Friday, January 29, 2010
Date Night At Labyrinth
Tuesday, January 19, 2010
The Most Awesome-Not Awesome Doughnut Ever
I had an odd food dream the other night. I completely blame Jenny's post on the re-opening of Donuts Delite.
In the dream, I was with a Girl Scout troop that was visiting/touring a local bakery. The bakery was located on Foote Avenue in Jamestown, but it wasn't Ecklof's (for those who are familiar) and instead was located where AJ's Hots is. The place had a kind of walk-up-and-order-at-the-outside-window feel to the place.
It must have been post-tour, because the Troop and I were standing outside where we were handed out doughnuts to try. I got a powdered covered, cream filled doughnut. It was the most delicious doughnut I had ever eaten! Even though it was a dream, I went into a kind of happy, sugar coma. Then there was one bite where I noticed something yellow in the filling. I poked at it a little and realized it was an uncooked egg. I was flummoxed but decided it wouldn't be there unless it was supposed to be, so I shrugged and kept eating. A few more bites in, another raw egg appeared. A woman standing nearby confirmed that this is just how the doughnut was made. The head baker (played by local restaurateur John Lisciandro) came back around with more doughnuts and I made questioning gestures at my doughnut as if to ask what was going on with it and he replied,
"Those are 'Ralph's'! Real popular!"
I stared for a moment at him but kept eating my doughnut. The combination of raw egg and cream filling made for one messy treat and I had to search out a stack of napkins. The Girl Scout Troop had decided to depart and was walking back to wherever, so I followed behind a little, thinking about those raw eggs churning in my stomach. Needless to say, when I woke up I wasn't feeling too hungry.
It did get me thinking about the fact that we're getting closer to paczki time at Ecklof's though, so hooray for that!
In the dream, I was with a Girl Scout troop that was visiting/touring a local bakery. The bakery was located on Foote Avenue in Jamestown, but it wasn't Ecklof's (for those who are familiar) and instead was located where AJ's Hots is. The place had a kind of walk-up-and-order-at-the-outside-window feel to the place.
It must have been post-tour, because the Troop and I were standing outside where we were handed out doughnuts to try. I got a powdered covered, cream filled doughnut. It was the most delicious doughnut I had ever eaten! Even though it was a dream, I went into a kind of happy, sugar coma. Then there was one bite where I noticed something yellow in the filling. I poked at it a little and realized it was an uncooked egg. I was flummoxed but decided it wouldn't be there unless it was supposed to be, so I shrugged and kept eating. A few more bites in, another raw egg appeared. A woman standing nearby confirmed that this is just how the doughnut was made. The head baker (played by local restaurateur John Lisciandro) came back around with more doughnuts and I made questioning gestures at my doughnut as if to ask what was going on with it and he replied,
"Those are 'Ralph's'! Real popular!"
I stared for a moment at him but kept eating my doughnut. The combination of raw egg and cream filling made for one messy treat and I had to search out a stack of napkins. The Girl Scout Troop had decided to depart and was walking back to wherever, so I followed behind a little, thinking about those raw eggs churning in my stomach. Needless to say, when I woke up I wasn't feeling too hungry.
It did get me thinking about the fact that we're getting closer to paczki time at Ecklof's though, so hooray for that!
Saturday, January 16, 2010
10,000 Maniacs Recorded for WRFA
Matt and I sat at the back of the stage next to percussion. It was a really cool vantage point given that most of the time you can't see what's going on in the back.
Dennis Drew on keyboards and Mary Ramsey on violin and lead vocals:
Foiled!
Thursday, January 07, 2010
Old Man Winter Returns!
Sun Conspiracy
Actual online conversation between me and my friend, Sabrina:
Me: well, my calendars prolly won't be delivered today I'd bet seeing as UPS had them at 2:34am this morning in Rutherford, NJ LOL
Sabrina: :(
Sabrina: I wonder if UPS took the sun to NJ, too.
Me: No, I think the sun skipped town and country. I think we need to go to Central America
Sabrina: nah...too humid. And too many bugs
Me: most likely answer is that the sun was captured by a drug cartel
Sabrina: ew, bugs
Sabrina: The Republicans have it and are getting ready to blame Obama.
Me: no, no.. the Republicans arranged for a drug cartel to capture it but are going to make it look like Obama's fault because it's a cartel that the USA may have tried to work with to capture bigger cartels in the 1980s
Sabrina: The sun is being obscured by greenhouse gases.
Me: that's too realistic.. I thought we were going for fantastical here
Me: lol
Sabrina: those aren't clouds, it's rust belt smog.
Me: nah.. not enough manufacturing to make that happen anymore
Sabrina: republicans doing one thing and blaming democrats for it isn't realistic?
