Kyle the kutie!

Here's a quick update on crazy hair Kyle:

Look who learned to sit up on his own!

How bout a lil' lip?

Two fast points.

-Big local news! The DC Council voted 12-1 Tuesday to pass a smoking ban for all bars and restaurants in DC. It still needs the mayor's signature, but with such an overwhelming majority in favor, it looks like they'd be able to override his veto if he doesn't approve. Clearly there's a lot of debate on the issue, but I for one am all for it! Now I won't have to look forward to smoke-free outings in New York if I can enjoy them right at home...

-So things at work are beginning to get interesting. And by that I mean, today I was addressed by clients on the phone as both "Cody" and "Julie" after either leaving voicemails or telling receptionists my name... I wonder what else they'll come up with. I'll be sure to keep a list going and update everyone as necessary.

For now I'm hunkering down at Huan's pad and waiting for the first snowflake/iceblock to fall from the sky to begin what I'm sure will be dubbed something ridiculous like DC Freeze '05 (no matter how much or how little we actually get, of course). Cheers to wintry weather.

First Snow of the Season!

Ok, so I'm not counting the dusting on Thanksgiving or the flurries we've gotten since. Today was the first real measureable snowfall of the season, and boy was it beautiful! Sure, it was forecast as being a 4-5" deal and the city ended up with barely 1", but what else is to be expected of our crazy nation's capital? Out in the burbs, of course, we got a bit more, at least 3" and counting... Naturally, I had to capture some snow shots on film before heading to bed. Have a look-see!

Just magical!

Here's another of the indoors, just to illustrate why I love this time of year!

Ah, a perfect opportunity to play some Christmas music... I know the perfect song!

"Oh the weather outside is frightful, but the fire is so delightful..."

It's the most wonderful time of the year...

I feel like I just started my new job yesterday, but all of a sudden it's been a month (I know-- "wow Pouy, a whole month...") and the Holiday season is upon us in full force!

This is my favorite time of year, kicked off by Thanksgiving and continuing up til Christmas. It's not Christmas day that I look forward to...after all, I hate crowded malls and the headaches of shopping... it's just all the trimmings that come along with it. I'm talking about Christmas music in Starbucks and Borders, lights and wreaths everywhere you look, and just that wonderful wintry feeling everywhere you go.

I know I've been terrible about blogging, but hopefully you all will forgive me by getting into the holiday spirit and listening to some Christmas music. To all you scrooges out there, spare me the negative comments!

Here are two versions--one classic and one contemporary-- of my favorite seasonal tune:

The Christmas Song :: Nat King Cole

The Christmas Song :: Aimee Mann


Now, off to fill the house with those crazy life-sized elves!

Thanksgiving wrap-up

My long weekend in photos...

A most delicious feast to celebrate my favorite holiday...:

...Highlighted by the addition of a fried turkey (tastes much better than it looks):

Max, the Pilgrim, gets creative with disposable dinnerware during our hour-long, neighborhood-wide power outage. We ate by candlelight, which was actually kind of nice and romantic for a Thanksgiving dinner:

I went to the Redskins game today, thanks to an invitation from Bi-Anh and her company's club-level seating. Seats were great, atmosphere was fun, but as we all know, it ended in all-too familiar Redskins fashion. This has easily been the most heartbreaking and frustrating season in recent memory. We needn't get into the details, though. About 45 seconds after this photo was taken, the game ended in an anticlimactic overtime:

Twas a great Thanksgiving weekend overall, including a nice range of all my favorite things: food, friends, family, football (F's galore!!!), and a wee bit of shopping (just a wee). But after the fun and a 2-hour escape from FedEx field, I'm pooped...Just like Billie after another memorable Thanksgiving:

Current Music: Seen it All Before, by Amos Lee

Random blurbs

-Well, Laguna Beach Season 2 is history, Talan's getting married and starting a music career (um, was I the only one listening to him perform at the fashion show benefit? He wasn't good.), and Season 3 does not look promising. I just hope Laguna Beach doesn't go the way of the Real World Vegas, but that's what it's looking like. Sigh... once again, at least we have DVDs to relive the memories. I kind of missed the boat on this link, but in case anyone else hasn't seen it, read about how the kids of Laguna match up with our favorite professional athletes.

