Shake That Thing

I think I need to start a new playlist for songs that make you feel like you’ve just snorted two eucalyptus cough drops. You know the ones… make you wake up, no matter what state you’re in. They make you tap your foot, bounce your head (either up and down or side to side), and feel that rush of blood through your body. You’re alive as soon as that song starts, and awake until the final power chord.\
My latest addition to that list is Saturday Morning from Eel’s Shootenanny!:

Saturday morning.\
Who’s going to play with me?\
Six in the morning, baby.\
I got a long day ahead o’ me\
…\
Nothing’s ever going to happen ’round here,\
unless we make it happen.\
Sleep away the day if you want to,\
But I got something I gotta do.

You will get up and shake it, whether you got it or not. To round out this particular list:

  • Uh, Zoom Zip – Soul Coughing
  • I See You Baby – Groove Armada (Fatboy Slim Mix) – There are a whole bunch of Groove Armada or Fatboy songs I could put in this list, but I won’t.
  • Back in Black – Living Colour’s cover of the classic.
  • Breathe (like an Aphex Twin) – The remix of Prodigy’s techno heinie-shaker, without the slightly annoying lyrics
  • That Song from Kill Bill – You know the one, where Ren is walking down the hall with her posse. It’s too darn short, but boy, it’ll wake the dead.
  • Super Bon Bon – Soul Coughing (again)
  • Shake Your Coconuts – Junior Senior – I could have put Move Your Feet in here, but this song cracks me up every time I hear it (and I go into conniptions when Max sings along).
  • No Sleep Till Brooklyn – Beastie Boys – Another conniption song. When Max was learning how to talk, he’d sing along with the chorus. There’s nothing funnier than a two year-old, at top volume, from the backseat: “NO SWEEP TILL BWOOKWYN!!!!”
  • Rome Wasn’t Built in a Day – Morcheeba – Starts a little slow, but the porn-bass is really really catchy.
  • Rockin’ the Suburbs – Ben Folds – Come on, how can you not hop up and shake your pale ass to this one? Another great conniption song. Max knows this whole album… “WOCKIN’ DA SUBURBS!!!”\
    Ok, enough of this fun. You can get all of these songs from from the Apple Music store if you’re too lazy to look ’em up. Really, you can.

Lost Keys

I lost my keys. In the house. After using them. We tore the house apart, and we still can’t find them. I’m at a loss. I have no idea where they could be, and the worst part is, I can’t check my work mail without them (you know those SecurID things? Yeah, on my keyring). If you see my keys, nursing a scotch in a bar, skydiving, riding Space Mountain or mooning nuns, could you drop me a line? I’d really like them back.

No Idea What To Say

I still have a job. A lot of people I know don’t. Layoffs are horrible, and I’ve seen a few by now. A lot of people I enjoy working with are no longer working here, and it’s a horrible feeling, knowing they’re not dead, but feeling like they are. I have no idea what to say. I talked to one friend who’s leaving, and I think I made her cry. It wasn’t on purpose.\
I still have no idea what to say.

Cookie Proof

Cookie Proof

No really, I did. See!

Superman (Yummy Chocolate Superman)

What did I do before work today? Did I take a shower? Did I get dressed? Did I take my medicine? Yes to all of the above. What else did I do? I made chocolate chip cookies! Yes, before work! I am Superman.

Nana and The Kids

Nana and The Kids

I can’t help it… Since Heather’s not posting it, I’m gonna do it. Here’s my grandmother trying to keep a grip on her great-grandchildren. Have they no respect for their elders? (There are a couple more, but this is my favorite… it’s a kid-splosion!) I love how Brian looks like he’s about to take flight.

Cooking Shows That Don’t Suck

This Salon article on cooking shows was entertaining, and I can’t agree more with their take on Good Eats, but I think they missed one: Molto Mario. In 24 minutes, Mario can make you believe you can create good Italian home-cooking, and he’s right. He gives you the basics, and the tools for doing pretty much anything you want. After three shows, you’ll be braising to your heart’s content. And, he’s entertaining to boot.\
I don’t agree that you can’t learn anything from Iron Chef. I’ve learned a lot from it – how to cut up a chicken, carve a roast and some really cool ideas for soups, stews and roasts. Yeah, it’s out there, but when you break it down, it’s still a cooking show.

My Family

My Family

Here they are… my family. Aren’t they gorgeous? My sister took a bunch of portrait stuff over the weekend, and this is my favorite of all of them (there’s another of my grandmother trying to hold Max, Sam and Brian that’s also a keeper).

Straight Talk from the Heartland

I really don’t want to write this, but I said I would. I read Ed Schultz’s Straight Talk from the Heartland over the past week or so. I was expecting a lot from this book, probably unfairly. Ed Schultz is a talk radio guy from North Dakota, and is apparently a rising star in the progressive talk radio world (it’s a small world, I know). Unfortunately, I’d never heard of him. But, from the info I saw before I got the book, it looked like just what I was looking for: a book about progressive values for conservatives. I’ve been dying for one, and it just doesn’t exist (that I know of… if you know of one, please clue me in). Books from authors on both sides of the ideological divide are usually cheerleading affairs for their own kind. From Al Franken to Sean Hannity, they’re not trying to convert anyone.\
I was hoping this was the one. It’s not. It’s so not, it’s not even a good cheerleading book. I didn’t learn anything new from this book other than “Big Eddie” has a healthy ego and played some college football. His writing style is probably the same as his speaking style: a Limbaugh-ian false modesty wrapped in short, punchy sentances. It works great on radio. In a book, it makes for painful reading.\
Like I said, maybe I’m expecting too much from this book, and this review is a reflection of my dashed expectations. But, at its core, this just isn’t a very good read. It takes a while to get started, and well, feels like it never really does. If you’re a listener of his show, you’ll probably like it because you can imagine him speaking. Actually, this would probably be a pretty good book-on-tape. But, compared to Al Franken or Joe Conason’s books (my two faves), this is junior varsity material.

Eels, Dogs and Buffalo Boots – Oh My!

Pain sucks. New music doesn’t. Here are some mini-reviews to keep you happy until the pain goes away and I can think up something worth posting:

  • Eels: Shootenanny! – Wow. I love Souljacker, and this one doesn’t disappoint either. From the driving riff on All in a Day’s Work, to the racing jingle and humor of Dirty Girl, to the wonderful soaring strings and raw sentiment of Somebody Loves You, it’s all here. The album never disappoints, no matter how far afield it goes.
  • Luna: Rendezvous – If you like them, you’ll like this album, there’s no doubt about it. If you’ve never listened to them, this is a good album to start with. The Own & the Pussycat has grown on me. It’s a wonderful twist on the nursery rhyme. Astronaut kicks some serious tail, and Buffalo Boots is one of the best road songs I’ve heard since Dire Straits.
  • Massive Attack: Danny the Dog – This one snuck up on me. I usually try to keep up with them, and since their albums are usually years and years apart, I don’t miss one. How this one slipped by, I’ll never know. It’s a soundtrack, and it shows. I need to listen to it a few more times, but if you like the laid back, trippy version of the band (Blue Lines, Protection, Teardrop), this isn’t the album for you. It’s more industrial and electronic than 100th Window (which was more of both than Mezzanine – my all-time, hands-down, no-close-second favorite album), and has fewer vocals. But, it’s Massive Attack; how wrong can you go?\
    I’ve got some more to review, and will get to them eventually. There’s also a book review coming that I’m having a hard time writing (of a book I really wanted to like, but really really didn’t).