a month or so of happy and sad

First, the bad news:

• I have been sick for ~3 weeks, not getting worse but not really getting better, either. My ears are popping/unpopping as I type, which is most vexing.


• The male parakeet, Berry, is dying. I am giving him pain meds and monitoring his quality of life which, frankly, is probably not so great right now even with pain meds.


• We have no idea what to do with the crazy, pretty, destructive, sweet pit bull in our back yard. We can’t keep her ourselves for a number of reasons, but I’m also unwilling to give her to just anyone, and the only pit bull rescue I can find around here is also a “hobby breeder.” No. Just no.


• The new Akron/Family record is entirely made up of unlistenable white-guy-jazz jam sessions.


• Mice really running rampant, though still very cute.

But of the good:

• Labbit . Mine came with pipe, drink cup, pacifier and firecracker. Despite my ambivalence re: actual rabbits, I so do love rabbitish things. I don't have these yet, but I will indeed have them soon.


• Blackberry preserves from Loveless Café: big, ripe, juicy, mostly-whole berries and the taste of molasses. While great on toast, it’s also almost not shameful to eat it with a spoon. Almost.


• House of Boateng (sundance channel): Tall, handsome, graceful, black British guy in a bright-orange, impeccably-tailored suit of his own make. And that’s just the credits. Ozwald Boateng is a menswear designer under his own label, as well as Givenchy, and if you’re a suit fetishist (even a little bit), this show is good, good porn. Mr. Boateng is trying to launch his brand in the US, so it’s all about him trying to make the right connections. There is a lot of commentary from other designers and fashion industry people who mostly think he should stop stalling and just start selling clothes – and I’d have to agree, since he is gifted with the charisma of a very dapper rock star and makes the most beautiful suits imaginable. Unfortunately, it’s almost completed its run and, unfortunately, I can’t find any torrents.


• Bluetooth. Now that it works, I love it. Annoyingly, the issue that kept me from being able to properly install it was the software the phone manufacturer provides to upload things via Bluetooth. Uninstall, install Bluetooth, reinstall organizing software and…now I have lots of pretty phone wallpaper and I can send the Mr. the ringtones I’ve made.


• Which segues into DJ Tone Express. For $12, you can make a zillion ringtones which work, sound great, and are only limited by the files you have available. Much better deal than $2-3 apiece through a carrier or service.


• Broken Social Scene, Sunday night at City Hall. Crap venue but a great performance, even though my friend and I misjudged what time they’d hit the stage and missed the first half of their set. In typical Nashville style, people mostly didn’t move at all, much less dance, but we all did sing along when it was requested.


• Japanese TV. So, I downloaded a bunch of “doramas” because I wanted to hear the language spoken, and not by a bunch of language-lesson voices. This has proven to be very useful for that purpose, but also surprisingly enjoyable. My favorite shows thus far are Nobuta wo Produce, Stand Up! and Hana Yori Dango. While I’m fairly certain these are all marketed toward teenagers, both NwP and Stand Up! have a kind of “family” appeal without prudishness or preaching. As for HYD, the adorableness of the lead actress and the sort of angry-vulnerable dorkiness of the male lead make the ridiculous premise more than tolerable.
  
  Also, much to my surprise, the pop idol boys who star in practically every show can actually act. Unfortunately, the manufactured boy bands they sing in suck just as much or more than domestic manufactured boy bands, although they have a slight advantage in that they tend to offer up a bit of yaoi-flavored fan service in their videos.


• Friday Night Lights. Adding my voice to the legions insisting that you give this show a try. I love Coach Taylor and his wife, Tammy. I love Matt Saracen, though I might be the only one who does at this point. When the storylines veer from either the Taylors, Matt, Jason in rehab, or the prickliness between Coach Taylor and the town bigwigs (espec. fucking Garrity), I am less interested. There are lots of attractive young people, but the majority of their problems seem like TV-as-usual when compared to the whole Taylor dynamic. FWIW, Tammy’s MILF-y boobs are usually on tank-topped display, for those who like boobs.


• August issue of Vogue Italia had pictures of my favorite male model dressed as a girl.


• The Mr. (tubenerd) finally got the title and salary for the job he’s been doing in the “interim” for months now.


