AV Club Q&A

I usually don't copy and paste things whole-sale into my blog unless their lyrics. The few times I've quoted from other blogs/articles, I usually have a witty comment to add. In this case, I don't. I simply wanted to share the genius of 2 AV Club writers. Enjoy:

What are your pop-culture "sacred cows"? What entertainment opinions do you consider so inarguable that attempts to argue the subject provoke instant rage or frustration?

Steve Heisler

That's a perfect segue into something I argue constantly: the early Beatles are just as substantial and worthy of merit as the later stuff. Endless praise has been lumped upon everything past Rubber Soul—and I'm not denying the pure, unfiltered genius that gave way to Revolver, Sgt. Pepper, and just about the entire Beatles oeuvre. It's just that even at Please Please Me, the Fab Four were making the kind of experimental yet commercially viable music they made later. This was just its early stages. Lennon, McCartney, and Harrison (yeah, Starr not so much until the mid-'60s) took the rock 'n' roll not yet popular with white America, mixed in raw blues and skiffle (high-energy, country-inspired folk music), and gave it a smiling face—together, that's no small feat. Plus, those guys were in their late teens/early 20s at the time, which is still pretty amazing to think about. McCartney ensured the timing was airtight, Harrison handled the kick-ass guitar solos (his "Can't Buy Me Love" ditty, while short, is a personal favorite), and Lennon penned more honest lyrics than most bands. (Listen to "Help!" and "I'm A Loser," and try to ignore the upbeat tempo.) In short, opening with "Tomorrow Never Knows" would have been career suicide; the early stuff made the audience for that career-changing track.

Donna Bowman

I'll cheer Tasha's principle and apply it to my favorite lump-dismissal rage-inducer: musicals. If I had a nickel for every time somebody told me, "Oh, I don't like musicals," I'd open my own nickelodeon. You don't like entertainment in which music is integrated with the action? I'd say you don't like entertainment, full stop. Now, I understand that accepting certain conventions of certain musical entertainment forms, like people singing to each other instead of talking, takes a suspension of disbelief. But these same people generally have no problem with the suspension of disbelief needed to accept action movies or romantic comedies. Convention is convention; throwing out one because it's preposterous on its face makes as little sense as mandating the teaching of counter-evidence for evolution, but not for the theory of gravity.

The "I don't like musicals" assertion that sends me all the way 'round the bend actually came up in the "Guilty displeasures" thread—Singin' In The Rain. The person who could find Singin' boring or silly is not a person I care to have existing in the same world as me. Such a statement, as is often the case, tells me more about the person making it than about the movie. If there was ever a movie that displayed the ability of musicals (and, I would argue, cinema itself) to simultaneously communicate sophistication and sincerity, it's Singin'. Anyone who is able to accept joy into his life will at least be able to understand its greatness. Only a truly dedicated curmudgeon—the kind of person who sees a dark cloud behind every silver lining—could dismiss it as worthless.

Dichotomy

You know a class is going well, and you really trust and like the people in that class, when your professor starts playing "Dancing Queen" and nearly everyone, without hesitation, starts singing along. That is the sign of a tight-knit group of people. Another sign is when you unanimously decide that your music history professor sucks and you start calling her Dolores Umbridge, because that's who she reminds you of. It's an odd dichotomy though. I'm loving my theory class right now but loathing my music history class. Today I wrote out the bridge from "Lucid Dreams" (the not funky version from the album) and the bridge from "Perfect Symmetry" during music history. I don't need to take notes, because Prof. Roach/Umbridge is teaching directly from the book. Meanwhile in theory we're singing "Dancing Queen" and discussing theme and variation techniques. I'm actually taking real notes. It's all very strange in my opinion.
Meanwhile over in Asian Civ. I'm cursing British politics. It's odd for me because usually I avoid thinking about Victorian era British politics and politics in general because it invariably annoys me. However the subject can no longer be avoided and now I'm very annoyed. Not that the Chinese were completely defenceless or unaware of the problems being created by opium, but declaring war on a country because they destroy your illegal product seems completely idiotic to me. Yes, I know they didn't want to lose silver, but still. Opium was illegal, so why make a fuss over its destruction. Lord knows you can get more. Nonetheless, Asian Civ. is excellent.
On a last note, I have three homes: Pollard (morning home), the Washroom (afternoon home) and my room in Arrington (evening home.) Because of the way my schedule has worked out and my own need not to spend more than four or five hours in my room, I generally don't get back to my room until 5 or 6 most days. This makes me happy and I've gotten a lot of extracurricular reading done which also makes me happy. But yes, I have three homes.

