While at work today I stumbled across this article that gives ten tips on how to be a good blogger. I found it quite interesting and thought you would too. Maybe I’ll even take some of the advice and incorporate these points into “Life Is Such A Sweet Insanity.”
Overload.
This work and school thing simultaneously has me feeling a little overloaded in the technology department. I mean it’s point and click at work, point and click at school and then point and click at home. Point. Click. Point. Click. Point. Click.
Gosh I miss the DOS prompt.
So I haven’t been as chatty as usual here in cyberspace. It’s all good, even the most devoted of geeks needs a break now and then.
School is going well and I am *loving* the experience. I’m ready to take more on come spring semester. Work is going well in that it isn’t on my nerves and the social calendar is filling up quickly, as always. Earl and I are continuing our year long 10-year anniversary celebration by planning a special weekend beginning October 13, the anniversary of the day I proposed to him. Part of that weekend will be spent in Buffalo as I assume the guise of “DJ PiperCub”, but the rest of the weekend is in Earl’s capable hands. I heard something about a train, a plane and an automobile but I guess I’ll just have to wait until I can be surprised.
At least on September 13, the anniversary of the day we moved in together, we didn’t pitch any plates or glasses at each other. We’ve never done that. We don’t do that. I don’t know why the thought even crossed my mind.
So after work tonight at 5:00 p.m., I get to zoom home, gulp down some chow and head off to school to be in class by 6. Hopefully in stylish jeans. Tuesday night it was mentioned that we are not allowed to turn on the computers until the instructor is present. Guess I can’t buck for some brownie points tonight by doing that again.
Popcorn.
I love popcorn. I love the smell of it. I love the taste of it. I love making it. There’s nothing about popcorn I don’t like. In fact, since Earl is out of town tonight, I’m eating my second bowl of it right now as a snack before bedtime. Nothing like a little bit of Orville Reddenbacher to get one interested in bed, that’s what I always say.
As a kid I was fed popcorn on a regular basis. Thank the Universe for the invention of the Radarange, because my mother used it to pop some corn for just about ever meal of the week. Soup? Side of popcorn. Sandwiches? Side of popcorn. Prime Rib? Side of popcorn. It was the only vegetable I ate. When we went to my grandparents on Sunday for “Family Day”, there was a bowl of popcorn on the table. The bowl was bigger than the bathtub and the popcorn was leftover from Friday night, but who cares, Grams made it with some wickedly delicious lard thing, real butter and lots of salt.
These are the things that harden arteries the right way!
As an adult I used popcorn as one of the two* major criteria for evaluating men. Wannabe suitors could take me to the finest restaurants in Boston, shower me with the most lavish gifts from Lechmere and Jordan Marsh and take me for rides in the sheets to places that would make a porn star blush, but if they didn’t like popcorn, they were gone. Quickly. No questions asked.
“I don’t think we were meant to be together. You don’t like popcorn.”
I’ve gone to the movie theatre, bribed my way past the ticket taker for access to the lobby and have purchased a large popcorn then left, large corn in hand and a big smile on my face. Why watch a movie when you can eat popcorn? Back in the early 1990s we used to go to the local speedway to watch the races on Saturday night. The fumes from the fuel used in the cars would make everyone’s eyes water, dust and dirt would be flying all over the place, but there I was sitting next to my cousin Becky, large popcorn in hand when she would yell to me “Corn?” That meant she wanted to share. The noise in the speedway was so loud your ears would ring for days afterward, but I heard that magic word.
So now I’m contemplating making another batch of popcorn for a snack and to share with the birds. I might as well spread the love.
*For those that are curious, you’ll have to e-mail me for the details on the second criteria. I can’t give away all my trade secrets.
Little Bit Country, Little Bit Rock ‘n Roll.
I rarely do these type of blog thingees, but I saw this on Karl’s blog and I thought I’d give it a whirl for myself.
I think I’m a little surprised by the response!
