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the strokes' days are numbered
The new White Stripes single, "Seven Nation Army", is sure to change your life. So download away (but don't bother trying to get the rest of Elephant, which comes out tomorrow; the band decided to be tricksters and released looping 30-second clips of all of the new songs to Kazaa and other file sharing programs).
Also, I was a geek and downloaded their AIM buddy icon. It just looks so good.
03-31-2003 3:42 PM - comments (9)
In a momentary fit of responsible behavior, I started using Quicken today. I added my checking account, credit cards and monthly bills. I was able to see how well I save money and what sort of stuff I spend my money on.
I will never make that mistake again. I am such a spendthrift. (I really hope that means what I think it does. I'm too lazy to consult my dictionary.) I owe tons of money to lots of people. And to top it off, I can't find a job. But it is a beautiful day, and I do know how to parse a sentence and how to use the subjunctive correctly. Thank God for small favors.
Oh yeah, lots of details on the Magical Mystery Tour of Chicago soon.
03-31-2003 2:12 PM - comments (3)
he could have been a contender
Elliott, because I am fully aware that you are snooping around on my computer while I'm away, I'd just like to wish you a happy anniversary. Yes, it was a year ago tonight that you learned your hairband trick, or as we Scary Ghost Delmar Girls like to call it, "The Game."
Elliott, I'm sorry I never hired that Romanian Olympic trainer you read about in the Times. I was worried that becoming a professional cat athlete would have corrupted you. All those body-building drugs and prostitutes, you know? And I also think you would have had to trim down a little, which we both know wouldn't have happened. No regrets, though. Let's just be glad we have each other. And that you can still vomit on your vomit.
For old time's sake:
3-26-02
Last night, Elliott learned a new trick. I am absolutely ecstatic to announce he can now fetch a hairband and bring it back to me. It's funny, because I always make the argument that cats are smarter than dogs, but dogs can do this sort of thing without much training. I just think Elliott was waiting until he trusted me to show off his new ability. It doesn't mean he's stupid that he hasn't been able to do it before. Right?
Also, dogs can't purr. And that's my favorite thing about Elliott.
03-25-2003 9:21 PM - comments (1)
I don't have many nicknames (does my dad calling me "Rach" count?), but the one Chase has bestowed upon me makes me giggle like a schoolgirl.
Yes, I am his little rainbow. Wanna make something of it?
03-22-2003 12:40 AM - comments (2)
Ladies and gentlemen, I give to you Jesus of Liberty.
03-20-2003 12:55 PM - comments (1)
I'm really excited by the band Minus the Bear. They're hard to describe, but I'll try an equation (because they're "math rock"):
(Pedro the Lion - narcolepsy) + (Cursive/crying into sweaters) + Built to Spill
= 274...or ONE KICK-ASS BAND!
Speaking of kicking ass, my mom is so great. She sent me a care package "just because." Inside were: Stila lipstick and blush (in a very cool paint can-like container that had to be opened with a tool); Clinique eyeshadow and mascara; a pretty burgundy and black long sleeve shirt; Strawberry Shortcake pajama pants (I was into all things Shortcake when I was a kid. I even had wallpaper and sheets. Until I was 12); and the latest issue of Jane (to counter my New Yorker and Mother Jones consumption, of course).
Oh yeah, and we're going to Chicago for the latter half of Spring Break.
03-19-2003 11:55 PM - comments (3)
Forgive me for my lack of posting. I've been pretty sick. With my luck, it's probably that mystery flu that's been going around killing people.
Some things I've learned in the past week:
-St. Patrick's Day is a good excuse to go out on the roof with your friends, drink beer (or Kentucky Deluxe whiskey, for the refined among us) and shine a powerful flashlight on passersby.
-Passersby categorically do not like having a powerful flashlight shined on them, even if you're doing them a favor by making them "a big star."
-These ingrates will yell obscenities out of their cars and threaten to have their girlfriends beat you up.
-Your cat knows precisely the time your drunken, coughing self finally settles into heavenly sleep. It is at that time that he will begin to scratch on your door to leave. When he realizes scratching is not annoying enough, he will begin to howl. Loudly. And even though it's a perfectly legitimate threat, he does not understand what you mean by "If you keep this up, I'm putting you to sleep first thing tomorrow morning. I'd just like to see you scratch and howl then, mister."
-No matter how you try to disguise it, your wretching coughs distract and annoy just about everyone in a 30-foot radius. Including yourself. But remember: suicide is not an option.
-For that reason, and because any little thing (such as a cell phone ringing, a person raising his hand or someone looking at you) will set off the manic coughing, you should skip class upwards of 80 percent of the time.
*You should own one. Both fat and lil' at the same time? Marvelous.
03-18-2003 12:32 PM - comments (1)
On Wolf Blitzer today:
Actor Ron Silver vs. talk-show host Bill Maher. An incredible debate on the use of force in Iraq--two intelligent liberals on opposite sides of the fence. I have a lot of respect for Silver; everyone else in Hollywood is following party lines on this one. This is a Democrat who dislikes Bush but refuses to accept the simplest explanations for and against war and demands something more substantial. Were we all so discerning...
Silver also quoted Robert Frost: A liberal is a man too broadminded to take his own side in a quarrel.
Brilliant! Especially considering Frost said it. I totally hate that guy.
03-13-2003 5:06 PM - comments (2)
CNN.com is unable to disappoint me. The following is a real headline from a real story running today:
Monkeys flee research center, keepers trying to lure them with bananas
And "When they get hungry enough, they'll come back" is a real quote in said story.