Meme-y Goodness

Empire Magazine has revealed its list of the 50 Greatest TV Shows ever:
1. Bold the shows you watch/used to watch.
2. Italic the shows you've seen at least one episode of.
3. Too much work so I'm leaving this out but if you want you can strikeout the shows you've never seen. I'm not doing it because that leaves no shows untouched and who has that kind of time?--which is entirely gypsylady's sentiment, but I concur wholeheatedly
4. Post your answers. (By the way I got this from faithharkness @ LJ)

50. Quantum Leap
49. Prison Break
48. Veronica Mars
47. Star Trek: Deep Space Nine
46. Sex & The City
45. Farscape
44. Cracker
43. Star Trek
42. Only Food and Horses
41. Band of Brothers
40. Life on Mars
39. Monty Python’s Flying Circus
38. Curb Your Enthusiasm
37. Star Trek: The Next Generation
36. Father Ted
35. Alias
34. Frasier
33. CSI: Las Vegas
32. Babylon 5
31. Deadwood
30. Dexter
29. ER
28. Fawlty Towers
27. Six Feet Under
26. Red Dwarf --- I so need to see this it isn't even funny
25. Futurama
24. Twin Peaks
23. The Office UK and US
22. The Shield
21. Angel --- Do bits and pieces count?
20. Blackadder --- I only want to watch the ones with Stephen Fry and Hugh Laurie, but I refuse to buy it
19. Scrubs
18. Arrested Development
17. South Park
16. Doctor Who --- But if you didn't know this already, for shame
15. Heroes
14. Firefly --- Shiny
13. Battlestar Galactica original series and the new one.
12. Family Guy
11. Seinfeld --- But I never enjoyed myself
10. Spaced --- I own it on DVD and it has Simon Pegg. Of course I watch this
09. The X-Files --- The theme tune always freaked me out and still does
08. The Wire
07. Friends
06. 24
05. Lost --- Off and on sort of thing
04. The West Wing
03. The Sopranos
02. Buffy the Vampire Slayer
01. The Simpsons --- It's been many moons since I watched this, but it use to be a staple of family viewing on Sundays

Twitter is Invading

This comes from the Behind the Sofa Twitter account. I feel I should get a Twitter account now, but I won't. Anywho, here's the quote:

Breaking News: a BBC insider reveals that 70% of Dr Who's special effects budget in 2010 will be spent making Matt Smith look human.

Granted this is from the same group of people who compared Mr. Smith's looks to Young Frankenstein. Which is true, Mr. Smith really does look like an eyebrow-less version of Frank Boyle. >_> I do like Matt Smith, honestly. It's just so easy to make fun of him.

Tonight it Will Be Off With Their Heads in Perfect Symmetry

Today, because I have a lot free time due to a snow day (still had classes this morning, but I won't go into that) I'm going to write-up a review of Franz Ferdinand's new album and re-review Keane and the Kaiser Chiefs third albums. However the format is going to be a little different, mainly because I've already written up a sort of review for Franz Ferdinand and don't feel the need to connect these reviews like I did with Keane and the Kaiser Chiefs. Anywho, it's a big review post and I'm very excited. Finally, I may or may not be reviewing the Killer's third album as well, we'll see where I'm at, at the end of these three reviews.

Tonight: Franz Ferdinand by Franz Ferdinand
Five years ago I got heavily into five bands: Franz Ferdinand, the Killers, Keane, the Kaiser Chiefs, and Maximo Park. In those five years I've become less attached to Maximo Park and the Killers (due to second albums that I didn't like so much) and more attached to Keane, the Kaiser Chiefs and Franz Ferdinand. What got me to listen to each of these bands, and what generally kept me listening, was musical originality. With Tonight: Franz Ferdinand the seemingly endless fount of creativity that Franz Ferdinand exhibited has started to wan. While Tonight is musically (and acoustically) intriguing (and quite slick production-wise) most of the songs are a rehash from the band's previous two albums. By focusing on the night and all that implies, Franz Ferdinand also loses a great deal of the lyrical complexity that they had on their second album, which is a shame given the potential that album had. The first 2/3rds of Tonight are interesting enough to keep a listener's attention, though some of the songs sound incredibly similar, particularly "Twilight Omens" and "Can't Stop Feeling", enough so that one might actually get confused. However after a revamped version of "Lucid Dreams" (7 minutes of the band showing off their ability to use technology to make interesting noises) the album takes a nose dive into the unlistenable. "Katherine Kiss Me" is a strange rehash of "No You Girls", using a majority of the same lyrics, but with an acoustic guitar and slightly altered melody line, while "Dream Again" is a anemic after thought to "Lucid Dreams". While the recording technique may have been original and the majority of the songs are a shitload of fun, Franz Ferdinand it would seem are starting to lose their edge. Grade: B (keeping in mind that compared to most of the stuff that is released nowadays [don't I sound old] is crap compared to this album) Recommended Songs: "Ulysses," "No You Girls," "Twilight Omens," and "Bite Hard"