Me: well, that's why I amended it
Me: well, my calendars prolly won't be delivered today I'd bet seeing as UPS had them at 2:34am this morning in Rutherford, NJ LOL
Sabrina: :(
Sabrina: I wonder if UPS took the sun to NJ, too.
Me: No, I think the sun skipped town and country. I think we need to go to Central America
Sabrina: nah...too humid. And too many bugs
Me: most likely answer is that the sun was captured by a drug cartel
Sabrina: ew, bugs
Sabrina: The Republicans have it and are getting ready to blame Obama.
Me: no, no.. the Republicans arranged for a drug cartel to capture it but are going to make it look like Obama's fault because it's a cartel that the USA may have tried to work with to capture bigger cartels in the 1980s
Sabrina: The sun is being obscured by greenhouse gases.
Me: that's too realistic.. I thought we were going for fantastical here
Me: lol
Sabrina: those aren't clouds, it's rust belt smog.
Me: nah.. not enough manufacturing to make that happen anymore
Sabrina: republicans doing one thing and blaming democrats for it isn't realistic?
Me: well, that's why I amended it
Social Hibernation
Over the past month and a half, there's been a slight change in nightly habits. The winter with the cold and snow has seemed to have the effect of keeping us inside. Well, that's of course when we're not out shoveling. That 28 inches of snow we received between last Friday and Monday had to go elsewhere if we wanted to get out of our driveway and receive regular mail delivery.
It's not like we haven't seen some of our friends, we just have avoided late night drinks out in favor of wrapping ourselves in flannel, slippers, and fleece. Socializing has taken place during the day or early evening over lunch, coffee, or in the house. I think, "Is it age? Am I abandoning the 'scene'?" but then consider that if it was 40 degrees outside and the roads were clear, I probably would feel less hesitant about venturing out.
With another weekend of bitingly cold, snowy weather predicted, I'm hoping to take care of some items like reading the books I borrowed from the Prendergast Library before it reopens on Wednesday. Then we'll break out of the stay-at-home theme a little bit with a dinner/movie on Friday, a post-holiday party at a friend's house, and maybe a little Improv Saturday night. We'll see how it all goes and whether the burst of social activity returns us to familiar ground or if it chases us back to our house to huddle under blankets until March.
It's not like we haven't seen some of our friends, we just have avoided late night drinks out in favor of wrapping ourselves in flannel, slippers, and fleece. Socializing has taken place during the day or early evening over lunch, coffee, or in the house. I think, "Is it age? Am I abandoning the 'scene'?" but then consider that if it was 40 degrees outside and the roads were clear, I probably would feel less hesitant about venturing out.
With another weekend of bitingly cold, snowy weather predicted, I'm hoping to take care of some items like reading the books I borrowed from the Prendergast Library before it reopens on Wednesday. Then we'll break out of the stay-at-home theme a little bit with a dinner/movie on Friday, a post-holiday party at a friend's house, and maybe a little Improv Saturday night. We'll see how it all goes and whether the burst of social activity returns us to familiar ground or if it chases us back to our house to huddle under blankets until March.
Monday, January 04, 2010
Cotton Batting Snow
The snow that fell over the past few days looked like cotton batting on our house and garage. I probably will have to get out the snow rake to knock some of it down to be safe since the drift hanging off the back of our house is just above our back walkway.
Sunday, January 03, 2010
Hot Chocolate While It Snows
Thursday, December 31, 2009
Quiet New Year's Eve Starts With Coffee
Wednesday, December 30, 2009
Technically.. It's Still the Christmas Season
Since the Epiphany isn't until January 6th, I figure I'm not being too tardy in giving the Christmas update.
This had to be one of the more odd years. To be casual and personal, I swear that all the women in my family either had PMS or they're in some weird stage of menopause that makes them a little cranky.
Christmas Eve is a big deal for my side of the family. We eat a meatless dinner, open presents, and those who are still awake go to Midnight Mass. I'm just going to share the Christmas Eve dinner story.
This year is the first Christmas that all the cousins are age 21 and older. My cousin Andrew celebrated his newly legal status by disappearing just before prayers and oplatek breaking. As the family gathered in the dining room, my Aunt Ginny whispered urgently to my Uncle, "Where is Andrew?"
"He went on an errand."
"Where did he go?"
"Don't worry. He'll be back," my Uncle evaded her question as she tried to look him in the eye. My Aunt asked my cousin, April, if she knew but she wouldn't give a straight answer either. I finally asked out of the corner of my mouth, "So where did he go?"
"Beer," she replied.
Andrew sauntered in after we were all seated. His mom glared at him and said, "Don't talk to me," shaking her head as she walked away after sharing a saved piece of oplatek. He shrugged and grinned at the rest of us, taking a seat at the kids table.
