Cleaning Up The Zen

I hate when I take it upon myself to try to sort through the music on my Zen Vision. Yesterday I was doing a massive delete on both the hard drive and the mp3 player, simply because there is just so much stuff that I don't listen to and won't listen to, even if I had time. I'm not sure how it all ended up on my hard drive.

I admit to getting in ruts with listening, but there are artists I like more than others; The Moody Blues, Gordon Lightfoot, Elvis Costello, Grey Eye Glances, Justin Hayward and now Over The Rhine and Hem. But I hate having stuff sitting around that I won't ever listen to.

How did this stuff get there in the first place?

Most likely I listened to it once thought I might like it enough to put in on the Zen and then never listened to it again or just didn't like it at all and felt guilty for putting it there and never listening again.

I hate when I get something and I don't like it.

It's no wonder it takes forever for me to dejunk the house. I hate parting with things. It's just as bad with music, even if it would only take minutes for me to re-rip something back to my computer.

I think I made headway though. I managed to find some music files that were sent to me that weren't tagged properly and promptly got them off the Zen. I hate trying to fix tags on the mp3 player. It makes me nuttier than I already am. It's easier to take the files off, fix them on winamp and put them back.

But yay, I got something accomplished last night! That counts for something right?

Oh and the last count there were about 5700 mp3s on my Zen and close to 10,000 on the computer. Not that it even comes close to how much music I actually have on CD!

The Debt Dilemma

I've done some figuring. By June I'll have a good chunk of my debt paid off. From there I can move on to paying off other things, so that I can start putting away money for a car, which I desperately need. I want a shiny blue Ford Focus, though I doubt I'll be able to afford one anytime soon.

I can probably get there if I take everything to the simplest necessities. But I don't think I can do that. I want to be able to do things. To live life a little bit. I guess that's the spoiled brat in me that won't go away.

But maybe its not. When I worked retail and much of the time I've been in the workforce I've denied myself vacations etc. I'm sick of that and if it means still being in debt awhile longer I'll probably deal with it. But I'm going to try to cut down on the stupid purchases that I don't need.

~gazes sadly at the CD wish list from amazon ~

I know I can do it though, but I'm going to see Gordon Lightfoot and Over The Rhine regardless, and I won't feel guilty because of it either! I deserve some things that make me happy, in the course of getting myself in a good situation.

Winter Weather Exists

Laugh if you want, but I saw those exact words on an amber alert road side awhile back. I wonder if PennDot is using that one again for this storm?

Yes, winter weather exists. That's pretty obvious. It's winter and we have weather. It stands to reason that the weather exists.

~ shakes head ~

Myself, I wish winter weather would stop existing, or at least existing in places around me. I haven't had any extra time off work as a result of winter weather. I hate that. I could really stand to have a couple extra, laying around the house hours.

I NEVER GET THEM THOUGH!

The last bout of bad weather we had that affected my work was on my mother's b-day back in December.

~sigh~

Not that I need time off without pay, but a little break would feel so good right about now that I wouldn't even care.

Top 10 Reasons My Car Hates Me

10. The orange engine light o' doom keeps coming on.
09. The top coat is peeling off, making the car really fugly. As if being a matte gray isn't enough to make it fugly.
08. The sunroof leaked so much I had to have it sealed shut.
07. The heater does not work.
06. Neither does the air conditioner.
05. The driver side seat is falling apart.
04. The back interior by the back windshield is dry rotted.
03. The seat belt on the front passenger side won't stretch far enough to lock.
02. The bottom part of the windshield wiper fell off today in the pouring rain. I guess it was overworked.
01. It thinks the song Rusty Chevrolet is its motto

Tuesday Tunes - Week 18

From Music Memoirs

Build A Best Of:

Pick one of your favorite bands/artist:
What are your 10 - 15 favorite songs by that band/artist
Optional: Make a little artwork for your best of:

The band: Grey Eye Glances

The title: The Me You See: A GEG Retrospective

The tracks:

Snow
Halfway Back
Angel
The Me You See
Faces
Hey Love
Moonlight
Perfect Plan
One Day Soon
Kind Of Love
The Lost Coast
Big Read Boat
Keep On
If I Was
Our Own Place & Time



If anyone would like a copy of this, let me know and I'll get it together for you.

PAH On The Concert Gods

Over The Rhine are playing Pittsburgh on March 29th. They are playing Mr. Small's in Millvale.

GAH! Not exactly a venue I want to go to, basically because I don't trust my 91 Chevy Beretta to go further than 15 miles and this venue is heading towards the Pittsburgh Zoo. Damn and blast!

Suddenly everyone is coming to the area!

This isn't fair!

I want to see Over The Rhine.

At this point if the tickets were reasonable I would pay for the ticket of anyone that would go with me, so I wouldn't have to take my car. (That would be cheaper than renting a car!)

Why is it that all my friends are not here? It's a Saturday night show too. Everything about it should be perfect, except that it's so damn far away and my car is a piece of crap!

It Has Yum

I'm addicted to Diet Chocolate Cherry Dr. Pepper. Have any of you tried this yet?

OMG it's so good.

I'm wondering why the soda industry hasn't made a chocolate soda before this. I loved getting chocolate Cokes at TGIFridays, but I'd love to have a nice can of Chocolate Zero. I wonder if the boys and girls in Atlanta could get on it. Dr. Pepper is bottled by Coca-Cola bottling, so if they can do that, then why not chocolate Coke? Probahly because that would give me a certain amount of joy and we all know that can't happen.

Oh and of course it's a Ltd Edition soda, so it will probably be gone shortly after Valentine's Day. Talk about unfair.

At least I have those interesting Diet Pepsi flavors to keep me amused once this one is gone. But really chocolate soda! This has to stay longer than a month or two! Chocolate sodas should be available at all times.

Random 10 - Week 160

From Music Memoirs


10 songs that sum up your weekend...or were on your weekend playlist...and one picture that relates back. (oh, and if you feel like it, tell us why you picked the songs you did)

I listened to The Smithereens a lot this weekend. If you don't own a copy of Blown to Smithereens, I have only one thing to say to you, GO BUY IT!

The Smithereens - Behind The Wall Of Sleep
The Smithereens - Miles From Nowhere
The Smithereens - Strangers When We Meet
The Smithereens - Beauty & Sadness
The Smithereens - Yesterday Girl

I did listen to things other than The Smithereens though...

Elvis Costello & The Attractions - Next Time Round
Elvis Costello & The Attractions - Boy With A Problem
Justin Hayward - Marie
(I have no idea why I remember this one so much, as I hate this song with a passion that I cannot begin to describe)
Gordon Lightfoot - The Wreck Of The Edmund Fitzgerald
(He's coming to the Pittsburgh-ish area in June!!!)
Duran Duran - Want You More
(Blame the Zen Vision for that one)

And the picture? The Smithereens! Geek rock! Woo hoo!

The Smithereens

Thanks to an off remark by "that" DJ, I had to discover The Smithereens. You don't say that a band has completely covered a full Beatles album and expect me not to want to listen to it once.

