Quodlibets

Music Meme (from John Green's weblog)

John Green, for those of you who don't know, is an author.  He wrote a wonderful book called Looking for Alaska, which I highly recommend, if you're looking for a good, quick YA read.  (Quick because you won't want to put it down!)

1. Favorite Beatles song: Damn, this meme starts out tough.  Early Beatles, hands down, is "She Loves You".  But....asking me to pick a late Beatles song, or even a mid-one is awful.  I historically have liked George's later songs:  "Something" "While My Guitar Gently Weeps" etc.  I also have loved, at various points, most of the "B" side of Abbey Road.  Also, and I guess these might be mid (?), I love "Norweigian Wood" and "A Day in the Life".  But honestly, on any given day, a different Beatles song might be my favorite.

2. Favorite Rolling Stones song: I'm against the Stones.  I'm a Beatles fan, period.  However, I will confess to a begrudging admiration for "Paint It Black".

3. Favorite Doors song: I'm not a huge Doors fan, though I went through a period where I listened to their greatest hits CD alot.  So maybe "Love Her Madly" or "Touch Me".

4. Favorite Bob Dylan song: I am deficient, because I don't like any Bob Dylan song if it is performed by Dylan.  If the song isn't performed by Dylan, I like them all, pretty much.  I think there is a little something missing in my DNA or something, because I simply DO NOT understand Dylan.  Everyone keeps raving about the new album, and every single little bit of it I've heard sounds positively AWFUL to me.

5. Favorite Led Zeppelin song:  Another tough one.  I listen to Led Zeppelin A LOT, and have since high school, so there's probably a different song all the time.  Maybe the most consistent favorite would be "Babe I'm Gonna Leave You."

6. Favorite TV Theme Song: Well, for sheer stuck-in-my-head-ness, it's gotta be the song from The Office.  Oooh, or the song from Weeds, "Little Boxes", which has been performed differently each show this year.  S and I look forward to that almost as much as we look forward to the show.

7. Favorite Prince Song: I also don't understand Prince.  I probably never will.  I forfeit.

8. Favorite Madonna Song: Gosh, this is hard too.  Early Madonna, or late Madonna?  I've always liked "Vogue" and I also really like a few cuts from Music and Ray of Light:  "Ray of Light", "Nothing Really Matters" and "Runaway Lover", for instance.

9. Favorite Michael Jackson song: "Billie Jean".  No contest.

10. Favorite Queen Song: Hmmm, doesn't everyone harbor some love for "Bohemian Rhapsody"?  It's mostly the only song we all know by Queen.

11. Favorite 'N Sync Song: I don't know if I can really be said to have a favorite, since I've never been a boy band lover.  I guess I like dancing to "Bye Bye Bye".

12. Favorite Al Green Song: I don't know that I know any, to be honest.

13. Favorite Bruce Springsteen song: In addition to Dylan and Prince, I do not get Springsteen either.  Oh, I know the mythology and everything, and I understand why he is important blah blah blah, but I do not like his music, and would never ever choose to listen to it.

14. Favorite Cure song: I'm lame.  "Friday I'm in Love".  There are only three Cure songs on my iPod, and that is one of them.

15. Favorite song that most of your friends haven't heard:  That's a hard one.  Maybe "Wedding Day" by Rosie Thomas.  I suppose it mostly depends on which friend, as I seem to share components of taste with every one of my friends. 

16. Favorite Beastie Boys song: "Sabotage" but only because it's the only song I can stand to leave on for more than say, 30 seconds.

17. Favorite Clash song: Erm, can I pass on this one?

18. Favorite Beach Boys song: "Wouldn't It Be Nice?", far and away.  It's such a wonderful song.

19. Favorite Cyndi Lauper song: No one has a favorite Cyndi Lauper song.  I mean, do they?

20. Favorite song from a movie: Now come on, so many good songs have been in movies.  Have you ever listened to the soundtrack to "Stealing Beauty" or "Niagara, Niagara"?