As said before, all the cousins are age 21 and over but we still are required to sit at the kid's table in the kitchen. I think my younger cousins still prefer this because there's less harassment from various family members of, "Are you eating?" "Why aren't you eating?"
We still heard plenty of that since we sit right by the stove and all the food. This was great for getting food first, but not so great for my cousin Craig. My mom, as she carried a bowl of hot mushroom soup to our table, had a clumsy moment and began spilling some of the contents on Craig's leg causing him to yell,
"Ow! Ow!"
"Oh! Oh!" my mom panicked as she noticed what she was doing, but then proceeded to spill more soup on top of Craig.
Fortunately, Craig wasn't burned but his pants were left a little soggy and smelling of soup.
Fried fish, mashed potatoes, pierogis, and green peas round out the rest of Christmas Eve dinner for our family. The pierogis are the ones that we made back in October by the hundreds. Every year, as we roll out the dough someone says, "We have to be sure to make a lot of cheese. Everyone really likes the cheese pierogis."
Sometime between then and Christmas Eve, the women cooking apparently forgot this fact and sauteed up mostly sauerkraut-filled pierogis, which the majority of the people at the kids table do not eat. We can be a rather finicky bunch.
"Where are the cheese pierogis?" we cried to our parents and grandparents in the dining room.
"They're on the plate! You have to poke at them to see what is what!" they yelled back.
I began carefully poking each steaming doughy pocket to see if I could see the hint of white Farmer's cheese inside, "Nope, sauerkraut. Nope, that's another saurkraut. This one is apricot filled. Oh, here's one!"
We stared at the one cheese pierogi on the plate.
"Mom! There's only one cheese pierogi here!" April called out.
"Well, you're just going to have to make yourself more or come to this table to see if we have any," my mom called back to her.
Andrew, knowing he had to make up for sneaking out on prayers, took a plate over to the adult table and returned with enough cheese pierogi to just satisfy everyone.
"They mixed up the sauerkraut and cheese pierogies. You can't tell what is what!"
We sighed, shook our heads and ate.
The mood changed somewhere during dessert. Everyone around the adult table was leaning back, swapping stories and and laughing. My cousins, who had retired to the living room, were lightly teasing each other but smiling too. No one even argued when I threw dish towels at them and told them it was time to tackle the mounds of plates and bowls on the counter.
A moment of relaxed harmony. Merry Christmas to us.
This had to be one of the more odd years. To be casual and personal, I swear that all the women in my family either had PMS or they're in some weird stage of menopause that makes them a little cranky.
Christmas Eve is a big deal for my side of the family. We eat a meatless dinner, open presents, and those who are still awake go to Midnight Mass. I'm just going to share the Christmas Eve dinner story.
This year is the first Christmas that all the cousins are age 21 and older. My cousin Andrew celebrated his newly legal status by disappearing just before prayers and oplatek breaking. As the family gathered in the dining room, my Aunt Ginny whispered urgently to my Uncle, "Where is Andrew?"
"He went on an errand."
"Where did he go?"
"Don't worry. He'll be back," my Uncle evaded her question as she tried to look him in the eye. My Aunt asked my cousin, April, if she knew but she wouldn't give a straight answer either. I finally asked out of the corner of my mouth, "So where did he go?"
"Beer," she replied.
Andrew sauntered in after we were all seated. His mom glared at him and said, "Don't talk to me," shaking her head as she walked away after sharing a saved piece of oplatek. He shrugged and grinned at the rest of us, taking a seat at the kids table.
As said before, all the cousins are age 21 and over but we still are required to sit at the kid's table in the kitchen. I think my younger cousins still prefer this because there's less harassment from various family members of, "Are you eating?" "Why aren't you eating?"
We still heard plenty of that since we sit right by the stove and all the food. This was great for getting food first, but not so great for my cousin Craig. My mom, as she carried a bowl of hot mushroom soup to our table, had a clumsy moment and began spilling some of the contents on Craig's leg causing him to yell,
"Ow! Ow!"
"Oh! Oh!" my mom panicked as she noticed what she was doing, but then proceeded to spill more soup on top of Craig.
Fortunately, Craig wasn't burned but his pants were left a little soggy and smelling of soup.
Fried fish, mashed potatoes, pierogis, and green peas round out the rest of Christmas Eve dinner for our family. The pierogis are the ones that we made back in October by the hundreds. Every year, as we roll out the dough someone says, "We have to be sure to make a lot of cheese. Everyone really likes the cheese pierogis."
Sometime between then and Christmas Eve, the women cooking apparently forgot this fact and sauteed up mostly sauerkraut-filled pierogis, which the majority of the people at the kids table do not eat. We can be a rather finicky bunch.
