Spinning on that dizzy edge

...is what my library suggested as a search term when I mistyped "Bette Midler Friends". I was disappointed to find, though, that they didn't actually have any listings for "Butte Milder Friends". Way to lead me on, library! I remain amused that all the CDs I've looked for are in "Easy Listening". Tell that to 10-year-old me, who found it hard at times to sit through hours of Barbra and Bette and Judy, and wished her parents were into cool old bands like the Beatles. :)

The music hunt is to fill in some missing songs for what I hope to be a 20 minute photo collage vid for the anniversary party. I have about a week left before I enter the party/VVC Thunderdome, and I'm at minute 7. It feels weird to be throwing photos at the timeline instead of moving footage, like it's almost cheating. But in trying to build a loosely chronological narrative, I'm missing a chunk of about a decade, so I'm raiding my own photo albums trying to fill in the gap. Clipping is a pain, no matter the source. I'm also talking myself down from the ledge that my parents' reaction will be a bland "That's nice, dear", or "Well. That happened." Stop caring, self! Just do it!

The job queue was blessedly slow this morning, so I spent hours cleaning up email, both work and personal. Signing a lot of online polls and such result in a ton of political email; I had to resort to some mass deletions just to be able to see legit messages. I can breathe now and not click away from that tab in a panic.

Tomorrow, if the weather and other random acts behave, I should be getting a new patio poured. I still have to clear off the crap huddled on the small remaining patch of concrete so it can get broken up and replaced. Progress, please!

All in all, not a bad Monday. I hope you all had at least a fair one as well.

OK, it's not as bad as that. But this kind of grey (or rather dark, now that DST is done), gloomy, rainy weather is best appreciated from the comforts of my couch, with a blanket and some form of chocolate in hand.

I have several long and/or thinky posts in my head. This is not one of them. This is a "I have got to close some of these tabs I wanted to share before Firefox blows up" post.

David Hewlett posting covetous pictures of his son's shoes ("I know That thou shalt not covet thy sons running shoes...but they're Darth Vader light-up ones!") makes me all kinds of happy. One, because he again proves that he is a geek after my own heart. Two, I want a pair for me, and Three, because the Emperor would love those, too. (Though after reading the negative reviews, I think I'd be nervous about buying them.)

This interview with Kevin Murphy about Caprica is fascinating, as he talks about working with Jane Espenson, the problems in their storytelling, the process of writing, and overall making me :( that we never got to see what they had planned for the future. Even if you didn't watch Caprica or BSG, it's still a great article about sci-fi shows, writing for TV, and how advertising can adversely affect the path of a show.

This link (from inlovewithnight, I think?) about giving yourself permission to eat was both good and hard to read. It's a topic I struggle with basically every day. I wish I could rush out and show this to everyone, and internalize it myself at the same time. I hope it's one of those issues that repeated exposure will make it easier to adopt.

Wil Wheaton shared this link of an acoustic guitar duo named Rodrigo y Gabriela playing their hearts out. I love everything about this performance: their energy, the intricacy of the playing, the woman's enthusiastic percussive guitar playing (just look at her smile as she sweats!), and the delight of the audience.

Also, can someone explain why I can view YouTube links here at work through Google+ and through Gmail, but not YouTube directly, and how I can exploit this to view anything from YouTube? Right now, I can view embedded video and anything that comes up on the Recommended list or whatever YouTube calls the related videos, but I can't input a search. I love that it works (it's a pleasant relief from the relentless Big Brothering of my network access), I just want to bend it further to my own needs. *grin*

I don't own an iPad or iPhone or anything of that ilk, but with apps like this Warehouse 13 Farnsworth Video Communicator, I really, really want one. (Original messages from Artie and Claudia! What's not to love?)

Now I need to go home and similarly relieve my DVR by watching and deleting some of my saved shows. Too much TV to watch is not the worst problem to have.

Many apologies for the twee subject line. This post has been accumulating itself in my brain for what seems like weeks now, and nothing else would do for it.

I really fucking hate paperwork, fine print, phone calls, and all attendant annoying minutiae thereof. The resolution of the red tape of the past few weeks has included:

( Kindergarten, Taxes, Mortgage, and FSA - I'd rather have lions, tigers, and bears )

We hates paperwork! NYARGH.

At least the hives cleared up a couple of weeks later as mysteriously as they arrived. Man, those were annoying. I still have no idea what caused them.

I must share with you my new crush, which comes with a to-make-a-long-story-short-as-I-can explanation. With last week's episode of Glee, I was wondering why Idina Menzel didn't sing, given her background. That, however, got swept aside when I found out that Lea Michele and Jonathan Groff, the other guest star, had appeared in Spring Awakening together, which led me to that show's website, which led me to The Bitch of Living, which has taken up residence in my head. It's such a fist-pumping anthem of male teenage energy and sexual frustration, and I love the choreography as well. Plus, the first singer's intensity and snarling delivery reminds me of Jason Dohring's portrayal of Logan Echolls, which sent me skimming back through my favorite Veronica Mars fic. I love the Internet. (Ooo - and Jonathan Groff at the end is totally channeling a Matthew Bomer-esque look and feel. Ah, pretty singing boys...)

Um...yeah. Adolescent sexual frustration and a visceral loathing of paperwork is pretty much is where my head is right now. Thanks, brain!

I picked up the new TMBG DVD/CD offering today, "Here Come the 123s". The Emperor's seen a couple of previews from the podcasts already. We went over to the_sween and hecateuse for a massive ham dinner (still full!), and the DVD was viewed on their projector screen. He was enthralled. It was awesome.

Driving along while running errands today, I heard a horrible remix of Bjork's "Big Time Sensuality". I don't know how they could make such an upbeat, danceable song sound flat and mechanical, but they did, to a generic techno beat. *blech* However, it poked me that the original would make an excellent Vala vid. (The brain, it does not stop.)

My son, the frighteningly smart, tool-using monkey, was downstairs while I was upstairs getting some clothes for him. The phone rang, and it was a friend telling me about the Borders weekend coupon. I kept hearing a kid's voice, but I thought it was on her end, until she said "Hi, [Emperor]!" The little rascal had picked up the cordless and pressed the correct button to listen in, a button that looks pretty similar to those surrounding it.

Things like that just hammer home how doomed we are.