21. Favorite Jeff Buckley song: I only like three Jeff Buckley songs, so they're all my favorites:  "Hallelujah", "Lover You Should Have Come Over" and "Last Goodbye".

22. Favorite Johnny Cash song: Hmmm, can't say.

23. Favorite song from an 80's one hit wonder:  Whoa.  This one is hard, because I can't exactly think of one off the top of my head.  There's probably five million, and I can't think of one.

24. Favorite Pink Floyd song: "Wish You Were Here" or maybe "Shine on You Crazy Diamond."

25. Last song you heard: In a strange twist of coincidence, "Wouldn't It Be Nice?" just came on to my iPod, which is on the Shuffle Songs setting.

The Kateromo Two-fer Meme

So my sister just did these two memes, but instead of repeating questions, I just elminated the doubles and turned it into a big ol' meme.  My two year anniversary of blogging is Sept. 9.  So this is just an early celebration of that.

Two Names You Go By
1. Mano
2.

Two Things You Are Wearing Right Now:
1. A lacy yellow bra
2. a light yellow cotton tank

Two Things You Want in a Relationship:
1. respect
2. friendship

Two Things You Want Really Badly:
1. To lose ten pounds
2. A nice computer bag.

Two pets you had/have:
1. Maggie, a doxie-poo
2. Allie, a crabby tabby, who is still kicking it at 17(?) with my mom

Two Favorite Sports:
1. Football
2. Curling

Two people who will fill this out:
1. No one, since Kate did it first

Two things you did last night:
1. showered
2. exchanged shocked statements with S about last night's Weeds.

Two Favorite Places to eat:
(now how can I pick just two?)
1. the now defunct 302 West
2. Frontera Grill

Two People that live in your house:
1. Me
2. S

Two things you like about yourself:
1. confidence
2. intelligence

Two things you ate today:
1. a big ol' plate of nachos at Tierra Grill
2. pickles, at dinner

Two people you Last Talked To:
1. am talking to Kate right now
2. well, I talk to S all the time; if not him, my dad

Two Things You're doing tomorrow:
1. working
2. watching Project Runway w/Kate

Two things that make you laugh:
1. Friends.  That show ALWAYS makes me laugh.
2. My. Name. Is. Errrrl.  (said with Indian accent)

Two Favorite Holidays:
1. Christmas
2. Any day that is a day off work.

Two last films you've seen:
1. Saved!
2. Transamerica

Two Parts of your Heritage
1. Italian
2. German

Two Things that Scare you
1. Airplane travel.  Has since before, you know, 9/11.  I've NEVER been a good flyer.
2. There is a long list of things that terrify me:  fire, tornadoes, earthquakes, being mugged, being raped, being killed, car crashes, S dying, etc etc.

Two Everyday Essentials
1. Burt's Bees chapstick
2. a good book

Two of your Favorite Bands or Musical Artists
1. Sufjan Stevens
2. something, something with people

Two Truths
1. The only thing that doesn't change is that everything changes
2. shit, I don't know.  The world is too grey for this kind of thing.

Two Things you Hate
1. I really like my sister's answer:  pop culture snobbery.
2. Being very hot or very cold.

Two Physical Features that Appeal to You
1. Eyes
2. Erm.  Eyes?

Two of Your Favorite Hobbies
1. Reading
2. Eating

Two Places you Want to Go On Vacation:
1. ITALY NOW.
2. ITALY, DAMMIT

Two Things you Want to Do Before you Die
1. There are too many fucking things to do before I die.  This is a depressing question.
2.

Two Ways that you are Stereotypically a Chick/Guy
1. Spiders are GROSS
2. I love love love purses and shoes

Two Things You Normally Wouldn't Admit
1. I spend hours feeling bumps and blemishes on my body, convinced they're cancer
2. The pill sucks.  It's left me with no sex drive.  (You know, maybe all those people against contraception should latch onto the fact that the pill totally kills your sex drive, and promote the pill as a way to prevent sex.  Really.  It's like this giant catch-22:  take the pill to have safe sex, but when you're on it you want nothing to do with sex.)

