I wish I could take credit for this photo...

... but I can't. I don't even know where it came from, but it's funny as hell. My friend the smurfbrother sent it to me, so he will get the credit. ENJOY!!!

Music Review: Tegan and Sara

Just picked this album up on a whim from the indie music display at target. It was up there with the two new bright eyes cds and given how much I liked them, I thought I would risk the 10 dollars and check it out. After a complete spin, I'll say that I am enjoying the album.

So Jealous marks Tegan and Sara's third album. The twin sister act from Canada are traditionally described as an indie folk band, but I think that indie pop is probably a better moniker. I don't mean that as a prejorative, So Jealous is lush with pop hooks and new wave synthesizers. Imagining Belly with a little bit of the Killers mixed in will probably give you a pretty good inclination of the sound of the record.

Tegan and Sara are probably not for everyone. While So Jealous is an album produced to be appealling to a wide audience, "their thin, squeaky voices and close harmonies can be grating to the uninitiated" (allmusic.com) as the hungry hippo immediately confirmed.

Download:
1. You Wouldn't Like Me
2. Take Me Anywhere
8. Walking with a Ghost

countdown

ten movies i can't live without
10. Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade
09. Batman Begins
08. Rushmore
07. Ferris Bueller's Day Off
06. The Matrix
05. Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers - Extended Edition
04. Wonder Boys
03. The Goonies
02. Fight Club
01. Star Wars: Empire Strikes Back

nine albums that are important to me
09. Transatlantacism - Death Cab for Cutie
08. Gentlemen - The Afgan Whigs
07. Doolittle - The Pixies
06. Recovering the Satellites - The Counting Crows
05. Rubberneck - The Toadies
04. Clumsy - Our Lady Peace
03. I Am Not a Pretty Girl - Ani DiFranco
02. Weezer (Blue Album) - Weezer
01. Siamese Dreams - The Smashing Pumpkins

eight bands/artists i couldn't live without
08. The Shins
07. Nirvana
06. Coldplay
05. The Pixies
04. The Smashing Pumpkins
03. Built to Spill
02. Radiohead
01. Counting Crows

seven things that annoy me
07. cliffhangers
06. that dj's talk over the beginning to songs on the radio
05. that the last two minutes of sporting events almost always take a half an hour
04. that dvds now have previews before the feature
03. that music from the itunes store is compressed at 128 kps (instead of something higher)
02. that you can buy a new printer for as much as you can buy new print cartridges
01. that ever single one of the pc's i have ever owned has fatally crashed!!!

six of my favorite songs at this moment
06. "Ohio (Come Back to Texas)" - Bowling for Soup
05. "Blue Orchid" - White Stripes
04. "The Trapeze Singer" - Iron and Wine
03. "Banquet" - Bloc Party
02. "Since U Been Gone/Maps" - Ted Leo
01. "Fix You" - Coldplay

five tv shows i watch regularly
05. Law and Order
04. CSI
03. West Wing
02. The O.C.
01. Gilmore Girls

four of my all-time-favorite books
04. "The Once and Future King" by T.H. White
03. "The Little Prince" by Antoine de Saint-Exupery
02. "Where the Wild Things Are" by Maurice Sendak
01. "When We Were Very Young" by A.A. Milne

three albums i've bought recently
03. Make Believe - Weezer
02. Our Endless Numbered Days - Iron and Wine
01. X&Y - Coldplay

two people that have influenced my life the most
02. Dad
01. Mom

and i guess one is the loneliest number

hummingbird

Took this picture in the backyard today. Turned out pretty well considering I could not get up that close and my camera is not designed to take "great" close ups from far away... reminded me of the wilco song, so i included the lyrics below for no particular reason. (Back to back lyrics post... not a good sign on the originality front).



Hummingbird by Wilco, from A Ghost is Born

His goal in life was to be an echo
Riding alone, town after town, toll after toll
A fixed bayonet through the great southwest to forget her

She appears in his dreams
But in his car and in his arms
A dream can mean anything
A cheap sunset on a television set can upset her
But he never could

Remember to remember me
Standing still in your past
Floating fast like a hummingbird

His goal in life was to be an echo
The type of sound that floats around and then back down
Like a feather
But in the deep chrome canyons of the loudest Manhattans
No one could hear him
Or anything

So he slept on a mountain
In a sleeping bag underneath the stars
He would lie awake and count them
And the gray fountain spray of the great Milky Way
Would never let him
Die alone

Remember to remember me
Standing still in your past
Floating fast like a hummingbird

Remember to remember me
Standing still in your past
Floating fast like a hummingbird

A hummingbird
A hummingbird

song lyrics that made me miss home for the first time in a long time...

ohio (come back to texas) by bowling for soup [abridged]...