I did, and as I've mentioned at least one time, I loved it. I also found a copy of their best of CD Blown To Smithereens.



Wow! These guys are good all the time. How did I miss them? Actually as I fell asleep to the Best Of CD last night I knew that I hadn't missed them, I just didn't become obsessed over them. Weird? They are the type of music I listened to a lot from about my senior year on.

Plus they did a Christmas CD! Oh if I had known about this before the holiday season, I would have bought it so that it could have been included on my 2007 Christmas mix!



There's always at least one Christmas CD that I don't discover until January. Expect to hear this one a lot for Christmas 2008!

Do you foresee a new obsession coming on? I think I do. Right after I finish building my Gordon Lightfoot collection and my Nick Lowe collection.

Gordon Lightfoot!

Yesterday I got an email from Cincinnati Arts that Gordon Lightfoot was going to be playing there in April. I cussed up a storm because it was the first Friday in April and I had no desire to take any time off that early in the year. However after going to Pollstar, I found that he has a date much closer and in June!

Woo hoo!

I'm kind of unamused that I have to buy those tickets in 3 weeks and that its highly possible that it will be a Pickle sponsored show, but I'm going, even if I have to growl at Fishy for a certain amount of time. The thought of him being able to chat with Gord fills me with more jealousy than I can express. I know its a bad thing to feel that way, but I suffer job envy. I wonder if he'd swap me jobs for a few weeks, but only if he's working that show. I won't know until Monday if Pickle is sponsoring it, because I didn't find out about the WV show until after 12 noon yesterday.

Damn me, for not looking into Gord's concerts sooner.

I hope the venue is camera friendly. I love Gord! He's such a sweet geezer. I'm so excited! I want pictures of Gord!

Top 5 On Friday - Week 160

From Music Memoirs


Top 5 albums you'd recommend to your fellow bloggers

Hem - Funnel Cloud



A little bit country a little bit jazzy a little bit ethereal sounding. I love this band. This was the first album I've heard by them and I love it. If you like Grey Eye Glances and Over The Rhine...try Hem, you will be pleased that you did.

Over The Rhine - Trumpet Child



Did you think I wouldn't recommend one of their albums? Seriously this is some good music. They are another band that can cross genres well and the songwriting is gorgeous. Plus I love If A Song Could Be President.

Ringo Starr - Liverpool 8



Screw what the critics say about Ringo and those pissed of Liverpudlians. So he doesn't want to move back there. I probably wouldn't either. The album is fun and bouncy and pure Ringo good times. Check it out!

Liam Finn - I'll Be Lightning



He's definitely his father's son. This song is almost perfect. In fact, there's only one song that I don't like, so that says a lot. If you like Crowded House, try Neil's son's album, you'll be happy you did.

The Smithereens - Meet The Smithereens




A covers album ripped directly from Meet The Beatles. These Jersey boys covered the Beatles to near perfection. Buy it! Listen to it! Love it!

Strange Cat Story

It's all about the kitties this week. I can't help it.

Oogie my youngest boy is neutered. I distinctly remember taking him to the vet for the surgery. I remember calling the vet the next day to check on his health.

That being said, why in fucking hell was he humping Bootsie last night?

Bootsie is spayed as she came from the Washington County Humane Society.

Neither of them should want to get busy with the other. Actually, Bootsie wasn't really amused by Oogie trying to do the deed with her, so we'll eliminate her from the equation.

But would someone please explain to me why Oogie was biting her neck and ...erm...humping her, much to her chagrin.

After that I might even ask, why the hell my cat can get busy but I can't get a damn guy to look twice at me?

Photography

I was going through some of my older photos today. I love finding the pictures I took when I first got my digital camera, a very simple point and shoot Kodak Easyshare. I loved that camera to death. My nephew has it now that I've upgraded to 2 Zoom versions of the Easyshare.

It's the one hobby I have that I seriously wish I could do semi-professionally, but then again who wants pictures of animals and cityscapes? I could never do portrait photography. I hate taking pictures of people, mostly because I know most people are like me and they are always dissatisfied with photos of themselves.

I like photos of scenery of things of beauty or interest. But mostly I like to take pictures of my pets! See:


Purrbee the nice little dog.


My sweet little Misty, who I miss more than words can say.


Itchy blowing raspberries at you!

I think there should be a future in random pet pictures! And yes, I do dream a lot!

I Don't Feel Good

I think all the worrying I've done has messed up my system. I don't feel good at all though there are other things contributing to them. I don't think exercising helped much either.

Ugh

Today I could stand to stay all curled up in my bed with the covers pulled up over me.

Not because I'm really sick. It's just that I feel so drained, physically and emotionally. The thought of putting clothes on today fills me with dread. My warm fuzzy robe is so nice and comfy. Why do I have to take it off to put on "real" clothes? I don't stink. I took a bath before bed!

I am suffering serious envy of the people that had Monday off and will have President's Day off next month.

I need some extra time, but I know that there's no getting it and I know I need to sort out my schedule so that I can actually relax one full day, so that my mind will calm down.

I probably should take an internet free day over the weekend. I should sit around and stare mindlessly at the tv or read. I've been saying that I should do this for awhile and it's not happened yet, so I'm not holding out much hope, but the thought is nice, don't you think?

Love Is All That Matters In The End

I learned last year after losing my Misty that everyday you must show your love to the furry members of your family as much as you show your love to the human family members. Their time is so short, and love is all they know.

I want all my furry children to know I love them now more then ever. They are all being spoiled terribly with fancy food and treats and toys.

Their lifespan is so small compared with ours. It hardly seems fair. Misty was 13. Itchy is just 10.

All I want is for her to know that I love her dearly.

I've come to a point in my life that when I leave home I tell everyone I love them. Not because I'm worried about me, but because mom has suffered 4 heart attacks, dad is 81 and gram is 101. I want them to know, even though I know they do. I kiss everyone goodbye, I pet little furry heads.

Love is the only constant we have in this world, besides death and taxes. Love is what makes things worth living, even if it's the love of a parent or a pet. It deserves to be cherished and nurtured, but most of all it needs to be shown and verbalized.

When I leave my grandmother's each day I tell her I love her and she echoes back, I love you more. More today than yesterday.

It's silly but its her way.

So in the spirit of verbalizing love. To all my internet friends, and those of you that read this page, I love you.

No Time

Today's a very busy day. I don't have time to do much this morning. I have to take my dad to the mechanic before work so he can drop off his car, which needs a new/used steering column put on. Don't ask why? M'kay?

I'm still trying to convince myself I'm doing the right thing by opting not to do the surgery on Itchy. I've read so many things that I'm scared and I'm broke. I can't afford to spend hundreds on something that isn't going to offer her much hope for survival. I just can't. And you have no idea how horrible that makes me feel.

I can't even talk about it anymore. It's just going to float in my head until I explode. I've been yelled at for crying over her, even though she's still looking well.

I just can't cope with this.

I feel horrible denying the surgery. I just don't know what to do. I brought her home so I can think and that's all I've been doing and I think it's killing me.

