Thursday, April 23, 2009
Lead by Example
Tonight for dinner I had a cupcake. Now I'm making a cake to take into work tomorrow. That's why I'm head of the wellness committee at work, folks!
Saturday, April 18, 2009
Rugby Porn
Via Cesybabe in a Jezebel comment, comes this amazing eye feast.
Now, I'm not that in to objectification...except when it comes to rugby guys. Because, and I say this from experience, they would do the same to you. Also, because, rugby guys are generally crazy smokin' hot.
The summer after college my roommates and I used to sit around reading rugby magazines in our underwear in our un-air-conditioned apartment (it was as hot as it sounds, literally and figuratively). And then one night we all went over to the soccer house, but I got sent home because it was decided that I couldn't handle the orgy that was about to take place. But that's a whole other blog.
Anyway, I got a kick out of it, and I thought my rugby-loving readers would too. Enjoy!
Now, I'm not that in to objectification...except when it comes to rugby guys. Because, and I say this from experience, they would do the same to you. Also, because, rugby guys are generally crazy smokin' hot.
The summer after college my roommates and I used to sit around reading rugby magazines in our underwear in our un-air-conditioned apartment (it was as hot as it sounds, literally and figuratively). And then one night we all went over to the soccer house, but I got sent home because it was decided that I couldn't handle the orgy that was about to take place. But that's a whole other blog.
Anyway, I got a kick out of it, and I thought my rugby-loving readers would too. Enjoy!
Thursday, April 16, 2009
Monday, April 13, 2009
My Mom Thinks I'm Cool
Occasional reader Donna, from Pennsylvania, writes in via text message that she "tries" to read my blog because "it is like talking to you, but I don't miss anything when I laugh."
Sunday, April 12, 2009
Live Blog; Wes on the Radio
Wes and the Skillets on WRYR tonight. You can listen through the WRYR website. Rebroadcast Monday from 2-4.
9:02 Overlong intro
9:13 Andy (host) makes good point about going to see local artists as a way to save money during recession. It's cheap! Small bands are better than the radio!
9:15 The Beastie Boys are from DC? Still no Wes
9:18 Here they come!
9:19 Sad and Proud!
You must read this blog for my insightful commentary.
Wes sounds different on the radio. His vocals are a little out front, but that's how I like my music. Well, this is a little too prominent, but they still sound pretty good.
9:24 Blind Mind. Totally forgot I was doing this for a minute. Vocals mixed much better here. Is Arch doing sound?
9:27 Andy is asking them to play more than 5 songs because they sound so great. He says they'll thank him later. He's right. It sounds phenomenal.
9:28 Oh, calling them on the country stuff. Skillets is kind of a country name. Andy calls them "funktry" which is a pretty good categorization. He's definitely a fan!
9:29 Costa Mesa up next.
9:31 My siblings admit via Facebook chat that they are NOT listening. I have no siblings.
9:32 Not an excuse, Michael: I am in my common room and they are watching a video, I can't
9:33 Someone just cleared his throat. My guess is Arch. Is Bryan singing??
9:35 CD release show Friday, April 17 at IOTA!!!!
9:36 Oh Wes, no one falls asleep during Costa Mesa. People love it. I'm taking notes. I will compare this version of It Won't Be Long to the one on Tradition.
Fun fact: Wes took my tambourine, which I've had since I was like 10, to the station tonight. I can't wait to hear it.
9:37 Ooh, now the vocals are a little low, but not bad. Everything is a little muted. Could be my computer speakers. I'm going to hook up to the stereo. I'm a huge dork.
9:40 Full band is there (but I knew that). They're rocking acoustic tonight.
9:41 My cell phone is dead and Wes unplugged our landline, so I won't be able to call in. Alas, my blog remains in obscurity. Andy wants them to play at Galaxy Hut.
I don't think Wes planned a sixth song. Here's another from Tradition. Old School. (It's called Spoken Word)
9:42 Now I get why you might publish live blogs in reverse chronological order.
9:46 Guitar trade! Now he's talking about Wes's sweet Martin guitar. His is not new. (some people on the show recently had brand new Martins)
9:53 That wraps up the live portion. They ended with Casting Stones.
Friday at IOTA! Drink!
