![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
Twitterpated
Jan. 30th, 2009 09:34 am- 10:42 Mini-documentary on Comic Sans tinyurl.com/69q4hp #
- 14:33 Hey, I got some spam from Mr. Williams Zongo! He sounds like a really fun guy! #
- 18:20 @3x1minus1 We have that on our Netflix queue. #
Jan. 30th, 2009
Steeling the Spotlight
Jan. 30th, 2009 04:02 pmI recently started subscribing to the New York Times headline feed, and today there was a story about Terrible Towels. My undergraduate college wasn't too far from Pittsburgh, so I remember hearing about these symbols of the Steelers occasionally while there. I think one of my classmates said that his family would drape the towel over the TV screen whenever the Steelers were losing. I wonder if I should adapt that technique for one of my own interests. Like, maybe I'll put a towel over the screen when there's a bad joke on The Simpsons.
Seriously, I've mentioned before how sports fandom is pretty much totally alien to me, yet I have to imagine that the sports fans would think much the same about my own interests. Then again, as Terry Pratchett pointed out when I saw him at an in-store, you generally don't see science fiction and fantasy fans getting violent over their hobbies. And what about fantasy football? People make fun of the nerds playing Dungeons & Dragons, but really, isn't it more impressive to kill an imaginary dragon than to draft imaginary football players? Of course, there are some Renaissance people who are interested in both sports AND nerdier pursuits. I think Keith Olbermann might be the poster boy for this movement. But then, Sarah Palin thinks he's evil. [1]
Despite my college being near Pittsburgh, I only went into the city a few times. The first was with my mom and brother on my twenty-first birthday. We saw Mount Washington [2] and the tower at the the University, and ate at an old train station that had been converted into a restaurant. And I didn't drink any alcohol, despite being of legal age. Even if I had known anyone who would have taken me to a bar, I had a stubborn tendency to refuse to do anything typical. I think I was twenty-four or so before I ever really had a drink.
And since I'm posting, I might as well say a few words about the albums I've heard for the first time recently:
Tonight: Franz Ferdinand - I read a bad review of this before it came out, but I have to say that critic was too...um, critical, I suppose. I like the album, although I haven't really chosen any favorite songs yet.
Belle and Sebastian, The BBC Sessions - A lot of the songs on here sound pretty much like their studio counterparts, which is good in a way because it means they're successful at reproducing their studio sound live, but also means that it isn't too much different from listening to the album cuts. There are a few songs on there that weren't on any of their albums, though, and I like what they did with "Lazy Line Painter Jane."
Vermillion Lies' Solo CDs - Kim's First the Bees... and Zoe's Shoestrings, sold as a unit at their website. They were actually shipped in wrapping paper with no CD cases. They're good records, if short, but I think my favorite songs on each are the opening tracks ("The Organ Donor's March" and "Billie Blue," respectively). And it looks like I now have the band's entire body of work, at least for now.
And to finish up this post, I think I'll wish a happy birthday to![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
nova_one!
[1] I have to wonder why some people are still identifying as fans of Palin's. I know that people who liked McCain had to pretend they liked her as well during the election, but now that's over. Maybe they just appreciate her whimsical nature, and I have to say I'm not totally free from that myself. Have you ever had those dreams where you're thrust into a situation you're completely unprepared for, like giving a speech or something, and then you have to try to bullshit your way through it? Palin is like one of those dreams brought to life.
[2] Not to be confused with the one in New Hampshire, this Mount Washington is basically an incline in the road. Not that I have any room to talk, as it's still more of a mountain than Mount Laurel or Mount Holly.
Seriously, I've mentioned before how sports fandom is pretty much totally alien to me, yet I have to imagine that the sports fans would think much the same about my own interests. Then again, as Terry Pratchett pointed out when I saw him at an in-store, you generally don't see science fiction and fantasy fans getting violent over their hobbies. And what about fantasy football? People make fun of the nerds playing Dungeons & Dragons, but really, isn't it more impressive to kill an imaginary dragon than to draft imaginary football players? Of course, there are some Renaissance people who are interested in both sports AND nerdier pursuits. I think Keith Olbermann might be the poster boy for this movement. But then, Sarah Palin thinks he's evil. [1]
Despite my college being near Pittsburgh, I only went into the city a few times. The first was with my mom and brother on my twenty-first birthday. We saw Mount Washington [2] and the tower at the the University, and ate at an old train station that had been converted into a restaurant. And I didn't drink any alcohol, despite being of legal age. Even if I had known anyone who would have taken me to a bar, I had a stubborn tendency to refuse to do anything typical. I think I was twenty-four or so before I ever really had a drink.
And since I'm posting, I might as well say a few words about the albums I've heard for the first time recently:
Tonight: Franz Ferdinand - I read a bad review of this before it came out, but I have to say that critic was too...um, critical, I suppose. I like the album, although I haven't really chosen any favorite songs yet.
Belle and Sebastian, The BBC Sessions - A lot of the songs on here sound pretty much like their studio counterparts, which is good in a way because it means they're successful at reproducing their studio sound live, but also means that it isn't too much different from listening to the album cuts. There are a few songs on there that weren't on any of their albums, though, and I like what they did with "Lazy Line Painter Jane."
Vermillion Lies' Solo CDs - Kim's First the Bees... and Zoe's Shoestrings, sold as a unit at their website. They were actually shipped in wrapping paper with no CD cases. They're good records, if short, but I think my favorite songs on each are the opening tracks ("The Organ Donor's March" and "Billie Blue," respectively). And it looks like I now have the band's entire body of work, at least for now.
And to finish up this post, I think I'll wish a happy birthday to
nova_one![1] I have to wonder why some people are still identifying as fans of Palin's. I know that people who liked McCain had to pretend they liked her as well during the election, but now that's over. Maybe they just appreciate her whimsical nature, and I have to say I'm not totally free from that myself. Have you ever had those dreams where you're thrust into a situation you're completely unprepared for, like giving a speech or something, and then you have to try to bullshit your way through it? Palin is like one of those dreams brought to life.
[2] Not to be confused with the one in New Hampshire, this Mount Washington is basically an incline in the road. Not that I have any room to talk, as it's still more of a mountain than Mount Laurel or Mount Holly.