Frog Meme

1. How tall are you barefoot? On a good day, when I stand up straight, 5' nothing.
2. Have you ever been cheated on? Yes.
3. Do you own a gun? No thank you.
4. What do you think of hot dogs? I like turkey dogs a lot, and I do think that nothing beats a hot dog at a ballpark.  Wrigley, to be exact.
5. What's your favorite Christmas song? "God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen" which is sort of ironic considering my godless state.
6. What do you prefer to drink in the morning? Water.
7. Do you do push-ups? Ha.  No.  Never have, either.
8. Have you ever done ecstasy? No, but I know people who have and felt like it was the most fucked-up thing they ever did.
9. Do you like Disney World? Oh my god yes, which is ironic because I tend towards anti-corporate.
10. Do you like the rain? Yes, I love it.  Especially on a day that I don't have to go to work, when I can sit all curled up on the couch, warm and reading.  Okay, so I like fall/winter rain.
11. Do you own a knife? I brought a Swiss-Army doohickie to Italy, to cut cheese and bread and tomatoes and stuff, and that was handy.  But I can't say where it is now.
12. What do you smell like? Peaches, as always.
13. Do you have A.D.D.? No.
14. Full initials? Well, if my initials are ever monogrammed, it's a body part.
15. Name 3 thoughts at this exact moment. I'm hungry.  This show is awful.  I wonder if I should eat popcorn.
16. Name the last 3 things you have bought today. Tomatoes, baby Bellas (mushrooms from a farm in WI that I've been meaning to go to for ages) and two small ciabatta rolls at the Green market.  Only purchases of the day so far, and well worth every penny I spent.
17. Name five drinks you regularly drink. Yeah, there's only two things I ever drink.  Water and Caffeine-free diet coke.
18. What time did you wake up today? 7:36 when I crawled out of bed, 20 minutes after my alarm went off.
19. Can you spell? Yes, must have been all those elementary school spelling tests.
20. Current worries? I'm not sure I can wear my contacts tomorrow.  My allergies are way worse.  I hope that the drive isn't odious tomorrow.
21. Current hate?  Erm.  I hate lots of stuff, but I can't think of anything right now.
22. Favorite place to be? Well, I like bed.  But I like the shower too.  And Italy.
23. Least favorite place to be? Southern. California.
24. Where do you want to go? ROME.
25. Do you own slippers? No.  I hate any sort of foot encumbrances, even in the winter.
26. Where do you think you will be in 10 years?  Ha.  As if I can see that far ahead.
27. Do you burn or tan? I don't.  At all.  I'm the amazing colorless girl.
28. Yellow or blue? Yellow, hands down.
29. Would you give up your current life to be a pirate? Um, no way.  I don't like grog and I'm not so enamored of the sea.
30. Last time your cell rang? Last night, my cousin Sketch called for S and my new address.
31. What songs do you sing in the shower? Usually whatever song is in my head.  Although, I don't sing very often in the shower.  I mostly now sing in the car or at my desk.
32. What did you fear was going to get you at night as a child? Did I fear something?  It was probably throwing-up.  I was afraid of throwing up.
33. How much cash do you have on you? I think six dollars.  Maybe seven.  I got money out of the ATM this morning for the Green Market (I always forget that only cash works at the market.), and whatever is in my wallet is what is left.
34. Last thing that made you laugh? Out loud.  Hmmm, can't remember.  It was probably S.  I don't know if I laughed when he called on his lunch, though I know I made some sort of happy/surprised sound, because he had a good story for me.
35. Best bed sheets you had as a child? Oh, I loved the Snoopy/Peanuts gang rainbow sky ones.  The gang was in the sky, with rainbows, hanging out.  I think my mom might still have them?
36. Worst injury you've ever had? Not sure.  Maybe my head wound as a child?  (I took a spill into the corner of the Little People house.)
37. Where have you been out of US? England, France, Germany, Spain, Switzerland, Italy.
38. Who is your loudest friend? Yeah, no.
39. Who is your most silent friend? Most silent?  Really?
40. Does someone have a crush on you? If it's not S, I don't want to know.
41. Do you wish on stars? Mostly on the time 11:11, actually.
42. What song did you last hear? Oh god, I hate typing this, but a live version of "Off the Record" that S was forcing on me last night. 
43. What song do you want played at your funeral? Never thought about it.  I hope that my family or S would choose something appropriate, something that I loved.  NO PEARL JAM, S!
44. What were you doing at 12:00 last night? Sleeping.
45. First thought upon waking up this morning? Crap, I don't have any cash for the green market.