I'm glad this isn't a person we're talking about because I think I would already be in the looney bin.

Advice anyone?

It's Vet Day Again

I don't want to take her. I feel like I'm throwing away $50 that I don't have! I know she has cancer. I know that surgery is too little too late. I also know that she's going to live out her life with me until I have to take her back to the vet.

I know that death is a part of life, but I also know that I suck at dealing with death.

I'm glad I'm getting more time with her than I had with Misty. I should be happy to have that little bit of time or a lot of time, only god knows but I'm still worrying as its my nature, and though she's a cat, she's my child or as close to one as I can have.

In the last few years I've been doing a lot of fist shaking at the higher power for his callous taking of my kitties.

The lightning rod will be coming after me soon, I'm sure.

Random 10 - Week 139

From Music Memoirs


10 songs that sum up your weekend...or were on your weekend playlist...and one picture that relates back. (oh, and if you feel like it, tell us why you picked the songs you did)


It had been awhile since I put my Elvis Costello and the Attractions discs shuffle, but I did that Sunday and those were the songs that were the focus of my weekend

EC & The Attractions - Blue Chair
EC & The Attractions - Little Atoms
EC & The Attractions - Distorted Angel
EC & The Attractions - Next Time Round
EC & The Attractions - Imperial Bedroom
EC & The Attractions - From Head To Toe
EC & The Attractions - I Wanna Be Loved
EC & The Attractions - I Hope You're Happy Now

And two from the new Liam Finn CD which rocks

Liam Finn - Remember Wen
Liam Finn - I'll Be Lightning

And the picture? Kittehs! I can't afford a fancy kitty condo, but I don't think my cats would want one anyway. They much prefer the white trash version! Cardboard boxes!

Too Cold

OK, it is 500 below outside and I have to go to work in about an hour. This is absolutely wrong, but then again only banks and gov't employees get to have today off. I can only hope I can get into my office which will be an oven once I get inside. If I can get inside. I won't have another day off until Memorial Day, unless something nasty happens, and then that day will be a vacation day or a day without pay.

~sigh~

There really should be more days off in the winter.

What with the cold and other nasty stuff I fear for my old rusty Chevrolet. Bernie can't die yet. I'm not ready for that expense. I'm not sure when I will be ready for it.

To tell you the truth I envy my friends who live in the city who don't have to worry about the expense of owning and driving a car. Plus they have stuff to do, rather than sitting around in the house staring at the walls.

I'll content myself with the knowledge that even though I make less money and drive an old clunker that could fall apart at any given moment, that I at least don't pay as much in taxes. So yay me! I think.

Perhaps the cold has frozen my brain...

Setting The Standards

1.Rod Stewart w/Cher - Bewitched Bothered & Bewildered
2.Martin Gore - Lost In The Stars
3.Erasure - Too Darn Hot
4.Paul McCartney w/Tony Bennett - The Very Thought Of You
5.Annie Lennox - Everytime We Say Goodbye
6.Diana Krall - Frim Fram Sauce
7.Robbie Williams - Well Did You Evah
8.Jane Monheit w/ Steve Tyrell - Baby, It's Cold Outside
9.Elvis Costello - But Not For Me
10.Annie Haslam - If I Loved You
11.Tierney Sutton - Route 66
12.Cliff Richard - Over The Rainbow/What A Wonderful World
13.Jimmy Somerville - From This Moment On
14.Bette Midler - Fever
15.Jamie Cullum - It Ain't Necessarily So
16.Michael Crawford - You'll Never Walk Alone
17.Michael Buble - Dream A Little Dream Of Me

If you'd like a copy of this mix, just give me a shout and I'll send you the link for the downloadable version complete with the cover art.

Another Fantastic Quote From A Novel

I'm reading Jill Connor Browne's The Sweet Potato Queens' First Big Ass Novel



I love it so far. It's the perfect chick book and no it's not a romance! So there. But as I'm reading it I've found another one of those passages that apply to my life. See, as a young girl I had dreams of Broadway. I longed to play Eva Peron in Evita or Grizabella in Cats or Eponine in Les Miz. (Damn Deborah Gibson for doing that, since she has such a crap voice) But there was on thing that kept me from that dream, my voice curdles milk.

In this book I found a sentence that better suits me though.

"I was born white with the vocal talent of an underlaid cat in heat"

The character in the book wanted to be a Supreme or a Pip. I laughed long and hard at that line, and said, yup that's me. I sing like an underlaid cat in heat and I curdle milk.

So yeah, you probably shouldn't ask me to sing anything.

Saturday Morning

I'm feeling really lazy right now. Really, really lazy. By now I would usually be on my way to the gym. This week I only made it there once. Ooops. That's why I'm going today, because tomorrow it's supposed to be 15 degrees with a wind chill of around 500 below. There's no way I'm leaving the comfort of my home for a minute tomorrow, unless some totally gorgeous man shows up at my door offering to take me to dinner. I don't think any of the totally gorgeous men that I like will be in my area tomorrow, and I definitely don't think if they were, taking me to dinner would be on their agenda, so I'll be sitting on my butt reading and making a mix CD of standards! Which I will share with you in the coming days.

Now I'm off to get my day started. The gym, Aldi Market and cooking dinner are on the agenda. Anyone want to join me? I wish Starbucks were on the agenda, but I'm short of cash this month, and I can't afford the expense of over-priced coffee.

I wonder if I'll get everything done. I wonder if I'll remember how to turn on the stove. I haven't had the opportunity to cook anything in weeks. Oh and tonight is Mexican-ish casserole night. Here's hoping I don't poison anyone! (Don't worry, I'm a better cook then I lead on to be)

Top 5 On Friday - Week 159

From Music Memoirs

Top 5 songs that "perk" you up when you hear them.

Go ahead and laugh at the first two:

The Moody Blues - Don't Need A Reindeer


It doesn't matter that this is a Christmas song, whenever I hear it I smile and start singing along. It may not be deep and thoughtful, but Justin did a great job of writing a Christmas song that transcends the season and sticks in your head!

Cliff Richard - Mistletoe and Wine

Yup another Christmas tune. I can't help it. This one is an earworm too! It's cuteness. It's sweet. And just talking about it has made me start singing....Christmastime....Mistletoe and wine!

Grey Eye Glances - Big Red Boat

A great song that's upbeat and fun. I love all GEG songs but this one is probably near the top of my list. You can't listen to it without smiling.

Elvis Costello - Monkey To Man

I love this song to pieces. EC doing the pop/rock route in a rocking fashion. This one should have had more airplay, so that everyone could walk around singing it. It was almost a ringtone on my phone, but I thought it might scare too many people.

Justin Hayward - I'm Sorry

Muhahaha! This song was written by Hall & Oates. I'm not sure how Justin got his mits on it, but thank god he did. It's so...so...erm...bad that its good. I especially like the line "lopsided lovin' got me in the end." Way to go Jus for trying to do it in a country-ish style too.

My downloads will be posted tonight when I have more time and my puter isn't being so finicky.

