BAD DREAMS ARE BLOWING MY MIND

I am guessing there must be some truth in the advice that one should not eat spicy food late at night. It really did me wrong. Tony was going to get home from work late and there was no food in the house and I didn’t want to go shopping by myself so we ordered Indian. I asked for mine to be made hot, so did Tony. The food was delicious but nowhere near as good as Hema’s, that place is divine. Why don’t they deliver? Anyway, after eating we watched a little TV and finished Watership Down (finally) and I settled down to sleep. I should never have done it.

Dream #1
It started out fine. I was at a new apartment that looked suspiciously like Belmont apartment with my new roommates and we were having a good time. They told me that I would have the whole upstairs area to myself and that I should go check it out. I was very excited because I am an addict for living spaces and couldn’t wait to see what was in store for me. It was beautiful. There were curved mosaiced fireplaces in corners, a poured concrete floor, high ceilings, huge windows, and a large mosaiced fountain in the middle of the room. I was sitting on the edge of the fountain trailing my fingers in the water when I was grabbed from behind. I twisted free only to see a man with a knife behind me. I started to run but he seemed to know the floorplan much better than I did. I was screaming and running and he was getting closer and closer to me every second. He grabbed me and was just about to thrust the knife into my neck when my roommates burst through the door.

I sat straight up in bed, breathing heavily. I was terrified. I looked around and saw that Tony was up and looking at me as if something was very very wrong. Apparently I had been thrashing about in bed for about ten minutes or so. I said I had a bad dream and he patted my hair and told me it would be ok. It was five am. Somehow, I was able to get back to sleep and reset my alarm for the latest it can be set for in order for me to still make it to work on time.

Dream #2
This one was bad from the start. I became aware of the storyline by realizing that I had something and someone wanted it. They wanted it bad. They were trying to get my friends and I because we had some kind of secret information. We tried to get away by bus, they blew up the bus. We tried to get away by splitting up, they split up too. We ran into my apartment to gather supplies to flee the country, they were too close behind and started shooting up the house, with heavy artillery. They had grenades, rocket launchers, automatic weapons, all kinds of horrible tings. We needed to arm ourselves. There was nothing in the house to arm ourselves with. If this were to happen in real life I would be in the same no-weapons state. We went for kitchen knives, dodging gunfire all the way. Someone was hit. I slid along the floor to try and get close enough to a widow to do something (what are you going to do at a window with a knife?) when an attacker jumped through the window and landed on top of me. We were struggling and I somehow was able to get my kitchen knife and drive it into his heart. I could hear the knife tearing through sinew and flesh. I had to push really really hard to get it to enter the body. The dead man fell on top of me and I looked for a way to get him off to see if everyone else was ok.

The alarm went off. I was exhausted. There was no possible way that I could get up and function properly. I put another ten minutes on the clock and went back to sleep. I didn’t know if it would be restful sleep or awful scary sleep, but I knew I needed to give it a try. Luckily, when I woke up, I was reasonably ok. I rushed through my morning routine and managed to make it to work on time. However, I still haven’t gotten over what happened last night.

Blaming it on the food seems too easy. I mean it’s one of those things I have heard but it seems like an old wives tale. Dreams like that tell me something is seriously wrong. In both cases I was being chased/attacked by a man. I don’t have anything strange going on with any men in my life so maybe that wasn’t meaningful? Maybe the weapons were the issue, the issue that I was left unarmed for most of the dreams and had to resort to everyday items that were just lying around to save my life. Maybe something is telling me to use the resources I have to make a change. I feel far too content to be in that serious of a need for a change though. I really wonder what is going on in that mind of mine. I know there are many people who don’t give dreams much credit. I don’t believe that they mean I am going to be attacked by someone or anything that literal; I just think they tend to show us something about what we need to change or do in life. At least a very graphic dream like that. Maybe the fact that I was attacked with a knife in the first dream and killed with one in the second was important? Who knows? any dream experts out there?

On a side note, I always dream in color. I hear many people don’t. That seems limiting to me. I guess it isn’t something you have control over though. However, I do think you can have control over actions you take or decisions you make in your dreams. I like having the power to change the storyline and make a difference in what I am going to experience. I’m starting to get really sleepy. I need a nap.

1. The Arrivals Gate, Ani Difranco- This song really depresses me. It reminds me of the fac that these days we can’t go to the arrivals gate and just sit and watch people reunite with their friends and loved ones. We can’t even go to the arrivals gate to meet our friends and loved ones. I rarely think about this fact because people can still meet you at baggage claim and that is almost as good, but not really.

2. Giulietta, Smoke City- This is a band that my sister introduced me to and I really liked a lot. That is a little unusual because, while my sister doesn’t have bad taste in music, we don’t have the same taste. Usually I make her listen to things.

3. Manhattan Serenade, Tom Dorsey- This is funny because the album this is from is called Mob Hits II. I have this song essentially by accident. However, the other day Tony and I went out for pizza at Pizano’s (the downtown one) and in their jukebox there was a record labeled Mob Hits and we made a lot of jokes about it. Little did I know that I had a song from Mob Hits II.

BEST AND WORST DRESSED OSCARS 2007

This is the obligatory Oscar fashion post. Since I love fashion and entertainment, how could I resist? We'll start with the worst dressed because it is lots of fun to dish dirt on the celebrities. Remember, this is my opinion and feel free to contribute your own. That's what makes fashion so fun. Oh, I only included women because other than Djimon Honshu (who looked fantastic) all the men looked the same to me.

1. Kirsten Dunst

This girl is an absolute mess. I don't even know where to start. The dress is ugly to begin with. The collar doesn’t match the beading doesn't match the silhouette doesn't match the feathers on the bottom. Then, to top things off, it doesn't flatter her in any way. Next, we have the hair problem. As someone said, "It looked like she pulled her hair back to wash her face," and those bangs have simply got to go.

2. Anne Hathaway

I am going to say a really embarrassing thing. I kind of like Anne Hathaway. I have a thing for the princess diaries movies and loved her in that one movie where she was a suburban thug that went to hang out with the Latino city gang. It was too funny. I think it is called Havoc. Given that, I really wanted her to look adorable on the carpet. She was anything but. That hideous bow made her look incredibly wide and gave her a saggy boob feel. Her hair was ok I guess.

3. Jessica Biel
This girl found her Oscar dress at the half priced prom dress sale at Fashion Bug. It is utterly boring and does nothing for her. Hot pink and black send me back to 1984. Then again I guess the 80s are supposed to be back in or something, but it makes me want to die. To make things even worse, she had the nerve to match her lipstick to her dress UGH. At least she has a prettyish face.


4. Cameron Diaz
I hate everything about this outfit. However, I hated it less as the night wore on which is why she is only the fourth worst dressed person on the red carpet. I hate her tan, I hate her hair, I hate her stupid cardboard-looking-stiffass- wish-I-were-a-mermaid dress. The only good thing is that the dress actually moved ok and, therefore, looked better as she was walking on stage. Unfortunately, it was still awful and ugly. It also bunched in an unflattering way around her mid-section and made her shoulders look rather broad.

5. Penelope Cruz

For some reason Penelope Cruz has landed on some best dressed lists out there. If it was based only on shots of the top of her dress I would have to agree with them. It was beautiful. Unfortunately, I saw the bottom of the dress. It looked like someone killed and skinned a large Muppet. As a lover of Muppets I think this is unforgivable. Some people thought the dress moved very well, I suppose it did. It also almost got vacuumed up by Ellen and was shedding. Gross.

Now for the best dressed list. It was a lot harder for me to rank these women because I thought they were all fantastic. I'll just put them out there and say I ordered them properly but, in all honesty, it doesn't matter.

1. Helen Mirren

The woman simply exuded class from every pore. She looked age appropriate (although some people though it was a little too much cleavage), radiant, classy, and just all around awesome. If I were to look 1/4th this good at her age I think I would throw myself a party. The dress is really shimmery but not in a bad overdone way and it moves very well. It compliments her skin and hair beautifully. I just can't get enough.

