about getting from point A to point B in the most interesting ways possible

If you're a large woman in America, your whole life is an opportunity to feel self-conscious, embarrassed, resentful and way too big. You can hide in the corner or on the couch, you can go to therapy, or you can put on your lycra bike shorts and get out there and move.
—Jayne Williams, Slow Fat Triathlete

July 26, 2009

sweet

I am having one of those summers. I am just so fickle, I can't decide what to do with myself.

I'm on page 552 on Infinite Jest. I can't tell you how much I am loving this book. The problem with it is that it makes time disappear. Entire hours evaporate. It's amazing.

I am completely obsessed with two things right now. Well, three, but we've already talked about IJ.

I've been listening compulsively to CBC's Radio 3, indie music from Canada that's online and on Sirius. It totally is rocking my world, and it's sent me to the record store twice in the last 5 days. Of course, I haven't just bought Canadian artists, but that's been a focus: Metric, A. C. Newman, Apostle of Hustle, Immaculate Machine, and a Crash Test Dummies greatest hits which doesn't include God Shuffled his Feet, which had sent me running to the record store in the first place. Oh well. More Crash Test Dummies in my future, obviously.

I love that I can listen to radio 3 online, I love that I can add songs to my own playlist, but the Flash interface that makes it so hipster also means you can't link to something. And I always forget that if I want to look at an artist's profile, I have to look under New Music Canada. So part of me has thought I need to do a canadian bands I like site with OCD links to all and every bit of press, etc. (But VJ, that already exists... they call it Wikipedia)

I'm also obsessed with naturescaping my backyard. The big focus there is removing invasive species, like the Travelers Joy Clematis that is fighting with the Tibetan Blackberry for control of the non-wooded part of the lot, and planting native species.

For those of you who haven't been by lately, my backyard is about 2/3 wooded and 1/3 sunny. I have 7 trees in the backyard. I loves my trees.

This started innocently enough: I read about someone who had pursued Audubon certification for having a backyard wildlife habitat, and then I found myself spending more time than is healthy reading about it online and in books. I'm sold.

In this last year, I've had more birds and more butterflies than ever before. And I don't feed the birds, either. It's not like I've gone out of my way to plant, well, much of anything, but suddenly this year, I've seen hummingbirds in both the front and back yards (first for either).

So today, while I was avoiding doing chores, I decided to go to the neighborhood plant store and see if they had any books on naturescaping. They did have a book that I've decided is essential, but it's also $50, which felt like a big commitment for what might end up being another of my infatuations. So I decided to wander around the nursery.

And that's when I saw them -- two flying mice. I refocused my eyes, and realized that they were fluffy little hummingbirds, with their blurs for wings, drinking from a somewhat homely looking native fuschia. They didn't seem to mind at all that two humans were gawking at them, just a few feet away. The light was defused so that they looks like little fuzzy brown birds -- but it was clear they were hummingbirds.

So. I'm smitten. Ruined.

I'm also sorta planning out a vacation to go up to Vancouver Island and see my pal Chrissie. She's moved up to the most beautiful place in the world, and so I have to visit. And spend a lot of time on boats. It sounds so good...

Also on the obsession list is making plans to visit the various ferries in the area (who knew there were ferry near Portland, not me). And this morning, someone in my scooter club had the brilliant idea of inviting all us to breakfast at the Deck. It was supposed to get to 100 degrees today, so the idea of scootering over to the Columbia river, and sitting on the deck of a houseboat-restaurant at 9am sounded like the best thing possible. And it was. It was almost chilly, and gorgeous.

That's not to say that everything is sunny -- I'm still not out of the woods, emotionally, and I am still no closer to being happy that I'm single, but the obsessions seem positive at the very least.

permalink July 26, 2009 | Comments (2)

July 7, 2005

The six song meme

Jon tagged me with the 6 favorite songs meme the other day, and I've been dragging my feet. How can I come up with six songs? How can I come up with only six songs?

  1. Sickness - the Decemberists (originally by the Donner Party) -- the song is id'ed as Donner Party cover
    This song is totally new to me in the last couple months, but I love it. I'm a big Quasi fan, and Quasi's Sam Coomes was also in The Donner Party. I had never heard the Donner Party, but obviously I need to march right out and buy their Complete Recordings. His wittiness and total pop tunesmithing, makes this melancholy totally happy. He and his ex, Janet Weiss (Quasi, Sleater-Kinney) were also in Mötörgöat, who I never saw live, but I still love the name. Mötörgöat!
  2. LambrettTwist - Quartetto Cetra
    So damn infectious. I love all the folks twisting on their scooters. It's true that this wouldn't be as powerful without the visual. And so?
  3. Braided Hair - Speech & Nina Cherry
    This comes on the iP0d and I have to put it on repeat a couple times.
  4. Bittersweet Symphony - Coldplay with Richard Ashcroft
    I liked this with the Verve, but hearing the version performed at Live 8 the other morning had me dancing around my kitchen. Brilliant!
  5. Casino Queen - Wilco
    My lord, you're mean!
  6. Ana Ng - They Might be Giants
    Okay, the video figures into this one too. I suspect if it wasn't so industrial-soviet, I might not like it so well. But it does get stuck in my head like no one's business.

permalink July 7, 2005

January 11, 2005

Artist's Choice™

Marshall had set up his own Artist's Choice list. This is the soundtrack of my cheer-me-up playlist:

1. LEN - Steal my Sunshine
2. Stereolab - Super-electric
3. Bob and Marcia - Young, gifted and black
4. Tricky - Black Steel (the PE original is brilliant too)
5. Belle & Sebastian - The State I'm in
6. Velocity Girl - Tales of Brave Aphrodite
7. The Bats - Courage
8. Jevetta Steele (J.D. Steele Singers) - How shall I see you through my tears (Gospel at Colonus)
9. Les Nubians - Les Portes du Souvenir
10. Breeders - Divine Hammer
11. Grupo Fiesta - Todo Para Ti
12. Graham Parsons - The Madness of Love
13. Magnetic Fields - 10,000 fireflies
14. P18 - La Verdolaga
15. They Might Be Giants - Birdhouse in your soul
16. Bloque - La Pluma
17. Mahotella Queens, Eddi Reader - Daphne (1 Giant Leap)
18. American Music Club - Dreamers of the Dream
19. Wilco - Should have been in love
20. Juanes - Fotografia
21. Gustavo Cerati - Te llevo para que me lleves
22. Jeff Buckley/Gary Lucas (Gods and Monsters) - Farewell Angelina
23. Tribalistas (Arnaldo Antunes, Carlinhos Brown, Marisa Monte) - Ja Sei Namorar

permalink January 11, 2005 | Comments (3)