Politics Test

Greetings folks.

One of my friends has a link to a politics test, so I figured I'd see what my results look like, and I wasn't surprised...

You are a Social Liberal (65% permissive) and an... Economic Liberal (26% permissive) You are best described as a: Democrat Link: The Politics Test on Ok Cupid Also: The OkCupid Dating Persona Test

Now, I have to have Roy take the test to see if he is, in fact, a Libertarian or actually a (*gasp*) closet Republican.

"Banquet" by Bloc Party

Have I mentioned that Pandora is the greatest musical invention since ... well, since ever! God bless Engin for introducing me to it!

So, today, I'm happily tapping away on my headphones, enjoying my Perfect Radio Station I've set up. Yes, a combination of artists that are similar to and influenced by the likes of U2, the Cure, INXS, Radiohead, New Order, REM, and Depeche Mode. Relaxing to the beautiful melodies by the likes of Elefant, On the Speakers, and the Stars, I'm suddenly completely blown away by a song called "Banquet" by a band called Bloc Party. The song was so "kickin'", as my pal Lynda would call it, I had to add it to my myspace page.


Click here to listen to "Banquet" by Bloc Party.
(No, I'm not trying to steer you toward my myspace site just to get you to add me as your friend and leave a comment ... but hey, if you're there, add me and drop a msg!)

I'm sure you're thining to yourself ... "Man! I sure wish I could listen to that Perfect Radio Station she's talking about!" Well, my friend, you can. Just click on the image below or click on the Perfect Radio link in the sidebar of my blog. Enjoy!

Click here to listen to ...

Update: I have just updated my myspace site with a new song, so the link above has been changed to link to Bloc Party's myspace site, where you can listen to "Banquet". Enjoy! (16 Aug 2006)

MTV Awards - 1997 - U2 - Please

Yet again, thank you Pandora for reminding me of this.... Thanks to the magic of YouTube, I've found a gem from the U2 archive. I remember watching the MTV Music Awards anxiously that year, waiting anxiously for U2 to make their appearance. The band took the stage, and honestly, I was surprised to hear them begin playing "Please". But a minute into the song, I realized it was an incredibly good choice.


Chills. Goosebumps. Shivers. At 2:40 (min:sec) into the clip, Bono just loses it ... but in such an incredible way! I remember when it finished, I kept rewinding and watching the performance over and over. Incredible.

New U2 Songs?

Our friends in France captured U2 practicing what sounds like three complete new songs. The quality isn't great since it was recorded using a handheld recorder; however, it's enough to definitely get you excited! Enjoy!


Click here to listen to the new U2 songs.

A few Scanner Darkly tidbits

Greetings all! I figure you've had about a week to enjoy my last post about my beautiful li'l cousin, so it's about time for me to post. :)

The good folks at The Opine have posted a link where you can view the first 24 minutes of A Scanner Darkly. So, if you're thinking of watching the movie, but you're not too sure, hopefully this'll help you make up your mind.


Click here to view the first 24 minutes.
Interestingly, the movie also has its own myspace site -- http://www.myspace.com/substanced. And so, Mr. Bob Arctor is officially one of my friends on my myspace site.

And last but not least, NPR's "Fresh Air" has recently had a couple of Scanner-related interviews. Last week, the show featured a 2003 interview with talented Robert Downey Jr., who was very, very good in Scanner. Terry Gross also recently interviewed Richard Linklater, director of A Scanner Darkly. Enjoy!

Beautiful little Gabrielle (3 month update)

Good grief! This little girl is getting more and more beautiful by the day! Below are some of my favorite pictures from the batch Cristina sent earlier.

















Click here to see the entire set.

Man, what a beautiful baby!

Thom Yorke (Radiohead) interview

Wednesday evening, as I was driving home from work, I was pleasantly surprised to turn on the radio (which is almost always tuned to NPR these days) and hear Radiohead's "Creep". Terry Gross, the host of Fresh Air, interviewed Thom Yorke on the band and his own recent solo album. It's a good interview, especially if you're a fan.



Click here to listen to the interview

A Scanner Darkly

Roy and I had a free pass to see A Scanner Darkly at the Magnolia last night, and I really, really liked it! Keanu Reeves was good (Ted!), Winona Ryder was really good, Woody Harrelson was really good, and Robert Downey Jr. was *great*! And I *loved* the spastic addict.











Click here to see the entire collection of images.

My crochet experiment

I've found that recently I've started doing things that remind me of my grandmother. A few months ago, I started making homemade tortillas. (Yes Mom, I'm now a real Mexican!) This past weekend, I bought some yarn and a crochet needle, and ... I'm knitting a scarf! So far, I'm seven rows in, and my hand is all cramping up. I've only been working on it for a couple of days. Below's a picture, but the yarn color looks bad. I need to figure out how to take a better close-up picture. It's supposed to be a very nice combination of red, orange, and yellow.


And yes, Roy has already cracked jokes about me getting old. My crochet project isn't helping. :P

World Cup Highlights (c/o U2)

This was my first time to actually watch the World Cup, and I loved it! I will definitely be tuning in and cheering for my team(s) in 2010!

After a really exciting (and somewhat surprising) final game in which Italy triumphed over France, the good folks at ABC played a "U2 Tribute to the World Cup". Some wonderful person uploaded it to YouTube, and I've linked to it below for your viewing (and listening) pleasure. Enjoy!


U2 World Cup Tribute

The coolest store(s) in the world!

My friend Qin recently went on vacation to China, and on a side trip to Singapore she stopped at a couple of malls and spotted the two coolest stores in the world. Thanks to Qin for snapping these pictures!

Hope you had a safe July 4th ... unlike these folks...

Fireworks Factory Explosion

Stormy weather!

Howdy y'all!

Roy and I were able to make it to the beach for a few hours this afternoon. It's been a long time since I've been in the ocean. We also took a ****long****, treacherous walk out to the very end of a jetty. It was fun, but (clumsy me) I slipped a couple of times, but I managed to not crack my head on the rocks.

Just as we were walking back, it started to rain ... slowly at first, then harder. By the time we (and about 100 other cars) got to the ferry, it was POURING! So, what lesson have we learned? When you're on an island and you see stormy weather in the distance, it might be a good idea to head for the ferry!

While on the beach, instead of using my digital camera, we used one of those disposable waterproof cameras, so those pictures will be posted when we get them developed and scanned. But I did get some pictures of the stormy weather and the flooding on our way back to the hotel. Enjoy!










Tomorrow's plans: Visit a museum and an aquarium!

Our vacation begins...

Greetings from a currently undisclosed location along the Texas coast. (Although, it wouldn't take a rocket scientist to figure out just by looking at the pictures where we are.) I don't have much time to post anything detailed (our hotel room has HBO! gonna watch a movie!), but I have been able to post our pictures so far on my flickr site. (As an unexpected and pleasant surprise, our hotel room also has free high-speed internet -- woohoo!) Below are some highlights. I'm gradually working on the captions to give you an idea of what you're looking at. Feel free to leave comments! Enjoy!

Click on any image below to see the entire set.


















More pictures to come soon! Tomorrow's plans ... goin' to the beach!