Top 10 CDs...or at least some pretty darn good CD's

This blog has been inspired by Todd. Although he did tell me that he was going to continue adding top 10 lists till he got to 100---I havent seen that yet Todd...better get on that.

Top 10 CD's that have and will withstand the test of time. This means that in MY opinion they dont really get old, and they are just that cd that I can listen to any time. Lets say I have an hour commute to work and I put my ipod on shuffle, songs on these cd's I probably wouldnt skip if im in most moods (there is always an exception)

OK i wrote this list last week, and since then its already changed, but i decided not to change the list. This is just a snap shot of what my top 10 looked like at that moment, since then i've considered adding other bands like the clash, the cure, the doors, eve 6, and a couple others.

10. Romeo and Juliet CD...ok so 1/3 the cd i never liked even way back when, but I must say this cd will probably always make me stop and listen.
9. Smashing Pumpkins--Mellon Collie and the Infinate Sadness. Who doesnt like a little bullets with butterfly wings? seriously? but also the rest of the double cd is equally as good.
8.Motley Crue--Red White and Crue...I'm kinda cheating here by picking thier best of cd...but why not? It has all the songs I like on it :) mainly Home sweet home and dr. feel good...but as lem and I found out the hard way, sometimes too much dr. feel good gets stuck in your head and NEVER goes away. I'm ok with that though.
7.The Shins--Wincing the night away. Thats right, I did it, I added a brand new cd. whatcha gonna do about it? Who knows, maybe I'll regret adding this in a couple months. But its MY list, so for now its in.
6.The Lemonheads--Its a Shame about Ray. I love this entire CD, plus the title is about me! But seriously, while I LOVE the rest of thier songs, this cd is the main reason i've seen them or just evan alone 7 times.
5. Beatles--Sgt. Pepper. This was a hard call b/c i pretty much like ALL thier cds, but I think this one is the one I'd pick to listen to when I'm bored.
4. Alkaline Trio--Good Mourning. I love alkaline trio, so this was another hard call, and I know people dont agree with me, but this one is my favorite. I think thier new cd Crimson is a close second though.
3.Foo Fighters-- In your Honnor. You knew I'd have the foo somewhere on there, and I think this cd will most certainly withstand the test of time. Every song on both CDs are amazing for ANY mood you are in.
2. Red Hot Chili Peppers-- Californacation. Again, another CD where every song is amazing. I do think this is rhcp's best cd. The flow of the CD start to end is perfect.
1.Green Day- Dookie. Ok you knew I had to pick this. Its an old favorite that I dont feel like de-throning. Plus it is one of those good "aww remember when that happened" cds.

So thats my list. or was my list. whatever, those are still good cds and I stand by that.

Show last night and Bad attempts in greenway center

Last night, after a brief stint at a capitol hill reception--I don't know something for trees--Leslie and I went to the black cat to see Army of Me and The Hard Tomorrows.

The hard tomorrows keep getting better which is cool. As they started to play I suddenly remembered that i had a friend that liked to listen to their music at..um..opportune times-so that was interesting. They sounded great, and the crowd REALLY got into it, especially this one really large guy. He was awesome to watch.

Army of Me came on next and after spending about a half hour adjusting the mic etc they finally came out. I was surprised that these adjustments made the lead vocals drowned out a bit more than usual. About 2/3 through they had a band meeting on stage and announced that the main guy's voice was having trouble and he was going to a doctor tomorrow but he'd play one more song for us, but if it was "DC" just to be warned that he couldn't hit the high notes tonight. We agreed and they played it. I love the way his voice sounds, and cant wait for their new CD in 2 weeks.

As for bad attempts--well, its 9 am and standing in the elevator lobby this morning some guy came up to me and said "I have a personal question for you. Coconut, or dark?" I said "dark" to which he handed me two dark chocolate Hershey's kisses and then added "I told you it was personal, I just wanted to Kiss you". Then when I got off the elevator he said "thank you, you made my day today".....I'm kinda hoping he isnt a new employee in this building because that could make for future awkwardness.

Lastly I have an interview today and I couldnt get the stamps off my hand from last night so he's gonna think thats weird. Luckily I'm the interviewer not the interviewee so he'll just have to deal.

OH one more last thing, my awful officemate has taken to talking to himself outloud in arabic as he walks by me...I secretly think he's swearing at me. So if any of you know arabic let me know and maybe you can translate for me.