9:54 Echo and the Bunneymen. I think Kate likes them. Bummer for her. (Her computer sucks)
9:58 My ire for Amazon is distracting me from the blog. Oh! They're talking about their shoes! Wes loves shoes. You read it here first. Let's see...my guess is that Arch is in the Merrils and Wes is in the boots. Bryan in Saucony? I don't remember the other shoes. Sorry, Dave.
9:59 Yeah, Wes is kinda gonna love this live set. He may not love this blog.
10:00 Andy regularly calls them the Wes Skillet and the Tuckers, which is a good name for a band.
10:02 Arch is kind of bad ass, you're right, Andy.
10:05 Recorded tracks start. Wow, good crescendo at the beginning of What You Stole. And hearing this now I'd say the live mix was almost as good as this. I think they really did capture some of their live magic in this record. But they're still better live. Come to IOTA! Drink!
10:09 The Skillets kind of cover the Allman Brothers in Casting Stones. I know nothing about the Allman Brothers, so I had to have someone point this out to me. But now Andy is talking about how the Rolling Stones and U2 "rip off" bits of other songs all the time. In a nice way.
10:12 Skillets will now all list their influences. Bryan is last, which means everyone else will take his. That's what always happens to me. Haha, that's the second time today that Wes has been asked about his southern accent. Do you think he should take a class?
Wes's influences: Allman Brothers, Ben Harper, Jack Johnson, Marley, Hendrix
Arch: He doesn't know. He can't remember, but says recently Ben Harper and stuff "with that sort of groove" soulfulness and diversity, good adjectives for the Skillets
Andy's about to compare them to someone questionable...Jason Mraz. Wes likes him, he'll probably take it. That wouldn't make no sense, Andy says. Unlike the Vivian Girls with M. Ward, I say.
Liz Phair opened for Jason Mraz? The music business is sexist!
Liz Phair is sexy? C'mon, Andy. The music business is sexist!
Wes saw Jason Mraz for his 30th birthay.
Dave: the Police
I have wasted my weekend. THat's a side note. No offense to the Skillets
Bryan: Tells Dave there's a new Doves CD. How did I hear of them? From those guys? Medeski Marti and Wood, Master Sounds, Jeffrey Foucault, Kaki King, Leo Kottke (I knew he would say Kaki King), Soulive
I hate jam bands. Sorry, it's my love of structure. Structure! Play a song! (If you write a jam-bandesque essay I'll call you on it too.) Does that even make any sense? This is even more self indulgent than a regular blog.
10:21 Friday at IOTA! Drink!
10:22 Song #2 Let It Ride. Just let the CD play. It's kind of awesome to hear this on the real radio. I have chills (yes, I'm pumping my computer's audio out of my stereo speakers)
10:25 DIY, not DYI. Oh Arch, you're not the only control freak.
10:26 The cover art work is gorgeous. Jackie Jouvenal is awesome.
10:28 Andy is saying really nice things about the band--how professional their stuff is, and how the owner of the Black Cat still likes to see that.
Oh, Umbro, yes of course Bryan is wearing that.
Oops, I fed Wes some bad info. He just said Obama is throwing out the first pitch, but apparently not anymore. Also screw Chicago, Obama. You don't live there anymore.
10:32 I'm not paying that much attention now. I googled my friend's boyfriend's articles. He works for a big deal newspaper.
10:34 The Scorpion and the Dove
So, I feel like you could use this blog if you started listening to the rebroadcast and/or a recording on the hour. Then you could just read along or fast forward to my witty repartee using the minutes. I guess that would also work with some sort of timer/clock. You know what I mean.
10:37 I really can't tell the difference between this version and a live version. By which I mean, I usually like the live version better. In other words this sounds great! And so did their live stuff earlier.
10:38 Andy wants to hear Costa Mesa with all its bells and whistles (aka harmonicas and fun guitar tricks)
10:43 Andy is trying to rank his favorite songs. Costa Mesa is up there, I told you.
Someone called in! Friday at IOTA! Drink!
Good advice: You should never make fun of zombies.
10:45 They managed to dig up a copy of Tradition (I have a few handy). Here's the recorded version of It Won't Be Long.
