The Doctor is in

I recently listened to a TBTL episode that was a tribute to some of the best "I Love You, Chunk" spots.  The last one was about Doctor Who, the longtime British science fiction series.  I've been curious about Doctor Who for awhile now, probably since I saw the Freaks and Geeks where Bill dresses up as The Doctor after surviving eating a peanut.   My friend Jess also named her two cats after the show (Rose and The Doctor).  Ravelry also has tons of patterns on how to make that scarf pattern.  But hearing two people wax poetic about how great the series is -- that and having a Saturday night to myself to start working on Christmas knitting -- sealed the deal, and I rented the most recent series on Netflix.

I am hooooooooooked.

I've watched six episodes so far.  Right now I'm watching the 9th doctor, but I think in about five episodes David Tennant shows up.  I like how there's an overarching story and history to the series, but that each episode can also stand alone.  Ricky compared it to Quantum Leap a bit, which I can see.

I'm also a fan of all the jokes about his identity that travel from episode to episode right now.  Like what's his name and if he's an alien why does he have a Northern British accent (because every planet has a north).  I'm glad that I picked it up, and that I have something to watch while knitting.  I don't think I'll go back and watch the other series, only because that's a lot of programs to catch up on, but I'm fine with that.

I definitely recommend checking it out, especially since it's streaming on Netflix.  Also, here's some classic Doctor Who for some audio for this post.

Old school theme from Tom Baker-era (the doctor with the long scarf that Bill dresses as):



Who doesn't love that theme?  It's so retro feeling and also epic!

Thankful

While taking the train into work this morning, I began to make a list in my head of things I am thankful for in 2011.  I think 2011 has been, at times, even more emotionally trying than 2010, so I feel perhaps even more thankful than usual for these things:

Ricky
Lewis PizzaCat
Alva (still healthy and happy as a clam!)
My health and the health of my family
My friends
Having a reasonably priced apartment
My love of knitting
My job
The YMCA
Shopping local and the growing popularity of that concept
Friends being in love (but that being said, I am thankful that I don't have to go to another wedding for 4 months!)
Freshly baked goods
Hot tea
Tasty wine
My apartment appearing more and more like an adult lives there and not a college grad with a non-matching set of furniture
Millie
Foliage
Long weekends to Vermont
Farmer's Markets
Salem Restaurant Week
Warm wool socks
Mashed potatoes
The Landry brothers
Netflix
Comfy shoes
Blogs that post pretty things (looking at you, Apartment therapy)
Pinterest
Not moving in 2011
TBTL

A very John Candy weekend

Ricky has found out that there are giant, gaping holes in my movie-watching history.  Namely, almost all of the John Hughes cannon, and the movie Stripes.  He wanted to remedy both this weekend.

Saturday night, after a memorable sushi date, we watched Planes Trains and Automobiles.  I had wanted to see this one also because of an in joke we have about work.  That and Thanksgiving is just around the corner, so it seemed appropriate.  I really liked it!  It was funny, and not too gross or dragging, like some movies of a similar ilk can be (Due Date... parts of Home Alone even). 

Tonight, we decided to tackle Stripes.  It was a shorter movie, and we weren't feeling like watching something too emotionally daunting.  I also liked it, but I think he liked it a lot more.  It was funny and great to see so many members of SCTV pop up.  We also enjoyed seeing John Larroquette, who we nicknamed Poppa Larroquette after the Uhh Yeah Dude podcasts.

All in all, a very funny and also very Canadian comedian movie weekend.

Day 25 of the 30 Day Song Challenge

Love today's post!

Day 25: A song that makes you laugh

I heard Trey Parker and Matt Stone interviewed on Fresh Air about this musical, and it sounded awesome/hilarious. I also like how it's a wink and nod to both religion and musicals. Definitely check out their Book of Mormon interview, along with their prior one about South Park.

I love how the joke set up is, where it's "meaningful statement about faith, meaningful statement about faith, weird ass fact about the Mormon religion". AND the musical nerd in me loves how the opening is a nod to Sound of Music. When I first heard this song, I was reduced to a giggle fest.

Well done, Parker and Stone. Well. Done.

Luke Burbank sums up how I feel on a regular basis

We all love cupcakes and we're all on kickball teams. It's great. We can't even believe how ironic we are. It's just amazing. We all have Star Wars t shirts on and we all do flash mobs. We're living the dream of being totally crazy in the most predictable possible way.
~Luke Burbank, TBTL, 3/16/11


Thank you, Luke Burbank, for ranting for about ten minutes on your podcast about how I feel on most days.

