mynameisnotgreegore's Xanga

Worth a read

Tue, 21 Jul 2009 20:11:26 GMT

The Art of Underestimating Obama

You know you wanna...

The Search is Over

Tue, 12 May 2009 21:57:28 GMT

We bought a house!

You Can't Have it Both Ways, Lady

Mon, 30 Mar 2009 13:22:34 GMT

Our washing machine broke last Tuesday. Sometimes it stalls when switching from the agitator phase to the spin cycle (or whatever they're called - between the phase where the clothes swish around in water to the phase where the water drains). Usually, I can just advance the dial and it will "kick in," but this time it didn't work.

Jenn got home from class and asked (somewhat demanded) that I call our landlady, which I did. I had been hesitating to do this, because it's always an ordeal. Any time something breaks, it's my fault. She does it in this sneaky, almost-joking way. "I'll take care of it when I can, but you shouldn't have been doing [this]." Every time.

Case in point: When our oven wasn't preheating quickly anymore (it would take over 30 minutes to get to 350 degress), I called her. She told me that she'd have "her guy" look into it, but couldn't guarantee a date, as she didn't know when he was available. She did not tell us to stop using the oven, and we had no reason to think we should. Still, over a week later, Jenn was preheating it and saw sparks through the window outside. Her first thought was that one of our neighbors was using fireworks, until she noticed the smell. It was our oven, and what she saw was the reflection. The electric coil in our oven had snapped (causing the sparks) and was now smoking. Jenn immediately shut off the oven, and I called our landlady. I told her that we needed someone to look at it now, as it had nearly caused a fire. Someone came to look at it the next day. When our landlady came upstairs to talk with us about the incident, she reminded us that it was a new oven (2 years ago) and that we had broken it ("You must have done something. You must have dropped food on the coil.") I told her that this was not true; we hardly used the oven and never dropped anything on the coil. "Then who would you blame?" she asked. My response: "GE?!" [General Electric, the maker of the oven]. I could have said something about how we told her something was going wrong over a week ago, but I didn't think that would get us anywhere.

So, when I called to tell her about the washing machine, she said it must have broken "from dancing across the floor too many times when you overload it." Jenn and I both know how to do laundry - we know how to use the settings appropriately and spread the clothes evenly. When the washer is off-balance (and because it's so old, it's always off-balance), we usually run over to stop it and adjust the clothes. I didn't say any of this, because I knew it'd only start an argument, but I was furious. I started looking for a new apartment, and even contacted our realtor about starting to look for a house again.

She got it fixed eventually, but left a message for us to call "Management" before using it again. I was still livid, so I asked Jenn to call. Of course, during that conversation, she had to mention that it cost over $200 to fix. She also admonished us to "take good care of it," because she wouldn't be replacing it if it broke again. She mentioned something about overload, and Jenn informed her that it gets off-balance even with only 4 shirts in there. She acknowledged that it was an old machine (but of course, this couldn't be the reason it broke, right?).

The kicker, which I did not realize until doing laundry last night, is that the last time our landlady complained about something was when she got the water bill (which she felt was high, and naturally blamed us - even though the bill is not separated by floor). At that time, she said she thought we were doing too much laundry, and asked us to put more clothes in each load.

Saturday, February 07, 2009

Sat, 07 Feb 2009 14:14:57 GMT

Just something I stumbled upon while web-surfing this morning:

The real issue for the Republican Party is that all that pandering has taken them so far off course they don't know where to go next. They're actually considering running Sarah Palin in 2012, and while that must be a real relief to Obama, it's a sad testimony to state of the Republican Party.

I love Barack Obama and the spirit of unity with which he is approaching his Presidency. I love that he's intelligent, and forms his opinions based on evidence, rather than forming his opinion and then demanding facts to support it. Anyone who tells you America isn't a socialist country is blind. We were founded on socialist principles and we will always have them, as much as that ticks off the corporate folks. Public schools, city police and fire protection, the military, public roads . . .these are all examples of socialism, and we don't want to do away with any of them. Bush has tried, but every single time he privatized something it blew up in his face because he also deregulated.

You can't have a marketplace without rules. De-regulation is merely a tool for the rich to get richer short-term, while destroying the industry altogether long-term.

What we really need is a combination of the parties. We need to stop talking about marriage and abortion as political issues because they're not. We need a true conservative party talking about taking care of America before using other countries as profit centers (we call it "spreading democray"). We need a conservative party that actually debates issues instead of simply starting a war somewhere to bankrupt the government and thus prevent the use of government for the common good. I am drawn to the Democrats because they are working to address real issues instead of working as hard as they can to bury their heads in the sand with corporate America's shovels.

My fervent prayer is that President Obama will help restore sanity to both sides of the political table.