2. J-Lo

I realize J-lo was not the favorite of many people. However, I would love love love to wear this dress so I had to put it at the top of my list. I would look awesome in it. I think she looked beautiful in it as well. It has that whole Greek goddess thing going for it and I think the neckline is to die for. I often think J-Lo is way overdone at red carpet events but this look was soft and floaty and simply divine.

3. Cate Blanchett

I really wish that you could see the detailing on the bottom of this dress better in this picture. It was ruby red and simply marvelous. I really liked the metallic steel gray of this dress. There was nothing like it on the carpet. Plus, this dress fit like a glove and made Blanchett's slender body pop with curves. She is always full of style and grace. What a red carpet master.

4. Portia De Rossi

I was truly hoping to find a picture of the back of this dress but couldn't. The ropes came together in the back and met in one thick braid only to split into hundreds of tiny strings. It was fantastic! She also managed to make fringe look good. This woman is the greatest, not only because she was on Arrested Development, but also because she and Ellen are the cutest couple around (even though Ellen's shoes made me think of Jobs For Youth on interview day).

5. Gwyneth Paltrow

I hate Gwyneth Paltrow (but I liked sliding Doors). This woman gets on my nerves to no end. She is boring and icky and, as Monica mentioned, her hair was a little static-filled. Many people didn't like this dress but I just loved it. Maybe because I am all about art deco style. The lines just delighted my eyes and the peep front was another geometric focal point. I love shapes. It has a bit of a mermaid feel to it but, I think, in a good way. This is not a good picture of the dress though; I wish I could have found a better one. Oh well.

42nd Street, Original Broadway Cast- That is a really funny thing to come on after doing a post about the Oscars. I haven’t ever seen this musical but I am sure it is filled with great costumes. I am a little embarrassed that I listen to this song on occasion.

Mass Appeal, GangStarr- I am redeemed. This song has a great beat. Real basic but, like they say “we don’t make whack tracks”. This reminds me of how much better real rap is that the mess they put on that white Rapper show that I had the nerve to watch yesterday. I know some people watched it all season though, so I don’t feel too bad.

You Didn’t Hear It, The Who- Tommy is one of my favorite albums ever. I love it so so much and this song is easily one of my favorites. What a way to start a story. I really hated the movie though.

MANIC MONDAY- YELLOW

I am finally getting around to writing a post for Manic Monday. This week’s topic is Yellow. When I heard the topic many songs came to mind that I will talk about in my daily song segment following the post. The first thing that came to mind, however, was not a song. It was a movie that I believe is from Sweden, “I am Curious (Yellow),” This movie was about a young woman who wanted to learn about life. She looked up all kinds of information, experimented sexually, and got into political activism. It was a fine film but not something I planned to watch often. Friend bought the movie Sr. year of college for some reason I can’t remember. Maybe it was because we thought the title was really funny? One thing I do remember is that “I am Curious (Yellow)” was in black and white and I really had no idea where the yellow came from.

This movie was later traded to another friend, along with a candle holder/candle set, so that Friend and I could go settle the score with our “inner” demons, something we had been planning to do since being accosted by them earlier in the year. We armed ourselves with a flag and some dragons and set off to meet the demons head on. Although we didn’t find them, we found signs that let us know that the demons were gone for good and weren’t going to mess with us any longer and carted them back to the dorm. It was a very emotional and very good day. Unfortunately, the school groundskeepers took away our signs the next morning before we could take a picture. Too bad. I’ll always remember the day fondly. None of it would have been possible without “I am Curious (yellow)”. Actually, we would have most likely just traded something else.

Mellow Yellow, Donovan- Donovan has been the backdrop for much of my adult life. His music really speaks to me. This is particularly strange because all I have is one greatest hits album and Barabajagal which I probably spelled very wrong. Even so, those 20 or so songs mean a lot to me. Even my theme song is Donovan. He always makes me smile and bop around like a happy person, even when I’m sad.

Yellow Submarine, The Beatles- While this song is incredibly happy it does conjure up thoughts of Blue Meanies, which do not make me happy at all. It also makes me thing of my Yellow Submarine shirt that I traded some other shirt to my sister to get and am very happy that I did. All in all, I get pretty good vibes from that shirt, even though I cant really wear it in public anymore because it is relatively jacked up.

I’d Be A Yellow Feathered Loon, Of Montreal- this song is simply adorable. It’s all about falling and being in love. Or something like that. Like the others, it makes me smile. Maybe yellow in songs makes me smile in general. However, yellow on clothes does not make me smile because it makes me look jaundiced.

NOT NOMI MALONE'S BROWN RICE AND VEGETABLES

It's Foodie Friday time again. Two cool club points to anyone who can identify the inspiration for this dish's name.

Not Nomi Malone's Brown Rice and Vegetables
Prep Time- 40 minutes
Serves 2-4 depending on how many vegetables you like on your rice
-½ cup uncooked brown rice
-4 cloves garlic
-½ cup silken tofu
-½ cup nonfat plain yogurt
-Juice of ½ lemon
-8 basil leaves
-1 bunch asparagus
-1tbsp olive oil
-2 roasted red peppers (I use the ones from a jar but you could roast them yourself if you are cooler than me)
-4 baby bella mushrooms (I would have liked more but I only had four left)
-1/4 onion (again, I would have liked more but I only had ¼ left)

-Thinly slice thee cloves of garlic and add to rice before cooking for an extra yummy flavor
-Cook rice according to directions (for most brown rice it is one part rice to two parts water)
-Blend tofu, yogurt, lemon juice (except a tiny squeeze), 5 basil leaves, roasted red peppers to yield a nice creamy dressing
-heat olive oil over medium heat
- Cut asparagus into whatever size pieces you like (after discarding the bottom inch of course) I just cut them once through the middle because I like big pieces.
- sauté about 2 minutes
-Put dressing in small saucepan and heat over low heat
-Chop mushrooms and 2 leaves of basil and add to the asparagus and onion and the tiny leftover squeeze of lemon juice
-Cover for about 2 minutes so everything is nice and done (asparagus should be crunchy but warm and flavorful)

Spoon out about a half cup of rice and spread over the plate. Drizzle about 2-3 tbsp of dressing over the rice, Place asparagus mixture over the rice and drizzle lightly with more dressing, chop the final leaf of basil to use for garnish
Enjoy

Since the new music I got wasn't guessed at all I feel the need to say a few things about these artists. Not that I am an expert on any of them because I just found out about their music last week. Most of the links got to amazon but not cause I'm telling you to buy stuff, just because you can listen to samples.

1. Hey little boy you’re not allowed to stay/ You have to evolve inevitably/ And I’ve sure come a long way. Gettin Grown, Cee-lo Green.
I actually do know a little bit about Cee-lo. He was part of the Goodie Mob and, most recently joined forces with DangerMouse to create the unparalled Gnarls Barkley. However, I did not know he had released a solo album in 2004 entitled "Cee-lo Green and his Perfect Imperfections", can you get a better title than that? I think not. I found out about this album while browsing though my On Demand music videos and coming across one entitled "Getting Grown". The video featured Cee-lo in various teletubbie type costumes and a lot of whistling. I was very interested in finding out more. The album is awesome. The songs range from rap to r&b to soul to funk. I highly recommend that you pick it up.

2. He said “I’ll protect you like you are the crown jewels” /Yet/ Said he’s feeling sorrier for me the more I behave badly/ I can bet. Lloyd, I'm Ready to be Heartbroken, Camera Obscura.
This band was a very pleasant surprise for me. The vocals are soft, almost Isobel Campbellesque, and there is a innocence to their music. I can say nothing bad about it. If you are into girls singing sweetly with kickin' harmonies to music that you can't help but bop your head to I highly recommend checking them out. The album I have is Let's Get Out Of This Country. I look forward to getting more.

