I Want Your Sects

‘Nother long day. I think I stretched myself a bit too thin this weekend with the photo gigs. I’m going to have to cut back. Problem is I really enjoy it. It’s not like I have a social life or anything. However, there are readings and papers and such than need to get finished somehow. Same-old same-old.

It’s time for the contract renewal new phone game! Which one should I get? I’m leaning toward this one, but we shall see.

And so, Saturday night’s alright for fighting, and it’s alright for music quizzes too!

The cruel one yesterday was AC/DC – Dirty Deeds (Done Dirt Cheap). Ah, memories…

#1 –

Here come the woman
With the look in her eye
Raised on leather
With flesh on her mind
Words as weapons sharper than knives
Makes you wonder how the other half die

#2 –

And it's so hard to take
There's no escape without a scrape
You kept it going till the sun fell down
You kept it going

#3 –

"Good heavens Miss Sakamoto - you're beautiful!"
I don't believe it!
There she goes again!
She's tidied up, and I can't find anything!

#4 –

It makes no difference if you're black or white
If you're a boy or a girl
If the music's pumping it will give you new life
You're a superstar, yes, that's what you are, you know it

#5 –

I've got a secret I've been hiding under my skin
My heart is human, my blood is boiling, my brain I.B.M.
So if you see me acting strangely, don't be surprised
I'm just a man who needed someone, and somewhere to hide

Edited to add:

Ok, as soon as I hit post, THIS song came on. It demands to be recognized:

Bonus #6

So needless to say
I'm odds and ends
But that's me stumbling away
Slowly learning that life is OK.
Say after me
It's no better to be safe than sorry

The Musical Fruit.

Getting up to date on the last lyrical quiz:

The only one we didn’t get was:

Oh superman where are you now
When everything’s gone wrong somehow
The men of steel, the men of power
Are losing control by the hour.

It’s Genesis – Land of Confusion

Don’t you remember the little Puppet Ron and Puppet Nancy Reagan and Puppet Gorbachev on the video? I guess I was a geek from the begining...

Oh, and you were right, Jayfish. It was Grease, and it was sung by Frankie Valli.

Funky Friday!

#1 – You’ll get this on the first line or not at all, I think.

You were working as a waitress in a cocktail bar
When I met you
I picked you out, I shook you up, and turned you around
Turned you into someone new
Now five years later on you’ve got the world at your feet
Success has been so easy for you
But don’t forget it’s me who put you where you are now

#2 – Eeeeeeeeeasy :)

I was working part time in a five-and-dime
My boss was Mr. McGee
He told me several times that he didn’t like my kind
‘cause I was a bit too leisurely

#3 – Really popular song, but I don't think I would get it with these lyrics.

I have spoke with the tongue of angels
I have held the hand of a devil
It was warm in the night
I was cold as a stone

#4 –

If you got a lady and you want her gone
But you ain't got the guts
She keeps naggin' at you night and day
Enough to drive you nuts -
Pick up the phone
Leave her alone
It's time you made a stand
For a fee
I'm happy to be
Your back door man

#5

Well you’re the real tough cookie with the long history
Of breaking little hearts, like the one in me
Before I put another notch in my lipstick case
You better make sure you put me in my place

Today in the Shell of a Nut

Accomplishments for today:

• Haircut (avoided skanky barber dude, too)

• Bike repair (12 year-old bike and I finally had to replace the back wheel.  Sad, but it made a big difference.  Now I’m even more of a menace to the bike paths – bwahaha)

• Photo gig (at least three more this weekend)

• Attended cool film-lecture

Anything remotely of practical use toward my classes or thesis – nada

Enter the Waterworks.

Oh wow. This one is going around, and I can’t think of anything to add, so just go take a look. Shakespeare’s Sister asked for the most tear-jearking moments in film. I dare you to get through the whole comment list without at least getting moist-eyed. I'm going to go and... ummm... get something out of my eye.

Via Bitch, PhD.

With Tunes Like This, I Must Be Ancient.

Alrighty. Music for the Masses (the ‘masses’ being the 5 people who read this blog :) ):

#1 – Who are the hippies out there?

Dealin' card games with the old men in the club car.
Penny a point ain't no one keepin' score.
Pass the paper bag that holds the bottle
Feel the wheels rumblin' 'neath the floor.
And the sons of pullman porters
And the sons of engineers
Ride their father's magic carpets made of steel.