Some fun book selections

I borrowed this survey from Will's Blog

1. One book that changed your life

The American Girls collection! (specifically the Samantha books) Sorry, this isn't one single book. But this collection of books singlehandedly got me interested in reading. It was probably the first chapter book I ever read alone. I use to stay up late after I was supposed to be sleeping just to read these books! Sometimes I have trouble getting through books, but in general I love to read, and if it hadn't been for this series who knows if I would have learned to love it so much.



2. One book that you’ve read more than once

I rarely read books more than once, In fact there were only three I could even think of and two were for class that I read it a second time (Othello and little women). So this is the easiest one of all. The Giver by Lois Lowry. Its a entertaining and emotional story about a Utopian society.






3. One book you would want on a desert island

The Lord of the Rings Trilogy. I picked this based on the same logic Will picked his answer for this question. I already know I love the story, but I just need a huge chunk of time and nothing else to do so I can finally sit down and read through it.




4. One book that made you laugh

The importance of being Earnest. I read this book in one sitting. and if you know me and my add, you know what a feat that is! But i seriously just couldn't put it down. All the confusion within the book had me laughing out loud. The movie which came out quite a few years after I read it was almost as entertaining.





5. One book that made you cry

Bridge to Terribithia. The reason I picked this out of the books that have made me cry, is that this is the first book that ever made me cry. I think I must have been in elementary school or middle school at the time, but up until this book I guess I had never been so involved with the characters and the story to really care what happened to them.






6. One book you wish had been written

My family history. I know that my dad has attempted to chart our family tree, but I dont know where that is. Other than that the generations of our family that knew all that information are slowly starting to dwindle or not have as sharp a memory. So if someone could write it down for me that would be great.

7. One book you wish had never been written

The sun also rises by earnest Hemingway! I believe I read this book either Jr. or Sr. year in high school and it was AWFUL...My teacher was so into it and I remember thinking how could ANYONE ever like this book! its sooo boring. Wait i think it might tie with "Survival in Auschwitz" by Primo Levi--that one had some good content, but was just so dry that I couldnt get through it.

8. One book you’re currently reading

Sex, Drugs, and Cocoa Puffs. See previous blog.

9. One book you’ve been meaning to read

I have such a long list for this...but lets see the next book I'll probably read will Either Be "Money Ball" or "Bringing Down the House" to get ready for the baseball season or the eventual Vegas trip.

Planned Spontaneity

Such a fun weekend. So little sleep. I think I can count the sleeping hours on one hand. (more story behind the title of the blog but i wont get into it)

Friday night was chris'25th birthday at buffalo billiards. Ruffie beers aside it was a fun night. Leslie and I had pretty much accepted that Will and Ted werent going to come out with us but it turns out they had been secretly texting with mike all night and surprised us all at the bar!

Sat night we tried out the wine bar on cap hill for Chandler's 35th Birthday. The wine taps behind the bar look really cool. Then we continued on to the pour house. I tried typing up the "bad attmpt" which happened here, but its a you had to be there situation and although hillarious, just doesnt come accross well in the blog. After many many rounds of pitchers of miller light (the wisc kids are rubbing off on us) leslie and I decided at 2:30 am that we should split one more pitcher...this wasnt a great idea retrospectively hungover speaking.

Sunday...basically all day sunrise to sunset Leslie and I hung out with the Mann/Criss family. It was fun to not have anything I needed to do and just run around the backyard all day. Except when the kids were napping Leslie Jessica and I went to Annapolis for a couple hours unfortunately leaving Charlotte behind :( . One of the funniest parts was when Levi brought out the pow, pow, power wheels (yes i watch too much tv) and the youngest brother (names left out on purpose) was incharge of driving but didnt quite get forward and reverse to help him get around things so he'd just plow into whatever was infront of him full speed.

For all of you concerned about me being tired today, dont worry I fell asleep last night at 9:30! I was trying to stay up to watch the aprentice since I havent missed one all season, but luckily I have tivo b/c my eyelids just wouldnt stay open.

As far as brackets go one of them i'm doing great, but my more aggressive bracket i'm totally out of :( oh well.

"Unless someone like you cares a whole awful lot, Nothing is going to get better. It's not."- Dr. Seuss (the lorax)

First off Happy Birthday Chris.
Second, Happy Anniversary Will (but you might want to wait till the anniversary blog is posted later today)

And on to the blog...

I dont get it. I've lived in my apt for three years now but I try and be good about who i give my address and land line (before i cancelled it). And rarely give out my cell phone number.

Somehow I now get address stickers for every organization possible like the animal rescue league. I get multiple (three or more) copies of every J.Crew catalogue, I get multiple copies of every Victoria's Secret catalogue, and many other mail items addressed to ME at MY appartment...not just "resident". How can I get off these lists????? This seems like a huge waste of paper.

