No. 187: last beat

Okay, so I slacked a little in the whole blogging area.

Without the playlist, here are the songs from the past weeks. I've been moving back into my apartment, settling myself, kirking out about books, working at Carma's, getting out of my Ecology class and getting into Intro to Cog Psych, which I've heard is amazing. Catching up on House.
Anyway, here. The explanations are short for the first one, mostly b/c I didn't write any down when I wrote down the songs, but yeah...

1. Rain by Patty Griffin: It was kind of gross in San Diego. Made me feel like listening to sad girl music.
   
2. Santeria by Sublime: Nick and I sang along to this whilst it blared through the speakers of the GIANT SUV we had in Santa Barbara. It was a good moment.
   
3. Build Me Up, Buttercup by The Foundations: This played on the radio in California about every 10 minutes one day. It was sort of eerie.
   
4. Iron Man by Black Sabbath: Nick wanted to watch the movie in Santa Barbara and then Dad, when I got to San Diego. Having already seen it twice and being utterly exhausted, I fell asleep almost instantly both times.
   
5. In the Aeroplane Over the Sea by Neutral Milk Hotel: Someone was talking about it before I got on the plane home. We didn't technically cross over the sea, but there was that aeroplane.
   
6. Evil by Interpol: Whenever I put my Ipod on shuffle last week, this song would come up. The beginning is so pretty, though, the harmony and all.
   
7. Never Gonna Give You Up by Cake: Matt tried to teach me how to drive the GTI while we were listening to Cake's Rarities and B-Sides. I stalled out a lot to this song, much to my frustration. I've been assured it's a difficult car to learn on.
   

Today I'm going to get paint with Carlos (red) for our walls. I'm painting an accent wall in my dinning area, he's doing his whole apartment. First, Jenny's coming over and we're going to get my books. It is a rainy, gross day and we've both decided to dress like slobs. So if you see me today, just know that I look that way on purpose. ;) I also have to go over to my father's at some point today and get my rent check, since he's being a five year old and refusing to just send it to me. Because I reallly want to make a half hour drive over to Dundalk to pick up a damn check. But I'm relaxing about it, b/c as my mother and Matt both reminded me: it doesn't do a lot to drop to his level and get angry about it. He hasn't changed in 40 years, he's not likely to now just b/c I'm mad at him. And so, I wooooo-saaaahh.

Tomorrow: While I eat breakfast I'll post this week's 7, with the playlist included.

Cheers,
H.

P.S. Finally saw Close Encounters of the Third Kind last night. SOOOO good. I now have a near overpowering desire to sculpt mashed potatos. Silly.

No. 186: Vacation (A Summary)

I went to London for three weeks at the beginning of the summer. I was back for a week before I moved up to Baltimore to intern for the Urbanite. On most weekends I came home. I found out that traffic can zap years from your life if you sit in it enough, especially on the Beltway. I'm thinking there's a time/space rift there.

My internship ended and I came home for about a week, wherein I helped friends get ready to move and ran errands. Last week, I was offered a trip to California with my dad. That was sort of altered to a trip out to California with my friend Nick, who's moving out there to Santa Barbara City College, and his mom, Jo (who I know b/c she used to date my dad, and she's my uncle's wife's step-cousin (making Nick my second cousin twice removed)). We spent the first three days driving Nick to school, finding him a place to live nearish campus, going to Ikea to get his apartment furniture and then putting it together. Then I took a 5 hours Amtrak along the coast from Santa Barbara down to La Jolla to meet my dad. We spent two days walking around aimlessly, hanging out with his (incredibly cool and surprisingly young) co-workers, and watching movies. We went to the Del Mar race track, which was very neat. Then we took a plane home on Saturday night.

Today, Nick and I and a bunch of his friends went to the Maryland Renaissance Festival (probably my favorite time yet) and shouted the word, "HUZZAH!" about 1,000 times. Jousting has never been so rolicking. And a 3 year old, absolutely lovely little blond girl ran up to me, looked all the way up to my eyes and said, "You're beautiful!", then hid behind her mother's knee. It was the sweetest thing.