P.S. Thank God Elizabeth Smart was found.
03-13-2003 12:44 AM - comments (3)
I finished my Talk of the Town article for Vox early today, so rescheduling work and skipping Internet Law were both unnecessary (but much-appreciated). I like the way the Vox story turned out, though it does need some fine-tuning. All I'll say about it now is that it's quite difficult poking a little fun at someone once you've started to like him. I don't understand how journalists can play both the objective reporter and the interested friend, which is probably why I'm not going to be a journalist much longer.
My week with michael is over, so it's back to reality for the time being. I keep letting myself forget I'm about to graduate and will need a job in two months. I'm definitely sabotaging the job search, though it's probably not conscious. There's a little voice in the back of my head that tells me a nice, average-paying job with my name on it will reveal itself to me soon. No resumes, no clips, no interviews, no stress. It's dangerous having an active imagination sometimes.
03-10-2003 9:20 PM - comments (0)
I've been particularly open to new music recently. That in itself shouldn't be odd, but I usually become overwhelmed by the sheer amount of new stuff being put out. I feel...bombarded. My normal reaction is to sullenly retreat to my tried-and-true (but dated) CD collection. Not now. I relish each new review in Pitchfork. I devour issues of CMJ and listen faithfully to each track on its monthly CD. Maybe it's the hint of warm weather, maybe I'm feeling energetic, maybe my glory days (mid-'90s alternarock) are coming to an end, who knows?
So my picks for the day are Johnny Marr + The Healers and 50 Cent (for completely different reasons and preferences, of course).
Also, I had no idea my brother was such a good writer. It will be one of my goals this year to get him published somewhere. It's too bad he's only recently discovered Radiohead. I guess that's what happens when you're stuck in 1965 and wanna have, like, 10,000 of Bob Dylan's babies.
03-07-2003 11:29 AM - comments (1)
It's nice to know that amid headlines such as:
-11 Palestinians killed in Israeli incursion in Gaza
-Gehman: Columbia investigation 'a real puzzle'
-GOP fails to end filibuster on Estrada
-Oil company worried after radioactive theft
-Algeria plane crash kills 102
Crunch! Giant Chee-to spurs online frenzy was good enough to be considered one of CNN.com's top stories today.
03-06-2003 12:30 PM - comments (3)
I want to go to Coachella so badly.
03-05-2003 2:52 PM - comments (0)
03-05-2003 11:49 AM - comments (4)
i can't find my journal, okay?
Ah, crazy weekend/beginning of week. Not-so-quick rundown:
1. Friday. Great time catching up with Kaity, busing tables at her work and then tapas and martinis at Dali's. Greek mafia at Southside Liquors, and beer for those already home.
2. Saturday. Near-constant playing of Sims; doing well on promise not to murder any of my neighbors by building them into rooms and "forgetting" to let them out. Rachel and michael are well on their way to a lucrative life of crime. Really want new Cursive album. Got ready for Bouchelle boys' party/Shattered. Made sexy birthday CD for Dan (though it was really made more for Austin's taste).
Hung out with Christie (and Sally, for a bit) draped over their new mahogany-esque bartop. Dan was surprised when he walked in an hour after he was supposed to; well-timed "You Say it's Your Birthday" plays in background. Too many shots; too little Michael Jackson. Met guy named Thor. John made me a "Tina Yothers" specialty drink; that's when I stopped. MSA president drove us home on the drunk bus, so no Shattered reporting for me. Ended up gossipping with Christie and Elliott in bathroom.
3. Sunday. Much-deserved hangover, Country Kitchen and missing michael. Beautiful weather, but of course it couldn't stay. Read Harry Potter (I made fun of the series for a good long time while Christie argued, but the fourth book is pretty good). Michael showed up just in time for dinner.
4. Monday. Meeting with career adviser person; not sure it was effective (not her fault, though). Class was boring. Came home to make chicken curry; chicken still frozen. We ended up going to the mall, though I was good and only bought one thing (a Paddington Bear-type black jacket from the Gap that had finally gone on sale). Dragged michael to dozens of stores; decided I am going to go the way of Kaity and never read another fashion magazine or watch MTV.
5. Tuesday. My Day of a Hundred Classes day. Got phone number for that weird Channel 16 guy who interviews high school students, so I think I'll do that as my Talk of the Town piece for Vox (since Shattered fell through). Community Newspaper is the bane of my existence. The professor, though well-meaning, told us four-color was Cyan (yellow), Blue, Magenta (red) and Black. Not that any of you care, but it's Cyan (blue), Magenta (red), Yellow and Black. Vaguely disturbing. Two Catholic priests, both missionary-looking, sat in for some weird reason, and a guy next to me kept using foul language. I could have sworn I saw one of the priests closing his eyes and clasping his hands in prayer for the kid.
Got into pointless argument (debate?) with kids in my writing class about "back to the jungle" mentality during war. I really wish I could learn to be quiet during conversations like that; I hate making people think I'm too vehement. I guess I'm wishing for a little shyness.
My boss wants me to start working three days a week, and he requested I start coming in Mondays and Wednesdays (with the occasional Saturday). Then he taught me how to start selling mortgages. He said he could tell I was "aggressive." Finally, it's used in a positive context! (Though michael reminds me my pro-activeness is how I got him). Somewhat celebratory dinner at Olive Garden. Screwed-up freezing rain. New addiction to Crank Yankers. Decided with sadness that David Letterman is no longer funny or "with it." (Really, how many "taxi driver with turban" jokes can we hear before we decide they're neither humorous nor nice?)