Friday Five: 11/28

In which I blather about five songs randomly selected from my iPod playlist as I listen to them.

"My Generation" - The Who
Those baby boomers with their shaggy hair and their rock-and-roll music. I just don't get them sometimes.

"Nothing Ever Happens" - Del Amitri
Wonderfully downbeat song about the unending malaise of everyday life.

"Fame" ('90 Remix) - David Bowie
Following the proud tradition of songs that remixed for the greatest hits album for no good reason.

"Yesterday" - The Beatles
So simple, yet incredibly beautiful. A flawless song, really.

"Underneath It All" - No Doubt
Not an outstanding song, but I do like the laid-back groove. It was interesting how the went back to their ska roots and fully embraced the reggeton sound (note to serious music nerds: I don't care how inaccurate my descriptions are to you).

Meanwhile, Back at the Ranch...

It was a pharmacy, by the way. In case you are a lonely DEA agent and have been reading this hoping for a hot tip.

So anyhow, since I last committed electron to screen (lucidly, at least), I have had to have a tooth extracted, an unknown virus involving just a few too many bodily fluids rampaged through 80% my family (I was not the lucky 20%), and there was a large-ish meal involving a couple of birds, some pie and grumpy in-laws.

On the gaming front, we had a character creation session for the new modern weirdness campaign I've been working on, but only Matt and Mike could make it. With my recent misadventures, that's as far as we've gotten with it, though. We had a quick session of Battle of the Bands after that, but I can't even remember who won it now. We also played '80s Edition Trivial Pursuit on Thanksgiving, which underscored yet again why I am uncomfortable playing any sort of trivia game with family (long story short, I tend to be ludicrously good at games like that).

Tonight... poker?

Blogging Under the Influence

So it turns out there's this place in my neighborhood where you can get Vicodan pretty cheap. Or at least the generic equivalent. Hydro-something. You have to know a guy, though. In my case, the guy was an oral surgeon who just got through yanking a tooth out of my head.

Apropos to nothing, I found these online a while ago. I have no idea where they are from, or why, but I though they were funny.

In conclusion, why am I so dizzy?

Friday Five: 11/14

In which I blather about five songs randomly selected from my iPod playlist as I listen to them.

"Salome" (Zooromancer Remix) - U2
If the Passion of St. John the Baptist had taken place in a modern strip club, I think it might have sounded something like this. Another track from the Best of 1990-2000 B-sides album.

"One Love/People Get Ready" - Bob Marley & the Wailers
Not one of my favorite Marley songs. Not to say it is bad, but it is pretty generic as his songs go.

"Goody Two Shoes" - Adam Ant
Another staple from one of my best of the '80s CDs. My wife actually likes this one quite a bit better than I do.

"Elevation" - U2
In my advancing age, I don't tend to crank the volume as high as I once did. This one is an exception. The louder it is, the better it sounds.

"I Can't Go For That" - Hall & Oates
Hall and Oates are extremely easy to make fun of, and god knows they've had their share of mediocre songs. This one, though, is great. Great groove, great vocals, much cooler than it has any right being.

Not Spook-tacular

I've still been on a reading binge, although I'm not reviewing as fast as I've been reading. One of the latest books I've finished is William Gibson's Spook Country. It took me two tries to get through the book; the first time I stalled out about a third of the way in. It's not that the book was bad, it's just that... I've read it before. From the same author, even.

There are some new elements introduced (GPS!, Free running! Volapuk!), but the underlying structure is still there - enigmatic figure with ubiquitous wealth hires artistic type to find the source of some ephemerally obscure phenomenon. Same plot structure as Pattern Recognition (same wealthy eccentric, even), and it even hearkens back to one plot line in Count Zero. The major difference between Spook Country and Pattern Recognition is that the former goes back to the interwoven three-character POVs that Gibson used more in the Sprawl trilogy.

I think if I had read Spook Country before I had read Pattern Recognition, I probably would have liked it more. As it stands though, it is an adequate book but not an outstanding one.

Trains, In Vain

Another weekend, another session where someone couldn't make it.

We started off this time with another game of Ticket to Ride. Corry played with us again, and he ended up winning, even when Jay and I started trying to block his routes. Just like last time, after completing the two tickets I started with (Atlanta-San Francisco and New York-Seattle), I drew more that I wasn't able to complete. It was closer this time, though. I needed a 6-train white route to finish Santa Fe-Calgary, and had 3 whites and 2 wild cards, with another wild card available to draw when Jay played enough of his remaining trains to trigger the endgame (everyone gets one more round). Completing that ticket would have given me the win, but instead I was stuck in last.

After that, we played Arkham Horror, which Mike brought over. This is the second time we've attempted to play this game. Note the word attempted. There is a very steep learning curve, and it is not really clear to me how to even go about winning this game. I suppose with a thorough read-through of the rules and more experience it would go smoother, but the bottom line is that it just isn't enough fun for me to want to put in that sort of time. At about hour 3, with no end in sight, I finally had to call it quits or risk falling asleep at the table.