Replay tomorrow at 2! wryr.org
10:47 It won't be long...until the music starts. It Won't Be Long
Ok, my dad is right. Arch does make the band sound totally different. But I have fierce personal attachment to Tradition: Wes gave me a copy when we were courting.
I used courting in a sentence!
I just looked at this blog on my page. It's out of control. Must learn to insert jumps right now.
10:52 Plugging Jackie's art: jackieart.com! Check it out. Dave, Jackie is not whack.
I could totally do a radio show. You just bring everything back to yourself. Know who's good at that? Me!
westucker.com, not wesskillet! Wes, go buy that domain RIGHT NOW!
You can find local music listings in the City Paper, as I told the sound man for Flight of the Conchords today.
10:56 First concert they paid money to see? Bryan: either Allman Brothers or Better than Ezra
Dave: Lollapalooza with his college-aged brother and his hot lady friends Dave is cool!
Arch: Tom Petty
Wes: Charlotte radio station Weenie Roast, but he has seen WuTang with Rage Against the Machine (when he was 17 so he says it still counts)
Andy saw Johnny Cash and Iron Maiden
My first concert that I paid for with my own money was Sugar Ray and Orgy. Womp wahhhhh
10:59 Last song, the aptly named Good to Go
Scorpion and the Dove
11:01 Tomorrow I will learn how to put in a page jump. My brain isn't reading too well right now. Plus I have to be in Silver Spring at 8 tomorrow :(
11:06 Overlong outro coming up?
11:07 Thanks for having them!
Friday at IOTA! Drink!
9:02 Overlong intro
9:13 Andy (host) makes good point about going to see local artists as a way to save money during recession. It's cheap! Small bands are better than the radio!
9:15 The Beastie Boys are from DC? Still no Wes
9:18 Here they come!
9:19 Sad and Proud!
You must read this blog for my insightful commentary.
Wes sounds different on the radio. His vocals are a little out front, but that's how I like my music. Well, this is a little too prominent, but they still sound pretty good.
9:24 Blind Mind. Totally forgot I was doing this for a minute. Vocals mixed much better here. Is Arch doing sound?
9:27 Andy is asking them to play more than 5 songs because they sound so great. He says they'll thank him later. He's right. It sounds phenomenal.
9:28 Oh, calling them on the country stuff. Skillets is kind of a country name. Andy calls them "funktry" which is a pretty good categorization. He's definitely a fan!
9:29 Costa Mesa up next.
9:31 My siblings admit via Facebook chat that they are NOT listening. I have no siblings.
9:32 Not an excuse, Michael: I am in my common room and they are watching a video, I can't
9:33 Someone just cleared his throat. My guess is Arch. Is Bryan singing??
9:35 CD release show Friday, April 17 at IOTA!!!!
9:36 Oh Wes, no one falls asleep during Costa Mesa. People love it. I'm taking notes. I will compare this version of It Won't Be Long to the one on Tradition.
Fun fact: Wes took my tambourine, which I've had since I was like 10, to the station tonight. I can't wait to hear it.
9:37 Ooh, now the vocals are a little low, but not bad. Everything is a little muted. Could be my computer speakers. I'm going to hook up to the stereo. I'm a huge dork.
9:40 Full band is there (but I knew that). They're rocking acoustic tonight.
9:41 My cell phone is dead and Wes unplugged our landline, so I won't be able to call in. Alas, my blog remains in obscurity. Andy wants them to play at Galaxy Hut.
I don't think Wes planned a sixth song. Here's another from Tradition. Old School. (It's called Spoken Word)
9:42 Now I get why you might publish live blogs in reverse chronological order.
9:46 Guitar trade! Now he's talking about Wes's sweet Martin guitar. His is not new. (some people on the show recently had brand new Martins)
9:53 That wraps up the live portion. They ended with Casting Stones.
Friday at IOTA! Drink!
9:54 Echo and the Bunneymen. I think Kate likes them. Bummer for her. (Her computer sucks)
9:58 My ire for Amazon is distracting me from the blog. Oh! They're talking about their shoes! Wes loves shoes. You read it here first. Let's see...my guess is that Arch is in the Merrils and Wes is in the boots. Bryan in Saucony? I don't remember the other shoes. Sorry, Dave.