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You Are Austin |
 A little bit country, a little bit rock and roll. You’re totally weird and very proud of it. Artistic and freaky, you still seem to fit in… in your own strange way. Famous Austin residents: Lance Armstrong, Sandra Bullock, Andy Roddick |
Is That You, Loretta?
I just had the oddest experience. I was eating my lunch, catching up on blogs and minding my own business when the phone rang. After remembering the fact that I’m no longer on call and was able to shake off any jitters or panic attacks, I proceeded to answer the phone. I was hoping it was Earl calling to talk dirty to me during my lunch hour. Of course I didn’t check the caller ID.
“Hello?”, I said in the deepest, sexiest voice I could muster.
“Well hello Loretta, It’s Joanne.”, said an elderly voice on the other end. She sounded like a woman.
“Uh, I think you have the wrong number”, I said (deflated), lowering my baritone voice down into the James Earl Jones range.
“How’ve you been?”, asked Joanne.
“Well, I’ve been fine, but I don’t think you have the right number.” I began to paint a mental image of what this mysterious Loretta must look and sound like. I wondered if her mustache was red too.
“When do you want to get together?”
“I really think you have the wrong number.”
“Is this 1545? 5945? 4945?”, she asked, suddenly confused. I was confused too, because she had rattled off too many phone numbers. Perhaps she was trying to dial Egypt.
“None of the above”, I responded. Such wit.
“Well I was trying to call Loretta.”
“Well, I’m not her. Have a good day.”
If you see a woman with a husky voice and a red mustache, tell her Joanne called.
Taco Bell Run.
We’ve done our best to eat healthy all weekend. We haven’t been out much because of my on-call obligations. So how did we celebrate?
We took a ride to the closest Taco Bell and then ate in the car while we drove around the city.
There wasn’t anything going on. But the food was damn good.
BT, “Remember”.
As I was busy reassembling my music library today, I was delighted to find a CD single I’ve been looking for since Earl and I moved into this house almost three years ago. It’s my favorite record of all time.
BT, “Remember”.
I remember when I first discovered BT’s music. His album ESCM arrived on my desk at the radio station back in 1996. Unfamiliar with this BT, the CD didn’t make it to the weekly music meetings for a number of weeks. There were no record reps calling me begging me for airplay. It wasn’t even mentioned in the trades.
When I first started out as a Program Director I used to screen new music by throwing it in the CD player in the car and going for a drive. I figured most listeners listened to the radio in the car, so I would do the same to see if the song was good or not. If I liked it, the CD case stayed in the passenger seat. If I didn’t think it worked, it got thrown in the back seat. If I really hated the record, it got thrown on the floor of the back seat and then into the dumpster when I got back to the station. It was a system that worked well for a number of years, until the station became overwhelmed with music. Then the music director and I would just plop CDs in one of the payola boomboxes we had, listen to the first 30 seconds and if it grabbed us, go another 30 seconds, otherwise it was tossed in the garbage bin. I seem to remember records scoring higher if they were wrapped in colored paper instead of the traditional white flyer. By the way, Britney Spears’ “Hit Me Baby (One More Time)” went into the trash bin after the first 30 seconds, right down the same road as the Spice Girls “Wannabe”. No one ever said the 30 second rule accounted for bad public taste.
Anyways, I distinctly remember listening to BT’s full length CD, “ESCM” and being absolutely gripped by the amazing use of technology on all his tracks. I ended up going for an extra long ride that day back in 1997 because I wanted to listen to the whole CD before going back to the station. The CD flowed, I was swayed and my ears felt caressed. While it was never a big Top 40 hit, “Remember” gained a permanent spot on the station playlist and in the mix shows.
I’m glad to have found the CD. It’s once again found a place of prominence in the music library.
Here’s the track on Amazon if you want to take a listen. The vocals on “Remember” are by Jan Johnston.
Rewind.