"Where are the cheese pierogis?" we cried to our parents and grandparents in the dining room.
"They're on the plate! You have to poke at them to see what is what!" they yelled back.
I began carefully poking each steaming doughy pocket to see if I could see the hint of white Farmer's cheese inside, "Nope, sauerkraut. Nope, that's another saurkraut. This one is apricot filled. Oh, here's one!"
We stared at the one cheese pierogi on the plate.
"Mom! There's only one cheese pierogi here!" April called out.
"Well, you're just going to have to make yourself more or come to this table to see if we have any," my mom called back to her.
Andrew, knowing he had to make up for sneaking out on prayers, took a plate over to the adult table and returned with enough cheese pierogi to just satisfy everyone.
"They mixed up the sauerkraut and cheese pierogies. You can't tell what is what!"
We sighed, shook our heads and ate.
The mood changed somewhere during dessert. Everyone around the adult table was leaning back, swapping stories and and laughing. My cousins, who had retired to the living room, were lightly teasing each other but smiling too. No one even argued when I threw dish towels at them and told them it was time to tackle the mounds of plates and bowls on the counter.
A moment of relaxed harmony. Merry Christmas to us.
Tuesday, December 29, 2009
2009 - In Review
1. What did you do in 2009 that you’d never done before? My new job. There was a lot of stuff in it that was totally new to me.
2. Did you keep your new year’s resolutions, and will you make more for next year? Not a fan of making resolutions
3. Did anyone close to you give birth? We had several friends who had babies and a couple more that conceived this year but won't give birth until 2010.
4. Did anyone close to you die? My Great-Aunt Margie died somewhat unexpectedly this past July. She had gone in for surgery but I guess I didn't consider that she wouldn't make it out. She's been missed over these holidays.
5. What countries did you visit? Once again, I stayed stateside.
6. What would you like to have in 2010 that you lacked in 2009? A plan for where I will take myself next. More free time.
7. What dates from 2009 will remain etched upon your memory, and why?
- March 19th: Morrissey at SUNY UB.
- July 4th weekend: Spending time with friends but losing my Aunt
- July 25-26: John Hughes Party in Pontiac. One crazy road trip so we could have an awesome time with out of town friends and friends from Jamestown.
- Any date that we went to a wedding. There were 7 of them.
- September 6th: my first Labor Day Festival that I helped organize
- September through November 21st: The preparation and performances of "The Producers"
- Thanksgiving Week: Managing to see a large group of friends from high school for the first time in years plus squeaking in visits with other friends
8. What was your biggest achievement of the year? Getting better at paring back where I needed to in order to maintain sanity.
9. What was your biggest failure? Still not saying no enough.
10. Did you suffer illness or injury? No flu or serious injuries of my own.
11. What was the best thing you bought? Lady GaGa - The Fame
12. Whose behavior merited celebration? Matt still gets high marks.
13. Whose behavior made you appalled and depressed? Some behavior by people I had to interact with because of my job.
14. Where did most of your money go? Mortgage and car related stuff
15. What did you get really, really, really excited about? Playing in the pit orchestra for "The Producers." It was so much fun!
16. What song will always remind you of 2009? Probably anything by Lady GaGa
17. Compared to this time last year, are you:
a) happier or sadder? I think there's a chance I'm sadder than last year at this time but overall I would say I'm probably happier.
b) thinner or fatter? Thinner by a good 7 pounds at least. 20 pounds lost over 2 years!!
c) richer or poorer? I think richer since we've been better about saving money.
18. What do you wish you’d done more of? I still wish I had read more even though I was better about picking up a book here and there during the middle of the year.
19. What do you wish you’d done less of? It goes along with 18 somewhat, but I almost wish I read fewer blogs and actually blogged more.
20. How did you spend Christmas? We went to Cheektowaga for Christmas Eve dinner with my family, Midnight Mass at St. John Adalberts, left Christmas morning to come back to Jamestown for Christmas day with Matt's parents.
21. Did you fall in love in 2009? I stayed in love.
22. What was your favorite TV program? Paranormal State, Anthony Bourdain: No Reservations, and Tabatha's Salon Take Over
23. Do you hate anyone now that you didn't hate this time last year? No. I'm not big on hate because it wastes so much energy. There are people who disappoint me, but I don't hate them.
4. What did you want and get? I needed a job in order to avoid being laid off and I got one.
25. What did you want and not get? That sense that I'm on the right track.
26. What did you do on your birthday, and how old were you? I worked and later went to Forte for drinks with some friends. I turned 33.
27. Who did you miss? I missed seeing some friends but in an odd way I missed Matt because we were so busy during the week and then with plenty of stuff on the weekends we actually didn't get a lot of time to just sit back and say, "Hey, how you doing?"