Charlie Chaplin speaks!*

*this isn't news or new... he died in 1977.

So I was listening to a TBTL podcast where they mention John Wayne's Oscar acceptance speech, and I wanted to listen to it. Found it on Youtube, then went down that rabbit hole and found Charlie Chaplin's honorary Oscar presentation. A very nice tribute to a man who has had a HUGE impact on film and comedy. Then Chaplin himself said thanks at the end, and I was struck by two things:

1. He has a very regal and deep sounding voice.
2. He's British.

I think, while I knew he was from England, I didn't put two and two together that he'd have a British accent. Ah well. I wanted to then find more audio of him speaking, and I found the following video of his big speech in The Great Dictator. It's incredible. That he did it in one take, it's so eloquent, and he made this movie while the Nazis were in power and this entire speech is speaking against them takes great courage:



Just a little something neat. Enjoy!

Podcast Round Up for Summer 2010

My job has hit the quiet period for the summer. Less students walking around, less Commencement planning, and lots of quiet afternoons updating schedules and documentation. So what does this mean? Listening to podcasts to pass the time.

Here's a round up of some Podcasts I've been listening to and my reviews of them:

The Sporkful
Mark and Dan of the now defunct Bryant Park Project are now discussing all things food on a clever but highly edited 15-minute weekly podcast. They say it's not for foodies, it's for eaters, and this is true. Instead of discussing the finer details of high-end foods like pate or canapes, they've discussed the following:
--how to prepare a baked potato
--the best kinds of peanut butter sandwiches
--popcorn etiquette
--how best to handle a buffet
The guest star list has been impressive for those NPR-philes out there, including Marc Maron, Win Rosenfeld, and Mike Pesca. It took a bit to get used to the polished tone of it, but I like how Mark and Dan will debate intensely the best ways to eat. 15 mintues is also the perfect length of time for this type of podcast. It's an "amuse bouche" if you will. (sorry for the food pun)

Uhh Yeah Dude
I'm pretty late to the party... about 4 years late... but Ricky suggested I check out this podcast. Seth and Jonathan -- who call themselves American Americans -- spend an hour discussing crazy newstories, celebrities, craigslist, Gertrude Baines, Whole Foods, Jonathan's crazy upbringing (his dad is John "Night Court" Larroquette), and so on. It's not like other podcasts I've enjoyed in the past, mainly because it's set up like a stream of conscious conversation and not like a radio program. The tone took some getting used to, as did the liberal use of the F word, but I will admit. Their observations are dead on and hilarious. It's a nice podcast to listen to when driving home from work, as it's usually the length of my T ride and train. I have embarrassed myself a few times walking to work, though, bursting out laughing.

Jordan Jesse, Go!
Many Tens love this podcast, and I've heard them interviewed on TBTL, so I thought I'd check it out. Jesse Thorn also has connections to NPR/PRI, so I thought why not. I will admit, I was cautious going into it, because Jesse's vibe drives me crazy from TBTL spots. He seems smug, self flattering, and fancies himself the smartest and funniest person in the room. But Ricky and I both decided to check out an interview JJGO did on their show with Seth and Jonathan of Uhh Yeah Dude. And... I made it about 30 minutes into a 90-minute podcast. About 28 of those minutes was Jesse talking over the guests and trying to out-smarm and out-joke Jonathan. I think I may listen to this podcast again and get a percentage of how much the GUESTS actually spoke.

To try and give them a second chance, I listened to them interview Sarah Vowell, seeing maybe if the guest had some more wattage if they'd behave better. They were slightly more behaved, mainly because Sarah was able to wrestle control and focus away from awful awful Jesse Thorn. But it really should be named "Jordan Jesse, Go... download something other than our terrible podcast".


So in conclusion:
1. Sporkful is decent.
2. Uhh Yeah Dude is funny but raunchy
3. Jordan Jesse, Go! sucks hard and if given the chance to throw things at their faces, I would.
4. Seatbelts

Call Maker Update

"Do you love me?" "Eh..."


Also a quick note that Gin and Jews was discussed on TBTL this past Wednesday as part of the Call Makers segment. Very exciting to get that call, and Ricky enjoyed listening to the segment as well. Hopefully Gin and Jews will spread to the West Coast.

Luke did bring up the issue that it might be slightly insensitive to have a theme night called Gin and Jews, which is fair. I'm happy to report, though, that the in studio guest that day, Deborah of Neptune Coffee, gave me the thumb's up. She also gave some recomendations for future musical/cocktail evenings. (so for that, I think if you're in Seattle you should only get your coffee from Neptune Coffee).

