Compare and Contrast

I know, I know, you want substance, but I am unable to deliver that right now.

Instead, I give you "Superstar" as interpreted by Sonic Youth and in its original form by the Carpenters. Risa and I were discussing the Youth's interpretation last week on our way to see "Native Son" at the Intiman, and since yesterday was Risa's birthday, I figured, I'd give her a trip down memory lane.

Consider the following while watching the videos:
Karen and Richard Carpenter are siblings. Thurston Moore and Kim Gordon look alike. The names Karen Carepenter and Kim Gordon both equal 8 numerologically. 8 is the number of roadies the Carpenters had on their final tour. Sonic Youth cites The Velvet Underground as an influence. Richard Carpenter slept with Nico. Anorexia is not a disease. Sarah MacLachlan's "Posession" contains similar themes to ones expressed in this song.



Or, just enjoy. (Play them simultaneously if you like.)

Two great tastes

I hope everyone had a lovely Thanksgiving. Mine would have better had I not had to work.
Anyway, I know I should make a real post, but I came across the video below last night and I had to share it.

Yeah. That's right. Juice Newton AND Dolly Parton.

Oh, and posting will most likely be light in the coming weeks.

This week looks like this:

Tues. - Tech. Rehearsal

Weds. - Dress Rehearsal

Thurs. - Reading at the Henry

Fri. - launder/clean

Sat. - Concert in Everett

Sun. - Concert in Seattle

Coming weeks look similar with an employee party, a visit from the folks, and more concerts on the horizon.

And before I forget, I'd like to give a shoutout to my girl Risa, who turns the tender age of 31 today.

Moratorium

As we enter this festive holiday season, I would like to take the time to remind you that the following two phrases have been redacted from popular American colloquiality:

Good to go

Good call

I would also like to address a specific subset of a minority group who have also beaten a decaying horse:

To homosexual men who identify as "bears" or "otters," and, more generally, to homosexual men who have adopted aforementioned subset's proclivity to objectify a man by naming him "woofy:"

The woof phenomenon is over. It ended in 1983. I realize, you were a senior in high school in 1983, but we can let go now, okay? You don't need to bark like a dog to express your interest in an attractive man. This sort of juvenilia will result in your being referred to as a Voodoo Queen. Or perhaps just SugarTits.

So please, be aware of your conversations this Thanksgiving, and make a conscious effort to remove (even if only temporarily) these inanities from our discourse.

Oh, and happy Thanksgiving!

She drives Veronica cars

Time for a good ol' fashioned TV update.

Yes, BSG is still the best show on TV. As my good buddy PJ would say, "If it weren't for BSG, Veronica Mars would be the best show on TV." Hear, hear!

Quippy, at times silly, and always couched in the detective genre, VM rises above its limitations week after week. Even though this season has laid some of the series' more interesting constructs by the wayside (such as the class struggle), VM is still shot and acted better than 99.9% of television shows. So it was with great joy that I read it has been picked up for seven more episodes this season!

Adding to the already impressive list of guest stars--Paris Hilton, Lisa Rinna, Harry Hamlin, Stephen King, Alyson Hannigan, Charisma Carpenter, Joss Whedon, Ed Begley, Jr., Laura san Giacomo, and Richard Grieco--Patty Hearst (you know, of Stockholm Syndrome fame) will be on tonight's episode. I hope she remembers that you can't wear white after labor day.

Oh, and in case you missed it, the boyfriend (cuz, I guess that's what we're calling each other now) gave me permission to share his blog with you, gentle reader, in a previous post's comments. Please direct all comments regarding said young man to this post's comment section. If you have any questions, I will attempt to answer them as well, unless the question revolves around a topic lascivious in nature.

Like when a clown gets cancer

I can't help it. This cracks me up.

I don't care if I'm a heartless bastard. When I want to smile, I watch this.

Easy as pi

Tonight at work while my co-workers were busy learning about translation into Klingon, Romulon and Vulcan (what? no Ferengi?), I stumbled upon this page that I think is pretty cool (and pointless).

Basically, you enter a series of numbers in the search window and the engine will tell you how many digits of pi it is until that series of numbers occurs excluding the 3 preceeding the decimal. My birthday is 1,861,454 from the first digit. That's so spooky because 1,861,454 has always been my favorite number.

Singin' in the rain

Damn, the rain was flying sideways yesterday. This year has easily been the wettest since I've lived here. I enjoyed the Pineapple Express, however. Well, maybe I just enjoy the name Pineapple Express. All aboard the Pineapple Express!!

I'm a little bit busier than usual. Work is crazy. Say a tiny prayer that I still have a job in January, m'kay?

Choir is ramping up. I can't believe that the first performance is in two weeks. I still haven't bought my tux. I still haven't bought my parents tickets to the show. (They'll be here in three weeks.) We had our taped rehearsal on Monday and it went pretty well. I think we still have a ways to go, but now we have a good idea of where we are. More importantly, we have the recordings to help us get to where we need to be.

Oh, you want to hear what we sound like?

Ok. Just remember, this is a rehearsal. We only have a piano as accompaniment. You can hear pages turning and people coughing, but whatevs. Oh, and both tracks have a little glitch.

The first track is called "Betelehemu" and its a Nigerian Xmas song. I just think its a pretty song. (listen/download)

The second track is "Over the Skies of Yisrael." Its gorgeous and the soloist (not me) has a great voice. My favorite part of the entire arrangement is the dynamics. The crescendo at "Never abandoned by our God" gives me chills every time we sing it. (listen/download)

And Thanksgiving is next week. I can't believe it. Lynnie has, once again, graciously opened her house to me. Perhaps I will show my pink underwear at the dinner table. Perhaps I won't wear any underwear.