-Signed onto AIM the other day and realized I had new buddies automatically added to my list. This disturbed me at first, but then I discovered it was a new AIM bot and I actually found it useful! I didn't really find ShoppingBuddy useful (it seemed more like a Gap Ad than anything else), but I'll definitely be keeping MovieFone on my list. By "chatting" with this bot, you can quickly and easily find movie times for your preferred theater by entering a couple key terms. It may not be that much better than actually going to moviefone.com, but the idea of a buddy 'bot is kind of fun!

-Just finished reading A Million Little Pieces, the James Frey memoir and Oprah's most recent Book Club selection. It was fantastic. Graphic, raw, emotional, moving. Super intense. But really great. I recommend it. But then again Oprah already recommended it and over half a million people already listened, so what the heck does my opinion matter? Next up? James Frey's sequel, My Friend Leonard, which apparently picks up right where A Million Little Pieces left off...

-Speaking of Oprah... being one of her biggest fans (laugh away), I picked up her 20th anniversary DVD set yesterday. I'd kind of been waiting for something like this to come out, namely because there have been a number of really incredible Oprah shows I wish I'd taped (her trip to South Africa being is the first one that comes to mind). To make things better, Oprah, being Oprah, is donating 100% of the profits to her Angel Network. As one of my friends once quipped, she really is somewhere between Santa and Jesus.

-I'm looking forward to the next new episode of "Commander in Chief," as Zack Morris (sorry, Mark Paul Gosselaar, you'll always be Zack, especially with a hard-to-spell last name like that!) joins the cast to spice things up in the West Wing. I was also excited to learn that the first son, Horace (unfortunate name) enjoys blasting Interpol in his White House bedroom! Very cool.

That's all I've got for now. Looking forward to Thanksgiving, my favorite holiday week/weekend!


Current Music: Autumn Sweater, by Yo La Tengo

Seen and Heard update

It's been a while since I've done an update on the things I've been watching and the music I'm listening to, so here's my chance to catch you up:


Sex and The City: The Complete Series

After holding out on purchasing individual seasons, I rewarded myself with an early Christmas gift and purchased the entire "Sex and the City" DVD catalog. That's right, all six seasons--94 episodes worth--along with bonus features in one beautifully packaged pink suede album. All for a great bargain price (gotta love Costco!). As Steph said, for SATC fans, this is like the Holy Grail.

This is a great moment to tout the wonder of TV-on-DVD, as this week marked the sad announcement of Arrested Development's cancellation. It's always been a scary possibility, but it appears that this week FOX really gave the Emmy-award winning show the ax. It's such a shame, because I really think it's one of the most creative and entertaining shows on TV right now. Hopefully a diehard fan campaign can convince those FOX execs to keep it going. At the least, we'll have 3 seasons of DVDs to watch and enjoy...


Charlie and the Chocolate Factory

I finally saw this Tim Burton flick last night, and damn was it good! I mean, totally weird and occasionally dark and not really for kids, but that aside, it was really well-done and Johnny Depp really shined as the quirky and slightly freaky Willy Wonka. The two-disc deluxe edition DVD set was a nice purchase, as the bonus features offer some great insight to the making of the movie. Deep Roy, who I found out is only 4'4" tall, plays every one of the 165 Oompa-Loompas in the film, and the DVD offers a behind-the-scenes look at just how much work he put in to make that happen (while also giving you a chance to learn all his choreographed dance moves!). Another exciting bonus was a featurette on how the crew actually trained squirrels to star in the movie as nut-crackers. That's right, in a world of computer animation and special effects, that crazy Tim Burton insisted on getting 40 squirrels to learn how to act. Pretty amazing, if you ask me. Anyway, despite being a diehard fan of the 1971 version of "Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory," I was definitely entertained and impressed by Burton's adaptation of the original novel.


Cat Power :: The Greatest

Having never been a Cat Power fan in the past, but knowing that she (Chan Marshall) was big in the indie scene and also a Matador Records artist, I was not surprised when I heard and loved samplings of some of her new music from her upcoming album, The Greatest. I've been playing the title-track on repeat for the past few weeks...It's at the top of my current nightly On-The-Go playlist. As I understand it, this new album is a departure from her earlier sound, but as a new fan, I'm really digging it and will be sure to check out her older stuff.


