vedder, Ben Harper, Sarah McLachlan, and Sheryl Crow. Some, in my opinion, aren't so awesome like The Vines, and whoever Chocolate Genius is. I think it can be tough to try and remake songs from one of history's greatest band and for the most part these are some really fantastic efforts.

256. Our Endless Numbered Days ~ Iron and Wine (last listen: 1-3 years): Another one from Bill. I really love this cd, even if it is a bit on the melancholy side. I think that the guy behind Iron and Wine is very talented and I really like his voice.

257. Woman King ~ Iron and Wine (last listen: 6 months - 1 year): And it's Bill for the hat trick.

258. The Ultimate Collection ~ The Jackson 5 (last listen: 3-5 years)

A to Z cds: Day 54

I bet you all thought I forgot about the great relistening project of 2007 (and very possibly continuing into 2008). Alas, I did not but I have kept forgetting my discs at home. Finally, I remembered them today but then left my lunch at home.

249. First Rays of A New Rising Sun ~ Jimi Hendrix (last listen: ?, possibly never. I honestly can't recall)

250. The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill ~ Lauryn Hill (last listen: 3-5 years): Hey, remember when Lauryn Hill wasn't crazy and she didn't make remarks about how she was against white people buying her music? Yeah, me too. This first solo effort is pretty amazing actually. It hits all the right notes in my book. There are great beats and a good variety of fun, upbeat songs and slow, thoughtful pieces. I still think "Everything is Everything" is pretty great.

251. MTV Unplugged No. 2.0 ~ Lauryn Hill (last listen: never): Honestly, I thought I had listened to this but then after I actually listened to this double live album I realized that I never had listened to it. Man, Lauren just goes on and on and on to the point where I am like just sing the frakkin song already. Clearly, these songs were not totally done but some of them were very good. It's a shame she has done lost her mind.

252. Best of John Lee Hooker, 1965-1974 ~ John Lee Hooker (last listen: 3-5 years): This cd is goodness. Like it could be anything else. But what I think I love most is that this disc kicks off with "One Bourbon, one Scotch, and One Beer" which is also the way that the best mix cd ever created and then lost by DiRRty and myself kicked off. Of course, it was overlayed with the most hilarious phone message left on my voice mail by Squater. It was, in a word, perfection. I am just sad that DiRRty's computer crashed and lost of all our hard work.

253. Love Songs ~ Billie Holiday (last listen: 5+ years): Seriously, is this an awesome day of music or what? It's a pretty great day when you start with Jimi Hendrix and end on Billie Holiday. This woman can really sing it. Man, she reaches into my soul with her voice.

254. Billie Holiday ~ Ken Burns Jazz Collection (last listen: 5+ years): She has this fabulous cover of Gloomy Sunday and it made me think of how similar and different it is from Bjork's cover of the same song.

Yaweh hates me

This is turning into a really shitty week. Last night I got a speeding ticket on my way home from work. Don't get me started on that; let's just say that this cop did nothing to elevate my negative cop feelings.

Now I check my email to find out that the Buffy Sing-A-Long has been canceled. Apparently, all Fox TV shows are being pulled from theatrical distribution. I am so pissed right now. I have been so excited about this. It's how I have been justifying this crappy week; I kept telling myself that I would be singing with Buff and the Scooby Gang on Saturday. Sigh. I am going to go sign the petition and then hope that STL gets a reschedule once all the legal stuff gets worked out.

Alas, it seems that no one wants me to be happy this week.

Pauline Croze - M'en voulez-vous

I really love Pauline Croze. I would love to have her cd but $30 seems like a lot of money to spend on one disc. Sometimes I am a cheap bastard.

DS: I'm loving it.

So, one of the big perks of being maid of honor in Maire's wedding was the awesome prezzie I was given. That's right, y'all. Maire got me a Nintendo DS. She didn't just get me any ol' DS either. I got the swanky red and black DS that came with Brain Age 2. I have to say that at first when I was told of my prezzie I wasn't really that geeked up about it. But then I started really looking into the DS and as the wedding approached I got more and more excited. Then, I got to play with my DS and I am totally hooked. Everyday I do a little Brain Age and then, because Maire is the devil, I play WAAAAAAAY too much Tetris. Seriously, those Russians who invented that game clearly had me in mind when they thought Tetris would take over America. I mean, I could, and do, play that game for hours. This Tetris game actually has a bunch of different varieties of Tetris. I haven't played all the games yet but I am getting there. Plus, now I want the DS version of Super Mario Bros. God, I loved that game. This is one cool gadget and totally perfect for a trip, especially a plane ride where you might not want to pack a lot of stuff.

I only have one real complaint re: the DS. Sometimes in Brain Age, it doesn't read my handwriting correctly. It often thinks my 7s are 1s. Which, you know makes a big difference when you are trying to improve your scores. And also, it can never read my lower case y and has trouble with the way I write h. But, I assume soon I will have all those kinks worked out soon enough.

Ah, my own history

I don't know why I was digging into the past today but for some reason I felt the need to find out if my old ella account still worked. All you SLIS folks know about ella. Anyway, it was totally still there. And that is how I stumbled across this gem I did as a goof in photoshop class one day. Ah, those were the days. In case you don't get the cross reference (get it, cross reference! Hee. I slay me.), in the town of Effingham, IL this guy paid for an almost 200 ft. tall cross to be built right next to the highway. So, of course Squater and I had to stop and take some pictures. I can't atcually post all the pictures I photoshopped because I fear the zealot christians would not appreciate my humor. So, this pic will have to suffice.

Rochelle, Rochelle, I miss you. Come spa with me again someday.

Congrats

For those of you who wanted to know....