The rest of my time has been spent with the guy. He's pretty swell. I wish our schedules were more conducive to chillin', but you make due. Get in where ya fit in, if you will. Tomorrow is his day off, so I'm gonna take him to one of my favorite restaurants after we (finally) see Shortbus. I would point to his blog, but I've gotta get his permission first. Did I mention that he's pretty swell? Cuz he is.

About nothing

Piss.
You get the abbreviated version b/c Blogger just lost my post! Balls!

Anyway, Bill and I saw Godot on Wednesday. It was pretty good. The actors played it as straight comedy. There was no sense of menace or forboding lingering at the edge of the stage. Well, I've never seen a production before, but that's the way I imagined it when I read it.

Tahiti 80 and Brookville on Sunday at the Croc. I hope my peeps come--I'm lookin' at you Mike and Janice, Risa and Keith, and Kelley!!! That's a killer bill. I would take a certain young man, but he has to work. Bummer. Too bad, cuz I would love to give him a squeeze when Tahiti 80 plays Heartbeat (listen/download). I think its one of the sweetest songs . . . and he's one of the sweetest guys. (You can puke now, if you want.)

And, just for fun, the video to the my senior prom song:

Have a good weekend, you guys!

Live, Die, Vote

Born on this day

Albert Camus - "A single sentence will suffice for modern man: He fornicated and read the papers."

Joni Mitchell - "I was a punk in the fifties."

Judy Tenuta - "This guy says, 'I'm perfect for you, 'cause I'm a cross between a macho and a sensitive man.' I said, 'Oh, a gay trucker?'"

Died on this day

Count Leo Lev Nikolayevich Tolstoy - "Boredom: the desire for desires."

Eleanor Roosevelt - "Do what you feel in your heart to be right - for you'll be criticized anyway. You'll be damned if you do, and damned if you don't."

Steve McQueen - “I would rather wake up in the middle of nowhere than in any city on earth.”

Will Durant - "Life oscillates between Voltaire and Rousseau, Confucius and Lao-Tze, Socrates and Christ. After every idea has had its day with us and we have fought for it not wisely or too well, we in our turn shall tire of the battle, and pass on to the young our thinning fasicle of ideals. Then we shall take to the woods with Jacques, Jean-Jacques, and Lao-Tze; we shall make friends of the animals, and discourse more contentedly than Machiavelli with simple peasant minds; we shall leave the world to stew in its own deviltry, and shall take no further thought of its reform." [That one's for you, Prof.]

Lawrence Durrell - "Poetry is what happens when an anxiety meets a technique." [That one's for you Charles.]

If you haven't already, please take the time to vote today.

Prioritize

There was a time in my life when something like Crispin Glover's What Is It? coming to town would have been reason to rearrange my schedule. The film stopped at the Broadway Performance Hall from the 3rd to the 5th, and I wasn't even aware it was here.

Amy Sedaris was here last Monday, and because of a SNAFU with Ticketswest, I didn't get to go. Not only did I let myself down, I let 7, count 'em 7 other people down. (Since tickets were only $5 I thought I'd buy the max, 8. If I had listened to what sounded like a sales call on my phone when I was in Boston, I could have rectified the problem then.)

Anyway, the main reason I live in an urban area is so I am able to access these types of things, but with, I don't know, growing up or buckling down or something, these diversions which make my life fuller have fallen to the wayside (middle school).

In the coming weeks, I will, however, be seeing some quality theater.

First, this Wednesday at the Moore Theater (can you believe I've never been to the Moore?) I'll be seeing Waiting for Godot. Big ups to Derek for the gratis tix. I've never seen Godot, but I read it (and loved it) in high school. I'm really looking forward to this.

And a week from Saturday, I'll be seeing Native Son on its final night at the Intiman with Keith and Risa. By the way, doesn't Keith look wikkid hawt with his porn 'stache? That's him in the picture. There's still time to support his facial hair endeavors (and help fight things like illiteracy) by donating here.

But I'm trying. I swear I'm trying to keep up with everything.

Brookville and Tahiti 80 are here Sunday at the Croc. Should be a great show.

Hot Chip are at Neumo's on the 14th.

And, even though it is two months away, I vow not to miss Old Joy at NWFF on January 5th.

Oh, and Tennille alerted me to the fact that this dude I used to bang has a book out. Good for you, Eddie.

Oh, there's also a robot in town. I think we'll be doing something this weekend. I hope he has some new music with him!

Too long in Ballard

I live mere blocks from the Nordic Heritage Museum.

In fact, I've lived in the Scandanavian neighborhood of Seattle for the enitre six years I've lived here. I used to live close to a lutefisk store. No, for real.

I think all this time in Ballard has been affecting my musical proclivities.

Witness:

The Knife - Silent Shout - Sweden

The Concretes - In Colour - Sweden

Jenny Wilson - Love and Youth - Sweden

Peter, Bjorn, and John - Writer's Block - Sweden

Trentemoller - The Last Resort - Denmark

And there's more, too. Like all that house-y shit I listen to. You know, the Dahlbacks and stuff.

At least I'm not watching The Seventh Seal or something.

Oh, and congrats to Jenny Wilson for giving birth to a little boy!!

While I'm at it, check out the latest The Knife video:

Oh, and here's a link to their live show--a DVD from their latest tour should be out sometime in the not too distant future (Nov. 8th foreign release). Check out this clip from it [takes forever to load].

In common

Facial hair
Glasses
Ballard
Twin Peaks
The Simpsons
Hank Hill impressions
Midday drinks
Midday naps
Comic books