Belated Post

We got a "new" car a couple of weeks ago. It's to replace Dave's 1995 Honda Accord that has 194,000 miles on it. The old Accord is actually running just fine, but it's certainly time to get something that we a)can fit four+ people in comfortably and b)aren't ashamed to claim is our car (ashamed is too strong a word, but I can't think of the right one). And just because we're so adventurous, we got a 2004 Honda Accord. At least this time it's got a V6. Oooh.

It's been so long

I know it's been a while. I just haven't felt like posting that much. I haven't been all that busy really, but I always seem to get home late from work, and by the time I'm here, we eat, I clean the kitchen, then watch a smidge of tv, and it's time for bed. It's harder on Mondays and Wednesdays now, too, because I've been pretty good at getting to the gym before work on Tuesdays and Thursdays, which means getting in bed the night before by 9:30.

Live Music

Something I miss dearly now that we're pretty good about budgeting, is live music. Well, last week, we scraped together $14 and went to see one of our favorite performers at Center Stage.

Now, we have only seen Francine Reed alongside Lyle. When we heard that she was playing at Center Stage for $5 a ticket as part of the Grammy music series, we jumped on it.

What a fantastic show! The opening act was a young jazz sextet called Jaspects. Then, Francine came out without a band. She led the Jaspects in about 45 minutes of blues and jazz - all just off the cuff. Turns out Francine performs every Monday night in East Atlanta, too. Might have to check that out.

After Francine, Anthony David hopped on stage. He sang with Francine, and played with Jaspects. Jaspects was great, Francine was amazing, Anthony David was impressive, we bailed at around 11:30, and it was a wonderful night.

memories

We all know that music has an incredible way of taking us back. Something that always surprises me, though, is the very specific nature of memories dredged up by particular songs. I heard “Round Here” on the radio today, and I was instantly (though not literally) back on the sidewalk between Myers Hall and Snelling Dining Hall – the sidewalk in between the basketball court and the parking lot – walking to lunch on a sunny day. There are a handful of songs that do this to me whenever I hear them.

Thinking about this, I realized that all of these memory songs take me back to the most mundane places. I think that’s also very interesting. You'd think that the exciting memories would be the ones that come back so strongly, but with me, it’s most often something so simple. I’m usually walking down the sidewalk in Athens; riding to a soccer game on the school bus; riding in the station wagon with my dad on a dark, winter night; or pulling into the gas station to get a nutty bar with my mom, on the way to gymnastics.

Why is it that memories of the mundane capture the feeling of the extraordinary events of the same time, rather than the other way around?

Things I bought today

This is the best, and I'm so excited. I usually don't buy tv shows, because I find that I don't watch them much after I buy them. Well, I've been thinking about owning this show for a while now, and I just keep thinking about it. I have a little extra cash this week, so I just got it.

I got something else, too, but I have to tell a friend about it before I blog it.

Morning movie watching and sexy ugly

So, the wonders of the DVR are not just limited to catching shows you wouldn't normally be able to watch. Another wonderful benefit is recording movies that you've been meaning to watch for ages, but never get around to renting. Today is just such a day to catch up on a few of the movies I have waiting for me on the DVR. From oldest recording to newest, I have: Prize Winner of Defiance, Ohio; The Battle of Shaker Heights; Far from Heaven; Chicken Run; Strictly Ballroom; Tadpole; Jesus Camp; and Kissing Jessica Stein.

Today feels like a girly movie day, so while I'm folding laundry and moving 250GB of pictures and music from one hard drive to another, I've chosen Kissing Jessica Stein.

So many people have told me I'd like this movie, and from the very beginning, I could tell they were right. However, the scene I'm watching now has won this movie a special place in my heart. Jessica is sort of on a date with another woman, but not really a date. They're both disillusioned with men, and giving women a shot, even though they're both clearly nervous about it. Anyway, Jessica is talking about why men never seem to work out, and it comes down to the fact that if they are the "good kind of smart or the good kind of funny, then generally, they're just kind of ... ugly." (The whole break down of the different kinds of funny is fantastic, but I won't get into that.)

Anyway, Jessica's "date", Helen, jumps in with, "Me, I'm kinda into ugly. As long as it's sexy ugly."

Oh, those of you who know me, know exactly where my mind goes here. I thought she may go there, too. But I certainly wasn't expecting it. Ah, then, yes she does.

"It just is, you know, sexy ugly ... Mick Jagger, he's the big one. Oh! Lyle Lovett, James Woods, Harvey Keitel. He's very sexy ugly."

Let me just add Dwight Yoakam to that list, too.