Arooj Aftab :: Hallelujah

Everybody Cares, Everybody Understands is a fantastic music blog, and last week there was a great "Hallelujah Showdown" post in which a different versions of Leonard Cohen's Hallelujah were posted (including his original). I'd heard most of them, and I still think Jeff Buckley's version reigns supreme, but I was impressed after hearing Arooj Aftab's beautiful rendition. Arooj is an aspiring musician from Pakistan, currently studying at Berklee College of Music. My guess is that through Internet buzz, she'll be getting some great press soon enough. From the sound of her voice on this song, she shows some great potential.

The vacation is officially over

As you all may have noticed, I haven't updated since I started my new job. As predicted, it leaves little time for computer leisure, which we all know is one of my favorite hobbies. Suffice it to say, the dear old blog has and may continue to suffer.

But, onto the job! My first week went well. Starting on Wednesday and being allowed to wear jeans (since it's earnings period and we're ridiculously busy) was a good way to ease into it. So far I've just being doing a lot of paperwork, calling into orientation conferences (during which they actually call on you to answer questions, so you actually have to pay attention!!), and getting acquainted with the company. One thing I've learned is that there seems to be an endless amount of information about PR Newswire and all the products and services it provides (not to mention its "sister" companies), so I definitely haven't had a shortage of things to read.

I know once I get fully trained and start doing real work, I'll never be bored. It's constantly buzzing in the office, phones ringing and new press releases coming in and needing to be sent out at a moment's notice. In that sense, this is all very exciting to me! I likened it to being in the ER (or so I've seen on TV's "ER") in that you've got a big board of patients and your job is to clear the board. For us, we have a log of releases that keep coming in, and our job is to always keep it clear. Kinda cool!

Anyway, that's that. I'll try to keep up with this as best I can. Thanks for bearing with me!


Current Music: #41, by Dave Matthews Band

Oh What a World

What better way to top off my Halloween than to see Rufus Wainwright in concert? My concert-going buddies and I anticipated many more drag queens and people in costume than we actually witnessed, but that didn't matter. Rufus put on one hell of a show, and in terms of performance and bang-for-your-buck, it may have topped my list for 9:30 concert of the year.

OK Go was the opening band, and they really did a terrific job of warming everybody up for the main act. They do some great indie power-pop, sometimes gritty, other times light and fun, but most of the time catchy (as on "You're So Damn Hot," which they dedicated to Rufus). The highlight was definitely their last number, when lead singer Damien Kulash admitted the reason why Rufus picked them as the opening act was for their dance skills. He then announced something to the effect of "At the end of the day, it's all about selling CDs. They're back there and you can buy them. Instead of performing our single, we're going to play it right off the CD and dance to it." This seemed a bit odd at first, but then I realized OK Go has become known for this closing dance number. I won't try to describe it for you, but it was amazingly entertaining. And to give Kulash credit, it really did make me want to buy their CD. Lucky for you, the video of the "A Million Ways" dance can be played off their website.

After getting energized by OK Go, the crowd was pumped and ready for our man Rufus, who--even without his music-- never fails to entertain. This was Rufus's first of only five U.S. shows before he heads up to Canada and then Europe, so it was quite a treat to be able to see him. I was particularly excited to see how he would be with a big band, since the last two times I'd seen him he was solo on his piano/guitar. For one, I knew we could expect to hear a lot more off Want One (DreamWorks, 2003), which is definitely one of my favorite discs.

Rufus opened with "Oh What a World," which ended up being one of eight songs he performed off Want One. When he launched into "Natasha," I immediately got that warm and fuzzy feeling inside from hearing his incredible voice. Rufus is truly one of the best vocalists out there and probably my personal favorite. His classical music training has really made him an incredible talent, and his voice can fill up the corners of any room.

Admittedly, Rufus was still a little rusty from not having been on tour in a while, and he struggled to hit some high notes which he's had trouble with in the past ("Go or Go ahead"). On "Vibrate" he even beckoned the crowd to sing a verse along with him. Other highlights were old favorites "Poses" and his cover of Leonard Cohen's "Hallelujah." I also enjoyed hearing a jazzy/funky version of "The Art Teacher," one of my favorite tunes off Want Two (Geffen, 2004).

