First Aid Kit: Emmylou
Not a usual fan of tribute songs but I think this Swedish duo did a nice job.
Not a usual fan of tribute songs but I think this Swedish duo did a nice job.
Sunday, January 22, 2012
Year of the Black Water Dragon 2012
Tomorrow begins the auspicious year of the Black Water Dragon. I dunno...sounds pretty bad to me. Sounds like rain, and darkness, and apocalypse. I always wonder why the Chinese zodiac included the dragon...all of the other 11 zodiacs are real- dog, rat, ox, monkey, tiger, snake, pig, horse, goat, etc...why dragon? Why not also a unicorn?
Wednesday, February 16, 2011
Songs that say Fuck You
I saw Cee Lo's (Thomas Calloway's) performance for the Grammy's and immediate recognized it as a homage to Elton's Muppet performance. What I didn't know was that the original wasn't "Forget You" but "Fuck You"...so much much better (although no Muppet reference). Only Calloway can make such a hard, debase phrase sound as upbeat, cheerful, and American as apple pie from the 50's.
And then I stumbled onto this gem of a song, "Horse Outside" by the Rubberbandits...I am sooooo going to be singing this song one day. But it'll be about my mini donkey.
These guys are awesome! And instead of an Elton tip, they definitely have an MJ thing going that is sweet! Will definitely be looking up more about these boys from Limerick, Ireland!
And then I stumbled onto this gem of a song, "Horse Outside" by the Rubberbandits...I am sooooo going to be singing this song one day. But it'll be about my mini donkey.
These guys are awesome! And instead of an Elton tip, they definitely have an MJ thing going that is sweet! Will definitely be looking up more about these boys from Limerick, Ireland!
Sunday, January 30, 2011
Friday, January 28, 2011
Adventures in Ulcerville with Special Guest- Juicer
A is also interesting to me because he deals with pain differently than me. I like to ignore pain, question myself sometimes like "was that _really_ a sharp stabbing feeling in my kidney? nah, i must be crazy. If I feel it again, then maybe it was something". And then 10 min. later "I think I felt that sharp pain again, oh you know what, maybe that was the first time I felt it. I'll see if it happens again" and so on. He on the other hand has a much more practical approach that is more like "WTF is going on with me?". A developed a full on ulcer and also a nice sinus cold. I jumped online to find out what I could about home remedies. Behold, the internet led me to the awesome powers of the Juicer.
I quickly ordered one from Amazon, two day delivery (i love Amazon Prime...so worth it. Not like stupid Harbor Fright Inside Track Club- don't do it. If you do, make sure you get the receipt because they might not remember to log you in) and it got to us in 1 day. And I've been reading up on the benefits of juiced cabbage, beets, etc. Needless to say the DH has been on a cabbage and yam diet for the past two days as well as taking OTC and is doing much better. I was surprised how sweet juiced cabbage is! Yum! Today E and I went to the supermarket and bought all sorts of veggies that good decent folk probably buy all the time. At the checkout we were so excited about the juicer we told the cashier about it and she said she had thought so. The beets gave it away. And she said she too wanted to get a juicer for x amount of years. I didn't tell her then, but I wish I had said "DO IT!" It's so much fun and if you are vegitally disabled like me, its so worth it. Tomorrow I'm going to juice cucumbers, ginger root, and carrots. It's going to be awesome.
A's head cold though is being tricky. Just put a humidifier by the bed and hopefully that will help settle down the night time coughs (also due in part from the ulcer). Also giving him ginger tea and honey. Would like to also add some ACV but he won't drink it. I read carrot juice is also supposed to help with dry night cough but he's also not interested in that. I'm surprised actually he took the cabbage juice but he said it was the only thing that he could eat at first without the ulcer acting up. Before the juicer came I was blending cabbage in a vita mix. Bleech. It was awful but it still worked. Tastes very different from the cabbage juice from the the Juicer.
Also in recent news around here, Cousin J drove up from a jobby job interview in Palo Alto to say "hi". So nice to see him again. Can't help but talk a little about family and get a little sad how every one gets older, their mind changes, it's all inevitable I supposed. But it really is a blessing I think when you _know_ someone is going to go. The sudden unexpected ones leave much different impacts on you that just never goes away. Been trying to change my views on aging which was/is aging sucks to aging is awesome. Working on it.
