Dinah's blog

Spammy amusements

nobody@vox.com(Dinah) — Wed, 13 Dec 2006 18:34:24 -0800

Yes, I gave him candy - didn't want him to sink my fleet carriers as a trick.

Avoid the great steaming neanderthal crush of humanity at the malls and the homicidal traffic on the poorly-kept roads to the malls by buying multiple copies here.

And it's also the day on which Constantinople fell to the Turks, but you knew that already. Or, as Donald himself memorably put it, "Stuff happens.

To make sure that I didn't have a piece concealed in an ankle holster?

Yes, I gave him candy - didn't want him to sink my fleet carriers as a trick.

Well, maybe I could, just.

That's not a video, that's a book. I didn't take any pictures because cameras are banned from the Pentagon. On another subject entirely, it occurred to me today that the offspring of an octoroon and a Scottish person could be called a macaroon.

This Website Is Powered by Doteasy. I didn't take any pictures because cameras are banned from the Pentagon.

And what with the global situation as it is, I doubt that our statesmen are dealing adequately with the Cephalopod Menace.

I confess that I stand with the Administration on this question - of course it isn't a civil war.

I've been much taken up with the annual production of the famous Janus Museum fruitcakes - don't forget to get your order in promptly to avoid "disappointment". To make sure that I didn't have a piece concealed in an ankle holster? And remember, it's a well-known scientific fact that used books are terrible sources of infection - if you care about your family's health, you'll purchase new copies only. Myself, I'll be working the cash register of the Janus Museum's gift shop all day. I might post some more, if I don't become crippled by nostalgia.

Myself, I'll be working the cash register of the Janus Museum's gift shop all day. It's very pleasant to watch Museum revenue pile up without any exertion on our part.

I've been much taken up with the annual production of the famous Janus Museum fruitcakes - don't forget to get your order in promptly to avoid "disappointment".

I have myself often mused on the similarities between the Kaiser and his disfunctional court and our current administration - most striking - something to think about. I confess that I stand with the Administration on this question - of course it isn't a civil war. Of course, the only reason I remember it is that I associate it with JFK's assassination, which happened on the same day.

The most curious part of the ordeal was that I was told by a security officer to hike up my trousers so that my ankles could be inspected. Formerly a curator at the National Air and Space Museum and Historian of the U.

I knew enough not to ask questions - I just showed off my ankles, and thought of the Empire.

An old friend, the photographer and historian Bob Lyon, sent me some old snaps from our Revolutionary War reenactment days, which inspired me to hunt up my own shots from that far-off time. Too many treasures, in fact, to detail here, but one must visit the Animals at War pages.

Checking to see that my socks matched?

Or, as Donald himself memorably put it, "Stuff happens.

It isn't a civil war because it has no civil war reenactors. The ceremony took place at the Pentagon, and involved a large number of flags, plenty of brass both foreign and domestic, the Air Force Song, the reading of orders, and speeches. I'm surprised that none of the other pundits have figured it out, yet.

But can there ever be a non-ironical treatment of World War I? - not that it matters, much. It's a bit reminiscent of the works of Komar and Melamid. Not only that, but here's a fact that'll make you stare - William S.

Checking to see that my socks matched?

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Relationship Advice

nobody@vox.com(Dinah) — Mon, 20 Nov 2006 22:50:46 -0800

It's a lot better when you're on the same continent.

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Favorite Albums - P

nobody@vox.com(Dinah) — Thu, 16 Nov 2006 16:30:56 -0800

Party Monster

Party Monster movie soundtrack

5 star tracks: "Take Me To The Club - Mannequin"
4 star tracks: "2 of Hearts - Stacey Q", "Go - Tones on Tail"

Peepshow

Peepshow
by Souxie & The Banshees

5 star tracks: "Peek-A-Boo", "Carousel"
4 star tracks: "Turn To Stone"

Picaresque

Picaresque
by The Decemberists

O how I love The Mariners Revenge Song! It makes me so happy to sing along with it.

5 star tracks: "The Mariner's Revenge Song"
4 star tracks: "We Both Go Down Together", "16 Military Wives"

Poses

Poses
by Rufus Wainwright

Delightful album. "In A Graveyard" belongs in any optimistic mix about death. I also really like the rhythms in "Rebel Prince".

5 star tracks: "Cigarettes and Chocolate Milk", "In A Graveyard"
4 star tracks: "Greek Song", "The Tower Of Learning", "Grey Gardens", "Rebel Prince", "The Consort"

Prolonging the Magic

Prolonging The Magic
by Cake

Cake usually features in my mix cds for long drives.

5 star tracks: "Satan Is My Motor", "Hem Of Your Garment"
4 star tracks: "Guitar", "Where Would I Be?"

Pure Funk

Excellent collection.

5 star tracks: "Tell Me Something Good - Rufus (featuring Chaka Khan)"
4 star tracks: "Shining Star - Earth, Wind & Fire", "Lady Marmalade - Labelle", "Mr. Big Stuff - Jean Knight", "Fire - Ohio Players", "(Every Time I Turn Around) Back In Love Again - L.T.D.", "Super Freak - Rick James"

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Screw Annie, this is my kind of optimistic song about tomorrow

nobody@vox.com(Dinah) — Mon, 13 Nov 2006 21:44:47 -0800

klaus nomi - after the fall

Thanks for the suggestion to watch a bunch of Klaus Nomi videos in a row, Adam. They're all great, but this was my favorite.