#2 – Hybrid Hippy/Hash-Head

It was raining hard in 'Frisco
I needed one more fare to make my night
A lady up ahead waved to flag me down
She got in at the light

#3 A little easier

I solve my problems and I see the light
We gotta plug and think, we gotta feed it right
There ain't no danger we can go to far
We start believing now that we can be who we are

#4 Shameful if you don’t know it:

Don't hang on, nothing lasts forever but the earth and sky
It slips away, and all your money won't another minute buy.

#5 You’ll remember the video, but can you remember the song?

Oh superman where are you now
When everything’s gone wrong somehow
The men of steel, the men of power
Are losing control by the hour.

Beware of Flying Bullet Points

Random Notes:

• Oh, the tummy did not appreciate the burrito this afternoon. Not. One. Bit. Either that or there’s a new prong to the odd bug that’s been going around.

• Tomorrow is a (thank goodness) light day, so I’ll probably only be working 10 hours – then there’s a photo gig tomorrow night, too :) That means I can relax a bit more tonight. I’ve always been a firm believer in the curative power of sleep and rest. And chocolate.

• Students are turning in their first paper to me on Tuesday (at least they better be). I’m really happy – it seems that some have clued up nicely. I’ve already gotten a handful of people asking good questions. I’ve also gotten a few emails of the when-I-get-a-bad-grade-I'll-point-to-this-email-as-proof-I-was-working-hard variety, but that’s cool too. At least there are some folks out there thinking. I also got a student asking me my opinion on the pros and cons of adding a minor. He actually said word to the effect of: I trust you more than my advisor, because I know you’ll tell me the truth. Wow. Sad thing is that he was asking about a department I don’t know a whole lot about, but wow. Cool, yeah?

• Greek Group Groks Pimping Pinup Posters: Flesh Feeds Funds.

And as for yesterday, Everyone did well, but Stewgad almost had #4. However, as we all know, close only counts in horseshoes and hand grenades, so if you please, sing along:

What'll you do when you get lonelyAnd nobody's waiting by your side?You've been running and hiding much too long.You know it's just your foolish pride.

Laaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaayla!

By the wife-stealer Mr. Clapton

Oooo I bet you’re all sad now! hehehe

High on LIFE. (Not the Cereal, nor the Board Game)

After reading the last post, I should mention that I’m not drunk. I don’t do any drugs, I’m just really tired.

Ok.

I’m going home.

Here’s music:

#1 Super tough extra points

And Every time I wonder where the world went wrong,
End up lying on my face going ringy dingy ding dong
And every time I wonder if the world is right,
End up in some disco dancin' all night & day.
Johnny played guitar, Jenny played bass,
Name of the band is The Human Race.
Everybody tell me have you heard?

#2 Much Easier – and a clue to #1

We can dance if we want to, we can leave your friends behind
'Cause your friends don't dance and if they don't dance
Well they're no friends of mine

#3 Curiously hard

I walked along the avenue.
I never thought I'd meet a girl like you;
Meet a girl like you.
With auburn hair and tawny eyes;
The kind of eyes that hypnotize me through;
Hypnotize me through.

#4 difficult, but not impossible

What'll you do when you get lonely
And nobody's waiting by your side?
You've been running and hiding much too long.
You know it's just your foolish pride.

#5 Moderate, but someone better get it :)

I pushed her away
I walked to the door
I fell to the floor
I got down on my knees
Then I looked at her and she at me

The Tired on the Me Goes Round and Round

Long long day. I really should dive into some data cleaning, but I’m just drained. I need to eat. I’m going to pick up some hummus and maybe some veggies. I’ve got pita at home. It’s funny – the other folks in the house always wonder where their roommate is. I’M AT THE OFFICE or the café, anyway.

Adding to the long day, the students didn’t read the readings. I shouldn’t be surprised I guess, but seeing as how the entire discussion hinges on discussing the readings for some reason, I thought they might do at least some of it. My mistake. Reading quizzes will now rain from on high. Because what I really need is more work. Building quizzes. Grading quizzes.

I did get a cool toy in the mail today, but it’s field related, so you don’t get to know. I’m just as bad with package tracking as I am with statcounter. I’ve got another amazon giftie heading my way and I’m watching the friendly UPS page that tells the tail of a lovely box as it journeys across the world to find its home. It’s kinda like The Odyssey, but shorter. And there are fewer Sirens. I hope. Although that would be cool.

