Accumulated Miscellany
I've been wanting to write things here over the last few weeks, but the combination of work and laziness has conspired to keep me from doing it. There were a couple of things I thought about writing about: TV, music, politics, but I guess I didn't care enough to actually write it down. Now, though, I've got somethings to write about. I present to you:
1. Something I'm proud of,
2. Something I'm not so proud of,
3. A meme, and
4. A music link
1. Something I'm proud of - Or, something of which I'm proud. I ran a 5K race this past weekend. I haven't been going to the gym much the past few weeks, and was feeling a bit sick the past week, so I was worried about how well I'd do. Since Omega ran a 5K under 25 minutes a few weeks ago I've had it in my mind that I'd like to do 25 minutes, too. Last Thursday I went to the gym and ran 3.1 miles on the treadmill in 26:20, and it was a bit tiring, so I was pessimistic about my chances. While doing some warm up running Saturday morning before the race, I was a bit short of breath. I was feeling even less confident, and was resigning myself to get 27:00. The race started, and I ran as fast as I could without burning myself out. To my surprise, I looked at my watch as I crossed the finish line and it said 24:11! Officially, my time was 24:09 (let the cyberstalking begin). My mile pace was 7:46. I was very pleasantly surprised, and now I'm going to make sure I run more and do some races this summer so I can do the marathon next year.
2. Not so proud - I watch American Idol. Every week. I pick favorites and root for them. Sometimes I even vote. But last night, fearing that my favorite contestant might be in danger, I voted a lot. Like 50 times. I voted for Blake. I've had favorites every year I watched, but this year is the only time I've thought I could be a fan of the contestant after the show was over. Blake is a beatboxer and fan of alternative music. He's cool, and has a very unique, marketable voice. He's sung songs by Keane, The Cure, and 311 this season. There's never been a contestant closer to my taste in music than he is. I'd probably prefer him in a band context rather than solo, and the quality of whatever he releases will depend greatly on who's writing and producing his songs, but I think I may buy his first album. I'll at least sample it on iTunes to give it a chance.
3. A meme - Scarlet offered to do a blog interview, and since I hadn't had anything to write about in a while, I accepted. Here are her questions and my responses:
1) Which child is your favorite? Haha, just kidding, please don't pick one. Give me the top 3 favorite characteristics for each.
Tough question, because I love so much about both of my boys. But here are some things I love about them:
Older boy - very smart and curious, funny as all get out, sensitive and sweet.
Younger boy - loves music and to dance, shows how much he loves me when he sees me, cute as hell.
2) What 3 albums do you listen to the most?
Hmm, I only listen to whole albums in my car, and I try to put in different stuff when I switch the changer, but these three have been in there a lot lately:
Hey Mercedes - Loses Control
.Moneen. - Theory of Harmonial Value
Thingy - To the Innocent
3) What is your favorite Hey Mercedes song and why?
"The Frowning of a Lifetime". It's high energy, has some great dissonances in some of the chords, and has great lyrics, both in what they are and how they fit in the song rhythmically. Bob Nanna is a genius at how he puts lyrics together and makes them work in the melodies.
4) What were you like in high school? Did you enjoy hs?
I was pretty much a nerd and associated with academic types. I liked sports but didn't play them on HS teams. Most of my friends were from the Key Club and Chess and Strategy Games Club. I wasn't "popular", but well known and liked, I think. I was shy with girls and didn't date. At all. I liked high school a lot, even though I didn't have a blast socially.
5) If you were offered $1 million to be in a porn, would you? What if it's with Ron Jeremy?
My wife would obviously have to be okay with it (and ideally she would be my costar), but to get rid of my student loans and buy a great house, I probably would do a standard, non-gay, non-fetish porn movie scene with a condom on, even with Ron Jeremy (as long as I don't have to touch him).
4. A music link - A local radio station plays mashups every afternoon. I know this because my wife told me, I rarely listen to FM music radio. I never got into the mashup craze, but my wife recommended one she heard, so I checked it out. It's by a DJ named Party Ben, and it's a cross between "Every Breath You Take" by The Police and "Chasing Cars" by Snow Patrol. He calls it "Every Car You Chase" by The Snow Police and it's pretty cool. You can find it on his homepage. Check out his other stuff here. I especially recommend his "Dontcha/Seether" mashup. The two songs fit together perfectly. I can't hear either song alone without mentally putting the other into it now.
