Question of the Day: Reading

What's the last thing you read?

Answers I've received so far:
~ "A Blessing on the Moon" by Joseph Skibell. Review: "Very good."
~ "Son of a Witch" by Gregory Maguire. Review: "Not as good as 'Wicked.'"
~ "The Photographer's Guide to Setting Up a Web Site" by Martyn Moore. Review: "Helpful."

My answer:
I'm slowly making my way through "Fast Food Nation" by Eric Schlosser and "Living Abroad in Japan" by Ruth Kanagy. Both are very good, but it's slow going with work and school taking up much of my time. Review of former: I haven't seen the film, but I hear it has a different focus than does the book, which goes into depth about the effect fast food has had on society (e.g., income, suburban sprawl, education, immigration, the job market, health, etc.) and the exportation of that culture. Review of latter: It is by far the best book I have found about living as an expat in Japan; it covers everything you might think of, from neighborhood descriptions and language variations to instructions on setting up your Internet service and properly pouring your beer (hint: you never pour your own beer).

(Post your answer as a comment.)

Question of the Day: Toys

If you could own today just one toy from your childhood, which would you choose?

Answers I've already received:
~ My stuffed Ernie doll
~ The original Bruce Lee action figure
~ I'm too old to remember my childhood toys
~ Chinese jump rope
~ Teddy Ruxpin, Glow-Worms, Popples and my Big Wheel

My answer:
Maybe my Dukes of Hazzard Matchbox car or Lite-Brite.

(Post your answer as a comment.)

A proper motto

I think I'll adopt this as my own:

"Read, every day, something no one else is reading. Think, every day, something no one else is thinking. Do, every day, something no one else would be silly enough to do. It is bad for the mind to be always part of unanimity."

~ Christopher Morley

The Buzz still does it for me after all these years

Not too many things, and even fewer people, have been able to keep me happy for years on end. But Buzz 103.1 here in Palm Beach County has been doing it for me since I was about 13 years old, and some of you are able to do the math and figure out that's been a nice, long while.

Back in the day, the station was barely better than those underground and student-run stations you could only pull in while driving in a certain part of town, down a particular street, with your left turn signal on and all your windows down. For whatever reason, that's the only way you could get the signal, and it was all right by you because the music - and the attitude with which it was presented - was well worth it.

The station brought the best acts to town, often in the form of multi-act shows, and always at a price that even we broke-but-music-nutty adolescents could afford. The shows were the kind you'd beg your parents to drive you and a carload of friends to, the kind whose flyers sported those three priceless words, "All Ages Show." Yesss! The kind of shows you'd vividly remember later in life, say in your twenties, when, really, everything about music feels the same - your passion for finding great new bands, the excitement when you do, how it takes you away from all the shite and makes it all OK for a few glorious moments, its all-encompassing effect on your life.

The Buzz still organizes those shows, still plays that new music from bands that are signed with labels big and small and indie. The best is Sunday nights when they play tunes from those still-unsigned bands from right here in South Florida, the guys you can actually go see play at the local pub next weekend if you like what you hear.

Anyway, back to why the station still does it for me after all these years and all the changes made to its ownership, on-air staff, etc. Yeah, there's another rock station here. It plays the stuff that's found on the charts, and sometimes that's OK. (Hey, it's definitely better than the ever-present booty music, endless easy listening stations, and French Creole chat piped in from the islands.)
~ But, it never fails that what that station calls a "new" song is something I heard on The Buzz months ago.
~ Not to mention that The Buzz frequently throws in what they call "recycled" music (tunes from the 80s and 90s that we long-time listeners who are now well out of high school still love to hear once in a while).
~ And if I listen to that other station for a few hours at a time, I can start to count how many times I hear the same song over and over and over again.
~ The Buzz will ease you out your hangover with lighter tunes on Sunday mornings, and another night will help you decide whether to buy a new album by playing it on the air in its entirety.
~ Plus, this summer alone they've planned a slew of concerts: Flyleaf with Skillet and Dropping Daylight, Sister Hazel, Fiction Plane with The Police, Morrissey, 311 with Matisyahu and The English Beat, Candlebox, Reel Big Fish with Less Than Jake, Marilyn Manson with Slayer, The Projekt Revolution Tour, The Family Values Tour, Incubus with The Bravery, Ozzfest, G. Love & Special Sauce with Slightly Stoopid...
~ For me, at this time in my cubicle-restrained life, the best thing the station offers is live streaming online. I can plug my earbuds into the Mac and ignore my team while I crank out my work. Yay! In fact, I'm doing that right now at home -- the last few songs have been Say This Sooner by The Almost, Two Sisters by Fiction Plane, New Year's Day by U2, Supermassive Black Hole by Muse and Jambi by Tool.

Anyway, I could go on and on, and I won't. But I felt it necessary to profess my (truly) undying love for the radio station with which I've grown up, the station that has not sold out nor kicked me to the curb simply because my age no longer starts with a 1.