9:59 Yeah, Wes is kinda gonna love this live set. He may not love this blog.
10:00 Andy regularly calls them the Wes Skillet and the Tuckers, which is a good name for a band.
10:02 Arch is kind of bad ass, you're right, Andy.
10:05 Recorded tracks start. Wow, good crescendo at the beginning of What You Stole. And hearing this now I'd say the live mix was almost as good as this. I think they really did capture some of their live magic in this record. But they're still better live. Come to IOTA! Drink!
10:09 The Skillets kind of cover the Allman Brothers in Casting Stones. I know nothing about the Allman Brothers, so I had to have someone point this out to me. But now Andy is talking about how the Rolling Stones and U2 "rip off" bits of other songs all the time. In a nice way.
10:12 Skillets will now all list their influences. Bryan is last, which means everyone else will take his. That's what always happens to me. Haha, that's the second time today that Wes has been asked about his southern accent. Do you think he should take a class?
Wes's influences: Allman Brothers, Ben Harper, Jack Johnson, Marley, Hendrix
Arch: He doesn't know. He can't remember, but says recently Ben Harper and stuff "with that sort of groove" soulfulness and diversity, good adjectives for the Skillets
Andy's about to compare them to someone questionable...Jason Mraz. Wes likes him, he'll probably take it. That wouldn't make no sense, Andy says. Unlike the Vivian Girls with M. Ward, I say.
Liz Phair opened for Jason Mraz? The music business is sexist!
Liz Phair is sexy? C'mon, Andy. The music business is sexist!
Wes saw Jason Mraz for his 30th birthay.
Dave: the Police
I have wasted my weekend. THat's a side note. No offense to the Skillets
Bryan: Tells Dave there's a new Doves CD. How did I hear of them? From those guys? Medeski Marti and Wood, Master Sounds, Jeffrey Foucault, Kaki King, Leo Kottke (I knew he would say Kaki King), Soulive
I hate jam bands. Sorry, it's my love of structure. Structure! Play a song! (If you write a jam-bandesque essay I'll call you on it too.) Does that even make any sense? This is even more self indulgent than a regular blog.
10:21 Friday at IOTA! Drink!
10:22 Song #2 Let It Ride. Just let the CD play. It's kind of awesome to hear this on the real radio. I have chills (yes, I'm pumping my computer's audio out of my stereo speakers)
10:25 DIY, not DYI. Oh Arch, you're not the only control freak.
10:26 The cover art work is gorgeous. Jackie Jouvenal is awesome.
10:28 Andy is saying really nice things about the band--how professional their stuff is, and how the owner of the Black Cat still likes to see that.
Oh, Umbro, yes of course Bryan is wearing that.
Oops, I fed Wes some bad info. He just said Obama is throwing out the first pitch, but apparently not anymore. Also screw Chicago, Obama. You don't live there anymore.
10:32 I'm not paying that much attention now. I googled my friend's boyfriend's articles. He works for a big deal newspaper.
10:34 The Scorpion and the Dove
So, I feel like you could use this blog if you started listening to the rebroadcast and/or a recording on the hour. Then you could just read along or fast forward to my witty repartee using the minutes. I guess that would also work with some sort of timer/clock. You know what I mean.
10:37 I really can't tell the difference between this version and a live version. By which I mean, I usually like the live version better. In other words this sounds great! And so did their live stuff earlier.
10:38 Andy wants to hear Costa Mesa with all its bells and whistles (aka harmonicas and fun guitar tricks)
10:43 Andy is trying to rank his favorite songs. Costa Mesa is up there, I told you.
Someone called in! Friday at IOTA! Drink!
Good advice: You should never make fun of zombies.
10:45 They managed to dig up a copy of Tradition (I have a few handy). Here's the recorded version of It Won't Be Long.
Replay tomorrow at 2! wryr.org
10:47 It won't be long...until the music starts. It Won't Be Long
Ok, my dad is right. Arch does make the band sound totally different. But I have fierce personal attachment to Tradition: Wes gave me a copy when we were courting.
I used courting in a sentence!
I just looked at this blog on my page. It's out of control. Must learn to insert jumps right now.