3. Love is a dress that you made long enough to hide your knees/ Love to say this to your face/ I’ll love you only. Love and Some Verses, Iron & Wine.
This album is all about a guy and his acoustic guitar. His voice is soft and sincere. Some people might call it hippie music but there isn't enough funk behind most of the music for real hippies. It would be real good for sitting around and playing Monoploy to though. I hear faint traces of CNSY at times. The album I have is Our Endless Numbered Days. If a guy and his guitar is not your thing then this album is not for you. For those of you who like soothing music, catchy melodies, and meaningful lyrics; I highly recommend that you pick it up.

4. I heard rumors/ I heard talk/ About the trail you left of /Broken hearts. Smoke and Ashes, Tracy Chapman.
This isn't new and if you don't know what Tracy Chapman is about by now then you wouldn't like her music.

PARTING IS SUCH SWEET SORROW

Tonight is the series finale of the O.C. I welcome this for many reasons, the largest of which is that I no longer have to be embarrassed that I watch The O.C. At the same time, I have grown fond of these little spoiled freaks and may, unfortunately, come to miss them. There have been some fantastic and crazy moments on this show. Most of these moments have come in this final season when they just took things TOO far. I was initially turned off by it but have come to realize the ridiculousness what just what the show needed. The season beginning with Ryan getting into cage fighting to deal with his pain was simply too precious. Who does cage fighting? That is simply brilliant. Summer going from a fashion focused ditz to an environmentally conscious fashion focused not ditz was just the kind of growth and development the character needed. Seth not going to college and becoming an even bigger comic book nerd and hanging out with old people all the time was the epitome of pathetic perfection. Summer’s crazy friend from Brown who thought Seth was his soul mate because of some vision quest. Taylor’s going to France and marrying some guy who wrote a book about their erotic adventures that became a best seller??? Can you get any better than that? I’ll miss this crazy show.

In even more pathetic TV news, the new season of Top Model starts next week and the girls look more of a mess than ever. I can’t stand the fact that I am going to watch this show. Will someone give me some willpower to resist horrible television? I think Heroes and Ugly Betty are my saving graces and I suppose the Law and Order shows don’t hurt my rep either. Will they please hurry up and bring back Project Runway so that I can be enthralled by good reality television.

On a positive note I have been able to resist American Idol since the first round of audition shows ended. I don’t know if that is something I am ready to give up just yet. Maybe next year. I almost watched it last night but decided that Spartacus would be a much better viewing experience. It was, until I fell asleep. I wonder what happened? Don’t tell me, I’ll finish watching it. I didn’t even get to see him go “I am Spartacus,” which I think is relatively important. Why did they have to have TMD in Roman times? These are the things that occupy my mind.

California, California, here we COOOMEAAA. Goodbye my O.C friends fare well on your new endeavors. I hope they aren’t as horrible as this show was. But remember, I mean horrible in a good way.

1. Hey little boy you’re not allowed to stay/ You have to evolve inevitably/ And I’ve sure come a long way.

2. He said “I’ll protect you like you are the crown jewels” /Yet/ Said he’s feeling sorrier for me the more I behave badly/ I can bet.

3. Love is a dress that you made long enough to hide your knees/ Love to say this to your face/ I’ll love you only.

4. I heard rumors/ I heard talk/ About the trail you left of /Broken hearts

5. Thown like a star in my vast sleep/ I open my eyes to take a peek/ To find that I was by the sea/ Gazing with tranquility. Hurdy Gurdy Man, Donovan. Identified by Brooke.

SNOW MELTS, POOP APPEARS

When snow first falls it is one of the most peaceful and beautiful things this planet has to offer. After a day or so, as cars go by, the pretty snow becomes a nasty gray slushy mess of gross. You spend a while slushing your way through it to get to wherever it is you need to go and then the weather changes, and it starts to melt.

I love melting time. I have very fond memories of crunching the ice and snow along the edge of a pile with Mom who called it “helping the spring along”. When snow melts it seems that the world is being reborn. It felt more like that when winter actually lasted forever and thaw truly meant spring but, whatever. I don’t even mind the fact that everything is icy because of all the thawing during the day and freezing at night, I just tread softly and hope for the best. Luckily, I have gotten much less clumsy since leaving college. Is it the more reasonable shoes? Is it the lack of Bates Hill? Is it my less cloudy mental state? We may never know. I just know I haven’t fallen (outside) in like two years and that is pretty impressive.

Unfortunately, in the years since moving off Belmont (thanks for the wonderful memories crackneighborhood but when the aging hippies changing their socks on the “stoop” ask you to wait until they are done before you can get into your own apartment it is time to leave) I have learned something about snow melting in the more homey areas of town. It’s like a magic formula of some sort; snow melts, poop appears.

I have never owned a dog. I plan to own a dog someday but now is not the time. This being said, I have also never walked a dog. Henceforth, I have never had to pick up poop. This poop picking up is the thing I most dread about being a dog owner. I am sure I will get over it eventually but the idea is just disgusting. I don’t want to be one of those lame dog owners with the scooper tool but I just might go there. Don’t even get me thinking about babies pooping. I don’t know how I am going to handle that when the time comes. I am kind of scared. I digress. Dog poop, not baby poop, is the topic at hand.

For the past four years, give or take, I have lived in very dog friendly neighborhoods. My current area, in particular, is doggie heaven. People are generally decent about picking up after their dogs. There is always stray poop here and there and it makes me cringe but it is typically ok. That is not the case when the snow melts.

I suppose what happens is that a dog walks into a snowy area and poops. The poop, presumably being denser than the snow, falls into the snow and the owner forgets that the poop is there. Out of sight, out of mind. Unfortunately, when the snow melts, all the formerly out of sight poop is now in plain view. It is everywhere. Sometimes it is frozen looking, sometimes it appears to have thawed out as well. All I know is that I am in serious danger.

Yesterday I noticed no less that twelve large poops in rather prominent places on the sidewalk. Please realize that I did not actually count poops and am simply guesstimating. The first one was right where someone would step if they left my apartment building and took a left. Luckily, it was enormous and I didn’t step in it. This first encounter put me on the lookout. It was good that I was. I had to dodge poop left and right, occasionally stepping on slippery ice to avoid the potential squish. Luckily, I didn’t slip on the ice and fall into poop. That would have sent me straight home and back to bed. I made it to the train and I was ok.

The walk home from work was even scarier. When I get off the train it is dark. Imagine walking along, knowing there is ice and poop everywhere, and trying very hard not to fall prey to either. It is no picnic. I made it though, it was ok.

This morning I noticed much stepped in poop. I felt very bad for all the poor souls who did not fare as well as I. Let this be a warning to everyone. Snow melts, poop appears. It is inevitable. Keep your eyes open and your shoes clean.

1. Hey little boy you’re not allowed to stay/ You have to evolve inevitably/ And I’ve sure come a long way.

2. He said “I’ll protect you like you are the crown jewels” /Yet/ Said he’s feeling sorrier for me the more I behave badly/ I can bet.

3. Love is a dress that you made long enough to hide your knees/ Love to say this to your face/ I’ll love you only.

4. I heard rumors/ I heard talk/ About the trail you left of /Broken hearts

5. And I/ Never thought I’d feel this way/ And as far as I’m concerned/ Glad I got the chance to say/ That I do believe I love you. That's What Friends Are For, Stevie Wonder and company. Identified by Brooke.

PEOPLE HAVE TOO MUCH TIME

My dear co-worker is in my office ranting about the issue of a passenger’s bill of rights. This is an issue I had never heard of but apparently this woman who had to wait nine hours in an airport decided this was maybe necessary. In the wake of the Jet Blue delays, she has many more supporters. Now my little co-worker is the most precious little thing ever. She is talking with her hands and making forceful gestures about the insanity of this proposal. She is emphasizing the spoiled and obviously entitled-feeling people who think that legislature is needed to make sure their flights aren’t delayed. She is making very valid points about how long it took to get a medical bill of rights and how our constitution almost didn’t even have a bill of rights. It is not a right to fly. Why I am not surprised that she is leaving me alone in this office to go to Georgetown Law in June?