By far, though, the talk of last night's show was Rufus's theatrical performance toward the end of the show. During the instrumental section of "Old Whore's Diet," Rufus and his band ran off the stage and reappeared in white choir robes and performed a choreographed dance (no doubt inspired by Ok Go, to whom Rufus dedicated the song). They segued this directly into "Gay Messiah," which began with two roman guards carrying a huge white cross onto the stage. Rufus de-robed to reveal a turquoise toga/dress, and the guards placed a gold crown of thorns on his head, along with a glittery facemask and lipstick. This was certain to be the night's point of debate, as Rufus walked a fine line between blasphemy and pure entertainment. I definitely love Rufus for his ability to always shock and surprise us, that's for sure.

After all was said and done, Rufus performed for 2 hours and the crowd seemed extremely pleased and in absolute awe of him (and he seemed equally grateful). In my personal opinion, Rufus is truly one of the best live acts out there, if only for his ability to command the stage and transfix the crowd. He's one of those rare acts that I enjoy watching as much as listening. It's his mannerisms, his quirks, his charisma, and ultimately the idea that I can see the words he sings as they so effortlessly come out of his mouth.


Finally, if I kept your interest up til this point, here are some samplers of my favorite songs:

Poses (Poses)
A heart-wrenching ballad that illustrates Rufus's incredible songwriting and contains one of my favorite lyrics: Life is a game and true love is a trophy.

Go or Go Ahead (Want One)
Starts off with Rufus and guitar, but slowly builds to a fantastic crescendo and full-band theatrics for the chorus.

The Art Teacher (Want Two)
Beautiful song showcasing Rufus's voice. Featuring only Rufus on piano with a lovely french horn solo in the middle of the piece.

Happy Halloween!

This past weekend was filled with lots of Halloween spirit! Here are some fun photos (thumbnails) to guide you through the festivities...

I started out with a trip to NYC to hang out with Kyle, the cutest baby ever, and to see his other young friends. Here they are--all six of them--at a Halloween brunch. From left to right we have a pea in a pod & a chili pepper (twin girls), a fish, Darth Vader & Yoda (twin boys), and last but definitely not least, Kyle the bumblebee:

And because he's just so adorable and squeezable, here's a close-up of the bumblebee:

Yesterday was my last day at Treetop, so naturally I got all decked out in costume to go out with a bang on Halloween. Since I'm all about the homemade costumes, and since The Incredibles seemed to be a popular and sold-out store selection anyway, I put in a few arts & crafts hours last week to prepare for Halloween. (So did the twins' mom, who appears here as a toxic crayon!) Along with Batman (Max) and Snow White (Mira), here I am as Violet, the Incredible:

Finally, as part two of my costume-making work this year, I present Auddie as a Pepsi can (with her other mealtime friends):

Current Music: One More Night, by Stars

Happy Birthday, Mom!

Happy Birthday to my dear mom, a woman who wears many hats. She's got style, she can cook anything (and it's always delicious), she's a star at work, and she's definitely the head of this household! Thanks for everything, mom... you really are "the bomb" and we love you for it!

And since my mom is always beginning sentences with "Do you know what I was doing when I was (insert age here)?" here is a photo of her on a nice fall day when she was a youthful but mature 18.

A melody softly soaring through my atmosphere...

I headed back to the 9:30 club Sunday night for a double bonus concert featuring Stars as the opening band for the headliner and now most well-known indie band (but not technically "indie" anymore, if we're talking record labels), Death Cab for Cutie.

Stars were absolutely fantastic. I was expecting something low-key and mellow from them, considering I usually pop in Nightsongs (Le Grand Magistery, 2001) as I'm getting ready for bed, but they totally rocked the place and the lead male vocalist, Torquil Campbell (who I just discovered is also an actor and has made appearances on "Sex & The City," among other popular shows) was as energetic and inspiring as they come.

For those of you who haven't heard Stars, I highly recommend them. They are what I call "ambient" pop, or in other words, indie-electronica as influenced by the likes of the Pet Shop Boys and The Smiths, with modern contemporaries being the Postal Service and Belle & Sebastian, among others. You know you love some keyboards and synths and drums played with mallots. That's why they call it "dreampop." Anyway, it's hard for me to describe, but something about listening to Stars makes me feel cool. So take that as you will. The blend of male and female vocals (Amy Milan's voice is effortless) adds a unique element, as does Torquil's very passionate performance, including a few dazzling trumpet parts.

