January 7, 2007
OMG the Verve Pipe still toteley rawk my world
I do curse ye old Youtube for its tendency to devour large chunks of my day with its myriad offerings– clips from One Day at a Time, for example, or the video for “Colorblind” by Darius. (I refuse to link to these items. They will only contaminate your well-being). Where Youtube becomes absolutely fascinating, however, is when you read the viewers’ comments and responses. If this is zeitgeist I am frightened, but I am also sort of amused. There is something precious about nostalgic fourteen year olds.
My favourite comments ever include one to a Goo Goo Dolls song which said, “Man, what an awesome song. Whatever happened to music? They don’t make stuff like this anymore”. I love this response to Robin Beck’s “The First Time”: “I’m in luv wiv da 80’s (even though born in 1992), its such a cool era! This song tops it all!” I adore the people who comment proclaiming their love for Celine Dion, and then have to comment back a few minutes later just to clarify: “I’m not a lesbian btw”. Which is probably safe, as accusations of gayness are rampant among commenters. And then the nerve of whoever dared to assert that “NKOTB had an “IT” factor that Take That could never touch.” Power to the people. Really.
December 29, 2006
Soundtrack of our Lives
There was always a radio playing somewhere when I lived in England, and I’ve got a ridiculous attachment to the soundtrack from those days. I remember getting drunk watching Pink sing “Just Like a Pill” on Top of the Pops my first weekend there, when Girls Aloud got the Christmas Number One in 2002, walking down Nottingham Road listening to “Clocks” by Coldplay on my walkman. “The Tide is High (Get the Feeling)” by Atomic Kitten, which drove me to tears of joy on one of my first dates with Stuart (though I was deranged then). Daniel Bedingfield, Sugababes, Will and Gareth. A word about my weakness– I’m totally addicted to bass. Darius and Busted (who switched on the Christmas Lights in Market Square in November 2002 and I was in the crowd). DJ Sammy, which our favourite DSS neighbour used to blast out her windows (until someone smashed them and after that the plywood panes sort of muffled the sound). Robbie Williams and “Feel”. Nelly and Kelly’s dilemma, Big Bro’s Nu Flo, and Xtina when she was dirty. Do you see? I’m absolutely obsessed. Part of it was that that time was so formative; it’s when I fell in love with my husband. Regardless, the point of all of this is my new favourite wikipedia entry: the marvelously thorough 2002 in British Music. And don’t worry, this continues into 2003, when R Kelly’s “Ignition” dominated the charts, Junior Senior with “Move Your Feet”, 50 Cent, Black Eyed Peas and Westlife got to number one with a cover of “Mandy.” Etc. etc. etc. Were there ever old days any gooder?
December 14, 2006
World's Tallest Man Saves Choking Dolphins
The prize goes to Jennie for alerting me to this news story: World’s Tallest Man Saves Choking Dolphins. Can that possibly be true? But if it is, do we not live in the best world ever?
Half of a Yellow Sun continues to be extraordinary. Does the fact that my cup runneth over for every book I read make you think I love books lightly? Because I don’t. I just choose the books I read very very carefully. Anyway, I’ll write more about this one tomorrow. Today, I am rewriting one of my chapters and listening to Zero 7’s “Destiny” on repeat and I am in a very good state of mind.
November 25, 2006
Gig Songs- Update
I am compiling a list of songs about live performances. So far, the list is short. I’ve got:
Woodstock: Joni Mitchell
Rock and Roll Song: Valdy
Garden Party: Rick Nelson
Piano Man: Billy Joel
Killing Me Softly: Roberta Flack
Super Trouper: Abba (thanks CG)
Don’t Play That Song: Aretha Franklin (thanks KM)
By the Way: Red Hot Chili Peppers (thanks C-Dawg)
Who else can help? Anyone? Anyone? (By which I mean you, Bueller. Oh, and you too.)
November 23, 2006
Dreams are boring but…
last night I had a bookish nightmare! I dreamt that I somehow ended up with a copy of this rather controversial book, and didn’t know what to do with it. I didn’t want to give it away as then people would know I owned it, I didn’t want to sell it as that would be unethical, I couldn’t just throw it out because I didn’t want to be responsible for that filth in the world, and I couldn’t have kept it because then I would have been turned into a pillar of salt. Dilemma was solved by the alarm clock, I think.
Now reading Tristram Shandy, which I am enjoying actually, but I think it’s gonna be a long long time.
November 12, 2006
Something wonderful
My favourite discovery of late is what happens when a spoonful of sugar lands in a mug of Rooibos Tea.
November 10, 2006
Defeat
In which, after consulting the marvelous resource that is the UofT Graduate English ListServe, we conclude that there are no really good synonyms for “poisoner” in the English Language.
Update: I’ve got a tip (and it checks out at the source). “Venefica” is Latin for a female who poisons. It’s a bit too obscure for my uses, however.