• I found my dream house, and it’s affordable. However, it is 2 hours away from here, i.e., practically neighbors with Rhi. That would be perfect, if only the Mr.'s job was in Knoxville.

a month or so of happy and sad

First, the bad news:

• I have been sick for ~3 weeks, not getting worse but not really getting better, either. My ears are popping/unpopping as I type, which is most vexing.


• The male parakeet, Berry, is dying. I am giving him pain meds and monitoring his quality of life which, frankly, is probably not so great right now even with pain meds.


• We have no idea what to do with the crazy, pretty, destructive, sweet pit bull in our back yard. We can’t keep her ourselves for a number of reasons, but I’m also unwilling to give her to just anyone, and the only pit bull rescue I can find around here is also a “hobby breeder.” No. Just no.


• The new Akron/Family record is entirely made up of unlistenable white-guy-jazz jam sessions.


• Mice really running rampant, though still very cute.

But of the good:

• Labbit . Mine came with pipe, drink cup, pacifier and firecracker. Despite my ambivalence re: actual rabbits, I so do love rabbitish things. I don't have these yet, but I will indeed have them soon.


• Blackberry preserves from Loveless Café: big, ripe, juicy, mostly-whole berries and the taste of molasses. While great on toast, it’s also almost not shameful to eat it with a spoon. Almost.


• House of Boateng (sundance channel): Tall, handsome, graceful, black British guy in a bright-orange, impeccably-tailored suit of his own make. And that’s just the credits. Ozwald Boateng is a menswear designer under his own label, as well as Givenchy, and if you’re a suit fetishist (even a little bit), this show is good, good porn. Mr. Boateng is trying to launch his brand in the US, so it’s all about him trying to make the right connections. There is a lot of commentary from other designers and fashion industry people who mostly think he should stop stalling and just start selling clothes – and I’d have to agree, since he is gifted with the charisma of a very dapper rock star and makes the most beautiful suits imaginable. Unfortunately, it’s almost completed its run and, unfortunately, I can’t find any torrents.


• Bluetooth. Now that it works, I love it. Annoyingly, the issue that kept me from being able to properly install it was the software the phone manufacturer provides to upload things via Bluetooth. Uninstall, install Bluetooth, reinstall organizing software and…now I have lots of pretty phone wallpaper and I can send the Mr. the ringtones I’ve made.


• Which segues into DJ Tone Express. For $12, you can make a zillion ringtones which work, sound great, and are only limited by the files you have available. Much better deal than $2-3 apiece through a carrier or service.


• Broken Social Scene, Sunday night at City Hall. Crap venue but a great performance, even though my friend and I misjudged what time they’d hit the stage and missed the first half of their set. In typical Nashville style, people mostly didn’t move at all, much less dance, but we all did sing along when it was requested.


• Japanese TV. So, I downloaded a bunch of “doramas” because I wanted to hear the language spoken, and not by a bunch of language-lesson voices. This has proven to be very useful for that purpose, but also surprisingly enjoyable. My favorite shows thus far are Nobuta wo Produce, Stand Up! and Hana Yori Dango. While I’m fairly certain these are all marketed toward teenagers, both NwP and Stand Up! have a kind of “family” appeal without prudishness or preaching. As for HYD, the adorableness of the lead actress and the sort of angry-vulnerable dorkiness of the male lead make the ridiculous premise more than tolerable.
  
  Also, much to my surprise, the pop idol boys who star in practically every show can actually act. Unfortunately, the manufactured boy bands they sing in suck just as much or more than domestic manufactured boy bands, although they have a slight advantage in that they tend to offer up a bit of yaoi-flavored fan service in their videos.


• Friday Night Lights. Adding my voice to the legions insisting that you give this show a try. I love Coach Taylor and his wife, Tammy. I love Matt Saracen, though I might be the only one who does at this point. When the storylines veer from either the Taylors, Matt, Jason in rehab, or the prickliness between Coach Taylor and the town bigwigs (espec. fucking Garrity), I am less interested. There are lots of attractive young people, but the majority of their problems seem like TV-as-usual when compared to the whole Taylor dynamic. FWIW, Tammy’s MILF-y boobs are usually on tank-topped display, for those who like boobs.


• August issue of Vogue Italia had pictures of my favorite male model dressed as a girl.


• The Mr. (tubenerd) finally got the title and salary for the job he’s been doing in the “interim” for months now.


• I found my dream house, and it’s affordable. However, it is 2 hours away from here, i.e., practically neighbors with Rhi. That would be perfect, if only the Mr.'s job was in Knoxville.