2. Did you keep your new year’s resolutions, and will you make more for next year? Not a fan of making resolutions
3. Did anyone close to you give birth? We had several friends who had babies and a couple more that conceived this year but won't give birth until 2010.
4. Did anyone close to you die? My Great-Aunt Margie died somewhat unexpectedly this past July. She had gone in for surgery but I guess I didn't consider that she wouldn't make it out. She's been missed over these holidays.
5. What countries did you visit? Once again, I stayed stateside.
6. What would you like to have in 2010 that you lacked in 2009? A plan for where I will take myself next. More free time.
7. What dates from 2009 will remain etched upon your memory, and why?
- March 19th: Morrissey at SUNY UB.
- July 4th weekend: Spending time with friends but losing my Aunt
- July 25-26: John Hughes Party in Pontiac. One crazy road trip so we could have an awesome time with out of town friends and friends from Jamestown.
- Any date that we went to a wedding. There were 7 of them.
- September 6th: my first Labor Day Festival that I helped organize
- September through November 21st: The preparation and performances of "The Producers"
- Thanksgiving Week: Managing to see a large group of friends from high school for the first time in years plus squeaking in visits with other friends
8. What was your biggest achievement of the year? Getting better at paring back where I needed to in order to maintain sanity.
9. What was your biggest failure? Still not saying no enough.
10. Did you suffer illness or injury? No flu or serious injuries of my own.
11. What was the best thing you bought? Lady GaGa - The Fame
12. Whose behavior merited celebration? Matt still gets high marks.
13. Whose behavior made you appalled and depressed? Some behavior by people I had to interact with because of my job.
14. Where did most of your money go? Mortgage and car related stuff
15. What did you get really, really, really excited about? Playing in the pit orchestra for "The Producers." It was so much fun!
16. What song will always remind you of 2009? Probably anything by Lady GaGa
17. Compared to this time last year, are you:
a) happier or sadder? I think there's a chance I'm sadder than last year at this time but overall I would say I'm probably happier.
b) thinner or fatter? Thinner by a good 7 pounds at least. 20 pounds lost over 2 years!!
c) richer or poorer? I think richer since we've been better about saving money.
18. What do you wish you’d done more of? I still wish I had read more even though I was better about picking up a book here and there during the middle of the year.
19. What do you wish you’d done less of? It goes along with 18 somewhat, but I almost wish I read fewer blogs and actually blogged more.
20. How did you spend Christmas? We went to Cheektowaga for Christmas Eve dinner with my family, Midnight Mass at St. John Adalberts, left Christmas morning to come back to Jamestown for Christmas day with Matt's parents.
21. Did you fall in love in 2009? I stayed in love.
22. What was your favorite TV program? Paranormal State, Anthony Bourdain: No Reservations, and Tabatha's Salon Take Over
23. Do you hate anyone now that you didn't hate this time last year? No. I'm not big on hate because it wastes so much energy. There are people who disappoint me, but I don't hate them.
4. What did you want and get? I needed a job in order to avoid being laid off and I got one.
25. What did you want and not get? That sense that I'm on the right track.
26. What did you do on your birthday, and how old were you? I worked and later went to Forte for drinks with some friends. I turned 33.
27. Who did you miss? I missed seeing some friends but in an odd way I missed Matt because we were so busy during the week and then with plenty of stuff on the weekends we actually didn't get a lot of time to just sit back and say, "Hey, how you doing?"
Wednesday, December 23, 2009
The Mayfly Project - 2009
It's the end of 2009, so it's time to assess the year in 24 words for The MayFly Project:
Painted dining room. Acquired violin student. New job. Seven weddings. New friends. Lost family member. Wrote for The Word. Played pit for The Producers.
My past attempts at MayFly summaries:
2001
2002 (longer)
Painted dining room. Acquired violin student. New job. Seven weddings. New friends. Lost family member. Wrote for The Word. Played pit for The Producers.
My past attempts at MayFly summaries:
2001
2002 (longer)
Sunday, December 20, 2009
2000-2009: My Music
The first decade of the millennium saw a change in my music listening habits. About half-way through the decade, I was given an iPod as a wedding present. Almost overnight, I went from listening to full albums to listening to my vast music collection on shuffle. The idea of creating a list of my personal top ten albums of the decade seemed almost silly because of this change, but then I realized that there were a few albums that I did listen to in their entirety over and over even though I had that lovely piece of technology.
In alphabetical order because I really couldn't rank them:
Coldplay - A Rush of Blood To The Head: Undoubtedly, this will end up on a lot of "Best of the '00s" lists for music. It was a stellar sophomore album that I couldn't get enough of when it was released. I haven't enjoyed Coldplay's latter efforts and this remains my favorite album by them to date. While the tour was in support of X&Y, the 2005 concert was one of the best we've seen.