The Concert Gods Hate Me

I think anyone touring in the dead of winter deserves to be smacked or beat with a stick. I don't buy tickets for any shows that come to my area in the months of Dec - March because, well because you never know what the weather is going to be like and I don't want to lose a lot of money because of bad weather.

So guess who is coming to the burgh the Saturday after Half-Priced Chocolate Day Eve?

Jann Arden.

Fuqua!

That is unfair.

Worse still, it's a cheap show at a decent place, The Hard Rock Cafe in Station Square. However it's a late show 9:30 and I know I would be going on my own, so that is another factor that counts me out right now. ~ glares angrily at Bernie the Beretta ~

The tickets are cheap too, $15.

Oh how I wish it were summer. I only saw one concert last year and it was that stupid show that 99.3 The Pickle sponsored. I'm not saying that I didn't enjoy The Grass Roots and The Buckinghams because I did, but there were other factors that ultimately made the evening a bit of a bummer too. I want a real concert this year!

WTF No Ringo!

I went to Walmart today with the purpose of buying Liverpool 8. I've heard and loved the new album and I want to own a copy. I didn't want to buy it on Amazon because they get too much of my money as it is, so I thought, I'd just wait and buy it there, after all, I was doing some grocery shopping.

I combed the entire CD section. The only Ringo CD I found was Time Takes Time, which I snatched up because it was only $5 and brand new.

Words cannot begin to express my disappointment. I wanted to get this CD and I highly doubt I'll be going anywhere were I can pick it up this weekend. I was planning a total vegetation weekend. I was going to do nothing but sit around and read and drink coffee filled with pumpkin spice creamer or fruit tea, listen to Over The Rhine and Hem and just enjoy life or feel sorry for myself. (I'm not sure which) It doesn't make matters better that I really don't have the money for gas to go to the mall or Best Buy.

Oh and to make me more frustrated his CD costs $14.99. WTF! Most new CDs that I've been finding online or at Walmart haven't been more than 13.88 and most are lower than that. Now I'm angry as well as frustrated. If I'm going to spend that much on a CD I'm going to order the Over The Rhine collections from their websites.

GAH!

I need chocolate now, to calm myself down.

When Do I Get To Sleep In

I was chatting online to one of my friends who says she's been sleeping poorly during the week, but when she has a day off she can sleep most of the day away, like 15 hours of sleep.

For some reason 15 hours of sleep sounds blissful.

My body for some reason refuses to let me get more than the requisite 8. I complain about this regularly, I know, but it begs to be repeated. I want to have a good long, half a day of sleep. I want a day where I can stay in bed and not do a damn thing. I don't want to go to the grocery store. I don't want to go to the gym. I don't want to go anywhere but my damn bed.

Is that too much to ask?

Apparently my body thinks that's the case.

It's like I'm asking for a PJ Day only that implies that I would lounge around the house all day in my PJs. I don't want to do that, I want to stay in bed! All damn day!

I wonder if I'll get one of those on Saturday?

Probably not.

Listening Out Of Habit

There are some artists that I put on, just because I'm used to. If I don't listen to them I get an odd guilt feeling like I'm neglecting them.

I know that sounds weird, and it probably is, but I'm that way, even though I'm trying not to be. There is absolutely no reason to listen to The Moody Blues for hours at a time. I love them, but frankly when I have them on they become background music. I don't really hear them. I think that comes from playing them so much.

I have a few artists that I play more than anything else in my collection; besides the Moodies, which is a given; Grey Eye Glances, Gordon Lightfoot, and Elvis Costello.

With all the music I've discovered you would think that the number of plays these artists get would decrease.

That's not the case.

Maybe I'm too loyal. Or maybe the new artists I've discovered just aren't as good, but I find that hard to believe. Over The Rhine and Hem are some pretty great bands. I think everyone should give them a chance.

But why bother having all the new music if I'm not listening? That's what I'm trying to figure out, and that's why I'm going to try to avoid getting into a rut with the same old songs over and over.

After all, all music needs love.

Tuesday Tunes - Week 16

From Music Memoirs


Do you ever buy CDs used? If so, where?
Yes, I do. When I can get there I like the CD Warehouse chain that's in our area. I've found some decent stuff their at good prices, because I like weird stuff and it usually ends up being cheap. When I buy used online its usually at Amazon Marketplace or Half.com, because I trust their shops.

Have you ever sold your CDs back at a used shop or a place like Half.com?
I did one time, but my taste is so weird I usually don't get much money so I don't bother. If I don't like something, I tend to just try to trade it on LaLa.

Have you ever been surprised to find a certain CD @ a used CD store?
I sometimes find myself suffering music rage when I go to a used CD store. How dare someone sell off their Elvis Costello collection! It's actually more fun to count the copies of the CDs that where huge hits that end up in the used CD shops; ie Depeche Mode - Songs Of Faith And Devotion. Any given CD store will have at least 3 copies of that one. Back in the 90's after its release the numbers were higher. It rocketed to number 1 when it was released then everyone realized it sucked and sold it back!


What has been your best find @ a used CD store.
It's a tie! I found a copy of Andy Taylor's Thunder at CD Warehouse once. It was in damn good condition too, so bonus! That CD is really hard to find. The other CD I found cheaply at a used store was the soundtrack to Playing For Keeps that has an odd song by the Duran Duran side project Aracadia. Mind you after I found the used copy there was a new one in a cut-out bin for $3. Needless to say, I have both copies in my possession.

Monday Rant

Have any of you heard the new commercials for Match.com on the radio or tv? Where they tell your friends to uh, start a profile or whatnot and start matching you up with people, and if they hadn't you wouldn't be in the bathroom with your boyfriend brushing your teeth or sitting in living room on the couch with your gorgeous girlfriend watching a pelican documentary.

UH WTF!

If any of my friends ever did that for me I think I'd be in jail for battery, seriously.

I know some people have had success with these sites, and I have 1 which I don't check in on, unless I'm feeling bad for myself and I need to remember that I don't need to a man to validate my existence and make me a whole person.

To me, online dating is just a legal means of prostitution, and so many of the profiles read like profiles of desperation. I can think of one in particular that I read when I created mine that was a prime example of that, but never mind. I pick on that person enough.

But really I guess I still am too cynical to be able to attempt it. I see the people on the sites falling into 2 categories, desperate loser and "I want to get laid". There might be a third category too, but I won't go there.

I guess I know what I really want to find, and I know it's not online. I also grasp the fact that with so many regulations on dating in the workplace etc that its harder and harder to meat normal people, but somehow I find these sites to be far from a place for normal people.

At least for me, I'd rather be alone, and I seriously hope there aren't too many people out there that would start profiles on dating sites for their single friends.

Monday Randomosity

~ Why is it that when I have one late night my whole body rebels and the next night I can't sleep at all. I mean I fought to fall asleep by midnight, which means today I'll be dragging. Even my little mp3 player couldn't get me to the land of nod. GAH! I only had 5 hours of sleep!

~ I wish Fishy had a different song for Mondays. Every flipping Monday Morning...yeah that song. I like Fleetwood Mac and I love Lindsey Buckingham, but I'm sick of that song getting stuck in my head every damn week for half the week. Firstly the song, well, it's not one of his best and the pun is so tired now that it begs Fishy for a day off.