Now I understand the frustration of being left at an airport or on the plane but not moving for hours. Cancelled flights are even worse and I try not to think of that horror. However, I know that when something really bad happens on a flight, people can usually get something free out of it. No you aren’t getting a free flight for a minor delay of a few hours, it happens. It’s one of those things that you know when you decide to travel by plane. However, if your light is cancelled, you are probably going to get another one and not have to pay for it. If you are stranded somewhere, the airline may very well pay for your hotel room. To me, these solutions are pretty much all an airline can do to help you along. The point is flying is not a right. It is a choice. You could drive, take a train, or even a bus. Instead you opt to fly. If something goes wrong maybe you should consider another option.

The scary thing is that many people will support this lady and her passengers bill of rights. This is something that will occupy our legislators time rather than things like healthcare, education, or the war. This is stupid. I wonder what she is planning to include in this bill? Personally, I would like more frequent updates on the status of a delayed flight, maybe very ten minutes or so. That would eliminate my need to ask the customer service people and their need to tell a plane full of individuals the same thing over and over, thus getting a bad attitude. I wouldn’t mind some free snacks and/or beverages when things get really tedious. I would like for all size planes to be equipped with TV screens so I could catch an in-flight movie when things are delayed while I am on the plane. I certainly want a refund or another ticket if I am not able to go where I planned on going. These are all great things. Do I think our legislators need to get involved? Not in the slightest. These are things airlines should just do. Many of them do these things already. People who seriously think a bill is needed to deal with this issue have too much time on their hands and think they are far more important than they are.

Now it is time for music for that will calm me. I just thought this issue was funny when I started writing and now I am a little perturbed. Thanks dear friend. Since I downloaded so much music this weekend we’ll only go with songs that are new to my library. I think they are going to be very hard. Sorry.

1. Hey little boy you’re not allowed to stay/ You have to evolve inevitably/ And I’ve sure come a long way.

2. He said “I’ll protect you like you are the crown jewels” /Yet/ Said he’s feeling sorrier for me the more I behave badly/ I can bet.

3. Love is a dress that you made long enough to hide your knees/ Love to say this to your face/ I’ll love you only.

4. And I will stroll the merry way/ and jump the hedges first/ And I will drink the clean clear water/ For to quench my thirst. Sweet Thing, Van Morrison. Identified by Brooke.

5. They love me like I was their brother/ They protect me/ Listen to me. Nice Dreams (a.k.a No Strings) by Radiohead. Identified by Brooke.

IT ISN'T ALWAYS PRETTY

I was watching skating this weekend (no surprise there) and was reminded, once again, of how much this sport can hurt. I took a few nasty falls in my day. Once I kicked myself in the shin and had a decent little puncture wound. Gladly, I never had anything hospital worthy. This incident, however, required some immediate facial trauma surgery. The Canadian champions Dube & Davison were going into their side-by-side combination spins when something awful happened. Paris spins are judged on their synchronicity and the closeness of the skaters. This pair got a little too close. Searching for footage, I found this wonderful clip that not only included their spin, but fantastic falls throughout the past few years.


Just so you know, the skater is "fine". She was all stitched up and doing interviews just a few days after the fall and the team plans to compete in the World Championships next month.

FOODIE FRIDAY NUMBER ONE

I was having a hard time thinking of posts today and then remembered that I made delicious food this week and should share. I think I will call it Foodie Friday. If I have any sense I will make it a regular feature. This will mean that I will have to make at least one fun and exciting dish a week. This will keep me from eating the same stuff all the time, or so I think. Since this is the first Foodie Friday I’ll put in two recipes, cause I made two new yummy things this week. As this goes on I plan to hoard recipes in case of emergency and will provide only one.

Vegetarian Egg Rolls- Prep time 12 minutes, Baking time 15 minutes
I was excited by this because I have never made egg rolls before. These were really basic but incredibly yummy. This amount of filling yielded about 12 small egg rolls, I think. Obviously many common egg roll ingredients are missing from this recipe but that’s cause I didn’t have them and I wanted to make egg rolls.

½ brick of super firm tofu finely diced
1 cup mushrooms diced
2 cups fresh spinach chopped
4 good sized radishes grated
1 clove garlic chopped or pressed
1 lime
½ onion
12 egg roll wrappers
2 tbsp canola oil

Preheat oven to 350
Heat 1tbsp oil in skillet over high heat
Fry tofu in oil for about 2-3 minutes until nice and brown
Turn heat down to medium
Add onion and cook for one minute
Add garlic, mushrooms, spinach, and radishes cook till spinach is limp
Add juice of the lime (and a little zest if you so desire)
Turn of heat and let mixture cool
Put 1tbsp oil on baking sheet (you could use Pam but I was out)
Put approximately 2tbsp of mixture in each wrapper and roll em up (use a little water on last folded edge to make sure it stays sealed)
Bake for 10 minutes or until browned and crispy turning once
ENJOY

Not Moussaka Not Lasagna Baked Yum- Prep Time 30 minutes, Baking/cooling time 55 minutes
I had an eggplant and didn’t know what to do with it. I usually make some ratatouille or something but I wasn’t feeling it. I needed some inspiration. This is what I came up with. I would say it makes about 6 servings

2 baking potatoes
1 large eggplant
Olive oil
½ onion diced
2 cloves garlic chopped
1 large can whole tomatoes
1/8 cup fresh basil chopped
Salt, Pepper, sugar, and garlic powder to taste
½ cup feta cheese (I used this great fat free stuff Mom introduced me to)
½ cup low fat plain yogurt
½ cup grated mozzarella cheese

Preheat oven to 350 degrees
Slice eggplant into ½ inch thick rounds
Brush rounds lightly with olive oil on both sides and bake 10 min on each side

Cut potatoes into thin rounds (as thin as you would for au gratin or something)
Microwave potatoes for about 2 min (I like mine real mushy. If you like a firmer potato don’t do this)

While eggplant is baking and potato cooling, make some sauces
Crush feta cheese and mix with yogurt (with the addition of some grated cucumber, garlic powder, and a dash of pepper this makes a fine dip on its own, thanks again Mom)
Add onion and garlic to the feta mixture

Drain juice out of tomatoes
Plop tomatoes in blender or food processor
Add basil and a little of those other to taste spices
Blend
Taste to see if you need more of any spices (you can see I cook on the fly)

By this time the eggplant should be done and if it isn’t just chill out and read a blog for a few minutes or something.

Remove eggplant from oven and turn heat up to 450

Get a casserole dish I think mine is 9x9in and 6in deep and get to layering
Put a tiny bit of tomato sauce on the bottom to avoid stickiness
The layers go like this
Eggplant
Potato
Feta spread
Mozzarella
Sauce
Continue until you run out of food, mine fit perfectly and on the last layer I went sauce mozzarella instead of mozzarella sauce cause who doesn’t like a cheesy top layer?

Bake for 45 minutes and let cool for 10
ENJOY

LOVE FOR THE UNDERDOG

Yesterday really should have been a snow day. This morning I woke up feeling just horrible and had to call in sick to work. So far I’ve drank Orange Juice for some good old fashioned vitamin C and eaten ice cream for my sore throat. It helped a little but I still am not doing all that well. There have been a few people in the office so sick they missed weeks of work. I missed a few days a while ago due to my asthma. I’m not having that ultra-sick thing happening anymore and I hope that staying home early on to rest will help get me on the mend.