Fiona Apple - Extraordinary Machine: After an alternate version was leaked online and fans begged her label to release the album, we finally got this from Fiona Apple. Thank god.
The Format - Dog Problems: What I wrote in my 2006 review still holds.
Fountains Of Wayne - Welcome Interstate Managers: This is my favorite album by FOW. It completely blew me away as I listened to it on a road trip to Rochester back in 2003. It got a mention in a Six Degrees of Music Separation post. Classic power pop music.
The Killers - Hot Fuss: "Somebody Told Me" was the hot first single and then I heard a few more on a mix CD a co-worker made for me. When Hot Fuss finally landed in my hands and was put into my portable CD player, it stayed there for months. I only wish The Killers could have matched what they accomplished on this album. It's solid.
MC Lars - The Graduate: WBER and eMusic were the two things that turned me into an MC Lars fan. I love his nerdcore style and the way he embraced the online music culture. My only regret is that I've never seen him live, but with the frequency that he comes through Rochester, NY I hope to some day!
Mike Doughty - Golden Delicious: I loved Soul Coughing in the 1990s, so I was delighted to hear that Mike Doughty had put out some solo albums. His first two albums, Haughty Melodic and Skittish/Rockity Roll, had a couple great tunes but Golden Delicious had the sound that connected. I think I could listen to "Like A Luminous Girl" on repeat all afternoon.
Morrissey - You Are The Quarry: This is the album that made me say, "He's back. This is it. This is the best thing he's done since Vauxhall And I." I was ever so glad to get to see him a second time this past March. Morrissey will always be one of my top favorite musical artists of all time.
OK Go - OK Go: Would you believe I bought this album without hearing one song off of it simply because I liked the cover and it was $9.99 at Walmart? One of my best impulse purchases ever. I had read about the album in Elle magazine, of all places, so I figured it was worth chancing $10. More power pop than you could shake a tambourine at and part of that I'm sure has to do with Fountains of Wayne's Adam Schlesinger's involvement.
U2 - All That You Can't Leave Behind: This album gave me and Matt one of "our songs." We did end up using "Beautiful Day" as our "entrance music" at our wedding reception. The album was a great "come back" after putting up with Pop back in 1997. It was no small relief to hear that U2 could still create amazing music.
In alphabetical order because I really couldn't rank them:
Coldplay - A Rush of Blood To The Head: Undoubtedly, this will end up on a lot of "Best of the '00s" lists for music. It was a stellar sophomore album that I couldn't get enough of when it was released. I haven't enjoyed Coldplay's latter efforts and this remains my favorite album by them to date. While the tour was in support of X&Y, the 2005 concert was one of the best we've seen.
Fiona Apple - Extraordinary Machine: After an alternate version was leaked online and fans begged her label to release the album, we finally got this from Fiona Apple. Thank god.
The Format - Dog Problems: What I wrote in my 2006 review still holds.
Fountains Of Wayne - Welcome Interstate Managers: This is my favorite album by FOW. It completely blew me away as I listened to it on a road trip to Rochester back in 2003. It got a mention in a Six Degrees of Music Separation post. Classic power pop music.
The Killers - Hot Fuss: "Somebody Told Me" was the hot first single and then I heard a few more on a mix CD a co-worker made for me. When Hot Fuss finally landed in my hands and was put into my portable CD player, it stayed there for months. I only wish The Killers could have matched what they accomplished on this album. It's solid.
MC Lars - The Graduate: WBER and eMusic were the two things that turned me into an MC Lars fan. I love his nerdcore style and the way he embraced the online music culture. My only regret is that I've never seen him live, but with the frequency that he comes through Rochester, NY I hope to some day!
Mike Doughty - Golden Delicious: I loved Soul Coughing in the 1990s, so I was delighted to hear that Mike Doughty had put out some solo albums. His first two albums, Haughty Melodic and Skittish/Rockity Roll, had a couple great tunes but Golden Delicious had the sound that connected. I think I could listen to "Like A Luminous Girl" on repeat all afternoon.
Morrissey - You Are The Quarry: This is the album that made me say, "He's back. This is it. This is the best thing he's done since Vauxhall And I." I was ever so glad to get to see him a second time this past March. Morrissey will always be one of my top favorite musical artists of all time.
OK Go - OK Go: Would you believe I bought this album without hearing one song off of it simply because I liked the cover and it was $9.99 at Walmart? One of my best impulse purchases ever. I had read about the album in Elle magazine, of all places, so I figured it was worth chancing $10. More power pop than you could shake a tambourine at and part of that I'm sure has to do with Fountains of Wayne's Adam Schlesinger's involvement.