This weekend... everyone, maybe? Stay tuned to see how it falls apart.

Friday Five: 11/7

In which I blather about five songs randomly selected from my iPod playlist as I listen to them.

"Summer Rain" - U2
"When you stop seeing beauty, you start getting old/ The lines on your face are a map to your soul/ When you stop taking chances, you stay where you sit/ You won't live any longer, but it'll feel like it." Another b-side from Best of 1990-2000. This one took a little while to grow on me, but I really dig it.

"The Way I Am" - Ingrid Michaelson
A sweet little song (very little - just over 2 minutes) that came and went from the radio earlier this summer. Very catchy, and it stays with you for a while after you've heard it.

"Off the Hook" - Barenaked Ladies
"He was your imaginary friend/ You were partners 'till the end/ Then something bends/ And then it breaks/ Your worst mistake accepting/ Enemies on bended knees/ A litany of tragedies/ You're vexed, it seems you're hexed/ And after sex, he expects/ You'll let him off the hook." A very clever song lyrically with some great drums.

"The Sounds of Silence" - Simon & Garfunkel
I am hard pressed to think of better music to be depressed to than Simon & Garfunkel.

"Brian Wilson" - Barenaked Ladies
Oh wait - here's one. I first started listening to BNL about 15 years ago - back when Gordon was their only album. One of the people in the church group I was involved with at the time introduced us all to "If I Had $1,000,000" (his brother who lived in Canada had introduced him) and we all loved it. When I listened to the rest of the album, though, this was one of the 2 songs that convinced me BNL were so much more than just a novelty act. Having just recently dealt with a pretty severe episode of depression at the time, this song really struck a chord as a very informed but understated description of how crippling it could be.

Driving Around

I was running some errands over lunch, window down (not every November you can do that around here), "City of Blinding Lights" cranked (because why wouldn't I want to listen to that today?), and I noticed something. Most of the McCain signs are already down. A few windblown stragglers here and there, but not nearly as many as there were yesterday.

Counterpoint, I think there may be even more Obama signs. Tiny blue and white flags claiming a previously uncharted land in the name of Hope.

"Oh, you look so beautiful tonight..."

Yes We Did

For a while there yesterday afternoon, I was afraid to let myself think that it could or would happen. Silly, I know. But if the unthinkable did happen, I know that I would have been crushed. Way worse than '04. But if I didn't let myself think it was possible -- well, I don't know that it would have been any easier, but at least I would have had a head start on it.

The first moment I stated to breathe easier was when Pennsylvania was called right after their polls closed. Then Ohio, and the only question became how big will the margin be? Then, in quick succession, Virginia and Florida and the left-coast states of California, Oregon and Washington. And I wasn't happy (the happiness will come later, when it all sinks in, I think) so much as relieved. It had actually happened. No last-minute shenanigans or Diebold-based irregularities.

Yes, we did. We actually did.

I wish the John McCain who gave the concession speech was the same one who actually campaigned for president. Perhaps it was only because he knew his legacy was at stake, but it was heartening to see him shush the boos in his own crowd and offer an olive branch instead of issuing obstructionist threats. Time will tell how that plays out, but it was the absolutely right gesture to make at that moment.

And then Obama's address, which seemed more inaugural than celebratory. They were the remarks of a man who knew he must hit the ground not just running, but sprinting and with a heavy load. No time to grieve, no time to even enjoy the moment. Instead, a call to face the challenges that lay ahead of us as one.

But amidst the celebrations (and somehow, I am disappointed someone, somewhere hasn't appropriated the victory scenes from Return of the Jedi for last night yet), there was a comment a poster over at Daily Kos made. I'm paraphrasing here, but he compared it to the end of the an action or war movie, when the last fight has been won, and the hero looks around to find his sidekick lying face-down in the dirt, dead. That poster was referring to the Minnesota Senate race, I believe, but that sentiment is equally true in too many places.

A number of undeserving politicians on both sides of the aisle managed to retain their seats last night through the inertia of incumbency. I am sad to say that fact is true in my Congressional district. Apparently in some places - I'm looking at you Alaska - the combination of "I've heard of him" and "He's on my team" will even lead you to vote for a convicted felon. In some places, a number of truly vile ballot initiatives passed. Not just ones that would deny certain groups rights that everyone else enjoys, but ones that actively strip away rights.

It was a good night; a great night even. But it wasn't perfect. But as out next president (shivers now, just writing that) once said, none of us are perfect, but together we can work to become more perfect. Equality, opportunity, fairness, respect for the Constitution, respect for each other - all those things that we say this country is about, but somehow manage to slip away from us more and more each year. Together, we can reclaim those. It won't be easy, but we will get there.

Yes we can. Yes we must.