Fruits of my addiction

One completed horizontal ribbed scarf, one almost completed vertical ribbed scarf, and 1/4 of a baby blanket made of seed-stitch blocks.

It's NPH, baby!

Teaser from Dr. Horrible's Sing-Along Blog on Vimeo.



Neil Patrick Harris. Joss Whedon. What more can you ask for?

New Music Friday

I've recently been introduced to Jonathon Coulton (thanks Sean Murphy!). This dude sings the geek soundtrack.

Zombie geek? http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AjcH2UmK1uo

Computer coder/World of Warcraft geek? http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v4Wy7gRGgeA

History geek? http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DdUUywIsIGI

Microbiology geek? http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tqOVYpkZ0qs

Math geek? http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0uluZMafXVE

Science fiction/WoW/Christmas geek? http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i5M9UTlDb10

Rock band geek? http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cAgutrkFjBQ

Guitar hero geek? http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q7OG2qHWMgo&feature=related


And that's just the tip of the iceberg, my friends! He's got songs about Tom Cruise and DNA! What's not to like? Go on over to his website and buy some .

Who knew?

Your result for The Fashion Style Test ...
Glamorous Soul
40% Flamboyance, 52% Originality, 63% Deliberateness, 57% Sexiness
[Tasteful Original Deliberate Sexy]
You choose your outfits carefully according to many criteria. You don't like looking cheap, dull or random and you go to great lengths to avoid this. You are successful, too. People admire your taste and sex appeal. Many try to imitate you but not many can recreate your unique style. Sometimes, however, they find you too intimidating to approach. If you don't wear retro style yet, perhaps you should consider it. It would become greatly your sexy, mysterious self.

Lessons learned

A few things I learned over the weekend:

1. Do not, under any circumstances, see The Happening. M. Night Shyamalan wrote, directed, and produced it, and it is truly terrible. The concept was good--it's a day-of-apocolypse story--but the execution was horrible. Characters and dialogue were awful and things were thrown into the plot that made no sense. Ugh. One good thing I will say about it was there were some nice cinematography. I repeat: Do. Not. See. It.

2. Driving along the edge of a severe thunderstorm is almost worse than driving right through it. Also, looking for a tornado while trying to keep the car on the road in the wind for an hour straight can be a little exhausting.

3. Reading a holocaust novel right before bed can give you funny dreams.

R.I.P Tim Russert

Tim Russert, political analyst for NBC, has died. I'm saddened and a little shocked. While I wouldn't call myself a political junkie, I do enjoy a civil political debate and fair coverage of a candidate or issue. Mr. Russert provided that. Who will host Meet the Press on Sunday? There is no replacement.

New Music Tuesday

So I just bought the new Alanis Morrisette album today. Actually, I pre-ordered it from iTunes like any self-respecting fan would. So far it's angsty and fun, which is pretty much par for the course.

My purchase got me thinking about the role music has played in my life. My parents were always into music--my mom more than my dad, maybe--and several of my childhood memories revolve around music or have music playing in the background. For instance:

Saturday was cleaning day at our house. Mom would either put on American Bandstand or turn off the TV and listen to the radio. I particularly remember listening to Laura Branigan's "Gloria" while helping mom dust. We'd sing and dance and clean and giggle. It should be noted I still do that. It's easier to clean out a closet when you can toss crap into the trash in time to the Chicago Soundtrack.

Mom listened to all sorts of music, but she especially liked country. Kenny Rogers, Anne Murray, Crystal Gayle. Dad liked music from the '50's and early '60's. Think "Leader of the Pack." My cousin (who was around mom's age) liked rock like Led Zepplin. I think she'd listen to music as she cleaned, too, and she'd wear a red kerchief over her wild blond hair.

I got a record player in third grade. I listened to mom's 45's--Jackie Robinison's "Tears of a Clown" had a heavy rotation--and Jack Wagner's "All I Need." My first full-length vinyl album was Michael Jackson's Thriller. I played and played and played that thing. It should be noted I've tried to buy the album from iTunes several times, but I can't bring myself to do it. I don't want to help pay his legal fees, ya know? Maybe I'll go to a used record store and try to snag a copy. I get a copy and support the local economy without giving any to Wacko Jacko that way.

Mom is currently on a Big Band kick.

Last time I was at Dad's I saw Abba's Greatest Hits sitting next to his CD player.

I have everything from Kenny Rogers to Kanye West on my iPod.

We all evolve; music's presence is the constant.

The reliable realist