The thing about sexy ugly, though, is that it seems to be the good kind of smart and the good kind of funny that makes ugly sexy.

Revelation

I’ve finally realized that as long as I’m in my current job, I will not work out at night. Being the morning person that I am, I have put off the decision to work out in the morning for quite some time. But, well, I can’t any longer. I want to get back into shape and stop being so squishy. I want my resting heart rate to be below 90. I want to get enough sleep, and I want to feel good all day long.

While soccer is my favorite way to stay in shape, cycling is a close second. I’m not willing to risk my life on the road with all the SUVs in Alpharetta, though, so I’ve opted for a spin class. It’s at 5:45 am, and so far this week I’ve gone Tuesday and Thursday. I like the instructor, and two days a week is plenty.

I’ll let you know if I keep it up, and if I end up with monster cycling thighs like I did last time I was riding regularly. This should be interesting.

Reading

Here are a couple of links to some reading I've done recently.

The first is the last post of a soldier recently killed in Iraq. He asked a friend to post this in the event of his death. I hadn't read his blog before hearing about this post, but after reading it, will probably go back and read some earlier posts. He seems thoughtful and extremely self-aware. His last post is impressive and heart-wrenching.

Hat Tip: The Agitator

The second is an essay by conservative columnist Michael Medved. I saw Medved speak when I was a student at UGA. Then, I only knew him as a movie critic. I don't remember the exact subject of the speech, but I remember being surprised and impressed. I've read him here and there ever since. This essay (I think it's too detailed to call a column) is about how every generation thinks things are only getting worse, and that it's been going on for centuries - yet, here we are.

Medved only tackles the culture in this column, but I have read some other tidbits that say the same about our own health, contrary to popular obesity hype. I'll have to dig those up, sometime, too.

Sorry I've been absent

We've been busy playing with Christmas gifts - this one, mainly.

I never thought that the game that would get me back into video games after a 20 year absence would be something where you play along to music on fake instruments. But it's a complete blast.

picture promised in earlier post

A while back in a post about being antsy, I mentioned buying a hat. Well, I did that, too.

I'm soooo hooked

Last night, I discovered the second hour of this countdown. I went ahead and recorded it, and then found and recorded the first hour, and now have a series recording set for the rest. I just started the first hour tonight, and two minutes in (not even into the countdown, yet), I'm hooked.

Oh, and I just realized that both my high school and college experiences fell fully within the 90s. So this countdown is wild because it's just unbelievably full of memories. Yeah, I know it's a decade, so that means 10 years of memories. But it just seems like there are so many more memories crammed into that decade than the only other full decade of my life so far - the 80s. I know, I know, it's logical - a LOT happens to a person between 15 and 25 - but sometimes it's still kind of wild when the simple things hit you like that.

Oh, and is it wrong that I really want to watch Celebrity Rehab with Dr. Drew?

A great post

I've been meaning to link to this post by my new blog roll buddy for some time. Actually, this one is the post that made me want to add the link to the roll.

You gotta dance.

Will someone please go dance with me soon!?

More Drew Carey

I'm a bit behind, so you'll get two today.

This one on eminent domain.


This one on poker raids by police.

New TV-Based Drinking Game

Drink every time the narrator says "extruder" on the The Science Channel's "How It's Made".

Am I too old to be coming up pathetic drinking games? Yeah, well, I'm probably too old to get my nose pierced, but I did that this weekend, too. Pictures as soon as I get a decent one.

Such High Hopes

I had such high hopes for the Movies Rock special that's on TV tonight. I should have known better. So far, Beyonce has sung "Over the Rainbow," John Legend and Mary J. Blige have teamed up for "As Time Goes By," and some guy I don't recognize by name or face just did "Jailhouse Rock." None of these performances has been the least bit impressive.
I guess I should give them points for reaching so high right of the bat, but so far the only emotion this show has evoked in me is a sadness that I don't have any of these songs in my collection. I would prefer to just go ahead listen to the original versions. I could drop Casablanca in the DVD player, but then I'd have to watch the whole thing, and it's late.

Update:
Jennifer Hudson almost knocked "Somewhere" from West Side Story out of the park, but they she started squealing.
I kind of like the funky take on "Diamonds are a Girl's Best Friend."
I'm eh on Carrie Underwood's "Sound of Music."
Usher's version of "Singin' in the Rain" is the first one I've really enjoyed. His voice is incredibly smooth, something that never quite came out in "Yeah!".
Again, I like the funky arrangement on "Mrs. Robinson," but am not a big fan of Marc Anthony's style - too sing-songy, if that makes sense.
Oh, Fergie. Really?
The part that made me happier than any other was the Disney montage. I always forget how much I truly love Mary Poppins, Beauty and the Beast, Jungle Book, The Little Mermaid, and The Lion King.
There was another half hour or so, which was better than the beginning, but nothing that really knocked me out. I do love it that they closed with "White Christmas," though. That's a nice touch.