As for Death Cab... well, they were good. I've never been hardcore Death Cab, but as the big indie fan that I am, I have to appreciate them. There was no shortage of little OC-fan teens in the crowd, and the club seemed especially packed, even for a sold-out show. That said, it was a nice atmosphere and the crowd was respectful, down to the granny (or some other elder relative or friend of one of the band members) who was up in the family balcony section overlooking the side of the stage. She was up on her feet the whole night clapping and snapping photos! It was great.

Despite the fact that their new album is chock full of emo-ballads, the music itself was lively. They performed the majority off Plans (Atlantic, 2005), but also mixed it up and played at least one song off every album, which was nice. They were able to really rock out and get the crowd going for songs like "The Sound of Settling," but at the next moment bring the place down to a hush, as in the first encore song, "I Will Follow You Into the Dark" which featured Ben Gibbard under a spotlight with his acoustic guitar.

Chris Walla, the "mastermind" behind Death Cab's album production, as well as producer on other popular indie discs (The Decemberists's Picaresque, to name one) was a surprising and unexpected character in person. My impression was that he seemed like he was in another world-- not in any "I'm on drugs" kind of way, but more like a "huh??" kind of way, but maybe it's just part of his inaccessible artistic genius. As an aside, his speaking voice is quite high pitched, in a way that catches you off guard when you first hear him utter any words. Maybe this is why his banter seemed mostly unintelligible to me.

Anyway, I can stop writing now and pass the rest off to you, dear reader, because thanks to NPR: All Songs Considered, you can listen to Death Cab's full concert online. It's an audio broadcast of their Monday night show at the 9:30 club, but my guess is it's not far off from what I heard on the first night. It's probably just as good as having been there. For starters, you don't have to worry about getting your clothes all smoky... Enjoy!

"I am Job..." at last!

Well, everybody, the day has come. After nearly a year and a half after graduating (yikes), I can finally say that, beginning November 2, I'll officially be employed. That's right, this afternoon I received a job offer for a job that I was really excited about and really wanted (as opposed to one that I just wanted because it was a job). I'll be an Assistant Editor at PR Newswire, which my sources tell me is a pretty well-known electronic media distribution company. The good news is, well... I finally have a real, full-time job where the people seem cool and where I definitely won't be sitting in a cubicle bored out of my mind. The bad news, if I have to name any, is that I'm turning in my wings as "professional intern" and also as the newest rising star at Treetop Kids (but not before I show up in costume for my last shift on Halloween!!). And naturally, I'll have a lot less time to blog since I'll be occupied with something else for 9 hours of the day! But I'm sure you'll all forgive me. The weekend updates will just be that much sweeter, I suppose...

EVOO!!

Today I received an e-mail containing the link to an absolutely hilarious Rachael Ray drinking game. That's right, folks, booze up with Food Network and you'll be ready to party in no time!

I won't post the whole thing, but here are some highlights of the rules:

"EVOO" -- 1 drink
"Yummo" -- 1 drink
"Delish! -- 1 drink
"How ____ is that?" -- 1 drink
*comes back from refrigerator carrying too many ingredients -- 2 drinks
*drops something on her way back -- whole drink
*fails to provide measurement and tells you to "eyeball it" -- 1 drink
*wears anything midriff-revealing -- 3 drinks


Oh Rachael, you're so awkward but somehow we still adore you... and yes, we'll forgive you for the FHM photo shoot, too. (You can google that one yourselves!)

Fall favorites

Today was one of those perfect fall days: it started out rather chilly, then as the day wore on it warmed up a touch, the sun came out, and that cool fall breeze kicked in. It's days like these that call for my favorite fall music, and to honor the season, I'm posting a sampling of what I consider to be the essentials.


Counting Crows :: August and Everything After (live)

On my drive to work this morning, I popped in August and Everything After (Geffen, 1993) and was reminded about how absolutely brilliant it is. It's a timeless album that still sounds fresh with every listen. The Counting Crows really nailed it with that one. This song, however, is not from that album, but it's a live cut of the title track that never made the album, so for that, it's significant. For those of you wondering which song's lyrics were scribbled on the album cover art, this is the one.