Unfortunately at the end I sound like a space cadet since I couldn't hear Luke over Skype anymore and there was a 9-alarm fire going on down the street from me. You can hear it here. (the date of the show is Wed, April 7)


L'chaim!

All I can say... is thank GOD he's not retiring from Wait Wait, too!

NPR's Carl Kasell to retire from 'Morning Edition'

(AP) – 8 hours ago

NEW YORK — Carl Kasell will finally get to sleep in. The veteran newscaster is retiring from NPR's "Morning Edition."

The 75-year-old Kasell has done the newcast during NPR's flagship morning program since its inception 30 years ago. NPR says he will give his last broadcast on Dec. 30.

In a memo to National Public Radio staff and stations, managing editor David Sweeney and vice president of programming Margaret Low Smith praised Kasell for raising "more than a generation of listeners with his calm and authoritative newscast."

Kasell will remain the judge and scorekeeper of "Wait Wait ... Don't Tell Me!," NPR's weekly news quiz show.

A spokeswoman for NPR says that no one has been named to succeed Kasell on "Morning Edition."

Copyright © 2009 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.

Your Jason Segel Moment of Zen for the day...

Let me just tell you, Terri, picking out an outfit for the second half of a breakup is like the hardest outfit you'll ever pick out in your life. I came out in a blue button-up shirt and khaki pants like I was going to private school.
~From Fresh Air, 10/16/09

In TBTL Call Maker heaven

We'll remember almost two months ago when I experienced what I dubbed Call Maker Sadness. I received the call, and botched it when I thought "who would be calling me at 11:30pm on a Wednesday?" and sent it to Voicemail.

Well last night, I was redeemed. I was in bed when I see I'm getting a call at11:30 at night. I ask Ricky if he thought I should pick up, and he said go for it...

...and yes...

...IT WAS TBTL!


It was a glorious 8 1/2 minute conversation about songs to play at wedding receptions. It was all very surreal and out of body. I think my voice is too high and a little pitchy, but I think I held my own pretty well. I'm also now on the website with The Zombies song I'm a fan of, and so others can provide other suggestions. Hoorah!


And yes, I am about 100% sure I'll be making a "RAWR!" sign and taking pictures of it at the wedding.


And here's the song I love and will have on the CD/will be featured heavily at my wedding.

Beer Bread = AMAZING

Last night, I finally got around to making a recipe I've been meaning to try for months. The innovative people at TBTL had a series where they were trying to make recipes for things you can buy in and do a taste and cost comparison. One week was bread. The recipe was beer bread:

3 cups self-rising flour
3 tbsp sugar
3 can beer (or 12 oz. I just used a bottle which happened to be 12 oz.)

1 hr in the oven at 350


No rising. No yeast. No bread maker.


I tried my hand at it last night. I used a bottle of Ipswich Ale.

Here it is before.


And here it is after.




The pictures are dark, but it was SO GOOD. Perfectly cooked. Great crust and quite soft and moist on the inside. I had it with cheese and sausage potato soup, and it was a great thing to dip in.

Fellow Ten suggested apricot beer, so I think when I move and have the money and space for beers, I'm going to try different kinds. IPA? Fruit? Guinness? The possibilities are endless!

"Curse their Yankee candy!"

I am a huge NPR nerd, and I love listening to the Wait Wait Don't Tell Me podcast on Monday mornings while running weekly reports.

This week, the singer/rocker Neko Case was the guest, and she is a delight. An absolute delight. She's charming and smart and well-spoken. She talked about her farm in Vermont, her music, and buying pianos on ebay.

Her subject for Not My Job was Necco Candy (a play on her first name, obviously) and... wow, she just sparkled. She was hilarious, and after the first question which was about The Civil War, she took on a persona of a Civil War soldier when talking about Necco Candy the entire time. It was hilarious, and everyone was in stitches. They also referenced Ken Burns and Hard Tack.


Click on the link for Neko Case to listen to the show. Definitely worth it and awesome. It makes me like her more as an artist and a person, because she's just so down to earth and sweet and cool. And makes fun of the Civil War.

Call Maker Sadness!

I was a call maker last night with questions for the iPod wedding for TBTL! And I was screening calls and didn't pick up the phone! GAAAHHHHHHHH!

That is all.... sniff sniff.


Also, my voicemail voice is very high pitched, so I may need to re-record it.

Finally, good news coming out of the auto industry

beep beep!