Monday, January 17, 2011
Banksy ID up on eBay.
Not knowing who Banksy was like, the last great mystery- like not finding out a baby's gender until it's born.
Listing is here
Listing is here
Here is a photograph of a guy that people _think_ is Banksy
Banksy once told Swindle magazine: 'I have no interest in ever coming out. I figure there are enough self-opinionated a**holes trying to get their ugly little faces in front of you as it is.'
*Update 1/28/11 eBay ended up canceling the auction because it is _illegal_ to sell personal information on eBay.
Sunday, January 09, 2011
Pumped up Kicks
So it's probably old news but I think Shazam is the best iphone app in the world. Thanks to Shazam I was able to find this little gem today:
Ok, so yeah this song is a little creepy. When Pearl Jam came out with "Jeremy" the video was pretty intense. Jeremy was inspired by a true story of a teenage boy who killed himself in front of his classmates by shooting himself in the mouth. I always thought that in the video, Jeremy killed his whole class because they never showed him dead, just a lot of blood. But that was due to some rules on MTV where apparently, they can't show kids shooting themselves in the mouth. Only now, as I googled "Jeremy Pearl Jam" did I read an article by the director who explained the final scene and pool of blood. Anyhoot, this song broaches a similar topic. Kid & guns = bad times. Jeremy came at the right time, the idea of kids and guns was scary and so the song was a little scary. Now we're so used to it, we're able to make catchy surfer songs about it. I remember in school they'd say things like "Guns don't kill people, people do". Kids kill people too (and themselves). Sad sad sad. But this song makes me happy. Yay me.
Ok, so yeah this song is a little creepy. When Pearl Jam came out with "Jeremy" the video was pretty intense. Jeremy was inspired by a true story of a teenage boy who killed himself in front of his classmates by shooting himself in the mouth. I always thought that in the video, Jeremy killed his whole class because they never showed him dead, just a lot of blood. But that was due to some rules on MTV where apparently, they can't show kids shooting themselves in the mouth. Only now, as I googled "Jeremy Pearl Jam" did I read an article by the director who explained the final scene and pool of blood. Anyhoot, this song broaches a similar topic. Kid & guns = bad times. Jeremy came at the right time, the idea of kids and guns was scary and so the song was a little scary. Now we're so used to it, we're able to make catchy surfer songs about it. I remember in school they'd say things like "Guns don't kill people, people do". Kids kill people too (and themselves). Sad sad sad. But this song makes me happy. Yay me.
Saturday, January 01, 2011
Oh hai, 2011.
I spent my New Year's Eve with some beer, my DH, and about 3 hours of Tosh.O. and I came up with a New Year's resolution. See, I love the internet. Anything I can think of, I can look it up and find out everything I need to know. I am consciously going to devote a good portion of 2011 to just looking up stuff. I've done good so far: "slow loris, Willie the raccoon, what animals are legal as pets in California", and now I can also add "Matt Groening's music taste".
If humanity could only send a handful of representatives to meet with aliens, I hope Matt Groening (or M.G.'s head) makes the list. Father of Life in Hell, The Simpsons, and Futurama, MG's music taste has often been called "eclectic" and for good reason. His range is obscene but more importantly, it's good. He's so good that people ask him to curate music festivals. I didn't know that was possible. You curate art shows, but I didn't know you could do that for music...and that people would go... I first realized MG's music in 2002 while watching an episode of Futurama. It was a regular episode- funny & smart but there was one difference. It played a song during a scene montage...I was blown away. Here on tv was a song I'd never heard of before, and it was possibly, one of the best songs I had heard in a long, long time. I spent a long time searching the web trying to find who sang the song (pre-Shazam, people). I think it was over a year later that I discovered who it was. I'm not kidding. My searching skills are much better now. Anyhoot, turned out it was Pizzicato Five, singing Baby Love Child.
While Pizzicato hasn't done much for me personally besides this song, the Japanese duo has had a significant impact on the music scene, especially for Shibuya-kei.And while I have yet to fully appreciate MG's favorite band of all time, Captain Beefheart and his Magic Band, I can recognize the uniqueness and instantly realize that what I really need to do is to go outside, drink a beer, and maybe shoot something...could be a bb gun but more likely pool.