Counting Crows :: High Life

As a bonus, I've also thrown in a favorite off This Desert Life (Interscope, 1999). If I had to look back on the album that got me thinking critically about the music I listen to, this might have been it. We were reviewing new CDs for an issue of my high school paper, and by random drawing, this is the one I picked. The rest, as they say, is history!


David Gray :: Shine

His most recent release, Life in Slow Motion, makes for a great new fall soundtrack, but when it comes to fall, I'll take any ol' David Gray, especially his early work. It's raw and stripped down, pumped with emotion, and personally I think it's Gray at his best. This is the opening track off his debut album, A Century Ends (Caroline, 1993).


Elliott Smith :: Waltz #2 (XO)

Oh, Elliott. It's been two years since you've passed, but thank goodness we can listen to your music forever. There are occasions when I hear Elliott Smith and I am in disbelief at just how good he was. Such brilliant songwriting and heartfelt lyrics. The one thing that's guaranteed is that you can't listen to his music and not feel something. Waltz #2 off XO (Dreamworks, 1998) is no exception.


Nick Drake :: One of These Things First

Nick Drake is yet another brilliant songwriter who left the world too soon, but also left us with a wealth of beautiful music to enjoy. This song appeared on Bryter Layter (Hannibal, 1970) and makes me want to go outside on a windy fall day, run around in an open field, and kick around the falling leaves. There's something about the music that transports you to a different time and place. This song is especially light and playful, which is a departure from a lot of his darker, more depressing themes.


Nickel Creek :: When You Come Back Down

I absolutely love this song, which is actually a cover of a song written by Tim O'Brien and Danny O'Keefe. It appeared on Nickel Creek's self-titled debut album (Sugarhill, 2000), which is an accessible blend of bluegrass, folk, and classical, among other genres. This tune in particular is a beautiful and heart-wrenching love song that has everything that makes a song wonderful. Chris Thile's soothing voice rings through delicately over gorgeous fiddle solos and three-part harmonies. Just perfect.


Dave Matthews :: Stay or Leave

Mr. Matthews did quite a number on his first and only solo effort, Some Devil (RCA, 2003). This is a fall pick because this album was released at the beginning of my last year in college, and I'm pretty sure it sat in the CD player of my car for the majority of the season. It reminds me of fall drives in Charlottesville, golf classes in the morning, weekend hikes or picnics, and in general how there seemed to be no better place to be than UVA in the fall.


R.E.M. :: Nightswimming

Chris Martin told Spin magazine, "I'll tell you what I'm most proud of. The other day I had a pizza with Mike Mills from R.E.M., and he played 'Nightswimming' on the piano for me. I was so proud that I got to the position where I could hear that." This is one of my favorite R.E.M. tunes off of one of my favorite R.E.M. albums, Automatic for the People (Warner Bros, 1992).


And there you have it. Enjoy!

A Special Shoutout to the Binhster...

Happy Birthday to my wonderful dad! He already knows how much I love him for always being there and for his frequent "I love my family" declarations. But here's a special thanks to him for making the best "com tron" (Sorry, I'm missing accents. It's basically a big rice bowl with all sorts of delicious things mixed in it.) and for knowing the DC-area like the back of his hand, and thus being a walking local atlas, able to navigate and offer detour advice to anyone in a jam.

Happy Birthday Dad! You're the best.

Finally, since I spoke of this in a previous blogpost, here's a photo of my pops sporting the linen shirt and Seven jeans, looking somewhat like a J.Crew model with the whole scenic backdrop... (It's Half Moon Bay.)

Current Music: So Alive, by Ryan Adams

Sweet Golly Goodness!

Thanks to Steve Jobs, I have another exciting reason to post. After much anticipation surrounding Apple's new product announcement today (I mean really, the nano is brand new, and now unveiling something else, so soon?), it seems Apple has once again taken the iPod to the next level. And I am officially jealous. Introducing... the new iPod.

Incidentally, this post comes almost exactly a year after one of my first crazy-iPod blogposts in which the 60 gig photo was first unveiled. Ok, while I was always one to snub the iPod extras (photos, color, etc.), I now realize that I want it all.