Mid-Week TV Watching

The last movie to come in from Blockbuster Online is Be Here to Love Me: A Film About Townes Van Zandt. Most, if not all, of my favorite songwriters count Townes among their favorite songwriters, so I've wanted for some time to learn about this guy and hear his work.

He's a classic folk singer-songwriter who lived through the 60s and 70s among people like Kris Kristofferson and Guy Clark - no real home even though he had a wife back in Texas, lots of alcohol, and lots of drugs.

Guy Clark, Willie Nelson and Merle Haggard, Lyle Lovett, Emmylou Harris, and Norah Jones have recorded his songs, among many others.

One of the most moving scenes in the documentary is a shot where he's singing Waiting Around to Die in his trailer, and he brings an old black man to tears with the simple song. Waiting Around to Die was the first song he ever wrote. That's one hell of a first song to write.

For better or worse, Townes Van Zandt seems to have been completely unaffected by anything around him - wives, children, friends, success, even - and he, in turn, deeply affected everyone else around him.

Working on Saturday

is no fun at all, especially when things don't go as planned.

I wanted to go to a shindig at our friends' house, but when I finally finished up, I was just wiped out. I'm totally sandbagging at home tonight.

So far, I've watched Sweet Home Alabama, which I love, and now I'm watching The Last Sin Eater.

I'm sleepy, but will probably finish the movie.

Sorry, this is kind of a crap post. Oh well.

Saturday afternoon TV watching

A few weeks ago, I noticed that Reefer Madness was coming on IFC. I went ahead and recorded it on the DVR, and finally got to watch it today. Wow.

From the Forward:

Marihuana is that drug – a violent narcotic – un unspeakable scourge – The Real Public Enemy Number One!
Its first effect is sudden, violent, uncontrollable laughter; then come dangerous hallucinations – space expands – time slows down, almost stands still …. fixed ideas come next, conjuring up monstrous extravagances – followed by emotional disturbances, the total inability to direct thoughts, the loss of all power to resist physical emotions … leading finally to acts of shocking violence … ending often in incurable insanity.
In picturing its soul-destroying effects no attempt was made to equivocate. The scenes and incidents, while fictionized for the purposes of this story, are based upon actual research into the results of Marihuana addiction.
If their stark reality will make you think, will make you aware that something must be done to wipe out this ghastly menace, then the picture will not have failed in its purpose ….
Because the dread Marihuana may be reaching forth next for your son or daughter …. or yours …. or YOURS!

[emphasis in original]

It is described later as a narcotic “more vicious, more deadly, than even [the] soul-destroying drugs” opium, morphine, and heroin.

Oh, and then there’s the modern irony of a movie made solely to scare people about smoking marijuana while almost everyone is the movie is smoking cigarettes; there’s even a Philip Morris ad in the background of one scene.

It is pretty neat, though, to see that the federal government actually stuck with its constitutional limitations at one time. A high school principal concerned about the “marihuana” addiction among his students goes to see someone at the FBI in the Department of Narcotics. “You people in the government have got to find a way to put an end to it.”
To which the FBI man replies, “Of course I agree with you, Dr. Carroll, but do you realize that marihuana is not like other forms of dope? You see, it grows wild in almost every state in the union. Therefore, there is practically no interstate commerce in the drug. As a result, the government’s hands are tied.” [emphasis mine]

If you haven’t seen it, I highly recommend watching this propaganda. Even outside of the ridiculous message, it’s a really horrible movie, but it is an enlightening view into the early years of our “War on Drugs”.

New Friend on the Blog Roll to the Right

Just want to point out the new link on the blog roll. This is someone who wishes to remain anonymous, but did give me permission to add the link under an alias. Not very creatively, I came up with "Fun Travel Buddy". The reading is always entertaining and creative, unlike what you're used to finding here. Enjoy

I know a bourbon lover or two

That sounds funny, but wasn't meant in a funny way - really. There's no double entendre, but I think it sounds like there could be if you try hard enough.

Anyway, as usual, I'm stealing a link from The Agitator. The post has some fun tidbits on American bourbon, which deserves more props than it usually gets.

Bourbon is my preferred liquor, though I still can't drink it straight, or even on the rocks. Because of that, I don't yet drink "the good stuff." I just can't bring myself to mix Bookers with Coke. So, Jack is the one for me.