Drove back after giving Nick and send off with all his friends in Columbia.

And now I'm home, until Tuesday, wherein I'll be going back up to Baltimore to start work Wed and then school Thurs. And so ended my summer.

Now: a shower and then blissful rest.

Cheers, you grand few.

No. 185: What?!!

Sarah Palin?! Sarah Palin?!!!
Does John McCain WANT to lose?! He picks a 44 year old beauty queen runner from ALASKA up with barely any political experience to be on his ticket. Seriously? She's a "dynamic politician" said CNN, and this of course is true. But for the love of God! He just lost his own race. Signed off on his own concession speech. America could love this woman, they could-- she's gorgeous and hey, Alaska's cool, but what other than being a beautiful woman who knows something about fishing does she bring the country? He stuck her on there b/c Hilary didn't win. If Hilary had gotten the nomination, would John McCain's running mate be a black guy from Hawaii?

I mean, I get that Obama asked Biden because of his foreign experience, but that's something WE WANT! We want a guy who knows about foreign affairs. Obama was weak in that area and he made his (possible) administration stronger. McCain just put a middle aged chick on the ticket who's gonna go with him on trips and look like his daughter!

American politics make me so so so sad.

On a less completely baffling note: Today I'm going to the Del Mar Race track with Dad. Bing Crosby built it. I'm wearing a dress and a hat. Wee!

Cheers.
H.

No. 184: An assorted bouquet of things

• Home for the Holidays is my new favorite holiday movie. For some strang reason it's on TV here in (supposed to be) sunny (but isn't at all) La Jolla. Dylan McDermott (who has never been sexier) and Holly Hunter (before the travesty that is Saving Grace) and Robert Downey, Jr (who has never had worse hair) It's fantastic. Seriously. Some of the best lines from a movie ever. And Jodie Foster directed it!
• I should probably leave this hotel room. I'm just completely unmotivated to leave. If it were sunny, maybe. But... being as it's gray and oddly damp...
• Rennaisance festival on Sunday with Nick and Jo. Very excited.
  
• I want a big cat, preferrably an oversized tabby with a personality.
  

Cheers.

No. 183b: Bad numbers

Okay, so I'm a moron and can't number my blog posts. Whatever.

Santa Barbara is gorgeous!!! Jo and I took Nick to class yesterday and then drove around the Mesa/West Beach area looking for apartments for him. It was a good time. We picked him up, walked around shopping (I got a hat from this all hemp store... amazing). Then ate at this great Italian restaurant. Nick and I walked around town for a while and I found a fro-yo shop that had comparable fro yo to that which we had in London. Happiness is sugar-free fro-yo. Came back and fell asleep while Nick watched Iron Man. This morning we went to breakfast and Staples and now we're going to search for apartments and take Nick to class again. I'm contemplating joining him, just because... well... it's Santa Barbara City College. The campus is on the shore (literally overlooking the ocean), and everyone is gorgeous and I really miss school. I'm so glad to be going back next week, which is something I never thought I'd say.

Taking the train to San Diego tomorrow to meet up with Dad. Have no idea what hotel we're staying in, and when he gets off of work, so I don't really know the whole situation. But I'm sure I'll figure it out by the time I need to. Right now, I'm just so jazzed to be here. Jo and I are going to lay by the pool a good portion of today, I think. Nice! I feel like I NEED to go to the gym at least once while I'm here, but it's so difficult to feel motivated on my one week of vacation. Ah well.

Jo has me addicted to Starbuck's again. I'd broken the habit and now I'm back. It used to be the dirty chais that got me. Now I crave the Venti green tea lemonade. My own American affluent attitude is depressing, but for Pete's sake, I'm on vacation in Santa Barbara! You should see our bathroom. I could swim in the tub. All I can say is thank God. And thanks for this place, too! Ocean on one side, gorgeous mountains on the other. Hasn't been hotter than 80 the entire time we've been here, 65-70 at night, and the most wonderfully pretty skies. I'm moving to California. It's decided.