Sadly the good Captain did not make it to the new year himself, passing away just last month.
If humanity could only send a handful of representatives to meet with aliens, I hope Matt Groening (or M.G.'s head) makes the list. Father of Life in Hell, The Simpsons, and Futurama, MG's music taste has often been called "eclectic" and for good reason. His range is obscene but more importantly, it's good. He's so good that people ask him to curate music festivals. I didn't know that was possible. You curate art shows, but I didn't know you could do that for music...and that people would go... I first realized MG's music in 2002 while watching an episode of Futurama. It was a regular episode- funny & smart but there was one difference. It played a song during a scene montage...I was blown away. Here on tv was a song I'd never heard of before, and it was possibly, one of the best songs I had heard in a long, long time. I spent a long time searching the web trying to find who sang the song (pre-Shazam, people). I think it was over a year later that I discovered who it was. I'm not kidding. My searching skills are much better now. Anyhoot, turned out it was Pizzicato Five, singing Baby Love Child.
While Pizzicato hasn't done much for me personally besides this song, the Japanese duo has had a significant impact on the music scene, especially for Shibuya-kei.And while I have yet to fully appreciate MG's favorite band of all time, Captain Beefheart and his Magic Band, I can recognize the uniqueness and instantly realize that what I really need to do is to go outside, drink a beer, and maybe shoot something...could be a bb gun but more likely pool.
Sadly the good Captain did not make it to the new year himself, passing away just last month.
Tuesday, November 09, 2010
I say "Wellllll....."
Was it just me or did Jack White look like a version of Johnny Depp's twin brother vampire elf? Just saying.
Monday, November 01, 2010
Halloween keeps on Giving
1) The pumpkins here are HUGE and cheap. Both of these things appeal immensely to my artistic DH.
2) The squirrels.
Yes, I said it. The Squirrels make Halloween awesome*. Check out my pictures:
Anson carved out the best pumpkin ever! I didn't realize the pumpkins are really exceptional carving mediums. It's true. If you have a good set of carving tools, it's a very calming experience to just chisel away a freakish face. Can't wait till next year!
*actually what made Halloween excellent was of course, Anson. Not only did he carve an insane pumpkin but he made breakfast that somehow resembled toast barfing up intestines and yet tasted exquisite.
Monday, October 04, 2010
Yakudoshi time
When I think of this year's yakudoshi, I think of being in a plane crash, watching my uterus turn to dust, and having bird crap on me all on the same day.
(photo: the most unlucky group of people on the planet. Yakudoshi people waiting in line to be blessed)
It is slowly creeping up on me. It's almost my yakudoshi, aka bad luck year. Yakudoshi is an old Japanese belief that turning "33" will be a year filled with 'calamity and danger' (19 and 33 for girls, boys get their own crappy years, 25 and 42). Some people celebrate their yakudoshi when they turn 32, some (those in Japan) celebrate when they turn 33, and some celebrate again when they are 34 to mark the end of surviving the yakudoshi. By "celebrate" I mean, "pray" and go to the temples more often. And depending where you are, I also mean "eat" and "be happy".
So why is turning 33 such a bad thing? Well in the old days, before vitamins, internet, a sense of equality, and prescription drugs, people noticed that women around 33 weren't quite what they used to be. Turning "33" is a yakudoshi year for women because it symbolized the last year of appropriate childbearing. Grrrr--reat! A big yakudoshi is traditionally held for the woman turning 33 because it would protect any child born after (because those babies could possibly end up stupid, ugly, and unlucky). Another reason is that Japanese the word "33" itself when pronounced means basically, shit out of luck.
The discrepancy in what age to celebrate lies in two things. Japanese women in Japan tend to celebrate their yakudoshi when they are 33. Makes sense. However many people outside of Japan feel that when a Japanese person in Japan is 33 years old, she is really only 32 years old. This is because the counting birth years is different in Japan. Old style is that when you are born you are basically at "1" year, not "0". Hence the reasoning behind celebrating your yakudoshi at 32 in the West (by West, I mean Hawaii).
Another reason why some celebrate their yakudoshi at 32 instead of 33 is the belief that the year before the yakudoshi (the maeyaku year) also tends to be rather shitty. Actually the year after can also be bad too, so that year has a name of it's own, the "atoyaku". Neat, huh? So I'm thinking I'm pretty safe to prepare for two years (at least) of fairly poor luck. So what's a girl supposed to do in order to prepare for her yakudoshi?