- Bill Ingram, staff writer for hoopsworld.com

Thursday, January 29, 2009

Thu, 29 Jan 2009 22:20:56 GMT

Favorite Songs of 2008 (updated!)

Added some additional songs to both lists. Scroll down (or click here) for more details.

I also created a playlist with all but two of the songs:

Friday, January 09, 2009

Fri, 09 Jan 2009 00:38:42 GMT

Tonight, alone
I was lying on the bed.
Outside the window
A man's voice split the silence
"Izzie! Izzie!" he cried.
A moment's pause
Then, a scream
Not of pain, but shock
Mixed with agony.
A breath - mine.
Then another scream
An echo of the first
But female.
A dog takes its turn,
And then, again, silence.

Wednesday, December 17, 2008

Wed, 17 Dec 2008 22:46:51 GMT

Favorite Songs of 2008

This was a weird year for me. I spent much of it listening to old music (namely The Beatles) or albums that came out in 2007 (The New Amsterdams, Cloud Cult). Still, I'm reasonably pleased with this list, particularly the top 12 songs or so.

BONUS [i.e. released in 2008 but I hadn't heard it until 2009]: Oviedo - Blind Pilot

30. How the Day Sounds – Greg Laswell

29. All the Time – Voxpop

28. Trying to Put Your Heart Back Together – Slow Runner

27. Frank, AB – The Rural Alberta Advantage

26. I'm Not Crying, You're Not Crying, Are You? – Dear and the Headlights

25. Conversation – The Lodger

24. Dear Lover – The New Amsterdams

23. Love You Much Better – The Hush Sound

22. Why Do You Let Me Stay Here? – She & Him

21. Living Well is the Best Revenge – R.E.M.

20. Hang On – Dr. Dog

19. Like a Vibration – The Whigs

18. Cowboys – Counting Crows

17. I Got Mine – The Black Keys

16. Violet Stars Happy Hunting! – Janelle Monae

15. Year of the Dog – The Lonely Sparrows

14. Born Losers – Matthew Good

13. Flume – Bon Iver

12. Cath… – Death Cab for Cutie

11. Falling Down – Oasis

10. Cobwebs – Ryan Adams

9. Snowblind – +/- [Plus/Minus]

8. Jigsaw Falling into Place – Radiohead

7. Viva La Vida – Coldplay

6. You, Me & the Bourgeoisie – The Submarines

5. After Hours – We are Scientists

4. Real Love – American Princes

3. Rooibos / Palm Wine Drinkard – The Stills

2. Autoclave – The Mountain Goats

1. Lost Coastlines – Okkervil River

Songs that didn't make the list (due to being released earlier than 2008) but still managed to get played often this year:

10. Fuckin' Around – David Vandervelde

9. Gimme Sunshine – Ryan Adams

8. Thanks – Cloud Cult

7. Elvis Presley – Burning Love

6. New Vibration – Collective Soul

5. Story Like a Scar – The New Amsterdams

4. (Fork and Knife) – Brand New

3. I'm Looking Through You – The Beatles

2. To Be Young (Is to be Sad, is to be High) – Ryan Adams

1. I've Just Seen a Face – The Beatles

Wednesday, November 26, 2008

Wed, 26 Nov 2008 16:31:53 GMT

Life is Beautiful - A Ryan Adams Primer

Hear all them bells ringing out in the street
Oh, hammer strikes the metal and it makes me believe
'Cause if I don't believe in love
Then I don't believe in you
And I do

I was recently asked for an introductory mix of Ryan Adams music. This was a tough undertaking, as I personally have created no less than four different mixes of his songs. However, this time around I set some guidelines for myself. I wanted to give a good sampling of the best work from all his albums (only the complex and difficult 29 was omitted), as well as hopefully cater to my audience: a fan of classic and contemporary pop music. Adams has an ear for pop, but often does his best to retreat from it (e.g. the four discs released in 2005: the Cold Roses double album, Jacksonville City Nights, and 29). With these two somtimes competing interests, I generated the following playlist:

1. New York, New York, Gold: I wanted to open the list with Adams' most recognizable song, so that the listener could say, at least, "OK, I know who this guy is."

2. Let it Ride, Cold Roses: Possibly my favorite of his catalog, this is what I would consider quintessential Ryan Adams - a wistfully rollicking tune about the struggle between who we are and who we want to be.

3. Fix It, Cardinology: I debated whether to include this one. It's got a different vibe than the rest of the list, and it's the leadoff single of the new album, so it seemed appropriate to keep.

