Springsteen's releasing a new studio album this week and Dylan's releasing a greatest hits compilation. Which do you prefer from a legend: new material or time-honored classics?
Most of the time I prefer a new album. So far Dylan's new albums haven't disappointed.
Sometime in the next 3 weeks Moto will turn 1. We've had her since she was 12 weeks old and it's a miracle we haven't dropped-kicked her back out into the wild. She's a terror. She owns us. She lures us in with her sweet, pathetic, obedient looks one minute then proceeds to eat the couch or a rug or the wall. I guess it keeps things exciting! Happy Birthday, Crusty Dog!
Do you own all the albums of any particular musical artist or group? Who?
Submitted by dutterman.I own everything from The Smiths. I could have said the same for REM and U2 until about 5 yrs ago.
We Love You, Buddha.
Died: February 8, 2007
Age: 12 yrs too young
We put Buddha to sleep yesterday. She started having trouble breathing Wednesday evening, was sick during the night, and by 8:30 a.m. yesterday we were rushing her to the vet because she stopped breathing for a minute. They tried to clear her lungs out so her heart wouldn't have to work so hard but her body just didn't respond to the meds or pure oxygen room she was in most of the day. By 4:30pm yesterday we had to make the horrible decision to not let her suffer any longer. She was unresponsive all day to the doctors but when Kit arrived, she tried to get up so she could leave with us. Typical Buddha. Too stubborn for even her own body. We were with her throughout the process and she was clearly calmed to have us there.
Here's to a best friend, a big sister, and all around "party dawg" til the end. A girl who preferred Miller Light to all other beers, could smell pizza a floor away and would come running, tried for years to eat that granite ball even if it meant breaking teeth, ran the show and was the show most of the time, could barely walk across the room but could jump at least 4 ft in the air, could clear a room or wake a grown man from his sleep by one foul toot, and loved her dad more than anything or anyone else in the bad times and the great times. You are missed.
Meet Moto. (Or Crusty Dog as she's being referred to by some. You know who you are!) She's our new addition. God help us!
Crusty no-more! Just pure evil.
I love lists. I make lists all day long to get things done. It gives me a sense of accomplishment to take a stab at organization. Even if I never get that list done, it's down there in one spot. Just thinking of it brings a sense of calm to me.
Kit and I were talking about lists this weekend while trying to figure out appropriate Holiday gifts for loved ones and friends, errands, etc. None of that was fun (well, the gift stuff was) so we moved on to favorite things this year. As usual, our conversation started and stayed on music. I love music even more than I love lists but admittedly I have not been on top of new bands this year. I'm not sure what happened but I have stagnated in my musical development. So my list is featuring bands I learned to love this year or continued to love this year but in a new way. Some actually did come out this year but some didn't. Remind me if I forget something!
TOP 10 FAVORITE BANDS OF 2006 *(In no particular order as this is more of a stream-of-consciousness approach highly influenced by what I'm currently rockin' out to this very moment.)
- Raconteurs (2006)
- Bob Dylan (Transcends Time-Stamping)
- Clap Your Hands Say Yeah (2005)
- They Might Be Giants (1990s)
- Arctic Monkeys (2005/2006)
- Flaming Lips (2006)
- Yeah Yeah Yeahs (2006)
- Pinback (2004/2006)
- Beck (2006)
- Ella Fitzgerald (Thanks, Kit!)
I'm sure I've forgotten many that got me through another year but this is a good start. Crap, I'm already thinking of some - Ted Leo, Snow Patrol, Deathcab...
Next may be a list of bands I would like to include but just can't get into at this point. For example, The Decemberists.
Some of you wanted to know what colors we're painting the rooms in our house. I finally took some pics and am able to provide a before and after for you. Well, sort of. I'll post more once everything is decorated and tidy. We're still living in a hovel with all the boxes, trash, drywall, insulation, and stacked furniture. Our dogs think we live in 2 rooms upstairs and literally say goodbye and hello from the top of the stairs. So sad.
Here we go with the pics:
Here's our new color - Dried Basil.
This is the old dining room color. It was a mint green. We think this color was chosen, like many of the other pastel colors, from the colors in the stained glass. Or else the husband and wife really enjoyed pastels. Probably both if I had to guess.
Here's our color - Red Clay
You can also check out our dining room full of cabinets waiting to be installed! Ugh.
And, here's the new color: Hatteras Grey. What you are also seeing is the most expensive purchase for the house thus far - the water fixture. No, not the bowl too - just the water spout. Nearly $600 but sooo cool. We'll be taking that with us wherever we move next!
This is the master bedroom presenting itself unabashedly in sterile white.
Here's what we've done. It's grey on 3 walls and wrought iron (or almost black) on one wall. It looks really cool in person and is probably one of my favorite rooms now.
Here's where things get a bit weird. We really thought we'd like the color we chose for the office. In fact, I was most excited about it out of all the choices we made. Then we put it on the walls. I still like it and Kit loves it so we're keeping it for awhile but even my cute little nephew said, "Aunt Amy, is that really the color you're keeping?" Ahh, kids. So...it was a nursery as you can see from this pic. Without further ado, here's the new one:
This color is Ripe Papaya. Don't you feel like you're on vacation??
Even in the midst of a move one must take time off to enjoy the season. We were invited to a Superhero-themed costume party. We went as members of the League of Incontinence. Here's Kit as a drug mule:
What you aren't seeing is his fake bootie with a balloon hanging out of it. Consider yourselves fortunate. Although it was really funny.
And here's me with our friend Chad. If any of you have heard of or, God forbid, whatch Flava of Love on MTV you might know me as "the girl who pooped on the floor, picked it up, and still didn't get voted off." Truly a super-hero! (I should probably find out what her real name is on the show.)
Hope you all had a great Halloween!
Whilst we were in Joshua Tree National Park, we couldn't resist trying to recreat the cover of the famous U2 album. This was taken with Rachel's incredibly expensive and extremely cool digital SLR camera precariously balanced on the roof of the car. It took a couple of tries to get remotely close but here's the result:
Ok, not quite a match especially since we were all in between giggles and not tripping over the ditch we were standing in/near.
Two months ago it seemed like a good idea to head to Palm Springs, CA with my girlfriends. That's back when I thought I wouldn't have 3 other trips in October to occupy my time and take away from house work and moving. Ugh.
We did pick an interesting weekend. We heard Palm Springs is the playground of the stars, the alternative life-stylers, and the elderly. We happened to pick the one weekend it was the playground of the harley riders. Go figure! We had a lot of fun and I highly recommend Palm Springs in October/November. It's so warm, so beautiful, and the complete opposite of Indiana!
on MOTO