On Friday, I listened to a very cute story from NPR. And a similar one from boston.com. It discussed that not all bad news is coming out of the car industry. There is one car maker who isn't closing factories or having to declare bankruptcy... and it's even a car I have a lot of experience driving. It's the best-selling car in the United States.

Why yes, yes I am talking about The Little Tyke Cozy Coupe.

Here's a good quote from the article:

"This car really has done a great job of reading what the consumers want these days," says auto expert Paul Eisenstein. He publishes TheDetroitBureau.com.

"Whether you're talking about its performance, which is pretty good, depending on who's behind the wheel. It has a lot of really nice features," says Eisenstein. "You don't have to worry about these vehicles breaking down. In this case, the driver might break down a little bit. Get a little tired and have to count on Mom and Dad."

ADORABLENESS.

Here are some fun facts from the article:


--450,000+ of these cars are sold in the US every year.
--The Little Tykes factory in Ohio works 24 hours a day to produce enough cars. (how refreshing is that stat?)
--This is the 30th anniversary of production.
--The Crawford Auto-Aviation Museum in Cleveland just inducted the Cozy Coupe into its permanent collection.
--This car is gas free.
--The car has barely changed in its 30 years. The front now has a happy face, and there's a cup holder, but really... it's the same car. No bells and whistles.


Enjoy the adorableness on this Sunday morning!

328 miles

I drove 328 miles this weekend. Two states, $3 in tolls, lots of beer and seafood and meat consumed, and lots of time with CDs, the radio, and my iPod.

More coming soon.

Blindness (film) is a mixed bag... but a blog about a man going blind is not

After a good run and some light gardening, I watched the movie Blindness. This is the one starring Julianne Moore and Mark Ruffalo, where there's this epidemic where everyone goes blind except Julianne Moore, and the breakdown in society this creates. Out of fear, all the blind people are quarantined in what looks like a ghetto or camp of some kind, and a new society is created within this state of panic, lack of supplies and food, and fear. Moore's character ends up becoming their angel and salvation, and in the end saves a select few from the hell of their ghetto. In the end, people start becoming unblind.

So I can see what they were trying to do with the movie, but I felt very mixed about it. It could have been edited down a few minutes (maybe 15-20?) and some of the symbolism was a little to heavy-handed. "Julianne Moore is our savior and an angel... she's all in white and pale and even her hair is blonde! Yay!"

Blindness also went on to symbolize that without sight, or society breaks down, and that we need to see the differences between us and our surroundings in order to function. Lack of sight makes us all animals, thieves, whores, and generally terrible people. I found this to be a bit insulting, or at least trying to invoke drama.

I guess I wouldn't recommend downloading it from Comcast for $5 like I did, but maybe if it was anywhere from free-$3, that'd be fine. An interesting view, but at the end I didn't feel like I had been moved or really brought to thought.

Photo courtesy of the blog Bye Sight! Please don't sue me or be mad at me.

But what DOES make me think and is an interesting read is the blog Bye Sight!, which is written by a TBTL reader named Gerald, which chronicles his loss of vision. I heard him interviewed on TBTL (I'm a Time Bandit, so I don't know when this interview actually happened. I think maybe April 24 or so?) about his experiences with going blind, and it was fascinating. I wish the whole show were just him talking about his life. I've listened to it twice already, because I felt like I wanted to soak in more of it. Even if you're not a fan of the show, go listen to it because it's that good.

After the interview, I went to his blog and read all of it. I kid you not. I sat there one Saturday and spent about half an hour or so reading his blog. The passages about ordering a cane and coming to grips with having a cane are fascinating. Articles and information about studies on blindness are also a good read. He also has a very dry and smart sense of humor about the whole thing, which I think is incredible. Parts are serious, but then there's a whole episode about debunking myths, which had me laughing very hard. I only wish that movie was as interesting as this blog was, then I wouldn't feel like I might have wasted $5 downloading it from Comcast.

Also, about the photo above, which I got from the blog. That little circle inside the square? That is what Gerald sees right now. That's it. Imagine over the last 15 years going from full sight to that little circle. But he seems to be handling it with grace. I truly don't think if I were going blind I would be, but perhaps over time, I'd get to the point where Gerald is.


So in review: Blindness (film) = eh, okay. Bye Sight! (blog) = really good.

Well My Name's Maurice and I'm Here to Say...

I'm a fan of woot.com, because I think the gadgets are neat, but I like them more for their cool t shirts. Some are incredigly nerdy, but more often than not, they're just incredibly cool.