Come back to Texas
Its just not the same since you went away
I bet you missed your exit
and drove right on thru the Lone Star State
There's a seat for you at the rodeo
and I've got every slow dance saved
Besides the Mexican food sux north of here anyway

Troy Aikmen wants you back
Willie Nelson wants you back
NASA wants you back
and the Bush twins want you back
and Pantera wants you back
and Blue Bell wants you back

I got a premonition
I'm taking a petition
and the whole state's gonna sign

Come back to Texas
Its just not the same since you went away
Before you lose your accent
and forget all about the Lone Star State
There's a seat for you at the rodeo
and I've got every slow dance saved
Besides the Mexican food sux north of here anyway
Besides the Mexican food sux north of here anyway
Besides the Mexican food sux north of here anyway

Senior Year in High School

Ganked from smurfbrother! (cause I don't fell like doing anything original.

[What year was it?] - 1993

[What were your three favorite bands?] - 10,000 Maniacs, The Sundays, U2.

[What was your favorite outfit?] - blue jeans from the Gap, t-shirt and some flips (somethings never change)

[What was up with your hair?] - I was sporting the "longer" hair on top with the shaved sides look... not sure what it is called.

[Who were your best friends?] - Greg D., Heather U., Kim A., Cindy M.

[What did you do after school?] - worked at Kroger's; cut cards for debate; was the girl's track manager; was grounded a lot!

[Did you take the bus?] - No. If my Dad took my car away I either had my girlfriend pick me up or walked to school.

[Who did you have a crush on?] - Heather U. and Jennifer S.

[Did you fight with your parents?] - all the time.

[Who did you have a celebrity crush on?] - harriet wheeler of the sundays.

[Did you smoke cigarettes?] - nope.

[Did you lug all of your books around in your backpack all day because you were too nervous to find your locker?] - No. while my school did have a couple of school shootings, and several gangs... i was never really that afraid (I played basketballa and dodgeball with alot of those guys in gym class and we had a decent raport). Although I should admit that trips to my locker probably involved a lot more looking towards the floor than most peoples.

[Did you have a 'clique'] - yup, a little debate posse!

[Where did you think you'd be at the age you are now?] - you know i really couldn't tell you... kind of just lived for the moment i guess.

[Did you have "The Max" like Zach Kelly and Slater?] - Not unless you count the debate classroom.

[Admit it, were you popular?] - No, I don't think that anyone would say that I was popular, but I had friends and new lots of people.

[Who did you want to be just like?] - bruce cambell in the evil dead movies... "and this is my boomstick!"

[What did you want to be when you grew up?] - either an architect or a politician, alas i am neither.

the birth of a corporate sellout...

so i bought my first "suit" today. actually it was a blazer and trousers... i guess what i am trying to say is that i bought my first pair of "work clothes." I was kind of hoping last December that since I hadn't had to buy any "work clothes" by thirty, i would never have to... but alas, it wasn't in the cards. so i headed out to the local mall in search of my first outfit that i would feel confident in when interview for jobs.

i went to j.c. penney's first, because i don't have a ton of money and there aren't many options for shopping in our "quiet mountain town." but i quickly learned that the selection was bad and the service was even worse. the gentlemen working in the men's department didn't even ask if he could help me and i had tried on several jackets. since i have never bought "nice clothes" before i really needed some help and opinions, and looking at the way the gentleman dressed, i decided there is no way i am trusting his opinion.

so i headed to kaufman's (which is one of the May Department Store Companies: the same as foley's or famous barr), where a nicely dressed young man (named michael) helped me. he was very helpful and sympathetic to the fact that 1) i need something for an interview the next day, 2) that it was my first "suit type thing" and consequently new nothing about men's fashion, and 3) that i wanted a nice outfit but was on a tight budget: i didn't want to be that guy in a "cheap suit" but at the same time i really couldn't afford a designer one.

so after trying on some different coats by ralph lauren and nautica that were generally between 149 and 179, i got really lucky and he brought out this coat by ralph lauren that had been marked down a couple of times and they only had one left and it was in my size. the retail price on it was $300, but luckily i got it for only $89. I suspect it is from a previous season, but since it is a blue blazer with a little bit of color in it, i don't think it will go out of style. what luck! so i grabbed some nice slacks, a belt, a dress shirt and a tie, and for slightly more than two large bills the transformation was complete: i am now aging_hipster-sellout to the man! damn it all to hell...

i did learn a couple of things though 1) that i am willing to pay $30 for a tie (when you can get them for half that much at tj maxx) if the proceeds go to a charity. or in this case simly mention in support of one (MADD) 2) that your socks should go with your pants and not you blazers, because what if you take your jacket off... (i didn't think to ask well what if you are in the habit of taking your pants off). 3) that you don't button the bottom button and you unbutton your coat when you sit down (didn't learn that one until after the interview)... oh well!