If i was in Hawaii I'd go get myself purified by a Shinto priest (excellent folks to be purified by). Living in the East Bay, however has left me with some very few options. I don't even know if it's celebrated here...At most will definitely have to make my way over to the Buddha Gate Monastery and sit with the monks and Abbess there. I like to go there and not tell them anything about myself. I don't know what's wrong with me. Can't they let me sit there and meditate in peace? Actually everyone there is very nice and while it is Chinese Buddhist Monastery, I might find the guts to ask one of the nuns about a superstitious Japanese custom. I believe though, traditionally you would go to temple, surround yourself with your friends and be happy. Everyone in attendance kind of agrees (by being present) that they will carry some of your bad luck for you. Perhaps I can also wrangle up a motley crew of unsuspecting folks and make them drink with me all the while divvying up my potential ill fortune among them.
I think I'll wait until I turn 33 to "celebrate".
It is slowly creeping up on me. It's almost my yakudoshi, aka bad luck year. Yakudoshi is an old Japanese belief that turning "33" will be a year filled with 'calamity and danger' (19 and 33 for girls, boys get their own crappy years, 25 and 42). Some people celebrate their yakudoshi when they turn 32, some (those in Japan) celebrate when they turn 33, and some celebrate again when they are 34 to mark the end of surviving the yakudoshi. By "celebrate" I mean, "pray" and go to the temples more often. And depending where you are, I also mean "eat" and "be happy".
So why is turning 33 such a bad thing? Well in the old days, before vitamins, internet, a sense of equality, and prescription drugs, people noticed that women around 33 weren't quite what they used to be. Turning "33" is a yakudoshi year for women because it symbolized the last year of appropriate childbearing. Grrrr--reat! A big yakudoshi is traditionally held for the woman turning 33 because it would protect any child born after (because those babies could possibly end up stupid, ugly, and unlucky). Another reason is that Japanese the word "33" itself when pronounced means basically, shit out of luck.
The discrepancy in what age to celebrate lies in two things. Japanese women in Japan tend to celebrate their yakudoshi when they are 33. Makes sense. However many people outside of Japan feel that when a Japanese person in Japan is 33 years old, she is really only 32 years old. This is because the counting birth years is different in Japan. Old style is that when you are born you are basically at "1" year, not "0". Hence the reasoning behind celebrating your yakudoshi at 32 in the West (by West, I mean Hawaii).
Another reason why some celebrate their yakudoshi at 32 instead of 33 is the belief that the year before the yakudoshi (the maeyaku year) also tends to be rather shitty. Actually the year after can also be bad too, so that year has a name of it's own, the "atoyaku". Neat, huh? So I'm thinking I'm pretty safe to prepare for two years (at least) of fairly poor luck. So what's a girl supposed to do in order to prepare for her yakudoshi?
If i was in Hawaii I'd go get myself purified by a Shinto priest (excellent folks to be purified by). Living in the East Bay, however has left me with some very few options. I don't even know if it's celebrated here...At most will definitely have to make my way over to the Buddha Gate Monastery and sit with the monks and Abbess there. I like to go there and not tell them anything about myself. I don't know what's wrong with me. Can't they let me sit there and meditate in peace? Actually everyone there is very nice and while it is Chinese Buddhist Monastery, I might find the guts to ask one of the nuns about a superstitious Japanese custom. I believe though, traditionally you would go to temple, surround yourself with your friends and be happy. Everyone in attendance kind of agrees (by being present) that they will carry some of your bad luck for you. Perhaps I can also wrangle up a motley crew of unsuspecting folks and make them drink with me all the while divvying up my potential ill fortune among them.
I think I'll wait until I turn 33 to "celebrate".
*Some information is from my childhood, some from "Japanese American history: an A-to-Z reference from 1868 to the present By Brian Niiya, Japanese American National Museum (Los Angeles, Calif.)"
Sunday, October 03, 2010
Dear Burger King
Your new commercials are embarrassing. Please stop playing them. You serve breakfast, I got it.
Wednesday, September 29, 2010
News from Alaska: Standoff over cat
Friday, September 24, 2010
Halloween Choices for tweens. Ho or pototo sack?