I had a chance to watch Leaves From Satan’s Book, a silent film made in 1919 that I DVRed months ago but never got around to watching. The premise was very interesting and since it is based on a book I may have something to add to my reading list. After being cast down from heaven, Satan is told that he must wander the earth enticing people to commit evil deeds. For every one who submits to his will another hundred years will be added to his penance. For every one who resists him, one thousand years will be taken away from his time on earth. He wanders through time telling people to do evil while secretly hoping that they will do the right thing. What an existence. Unfortunately the DVR didn’t record the whole movie and I missed a little of the last vignette. I really hope that they resisted his temptation and knocked a little off his sentence. I don’t know why but I have always rooted for the anti-hero, particularly one who doesn’t truly want to be evil. There is something so pathetic about them that it stirs something in me. The true heroes are so together that they don’t seem to need your support. It’s the anti-hero who truly needs a friend and to find redemption.

Last night I watched Phantom of the Opera. It is one of those things that I thought I should see. It has become a part of the culture and I didn’t really know the story. I knew the music. People skated to it enough times that I was far too familiar with the primary songs. The words, however, were mostly unknown to me because you aren’t really allowed to skate to things with words. Or rather you weren’t allowed to, the times have changed. As horrible and manipulative as the Phantom was, I really wanted Christine to stay with him and keep him company. Even the woman who saved him as a child and brought him to the opera house wasn’t a true friend. She was still afraid of him. Just because he had a grossly disfigured face doesn’t mean that he didn’t need someone to care for him. I did wonder how that little mask he wore covered up the extent of his disfigurement for most of the movie but I guess that’s just one of those artistic license things. At least they didn’t kill him.

My affection for the anti-hero is somewhat manifested in my work. I want to work whit the people that the majority of our society doesn’t see much hope for. I want to contribute something to their lives that will take them off that path and lead them to be able to walk in the footsteps of a hero. Sometimes I feel I have accomplished that, other times not as much. When I was working with the GED students I really had affection for the ones with severe obstacles, not that any of them didn’t have obstacles, but obviously some needed more help than others. One student in particular was so far gone that I was essentially instructed to abandon him and he was kicked off the premises permanently. I still talk to him occasionally. He is doing really well. He attributes some of that to what happened to him in the few months he attended our school. It’s one of those things where when you look at someone head-on you don’t think you have the resources to help but when you get a chance to know them and understand what happened to put them into a bad situation you can do something to change course and see where they go. I guess that’s why I love the anti-hero. With a hero there is no chance for redemption and there is nothing you can really do to affect them. An anti-hero needs you. Without them, there would be no need for heroes at all. What kind of a world would that be?

Omega Supreme DM Remix, Dangermouse and Jemini- This is easily one of my favorite songs. Actually the entire 26inch EP is fantastic. As a pair these guys have beats and rhymes that you can’t criticize. I don’t think I have ever heard anything Dangermouse has done that I don’t like though. I feel cool listening to it. Obviously, this means that I am not cool at all.

Call My Name, Prince- The iPod is working magic today. Best slow jam EVER. I tend not to be a huge fan of the slow jam because it is so silly. This song, however, puts it down. Prince is obviously the coolest, unlike myself.

Don’t Let Me Be, The Animals- Hell yeah, I am very proud of my shuffle today. Sometimes I am a little ashamed of what comes on but today is certainly not one of those days. I need to figure out how to attach these song files to my posts so everyone else can enjoy the wondrous goodness (an occasional wondrous badness) of my music. This song also fits fairly well into the whole anti-hero theme. Nice way to wrap things up.

NO BUSES SHOULD EQUAL NO SCHOOL

Arne Duncan is my nemesis. He has ruined my valentines day for the sake of education. It goes like this. Where I work, if Chicago Public Schools (CPS) close for a snow day then we get a snow day too. I was really hoping for one yesterday but it didn’t happen. We did, however, get let out of work early and since I took the bus home to avoid walking 7 blocks in the insane snow doubled my commute time. But it was ok. I was still home earlier than usual. I settled in for a nice cozy snowy night with hopes that the downfall would continue and turn into a snowed in Valentines Day. No such luck.

This morning I awoke to plenty of snow. I turned on the radio and heard that the buses for CPS were down. I got really excited. If there were no buses there could be no school, right? Wrong. They encouraged children who couldn’t go to their regular schools because of lack of buses to simply go to their neighborhood schools. I am not even going to begin to tell you how wrong this seems. You can’t just show up at some new for school for a day and expect to learn something. Even with schools teaching for tests more than ever you can’t expect every school everywhere to be teaching the same thing on a given day. The teachers wouldn’t know who any kids were and the kids who were at their regular school would probably pick on the visiting kids just because kids are mean. Plus, it’s Valentines Day. You know if a kid shows up at a neighborhood school they won’t get any valentines in their bag. They will just be extra left out.

Yesterday I heard they kept schools open because there are so many single parent families or families with two working parents that kids would be safer in schools. That made a bit of sense to me. I suppose that logic holds true even more today with the just put your kids in any school so they won’t be home alone theory.

On the other hand, kids love snow days. Can’t you give a kid a break and give them a snow day every once in a while. I don’t think they close CPS for less than two feet of snow. I may be exaggerating but I really can’t remember a snow day at all since I have moved to Chicago and it has snowed plenty. I understand that they have to deal with a little criticism for closing schools that, on average, aren’t doing so well in the first place but I really think a snow day is a great part of being a kid in a place where the weather sucks. You have to get some benefit.

So here I am at work, sucking on a heart shaped lollipop wanting to be home on a snow day. There is something so romantic about being tucked up in a blizzard with someone you love. The house is stocked with all needed supplies and it would have been a great Valentines present for a couple who has absolutely no plans whatsoever. That is why, Arne Duncan that you are on my shit list.

Julie had a meme yesterday just asking people to talk about why they started blogging. Then Eve also wrote about it. I figured I would weigh in on the subject. If any of you read my first post, you would know I started because myspace was down and I was bored. Monica had been telling me to blog for some time and since I had nothing to distract me this blog was started. It used to be called I Have Nothing Interesting To Say ---Read Me. I kept blogging and realized that I really enjoyed it. I could come and say something interesting and relevant or talk about absolutely nothing at all. Something just felt right about it. I guess that’s why I kept going. Eventually, I changed the name of my blog to I Think This May Have Gotten Almost Interesting because it was better than I thought it would be and then settled on the current title Almost Interesting Musings on Life. I decided I was comfortable with the fact that people seemed to be reading and responding and they weren’t all people I had known forever so this had to be somewhat interesting even though I was certain when I started that I had nothing to contribute. I guess that means my blog helped me to accept that even though I’m not in school anymore and writing papers that fascinate me (even though maybe no one else) I could still put something relatively interesting together. Plus, I didn’t have to worry about Ogunyemi correcting my poor grammar and spelling. So that is why I blogged and why I kept blogging.

Burning, Fugazi- There was this kid in high school who I thought was hot and listened to Fugazi. He made me wonder who this Fugazi was and why he seemed so cool. I didn’t care enough listen to Fugazi until much later though.

Skips on the Record, At The Drive In- This is one of those bands that I like a lot more before they start singing. I guess that makes me not so punk rock.

Alfie From The Bronx, Toy Dolls- Once I made a mix tape with songs that had various boroughs in the title for a co-worker who was moving to NY. I downloaded a bunch of songs and then picked ones that I liked. This song kind of reminds me of Denver The Last Dinosaur theme song. It's really good.

A GOOD TIME WITH MOMMY

I had so much fun with Mommy that I just don’t know where to begin. I’ll just give a little rundown of the festivities. I also went a little link happy. I don't know why.

Wednesday- Mom sent email to say she was leaving within the hour at 9:45. Mom called to say she was leaving at 12:45. She arrived around 8ish and we ordered some food and relaxed. It was fun.