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QotD: OS Preference

nobody@vox.com(Dinah) — Tue, 07 Nov 2006 20:16:07 -0800

Windows, Mac, Linux - What's your preference and why?
Submitted by ramblingsbymark.

Mac. It's prettier, more reliable, more fun, and I am way way way more productive using it.

Also, I am no longer required to be in a relationship with someone who can fix my Windows box when it goes bad every six months. (Microsoft makes dairy products, I tell ya...)

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Overheard in Castro muni on November 1st

nobody@vox.com(Dinah) — Mon, 06 Nov 2006 20:53:34 -0800

These kids coming in from out of town, they bring their guns. "I don't like my life; I'll shoot you!" If you like your life you don't shoot people, right?

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Sound Medical Advice

nobody@vox.com(Dinah) — Sat, 04 Nov 2006 19:18:45 -0800

I have a cold - booo! hissss! - and want to feel better. Like many folks would do, I seek the advice of friends:

me:   hi Joel, what's the best food for when you have a cold?
Joel: well, Olga's grandfather had a folk remedy...
        he took a tablespoon of vodka, and put it into a large shot of vodka
        then he curled up into a pile of blankets
me:   you are the best
Joel: if that's not your style, i would recommend soup

He later corrected himself saying he'd meant to say a tablespoon of black pepper, but I think the way it originally came out sounded funnier.

Now I'm off to heat up some soup...

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Favorite Albums - N & O

nobody@vox.com(Dinah) — Sat, 04 Nov 2006 10:35:41 -0800

Nonsuch

Nonsuch
by XTC

"Some folks pull this life like a weight
Drab and dragging dreams made of slate
Your heart is the big box of paints
And others, the canvas we're dealt
Your heart is the big box of paints
Just think how the old masters felt, they call...
Awaken you dreamers
Asleep at your desks
Parrots and lemurs
Populate your unconscious grotesques
Please let some out
Do it today
Don't let the loveless ones sell you
A world wrapped in grey"

5 star tracks: "Wrapped In Grey", "Books Are Burning"
4 star tracks: "Dear Madam Barnum", "Then She Appeared"

Ocean 8
by Ocean 8

Local band I went to see once with a guy I was dating. Gorgeously voiced lead singer.

5 star tracks: "Signs of Life"
4 star tracks: "Fireworks"

On the Threshold of a Dream

On The Threshold Of A Dream
by The Moody Blues

A childhood favorite that still holds up and makes me feel at home.

5 star tracks: "Lazy Day"
4 star tracks: "Never Comes The Day", "Are You Sitting Comfortably"

Oranges & Lemons

Oranges & Lemons
by XTC

This always reminds me of the bookstore/coffeehouse I worked in when I first moved to San Jose. We had a giant heating/cooling duct that had been painted a sort of mauve color and I took to referring to it as the pink thing.

5 star tracks: "Across This Antheap", "Pink Thing"
4 star tracks: "Poor Skeleton Steps Out"

Orlando: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack

Orlando
soundtrack to the film by David Motion & Jimmy Somerville

Fantastic film and some great music, especially for someone like me who actually likes some of those old musical styles. Ah, the pavanne is a lovely dance. Very beautiful and seductive.

5 star tracks: "Pavanne"
4 star tracks: "Coming", "The Poem", "A Change of Sex"

Outdoor Elvis

Outdoor Elvis
by The Swirling Eddies

Clever, sometimes ridiculous, but highly enjoyable pop rock and other sounds. Well worth liberating from whatever Christian Music filing ghetto its been walled off in. I'm an atheist and I love this album; then again I also like C.S. Lewis' The Screwtape Letters, so maybe I just like wit with some depth to it wherever I can find it.

Ever so glad my friend Father John Mabry turned me on to this, way back before he got his dog collar.

5 star tracks: "Hide The Beer, The Pastor's Here", "Elimination (The Band That Wont Go Away)"
4 star tracks: "Driving In England", "Urban Legends", "Mystery Babylon", "Arthur Fhardy's Yodeling Party", "Knee Jerk"

Outlandos d'Amour

Outlandos d'Amour
by The Police

"Roxanne" is on this album, but so overplayed in my lifetime - and particularly those critical radio-listening years - that I can only listen to it rarely and it teeters on the brink of dropping from 3 stars to 2. Not the song's fault, I suppose.

5 star tracks: "Hole In My Life", "Masoka Tanga"
4 star tracks: "So Lonely"

Honorable mention:
Oxygene by Jean Michel Jarre, with all tracks at 4 stars.

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Tonight's Forecast

nobody@vox.com(Dinah) — Thu, 02 Nov 2006 21:43:58 -0800

Weather

Confusion rains.

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Bleak & beautiful

nobody@vox.com(Dinah) — Sun, 29 Oct 2006 10:23:24 -0800

Ladytron - Destroy Everything You Touch

Thanks to Kristin for recommending this video in which the band becomes part of a classical Japanese winter landscape.

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