Book Meme (found on John Green's blog)

1. One book that changed your life:
I don't know.  I feel like books change my life every day, even the trivial ones.  Maybe recently, it would be Michael Pollan's The Ominvore's Dilemma, which both made me want to eat better, and to eat locally.  I can't say I'm making those changes every day, but I'm trying.

2. One book you have read more than once: There are so many!  But I think the last book I re-read was Chuck Klosterman's Sex, Drugs and Cocoa Puffs, which is one of my very favorite books, by one of my very favorite writers.

3. One book you would want on a desert island: No.  That's like asking a....no.  I can't do it.  I can't pick just one.  I'm sorry.

4. One book that made you laugh: All of Bill Bryson's travel books make me hysterical.  That one scene where he describes the corn-flake booger?  Yeah, that made me laugh like a maniac, probably late at night, in high school, reading in bed.

5. One book that made you cry:  Oh jesus, the last HP book.  I'm trying not to give away the ending here, but when that one VERY IMPORTANT GUY died, well, shit.  I was bawling like a loony on an airplane.  I think S was seriously alarmed.

6. One book you wish had been written: I'm not sure.  Maybe a romance novel with a very smart bookish girl who is actually overweight as the protagonist.  Oh wait.  I think that's like asking for a romance book about yourself.  Bad form, right?

7. One book you wish had never been written: Hmmm.  Bridges of Madison County?  Seriously, there are tons of books out there that I don't like, but other people do, and anything that gets people to read....well, I'm a fan of the reading, and I want other people to be too.

8. One book you are currently reading: I am reading Insanely Great, by Steven Levy.  It's about Apple computers and Macs and stuff.  It's like a biography of a computer.  I'm a nerd, so sue me.

9. One book you have been meaning to read: Um, there's a list of 79 of them.  The Time 100.  There's also a bookshelf of them at my house.  Around 200 of those.  So yeah.  I've been meaning to read a lot.

10. Tag five people: I hate this tagging shit, but if my sister is bored, maybe she'll do it.

This Meme will Bore you to Death

Hence, do not feel as if you must read it all.  I think I'm mostly doing it for my own edification.  And from far away, it looks like I'm actually doing work, which is a bonus.

After the jump.

Friday Random Ten (Reunion Edition)

The reunion is tomorrow, people!  Quaking with fear.

1. Not the Same (Live) -- Ben Folds
2. Misread -- Kings of Convenience
3. Layla -- Derek and the Dominos
4. Failure (Remix) -- Kings of Convenience
5. What You Are -- Dave Matthews Band
6. Spinning Wheel -- Blood, Sweat and Tears
7. Crossroads -- Cream
8. Everlong -- Foo Fighters
9. Can't Run But -- Paul Simon
10. New Hymn (Live) -- James Taylor

I'm not bringing my computer at all this weekend, so no blogging. Let's hope the reunion is better than I expect it to be, because otherwise I'll be having a miserable time in what I consider to be the armpit of America.  Woo-hoo.