~ While I'm ranting about Fishy and 99.3 The Pickle, there's this commercial. My online Mom will know the one of which I speak. I've groaned and moaned and bitched to her every time its come on the air. It's for a pizza shop in Uniontown, whose name won't be mentioned to protect them. Well, this commercial is bad. No, it's not bad its awful. However its so bad that commercial sticks in my head, so maybe it's good. OK, when it does that I start twitching because Fishy's Italian accent saying The besta pizza arounda is enough to send me running screaming. Someone doesn't do accents well. Nope, he doesn't. And if it was supposed to sound funny, well it doesn't do that either. God I hope this commercial is done running soon. I won't even go into the rest of the badness of this commercial. Let's just say it's really bad and move on.

~ I listened to more Paul McCartney yesterday. Oye! Remind me not to do that for a long while unless I decide to listen to one or two albums but not the whole McCartney catalog from 1980 on. Paulie has a lot of crap in his catalog and a bulk of it was recorded in the last 30 years. But if you read my last post, you know that already.

~ I wonder if the Pittsburgh area will ever get a real snowfall this winter. Not that I want one, because that just means headaches for me, but still, I like to look at the snow.

~ I hope the Patroits lose soon. Actually I hope they make it to the Superbowl and lose there. I don't like New England. I'm sorry. I don't.

That is all the squirrelly ramblings I have for you this morning.

Perfect Albums

My Top 5 On Friday Meme focused on albums that are perfect start to finish and I've been thinking on that quiet a bit. There are so few albums that fit that description in my book, even when it comes to long established artists.

For me, even with bands that I love, there are just songs that make me go, Ewww.

With the Moody Blues...it's well....just so much sap in the post core 7 albums and in the core 7...well it's usually Mike Pinder songs that make me press NEXT! Mostly because his songs tend to make me reach for the razor blades.

Even The Beatles had songs that ruined their albums. The White Album is one of their best and worst all rolled in one. The stuff that was brilliant was just that, but the stuff that sucked was vile! Which leads me to Paul McCartney....

Paul is the king of the half good album. His albums seem to work out to be half brilliance and half fluff and the fluffy part is usually awful. Take the 80's. They started off with a fabulous album, Tug of War, which is one of those albums that's almost 100% good. If you'd throw out the song What You're Doing it would be perfect. But then he follows it up with Pipes Of Peace, which is terrible. The next few albums are a mixture of love and hate depending on how you like Paul. Broad Street is remakes of songs from The Beatles onward. Press To Play is a largely ignored album that's close to perfect minus a song or two. And then there's Flowers In The Dirt. For me it's one of Paul's only perfect albums. It's only turned perfect for me in recent years when songs like That Day Is Done and closing track Ou Est le Soleil have become truly enjoyable.

His next close to perfect album was Flaming Pie, but even that has a few pot boilers. It makes me wonder what Sir Paul's thinking when he records. Surely he has to know that the songs are crap. Mind you, making a perfect album is hard, but I can forgive a bad song or two, but Paulie is one for doing 6 good and 6 bad.

Damn him!

Is it to much to ask for mostly good album? I know perfection is hard, but you would think he could do it.

I think its proof that having the snarky foil of John Lennon really helped his writing. Which I think is why I love the stuff that Paul and Elvis Costello wrote together. Elvis has the same brutal sense of humor that Lennon had in the pre-Yoko years.

The only artist in my list of favorites that has had a lengthy career and has done several perfect albums is Elvis Costello. God bless him for that. Now will some on tell him its time to record another? I could use another "perfect" album. It's been awhile since I found one. I'm sick of having to skip over crap songs. But hey...I guess those people at the RIAA will be happy, because I'm one of the few sods out there that buy CDs on a regular basis and lots of them

Saturday's Recap

Yesterday was a busy day.

It started out with about an hour or more of exercise at Jack's which is more than I've had in a long time. I worked the arms and the legs and I even did about 75 crunches, which isn't usually my number. On a good day I do about 300 crunches. I haven't had a good day in awhile.

After Jack's I did a small amount of grocery shopping at Aldi for the family. I love that store. A slightly more upscale version of Save-A-Lot with some really neat ethnic foods.

After the shopping, I came home to get ready for the trip to Uniontown to see Late Nite Catechism. That was the cutest/funniest show I've seen in a long time. Being Catholic, it was really like having a night class.

And please don't tell my mother that I blanked out on several of the questions Sister was asking. My mom's taught CCD for years. If she knew, she might send Sister back with her ruler!

Oh but first let me tell you about Meloni's. Meloni's is the besta Italian food arounda. (I'm mocking a commercial Fishy does on 99.3 The Pickle here but that's another story that I'll get into on another day and time) We had hot banana peppers as an appetizer, and for dinner an Italian Sampler filled with all kinds of goodies, angel hair pasta with a meatball, a cheese stuffed shell, Italian sausage, and beef ravioli. One word Yum! Oh and did I mention tiramisu? I should. It's pure heaven there.

All in all, it was a fantastic and fun evening. I'm glad I spend the $27 for the tickets.

Culture: I'm Getting Some

Tonight I'm off to see a play.

Wow!

I've never seen a play before.

Seriously.

Musicals, yes. Of those, I've seen many.

Mind you, what I'm going to see isn't a serious play. I'm going to see Late Night Catechism, which is a funny poke at the Catholic Church. As I'm a semi-practicing Catholic myself, I think I can appreciate it.

I'm one of the few semi-fallen away Catholics that doesn't have a real issue with the church. I haven't been guilt tripped into a certain way of thinking. I know that men and that includes priests and all the hierarchy of EVERY religion is fallible. And lets face it, most fallen away Catholics have disagreements with some doctrine handed down by the higher authorities in the church. My belief is that some things are between you and God. If you think the church is wrong, so be it. I think they are wrong on many scores, but I'm not going to hunt down another religion because of it. But then again, that's me.

I also believe that in every life there must be humor, so I think this little bit of fun will be worth it. Plus it will be a night out, which I sorely need! Yay!

Big Sigh

I'm trying to keep my thoughts off the problems facing my kitty.

~ I spent an hour at the gym today. Yay! I even helped a new member learn a few of the machines. I feel useful! Woo hoo!

~ Went to Fashion Bug and bought a pretty shirt to wear to the theater tomorrow night as well as a nice pair of shoes and some earrings. The total of my purchases? $19.68. Can I get a yay me for that? I think I deserve one.

~ Pondered getting a netflix account and then remembered that I don't watch tv let alone DVDs and that it would be a total waste of my money, even though they have The Monkees episodes available and I haven't watched The Monkees in yonks!

~ Started reading a really awful romance novel that made me want to toss it into the furnace after about 20 pages.

~ Did anything but attempt to write a coherent sentence in the story I'm working on.

Oh yeah, I handle bad news well. Can't you tell?

~ Became sad because I didn't talk to Fishy today because I was too depressed over the cat's prognosis.