U2 - All That You Can't Leave Behind: This album gave me and Matt one of "our songs." We did end up using "Beautiful Day" as our "entrance music" at our wedding reception. The album was a great "come back" after putting up with Pop back in 1997. It was no small relief to hear that U2 could still create amazing music.
Saturday, December 19, 2009
Toss It All On Top
My Parent's Glorious Christmas Tree
As I say almost every year, why put up and decorate a tree when we can just come and appreciate my parent's gloriously decorated tree? It continues to be magnificent another year.
Incidentally, when I lived at home, decorating the tree was a big part of my holiday responsibilities and we had just as many ornaments back then.
Friday, December 18, 2009
WIRQ - 50 Years
I discovered today that the little radio station that started it all for me is going to be celebrating 50 years of being on the air in 2010.
WIRQ has been Irondequoit High School's radio station longer than any other high school radio station in the nation. My introduction came one night sometime my freshman year while dialing through radio stations as I avoided doing homework. Even though it was after 7pm, the station was still on the air for the weekly alternative countdown with Tim Carey and Jason Repp. I quickly popped in a cassette and hit record.
The cassette has since mangled a little with songs being recorded over in spots, but it still has snippets of some great, seemingly obscure songs of the early 1990s. I even caught part of a mic break where Tim, Jason and some other guy who dropped by the studio are riffing on the theme song to Shaft. The number 1 song that week?
Tim: "For the fifth week in a row.."
Jason: "Ehnnnnn"
Tim: "Detachable Penis.. King Missile.. 94.3 WIRQ"
I listened on and off over the next year and decided my need for more alternative music in my life could possibly be filled if I joined the station. Unfortunately, the summer of 1993 would be when the high school principal shortsightedly shut down the station. I forget what his reasoning was, but I'm sure it included stories of drug use, sex under the soundboard, students skipping class, and the principal's disinterest in the music being played on the air. Fortunately, a group of rabid station members successfully petitioned to the school board to have it re-opened.
My long time friend Shannon dragged me to the first re-organization meeting for WIRQ in November '93 since I was afraid I just might not be cool enough to step inside this legendary place. A few weeks later, I had my first training session to become a DJ. I quietly observed the personnel director at the time do her air shift. The next training session was with Ryan, a guy in my class. He was supportive as I stumbled a little over reading a public service announcement for some art exhibit at the Rush Rhees Library on the U of R campus. Then, almost 16 years ago to today, Ryan stepped out of the on-air studio and I did my first solo mic break. It was all over from there. I was hooked.
Two weeks later, chicken pox took out another fellow DJ and I was suddenly filling in for his daily show during 8th period of the school day. When he came back, he let me continue in the slot. Not long after that, I added a weekly afterschool show that included the dual-broadcast with WBER to my on-air time.
Senior year, I swapped duties with my friend Shannon and became the Music Director for WIRQ. Even with no prior experience, I threw myself into creating weekly play lists, reporting to College Music Journal, talking (or bullshitting) to Record Reps about what we were spinning and further feeding that aggressive beast inside that wanted to live inside a radio station even though I had been setting myself up for years to be a music teacher. No one was really surprised when I switched majors to broadcasting at the end of my freshman year in college.
WIRQ provided a super-charged awakening to my love for radio. I'm so thrilled that it still exists, even as technology changes, for other high school students to get to experience what it's like to be a radio DJ before college. Congrats on 50 Years WIRQ!
WIRQ has been Irondequoit High School's radio station longer than any other high school radio station in the nation. My introduction came one night sometime my freshman year while dialing through radio stations as I avoided doing homework. Even though it was after 7pm, the station was still on the air for the weekly alternative countdown with Tim Carey and Jason Repp. I quickly popped in a cassette and hit record.
The cassette has since mangled a little with songs being recorded over in spots, but it still has snippets of some great, seemingly obscure songs of the early 1990s. I even caught part of a mic break where Tim, Jason and some other guy who dropped by the studio are riffing on the theme song to Shaft. The number 1 song that week?
Tim: "For the fifth week in a row.."
Jason: "Ehnnnnn"
Tim: "Detachable Penis.. King Missile.. 94.3 WIRQ"
I listened on and off over the next year and decided my need for more alternative music in my life could possibly be filled if I joined the station. Unfortunately, the summer of 1993 would be when the high school principal shortsightedly shut down the station. I forget what his reasoning was, but I'm sure it included stories of drug use, sex under the soundboard, students skipping class, and the principal's disinterest in the music being played on the air. Fortunately, a group of rabid station members successfully petitioned to the school board to have it re-opened.
