Like peas in a podcast

I never really took to the whole podcast scene, but there are two of them I listen to regularly, those being the They Might Be Giants one, and the one put out by frankblack.net. The latter has some cool stuff, including interviews with Frank and people associated with him. In the most recent one, the hosts talked with Rich Gilbert from the Catholics, and played an instrumental song of his, which was actually pretty cool. I downloaded the first Cracker and Camper Van Beethoven podcast, but there either never was a second one, or my computer just never managed to find it. And Neko Case's site has been saying her podcast is "coming soon" for months now. I'd definitely listen to both of those if they ever updated. Are there any other podcasts that I really should be listening to, but of which I am not aware? As you might have guessed, I tend to be drawn more to music-oriented podcasts.

I've seen some people say that they enjoyed making podcasts because they always wanted to have their own radio shows. I can definitely see the appeal here. I wouldn't mind doing my own podcast, if I had the technical savvy and thought anyone would want to listen. Plus, I'd probably want to play music, and wouldn't that involve licensing fees?

Anyway, since I've committed myself to commenting on every TMBG podcast, I'll say a few words about number 10A. It includes a new song, "Homunculus," but I'm not really sure what I think of it. I believe Robin Goldwasser's "I Hear A New World" was the theme song to John Flansburgh's short-lived radio show. The introductory music puts me in mind of the Magnetic Fields. Then there's the demo for "Cyclops Rock," which I've heard many times before. I've always thought Flansy's voice sounded kind of thin and nasal on it, as if he had a cold when he recorded it. The Mink Car version is probably better overall, although I don't like Cerys Matthews or the omission of Nixon. And as for "Larger Than Life," well, I'm not exactly a fan of reggae.

Another birthday? Weren't you old enough last year?

So, as of 1:29 PM today, I am 29 years old. That's kind of an awkward number, isn't it? I mean, I like round numbers. Can't I just go ahead and be 30 instead? On the other hand, 30 seems like when you're supposed to be a total adult, and I'm not sure I'm ready for that yet, so maybe it's good that I have one more year before that.

This morning, my mom and sister came over from Pennsylvania to visit me. This was the first time they saw my new place, and they seemed to approve. I think it was also my first time cleaning up because I was having guests over. My room is actually pretty neat now, although my family brought two more boxes of my old stuff with them. Hopefully I won't put off sorting through those boxes for another six months. Also, bethje helped me put up a lot of my posters, so my room is starting to actually look decent. Maybe I'll have pictures of it someday.

Anyway, I went out with Beth, my mom, and my sister to a nearby Italian restaurant, where I had the Shrimp Parmagiana. It was very good, although I have to wonder why they left the tails on the shrimp. Sure, leave ME to do all the work! {g}

After lunch, I opened my presents. Actually, I had gotten my presents from Beth's mom last night. They were a new robe and a hook to hang it on. My mom made me a spicecake, and gave me a weird mug with googly eyes. Beth's Uncle John gave me a Whitman's sampler, and he and Beth went in together to get me a new jacket. And from Beth on her own, I got the Flaming Lips album The Soft Bulletin, and DVD sets of The Weird Al Show and The Super Mario Bros. Super Show. I'd really been wanting the former, and I was interested in the latter as well, but too embarrassed to ask for it. {g} Beth also says there's another gift coming in the mail.

Speaking of presents, I got a notification today saying that someone had given me the anonymous gift of a paid LiveJournal account for one year. Anyone want to own up to it, or is that just one of those Random Acts of Kindness you hear about sometimes?

My mom had work in the afternoon, so she and my sister didn't stay long. And Beth went home to take a nap, so I spent most of the time since then checking out my new DVD's. I'm sure I'll have much more to say about them later; but I will say that I watched all of the episodes on the first disc of The Weird Al Show both with and without commentary, and the commentary is really funny and informative. It sounds like the creators were just as annoyed by the network's demand to hit the viewers over the head with obvious morals as the fans were.