Thursday- Mom, Tony, and I went to see “Radio Golf”, August Wilson’s final play in his chronicle of African-American life in the 1900s. It was great although we discovered the matinee audience at the Goodman is 75yrs+old white people. They didn’t really seem to “get” the play. No one clapped between scenes in the entire first act. Mom and I wanted too but were kind of embarrassed. We shouldn’t have been. That was silly of us. Anthony Chisholm (Burr Redding on Oz) was in the show. That made Tony and I very excited because Oz rules. I realized I had already seen him act in “Gem Of The Ocean” (another August Wilson play) on Broadway. I felt more special. After the play we wanted to stand up but the old white people made us feel uncomfortable about it. We should have stood up. At least we held our hands high to clap. Mom, Tony, and I went to dinner at Hema’s Kitchen a fantastic Indian restaurant on Devon and Oakley. If you live in Chicago and like Indian food this is THE place to go. I have never had a poor dish there. We then dropped Tony home so he could pack for his trip to Houston and his friend’s wedding. Mom and I went to a fundraiser at Continuum Studio where Dave E. Wo works. He poured a mean chocolate martini (although he didn’t know what was in them). We met fun people including a guy who told us to watch out for the black ice on Lake Shore Drive while taking Tony to the airport in the morning. My mom thought he said “watch out for the black guys” which was funny. Went home and enjoyed DVRed programming.

Friday- Drove Tony to the airport at an ungodly hour. Came home and took a nap. Woke up and called Dave E. Wo so that we could pick him and his massage table up and have massages in the living room. That was awesome. Unfortunately he had an appointment so he couldn’t come out to dinner with us at Ethiopian Diamond. Another fantastic restaurant that any person would enjoy (unless they are opposed to eating with their hands from a communal plate). I highly recommend the Tej (honey wine) if you like really sweet wine that Winnie the Pooh would tear up. Went home and decided it was couch and movie time. We started with “A Funny Thing Happened On The Way To The Forum”. I really enjoyed the film although it was obviously on crack. If you like crack filled musicals you should see it. We then watched “Harvey” and I continually poked Mom throughout the second half because she insisted that we should finish the movie and not save it for tomorrow.

Saturday- It was time to get to business. After lounging around for a while we set out to Target to stock my somewhat lacking house with needed goods. It was the greatest. I am glad Mom likes to take me places and buy me things that I need. We then went to Jewel to get more things I need. I have tons of food and household goods. It is the greatest. We then went to pick up Monica for Pan’s Labyrinth. We were a little later than expected so we opted out of the earlier shows to go home and order food from Heartland Café MMMMMM. Then we headed to the movie. Can I say how much I enjoyed that film? It was dark and fanciful all at the same time. There were so many ways to interpret things and different lenses to look at the film through. The cinematography was gorgeous and the music set the story off beautifully. I did have to look away briefly in a few parts but I knew to expect a little gore. I was thinking it would be more war-type gore than it was but I was cool with it. Then home to watch DVRed SNL (which could have been funnier) and to sleep.

Sunday- We took Monica home in the morning and then went home for lunch before going to the airport to pick up Tony. He was happy to see me. It was nice. We ordered Pizza Hut for dinner (I know, a strange departure from the fantastic food we had been eating) but Tony really wanted some bad pizza with cheesy bite crust and dipping sauce. Pizza Hut took FOREVER to come and I got $10 off my next order. Tony was super tired and I think ended up getting 3 pieces of the pizza he desperately wanted and has talked about for eons and was SOOO HUNGRY because he fell asleep. Mom and I watched “Ali” because I had never seen it and “The Five Heartbeats” cause who doesn’t love that movie and Mommy hadn't seen it. Then it was time to sleep.

Monday- Mom and I ate the rest of the pizza for breakfast because he was still sleeping. He kind of got up for a second and I asked if he wanted the last piece and he said no so I ate it. HA. Before putting Mom in the car we watched "Hustle and Flow" because we needed some grit to round out the wonderful visit that we had.

As you can see, I was totally busy and even though I considered blogging here and there I just wasn’t going to do it. Feels good to be back though.

Oscar Sees Through Red Eye, Boards of Canada- There are a lot of drums in this song. I don’t know if there are any words. I don’t listen to it often. It is really relaxing, maybe next time Dave comes by to massage people (or I go there) I’ll recommend that he invest in this song. Oh wait, there comes some muted voices. I have no idea what they are saying.

Is This Love, Bob Marley- Don’t you love how people say they really really like reggae music and then own one Bob Marley CD and it is Legends? Posers. Now I own two Bob Marley CDs and one is Legends, I also have a good deal of Lee Perry and some other assorted reggae. I enjoy it plenty but know I am not very knowledgeable about the genre. I would never be one of those people who says I am all about reggae. I am a poser in different ways.

I’m Looking Through You, The Beatles- The Beatles are a band I am not a poser about. I don’t own everything of theirs, for some reason I don’t have Let It Be and I know that is a problem in my Beatle cred. Regardless, I know a fair deal about their songs but am not one of those huge Beatle geeks that knows everything about them. I did write a 50pg paper on them in Jr. High. That was a bit silly. I think many of the pages were lyrics.

WHY IS THAT THING TOUCHING ME?

My computer is fixed. I have been forbidden to remove any programs from my computer and the IT department’s faith in me has plummeted. It took five years for me to get IT cred and it is gone in a flash. However, I now have office 2003 instead of 2000 so it actually worked out better for me in the long run and all aspects of my computer appear to be running faster. Getting it fixed meant that I was able to submit my report to the State nice and early so if something is wrong they can let me know and I can fix it. That’s how I roll with deadlines. Like Sr. year when I was done with all my work because I wanted to relax and chill with everyone but they were still working like mad women popping caffeine pills and chugging coffee. They were really funny to me at the time.

My Mommy is on her way. She sent e an email at about 9:30 saying she was going to leave within the hour and called at about 12:45 to say she was leaving. My family has never been really good at punctuality. At least she left late enough to miss the evening rush when she gets into town. It just means I’ll have a late dinner when she gets in. Since I don’t have to wake up in the morning it really doesn’t matter. I’m sure we’ll be up late talking about nothing until she suddenly falls asleep without warning.

Yesterday I finished “A Confederacy of Dunces” which was a fantastic read that I highly recommend to anyone who likes stuff and or things. Today I began reading “Nausea”. I really like it a lot and wanted to talk a little bit about a passage.

Objects should not touch because they are not alive. You use them, put them back in place, you live among them: they are useful, nothing more. But they touch me, it is unbearable.

I don’t consider myself to be an existentialist, I am too open to the existence of the mystical, yet this passage truly resonated with me. Not really in the way I believe Sartre intended it to (or the way it meshes with the rest of the novel), but it resonated in all the same. I HATE being touched by things. I don’t mind touching things at all. I am very interested in the tactile qualities of the world and different sensations I can get from various objects. Yet, there is nothing worse than the unexpected touch of something. It doesn’t matter much what the something is. It doesn’t have to be a nasty or uncomfortable something. Simply because I has made me aware of its being without me asking it to is offensive.

I’m not a germaphobe. I generally don’t get squeamish about things. Yet, I generally expect them to come into my world when I want them to, because they are things and have no free will of their own. I love plants, but if a plant unexpectedly touched me I would recoil simply from the unexpected shock. I am sure the plant intended no harm, but because it took on a trait of something sentient I would have a problem with it. Nothing I had ever come across articulated that sentiment more than that passage. It made me think.

I don’t like to have to think too much about my surroundings. That isn’t to say I don’t enjoy a philosophical discussion, it is simply to say that everything has a time and a place. Generally I like to simply enjoy life and to experience it in the way in which I choose. I guess that is why the unexpected touch of something bothers me. It isn’t something I chose to have in my purview. It just happened to me. I don’t think things just happen to you in general, I think we have a say in everything that happens in our lives. The random touch of something unexpected changes all that. And unbearable is the only way to describe it. I don’t get this same feeling when a person bumps into me, which is strange. There is something a lot creepier than being touched by a non-sentient object than a person who simply made an error in depth perception. I am sure that many people will disagree with me about that. I love a book that makes me realize things about myself that I never really took the time to examine before. That’s what life is really all about.

All the songs were guessed yesterday so it’s time for a new batch.