Thank you, music gods (and CBS Radio). To show my respects, I'll go lay flowers in front of the shrine on which I've placed my 311 tickets... 20 days 'til the show. Woo hoo! :)

Fecund

fee-kuhnd, -kuhnd, fek-uhnd, -uhnd

adjective
1. producing or capable of producing offspring, fruit, vegetation, etc., in abundance; prolific; fruitful: fecund parents; fecund farmland.
2. very productive or creative intellectually: the fecund years of the Italian Renaissance.

Dogpile search result:
A blog called Vie de Malchance. Its subhead reads, "Just a man living in a world where men are no longer necessary." If I can get past the pretty foul URL (www.fecundstench.com/wordpress), I'll check out the content.

Question of the Day: Build

Have you ever built anything?

Answers I've received so far:
~ Forts
~ An airplane for my brother, but I gave it to my Dad.
~ Yeah, but out of Legos: houses, a penis, a space ship, and maybe a gas station, too.
~ I pitched a tent once!

(P.S. I do not make up these answers!)

My answer:
The first two things that come to mind are a hutch for my pet rabbits when I was in middle school and a desk last month (though that was less involved than it sounds).

(Post your answer as a comment.)

Me, in a 126-question nutshell?

Despite my crazy day, I became bored within the first 45 minutes of being home. (No wonder I can never just relax!) Anyway, my Twitter friend Jonk posted his results after taking the Advanced Global Personality Test. I was surprised that mine were fairly accurate, considering he says his were less so. Those of you who know me personally, what do you think? The rest of you, go and check it out for yourself when you have a few minutes. (It's free, no worries.)

Stability results were high which suggests you are very relaxed, calm, secure, and optimistic.

Orderliness results were high which suggests you are overly organized, reliable, neat, and hard working at the expense too often of flexibility, efficiency, spontaneity, and fun.

Extraversion results were very high which suggests you are overly talkative, outgoing, sociable and interacting at the expense too often of developing your own individual interests and internally based identity.

Trait Snapshot:
clean, likes large parties, outgoing, makes friends easily, optimistic, positive, social, high self control, traditional, assertive, rarely irritated, self revealing, open, finisher, high self concept, controlling, rarely worries, tough, likes to stand out, does not like to be alone, semi neat freak, fearless, dominant, trusting, organized, resolute, strong, practical, craves attention, adventurous, hard working, respects authority, brutally honest, realist, altruistic

Still love this song

And now that I've stumbled upon the video, I dig that, too. Enjoy.

What I'm listening to

It's been a while since I last posted some music recommendations. Here are a few songs I've been listening to incessantly.

The Way I Are ~ Timbaland

Take It Away ~ The Used

Flathead ~ The Fratellis

New Slang ~ The Shins

Everything ~ Michael Buble

Toca's Miracle ~ Fragma

Wow, this list is really all over the place, isn't it? Heh, that's me, I guess!

Question of the Day: Vacations

Where did you go on your last vacation?

Answers I've received so far:
~ California and Nevada.
~ NY, you dumbass.
~ Hell.

My answer:
Orlando, FL. Specifically, the night clubs, theme parks, etc., in and around Disney World.

(Post your answer as a comment.)

Question of the Day: New music

I was out of town for a few days, but you can rest easy knowing that the QOD has returned. *whew*

What band or singer did you most recently discover and love?

Answers I've received so far:
~ Matisyahu He's the last one I found that I really, really love.
~ TV on the Radio, thanks to you!

My answer:
Peter Bjorn and John, a happy-go-lucky Swedish trio. I love their lilting vocals, whistling, bongo drums and comfy strumming. Then I found the "skateboard version" of their "Young Folks" video, and had to share it with you - so cute!



Come on, people! Step right up! Fill out your comment cards! (Post your answer as a comment.)

Question of the Day: Pets

What is your pet of choice?

Answers I've received already:
~ Dog, of course.
~ Cats, only cats, and never anything other than cats.
~ Snakes, particularly large ones that scare girls.

My answer:
If I must choose only one, dogs for sure. Aren't my lil' buddies adorable?




(Post your answer as a comment.)

I can't count to 1 million

I'm telling you, I couldn't. No, no, it's never going to happen, and don't try to convince me otherwise. It initially sounds like an easy task.

But just watch this guy. He's laying on his sofa and counting out loud in his southern twang. Today, Day Four, he's counted between 37,001 and almost 53,000 (as of my posting).

Honest! Who would make this up?! Go, take a look, and tell me you don't quickly lose faith in your own ability to lounge about, neglect your life and otherwise make an ass of yourself on the interwebs. Yeah, naw, I'm thinking I'd sooner claim the inability to count, like, at all - not even to 10.

I say this, of course, because it would be, for me, a lesser embarrassment than completing, or even attempting, this project. Now that I look at his site more closely, I realize the man has sponsors' banners draped around his living room and is selling T-shirts bearing his smirking mug and the beaming-with-pride phrase, "I helped this idiot count to 1 million." This means that not only does he have entirely too much time on his hands and a skewed picture of what might entertain people (you know, normal people, not bloggers like me). He also has high hopes, BIG dreams. This man is an entrepreneur.

Take that, critics. You and I work much, much harder for our money. Shame on us, and God speed to him.