Off With Their Heads by Kaiser Chiefs
In one review of the Kaiser Chiefs' second album, a reviewer over at Fake DIY pointed out that the Kaiser Chiefs are a band that makes music that sometimes needs to be "lived in" (my words from around the same time) before it can be truly appreciated. While writing a first review several months after an album is released makes no sense, re-reviewing Off With Their Heads seems worthwhile because this is definitely an album that needs to be lived in before you can really get it.
Off With Their Heads is, after listening to it at least fifty times, still a disappointment. It's an example of what happens when a band that should have taken a break decides to record an album instead. While a great many of the songs are seriously lacking in enthusiasm, after about fifty listenings, each song has a bar/measure/chorus that makes it worthwhile to listen to. But a single bar/measure/verse/chorus does not a good song make and the majority of the album suffers because of that fact. Yours Truly, Angry Mob was often accused of being bland and many considered it another example of the sophomore slump, but really Off With Their Heads is the album that suffers the most from blandness. Revamped Grade: C+ Recommend Songs: "Like It Too Much," "You Want History," "Good Days, Bad Days," "Always Happens Like That," "Addicted to Drugs"

Perfect Symmetry by Keane
In thinking about it, my original review of this album still accurately reflects my opinion of Perfect Symmetry. But instead of giving the album a B+, I would give it an A-, because compared to the two albums I just reviewed, Perfect Symmetry perfectly combines musical development with lyrical development while still being in sync with the band's overall image. Recommended Songs: "The Lovers Are Losing," "Better Than This," "Perfect Symmetry," "Playing Along," "Pretend That You're Alone," "Love is the End"

The next big review will be Lily Allen's second album which is released Feb. 10th, so be expecting something around then.

Writer's Block on LJ

The question was "who (or what) is your favourite robot." Here's my answer:

Marvin the manic-depressive robot. The main reason he's my favourite fictional robot is because of Alan Rickman's performance of him in The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy. Besides, I don't think the Daleks technically count as robots...

Bad Night

You know it's a bad night when...

• The only thing keeping you from screaming is a fear that someone won't understand and alert the police
• The only thing keeping you from crying out right is concentrating on the song your singing
• You wish you could drink out of the vain hope that it will make you feel better
• The loudness of a door banging is an excellent measurement of how frustrated you are
• You can't even feign niceness when talking to the reason for it being a bad night, even though he has no idea why you have any reason for being mad
• Singing at the top of your lungs is the only constructive means of expressing your frustration
• Throwing your purse against a window doesn't seem like that bad an idea
• Even the thought of Stephen Fry isn't enough to make you feel less hollow inside

Tonight is bad. I know if I do as he asked, I'll regret it. I'm so like my father when I'm mad or frustrated. I stew and I avoid. I'm not proud of this fact, but at least I can acknowledge the fact. But I'm not going to change tonight and though I may regret it in the morning, I'll just have to live with that. It's been a very bad night for me.

Second Week

So my second week of classes is nearly over and I don't have much to say. Music history has been a disappointment thus far while Asian Civ. is definitely going to be the highlight of my schedule. The teacher is manic, but loves the subject the same way Prof. Harris loves Russian history, so it makes for a really interesting class. Granted, I'm not completely awake during class, but it's still brilliant. As for music history, she seems to be teaching directly from the book and acts like a high school teacher. I guess I just haven't had any really uptight professors in my year and a half of college, but I guess I just expect more. C'est la vie and who knows, maybe the class will get better as the semester progresses.
Theory is theory, though I've been enjoying it more recently because I actually understand it a bit better than I have in the past. Right now we're talking about musical forms (sonata, rondo, etc.) and so it's not particularly hard (unless you're incredibly thick or think about things way too deeply) which is kind of nice. Skills is so-so, but I've come to expect that. In any event, it's not as bad as has been in the past, though it's still not my favourite subject.
Classics is excellent. I don't really have much to say about that class because it's neither sub-par nor examplary. The professor knows her stuff, but right now we're just reading the primary sources of myths I already know really well. Nonetheless, I'm enjoying the class and continue to think it will be really good.
And then of course we have the periphery classes: Band and chorus. We didn't have chorus the first week because Prof. T was in Italy (oh how I envy her.) Band has been fluctuating because we keep getting new people and then those new people don't always come back. The third clarinet section (my section) has been fluctuating between me by myself and me with someone sight-reading. It's annoying, but I'll survive. I think all the other sections are pretty much settled (except for the trumpets.)
Life is good. I am happy and will not die, despite what I think when I wake up at 7:15 am. :nods:

In Praise of Men (or More Information Than You Ever Wanted To Know)

Men are an interesting lot. They abandon you for days on end* and then call completely out of the blue and during a show you particularly like and haven't seen a million times, asking if you'd like to hang out. You say yes, because there's no reason not too and you've made it clear** that nothing NC-17 can occur. So there you are sitting in your uncomfortable chair while the male that you've let come over lounges on your bed. You decide you want to join because he's your male and it's also your bed. Besides, this is just a visit and you're both enjoying watching Bones. And if you (the readers) are at all intelligent you can guess what happens next. Men are interesting because even when they say they're trying to resist their own urges, they aren't. But really, I should have known better and should have stayed in the uncomfortable chair. My bum's use to feeling slightly numb.
The awkward bit was when, after the male had locked the door, my roommate tried opening said door. Awkward*** as shit.

*No communication for a day is considered abandonment when you have way too much free time and little to do
**As clear as I'm ever going to be when it comes to bodily functions
***Hunter, I think in an effort to diffuse the situation, asked my roommate how she was. When she asked him the same question, he said tired, with some explanation as to why. I nearly died. Sure his explanation didn't have anything to do with why the room was locked, but his answer was still tired. Yeah, I nearly died.

Further Proof of my Insanity

Well this little post just made my day (after some other things I did tonight with some other people). I have to admit I'm not the biggest fan of Noel Clarke (aka Mickey aka Rickey), but if I saw a sign telling me to vote for him, I would. Because he was in Doctor Who and did some stuff for Torchwood and that's all that matters to me sometimes. Also, why doesn't Wikipedia tell me where Mr. Clarke is from? I need to know these things, how else will I learn the difference between a west London accent and other London area accents? Hmmm?? Come on Wikipedia, do your job.

And Now For Something With Meaning

Songs tend to go through cycles with me. I listen to a song, an album, an artist until I'm basically sick of them and then I move on. Sometimes I only listen to a song/album/artist a few times and then move on to something else. Eventually I might come back to the song/album/artist or I might not, it really depends. I listen to songs that make me feel better, that I can relate to, that I can sing to, that are by artists I consider dependable, that I've listened to a thousand times (kind of like how I watch TV, but I digress.) More often than not though I listen to things that I can relate to. As an example I like listening to the Cribs when I'm in a piss poor mood and when I'm depressed I listen to Franz Ferdinand or the Kaiser Chiefs. When I'm feeling angsty over my current marital status I listen "Every Day a Little Death" from A Little Night Music because it mirrors my angsty feelings perfectly. However today I was listening to "The Rhythm of Life" from Sweet Charity when I decided to add "Skip to the End" by the Futureheads to the playlist. Much like "Every Day a Little Death," "Skip to the End" perfectly mirrors my frame of mind right. It has in the past as well and now it's back in rotation. So here are the lyrics.

"Skip to the End" --- The Futureheads

If I could cheat,
I would skip to the end,
And decide if it's worth going through with,
Skip to the last, paragraph, just before we start,
To see the happy ending, or the broken heart.

If I could cheat,
I would skip to the end,
And decide if it's worth going through with,
Skip to the last, paragraph, just before we start,
To see the happy ending, or the broken heart,
Happy ending, or the broken heart.

[CHORUS]

(Naaa, nanananana) There's nothing to rely on, (Nana)
(Naaa, nanananana) C'mon and skip to the end, (Nana)
(Naaa, nanananana) There's nothing to fall back on, (Nana)
(Naaa, nanananana) C'mon and skip to the end.

When I cut teeth, I cut to the root,
Then the end, is absolute.
When she makes sense, I go through the roof,
Then the end, has living proof.

If I could cheat,
I would skip to the end,
And decide if it's worth going through with it,
Last paragraph, just before we start,
To see the happy ending, or a broken heart,
Happy ending, or a broken heart.

[CHORUS]

(Naaa, nanananana) There's nothing to rely on, (Nana)
(Naaa, nanananana) C'mon and skip to the end, (Nana)
(Naaa, nanananana) There's nothing to fall back on, (Nana)
(Naaa, nanananana) C'mon and skip to the end.

(Naaa, nanananana) There's nothing to rely on, (Nana)
(Naaa, nanananana) C'mon and skip to the end, (Nana)
(Naaa, nanananana) There's nothing to fall back on, (Nana)
(Naaa, nanananana) C'mon and skip to the end.

A Movie Survey

Supposedly if you've seen over 85 of these films, you have no life. Mark the ones you've seen. There are 239 films on this list. Copy this list, go to your own facebook account, paste this as a note. Then, put x's next to the films you've seen, add them up, change the header adding your number, and click post at the bottom. Have fun.