1. London calling to the faraway towns/ Now war is declared/ And battle come down. London Calling, The Clash. Identified by Johnny Yen

2. I’m waiting for the night to fall/ I know that it will save us all. Waiting For The Night, Depeche Mode. Identified by Janna

3. Won’t you/ Come see about me/ I’ll be alone/ Dancing/ You know it baby. Don't You Forget About Me, Simple Minds. Identified by Monica and Johnny Yen

4. Once upon a time/ A team of hungry birds came down on a dead body/ It was a dead deer. The Vultures Ate My Dead Ass Up, Wesley Willis. Identified by Janna

5. She’s not right/ I want something/ I want something tonight. She's Not Right, The Stooges. Identified by Johnny Yen

CONFESSIONS OF A DUMBASS MIND

Yesterday I did a stupid thing. I erased my MS Office at work. Before you decide I am the worlds biggest fool and click off my blog forever, let me explain. I was trying to uninstall useless programs. When I looked at the add/remove programs screen it said that this particular MS Office hadn't been used since Jan of '06. As I use MS Office everyday, I thought that I must have an outdated version installed in addition to the one I always use and that I could get rid of the extra one. That was not the case. I called the IT guy and, after laughing at me a lot, he said he would fix it. Yet, when I got to work this morning, it had not been fixed. The IT guy is not in the office today. Because I know a tiny bit about computers (although it may not seem so after what I did) I had a good idea where to look in the shared files to find the office installation program. I did end up asking for help from the Computer Instructor but I was really close to the right spot so I was fairly pleased with myself. I got the program all ready to go and then it asked me for the product code. Now I have installed enough programs to know that this was coming but the Computer Instructor told me that usually the codes just pop up for you. No such luck for me. I emailed the IT guy and am hoping he can either tell me the code or let me know if it is saved in a file somewhere.

I must apologize for any spelling mistakes in this post because I typically write in Word and do all my spellchecking from there. I don't have Word right now so I am winging it. I have some reports I need to send off to the State for my contract that are due on the 15th. I can't access them and there is a little more that needs to be done before they are ready. I know the 15th is a little ways off but I am going to be out of work the 8th-12th hanging out with my Mommy (YEAH) so I had really hoped to send them off before I leave. That way, if there are any problems (and as it is my first time preparing them there may be), I can have that fixed before the 15th.

There are times when I would welcome only being able to access the Internet and our internal system. It would mean I would have a lot of nothing to do. Typically that doesn't bother me as much. Today, for some reason, it does. Maybe I only want to get down to business because I can't. I do have some phone calls to make though so at least I have something I can do. Maybe I'll clean up my office. That never gets enough focus. Maybe not having MS Office is a good thing. Maybe not. I think there is a spare computer in my old office that I could probably sit at if things get too dire. If this hasn't been resolved by tomorrow after I get back from the National Testing site I will try that option.

I am incredibly excited to see my Mommy tomorrow (hi Mom). Let's all send her happy wishes and safe driving for her journey. It will be so nice to have her around. Neither she nor my Daddy (who sadly isn't coming but maybe he will sometime not too far away) has been to my apartment for about two years. I've been to see them, they've been to see my sister, we've all been to see my sister, but no one hs been to see me. It will be fun. We have two things planned and they are Radio Golf (August Wilson) at the Goodman on Thursday and Pan's Labyrinth on Saturday. We will also do other fun things like eat good food and go to Target. I can't wait.

Song time.

1. She’s outta my life/ She’s outta my life/ And I don’t know whether to laugh or cry/ I don’t know whether to live or die. She's Outta My Life, Michael Jackson. Identified by Ern

2. Hey pig/ Yeah you/ hey pig piggy pig pig pig/ All of my fears came true. Piggy, Nine Inch Nails. Identified by Brooke.

3. You went to school to learn girl/ Things you never never knew before. ABC, The Jackson 5. Identified by Ern

4. You are subtle as a window pane standing in my view/ But I will wait for it to rain so that I can see you. Anticipate, Ani DiFranco. Identified by Brooke.

5. No New Years Day/ To celebrate/ No chocolate covered candy hearts to give away. I Just Called To Say I Love You, Stevie Wonder, Identified by Ern and Michael C. I just have to say when I was young a friend and I had our own version of this song that we thought was hilarious. "I just called to say I hate you. I just called to say that I don't care. I just called to say I hate you. And I mean it from the bottom of my butt. In my defense we were quite young.

WE WIN IN LIFE CAUSE INDIANA IS A SHITHOLE

Before he finds out and accuses me of stealing his thunder yet again, Tony made the above statement not me. I just found it be funny cause it is true. As everyone probably knows, The Indianapolis Colts won the Super Bowl. If you happened to only watch the first quarter of the game this fact may surprise you. The bears came out looking good, until Grossman got on the field that is. Apparently a quarterback can be carried to the Superbowl by his team. But to win the game you need a quarterback who can carry a team, a la Manning. I really doubt anyone was truly surprised by the game yesterday. I know a big part of why I elected to watch at home vs. out with people was that I couldn’t handle the mass drunken depression that was likely to follow the game. Plus, at home I call yell things like “Run you bitch ass pansy losers,” without people thinking I am not supporting team, which I am. I’m just saying that they need a new quarterback and have needed one for some time. If they get a good one, or even a fair one, the team should be unstoppable.

From one depressing note to another, the cold that is happening today is simply ungodly. No one should be outside in weather like this, ever. I was hoping for Chicago Public Schools to be closed this morning because when they are closed so is my office. No such luck. I guess it has to be much colder. Now I realize that –6 isn’t that worst thing ever and many people are experiencing much worse but it’s freaking cold. My bedroom is the only room in my apartment without a radiator. Does that make any sense? The space heater that has worked so wonderfully in the past is now overworked and exhausted and the warm air that comes out is heavily mixed with cool air. Not so happy. I am thinking of sleeping in the bathtub tonight, that room gets really toasty. Typically, I don’t mind my 8-10 minute walk to the train but this morning I was not very happy about it. I had on two scarves, one under my coat and one over my coat. When I arrived at the train station I looked down to see that my outer scarf had a nice layer of frosty crystals on it. Yes people, my breath had frozen on my scarf. That should never happen.

Once I got on the train I thought things would be ok. They weren’t. The train kept stopping because the power would cut out. If you hadn’t guessed, no power means no heat. Sometimes, when the train was waiting for the power to get going the doors would remain open. Other things were affected by the cold as well. My bag and the cords on my headphones were unnaturally stiff and my pen didn’t work until I held it in my hands for some time. Oh the wonders of cold. Luckily, the train was exceptionally crowded and the body heat helped a little. However, I also happened to be sitting by the rudest people ever and they kept bumping me like mad. I’m not crazy, I expect a bump here and there on the train, but these people were all about invading my personal space and I am not cool with that.

The office is also exceptionally cold today. Many people still have outerwear on. I have the smaller of my scarves on still but it matches my outfit so that’s ok. I also have a particularly toasty office. Generally, this is a bad thing because it makes me want to get naked and I can’t. Today it is pleasant and I am content. Lots of people have been stopping by and getting very jealous. My computer (and those of a few others) is running incredibly sluggish. I am hoping that this post actually makes it online today. I am a little afraid that it won’t. If you are reading this it did. If you are reading this and it is Tuesday, things didn’t work out quite as I had planned (or maybe they did and you just didn't happen to read it on Monday).

Maybe some tunes will keep my mind of the frozen feeling in my toes.

1. She’s outta my life/ She’s outta my life/ And I don’t know whether to laugh or cry/ I don’t know whether to live or die.

2. I need time to scrounge the rent/ Need time to contemplate the accident/ I got to drag my ass to now/ How did I come to stop here? Maybe I'll Come Down, Soul Coughing. Identified by Brooke.

3. Could be/ Who Knows/ There’s something do any day/ I will know right away/ Soon as it shows. Something's Coming, West Side Story. Identified by JaneyLynne and Mom.

