Tuesday, May 23, 2006

I am amazed nearly every day at what music gets put into commercials nowadays. Yesterday I heard The Magnetic Fields' "I Think I Need A New Heart" playing in an ad for Cesar canned dog food. And an Iron and Wine song has been in an M&Ms ad for months. I hate those stupid anthropomorphic candy blobs, so that ad makes me sad. Usually recognizing music in ads doesn't bother me, though; the artists are making money off of what they do.

I am in the middle of doing all of the various small tasks that must be done before a long-ish trip. I'm leaving on vacation this weekend for a 10-day trip to California. It's for a family wedding the weekend afterwards. My nuclear family decided to make a vacation out of it, and here we are, all ready to JetBlue over to Oakland airport Saturday morning, me and my parents, my sister and her husband, and my niece. The trip is divided into thirds: We're starting at Asilomar, then going to San Francisco, and ending up in a town near SF called Lafayette. Not all of the places we're staying have internet access, so I might be hard to reach. I'd love to post photos as I go, as I'm sure I'll be taking a lot of them, and of course they will be awesome.

Monday, May 15, 2006

I had a physical today, the first one I have ever driven myself to (meaning I haven't had one since I was a kid). I wanted to get one before I started an exercise program, and now I no longer have a reason to not join the gym. Which means I've just made a huge mistake. Anyway, the physical was enlightening, in that I found out I do not actually have a heart murmur, and constructive, in that I got a prescription for lotion for my old-lady's nose (rosacea), and painful, in that they gave me a tetanus shot. I also had my first ever EKG, which was kind of neat. My heart is fine. I was hoping my doctor would scan the peaks and valleys and divine my romantic future, but instead he said something about my Q levels being within normal limits.

He also took a very brief geneological history, sketching a small chart on a blank piece of paper. In the middle of it, he asked, "Now, are you part-nerd?" I was surprised at the question, because it didn't seem to really bear on my health, but my doctor is slightly odd and open-minded, so maybe he was trying to determine how my lifestyle might be having an effect on my body... I was about to say "yes, how did you know?" until I suddenly realized he was actually saying "partnered." Thus proving that I am at least part-nerd, if not full.

Wednesday, May 10, 2006

I think I should change my profile photo, since my dog got a new owner (love that passive voice) almost two years ago. It's hard for me to give up those graceful tails. It's a nice shot, if I do say so myself.

Lots of bad news yesterday left me shaken and hyper at work, transitioning to full-on exhaustion by quittin' time. And nothing happened to me personally, is the thing. Empathy makes me a delicate flower sometimes. One of the bad things: The former home of B-Side Records, and independent record store, is going to become a Dunkin' Donuts. That's right, even though there's a full-sized stand-alone DD about a third of a mile away on King Street, and those mini-DDs inside two seperate gas stations in town, they're opening up a Dunkin' one short block away from Starbucks. Even closer to the site is the just-closed Javanet, another coffee shop. People in this town do not mind paying a lot for very good coffee and very good pastry. Why would anyone choose to go to Dunkin' Donuts while surrounded by other, better options? I'm hoping it'll have a quick and quiet death. Main Street has enough chain stores.

The other bad thing is very bad, a tragedy that happened to a friend, who hasn't yet mentioned anything on his blog so I'll leave it at that. The town's community of dreamy ne'er-do-wells, bohemians, and reformed-bohemians are rallying their support behind him.

There goes an ex-boyfriend. Two of them walk by my office windows on a daily basis. No hard feelings, it's just funny-strange. I especially like spying the one who just walked by, because he's from such a long time ago. We were very different from each other back then and have diverged even further over the years.

Speaking of things outside my window, I did visit the Pride rally on Saturday. It was packed. No gay rides per se, but there was a bounce house for the kids! I always get wistful about those, ever since one magical day near the end of my first year in college, when the graduating class spent their remaining activity money on a free bounce house and elephant rides next to the dorms. That was one of the funnest days of my life. Anyway, there were many booths selling rainbowed items and t-shirts, my favorites being the ones for kids saying stuff like "I love my two mommies" and "future folk singer." There were also many dogs of all sizes, including a very impressive pink poodle. Dakin Animal Shelter had a booth; I always give them money because I got my lovely dog there. They had a few dogs hanging around: a greyhound, a very gentle but huge Doberman with uncropped ears (I wanted that one), and a small toothless terrier, so of course I had to visit with them for a few minutes. I didn't buy any fried dough, but I was tempted. The Herrell's ice cream truck was there, even though the actual Herrell's is located less than 50 yards away. I escaped the rally and grabbed a slice from Luna's instead.

One good thing I learned yesterday: It's been all but confirmed (and maybe someone can confirm it for reals) that the Moan and Dove is coming to the former Silk Road location. They'd better get it going soon so I can enjoy a big goblet of Chimay with the front of the bar all open to the elements, and buy a drink or five for my friend.

Friday, May 05, 2006

The Gay Pride parade is tomorrow (or as it's referred to in town, just "Pride," as in "Pride is tomorrow"). I like to watch the parade, which is always festive and fun and they throw a lot of candy to the crowd, but I've never been to the rally afterwards. I have always pictured it just being kind of boring, filled with crappy folk music and lots of pamphlets lying on tables. But this year, the rally is happening in the parking lot outside of my window, and amongst the many tents they've been setting up all day is a Fried Dough truck! Rapture. Maybe there'll be rides, too? Gay rides? Rides that are proud? Fried dough is enough of a reason. I might have to actually check it out this year.

Wednesday, May 03, 2006

Last night I went to see a show at the Iron Horse: Harry and the Potters. I would never have gone but my Rockumentary friends were opening. There was a very nice crowd there; they had to open up the upstairs seating area. The audience was mostly all high school and college-aged women, all of a certain geeky type. A few men were mixed in, and a few parents-and-kids. Harry and the Potters were insane. They're two young guys, and they do this sunny punk-ish music using a Casio and a drum machine, and all of their lyrics are about Harry Potter. They, themselves, are Harry, and they call each other HP Year Seven and HP Year Four. They refer to themselves as "we" as in "we had to go save the school, again" and "we had a problem with a troll" and the like. The HPs started it off by saying "Voldemort hates it when you dance and have a good time!" and they kept up the rocking for the entire set, ending with the super-sweet anthem "The Weapon" which was about the most powerful weapon Harry has, which of course is love. No wonder the chicks dig them. They're very energetic on stage, and they frequently jumped into the crowd and got other people to sing (shout) along. The dance floor was packed (I was standing safely in the back). A fair number of people already knew all the words to their songs. Songs about what a jerk Cornelius Fudge is, and how nobody calls Ron Weasley "the Weasel" but they really should. My friend L and I kept looking at each other with our mouths open in shock and delight. We each bought shirts: She got a "This guitar is a horcrux" shirt, and I got a "Save Ginny" shirt.

They are seconds away from getting sued, I'm sure, but I hope they last as long as possible before getting ceased-and-desisted. They're playing at Northsix in Brooklyn on May 14. I'm just saying.