Monthly Archives

June 2009

Old, but good

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While my muscles try to take their revenge on me for making them go along for the ride while moving until the wee hours of the morning, I’ve been getting caught up on work, email and a few articles online. Here’s one with an interesting slant on a story that I’m sure you’ve heard before:

Rachel #439: Tire Dust

Did you know that GM was partnered with the concrete, glass, steel and rubber companies when it bought up the nation’s public transit systems and systematically destroyed them? Makes you glad we are bailing them out now, huh?

3 things making me mental this morning

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  1. Automated voice menus set up for southern drawls. I have had the worst time calling companies since moving here and this is the reason why. Sometimes the human support staff has just as much trouble, to be honest.
  2. Speech options. I feel retarded talking to the computerized voice, especially since I have to do it at least three times for it to understand what I am saying. Plus, their prompts are always ridiculously long and expect you to begin talking while they are talking. This is completely at odds with general human nature.
  3. Expected values that are not explicitly stated. If I’m supposed to give you a date of my own choosing, perhaps it would be useful to let me know that it can’t be a weekend, holiday or less than three business days from the current date up front? There’s nothing more annoying than speaking your choice or filling out a form only to be given an error (always in red or a red text tone of voice) saying you totally screwed up a very OBVIOUS section.

A pair of oddities

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Chestertown is a strange place. People here are both trusting and fearful in ways I’ve never quite experienced in all my living environments and all my travels. There are both extremely posh, jaw-droppingly charming parts of town and absolutely destitute, crack-selling alleyways. You will never find the inhabitants of one area in the other but there are only two shopping plazas so inevitably they mix. And ignore one another. All this within a few blocks and encapsulated in farmland.

The people of Chestertown do strange things, considering their surroundings and social situation. For instance, Kate and I went to JBK today (no, this is not the strange thing) and noted that a maroon, mid-nineties Mercedes C-Class was sitting in the parking lot with the windows down, a kiddie pool in the back and the driver’s door completely open. Now, someone evidently had the wherewithal to purchase a Mercedes at some point in their lifetime which means that they were either wealthy and/or smart. Why this would then lead them to leave their door hanging wide open and their car unattended is not within my comprehension. The fact that we then went into the store, spent half an hour there and returned and STILL found the car in the exact same state is even more perplexing. Did the owner forget? Was the battery dead? Wouldn’t you still want to lock your car or at least make it look like it could have been locked? Where were the thugs or miscreants to abscond with this free Mercedes?

WHAT GIVES, Chestertown?

The second oddity for the day was seeing none other than Shauna Sand in the background during HGTV’s House Hunters. The episode focused on a dimwitted (aren’t they always?) lawyer’s search for a condo near Beverly Hills. Cut to random footage of Spago, Rodeo Drive, the usual. And there, outside the Van Cleef & Arpels storefront was the Empress of Lucite herself. In exquisite lucite heels, as need be. It lasted but a few seconds but our sighting was real and so helpful in brightening the evening.

Listen to this: Junior by Röyksopp

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I have to say, I’m delighted with Röyksopp‘s newest release.

I liked The Understanding just fine but it was primarily a “couple of tracks are excellent and the rest is meh” kind of affair. “Follow My Ruin,” “49 Percent” and, of course, “What Else Is There?” being the real standouts in my book. An album that I wouldn’t shy away from hearing on random but nothing mind blowing. Album art was awesome, though.

So, when Junior reached my attention, I was skeptical. The video for “Happy Up Here” convinced me to download, though. I first perked up when I heard “Girl and the Robot” featuring vocals by Robyn.

“What’s this? Collaboration with a Swede?” I thought.

And then they did it again with Karin Dreijer of The Knife on both “This Must Be It” and “Tricky Tricky.” Lykke Li finds her way onto the disc, too, offering vocals for “Miss It So Much.” Brilliant.

Combine a good Norwegian electro duo with some of my favorite female artists and you’ve got a recipe for success any day of the week.

Coolest. Scar. Ever.

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You know, there’s the old idea that scars are sexy. Scars are cool. They show you where you’ve been and what you’ve done in a really unique and lasting way. I have a scar or two. They are tiny.

I hate them.

And I’ve never bought into this notion.

Until I read this story in The Telegraph: “14 year old hit by 30,000 mph space meteorite”

This kid now officially has the only scar I would want.

TV train wreck: “Expedition Africa”

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Thank you, Mark Burnett. Not only did you give us “Survivor,” but now we have a second pile of crap to go with it. “Expedition Africa” follows the totally real-life journey of four “elite modern-day explorers” as they retrace Stanley Livingstone’s journey into the heart of Africa. And fight. Constantly. About everything.

Expedition Chill the Fuck Out

The first was between Pasquale, an expedition leader and Kevin, a journalist (his elite skill: typing articles on his MacBook) who could not agree on how much water to carry. Kevin won the argument (why?) and they ran out moments later. Everyone gets cranky. Mirayaeayeea, the wildlife expert (and sun-ins expert from the looks of it) got upset and started talking about Pasquale hurting her feelings. And then Benedicte (who either wants to bone her or cook her like his dog – yes, he revealed he ate his dog on a past expedition) decided to start getting pissy equal opportunity-style.

In one hour of TV, we watched a team of supposed gung-ho, capable adventurers turn bitchy, ornery and useless. Now, certainly, in the humidity, heat and fetid conditions of the mangrove stands of Tanzania, I’d have been a sniveling baby. However, I’m not exactly someone that would SIGN UP FOR THIS SHOW. So, I’m completely flabbergasted as to how these four dimwits are going to make it a thousand miles when their party has nearly devolved into chaos after only NINE.

Yes, thank you, Mark Burnett. So very much.

Moving on up…

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…to the “Hilltop” of Chestertown, if you will. Kate, Doug and I made a massive push to get everything redundant, unwanted or otherwise unworthy into storage this weekend, marking the official beginning of the 2009 move. I was exhausted by the end of Saturday, but pleasantly surprised by how much the three of us accomplished. Kate watched me run around like a total nutcase on Sunday, as I attempted to find a place for everything that had suddenly materialized. (On this, I think I was successful.)

So, Monday the 15th is the BIG stuff. Owen is going to take off work with us and we’re going to load up a U-Haul and be done with everything. Hopefully before the temperature reaches the customary mid-June 400º. I’m praying that my landlady continues her complete disregard for the fact that I’m moving out/haven’t paid rent for June. If I could save $425 for two weeks, I’d be thrilled.

Wish me luck. Photos to follow, rest assured.