In the box are two movies. The thing is that I don’t buy movies. Or music for that matter. I broke down though. I need to pull my head out of grad-land, so I take pictures. I go to the movies. I need to do more of that kind of stuff so I don’t burn out. Burning out is bad. Bad like crossing the streams bad. (2 points for the reference)

Musically Tuesday!

Easy #1: (bonus points if you can to the dance they did in the video on the last line there)

I think of all the education that I missed.
But then my homework was never quite like this.
Got it bad, got it bad, got it bad,

#2 – This one came on the Yahoo station and I went back in time. Goosebumps, I tell you.

Let's dance in style, lets dance for a while
Heaven can wait we're only watching the skies
Hoping for the best but expecting the worst
Are you going to drop the bomb or not?

#3 – This one didn’t come up naturally on the spin, I had to hunt it down, but it’s still a classic. It’s in honor of my gay friend in HS who had a huge crush on a straight guy who would play this album over and over and over. Haven’t heard from him in a long time.

I don't know what color your eyes are, baby,
But your hair is long and brown.
Your legs are strong, and you're so, so long.
And you don't come from this town.

Closet Cleaning

As today is National Coming Out Day, I think it’s only fitting that I let everyone know that I am still not gay. This is apparently a necessary thing to say, because I do tend to set peoples’ gay-dars off every now and then. As one of my lesbian friends tells me, “You’re so cool you’ve got to be gay.” She’s obviously delusional, because I am neither cool nor gay, but I take it to be a compliment.

Not that there’s anything wrong with that…

The Daily Summary

5.08km – 27’05”

I was completely swamped today, but I was able to sneak out for a quick run after office hours. I usually run in the early morning or afternoon, so it was really nice to see a trail I know so well in a different light. The sunsets here are wonderful, and even though the sun was basically gone by the time I got out there, there were still plenty of lovely redish-purples out there for me to enjoy. So, yea me. Also, I just got word that the Fish just finished his first 10K. Hooray for the Fish!

I also had the interview for the winter position. I guess I shouldn’t have worried that much. They offered the job to me about five minutes after the meeting. That’s a good sign, I guess. I get the idea that they knew the two people they wanted already, but had to do the interviews to sate the ravenous bureaucracy.

I’ll be working with two professors – one who I’ve already worked with before and like quite a bit. He’s a youngish guy, very energetic and unapologetically geeky. I appreciate that. The other professor is a bit of a mystery. He’s older and from a field I don’t deal with a whole lot. I’m usually able to get a smile or laugh or two out of most people in a comfortable setting, and in the interview he did laugh with me a couple times, but then he would immediately drop back into a poker face. I don’t think there’s anything to be worried about there. Maybe he was just trying to be more interviewer-esque. In any case, I’m really happy I got the gig, that means, once again I will have evaded the wolves of hunger for another couple months. Yea me!

And now, the unanswered quiz items from last magical mystery quiz!

I can’t believe that no one got this one:

#1

Do you still recall the fateful night we crossed the Rio Grande?
I can see it in your eyes
How proud you were to fight for freedom in this land

It’s “Fernando” by ABBA! Am I the only retro-disco guy out here? Don’t make me pull out the Andy Gibb.

Ok – this one was much harder:

#6

They say that life is tit for tat
And that's the way I live
So, I deserve a lot of tat
For what I've got to give
Don't you know that this hand
Washes that one too

It’s “When You’re Good to Mama” by Queen Latifah on the Chicago Soundtrack!

Good tunes, good tunes…

Ok here’s one parting shot - Song title and who sang it:

Will you stay with me, will you be my love
Among the fields of barley
We'll forget the sun in his jealous sky

I Need You to Need Me

As seen everywhere – Google your name with ‘needs’ and see what the oracle of Google has to say.

What I need:

Overread needs to learn how to interact with people like a human.   (True enough at times)

Overread needs to provide full documentation of the states and transitions of his proposal.  (You have know idea…)

Overread needs to be a bit more diligent in his research (Google is getting harsh!)

Overread needs a tan.   (Google’s stalking me)

Overread needs his coffee in the morning, and tends to bite if this is not quickly brought to his tent.  (I don’t even drink coffee… Although it wasn’t too long ago that getting between me and my Diet Coke was a bad idea…)

I think Overread needs medication.  (I said I don’t drink coffee!)