(x) Rocky Horror Picture Show
(X) Grease
(X) Pirates of the Caribbean
(X) Pirates of the Caribbean 2: Dead Man's Chest
() Boondock Saints
(X) Fight Club
() Starsky and Hutch
() Neverending Story
() Blazing Saddles
() Airplane
Total: 5

(X) The Princess Bride
(X) Anchorman
() Napoleon Dynamite
(X) Labyrinth
() Saw
() Saw II
() White Noise
() White Oleander
(X) Anger Management
() 50 First Dates
(X) The Princess Diaries
() The Princess Diaries 2: Royal Engagement
Total so far: 10

() Scream
() Scream 2
() Scream 3
() Scary Movie
() Scary Movie 2
() Scary Movie 3
() Scary Movie 4
() American Pie
() American Pie 2
() American Wedding
() American Pie Band Camp
Total so far: 10

(X) Harry Potter 1
(X) Harry Potter 2
(X) Harry Potter 3
(X) Harry Potter 4
() Resident Evil 1
() Resident Evil 2
(X) The Wedding Singer
() Little Black Book
() The Village
() Lilo & Stitch
Total so far:15

(X) Finding Nemo
(X) Finding Neverland
(X) Signs
() The Grinch
() Texas Chainsaw Massacre (the original, from the '70s!)
() Texas Chainsaw Massacre: The Beginning
() White Chicks
() Butterfly Effect
(X) 13 Going on 30
(X) I, Robot
() Robots
Total so far: 20

(X) Dodgeball: A True Underdog Story
() Universal Soldier
(X) Lemony Snicket: A Series Of Unfortunate Events
() Along Came Polly
() Deep Impact
() KingPin
(X) Never Been Kissed
(X) Meet The Parents
() Meet the Fockers
() Eight Crazy Nights
() Joe Dirt
(X) KING KONG
Total so far:25

() A Cinderella Story
(X) The Terminal
() The Lizzie McGuire Movie
() Passport to Paris
() Dumb & Dumber
() Dumber & Dumberer
() Final Destination
() Final Destination 2
() Final Destination 3
() Halloween (the original from 1978!)
(X) The Ring
() The Ring 2
() Surviving X-MAS
(X) Flubber
Total so far: 28

(X) Harold & Kumar Go To White Castle
(X) Practical Magic
(X) Chicago
() Ghost Ship
(X) From Hell
(X) Hellboy
() Secret Window
() I Am Sam
(X) The Whole Nine Yards
() The Whole Ten Yards
Total so far: 34

() The Day After Tomorrow
() Child's Play
() Seed of Chucky
() Bride of Chucky
(X) Ten Things I Hate About You
() Just Married
() Gothika
() Nightmare on Elm Street
() Sixteen Candles
(X) Remember the Titans
() Coach Carter
() The Grudge
() The Grudge 2
(X) The Mask
() Son Of The Mask
Total so far: 37

() Bad Boys
() Bad Boys 2
() Joy Ride
() Lucky Number Slevin
(X) Ocean's Eleven
(X) Ocean's Twelve
(X) Bourne Identity
() Bourne Supremacy
() Lone Star
(X) Bedazzled
() Predator I
() Predator II
() The Fog (the original, with Adrienne Barbeau)
(X) Ice Age
() Ice Age 2: The Meltdown
() Curious George
Total so far: 42 (!!)

(X) Independence Day
() Cujo
() A Bronx Tale
() Darkness Falls
() Christine
(X) ET
( ) Children of the Corn
( ) My Boss's Daughter
(X) Maid in Manhattan
() War of the Worlds
() Rush Hour
() Rush Hour 2
Total so far: 45

( ) Best Bet
() How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days
(X) She's All That
() Calendar Girls
(X) Sideways
(X) Mars Attacks
() Event Horizon
(X) Ever After
(X) Wizard of Oz
(X) Forrest Gump
() Big Trouble in Little China
() The Terminator
() The Terminator 2
() The Terminator 3
Total so far: 51

(X) X-Men
(X) X-2
() X-3
(X) Spider-Man
(X) Spider-Man 2
( ) Sky High
( ) Jeepers Creepers
( ) Jeepers Creepers 2
() Catch Me If You Can
(X) The Little Mermaid
(x) Freaky Friday
() Reign of Fire
() The Skulls
() Cruel Intentions
() Cruel Intentions 2
() The Hot Chick
(X) Shrek
(X) Shrek 2
Total so far: 59

() Swimfan
(X) Miracle on 34th street
() Old School
(X) The Notebook
(X) K-Pax
() Krippendorf's Tribe
() A Walk to Remember
() Ice Castles
() Boogeyman
(X) The 40-year-old Virgin
Total so far: 63

