Books

I'm wanting to read like crazy (thanks library!) and I want more and more! Recommend books please! I may have killed the laptop, leaving us with one computer, but that should give me more reading time!


List your favorites please!

Dancing in the Dark

I only saw this fairly recently and I can't figure it out. What made Springsteen think this dance was cool? Up until this point he'd been putting out some of the best and most accessible stuff of the previous decade, and even this number is a fun little pop gem, but then he made a music video that's goofiness is matched only by how boring it is.

If blame for the former belongs to the Boss, we can pin the latter on the video's director: Brian De Palma. Did they really need to hire the guy who had already made movies like Carrie and Scarface to direct a straight-forward concert video like this one? And can you believe that this is the gig that launched the career of a twenty-year-old Courteney Cox? She blushes twice and then awkwardly does the Bruce dance as the camera pulls away. Let's put this girl on sitcoms!

It's also strange to me that the official Bruce Springsteen Youtube channel thinks that this song came from the nonexistent album Dancing in the Dark instead of the real and famous Born in the U.S.A. Does the official Bruce Springsteen Youtube channel even like Bruce Springsteen?

And yet... I can't stop watching.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Pk8VZgJkpeg
(embedding disabled by request)

"Can't Believe It" Acoustic Covers: A Brief Showcase

I was listening to T-Pain and Lil Wayne's... excuse me... T-Wayne's hit song "Can't Believe It" not long ago and thought it would actually work really well as an acoustic song. I said to myself, "Sure, white folks doing self-conscious acoustic covers of rap songs has been done to death, but I bet no one's thought to do this one yet!" As per usual, Google burst my bubble*.










(beat boxing in this one)

This is but a small sampling. Well, at least I don't need to learn the guitar and develop a better voice now. I wonder if anyone's gotten around to a bluegrass rendition of "Ghost Ride It" yet...

*Another disappointment rendered upon me by Google is that I did not officially coin the term "in-between drink," meaning a beverage that would be more likely to be consumed with a snack or on its own as opposed to with a proper meal (sodas, lemonade, and other juices for example, though these are not hard and fast rules). Apparently a 1935 article in Coca-Cola Nachtrichten (or at least the English translation) deserves the credit on that one.

Little Dizzle Trailer

Yeah, that about sums it up. It also just got into SXSW, so the hits just keep coming. I would highly recommend checking it out if you have an opportunity. And I think I would make that recommendation even if I hadn't worked on it in a few small and humble ways.

Notes on Facebook

1. My 91-year-old grandmother is now my friend on Facebook. A little weird, sure.
2. She is listed as single. A little weird as well, but "widowed" is not currently a marital status option (but certainly will become one in time).
3. Every day in my feed I get the report: "Gladys is now single." So either Facebook has a glitch specific to her, or she's really actively trying to put herself back on the market.

Link Parade

Things I've been enjoying lately, so you all don't get bored we go out of town next week! Although, in all likelihood, we would not have updated next week even if we were going to be here.

Worst Poetry Book Covers of 2008
Some of these are truly awful!

One time I got a crackerjack prize that was a little square of cardboard emblazoned with the words "Fold Up Corners and Flick For Far Out Fun". It was not fun. These people were luckier.

We Heart It is a "visual bookmark" where you can store images you love. My Heart is turning into something I really love looking at. I'm glad I can have these things stored in one place.

Free cosmetics next week! All the details you'll need are in there.

Not a link but this is the outfit I want to wear for Sundance:

Sundance Premiere Outfit by lilyface

Sadly, it appears I own absolutely none of that*. Back to the drawing board!

And finally, this entry as a Wordle. Because I think it's kind of fun.



*Lie. I own the perfume. And I have some Moleskins around. I lie to you guys all the time.

Happy New Year!

Don't let R. Kelly in your kitchen...



Best comment on the Youtube page:

"at leat(sic) Kelly didn't start a war over oil like G.W."

Real talk.