Top 5 On Friday - Week 158

From Music Memoirs

Top 5 "Perfect" albums (albums that you can play all the way through without skipping a track)

This is a hard one, because there are very few albums that I don't have at least one track that I don't care for.

1. Elvis Costello & The Attractions - Blood & Chocolate


For me this one is flawless and contains several of my favorite songs that EC has written, I Want You, Blue Chair, Next Time Round, Crimes Of Paris, Battered Old Bird. It doesn't get much better than this.

2. Elvis Costello - Brutal Youth



My 2nd favorite EC album and the only other one I consider perfect. There's not a track on this one that I don't love either.

3. Erasure - Chorus



This was one of the first Erasure albums I bought and I still love it as much today as I did in the early 90's. It's pure synth pop goodness and though its not "deep thoughtful" music, it's a great album, with not a bad song on it.

4. The Beatles - Rubber Soul



My favorite Beatles album. I find most of the early Beatles albums to be perfect, but this is the most so for me, even with the creepy Run For Your Life song closing the album, its still perfect. Everyone has some winners on this one. Oh and it helps that my favorite Beatles song is on this one too. And if you don't know which one it is, I'm not telling you.

5. Gordon Lightfoot - Harmony


Fantastic album, and most likely it's going to be his last, as he's not recording much anymore. That is sad, because he's still got it, even if his past illnesses are affecting his playing. Two words that make this album the most perfect, Inspiration Lady.

Say A Little Prayer

My little girl has breast cancer, or so the vet seems to think. This is a crushing blow.

I lost 2 cats last winter, one to old age and the other to feline leukemia. Some people have no love for animals, but I'm not one of them. I feed my animals off my plate and actually my one cat shares my milk glass on occasion.

I feel like I've been handed a death sentence for one of my children. I had hoped not to have to hear words like this for a good long time. Itchy's not even 10 years old. Right now her health is good, so I hope she has a bit more time with us than Misty did last year.

I'm not ready to lose her, though perhaps knowing now, before it's too late, I can prepare myself better for what's coming.

All this makes me question the concept of the merciful god that I was taught and do believe in. Why does he make creatures like cats and dogs or whatever animal really suffer?

Pray for my kitty please. I love my cats like they were children

My Body Hates Me

I've been trying to get back into the swing of the gym again. Since December I've been lucky if I get there once a week and I'm suffering for it.

This week I had plans of getting there at least four times.

Nope. It's looking like three, at least it will be if I make it there tomorrow and Saturday.

I wanted to go yesterday, but for some reason my lower back decided to make me suffer.

GAH!

It took until almost bedtime for me to be able to bend down without pain. Not fun. And I really want to get back to the gym regularly. I don't want my butt to start expanding out of control.

Of course I keep reminding myself that last Saturday I had to do some serious shoveling. Not snow, people, coal. Yes, we still have a coal furnace. I think I've mentioned that. Saturday we had 2 tons delivered and though I have two strong nephews, I was the lucky one to do most of the shoveling. (Because I want to get it the hell over with) This week I'm suffering for it. Every part of my body is sore.

I just want things to return to normal, or rather how they were before my gram was in the hospital and my mom started to have her back problems.

Is that too much to ask? I don't think so.

If only I had someone to go with me, or some form of motivation, maybe I wouldn't be whining about this now.

When Did It Happen

When did male singers drop out of my CD want list, at least new male singers. Just about every CD on my wishlist with a male vocalist is over 55, McCartney, Lightfoot, those blasted Moody Blues reissues, but little or no current artists with male vocalists.

When did I start liking female singers?

Before I had only a handful that I liked, Siouxsie Sioux, Alison Moyet, ehm Madonna up to a point, Debbie Harry...and then something changed and now female voices seem to dominate my CD purchases.

When did I start liking girlie music? Am I getting old? Is my taste turning to crap?

I'm worried.

Really I am.

I think it's Diana Krall's fault. I don't even call her Krallomort anymore! And to be perfectly honest, I have all her CDs and I love them.

Mind you I still find it hard to listen to girls with those little baby voices. They still annoy me, but apparently I've become much more open to female voices because if you look at my last.fm page, you will see that Grey Eye Glances is at the number 4 spot in my top artists and 2 other females make the top 20.

What is my musical taste coming to?

At least the women I listen to keep their clothes on, so that is a plus.

Mp3 Player Ramblings

I have three Creative Mp3 players of varying sizes. I hate Ipods. I think most of you who know me, know that. It will be a cold day in hell before you see me giving Apple any of my money. It killed me to purchase the 4 songs I bought on Itunes. But I'm digressing, as I usually do.

I have a little flash drive player that I got a few years back. I call it my playlist player because it only holds about 30 songs and it runs on one AAA battery. I love the darn thing. I will not give it up until it dies. It's the Creative Muvo. It's red. Right now it has my winter songs playlist on it. I fell asleep to Justin Hayward singing December Snow. It was the first time I realized that he enunciates well. I'm digressing again.

My next player is my Creative Micro. It's a 4 GB player. Right now all my Christmas music resides on it. And thus my problem begins. Should I keep it there or clear the player to put my favorites on it? I just don't know. If I put my best of the best on it I'd be dragging it everywhere, only it doesn't have a protective case like my Vision has, and I don't want to scratch the screen. It already has 2 scratches and I know not how they got there.

Then there's my Zen Vision. It's my 30 GB player. It's also the player that gets dragged to the gym with me, however I put just about everything on it and I'm always finding that there are songs that bands I like do that really suck, because I'm a fool and I put full albums on the darn thing, when I don't like the full album.

Thus begins my other dilemma. I think its time to wipe all of them clear and try to sort through what I really listen to. Well at least we know that Elvis Costello will make the final cut as will his missus. Just a random comment, it's not easy to work out to Mrs. Costello crooning Willow Weep For Me.

I wish I knew what to do, but the process of clearing all the players is daunting, as I don't have the 2.0 USB ports as my computer is old. Thus giving me another dilemma, do I upgrade it one more time for around $100 or do I buy a shiny new Dell with a flat screen monitor, so that moving files is more instantaneous rather than meandering? But that's a totally different rant altogether.

GAH! What to do, besides shut up and deal with it, because that's just impossible for me.

A Long Way Down

I just finished this novel yesterday. First let me say I read whatever Nick Hornby books I can get my hands on. Oddly High Fidelity is the only one I haven't read. But back to A Long Way Down.

On the top of a tower block are 4 people, all prepared to jump, but somehow because the were all there at the same time, they don't do it and their lives become entangled, for the better.

Martin is the former breakfast show host on the slide because he got caught shagging a 15 year old.

Maureen is the fiftysomething catholic mother of a vegetable son.

JJ is a musician whose band broke up and his girlfriend dumped him.

Jess is the 18 year old girl, who kinda does the whole poor little rich girl gone wrong thing.

In the space of 320 pages you come to love all three of them for all their quirks and for the fact that in sharing their troubles they come to care just a little bit for each other and help each other away from the desire to take to the roof of Topper's House.

