Friday 13 and a poem

I’m incredibly lazy today, so here’s a random 13 in celebration of Friday the 13th:
She Sings Songs Without Words Harry Chapin
Does She Talk? Matthew Sweet
Fame David Bowie
Skrautvål Hedningarna
Unchain My Heart Ray Charles
Sweet Addiction Deb Pasternak
Blame It On Cain Elvis Costello
Big Mess Devo
Corner Soul The Clash
Fun World Mission Of Burma
Kansas City/Hey-Hey-Hey-Hey Little Richard
What’s Going On Hüsker Dü
Final Say Sambassadeur
Yup, not even a link to a video–you can find them [...]

Jim Carroll and Norman Borlaug

In the last couple of days, two people have died.
Norman Borlaug was a food scientist who:
rose from his childhood on an Iowa farm to develop a type of wheat that helped feed the world, fostering a movement that is credited with saving up to 1 billion people from starvation.
They give part of his speech when [...]

Green Day and a Monday poem

I was up in NH for a while and didn’t put up anything on Friday, so today I’ve decided to give a trillion dollars to the first person who can write a song based on one of my poems (ok, more like $3). To get you in the mood, here are a couple videos by [...]

Second Anniversary

I’m a day late (I blame my dissertation defense on Thursday), but I have now been blogging for two years:
I’m still in the pathetic zone in terms of hits: 50,745 in two years for an average of 69.4 per day (although I averaged 108.8 this last year);
this is my 1250th post (1.71 per day, .99 [...]

Millionaire mathematician

Hmm (via),
In 1999, a slight, unassuming man approached architects Brigitte Shim and Howard Sutcliffe with a whopping proposition: Build a house with curves, glass and a concert hall. No deadlines, no design restraints. The final cost: $24 million, nearly every penny the man had saved over 60-odd years.
…
The home’s owner is equally eccentric. Jim Stewart, who [...]

Linda Linda Linda and Haruhi

I’m a bit bored today, so I went looking for some videos from the movie Linda Linda Linda. Here’s one

and here’s another

Paran Maum is Korean for Blue Hearts, who originally did these songs.
Update: I didn’t realize it as I watched the anime, but the following scene from [...]

First 9 and a poem

Ok, I have now put in almost all of my songs into iTunes (3104 of them) and here are the first nine played:
Beware Of Darkness Concrete Blonde
You Know What You Are? Nine Inch Nails
Getting Smaller Nine Inch Nails
Triumph Of A Heart Björk
Show Me Your Soul Red Hot Chili Peppers
Peek-A-Boo! Devo
Disappointment The Cranberries
Carolina In My Mind James Taylor
Who Made Who AC/DC
 
Why 9? Because I’m superstitious? [...]

Neil Gaiman and Amanda Palmer

A few weeks ago I finished reading the ‘Graveyard Book’ by Neil Gaiman (yeah, I know it’s for young adults) and last week I got ‘Who Killed Amanda Palmer’ by Amanda Palmer of the Dresden Dolls. Neither of these things is surprising as I have two Dresden Dolls CDs and have 4 or 5 books [...]

Still no music, but a poem anyhow

I’m still putting music into iTunes, so still no random 10 (I’m up to 1720 songs). I will instead direct you to Carrie Brownstein at NPR and today’s song of the day (With all my Heart by Clem Snide) which I quite liked.
Of course, the lack of music doesn’t relieve of my poetic responsibility, so here’s [...]

Tuesday never came

When I came to the corner of the room my watch stopped and everything began. Anyways some songs I heard:
Meanwhile, Rick James… Cake
Little Martha The Allman Brothers Band
Butler Switch On! Yuko Goto
Message In A Bottle The Police
The Call Up The Clash
Lady Madonna The Beatles
Midvikudags Björk
Light My Fire The Doors
Ode to My Family The Cranberries
So Good To See You Shawn Colvin
Maybe That’s Something Sheryl Crow
Free Fallin’ Tom Petty
Go [...]

Grab a flashlight

Now then where was I? Oh yeah at my office at NU. Anyway, here’s a random 10:
Just Won’t Burn Susan Tedeschi
Letterbomb Green Day
Big Time Sensuality [The Fluke Minimix] Björk
Nothing Clings Like Ivy Elvis Costello & The Imposters
Saving Grace Bob Dylan
Sideways Santana Feat. Citizen Cope
Waiting Cake
Who Makes You Feel Dido
Another Nail In My Heart Squeeze
Nice Guys(don’t get paid) Soul Asylum
I Can’t See New York Tori Amos
Against [...]