That's all for now. See in a few weeks! (hopefully not, but who knows)
1. Something I'm proud of,
2. Something I'm not so proud of,
3. A meme, and
4. A music link
1. Something I'm proud of - Or, something of which I'm proud. I ran a 5K race this past weekend. I haven't been going to the gym much the past few weeks, and was feeling a bit sick the past week, so I was worried about how well I'd do. Since Omega ran a 5K under 25 minutes a few weeks ago I've had it in my mind that I'd like to do 25 minutes, too. Last Thursday I went to the gym and ran 3.1 miles on the treadmill in 26:20, and it was a bit tiring, so I was pessimistic about my chances. While doing some warm up running Saturday morning before the race, I was a bit short of breath. I was feeling even less confident, and was resigning myself to get 27:00. The race started, and I ran as fast as I could without burning myself out. To my surprise, I looked at my watch as I crossed the finish line and it said 24:11! Officially, my time was 24:09 (let the cyberstalking begin). My mile pace was 7:46. I was very pleasantly surprised, and now I'm going to make sure I run more and do some races this summer so I can do the marathon next year.
2. Not so proud - I watch American Idol. Every week. I pick favorites and root for them. Sometimes I even vote. But last night, fearing that my favorite contestant might be in danger, I voted a lot. Like 50 times. I voted for Blake. I've had favorites every year I watched, but this year is the only time I've thought I could be a fan of the contestant after the show was over. Blake is a beatboxer and fan of alternative music. He's cool, and has a very unique, marketable voice. He's sung songs by Keane, The Cure, and 311 this season. There's never been a contestant closer to my taste in music than he is. I'd probably prefer him in a band context rather than solo, and the quality of whatever he releases will depend greatly on who's writing and producing his songs, but I think I may buy his first album. I'll at least sample it on iTunes to give it a chance.
3. A meme - Scarlet offered to do a blog interview, and since I hadn't had anything to write about in a while, I accepted. Here are her questions and my responses:
1) Which child is your favorite? Haha, just kidding, please don't pick one. Give me the top 3 favorite characteristics for each.
Tough question, because I love so much about both of my boys. But here are some things I love about them:
Older boy - very smart and curious, funny as all get out, sensitive and sweet.
Younger boy - loves music and to dance, shows how much he loves me when he sees me, cute as hell.
2) What 3 albums do you listen to the most?
Hmm, I only listen to whole albums in my car, and I try to put in different stuff when I switch the changer, but these three have been in there a lot lately:
Hey Mercedes - Loses Control
.Moneen. - Theory of Harmonial Value
Thingy - To the Innocent
3) What is your favorite Hey Mercedes song and why?
"The Frowning of a Lifetime". It's high energy, has some great dissonances in some of the chords, and has great lyrics, both in what they are and how they fit in the song rhythmically. Bob Nanna is a genius at how he puts lyrics together and makes them work in the melodies.
4) What were you like in high school? Did you enjoy hs?
I was pretty much a nerd and associated with academic types. I liked sports but didn't play them on HS teams. Most of my friends were from the Key Club and Chess and Strategy Games Club. I wasn't "popular", but well known and liked, I think. I was shy with girls and didn't date. At all. I liked high school a lot, even though I didn't have a blast socially.
5) If you were offered $1 million to be in a porn, would you? What if it's with Ron Jeremy?
My wife would obviously have to be okay with it (and ideally she would be my costar), but to get rid of my student loans and buy a great house, I probably would do a standard, non-gay, non-fetish porn movie scene with a condom on, even with Ron Jeremy (as long as I don't have to touch him).
4. A music link - A local radio station plays mashups every afternoon. I know this because my wife told me, I rarely listen to FM music radio. I never got into the mashup craze, but my wife recommended one she heard, so I checked it out. It's by a DJ named Party Ben, and it's a cross between "Every Breath You Take" by The Police and "Chasing Cars" by Snow Patrol. He calls it "Every Car You Chase" by The Snow Police and it's pretty cool. You can find it on his homepage. Check out his other stuff here. I especially recommend his "Dontcha/Seether" mashup. The two songs fit together perfectly. I can't hear either song alone without mentally putting the other into it now.
That's all for now. See in a few weeks! (hopefully not, but who knows)
posted by at 9:39 AM
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