I always find something personal about Hornby's writing. In this book he describes "music rage" In the book Hornby describe's it as like road rage only more righteous. With road rage a part of you knows you're being a jerk, but when you get music rage, you're carrying out the will of God and God wants those people dead.

God bless Nick Hornby for writing those words, because when I get into a musical argument I get music rage and I get it bad. Just ask anyone who has ever argued music with me.

If you've read any of his other books, you'll enjoy this one. If you haven't read any of his books, try this one. It's good. Hornby's writing is easy to digest and entertaining. It's the perfect companion on a wet dreary winter day.

Frustrations

I spent last night trying to sort out stuff on my Zen. I've come to realize that though I have loads of music, I don't like to listen to it all the time. Case in point, Cheap Trick. They are one of the bands that I've liked for ages but most of their music is blech to me.

Doesn't make much sense does it? But it's true and I feel that my poor mp3 gets all the crap that I toss on it because I think I'll listen to it, when in fact there's only a few artists that I really want to listen to all the time or have albums that I like nearly all of.

Can you guess that Cheap Trick is one of them?

Oddly I can listen to Robin Zander's solo CD all the way through, but most Cheap Trick albums, no, except for the stuff from the late 80's like Lap Of Luxury and The Doctor, and even that is pushing it.

But back to me and the Zen. Because I'm in dire need of a 2.0 USB port, which is going to require me spending $100, because when I create those ports I'm also going to buy an external hard drive for my music, it took over 45 minutes to transfer my Hem mp3s to the blasted thing. ARGH!

Guess who didn't go to the gym because of file transferring frustrations?

That would be me.

Today I'm going. I don't care, because after yesterday I have so much aggravation and frustration to work off that if I don't go I may explode and that would just be messy and no one would clean up the mess I'd make when I went BOOM!

Wacked Out Weather & Scary News

Firstly it's Jan 7 and the temps are going to hit near 60 or higher today. Uh...erm...the last time I checked I lived in PA and not any point south of the mason dixon line. I'm not a huge fan of winter, but this weather will play havoc on our gardens etc if it lasts too long. I don't want my flowers to get too confused and then die as a result of the wack-a-doodle weather.

Grrr.

However it's not that I don't love temps in the 60's because I do. AT THE RIGHT TIME OF THE YEAR!!!

And now to get onto the scary news. There was a murder in my hamlet of Charleroi On Mon.

Yikes!

That makes me glad that I don't walk about after dark anywhere. I mean Charleroi just isn't the kind of place that you expect stuff like that to happen. When I heard it on the news last night, I was taken aback. Stuff like that happens in cities not in little suburban glass making towns in SW PA.

Needless to say, I don't feel very safe right now, and I'm sure many more people in my hamlet feel the same. This is the only info that's being released.

Scary news.

A Great Elvis Costello Cover

I discovered the band Hem this year and a good Livejournal friend sent me some of their stuff til I can purchase it. In one of the zip files was Red Shoes. I was scared to listen, but like the masochist that I am, I clicked the file and let it play.

Surprise, surprise, surprise! It's actually good.

Hem is/are (forgive me for being grammatically stupid....it's late) are a folky, alt-country, band from New York.

Check them out here

And check out their cover of Red Shoes here

Random 10 - Week 137

The random 10 has been on a 2 week hiatus, but it's back now. To play go to Music Memoirs

10 songs that sum up your weekend...or were on your weekend playlist...and one picture that relates back. (oh, and if you feel like it, tell us why you picked the songs you did)

I've been listening to an odd bunch of classic rock lately. Here are some of the songs my winamp spit out this weekend.

The Moody Blues - In My World
The Beatles - Free As A Bird
The Monkees - Hard To Believe
Mark Lindsay - Something
(oddest cover of that Beatles song I've heard)
Paul McCartney - Feet In The Clouds
(from my Best of 2007 mix)
Ringo Starr - Liverpool 8
George Harrison - Blood From A Clone
(Do you see a pattern here)
Over The Rhine - Let's Spend The Day In Bed
Hem - Reservoir
Duran Duran - Box Full O' Honey

And now for the picture

My Musical Taste Is So Weird

Anyone that managed to get close enough to peruse my CD collection would probably come away from it shaking their head in amazement and despair. My collection goes across the board, classic rock, pop, dance, electronic, folk.

I don't know what made this epiphany possible. Maybe it was as I decided that I needed to listen to Mark Lindsay of all people, while I pondered how I should clean up the Zen and if I should turn the Pink Christmas Zen O' Doom into a regular player again.

I start thinking more about music at this time of year because there is so very little to do.

I know that my loyalty to certain bands is waning. Not that I don't love The Moody Blues anymore or "my boys" as someone called them lately, but I need something to keep me interested and I can't justify spending hundreds on tickets and hotel rooms etc when they have nothing new to offer and their setlist doesn't change more than an iota. Now if they played closer to Pittsburgh, I'd go. I hope my friends in the eastern part of PA will get to see them on their next tour, as they are hitting two venues in the north and the south of PA in April.

As for me, I have no idea when I'll see them again. I prefer not to see them in Jersey anymore, because I want to see Jersey when I go there and not The Moody Blues.

Also I'd love to see Over The Rhine and Keri Noble if they tour this year. I'd like to give some love to bands that I haven't had the chance to see live.

But none of these artists seem to be related, and when you throw Duran Duran, who I would love to see again, even though I don't have much love for their latest offering, and Elvis Costello into the mix, well you can see where the strangeness comes from.

But I guess it's my strangeness that makes me unique, right?

Now if only I could find some people closer to me that could sit around, drink coffee and talk music, I'd be a truly happy bunny.

OMG DAVY

Last night's dream was much better, though I'm not sure where Davy Jones came from, but boy I'm glad he showed up.

So as a result I went to his official site, and lo and behold I discovered that picture you see in the corner.

~drools~

The 70's sure where kind to Mr. Jones, that's for sure. Oh mylanta and yourlanta and everyoneslanta.

But the picture has a purpose, its the cover of a CD that Davy is selling on his website.

Thanks Davy, I dream about you. I had a nice snogging dream with you, and you have to be a big whore about it and make me pay for it, because you know I want the CD!

And all of this because I was dreaming about Davy Jones and him saying L'le Me'l Bo'l Tops, like he did in the episode Monkees Ala Mode.

And no folks I haven't been taking Nyquil, so I have no idea why I'm being plagued by this wacko dreams

The Akron Zoo

8-12-2007 2-06-30 PM_0058
Originally uploaded by ljsilicon

My brother is uploading photos from the trip we took to the Akron Zoo when I visited back in August. I'm having quite a bit of fun going through his photos, especially as there are quite a few pictures of myself, that I didn't know existed. This is one of them.

I think I looked pretty cute! Mind you, that hair cut is almost a thing of the past. My hair touches my shoulders now, which is the longest its been in several years.

I'm going to have to keep going through his photostream so I can see if there are anymore embarrassing shots of me. And let me tell you I've found 2 of them, and I'm not going to share them. I will tell you this, I do not look good in pink. Nope. I do not.