It's that time of year again. Halloween season has quietly embarked and has settled itself beside you on this crazy bus. It's your fault. Your seat was empty. You slowly turn to greet this newcomer only to peek inside it's grocery bag of assortments. Yes. The usual choice of ho, slut, and pradatoot is there. What am I talking about? I'm talking about your tween neice asking you what to be for halloween this year. And you offer "zombie" or "ninja" only to be met with "ahhhh no, you're so lame, Auntie". So what to do? You think about. Well, halloween is kinda a safe zone for tweens to experiment with feeling "sexy"...uh maybe. Google Halloween outfits for tweens and you get the usual tights and short dresses. Why is this normal? *sigh* I was in Africa when I was a tween. I only had a Halloween costume once and it was 3 sizes too big and it was a cape and a robe. It was a red devil outfit but it could easily have been white and then I could have been a princess nun. I tripped over my robe like, a gazillion times. I didn't want to be super model or sexy pirate dame. Big disappointment with the creativity then as it is now I guess. Oh yeah, the creepy girl in yellow is the Goldilocks costume for tweens. Your other option is this peice of doo doo:
Wednesday, September 08, 2010
Thursday, February 18, 2010
Blobfish: Asian carp may make headlines, but fear the blobfish - latimes.com
Posted using ShareThis
Jumpin' jesus this fish has a face! This fish has no muscles, no bones...just floats around waiting for it's next meal. I think it's drooling.
Wednesday, February 17, 2010
Welcome 2010
I apparently "forgot" I had a blog. I was rummaging through my computer files and found a bookmark for my blog. Ha! But It was a bittersweet finding. Going over my old posts I saw my entries about my mom, who passed away at the beginning of 2009. Her sudden death was very traumatizing being preceded by an anuerysm and coma. To say my family was ill prepared for such an event is an understatement. I miss her every day and not a day has gone by yet when her absence is not felt. I came across this poem by Edna St.Vincent Millay and it has this one line:
Childhood is the kingdom where nobody dies
How true this rings to my heart! As I settle in comfortably into my 30s, my mother's passing is the real marker and awakening that I am grown up. It may sound silly to some people, but it's true. How naive I have been! But I'm happy to find the footage of her smiling and laughing amoungst this odd blog of random events...one of the many good things about this whole internet "thing", I think people's personal lives are being documented much more often. And anything to help capture memories, milestones, and musings is a blessing in its own way.
Well I think I'll start this ole blog up again and see what it brings. I feel that my mind could use the excersize.
Childhood is the kingdom where nobody dies
How true this rings to my heart! As I settle in comfortably into my 30s, my mother's passing is the real marker and awakening that I am grown up. It may sound silly to some people, but it's true. How naive I have been! But I'm happy to find the footage of her smiling and laughing amoungst this odd blog of random events...one of the many good things about this whole internet "thing", I think people's personal lives are being documented much more often. And anything to help capture memories, milestones, and musings is a blessing in its own way.
Well I think I'll start this ole blog up again and see what it brings. I feel that my mind could use the excersize.
Happy Brithday!
Today was Ans' b-day so we celebrated by spending the day at the beach. One of my favorite beaches on Oahu has to be Lanikai beach. The sand is so soft and if you go during the week day its pretty empty. But the fun thing was we swam out to Popoia Island from Kailua beach. Its a little less than half a mile swim to get there. Popoia Island is a bird sanctuary but there were a lot of dead birds scattered all over the island. I don't see a lot of dead birds so i'm not sure that goes first, but the dead birds on Popoia Island were freaky because only their wings were left....there were very few bird bodies left...just wings. Strange right? Besides the plethora of dead birds on the Bird Sanctuary Island I could find large deposits of salt crystals on the island. If you ever go there try to bring reef shoes because the island is very hot and the ground is very sharp in some places from the coral.
We also had dinner at Dick & Balls with Ans' family which ended up being very fun partially due to the amount of alcohol being consumed. The bartender took a liking to my husband and he got over 8 free drinks....and out of sheer luck i managed to hit the jackpot on skeeball. You learn things about people when you go to D &balls...like how high they can jump (or not jump) ...its very enlightening. The night ended with over 5,000 tickets and everyone getting finger shaped nose hair trimmers and farting pens.