Cheers.
H.

No. 183: the rad name of our organization?

So I watched a lot of Aqua Teen Hunger Force this week. It was a good time.

Anyway--

I'm jumping the gun on the songs, b/c I know that I'll be at church or on a plane for most of tomorrow. But after my stupidly annoying flight (I hate flying. I hate it.), I will be in CALIFORNIA! Weee. Drive up the coast from LA to Santa Barbara and kick it with Nick & Jo until Wednesday where I take a train from SB to Del Mar and lounge about with Dad, go see a horse race at the track on Friday, and then plane it home Saturday. The first and only week of real honest to God vacation of my summer. I am so jazzed.

I've decided to write a short story of apostolic fiction. As Chuck Palahniuk describes it, apostolic fiction is when "a surviving apostle tells the story of his hero. There are two men and a woman. And one man, the hero, is shot to death." My take on the genre will be a little different, I think. But not too different. Also: the reason Fight Club was such a rockin' movie (aside from great casting), is that it almost exactly follows and narrates from the book. Couldn't put the thing down.

Anyway-- here are this week's songs.

• 1. The Knife// Grizzly Bear: Heard a great remix of this song the other day and was thinking about it. I really like Grizzly Bear. I've heard they're not awesome live, but ah well.

• 2. Take the Money and Run // Steve Miller: Hear this in Saxby's all the time and love it. Never knew what it was until I asked the other day. Now I hear it in my head whenever I'm driving. I have no idea why.
• 3. Words // Ryan Adams: On the way home from helping Matt clean and pack, I was driving down 66. The sun was setting and an absurd cloud formation had perfectly framed it as it went down. I had the windows up and the AC on (b/c it reduces the drag in my car, which makes it perform better and I've found actually helps me on gas), so it was really quiet. This song was playing from the Elizabethtown soundtrack (vol. II-- the only reason that movie didn't completely shame Cameron Crowe was the soundtrack). It was a really good moment. I miss Ryan Adams. But he'll have to wait for a full revival until I get back. He's East coast music.
• 4. We Have Forgotten// Six Pence None the Richer: Shut up. It' s a lovely song.
• 5. FNT// Semisonic: I got a strange hankering to hear the 10 Things I Hate About You soundtrack the other day-- probably spurred on by thoughts of the late, great Heath Ledger. Anyway, I forgot how much I love this song. It's got a good beat and fun lyrics and the guys voice is incredibly appealing.
• 6. Join Together// The Who: From a commercial that's on all the time during the Olympics on MSNBC. Matt was so shocked that I didn't know it that I had to look it up. It is actually pretty strange that I wouldn't have heard this song, considering my past with Who fans, but more so because it's just a stellar tune. Very classic Who.
• 7. California// Phantom Planet: Because... I'm going there. And because "Going to California" would be too easy. Also b/c Girl Talk uses a snippet from this song in one of my favorite of his songs.

Okay so there's that.

Cheers.
H.

No. 167: wager

http://www.reuters.com/article/topNews/idUSWBT00931920080701

read this.
seriously.

I give it two months min., six months max., before Isreal and Iran start going to town on each other. Anything the DOD tries to squelch that hard has to be imminent. Oi.

Also. Everyone should read this. Because it's real, and it's happening and ignoring it is not going to make the Arctic ice melt any slower.

http://www.orionmagazine.org/index.php/articles/article/2956

There's a lot going on. And I want to help.
I just don't know where to start.
I'm thinking: move to California and start doing coastal conservation research with Wallace J. Nichols. Also I could learn to surf. Because that would help the environment.

It's been an alright day. I spent the morning taking care of things and then went to the pool and read for two hours before work. And now I'm at work, rabbit trailing from my assignments because I'm all stressed out about global warming and US foreign policy. Sigh.

Cheers.
H.