Well today's came as a pleasant surprise, for a few reasons. One, it features a whale, and who doesn't love a good whale? But more importantly, it's by Derek Erdman... aka RAP MASTER MAURICE. You may remember my blog post where I sing the praises of Rap Master Maurice, but to refresh, he's a Chicago-based revenge rapper. And very clever and funny.

Here's his shirt. GO BUY A COPY NOW!!!!


I'm thinking of picking up a copy of this for my mom. She would appreciate a good whale shirt.

Tens (and drunk people) are so meta

I noticed this morning that on the TBTL website, there was the Tens Blog Roll. I joined on, and am listed as a Tens blogger under "Hot Pants for Shuffleboard (Landry in Boston)". But... if you're reading this page, then you clearly have already found my blog and don't need me to explain how to view this.

For those who are not Tens, Tens are the fans and followers of the podcast/radio show Too Beautiful to Live, out of Seattle. I promoted them in an earlier post called "Podcast Roll". So this explanation is for... my five viewers. Ha!

So this post just serves as a little hello to the Tens and a welcome to my blog! I'm trying to make it less whiny, but I can't promise anything. There are days when I need to complain about HR, my roommate, or anything else under the sun.

Also, if you're a single Ten in the Boston area who likes small redheads who like theatre, live shows, tea, yarn, and being snarky... then a big ol' hello to you!

Podcast Roll

As some of you know, I work sandwiched between two call centers. I work in Project Management, but the area of PM I'm in works with both call centers and customers. While interesting, it also gets very loud. And it's hard to focus on work when you're hearing dudes two rows over essentially yelling over the phone to a customer about IP conflicts. It's hard to write articles or send out projects when you're trying not to listen to proxy servers.

So I've resigned myself to being tied to my iTunes all day long. It's amazing how listening to music or podcasts helps with this. I think because it's not even related to my work, it can become white noise and I can focus on the task at hand. Coworkers make fun of me sometimes, but whatevs.

And because I love bulleted lists, here are some of my favorites podcasts or bands to listen to while at work:


--Too Beautiful To Live (TBTL). Luke Burbank, formerly of NPR crush fame, moved back to Seattle in December '07 and has a talk show on 97.3 KIRO at nights with producer/longtime friend Jen Andrews, Engineer/Japan's #1 Mixer Sean de Torre, and a host interns. I will admit, it took maybe two weeks to get into it, just because it's so different, but now I'm hooked. It's hard to describe what the show is actually about, since it's kind of about nothing. Luke, Jen, and Sean all discuss their lives and their day-to-day adventures, but also go into the subjects of politics, art, culture, movies, music, news events, Diggstown, and Steve Gutenberg. This is also the show that gave me the phrases "doucher", and "aaaaand that happened". They also love getting their listeners involved and having parties. If only I didn't live in Massachusetts, I'd be partying with them all the time.


--Coverville. Roughly 30-hour podcast a few times a week that focuses on covers of well known songs. Usually one podcast a week is a request show, one is on a theme (gender-bending covers), and then another one is a show based around an artist or CD (Paul McCartney and Pet Sounds). Neat to hear new songs, and I've definitely found new songs I like to download.


--NPR Concert Series. Plenty of NPR-loving indie/alternative/hipster concerts to listen to. My favorites/frequently listened to podcasts are Belle and Sebastian, Arcade Fire, The National, and The Ting Tings. Good music in a live setting, and sometimes nice to not have to think about skipping around a CD, but to just listen.


--Wait Wait Don't Tell Me! Every Monday morning, I anticipate this podcast. Very funny and entertaining, and also quite knowledgeable when it comes to the news and current events. And you can tell they're all good friends and enjoy spending this time together. And now that they're a little more legit, they tend to have very good weekly guests for Not My Job. Also, B-Rock was on a few years ago, and he was hilarious and nailed it.


--The National, The Boxer. I got this CD for Christmas, and I love this band. One to love for years to come. Songs are both pretty rocking (Mistaken for Strangers) and relaxed (Start a War, Green Gloves). Soooooo good.


--Arcade Fire. This is my most favorite find for music in the last few years. I love this band, and I have a feeling they're going places in the next few years. Funeral starts beautifully and grabs you for the rest of the album, and Neon Bible has been a frequently played CD for awhile. GET THEIR STUFF.


--Songs I've heard on NEP. My friend Dave has a local music show called New England Product. If I can stay awake, I listen to his show and write down any songs I like and whenever I have an extra buck, refer to this list and download a song. This is how I've found Chester French (kick ass), Bon Savants, and Pretty & Nice (good beat, I end up bopping my head around). Always a good time.