Wednesday, April 30, 2008

Sigh!

Apparently, I'm doomed to never again know the consistent feeling of having work that is:

a) plentiful
b) meaningful
c) suited to my temperaments and talents

I was informed yesterday that once my current "assignment" is over, I'll be returning to the status quo, which is none of the above. I almost cried.

The only real bright side is that there is no visible end date to the current assignment.

Have some links while I mope:

RIP Alfredo.
(I have to say that The Rack is my favorite web comic and the only one I actively make the time to follow.)

The Boy Toys of the DC Universe.


Stuffed animals playing board games.
(About London,yet!)

Donate to David Pirkola
, comics retailer seriously wounded during a robbery. (via Journalista)

How about a video to make us all feel better. Maybe Kasey Chambers?



Um...maybe not.

Tuesday, April 22, 2008

Because Roger demanded it!

Ten things about me you probably never really wanted to know.

1. For the last two or three weeks, I've ridden between 20 and 30 miles on my bike.

2. I've been a vegetarian for just about as long as Keith and I have been together.

3. When I was 26, I quit a job that I hated without any prospects lined up. I kind of miss being able to do that.

4. I collect Catholic religious and devotional items, which amuses some people to no end. I knew I had become rather infamous for it when a friend at work brought me a statue of Our Lady of Grace that her mother (who I had not met) saved for me from the house of a friend who had passed on.

5. When I was younger, one of my favorite things to do after dinner was go back and finish off the gravy after it had gotten cold. My grandmother used to leave the gravy bowl on the table for me.

6. I'm taking this Friday off, which excites me because it's payday! I'm also going to be spending the weekend at a friend's apartment, catsitting. So, it's kind of like having a mini-vacation.

7. I need a haircut.

8. I do a lot of ordering through Amazon, but I typically get used stuff through the marketplace sellers.

9. We've seen more live music so far this year than we did the whole year last year.

10. I've been leading a financial literacy class on Monday evenings.

Happy, Roger?

Monday, April 14, 2008

Sunday, April 13, 2008

Friday, April 11, 2008

Can't find a clip that I like, so this will just have to do

Spring finally sprang here a couple of weeks ago, and Keith and I have been riding our bikes pretty much ever since. I've logged between 20-30 miles a week for the last three weeks or so.

2008 has been a wet year for Kentucky, which is good because 2007 was a drought year. I've tried not too let some sprinkles here and there deter me from riding, but some times you just gotta stay off the bike or get soaked.

The other night, we were riding back from having coffee when I got this song stuck in my head. I told Keith about it and he said I ought to get one and put it on my bike. So, now I have a quest! (Actually given my collection of religious tchotchkes, it won't be too hard to find one.

I'm off this morning until 1:00, because I'm flexing out some time I picked up this week. Can't have the Eddie-tor drawing overtime, now. So I'm about ready to hop on the bike and run some errands, then find a coffee shop, hole up, and read for a bit (my favorite past time). Given that there are scattered storms predicted for today, this is a particularly appropriate theme:

Wednesday, April 09, 2008

Salvage Week: An Old Yard Sale Haul

Some pics of a yard sale haul last year that I never got around to doing anything with:










Honestly, I'm not even sure why I held on to these for a salvage post, but here they are nonetheless.

Tuesday, April 08, 2008

Salvage Week: A Deja Vu That Will Never End!

These clips were going to be part of a "holiday gift to you" post this past December, but never made it that far.

One of those uniquely Japanese pop culture phenomena that usually escapes notice over here is the musical careers of anime voice actors. Some of them will capitalize on the fame of the show to boost other aspects of their performing careers.

The women who voiced the parts in Wedding Peach also performed as a group named FURIL. The music is pretty typical Japanese pop of the period, but it's still fun and kind of cute. This vid has the WP characters on the left and the FURIL singers on the right both doing the same song.



I love this one, largely because they all appear in the WP wedding dresses!



More about Wedding Peach.

Saturday, April 05, 2008

Thursday, April 03, 2008

Salvage Week: Oh Frabjous Day!

I bought two of my favorite 2007 CD releases on the same day last year. It had been a really tiring week and I headed to Ear X-Tacy to check out some new music. I was really surprised to find both of them, because I had not heard they were coming out, but it was a nice treat after a busy week. I started putting together this post, but never got around to finishing it. Since I like the songs and the artists and the vids so much, I'm salvaging it now.

Night Falls Over Kortedala by Jens Lekman

This video isn't on the Kortedala CD, but it's my favorite Lekman song and video, so I'm using it instead. I'm just that way, I guess, but the CD is pretty awesome. It's got more of a folkie-confessional song kind of bent to it, but with a kind of skewed, quirky perspective to it that makes it fun to listen to over and over.




We Are the Pipettes by The Pipettes



This one is on their album. What can I say? I just love these girls! (For a bunch of different reasons!) This is another CD I'm still playing over and over again. Plus, the one guy lurking off to the side in the video is kind of cute.

Wednesday, April 02, 2008

Salvage Week: Why Worry?

I yanked this off YouTube a while back when I was basically grabbing vids that suited my mood, but didn't get around to putting it up because I actually wanted to write something about it first.

Well, my new world of optimism and hope at work ran into a huge stumbling block yesterday, which means I'm not overly happy about going in today, so this seems like a good time. And a fitting song. I'm going to try to keep it in mind.

This is my all time favorite Dire Straits song, one that Keith and I used to play a lot when we were cruising around town in his old Taurus. The addition of Emmylou only makes a great song that much greater.

When I first saw this clip on the Roadrunning DVD, I thought about some stuff I had read about the Knopfler/Harris concerts on an Emmylou list I belong to. Someone was complaining about how Knopfler completely "disrespected" Emmylou by "hogging" the stage with his guitar antics and not "bothering" to sing harmonies on her solo songs. (Sometimes the music fans they can be as annoying and irrational as the comics fans.)

And then I look at this, one of those songs everyone comes to his shows to here him play, and he steps aside and they do the first verse accompanied only be her acoustic guitar. Emmylou is often self-deprecating when she talks about her guitar skills, and it is true that, like a lot of singers, she's primarily a competent rhythm guitarist, but she actually does play quite well. I thought it was pretty damn cool that a man recognized as of the greatest guitarists in music would step aside and let her do it. I think it's a beautiful summary of their collaboration throughout the Roadrunning projects. And a lovely version of a lovely song.

So, anyway, why worry? I'm going to try not to.