4. So Alive, Rock N Roll: Sure, it's a little over the top, but this is the Adams song that first caught my ear.

5. Oh My God, Whatever, Etc., Easy Tiger: A pretty song, possibly from the perspective of a prostitute ("I'm open all night and the customers come to stay / And everybody tips but not enough to knock me over / And I'm so tired / I just worked two shifts"). Or maybe it's just about being a waiter.

6. If I am a Stranger, Cold Roses: I debated whether to include this version or the slow acoustic rendition on Follow the Lights, but ultimately decided to go with the upbeat original.

7. To Be Young (Is to be Sad, is to be High), Heartbreaker: The song that, until recently, I did not know was performed by Adams. This is probably often confused for a Bob Dylan composition.

8. My Love for You is Real, Follow the Lights: Sometimes the best love songs are those stated simply.

9. Wish You Were Here, Rock N Roll: A love song of a different type: "This place sucks without you."

10. Cobwebs, Cardinology: I'm sure it isn't, but I still think this song is an ode to America. Either way, it asks a memorable question: Will you see things for what they are, or get distracted by the nonsense that surrounds us?

11. Two, Easy Tiger: Possibly the weakest track on the list, although it's still a decent pop song. I liked it more when the album was released, but it's worn thin compared Adams' stronger material. I would have included "The Sun Also Sets," instead, but it was too long.

12. The Hardest Part, Jacksonville City Nights: The least-country song on an otherwise all-country album, this has been growing on me recently.

13. Shakedown on 9th Street, Heartbreaker: Who doesn't like a good ol' bar fight?

14. Wonderwall, Love is Hell: A great re-interpretation of the classic Oasis song. Noel Gallagher, who wrote the song, thinks so too: ""I never got my head round this song until I went to [see] Ryan Adams play and he did an amazing cover of it."

15. Cherry Lane, Cold Roses: A fun song clearly written to make girls swoon - "I wanna be the one who walks you home tonight."

16. Gimme Sunshine, Love is Hell [Japanese Special Edition]: The best song not released in the U.S. Come on man, don't make us pay $50 for the Japanese import!

17. Desire, Demolition: I could have gone with "Nuclear," but the list needed another sappy tune.

18. Luminol, Rock N Roll: Luminol is used by crime scene investigators to detect trace amounts of blood. ("I'm floating in the luminol"). Just sayin'...

19. I See Monsters, Love is Hell: Probably about overdose, sex, and the torment of personal demons, but I always thought the narrator was trying to describe the sense of detachment while dealing with the loss of a loved one (e.g. "I'm just staring at the celing / Waiting for the feeling").

20. Halloween, Halloween Promo: Similar in structure to many other Adams songs, in that the upbeat melody almost disguises the darker subject matter beneath.

21. How Do You Keep Love Alive, Cold Roses: "She runs through my veins like a long black river / And rattles my cage like a thunderstorm / Oh, my soul..." Good stuff.

22. Life is Beautiful, Cold Roses: Reminds me of Morgan Freeman's line from the movie Seven: "I mean, it's easier to lose yourself in drugs than it is to cope with life. It's easier to steal what you want than it is to earn it. It's easier to beat a child than it is to raise it. Hell, love costs: it takes effort and work." It's a lesson Adams has been singing about for his entire career. In the end, I think he realizes that it's worth the struggle.

Monday, November 17, 2008

Mon, 17 Nov 2008 17:18:45 GMT

Politicizing the Military

Who votes for these crazies, anyway?

The uniformed services are trying to lock in the next administration by creating a political cost for holding the line on defense spending. Conservative groups are hoping to ramp up defense spending as a tool to limit options for a Democratic Congress and president to pass new, and potentially costly, social programs, including health care reform.
They also like the idea of creating an unrealistically high baseline of expectations for defense spending that will allow them to claim President Obama has cut defense spending.
Let us be clear: There is no indication that the president-elect intends to cut defense spending, and indeed, during his campaign he promised to increase the size of the ground forces, which makes an increase in spending almost inevitable. As with any transition, there will be some adjustments to specific programs, but cutting individual weapon systems is not and has never been synonymous with cutting spending overall.
There are so many things wrong with this emerging process that it is hard to address the issue concisely. Promoting overspending on defense in order to forestall popular social spending is undemocratic - it creates a false tension between national security and other public policy goals.
The informal alliance between the services and conservative think tanks threatens to further politicize the military. The abuse of national security arguments to win political arguments is both morally suspect and threatens the security of the nation by delinking strategic assessment from public policy.
Ultimately, the most dangerous aspect of this development is the threat posed to civil-military relations. We went through a similar process eight years ago, and the results were painful and unsatisfactory.

Source: Defense News (and brought to my attention by TPM).

Wednesday, November 05, 2008

Wed, 05 Nov 2008 20:10:55 GMT

"Somewhere an impossible light still shines..."