"How you remind me"

Stolen from smurfbrother, who stole from saltypony, who stole it from eeyrq

Reply to this post and...
1. I will tell you what song reminds me of you.
2. I will tell you what celebrity/public/fictional person you remind me of, either personality-wise or looks-wise.
3. I will give you one word that I associate with you when I think of you.
4. I will tell you what color(s) I associate with you.

Then steal this for your journal and make someone else's day as well.

Mike:
1) "mr. jones" by the counting crows (new orleans trip);
2) greg dulli (personality wise).
3) bike (mechanic)
4) white (for both your mazda 626 and your old beat up ford thunderbird.

Serena:
1) "normal like you" by everclear;
2) dana scully (from the x-files);
3) vegetable;
4) blue.

Bobby
1) "animal" by nine inch nails;
2) josh hartnett;
3) tech savvy;
4) green (for your banged up vw).

on losing...

This quote has been in my head recently:

That's sweet of you to look out for me, but I liked the job I had. And when I lost it, I didn't pitch anything. I didn't stage a nutty. I fought you, I lost, I had a drink, I took a shower. 'Cause that's how it is in the NBA. You know what I do when I win? Two drinks! (Amy to Josh, Season 4, Episode 3: "The Red Mass")

current ipod stats

my itunes library currently has: 10,335 songs; 28:08:15:05 days; 55.56GB.

MOST PLAYED SONG: "The Trapeze Swinger" by Iron and Wine.

MOST PLAYED ALBUM: "Silent Alarm" by Bloc Party.

MOST RECENTLY ADDED ALBUM: "Educated Guess" by Ani DiFranco.

MOST FAVORITE MP3: "Since U Been Gone/Maps" by Ted Leo.

TOP 5 ARTISTS (BY SONGS):
1. Smashing Pumpkins (212);
2. Nirvana (182);
3. Tribe Called Quest (176);
4. Prince (164);
5. R.E.M. (150)

"POTUS IN A BICYCLE ACCIDENT"

POTUS BIKE CRASH 2004

In non-Tour de France bicycling news, it seems that on the eve of the G8 summit President Bush was in a minor bicycling accident . This is not the President's first bicycle crash ; I just can't tell if it is because the President rides hard or can hardly ride. Still kudos for pushing the pedals! The scars will heal, but the glory is forever!!!

the tour de france has started!

With all my planning for the holiday weekend (that and I no longer have cable) I nearly forgot that the tour de france had started earlier today. Look's like Lance had a pretty good day finishing second in the time trial two seconds behind fellow American and former U.S. Postal Service rider David Zabriskie" ; reminding all of us that other riders do participate in Tour besides Lance Armstrong.

I have to admit that it's kind of weird seeing Lance ride without his U.S. Postal Service jersey (the team switched sponsors over the winter) which previously rode with for seven years and won six consecutive Tour's with. The blue eagle provided the perfect patroitic symbol for us as Americans all to unite around as Lance asserted his dominance over the French country side for the past half decade.

And where their are stories of Lance's extraordinary feats stories of drug allegations seem to follow quickly behind. ESPN.com reports that Tour officials had surprise drug test prior to Saturday's time trial where they tested only Lance Armstrong (it was Lance's second for the tour, all riders are tested before the race starts). I don't know how I feel about the accusations about Lance's doping. On the one hand, I love Lance. I remember working in the bike shop the summer he won his first Tour and the whole place being abuzz with the potential of an American winning the tour and hearing about his remarkable come back story for the first time. On the other hand, the evidence (though any one piece is obviously circumstantial) is starting to paint a really dark cloud around the rider. Combine this with Tyler Hamilton's (former U.S. Postal Service rider and training parter of a Lance's) positive test for doping during the Olympics and you really have to wonder: I have convicted others of cheating with less evidence (Barry Bonds).

But one thing is certain. As Lance chases his seventh Tour title and the French and the media chase doping allegations, the next 22 days are guaranteed to be pretty exciting.