4. Particle Man/ Particle Man/ Doing the things a particle can. Particle Man, They Might Be Giants. Identified by Eve and CSMC and Mom.

5. Please allow me to introduce myself/ I’m a man of wealth and taste. Sympathy For The Devil, Rolling Stones. Identified by JaneyLynneand Mom.

OLDER BLACK WOMEN ARE WISE BEYOND THEIR YEARS. YOUNGER BLACK WOMEN ARE...PROSTITUTES

The title comes from The Sarah Silverman Show, which was a lot funnier than I expected it to be. I enjoy Sarah Silverman a lot but she tends to tell the same jokes in different ways and I was a little afraid her humor wouldn’t translate well into a TV show. I will be watching it in the future if I happen to catch it but won’t be programming it into the DVR, at least not yet. However, she does know what is comedy and what is just plain old wrong.

Anyway, I was inspired to join on the bandwagon of discussing these fun college parties that have gotten completely out of hand. I’m talking about the “let’s act like black people” parties. Now I don’t remember any Pimps and Hos parties at Sarah Lawrence. I remember Sleaze Week and the Coming Out Dance when plenty of people looked like Hos but that certainly wasn’t the message. I also remember plenty of 40oz drink being consumed, but not with the intent that we were hardcore thugged out gangstas. Why not? Because while dressing scandalously and drinking 40s is plenty of fun, we had more sense than to think we were being “ghetto”.

College students these days are just getting stupider by the minute. Aren’t they supposed to be learning something? Aren’t they supposed to be in school becoming more socially aware and expanding their minds? Maybe that was only my aim in college and most people just don’t care as much. I guess that’s part of why I didn’t even consider any schools with Frats/Sororities on campus (except for UW Madison as a fall back but we knew I wasn’t really going there), cause I didn’t want to be surrounded by beer drinking retards (even though my Jr. year falls directly into that category). I realize this is a generalization and know there are some Greek organizations that do good work out there.

It seems a day doesn’t go by when I don’t hear about some party on some campus (and I rarely hear of students of color being at these parties) where people are encouraged to dress “ghetto” drink malt liquor and “act black”. Now any sensible person knows there are plenty of black people who would never consider acting that way. They also know there are plenty of white people (and of all other races) who act that way all the time. Even the people who are seen on TV with this type of attitude rarely sit at home on their couch acting that way (unless MTV’s Cribs is coming by) I actually saw (a white) someone’s facebook profile that had a picture of them at one of these parties with a caption under it that said “I’m black” and a friend comment “love the nig gear”. The picture has since been changed. Yet students that attend these parties continually say they are not being racist or offensive.

The shit hit the fan the other day when I read about one of these parties being held over Martin Luther King weekend with the title “Living The Dream”. These students also claimed they were not being racist or offensive. Who are they kidding? Last I knew Dr. King’s dream didn’t include ill-informed white college students dressing up and acting how they thought black people acted. I hear people say that racism is no longer an issue in this country every day. I can’t understand what they are seeing around them to make them feel that way. It mystifies me.

On a happier note it’s Super Bowl weekend and that means, per what I read on Michael C’s blog, that 90million people are going to be flushing their toilets during halftime. HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAH. There is a little fear in Miami that there could be a problem. HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHHAHA. Good times.

Zak and Sara, Ben Folds- I really love the Rockin’ The Suburbs album. My love for it was seriously highlighted when Ben Folds opened for Tori Amos in one of the greatest piano pairings of all time. That concert was amazing. Thanks Mom.

Hot Ones, Shudder to Think- A song from the fantastic Velvet Goldmine soundtrack. I spent so long listening to this soundtrack that I think it has been permanently imprinted in my brain and I can call it up without any type of actual media player. It’s a good power.

Happy Industries, Lupe Fiasco- A great local artist. This song is sampled from the oh so fabulous Feel Good Inc by the Gorillaz. Both are fantastic songs. Lupe spends half his song talking about how he is rhyming over Gorillaz. Speaking of a nice positive rap act let’s give Lupe Fiasco one big hug. He is pooken and I want to pat his precious little head as he kick pushes along.

WICKED! GOOD TIME

Even though yesterday started out all types of crummy, by mid-day things had tuned around. After happening to be in the right place at the right time, I was invited to attend Wicked! with some of our students as there were some extra tickets. After falling madly in love with the book (that Monica totally owes me a copy of cause she promptly lost it but I still love her and don’t really care), I had wanted to see the show for some time. Additionally, as my loyal readers know how I feel about musicals, it is obvious that I wouldn’t turn down this type of production. Friend had told me that the music was somewhat shrieking and that had keep me from feeling too sad about not going. I think I have to thank the cast because I could easily see how the songs could get into that annoying part of the register but they seemed to keep things relatively in check. I will admit that I didn’t walk out with any songs in my head which should let everyone know something in the lyrical or tune writing department could have been improved. Just now I was trying to think of the tune for “No One Mourns The Wicked” and all I could come up with was the theme for Rocky.

The show was very pleasant and, if I hadn’t read the book I think I would have found it to be absolutely perfect. However, since I am such a fan of the book, I was a little put off. The book is dark, highly political, violent, and shocking. The play, on the other hand, strove to be child friendly. I guess that makes sense as it is more accessible to the general public. It still worked for a good story, it just wasn’t exactly what I was expecting. When we sat down I noticed a family with three children 4-9 sitting to my left and was a little afraid that the children would be traumatized for life. With the changes to the story, traumatization was certainly not an issue. I was slightly disappointed by that. Even though I feared for the psyche of the children, I really enjoy it when parents take their kids to things they shouldn’t and the kids are warped. I know that shouldn’t bring me happiness but I really like stupid parents to get a lesson in fact checking.

There was only about 20 minutes of dialogue in the 2.5-hour show, which tells you how much singing was involved. It was fine by me because all my years of watching musicals has given me a strong ability to understand lyrics. I know that many people don’t have that gift. Some of the people I was with missed some of the subtle plot exposition that was included in the songs. I was really glad I understand lyrics so well. It would have really diminished my appreciation of what was going on if I didn’t. One of the actors had been on Buffy The Vampire Slayer and it was nice to see him play a goat. I love Buffy. Knowing the goat was also capable of being a terrifying vamp also enhanced my enjoyment of the show.

The only drawback to the evening was that I didn’t get home until about 11:30 and since I had been up super early for the breakfast yesterday it was a little bit of a drag. I didn’t get the chance to sit and loaf as much as I usually do. I must say, when I actually got into bed, I was plumb tuckered out. I have no idea what that means but I like the way it rolls off my tongue.

Starting in about an hour and fifteen minutes I am going to have a very busy day. Should be interesting. I forgot my glasses at home and can’t see all that well, at all. Since I am nearsighted that means that I am going to be ok as far as work goes. My eyes are really watery though. I hope I’m not squinting too much. I don’t think I am. I noticed my glasses were missing on the train ride to work. I had been reading the paper and all was well until suddenly I touched my face for something and found no glasses. Not being able to see clearly makes me very very sleepy. In fact, I am wondering how I will make it thought the busy day. I think I might have to drink coffee. I am not the biggest coffee fan. There is no coffee in the break room. I guess by 9:47 all the real coffee drinkers have finished it all off. I wouldn’t know, as I am not one of them.

Hell Yes, Beck- I like Beck. I had a renewed interest in him this past year. I am not sure why but I guess there had been a large Beck void in my life. There is something so reassuringly ‘90s about his music. With the exception of Sea Change, that is quintessential early ‘00s.

Carey, Joni Mitchell- Blue is easily one on my favorite albums as a whole. It makes me really happy. Reminds me of good and carefree times. Then again, in those times I skipped certain songs that I have come to enjoy. I think I even programmed my CD player not to play a few of them. I must be getting old.

Traveling at the Speed of Thought (remix), Ultramagnetic MCs- HAHAHAHAHAHAHA is all I have to say about that.