Yesterday's News: I Am Shocked

I don't know what to say. That's part of why I didn't post earlier today. It's not at all what I expected to hear here in New Hampshire, and I'm not sure I know how this will affect the future.

But, life must go on, and so I won't dwell on the weirdness of it.

It is weird, isn't it? The engagement coming only three months after the big brouhaha of a divorce. Crazy.

What? Why are you looking so confused?

I'm talking about Sarkozy's announcement yesterday that he is engaged to supermodel-turned-singer Carla Bruni.

What did you think I was talking about?

But she does have a sexy voice, doesn't she. Click on track no. 3 to listen:

A Rockin' Christmas Song

Sometimes, you need a little pep to start your day.

I love the Kinks' Father Christmas, and this morning, I listened to it nice and loud.

Here it is, for your listening pleasure!

Gratitude Griday, No. 2

I love music. I love listening to music, I love discovering music, and I love making mixes.*

I am grateful that I am alive at a time when it is extremely easy to learn about new music without depending on ClearChannel dronesbroadcast radio.

Thanks to my iPod (curiously missing these past 30 hours [yes, I'm counting in hours], and I'm thinking I may need to worry about this soon), I can have music when I'm practically anywhere.

Thanks to Internet radio, I know that on any given day I will hear something I haven't heard before.

Thanks to online information tools, I can share music with all of you. No one ever commented on the song I embedded a few weeks ago, so I have no idea if project playlist works. I'm trying again.** I think this song is a great way to start the day. You can almost call it a musical morning blessing. Almost.

Oh. And, may I suggest? Listen to it loud.

*And I know I still owe several of you mixes; this knowledege keeps me up at night (not that I'm looking for sympathy, I totally deserve the insomniac guilt). I dare not say "Soon", but that's what I'm thinking.

**The subtle message incorporated in the previous two sentences is: Listen to this and then comment, dagnabbit!

Multimedia argument

Consider a man, who, during those halcyon pillowtalk days of yore, is told, “You have the largest, brownest eyes I have ever seen. *Sigh* They are so beautiful. Like a big, loveable, puppy dog’s eyes.”

And who responds to his beloved with:

Your eyes remind me of a turtle!



Consider a man, who, upon first hearing this song:

Says:

Eeeeesh. She sounds like she was high when she wrote this!

Consider a man, who, when played this capture (from this Slate.com article) of someone breathing heavy (“light” snoring),



when told this is what he does from time to time, and is asked if this is a good representation of what his beloved does from time to time, replies:


Ummmm. What you do is more what one generally thinks of when one hears the term “snooooorrrrring”.


I ask you, can this man’s judgment be trusted?

Clearly, no.




Right? I mean, gosh—I hate the fact that I have no control over what I sound like when I’m asleep. I hate not being in control, period. But. For full disclosure purposes, when I wailed that now I would never feel comfortable sharing a room with anyone ever again, this selfsame man reassured me that (a) he hadn’t noticed an occurrence of this snoooorrrring in the past year, and (b) it didn’t really matter because he was planning to be the one to share a bed with me for many more decades to come. (Awwwwww. [But I’m still never going to forget the turtle comment!])

Ooooo! And isn't this embedded playlist thing cool? I think I may have to start using this.

Music Soothes The Savage Beast

Packing is kicking into high gear here, and I can feel the stress mounting.

So, I have an offer for you, my faithful readers. I need something to look forward to. I need something to be able to do during my packing "breaks" (which will be too few and far between, I already know).

Who would like to exchange music mixes with me? I don't like to brag (well, yes I do), but I'm a pretty kick-ass mixmaster, I've been told.

Here's an idea I've had for a while: I trade music mixes with folks who I "know" in the blog sense (that is, if you've commented here, if I've commented on your site, etc.) Any genre is fair game: classic (of all flavors), folk, electronica, rock, blues, ... WHATEVER.

To make it fun, how about each interested reader picks a theme (for each individual, not all of us together). It can be as complicated as you like ("Sunrise on Betelgeuse") or as simple as you please ("Summer Mix"). Then you and I make a mix for each other following that theme (and "follow" in the loosest sense of the word, of course; I don't want to CREATE stress, I hope to ALLEVIATE stress).

Let's pick a length. I propose 45 minutes - 1 hour (my mixes tend to go long, so I'd be happy to extend the length [or shorten it], let's discuss it in the comments).

If we've exchanged mixes in the past, you're still eligible. If you don't think you have any cool music, you're still eligible. If you live in another country, you're still eligible.

Tell me what you think in the comments. E-mail me with your address, and I'll reply with my (new) NH address. I may not get to all of them before I leave, but how about we plan to have the mixes sent out by the end of July?

Who's in?