Since I worked at/attended an environmental confrence sophmore year of college (back when Brittany and others dubed me the "eco-warrior with a kate spade bag") I've been on multiple E-Mail lists for various issues. The one most important to me being one calling for the manditory labeling of GMO's (genetically modified organisims) and cloned foods ...but thats an entirely different blog. The email list that has to do with this is an entire campaign thats been going on for at least 6 years now is solely dedicated to being Anti-Victoria's Secret's Catalogue. Evidently victoria's secret mails out more than 1 MILLION catalogues a day. Now I like my vicki's as much as the next person, but is this really necisary?

Seriously though, I've done nothing but exist for three years and somehow I've managed to accumulate pounds of mail to be trashed EVERY DAY. And the worst part is I dont know how to stop it.

The anti victoria's secret campaign has made some progress through its existance, but what about J.Crew or that random valu-pack cupon sheet or envelope that I throw out daily? Are these companies really making a huge profit from that method of advertisement that its worth wasting that much? and why doesnt my building support a legit recycling program so that I can do something with this paper? does such a program even exist for glossy and colored paper?

That is my rant of the day. And if you have any suggestions or would like to discuss this with me please feel free.

(also somehow I just started getting emails about making the music industry more eco-friendly through the 124 BILLION dollar music packaging industry...I have a new appreciation for warner music but this is a whole new issue...maybe I'll blog about it after I learn more)

Greenbelt is starting to know me...

I think I need to start bringing my own lunch. Way too many random people in this general area now know me. Here are just a few that stand out....

*Chipolte now starts preparing my Veggie bol as I walk up before I order

*Greenway Liquor store knows me, my name, and thinks I'm dating My co worker Danny Mac...in fact the liquor store guy has yet to not make an awkward comment when I walk in, even when I'm alone. I've cut back my visits there.

*Starbucks guy knows me, my Raspberry no whip Hot Chocolate, and pretty much thinks Jim and I are tied at the hip, and when I go without Jim he'll question me on it. This guy is nice so I like the fact that he knows me. I'm not sure what he's gonna do when I switch to my summer Iced Chai.

*Atlanta Bread Company people know me but don't like me--probably b/c of the official complaint I've written to thier HQ.

*Bagel store people know me but dont yet know "the usual", but based on the amt of pot we watch them smoke behind the building (the view from some of our offices) I don't think they'll ever know "the usual".

*Smoothie King in CP acknowledges they recognize me...although i havent been there all winter.

* Froggy Bottom still knows me...I guess senior spring I spent too much time there, but the owner lady thats always there and always drunk ran into me in courthouse the other weekend and approached me and said hi! I didn't even recognize her at first out of context. weird!

I'm sure there are more, but thats the list i've come up with for now

"In the sunset of dissolution, everything is illuminated by the aura of nostalgia, even the guillotine"- The unbearable lightness of being

About a year ago I attempted to read Everything is Illuminated. I was really into it at the beginning, but then i got bored and never finished it. Well last night I rented the movie to give it another try.

Reasons I thought I'd like the movie
*WWII stories are usually my favorite
*The author may or may not be related to me (Jonathan Safran Foer)
*I like Elijah Wood
*Elijah Wood Plays a Vegetarian
*Story Takes place around where my family is from
*The seeing eye bitch is named Sammy Davis Jr. Jr.

Well it turns out that visually its a pretty good movie, but story wise the Book was better. The book wove together two different stories, the present and the past simultaneously. In the movie they only had the one story line, and the main character (jonathan safran foer) comes across REALLY strange. The book was more emotional too because of the historical context of the parallel story.

At the movie's end I was left with many questions about what had just happened. But I thought about it, and googled it a little bit and decided that really it conveys a pretty interesting message. The tour guide in the movie states that "everything is illuminated from the light of the past". Maybe it is true that to fully understand the present we have to revisit the past.

Augustine, Safran's love interest before the war, buried her wedding ring before she was killed. Her sister posed the question Why did she do that even though she knew she was going to die. Was it to be remembered or was it to give the future generations a reason to return. In the play Hamlet the king who is killed's greatest fear is that he would not leave a legacy and be remembered. When I read that play in 10th grade I thought this was a very selfish act on his part, but maybe it wasn't. Maybe he needed to leave his legacy in order for his children and grandchildren to understand their family and thus understand themselves.

In retrospect I guess I did like the book and the movie. Let me know if you've read this book and want to discuss. Maybe I need to joing a book club.