I'm not a particularly guilty hedonist

Four Guilty Pleasures in Books (more magazines than books--and I don't consider chick lit or romance guilty pleasures, because I don't feel guilty about reading them)
1. Books about Sports, especially golf
2. Food porn, including Everyday Food, Taste of Home, Family Circle, etc.  Any mag. with recipes will do
3. books about racehorses--any and all
4. Blender and Spin magazines

Four Guilty Pleasures in Movies
1. Blue Crush
2. Bring It On!
3. Sugar and Spice
4. Drop Dead Gorgeous

Four Guilty Pleasures in Food
1. Five-Star Chocolate Bars
2. Whole Foods Chocolate Chip Cookies
3. Cheetos, any and all
4. Mexican food from a small place near where I work, called the Tierra Grill

Four Guilty Pleasures in Music
1. Kelly Clarkson
2. Madonna
3. Dixie Chicks
4. Justin Timberlake

Four Guilty Pleasures in TV
1. Big Love
2. Little People, Big World
3. ANTM and Project Runway
4. The Soup

Four Guilty Pleasures in Booze
1. Ha
2. Ha
3. No, really.
4. Ha

That said, I don't particularly feel like any of these things are "guilty" pleasures, save for maybe the movies, which are 100% guilty pleasures.  The titles alone should bear me up.  Okay, and maybe the Kelly Clarkson and Justin Timberlake things.  But otherwise, no.

Friday Random Ten (Cleveland Rocks!!! Version)

1. Away -- Kathleen Edwards
2. Rain City -- Turin Brakes
3. Where It's At -- Beck
4. Does He Love You -- Rilo Kiley
5. Humpty Dumpty -- Aimee Mann
6. Heavy Things -- Phish
7. 'Round Here (Live) -- Counting Crows
8. Gone for Good -- The Shins
9. Baby -- Nil Lara
10. A Foggy Day -- Ella Fitzgerald

Okay, maybe Cleveland rocks, but my random ten sure doesn't.  We are, however, going to Cleveland this weekend, to see PJ.  (And MMJ is opening for them, and I hate MMJ.  Hence, I'm bringing a book, and will read during their set in the concourse.  Biggest nerd ever at a PJ concert?  Maybe, maybe not.  In Grand Rapids on the Vote For Change tour, the guy sitting next to me was reading something philosophical and heavy; he did, however, turn into a raving lunatic when the concert started, and endangered me with his flying elbows, as he jumped up and down maniacally.  Terrible experience.  But he possibly was a bigger nerd.  Or, he was insane.  One of the two.)

Anyway, we're fitting a trip to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in, because this may be the first and last time I'm ever in Cleveland, and I may as well see the sights.  Or, sight.  Whatever.  Also, you know a city isn't big on the food when you check various top ten lists for restaurants in the city and things like Olive Garden and IHOP show up on those lists.  If the Olive Garden is one of the top ten Italian restaurants in your CITY, then I'm not all that interested in being there.  Since my big thing in new places is eating, Cleveland is a blight on my vacation life.  Is that bad?  Oh well.

See you Monday!  (Maybe, depending on the wi-fi situation is at our hotel.  Which, I might point out, we got a special rate on [supposedly] through the Ten Club.  One benefit of S being a PJ freak.)

After a Hiatus....Friday Random Ten

1. Into the Mystic -- Van Morrison
2. She Says -- Ani DiFranco
3. I Am Superman -- R.E.M.
4. Swandive (Live) -- Ani DiFranco
5. Play -- Flunk
6. At Last -- Glenn Miller
7. Begin -- Toad the Wet Sprocket
8. Rose Rouge -- St. Germain
9. Disappointment -- Morrissey
10. Mrs. Potter's Lullaby -- Counting Crows

I have loads of things to say, but for now, I'll leave it at this:  boy, I wish I didn't have to work today.

Friday Random Ten (The I'm-so-fed-up-with-everything Edition)

1. Who Will Save Your Soul -- Jewel
2. Every Ghetto, Every City -- Lauryn Hill
3. The Ghost Song -- The Doors
4. Liar -- Cranberries
5. Swing -- Ani DiFranco
6. Santeria -- Sublime
7. Pretty Friend -- Frente!
8. Noah's Dove (Live) -- 10,000 Maniacs
9. Freedom -- Blues Traveler
10. Murray -- Pete Yorn

I could henceforth bitch about all the things I am fed up with, but I won't.  It would just be drivel directed at various things that I seemingly cannot fix/control/do, and I'm sick of myself just writing that.  It would be more unpleasant for you, I assure you.