Overread needs a kidney (I do.  I think we all do.)

Overread needs a catheter to relieve pressure in his abdomen.  (umm… no thanks.)

Overread needs to shut up and walk away.   (That would solve a lot of my problems.)

Overread needs your financial support! (Very true!  Give generously and often!)

Overread needs a girlfriend. (Very true!  Give generously and often!)

Overread needs fate, or a series of preposterous plot machinations, to effect his deliverance.  (I know the thesis is bad, but I don’t think I need that much help to fix it.)

Overread needs to have people argue with him more often. (I do kind of like a good argument.)

Overread needs help as he takes on the toughest competition he has ever faced. (I would need help to take on an undernourished squirrel.)

Overread needs wrapping paper. (Well, not yet, as I haven’t bought any gifts yet.)

Overread needs no introduction while Tommy is an "urchin" from Edinburgh. (I am an “urchin” from the U.S.)

Overread needs to lay off on the expletives (Fuck you, Google.)

Overread needs to become a born-again Satanist. (yeah, but only a clean-mouthed one)

Overread needs to be removed (I think that’s wise.)

My Precious, PhD.

It’s time to go home now, but I have to pass along a little joke that Russian Violets had up on her site because it just about made me cry. I present… Professor Gollum!

Tricksy studentses. Hates them, precious, yesss, we hates them. Studentses, grubbing for gradeses, grubbing and ssscraping and ssneaking, and their heads sso empty-- ssssso empty, gollum, gollum. No brains. No scrumptiously crunchable brainses, no precious, jusst air and dussst. Dussst!Hates them. Ssstupid sstudentses, don't even read the textbook, no preciouss. They writes, and writes, and sscrawls and scribbles-- our eyes, precious, we must ruin our poor eyeses on their scratchings-- but they don't think, do they, precious? They never thinksss. Gollum. No, no thinking for them, sstupid studentses. Too good for thinking, gollum But we'll show them, preciouss, yess.Fail them. Fail them, precious. We can bleed bright red ink all over their nassssty homeworks, yesss, precious. We can fail the studentses. Make them cry. Make them weep and wail and sssob. Yesss.Ssstudentss. Filthy, sstinking, ssstupid studentsss. We hatess them, we hates them forever!Yess, precious. Gollum, gollum.

Also, I get the best spam. Well, actually I guess everyone gets the same stuff, but I really love the poetry of some of this. Here’s one I really wanted to open. I know it’s just using all this to get past filters (it didn’t get past Gmail’s though – yea Gmail!), but what if there was content in there that matched this opening line:

X Men in 1934 You’d better not… Prom Hairstyles for teen in hazing Cheats

How could you not be intrigued? What would the X Men be like in 1934? And do you need specific hairstyles for hazing at prom? Clearly, I went to the wrong high school!

One Ringie Dingie, Two Ringie Dingies

I just got a call confirming an appointment tomorrow to interview for one of two positions available in the winter. I’ve done it before, and I feel pretty confident, but I know those in power are also going to be considering the new grad students. I also got a call from a friend who wasn’t in the running last year, but is this time. She called to make sure that I was okay with her trying to get a position too. It was very nice of her, and as there are two positions open, I feel perfectly fine rooting for her while I root for me.

There are, however, odd winds a-whirling, so I know that it’s possible I won’t get it even though I’m probably the best fit of the people available. Honestly, I think that’s ok. I have a horrible ability to see other people’s points of view, and so I understand why they might go with new folks.

Dammit all though, I want the position. So I just have to go in there and convince them that I’m the best option. I feel horrifically awkward selling myself, but I guess that’s part of the whole academic world, yes?

Ahead, In the Distance, Procrastination

In order to avoid grading the silly little quiz (a badly designed one at that), I shall provide you with an anecdote!

I really need a haircut but I bicycled by the cheap Kampus Kuts place (not its real name, but it might as well be), and the only person there was the spooky barber dude. He's just a bad barber and the reeks of cigarettes. So, no cut for me today!

Thank you for listening to the anecdote!

As a reward, I give unto you - links of moderate amusement!

#1 - most excellent and cute little mini tiny itsy bitsy video games
They even sell tote bags with monkeys

#2 - the most hypnotic and bizarre cooperative (or adversarial) flash-based refrigerator door I've ever seen. Well, ok, it's the only one I've seen.

#3 - The advice-giving bunny. I don't make a decision without him.