10:52 Plugging Jackie's art: jackieart.com! Check it out. Dave, Jackie is not whack.
I could totally do a radio show. You just bring everything back to yourself. Know who's good at that? Me!
westucker.com, not wesskillet! Wes, go buy that domain RIGHT NOW!
You can find local music listings in the City Paper, as I told the sound man for Flight of the Conchords today.
10:56 First concert they paid money to see? Bryan: either Allman Brothers or Better than Ezra
Dave: Lollapalooza with his college-aged brother and his hot lady friends Dave is cool!
Arch: Tom Petty
Wes: Charlotte radio station Weenie Roast, but he has seen WuTang with Rage Against the Machine (when he was 17 so he says it still counts)
Andy saw Johnny Cash and Iron Maiden
My first concert that I paid for with my own money was Sugar Ray and Orgy. Womp wahhhhh
10:59 Last song, the aptly named Good to Go
Scorpion and the Dove
11:01 Tomorrow I will learn how to put in a page jump. My brain isn't reading too well right now. Plus I have to be in Silver Spring at 8 tomorrow :(
11:06 Overlong outro coming up?
11:07 Thanks for having them!
Friday at IOTA! Drink!
Amazon Fail
Whoa, Amazon. Whoa, whoa, whoa. This is absolutely not ok. Hortense from Jezebel is all over it. I'm not sure what's going on or how it's going to pan out, but it looks like I'll be using bn.com/aauw from now on. Updates here.
An Easter Ode to Catholic Guilt and the Washington Post
As you all know, I kind of love the Washington Post. But I kind of hate its ridiculously short billing periods/generally confusing payment structure. For example, my online account currently says that my account is paid through 11/28/2008, thanks to the payment that I made on 3/19/2009. And that I have a past-due amount of $20.03, and if I pay that, my subscription will be extended until 9/21/2009. Really? Only 20 bucks to have the paper from April to September? What a steal! But where did the payment I JUST MADE go?
The only reason I subscribe to the stupid print version is because I feel guilty about the impending death of print media. I'm a writer, so I feel the need to do the best I can to slow print's demise. Even though I usually end up recycling my paper and reading it online anyway. And even though I absolutely hate the feel of newsprint and the marks it leaves on my fingers (my skin crawls thinking about it).
Of course I also subscribe because you have to call a person to cancel, and my guilt prevents me from doing that. So I tried to just stop paying, but as you can see, that's not really working out for me.
Oh, and I had this journalism teacher who used to make us read the Post everyday, but he would always complain about what a shit paper it was. But that was before Date Lab.
The only reason I subscribe to the stupid print version is because I feel guilty about the impending death of print media. I'm a writer, so I feel the need to do the best I can to slow print's demise. Even though I usually end up recycling my paper and reading it online anyway. And even though I absolutely hate the feel of newsprint and the marks it leaves on my fingers (my skin crawls thinking about it).
Of course I also subscribe because you have to call a person to cancel, and my guilt prevents me from doing that. So I tried to just stop paying, but as you can see, that's not really working out for me.
Oh, and I had this journalism teacher who used to make us read the Post everyday, but he would always complain about what a shit paper it was. But that was before Date Lab.
Tuesday, April 7, 2009
The Internet Is Old
I came home tonight to find an email with the following subject line waiting for me in my hotmail: Hotmail Team says "thank you" for being with us for 10+ years.
Some of you probably have a similar email in your long-dormant hotmail accounts, but I found this email because I still check my apparently 10-year-old hotmail account every day. Several times a day. Yes, that's right. I still use the email address that I signed up for when I was 16.
"That's Right!" Hotmail enthusiastically tells me at the top of their firework-bedecked e-card. "You came to the internet too late to get a decent email address and too early for people to reject the idea of 'screen names' and use their email for professional purposes. And you continue to cling to that screenname--which wasn't even based on a real nickname--out of a combination of nostalgia and inertia, despite the fact that our service really blew until about 6 months ago. And for that we thank you."
And actually, hotmail is right. Lizard was never my nickname. Lizbo was. But thankfully I had the presence of mind to realize that "Lizbo" might not be the best internet handle. I would feel silly putting tha tat the top of my resumes. And what kind of blog name is Lizbo Writes?