Make The Bad Dreams Go Away

I found this gorgeous picture of the Pickle DJ last night, so I thought I'd have some pleasant dreams about him. Heck if I was going to have nightmares, I thought maybe I'd be dreaming about being chased by a giant parrot, but no, that wasn't the case.

I was dreaming that my Oogie cat was hanging on the windowsill and he fell and died.

Talk about traumatizing dreams.

It's not fair that when I'm finally getting to bed and sleeping a normal amount of time that I'm dreaming wacky nasty stuff.

What is wrong with my brain? Where is my subconscious getting this stuff?

It's obvious that its not the stuff I had on my mind before bed, because that's when I found the Fishy picture. Heck, Oogie didn't even do anything bad yesterday that I would have even given him a swat on the bum, why did my mind put him on the windowsill? My poor kitty.

No. More. Bad. Dreams.

Do. Not. Want.

Why Is All The Mocha Gone?

This is what I was saying most of the afternoon. I got a get out of the office for a few hours early card. I love when that happens. So on my way back I stopped for a coffee at Panera Bread and some pastries for the weekends breakfasts.

I wish I could have stayed for lunch, because Panera makes the best sandwiches, soups and salads you could ever eat for a reasonable price. I was content with my cafe mocha, though.

Now let me tell you about the cafe mocha at Panera. It's about 20 cents more than the tall mocha at Starbucks and its more like their grande size and it's just as yummy. I nursed that mocha for at least an hour, savoring ever yummy drop. When my cup was empty I wanted to weep, because the price of gas prevents me from heading out to get one more often. I can only get the high priced Starbucks where I live.

~sigh~

I want another cafe mocha!

Damn those high gas prices!

Top 5 On Friday - Week 157

From Music Memoirs


Top 5 "new" to you songs (That could be new songs...or songs you've just discovered)

1. Ringo Starr - Liverpool 8: I adore Ringo's new single. It's just so sweet and nostalgic and so very Ringo. It's hard not to love it.


2. The Smithereens - Time Won't Let Me: The song itself isn't new to me, but this version is. I never knew that anyone had ever covered this great tune, originally by the Outsiders.


3. Over The Rhine - How Does It Feel (To Be On My Mind): This is my new favorite band. I absolutely love this song from the compilation CD Discount Fireworks. I think it's from another CD as well, but I'm not sure which.


4. The Innocence Mission - Lake Shore Drive: Thanks to Nat for sharing this one or I never would have heard it. I used to love The Innocence Mission then I totally forgot they existed. Check out the song over at Nat's blog

5. Over The Rhine - Snow Angel: It's a Christmas song...but it's not a Christmas song and I didn't want to put 2 songs from the same band on this list, but I love Over The Rhine so much, and so should you.

LISTEN!

Dead In The Water

Here's a crime novel that really held my attention. A gorgeous blonde (how typical) stands accused of murdering her husband at sea and is about to collect on a multi-million dollar insurance policy.

Stone Barrington is a New York, cop turned attorney who by bad luck just happens to attend her inquest at the small island of St. Marks where the legal system is far from fair.

So sets a strange string of events. Ex-wives appear as well as old acquaintances and at least one other person ends up dead and it casts a poor light on the heroine, who from the looks of things will hang.

Its a worthy read, entertaining and fast paced. Even I was surprised by the ending. It took all my willpower not to read the end first, as I often do when I'm reading mysteries.

If you go to the library or a book store and you need something for a cold winter's night, this book is a good choice, and that's saying something, since I usually prefer romance novels to myseteries

Weird Dreams

I didn't even take any meds last night and I had the most weird dream that seemed so real that when I woke up I had to double check to see if it was true.

What was I dreaming?

I dreamed a tooth fell out.

Now this is something that would traumatize me. I have some problems with my teeth, but I haven't had any issues in a long time. To be honest, even my wisdom teeth have been calm most of the past year. That's a small miracle. They usually bug me for a week at least once or twice a year.

But again, this dream really freaked me out, because I live in fear that something will happen to my teeth.

I may not go to the doctor's regularly. Hell I refuse to go to any doctor unless I'm near death, but I do go 2 to 3 times to get my teeth cleaned and I get my eyes checked every 2 years.

So you can see how traumatizing this dream was. Now I'm wondering what it means. I think I'd rather have a dream about He-who-should-be-flushed-down-the-toilet-and-out-of-my-mind, at least when I'd wake up I'd know that there was no way in hell that it could be true!

Shall I add them to my Wish List?

There are two albums out this month that I'd really like to get, but my funds are pretty much depleted thanks to taxes and holidays that aren't paid and other fun things...but that doesn't stop me from wanting them.

Ringo Starr's first studio album in ages is out on Jan 15th.



Ringo may not have the best voice in the world, but his music is always fun and enjoyable. Some of my favorite Beatle solo material is by Mr. Starkey and a lot of it is from some of his more recent endeavors. I hope this one is good, because although I was fond of Paul's Memory Almost Full, it hasn't spent a lot of time getting played.

The other album on my most wanted list for January is Sarah Brightman's Symphony.



This is probably the one I can most live without, but there is something about Sarah that always drags me to the store to buy whatever she's releasing.

I foresee a very broke 2008.

I'm Dreaming Of A White New Year

Well it snowed last night. This is not good. Not that snow bothers me, but did it have to start snowing for the new year, when it just happens to be the day that I call payroll in, especially as my office is not to easy to get to when the weather is bad. And lordy I don't a repeat of the fiasco of last week. And of course it's shortly after 6 a.m. and the roads haven't been touched by the street crews.

Uh, did they not mention this storm?

It's the first day of school for our district too, so why can't are street crews in our lovely town of Charleroi on Mon actually be working? Oh yeah, the school called in their 2 hour delay early.

PAH! That means screw the rest of the town that might have to go to work or something. Adults can kill themselves trying to get to work, but if the snow might kill our kids its a totally different standard.

This makes no fucking sense to me.

Everyone's safety should be a priority. Oh but wait...the mighty dollar means more to the world then the employees getting to work on time.

This is my yearly snow rant.

I can't wait til the weekend. I wish I could just go back to bed. I'd feel so much better. I want a 2 hour delay.

Happy New Year!

2008 came in quietly here as it usually does. I spent my evening with my family sitting around the kitchen table eating lots of great munchies. We had a fabulous tray of eatables, bbq lil smokies, sweet and sour and swedish meatballs as well as cheese and crackers. It was all quite tasty.

In between munching I continued reading a great book by Jean Plaidy, called The Princess of Celle, a historical novel about the life of one of the uncrowned queens of England and the rise to power of the Hanovers. I'm about halfway through it, and like all novels by Jean Plaidy (aka Victoria Holt) its wonderful.

So I might have had a quiet evening, but it was a pleasant one. I'm not a girl for partying. Not that I don't mind getting out for a few drinks, but crazy revelry is not me. So I was happy with the way things were.

I hope the quiet and peacefulness of my New Year's Eve extends into 2008 for me and for all of you.

May the troubles of 2007 be gone and soon forgotten!

Hugs and love to all of you for 2008