Introducing Mr. and Mrs. Patterson


*Photo stolen from bride's website. Hee.

Books, books, all kinds of books!

So, I have been a little lax about blogging these days. Rather than accepting responsibility for that I will blame my busy, busy life. I mean, class, work, being a maid of honor in the last wedding I will be in barring my own. You know, if that ever happens. But now I will tell you about some things I have been meaning to post about but haven't had the time blog about.

Let's see, over a month or so ago I read a couple of books. The first book was The Goose Girl by Shannon Hale. After B-Mart turned me on to this author I decided to go ahead and look into her other works. The Goose Girl is about Ani, a princess. Ani can speak to birds and this is a talent that she must keep secret. While Ani grows up believing that she will be Queen over her people, upon her father's death everything changes and Ani is sent to marry a neighboring country's prince. In the meantime, Ani's only "friend" betrays her and sends Ani on a journey of survival and discovery.

I also read another Meg Cabot gem. This time I tackled Queen of Babble. Like most of Meg's novels, this one involves a girl who is trying to figure out just who she is. Lizzie Nichols is in trouble. See, she didn't technically graduate from college yet, although all her family and friends think she did. Also, she's about ready to embark on a European adventure with her Brit boyfriend who she hasn't seen in many months. But suddenly things get out of control when her boyfriend turns out to be a nightmare rather than a knight. So, what's a girl to do but hop on a train and meet her friends who are working at a mansion in France. And, that my friends is when the fun begins. Man, I do love me some Meg Cabot and can't wait until the follow-up Queen of Babble in the Big City.

Finally, on my way to and from my maid of honor duties, I listened to the James Marsters reading of Jim Butcher's Fool Moon (Book 2 in the Dresden Series. Before I even talk about the book I need to address the burning James Marsters issue here. For those of you non-Buffy fanatics, James portrayed the one and only Spike aka William the Bloody. He was British, hot, and vampirific (you know a vampire and terrific). But in real life James is just a guy from Cali and I was intrigued and a little afraid of listening to this book. Would I be hoping for him to break into that Brit accent or would his natural tongue suffice? I have to say that at first I was a little eh but then about halfway into disc one I was won over. Also, his regular voice is pretty hot. You Buffy fanatics should give it a listen.

Oh yeah, the book. Fool Moon is the story of wizard Harry Dresden and his attempts to aide Lt. Karen Murphy in figuring out the strange cases handled by the Special Investigations Department of the Chicago PD. Fool Moon is, not shockingly, about werewolves. But what is interesting is that this book says there are a variety of kind of werewolves. Anyway, this was a good mystery that I didn't figure out until almost the end. But then, I have always been bad about that.

Books Read in 2007:

Fool Moon ~ Jim Butcher
Queen of Babble ~ Meg Cabot
The Goose Girl ~ Shannon Hale
The Princess Academy ~ Shannon Hale
Avalon High ~ Meg Cabot
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows ~ J.K. Rowling
A Thousand Splendid Suns ~ Khaled Hosseini
The Bermudez Triangle ~ Maureen Johnson
Fray ~ Joss Whedon
The Dragonriders of Pern ~ Anne McCaffery
Embroideries ~ Marjane Satrapi
13 Little Blue Envelopes ~ Maureen Johnson
The Cider House Rules ~ John Irving
Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince ~J.K. Rowling
Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix ~ J.K. Rowling
Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire ~ J.K. Rowling
Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban ~ J.K. Rowling
Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets ~ J.K. Rowling
Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone ~ J.K. Rowling
The Good Men: A Novel of Heresy ~ Charmaine Craig
An Abundance of Katherines ~ John Green
The Count of Monte Cristo ~ Alexandre Dumas
Looking For Alaska ~ John Green
Band of Brothers: E Company, 506th Regiment, 101st Airborne from Normandy to Hitler's Eagle's Nest ~ Stephen Ambrose
Drinking, Smoking, and Screwing: Great Writers on Good Times ~ edited by Sara Nikles
Forever in Blue: The Fourth Summer of the Sisterhood ~ Ann Brashares

Battlestar Galactica Season 4 Promo

Is it January yet? Dear gods, this looks frakkin awesome.

A to Z cds: Day 53

Nota Bene: These cds were actually listened to over the weekend and on Monday.

241. Live From Mars ~ Ben Harper (last listen: 1-3 years)

242. Diamonds on the Inside ~ Ben Harper (last listen: 1-3 years)

243. Both Sides of the Gun ~ Ben Harper (last listen: 3-6 months)

244. Rid of Me ~ PJ Harvey (last listen: 1-3 years)

245. To Bring You My Love ~ PJ Harvey (last listen: 1-3 years): I remember the day I heard PJ for the first time. It was in Champaign-Urbana (on the Urbana side, I do believe). I was in my old pal Shane's dorm room for a visit. It was a Friday night and we were watching MTV or M2 and getting ready to do bad things in his friend's dorm room (part of which included watching the very odd Jane's Addiction movie, Gift. It kind of freaked me out because Shane's new pals were a level of bad that I was not). The video for "Down by the Water" came on and I was transfixed. Who was this woman and how much do i love her voice? Shane and I went to the store the next day and I bought this disc.

246. Stories from the City, Stories from the Sea ~ PJ Harvey (last listen: 0-3 months)

247. Uh Huh Her ~ PJ Harvey (last listen: 1-3 years): Funnily enough, I bought this cd when I was visiting Shane many years later on a trip to Dallas.

248. Lili ~ Lili Hayden (last listen: 5+ years)

Iran so far away

I missed SNL this week, like most weeks, actually. But I found this online today and it cracked me up.



I think the best line comes at the end:

"I know you say there’s no gays in Iran
But you’re in New York now baby"

Heee. Enjoy!