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are you waiting for the heavens?

NP: iPod on random. Haven't done that in a while.

(Freedy Johnston - I Can Hear The Laughs)

I love Freedy Johnston's music. I've been aware of him for ages, but I'd never heard a note of his stuff until two or three years ago, when I saw what would become one of my all-time favorite movies "Kicking And Screaming". In the flick, Johnston's song Bad Reputation plays over the end credits. It's a gorgeous tune, easily one that I would put on a mix tape of my favorite songs. In any case, Johnston's songs aren't fancy. In most cases, it's just a guitar, a voice, and lyrics that tell a story. Sometimes there are more instruments or other embellishments, but that's what's at the heart of it. I'd love to be a guitar and song guy, I think.

(Schrodinger's Cat - Freedom)

My old tech lead was supposed to be back at work this morning, but apparently he's still out. He called in close to lunchtime and said that he's still all the way down in Louisiana. Which of course set off more "well can you do this and this" from my old project manager, when I've already lost two days of work on my new project to pitching in on the old one. So once more today, I was fought over. The new project won out, however, which makes me happy -- I'm more than ready to start on something fresh.

(Pet Shop Boys - Up Against It)

I'm looking forward to this weekend, hoping to spend a lot of time with Erin. The past couple of weeks have felt so frenzied, and I'd just like to feel like we have the time to do things together for once. I know there's not a lot you can do about work schedules and as always, some things in life are just out of your control. But still.

(The Clash - Four Horsemen)

My brain has felt rusty lately, I can't really explain it. But I haven't felt eloquent (was I ever?), ideas don't seem to be flowing, and I feel like, in general, I must be a total bore to read or to talk with. I don't feel sharp, and I'm not sure of the cause.

(Mansun - Stripper Vicar)

Last week, as New York (and a large portion of the rest of northeastern North America) went through the blackout, I kept wondering to myself why should I really care? Sure, it's a massive inconvenience to have no power, sure people were stranded without ways to get home, food spoiled and whatnot. But at the same time, if you watched or read any media coverage of the unfolding events, you'd think that the fabric of the very world we inhabit was ripping apart at its seams. The rest of the country, no, the world was being told "this is something relatively minor in the grand scheme of things, something that doesn't affect 4/5 of the nation, but regardless is still of massive importance to you". In any case, earlier today I read a great article that made me feel slightly less alone in my indifference. After all, if the state of Missouri lost power for days, I guarantee you there wouldn't be live network news coverage. Instead, most people on the coasts would say "oh, you mean they had electricity to begin with?"

(James - Heavens)

Has there ever been a sitcom where the male characters weren't portrayed as bumbling, helpless idiots? I mean, this seems to be the current overarching stereotype -- stupid, thoughtless man screws up and smart, knowing woman chides, forgives, and cleans up after him. I dunno, there's enough anti-female bias in the rest of media (let alone in everyday life) that it's not a big deal. But regardless, I was thinking about this the other day and I thought it was interesting.

(David Gray - Flame Turns Blue)

I went to lunch with my coworkers today, it's our summer intern's last week here for this year, so we had Mongolian barbecue. Of course, I had a big bowl of mostly veggies and noodles slathered in chili sauce. Oh, it was brilliant. I'm telling you, if I ever build a house from the ground up, I want to put one of those massive Mongolian bbq grill-stone things in the kitchen. I'd get a set of those super-long chopstick things and cook everything on it. Best kitchen ever.

(Pulp - Underwear)

One of the servers or power boxes here in my lab has been going haywire today. It's been emitting this low frequency buzzing noise, which occasionally gets extremely loud. After hours of this, I went over to investigate, and the box in question is extremely hot compared to the rest of them. Hopefully the thing isn't getting ready to explore or something, as my cube is more or less right behind where it's situated.

(Crowded House - Tall Trees)

I got my bonus, which is super cool, though I still have no idea what I'm going to do with it. Still no word back from Adam H (dude, if you're reading this, drop me a line!), so I'm not sure if I'm heading out for a visit, or if he's coming to hang out in the STL. If that doesn't work out, I might put the money towards a new, better digital camera. My current one's decent, but it's years old now and is really heavy and bulky, plus I'd like a better megapixel ratio. Otherwise, maybe I'll just go on a massive CD and record spree and put the rest away. Who knows?

(Tori Amos - Spark)

Radiohead show this Sunday, looking forward to that. Ryan H is coming up for it, so I'm also looking forward to hanging out during the day before the gig itself. No idea what we'll end up doing, but it's more the getting a chance to meet up that's important, not what we actually do, you know?

(Live - The Dolphin's Cry)

Alright, a couple of hours left before the working day is over, time to finish up what I started.

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