Here's the deal:

The new iPod has 150 hours of video storage capability, and through the new iTunes 6, you can download your favorite music videos or TV shows (Only ABC or Disney, for now...) for $1.99 a pop. I mean, that's pretty damn cool, right? Sure, the screen is a mere 2.5 inches, but that's still an improvement from the old version. And hell, if I can catch up on a missed episode of "Lost" while waiting at the doctor's office or sitting on the metro... well, I'm not going to complain. It's sure to beat those little handheld rabbit-eared Sony TVs I remember from a decade ago!

Ok, for those of you unimpressed by these add-ons that detract from the music, here are other practical bonuses:

The new iPod boasts up to 20 hours of battery life, five hours more than before. Plus, you get a bigger display and one more iPod color — sleek black. But here’s the kicker: At under half an inch thin, the new 30GB iPod takes up about 45 percent less room than the original iPod. Even the new 60GB model is 10 percent thinner than the fourth-generation 20GB iPod. More features in less space? Sounds like iPod.

Just the other day Auddie and I were in the Apple store, and when we saw the old 60 gig, we were like "Geez, this thing is a monster! Look how thick!!"

Anyway, I'm a bit overwhelmed right now, jumping from page to page to catch up on all the new details. I'm a little annoyed that I just upgraded to iTunes 5 only about a month ago and they've already updated. But if there's any lesson we can learn from Apple, it's that you should wait. Yep, let you jaw drop in awe over all these new gadgets, but sit back and let it all settle in before you pull out your credit card. Sometimes I think about all those folks who have given into the initial hype...the ones who own a Mini, a Shuffle, a Nano, and are currently drooling over the newest iPod. Then again, they're probably broke. It's a nice thought, though! As for me, my 3rd gen. 20 gig is still doing the trick, but I know it won't be long 'til I give in... all extras aside, 20 hours of battery life sounds pretty appealing right now.


Current Music: Pipe Dreams, by Travis

The times, they are a-changin'...

First things first: My apologies for the lack of updates. My computer time has been limited lately. I smell another hiatus.

My auntie sent me an amusing e-mail today and it seemed like such a joke that I thought I'd post about it. It's an old clipping that purports to be from a 1955 "Housekeeping Monthly" article about how to be a good wife. (Other sources indicate that the graphic is fabricated and that the text is from a 1950s home economics textbook.) Real or not, it's still worth a look just as a reminder to appreciate and acknowledge how much has changed for women in only a few decades (though arguably it's not enough). We all may laugh now, but we really should remember that these ideals were once a reality for women... long before the days of Geena Davis as our TV president.

Current Music: The Wrong Idea, by Chris Thile

One year and still going strong!

Well, since I haven't much to blog about, I'll babble. I just realized it's been a year and one day since I decided to enter the blogosphere and change my life forever (by merely fueling my addiction to the computer and Internet). Remarkably after all that time I still am finding things to say. So for that, I wanted to say thanks for any and all who read this.

For some time capsule material, let me add a few current-events bullet points:

-Celeb news: Oh god, just when I thought TomKat was out of the news, they bounce back with Hollywood's latest out-of-wedlock pregnancy. (Hey, at least Kenny & Renée didn't make the same mistake.) I don't really have anything else to say on that. Blagh.

-TV: Ok, it's a given that TV is taking over my life. I'm trying to take serious steps to address this problem, but meanwhile, another show has captured my attention. With seemingly dozens of new series premieres entering lineups this fall, it was hard to capture the attention of viewers who, for the most part, already had their favorite shows picked out. My parents, on the other hand, who are casual TV channel flippers, happened to catch the Pilot of "Commander in Chief" and they couldn't stop raving about it. So I thought I'd tune into the encore as well as the second episode last night. I thought it would be terrible and cheesy (ok, it's a little cheesy), but it's actually quite entertaining and I'm definitely going to keep tuning in, at least for now.

The whole ad campaign that said "This Fall... a woman will be President" was actually inspiring, though at the same time a bit sad, because you realized it was a TV show and the Prez. was Geena Davis, who for some reason I can only remember from "A League of Their Own." On the other hand, despite some occasionally poor makeup, she's great in the role, to the point where you're like "Wow, I would vote for Geena Davis..." (Just like we'd all vote for Martin Sheen.) They threw a couple funny Hilary jokes into the script, too, and all of the First Gentleman scenes definitely had me laughing. Finally, they couldn't have cast a better bad guy/resident jerk than Donald Sutherland.