Some of you probably have a similar email in your long-dormant hotmail accounts, but I found this email because I still check my apparently 10-year-old hotmail account every day. Several times a day. Yes, that's right. I still use the email address that I signed up for when I was 16.
"That's Right!" Hotmail enthusiastically tells me at the top of their firework-bedecked e-card. "You came to the internet too late to get a decent email address and too early for people to reject the idea of 'screen names' and use their email for professional purposes. And you continue to cling to that screenname--which wasn't even based on a real nickname--out of a combination of nostalgia and inertia, despite the fact that our service really blew until about 6 months ago. And for that we thank you."
And actually, hotmail is right. Lizard was never my nickname. Lizbo was. But thankfully I had the presence of mind to realize that "Lizbo" might not be the best internet handle. I would feel silly putting tha tat the top of my resumes. And what kind of blog name is Lizbo Writes?
Monday, April 6, 2009
Swimming = Hard
Holy fucking shit. Swimming is not easy. I went today for the first time in years to start my triathlon training (I do the other sports almost every day). I tried to join a master's swim club today, and I got back a snooty email from their membership guy telling not to come out (and wanting to know if I could do a flip turn despite the fact that his website explicitly states that you do not have to know how to do a flip turn). At first I was indignant and pissed off, but now I have to admit that Marco was right.
I swam 100 meters in like 4 and a half minutes, and then I almost died. I wasn't wearing a heart rate monitor, but I would estimate that my heart was beating at roughly 300 beats per minute. I swam a grand total of about 300 meters.
I swam 100 meters in like 4 and a half minutes, and then I almost died. I wasn't wearing a heart rate monitor, but I would estimate that my heart was beating at roughly 300 beats per minute. I swam a grand total of about 300 meters.
Thursday, April 2, 2009
The Alexandria Police Want You to Telecommute
I clicked on this article in the Washington Post about the arrest of a boyfriend-girlfriend pair of home invaders in Alexandria for a few reasons. 1) To make sure Wes and I hadn't been arrested yesterday (I did have two glasses of wine at pub quiz) and 2) to see where exactly in Alexandria people were being robbed.
And although the article is about how the pair was caught, I'm left feeling more worried than I was before I started reading. The story is about how this boyfriend (26) and girlfriend (19, yes, I'm making an editorial comment here) would go to people's houses during the work day and knock on the door and when no one answered (because we all have to work to afford to live in Alexandria), the couple would break in.
Now, they were caught when they broke in to a house where someone was home before the resident had a chance to open the door. She called 911 when she heard her window breaking, and the police arrived in time to apprehend the fleeing suspect. That's the good news.
The bad news is the take-away lesson:
My tax dollars at work.
And although the article is about how the pair was caught, I'm left feeling more worried than I was before I started reading. The story is about how this boyfriend (26) and girlfriend (19, yes, I'm making an editorial comment here) would go to people's houses during the work day and knock on the door and when no one answered (because we all have to work to afford to live in Alexandria), the couple would break in.
Now, they were caught when they broke in to a house where someone was home before the resident had a chance to open the door. She called 911 when she heard her window breaking, and the police arrived in time to apprehend the fleeing suspect. That's the good news.
The bad news is the take-away lesson:
Really, Sargeant? I'm pretty aware of my current surroundings and nothing seems suspicious because I am at work. How can I possibly know if someone is breaking into my house right now when I am not there. Wasn't that their whole plan? And wasn't it foiled when someone did try to open the door?[Sgt. Fard, head of the property crimes division,] said residents can protect themselves by being aware of their surroundings and not opening the door of their home unless they are expecting somebody. Otherwise, if someone is knocking, he advised residents to talk through the door to find out what the person wants.
"If something seems suspicious, call police," he said.
My tax dollars at work.
Wednesday, April 1, 2009
Repeat, Bitches
Trivia tonight at Solly's to benefit my old rugby team. Now, not to say anything bad about rugby players, but I'm pretty sure I have an advantage as someone who no longer spends her weekends smashing her head into other people.
Okey Doke!
(Katie is an international pub quiz champion. I feel like I should mention that.)
Okey Doke!
(Katie is an international pub quiz champion. I feel like I should mention that.)
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