(X) Lord of the Rings Fellowship of the Ring
(X) Lord of the Rings The Two Towers
(X) Lord of the Rings Return Of the King
(X) Indiana Jones and the Raiders of the Lost Ark
(X) Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom
(X) Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade
Total so far: 69

() Baseketball
() Hostel
(X) Waiting for Guffman
() House of 1000 Corpses
() Devils Rejects
(X) Elf
() Highlander
() Mothman Prophecies
() American History X
() Three
Total so Far: 71

() The Jacket
() Kung Fu Hustle
() Shaolin Soccer
() Night Watch
(X) Monsters Inc.
(X) Titanic
(X) Monty Python and the Holy Grail
(X) Shaun Of the Dead
( ) Willard
Total so far: 75

() High Tension
() Club Dread
() Hulk
() Dawn Of the Dead
(X) Hook
() Chronicles Of Narnia: The Lion the Witch and the Wardrobe
() 28 days later
() Orgazmo
() Phantasm
() Waterworld
Total so far: 76

() Kill Bill vol 1
() Kill Bill vol 2
() Mortal Kombat
() Wolf Creek
() Kingdom of Heaven
() The Hills Have Eyes
() I Spit on Your Grave aka the Day of the Woman
() The Last House on the Left
() Re-Animator
() Army of Darkness
Total so far: 76

(X) Star Wars Ep. I The Phantom Menace
(X) Star Wars Ep. II Attack of the Clones
() Star Wars Ep. III Revenge of the Sith
(X) Star Wars Ep. IV A New Hope
(X) Star Wars Ep. V The Empire Strikes Back
(X) Star Wars Ep. VI Return of the Jedi
() Ewoks Caravan Of Courage
() Ewoks The Battle For Endor
Total so far: 81

(X) The Matrix
() The Matrix Reloaded
() The Matrix Revolutions
() Animatrix
() Evil Dead
() Evil Dead 2
() Team America: World Police
() Red Dragon
() Silence of the Lambs
() Hannibal

Total: 82

So I barely have a life, but considering how many times I've watched House, Bones, Black Books*, QI, and Never Mind the Buzzcocks, I can't say with any honesty that this survey is a true reflection of my life. I merely have seen 82 of these movies. But it was fun anyway.

*In the hopes that I could get another person to love Dylan Moran almost as much as I do, I had Hunter watch this the other day when we hung out. Unlike with Spaced he really enjoyed Black Books. It was very gratifying, especially after the success I had with Clark last year. Next step is either QI or Mock the Week. We shall see.

To Thine Own Self Be True

This is why I didn't want a boyfriend. I know myself well enough to know that I get wrapped up, I get emotionally attached and pretty soon every action is a personal affront, an indication I did something wrong, a signal that everything is falling apart. I get frustrated, I get angry, I get possessive. I know this because I know myself. This is how I acted with Miles, this is how I act with my bands, this is how I act with my shows. I yell and think evil thoughts, but when the emotional attachment is to something or someone I don't actually know, it doesn't matter. It means nothing. But when the emotional attachment, and all the emotions attached, is to someone real, someone I know, things go to hell and a hand basket. These are real emotions, emotions I have for a real person. And he can never know because if he was at all sensible he would run in the opposite direction. I would.

Anecdote

As a student with disability accommodations, at the beginning of every semester I have to find my professors' office, give them a letter explaining that I'm a student with disability accommodations, and then run away very quickly. (You see I'm deathly afraid of talking to most of my professors, even if I don't act like it when I'm actually talking to them. I'm good like that.) Today was one of those days after having prolonged the inevitable for the entire week. So I went in search of my classics professor's office. After much searching of the obvious areas and double checking that I had the office number correct (I did) I decided to ask the Computer Science secretary if she knew were this mysterious office might be. And what should I see through the office door's window but a long streak of nothing in a long coat and very colourful scarf aka Hunter. The whole point of this story is to say the following: My boyfriend is one of the most distinctive people on campus and I find that very, very amusing. (He asked what I was doing there and while I of course said I was looking for my professor's office, I came up with a really witty reply when I was walking back to my room [in the incredibly bitter cold]: "I'm stalking you." I found that to also be very, very amusing.)
Anywho, just an amusing anecdote from my first week. I'm going to take a nap now, since I have nothing better to do.
On a final note, the band is going to have 3 or 4 trumpets, 3 french horns, and 3 euphoniums. We have a real brass section!!! Or we're very close to having a real brass section. Still, very exciting.

My Personal Mantra

I'm going to write a mantra here that I will repeat to myself whenever Miles enters my brain and starts nagging me. I'm coming up with this mantra because I have a good thing in my life and refuse to sabotage it by being a paranoid freak of nature. So here's the mantra: I will not suspect Hunter of liking other women, based on absolutely no evidence whatsoever. I will not run in the opposite direction because he's friends with a person who made my life a living hell last year and misses them. I will not judge him based on the previous mantra statement or any other stupid reasons I can come up with. I will not be a paranoid freak of nature, nor will I let a boy from my past ruin my present. I will not.