Try not to think about it

Did you hear the one about the fight between a potato chip and an artichoke heart? Neither did I. Here’s a random 10:
Sissyneck Beck
Last Exit Pearl Jam
Lucky You The Lightning Seeds
Knock Knock The Hives
Pump Sugarcubes
Winter Song Harry Chapin
The Crystal Lake Grandaddy
Anorak City Another Sunny Day
Down On Me Janis Joplin
999,999 Nine Inch Nails
Do It Alone Jennifer Trynin
Dixie Flyer Randy Newman
and a poem:
Will you carry on
Will I look the [...]

Watch the end with a smile

Well then, another day, another Friday, drops. What’s to be done and where can we grab a drink or eight?  Cry Ragnarok and wait by the seaside with your drink. It’s coming. The end.
I might as well listen to some music:
Hammering In My Head Garbage
It’s A Raggy Waltz Dave Brubeck
Consoler Of The Lonely The Raconteurs
They Are Night Zombies!! They Are [...]

Don’t be like that

Let me reverse the order of things, since my random 10 is failing me. First I present a poem. And it’s three in one:
Mouth open, sound comes out
Wisdom of the ages, could it be
Is life itself, the death bell
Or is it nothing, or a wave?
I also will put down my New Year’s resolution: I resolve [...]

New music for me and a poem

Instead of a random 10, here are the CDs I got for Christmas:
Funplex by The B-52’s
Greean Album by Weezer
Safe Trip Home by Dido
Doolittle by The Pixies
Excitable Boy by Warren Zevon
Consolers of the Lonely by the Ranconteurs
These Four Walls by Shawn Colvin
I’ll probably add to that list using the gift certificates that I got. What’s a [...]

Finals Over and a Poem

Well, Final’s week is over here at NU (and what a lovely day–by the time I got out of my 1pm final, there was a blizzard). I’m not done grading though, that’s due next Monday.
Anyways, here’s some of the music I’ve been grading to:
Side Of The Road Beck
Bitter Boy Truck Stop Love
The Judgement Elvis Costello & The Imposters
Everybody’s [...]

Another Music Confidence Interval

First, here’s my random 10:
Ghosts Japan
Mirror In The Bathroom The English Beat
Song For Kim (She Said) Concrete Blonde
Your Phone’s off the Hook, But You’re Not X
Pacific Ocean Blues Gigolo Aunts
Have You Ever The Offspring
Slippin’ and Slidin’ (Peepin’ and Hidin’) Little Richard
Love Is A Long Road Tom Petty
Mary’s In India Dido
Suddenly I See KT Tunstall
Don’t Come Close The Ramones
The Delivery Man Elvis Costello & The Imposters 
Last week I [...]

What Do I Have Against Myself?

Lately it seems that I have it in for myself. Why just yesterday, I zoned out for a bit and when I came back I had a bomb in my hands. What was I thinking? And the day before that, I woke up in the morning to find myself at the zoo and in the [...]

Nothing To Do, but Listen to Music

Actually I have quite a bit to do (I have papers, labs, two quizzes to grade, and I teach again in 30 minutes but let’s not be picky), so here’s my random 10:
Silent All These Years Tori Amos
Here Comes The Flood Peter Gabriel
Dr Seuss   Autoclave
The Lie And How We Told It Yo La Tengo
Darkening Of The Light Concrete Blonde
Heaven Talking [...]

Hmm, Here’s a Title

Another Friday, another ‘wait what are you doing with that papier mache bus’. Anyways a random 10 (only the Garbage song is a real video, but hey hay):
Poltergeist Mayumi Kojima
The Have Nots X
Evergreen Matthew Sweet
I May Know The Word Natalie Merchant
D.T. AC/DC
Fake Frowns Death Cab For Cutie
Us And Them Pink Floyd
Nothing Lasts Matthew Sweet
Dog New Tricks Garbage
psycho Pajama Slave Dancers
Philosophers Stone Van Morrison
Dwelling On You People [...]