-Books: I'm currently reading Oprah's latest Book Club selection, A Million Little Pieces, by James Frey. It's the first time I've been on the same page (hah!) as my pal Ope, so I'm pretty excited. More on that later.

-Blogger: Drumroll, please..... On the one year anniversary of "Watch out for the Po-Po," let us welcome the newest member of the blogosphere, Kam! Yes, that's right, you've seen her comments (some of them obscene) and you've read my shoutouts. Now it's time to hear directly from Kam about her amazing adventures in knitting. Don't be fooled-- knitting is not for old ladies anymore!! Kam will prove it to you. I guarantee after looking at some of the photos she's posted of her work, you'll be begging her for a Christmas gift!! Congrats, Kam, and welcome! :)


Current Music: The Hardest Part, by Ryan Adams & The Cardinals

Army 10-miler

Well, today was the day! After months of (sort of) training, I awoke before sunrise today to make my way down to the Pentagon for the start of the Army ten-miler. With 20,000 entrants and a high demand for registration, this is the biggest ten-mile race in the country, so it was especially exciting to be a part of it.

20,000 runners means that it takes awhile to reach the starting line, so I wasn't too concerned when the start gun fired and I was still waiting in the porta potty line... Luckily I made it out in time to hop in the big pack and start the race ten minutes after 8 am.

The race itself went well, and I definitely enjoyed the course more than the mostly out-and-back Cherry Blossom race I did back in April. The Army course was more of a scenic loop which led us past the Pentagon, across the Memorial Bridge and past the Lincoln memorial, then past the Kennedy center, and eventually along the Mall past the Washington Monument and Jefferson Memorial, and finally a small loop past the Capitol before heading back. Aside from the lovely early-morning Washington views, the turns and loops were much easier, mentally, for me to get through.

There was one minor (ok, it was major) glitch in the race that had lots of runners fuming. Just around or before the 8-mile mark, the race was re-routed because of an emergency security concern at the 14th street bridge, which was supposed to take us to the finish line at the Pentagon. It seems that just after 8 am, an official identified a "suspicious package" on the bridge, so they decided to re-route the course, basically sending us back across the Memorial Bridge and finishing the course the way we had started, in reverse.

The only problem was, no one knew what the hell was going on. First of all, no one ever saw the sign for the 8 and 9 mile mark, which started up the initial confusion, then when someone finally notified us that we'd just crossed the adjusted 9-mile mark, everyone had the "Ok, last mile, this is the final stretch" mentality going. I was slightly more in the loop than others, since I'd borrowed Huan's Garmin GPS device for the race and was keeping track of the race mileage on my wrist. So I knew something was up when the Garmin beeped for 10-miles and we were still only halfway across the Memorial Bridge.

But of course, I kept going, wondering what disaster had befallen the race. Meanwhile, other runners are thinking "This is the longest $@#%&* mile of my life!!!!" Finally, we get word from the finish line that "It's 11.4 miles, and you're almost there!!" This is when people start getting pissed. The beginning of the race was full of smiles and cheers, and now it was "You'd think they could have told us," and "I'm never running this race again." Though it was all kind of sad to think about how the race fell apart and no one was getting official scores, the whole thing was amusing in a "I can't believe this is the biggest ten-miler in the country and this is what happened" kind of way. Sigh.. But I guess these things are unpredictable and security is extra tight and cautious around DC anyway.

I finished my 10 miles in decent time-- about a minute slower than my Cherry Blossom time, but considering training for this race consisted of many fewer workouts and a lot more Popeyes/beers/potato chips/television watching/you name it, I'm actually pleased with my result. And on the other hand, I ran 11.4 miles, which I definitely was not expecting to do. I guess that means I'm that much closer to running a half marathon! Whoo, look at me, raising the bar!!

Since Auddie was such a fabulous event photographer, here are some snapshots from the day (thumbnails):

Mile 4:

Me & my pops (with thunder sticks in hand) at the finish line:

Awesome shot of my dad in front of the Lincoln Memorial, no other tourists in sight:

Finally, here's a random shot of the gang at my post-race brunch at Carlyle in Shirlington:

Twas a fabulous Sunday overall, made even better by a miraculous Redskins win in overtime! 3-0, who'da thunk it?

Current Music: Lately, by David Gray