My long time friend Shannon dragged me to the first re-organization meeting for WIRQ in November '93 since I was afraid I just might not be cool enough to step inside this legendary place. A few weeks later, I had my first training session to become a DJ. I quietly observed the personnel director at the time do her air shift. The next training session was with Ryan, a guy in my class. He was supportive as I stumbled a little over reading a public service announcement for some art exhibit at the Rush Rhees Library on the U of R campus. Then, almost 16 years ago to today, Ryan stepped out of the on-air studio and I did my first solo mic break. It was all over from there. I was hooked.
Two weeks later, chicken pox took out another fellow DJ and I was suddenly filling in for his daily show during 8th period of the school day. When he came back, he let me continue in the slot. Not long after that, I added a weekly afterschool show that included the dual-broadcast with WBER to my on-air time.
Senior year, I swapped duties with my friend Shannon and became the Music Director for WIRQ. Even with no prior experience, I threw myself into creating weekly play lists, reporting to College Music Journal, talking (or bullshitting) to Record Reps about what we were spinning and further feeding that aggressive beast inside that wanted to live inside a radio station even though I had been setting myself up for years to be a music teacher. No one was really surprised when I switched majors to broadcasting at the end of my freshman year in college.
WIRQ provided a super-charged awakening to my love for radio. I'm so thrilled that it still exists, even as technology changes, for other high school students to get to experience what it's like to be a radio DJ before college. Congrats on 50 Years WIRQ!
Thursday, December 17, 2009
Holiday Story Time
I'm feeling the urge to embellish, but I'll try to stay true to history as I share one of the Christmas traditions my family has endured for years.
Christmas cookie decorating has held a hallowed spot in the days of pre-Christmas preparation for my family. Always a raucous affair, when I was a child there were bowls and bowls of frosting scattered around the dining room table between heaping trays of anise-flavored cut-out cookies. My eyes would grow large as I peered over the tower of sweetness at my dad and the daunting task of sprinkling colored sugars over the confectionery delights. He'd grimly assess the job and mutter, "Well, your mother certainly made enough this year."
Cookie by cookie, we'd slap on frosting with a butter knife and carefully consider whether the Christmas Tree shape should have red garland this time or maybe just nonpareils. That studious contemplation gave way to less heavenly creations and gingerbread men started to look a little punk-rock, Christmas trees took on ghastly shades of pink and purple, and the ultimate I-don't-care was the "everything" cookie where all the sprinkles on the table were scooped up and dumped randomly on top.
When I was a child, cookie decorating took hours. When I reached my later teens and also found friends or significant others who were willing, we had more help at the table. That help became a significant factor in cookies being finished in a more timely fashion which allowed my dad to retreat to the family room sooner to watch the hockey game, and me to escape to go out anywhere that wasn't my house. The addition of a third cookie decorator was so vital that one December, after a recent break-up of a long-term relationship, my dad asked, "Do you think he'll still come and help decorate cookies?" I have the pictures to prove that my former-boyfriend was a good soul who understood.
Neither my dad nor I are even casual artists but once a year we do our best to create a display of colorful, edible delights. At the end, for all our grumbling there was a measure of pride in the work we did and gladness at some time together. To toss out it out there again, maybe this is what Christmas is truly about. I'll take those moments.
Christmas cookie decorating has held a hallowed spot in the days of pre-Christmas preparation for my family. Always a raucous affair, when I was a child there were bowls and bowls of frosting scattered around the dining room table between heaping trays of anise-flavored cut-out cookies. My eyes would grow large as I peered over the tower of sweetness at my dad and the daunting task of sprinkling colored sugars over the confectionery delights. He'd grimly assess the job and mutter, "Well, your mother certainly made enough this year."
Cookie by cookie, we'd slap on frosting with a butter knife and carefully consider whether the Christmas Tree shape should have red garland this time or maybe just nonpareils. That studious contemplation gave way to less heavenly creations and gingerbread men started to look a little punk-rock, Christmas trees took on ghastly shades of pink and purple, and the ultimate I-don't-care was the "everything" cookie where all the sprinkles on the table were scooped up and dumped randomly on top.
When I was a child, cookie decorating took hours. When I reached my later teens and also found friends or significant others who were willing, we had more help at the table. That help became a significant factor in cookies being finished in a more timely fashion which allowed my dad to retreat to the family room sooner to watch the hockey game, and me to escape to go out anywhere that wasn't my house. The addition of a third cookie decorator was so vital that one December, after a recent break-up of a long-term relationship, my dad asked, "Do you think he'll still come and help decorate cookies?" I have the pictures to prove that my former-boyfriend was a good soul who understood.
Neither my dad nor I are even casual artists but once a year we do our best to create a display of colorful, edible delights. At the end, for all our grumbling there was a measure of pride in the work we did and gladness at some time together. To toss out it out there again, maybe this is what Christmas is truly about. I'll take those moments.
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