I Have My Music on Shuffle and No Regrets

School can be really complicated and stressful. A bit like relationships, but more easily fixed. The problem is fixed, but I still have to get up well before 8 which makes me sad. :sigh: I'm just not a morning person at all.
Today was the first day of classes here at good ol' UMW and I was up bright and early at 7:15ish am. I won't have to get up that early everyday, but the only days I'll be sleeping in this semester are the weekends, and even that could change, god only knows. My first three classes were good and will be good. I mean theory is theory, but my classics and history classes should be at least mildly interesting if not actually quite fascinating. And then I was done. It was kind of nice today, but this whole being done at noon shit is going to get boring really fast, and probably very awkward. Still, it gave me plenty of time to worry over my geography class. Which I'm no longer in.
One of the great things about my brain is that it has an incredibly difficult time remembering that aren't trivial* or in some sort of context. So when I found out that 50% of my grade in geography would be based on how well I can memorize maps and remember them at 8 in the morning, I started panicking a little. I knew this could an issue, but I was kind of hoping I would be able to avoid it. Alas, me and geography were not meant to be and I'm now taking Asian Civ. II. The brilliant thing about this new class that I'm taking is a)I don't have to memorize any maps (as far as I know) and b)it covers the part of Asian history that deals with Europe, thus is tangentially about Europe. Oh yeah, I'm totally grasping at straws there. Granted this doesn't solve the problem of band set-up, but I've decided that what I'm going to do is set-up the night/afternoon before and put up a sign telling people not to mess with the room on pain of death (and yes, I really mean death.) Except for tomorrow, because I came up with this great idea well after the band room should have been closed. Tomorrow I have to hope someone will be there to open the room for me, or I might just explode before I even get a chance to enjoy any of my classes.
The highlight of my day though was eating with people. People can be really fun. So is threatening your boyfriend with a pitchfork if he doesn't study enough. I wonder if you can get pitchforks on Amazon...
On one last final note, I sent in my application for an internship at NPR. Here's to not getting a position yet again!


*While memorizing countries on a map might seem trivial, my kind of trivial is within a context as well. Like knowing that Billie Piper was on the same NMTB episode as Meatloaf or knowing that Ricky Wilson was born on Jan. 19th, ten years before me. All trivial, but within a context.

And Then There Was a Loud and Piercing Sound

HE'S COMING BACK!!!!!!!!! No, not David Tennant, this has nothing to do with DW. But yeah, I'm feeling much better with this piece of information* and yes, I do feel like an overly excited fangirl. It's brilliant 0_0!!!
*For those requiring further explanation: Hunter was reinstated with mucho thanks to VP Barra. He found out today and the whole world smiled. See? I am an overly excited fangirl, but with good reason.

Nore Unabriged (with Gusto)

A Facebook meme. If you've been reading this thing since it's inception (or have trolled through the archives) none of this will be new to you, however I like how I wrote my answers, so I'm posting it here. Enjoy!

1. I have central auditory processing disorder which means that I process everything I hear milliseconds slower than someone who doesn't have CAPD (and those milliseconds are really important and make the difference between eating a peach or a beach) and ambient noise doesn't help any.


2. I love reading and taught myself how to read when I was five (which is pretty normal actually).


3. I've been mildly obsessed with the Elizabethan era for as long as I can remember which in turn led to my not so mild obsession with the UK.


4. Pop music is my life and many of my interests are tangentially connected to pop music (I can make some really random connections including how I got into Doctor Who).


5. I've had five blogs since I was in 8th grade, but my blogger and livejournal accounts are the only ones I've written in consistently for more than a year. (I've had my blogger and livejournal accounts for almost 4 years now)


6. I went to boarding school for two years (8th and 9th grade) in Staunton, Virginia. Granted I went home every weekend, but it's an experience I'll never forget


7. I listened to only the Beatles for the majority of a year, but then I discovered British indie rock and became frightfully obsessed with that.


8. I was a ballerina for 9 and a half years and miss it with every fibre of my body. However I can't imagine wearing a leotard ever again, so there's no chance I'll start dancing again

I have been playing the clarinet for 8 and a half years and have tried to quite multiple times. It just keeps coming back.

9. The majority of my favourite shows are British which is rather inconvenient, especially since all but two are not aired in the US.


10. I've only been to London once, in 9th grade, but plan on living there the rest of my life (after college).


11. I like reading non-fiction in my spare time and particularly like reading about history (British, World, European, anything but American).