Question of the Day: SCUBA

Have you ever been SCUBA diving?

Post your answer as a comment.
(Bonus points if you know what the acronym stands for.)

Answers I've received already:
~ No, but I've been snorkeling.
~ No, dern it! But I want to. Does that count?
~ No, I like to breathe. Thanks.
~ Yes, yes, a thousand times, yes! Oh, wait. SCUBA? I thought you said muff. OK, nevermind.

My answer:
Nope, snorkeling is more my speed.

(Post your answer as a comment.)

Question of the Day: Socks

Where do you buy your socks?

Post your answer as a comment.

Answers I've received so far:
~ Athlete's Foot
~ Target (this was a popular one)
~ Who the eff knows? I don't remember the last time I bought socks.

My answer:
Target, usually (big surprise).

(Post your answer as a comment.)

Author to be knighted (if he isn't bombed first)

Salman Rushdie has accepted the offer of knighthood from the Queen of England. But BBC and NPR report that this announcement led Mohammed Ijaz ul-Haq, Pakistan's religious affairs minister, to basically call suicide bombers to action. According to the British newspaper, The Guardian, he said, "The west is accusing Muslims of extremism and terrorism. If someone exploded a bomb on his body he would be right to do so unless the British government apologizes and withdraws the 'sir' title."

For a bit of background: Rushdie is an accomplished author, whose novel "Midnight Children" won him the prestigious Booker Prize in 1981. He was accused by his fellow Muslims of making blasphemous statements in his 1988 novel "The Satanic Verses," and the Iranian Ayatollah Khomeini issued a fatwah (or call for assassination) against him. So, he lived pretty much in hiding for the next 10 years, until the fatwah was called off. Since then, he has been living the life of a much-loved and -respected author: book tours, speaking engagements and other intellectual pursuits.

The U.K.'s "knight committee" (I don't know its official name or if it even has one) is made up mostly of artistic types who then pass their list of candidates onto Tony Blair to "rubber stamp" before it makes its way to the Queen. When they placed Rushdie on their list of 2007 candidates, they say it didn't occur to them that it might spark international controversy or threats of violence; they say they figured "The Satanic Verses" issue was water under the bridge. Today, Duncan Campbell, senior correspondent for The Guardian, reported on NPR that Rushdie is celebrating his 60th birthday in London with his family and friends. What will come of this remains to be seen.

Barrie Hardymon wrote this on NPR's Blog of the Nation:

With all the hubbub, fatwas, and attractive chefs surrounding him, it's easy to forget that Salman Rushdie is a wonderful writer. Before he wrote a little book called The Satanic Verses in 1988, he had already won the Booker Prize (for one of my favorites, Midnight's Children... though I can't recommend his children's book Haroun and the Sea of Stories highly enough). Well, more hubbub, I'm afraid. Saturday's announcement that the Indian-born (but still British) writer is to be knighted in the UK has enraged Iran and Pakistan all over again. To some, it's an honor richly deserved; but the long held belief that The Satanic Verses contains blasphemous references to Islam, makes the politics of the knighthood pretty tricky. However, Rushdie may not care; my favorite quote of his (about poets, but you can read artists in general) is this: "A poet's work is to name the unnameable, to point at frauds, to take sides, start arguments, shape the world, and stop it going to sleep." Here's hoping we (with your help) can do all of that here at NPR as well: start arguments... shape the world.

I, too, love that quote by Rushdie and wonder if it isn't an answer to the issue. In the end, we all should feel free to write anything we want without fear of reprisal, let alone death.

What do you think?

Video is international

YouTube has just been launched in nine other countries, and you can bet I'm on the lookout for cool stuff. But on my very first visit, I found this video about Cupid looking for a love of his own in Ireland.



Who knew Cupid had it in him?

Question of the Day: Cartoons

What's the last cartoon you watched?

Post your answer as a comment.

Some answers I've already received:
~ Smurfs
~ Dragonball Z
~ A war propaganda cartoon featuring Donald Duck as a Nazi
~ Invader Zim
~ Samurai Champloo
(Seems my friends are quite diverse. Yay!)

My answer:
Shin Chan
(definitely not for the little ones)

(Post your answer as a comment.)

Flagpole Sitta

These folks totally improved upon this already great Harvey Danger song. If only everyone's cubemates were so cool!

Get a free HIV test

The CDC says that between 180,000 and 280,000 people have HIV but don't know it yet. There are many reasons people don't get tested, fear and inconvenience among them. The usually prohibitive cost will not be a reason on National HIV Testing Day (June 27), when many health centers will offer free HIV tests. Once someone knows he has HIV, he can take the steps to maintain a high quality of life and prevent spreading it to others.

Here in South Florida, Planned Parenthood is offering free rapid HIV tests from 1 to 5 p.m. at its five centers in Broward and Palm Beach counties, which rank among the top 3 Florida counties in number of HIV/AIDS cases. The agency claims to have identified five HIV-positive people at these centers on last year's National HIV Testing Day. For locations, visit Planned Parenthood of South Palm Beach & Broward Counties, Inc. at www.lovecarefully.org.

To find a free HIV testing site in another area, visit HIV Test.