Success, I couldn't love you if I tried

[vovat]

More presents I either forgot to mention or hadn't gotten at the time of my last post include an Amazon gift certificate from my sister, and some grape juice and a stuffed cat that looks like Anderson from Dorothea. Also, bethje's Uncle John paid for us to have dinner at Denny's.

Beth loaned me her copy of Monday Morning Cold, Erin McKeown's 1999 CD of demos and live songs. Two of the songs, "Fast As I Can" (which appears on Cold in two different versions) and "How To Open My Heart In 4 Easy Steps" are also on Distillation, and they were never favorites of mine from that album (really, you'd be hard-pressed to come up with a better example of a record with songs of incredibly varying quality than Distillation), but I think I might be liking "Fast" a little better simply from hearing it so many times. "My Hips" and "Monday Morning Cold" are both in that Ani DiFranco spoken-word poetry/rap vein, although Erin's voice is better than Ani's. "Something Comes" is a pretty cool song. I don't know if I can offer a ruling on the album as a whole (especially since it's more of a collection of tracks than a cohesive whole anyway), but I guess I'd say I like it. I should probably listen to We Will Become Like Birds again. I've only listened to it once, and didn't care for it, but giving an album only one shot is rarely fair.

On a totally unrelated note, a robot thinks human flesh tastes like bacon. Thanks to secretnthewings for the link.


Here's a holiday survey, as previously done by rockinlibrarian and majellen:

1. Egg Nog or Hot Chocolate?
I really don't drink either. Hot apple cider is great, though.

2. Does Santa wrap presents or just set them under the tree?
Wrap them

3. Colored lights on tree/house or white?
Colored. Although I believe the politically correct term is "lights of color." {g}

4. Do you hang mistletoe?
No.

5. When do you put your decorations up?
When I was a kid, it was always in early December. Since then, I don't think it's been particularly regular. And now I'm living in a different house, and I don't know when the people I live with (currently only one person, but Dorothea's sister Patti is apparently coming back to live here prior to Christmas) usually decorate.

6. What is your favorite holiday dish?
Ham, I guess

7. Favorite Holiday memory as a child?
Well, one Christmas Eve that really sticks in my mind for no particular reason is one where I was reading Choose Your Own Adventure books at night, and then went to sleep and had crazy dreams involving school. I wouldn't say that's my favorite by any means, but for some reason it always comes to mind.

8. When and how did you learn the truth about Santa?
You mean that, Thomas Nast's pictures aside, he actually prefers Pepsi? Okay, if you insist on a serious answer, I can't really remember. Sorry.

9. Do you open a gift on Christmas Eve?
Well, when we would go to my grandmother's house, we usually opened all of them after midnight. I don't think we did this last year, though.

10. How do you decorate your Christmas Tree?
With various ornaments. I don't think we've ever had a themed tree or anything.

11. Snow: love or hate it?
Hate it, although I'll admit freshly-fallen snow is pretty when viewed from afar.

12. Can you ice skate?
No. I've never even tried.

13. Do you remember your favorite gift?
Not offhand

14. What's your favorite thing about the holidays?
I don't know. I do like them, but I can't really pinpoint why.

15. What is your favorite holiday dessert?
Well, my dad used to make this iced bread with fruit in it, which I believe was called Schtolen. It was good, but I haven't had it in years.

16. What is your favorite holiday tradition?
Um...exchanging gifts? I can't really think of anything better at the moment.

17. What tops your tree?
Usually a star

18. Which do you prefer, giving or receiving?
Either can be cool if the people involved are enthusiastic about it.

19. What is your favorite Christmas Song?
I can't really pick one favorite. Maybe when I start listening to Christmas music (one radio station in this area has already begun playing it), I'll let you know which songs I particularly like and dislike.

20. Candy Canes! Yuck or Yum?
Yum, but not in huge quantities.

21. What's number one on your Christmas list this year?
Um...money? :P


1. open your i-tunes library
2. put it on shuffle.
3. press play.
4. for every question, type the song that's playing.
5. when you go to a new question, press the next button.
6. don't lie and try to pretend you're cool.
7. don't skip songs


And this is from unclemilo. I think I've done it before, but I might as well do it again, just for fun.

(1) opening credits: Istanbul (Brownsville Remix) - They Might Be Giants
(2) waking up: Revolution 9 - The Beatles
(3) first day at school: Fanfare - Metric
(4) fight song: Write Rhymes And Act Like An Asshole - Tom Green (I'm really not sure why I have this. Oh, okay, it's from 3x1minus1. I should have guessed.)
(5) breaking up: O Valenica! - The Decemberists
(6) happiness: How Much About Last Night Do You Remember? - Eric Kassel (Young Fresh Fellows cover)
(7) life's okay: Swiftly But Gently - YFF
(8) mental breakdown: Ota Benga's Name - Piñatland (I can never remember how to make that ñ thing. In case anyone else is curious, it's alt-164.)
(9) driving: Why I Cry - The Magnetic Fields
(10) flashback: Subbacultcha - Pixies
(11) getting back together: It Won't Be Long (And I'll Be Hating You) - The Meat Purveyors (I love it when I get a song that conveys pretty much the exact opposite of what the question specifies.)
(12) wedding: As We Go Up, We Go Down - Guided By Voices
(13) birth of a child: When We Get To England - Andy Partridge
(14) final battle: New Orleans Is Sinking - The Tragically Hip
(15) death scene: The Navajo Know - Pixies
(16) funeral song: You To Thank - Ben Folds
(17) end credits: Away To Zanarkand (Final Fantasy X) - The Video Game Pianist


I should probably go to Wal-Mart to pick up some things this afternoon. I don't really feel like it, though.

Comments

[l8erngr8er.livejournal.com]

A little late, but I hope you and your woman had decent b-days indeed.

[vovat.livejournal.com]

Thank you.