12. Since 10th or 11th grade I've slowly been training my self to spell words in British English. On my blog my spell check is in British English which reinforces what I'm training myself to do.


13. I can figure out the exact date of when something important happened in my life based on my blog (or at least important in the last four years, I lost the blog I had when I visited London).


14. I have a very British sense of humour and blame that entirely on Monty Python (especially since they inspired the current generation of British comedians).


15. I'm an extremely shy and private person and wouldn't normally do this kind of thing, but three people tagged me, so yeah 0_0 now you know everything.

This Isn't the Music 2008 Post I Promised

Dear Future and Perspective Boyfriends,
I am not dainty. I am a stubborn mule who refuses to move on the opinions (and things) I care about. I won't necessarily argue with you, but I tend not to argue when I'm not an expert on the subject. Also I've never really had good experiences when arguing, so that's another deterrent. However this doesn't mean I'm old fashioned and will bow to your every will. Yes I am inexperienced, but I'm not stupid. In fact that there's a very good chance I'm smarter than you, so don't underestimate me. Or if you do, do so at your own peril. To reiterate my first point, I'm not dainty. I don't want to be treated like I'm a porcelain doll, just like a princess, and only occasionally. Generally I should be regarded as your equal and if I'm not I'll get tetchy and then angry and you won't like me when I'm angry. I'm very much like my father when I'm angry. I won't yell, I'll just brood and be terse. Trust me, in the long run that reaction is much worse than yelling. I know my anger may seem unreasonable, but that's a tendency you'll just have to deal with. I am unreasonable and have been ever thus since my birth [wow, that was really Shakespearean]. As long as I am me I will be unreasonable and I will be stubborn. I will also be a romantic, but at heart (or better yet at intellect) I am a realist and a pessimist and will act accordingly. Don't taunt me, don't tempt me because my Emergency Program One is to run and I will if you give me a wide enough opening to do so. Treat me as you would treat yourself and I suppose you'll be fine. There are no guarantees when it comes to dealing with me. I have unreasonable expectations instilled by Disney and fairy tales and I've yet to let go of them. Also I have hormones from hell and hate phones. So good luck. I can't pretend to imagine why you want to be with me, but I've given you fair warning now. So yes, good luck.
With all sincerity,
Nore

Ringing in the New Year

In the past year (literally since January 1st) I have written around 147 entries (depending on where you're reading this). In the same amount of time I've had around 2,381 people look at my blog (or a particular entry) and go "Mmm, not what I was looking for." Granted of those 2,381 hits some have stuck around for a couple of minutes, but most glance and retreat. Without actually reading all 147 entries I would say more than half of them concern music in one way or another. The rest of the entries are either emo-tastic, nonsense (less than four sentences), fangirl-ish ravings (though really a good majority of those fall under the music category), or can be considered misc (any and everything about Hunter and a good bit of how I spent my summer). Most entries are a combination of the above categories.
In past years I have written more entries and slightly more profound things have happened to me. It seems that 2008, except for some really big awesome events (Obama getting elected comes to mind), has been a bit of a let down for everyone involved. But, things have happened, both good and bad and I feel they need to be documented. Just the good bits anyway, it is a holiday after all.
The year started off a bit rocky, but then again I was living with a moody bitch, so anyone's year would have started off rocky given the conditions. However things got better and by May I was free of the bitch and looking forward to the summer. Not that I should have been really, but I was anyway.
Late-ish in May I got my first job which was all well and terribly exciting. Having the job helped me narrow my focuses in terms of what I want to do in radio, but also reconfirmed that I really do want to be in radio for ever and ever (amen.) Having a job also meant that I spent a great deal of time commuting and not being around my Dad, both of which I was thankful for. But, as people who like clichés say, all good things must come to an end and soon it was time for the family vaca. And then school (dun dun duuuuuuuuh.)
The new school started out with a frenzy of depression followed by three different colds. Needless to say the first two months can only be described as somewhat grim with two things saving me from completely writing them off as shit: Anticipation and Doctor Who. The former deals with my waiting eagerly for the new Keane and Kaiser Chiefs albums and the latter has to do with the newly formed sci-fi (Doctor Who) club. But then something rather miraculous and completely unexpected happen: I got a boyfriend. A living breathing boyfriend. And that made all the shit (music theory, band) not matter as much. It's kind of sad, but true nonetheless. The past three months have gone by at a ferocious pace and the Kaiser Chiefs album is still only passable.
So now, as the new year begins I have Who, a boyfriend, and a roommate who doesn't drive me up the wall. My life isn't perfect, but I look forward to the new year and what it holds. It should be very interesting.
Later (today or tomorrow) a round-up of music and movies from 2008. Guaranteed to be much shorter than this entry!