This weekend has flown by and unfortunately I have accomplished very little of what I had on my “to do” list. The floors haven’t been vacuumed, the furniture hasn’t been dusted and the cat litter hasn’t been changed.
I’ve been too busy playing in the music studio.
I’ve been asked to DJ at bear night in Buffalo in October. The last time I DJ’d was at bear night in Buffalo last September, so it’s been a little while. I’ve been messing around with the equipment here at home in the meantime, and while it’s quite enjoyable, I don’t get the “rush” I usually get when I see a crowded dance floor with lots of hot, sweaty people doing their best gyrations to the music I’m playing. Maybe I should play some videos or something here at the house but I don’t think that’ll be the same either.
Earl and I did go out to the local bar for a few drinks Friday night to survey the current gay club scene in Utica. Sigh. Times have changed and occasionally I feel like an obsolete model when we go out locally, as the folks here all like that hip-hoppy, shuffle like you’re depressed music that doesn’t have any energy behind it whatsoever. I don’t know why that’s the case since when we go out in other cities, the music is still quite acceptable. So Friday night I told the bartender, that would be first Earl, that I would gladly spin one or two nights over the next couple of months to see if there’s any interest. I’ll probably have to keep pestering them about it, just like I did way back in 1992 when I first started spinning there.
Meanwhile, I’m currently recording my favorite 12-inch singles into my PowerBook, after running them through a program called “ClickRepair” which does a really good job of getting rid of the clicks and pops time has put on my precious vinyl. I’ve done three records so far: “You Keep Me Hanging On” by Reba McEntire, “That’s What Love Can Do” by Boy Krazy and “Happy” by Legacy of Sound featuring Meja. I shudder to think that these three tracks are at least a decade old. I’ve got about 40 or 50 more to go to be ready for bear night. While the vinyl is recording, I’m messing on the other computer getting the feel for the software I use to spin.
Thank the Universe I haven’t lost my touch.
Perhaps I’ll have to put together a mix MP3 to share.
The Weekend Layeth Before Me.
So here it is Friday night and Earl and I are sitting upstairs playing on the computer. It’s very still outside, which has me a little nervous because I see Chicago east through the Ohio Valley is having some wild weather with tornado warnings and such. Normally, I would be quite excited about the possibility of that blowing through here except for one thing.
I’m on call this weekend.
I can’t really complain about on-call, as my team leader took two nights of my duties this week so I could go to school Tuesday and Thursday. On call during the week is the hardest part of the whole on call thing, the weekend is cake because I can sleep when I need to. So I’m not going to complain about it.
It does leave me wondering what to do this weekend though. We spent last weekend cleaning the house so aside from dusting, laundry and watering the plants, the house is in decent shape. I think I feel a video project stirring. Perhaps I’ll have to mess around with that a little bit and see if I can dream up something interesting. Now that the basement is cleaned out, I have room to put together a green screen.
Maybe I’ll try flying in a video.
Falling Leaves.
This weekend marks the official beginning of autumn, which happens to be my favorite season of the year. This past summer was a bit of a dud as far as weather goes with a lot of rain falling in our area, I’m hoping that means we’ll have some spectacular colors as the leaves turn.
Another thing I enjoy about autumn is that my method of cooking is more acceptable. I like to throw everything in a crock pot the night before and let it do it’s thing all day long, so supper is ready to go when we get home from work. I have books on how to cook just about anything in a crock pot, including a chocolate cake. Perhaps I’ll have to give that a whirl this fall.
I thought our busy summer schedule would simmer down once the weather cooled down, but we have something planned for next bunch of weekends, including weddings, going to Buffalo to see old friends and one of many (hopefully) Eagles games in Philadelphia.
For once I don’t have something to bitch about in my blog today, life is good. I hope it’s good for everyone that’s reading this. I could probably get a good rant worked up about the various headlines I’ve seen scroll across CNN this morning, but I’m not in the mood. We all know the world is a mess, no need in having yet another blogger point that out.
