Mad Men

AMC has a new viral site that lets you create a Man Men-inspired image of yourself. Here's what I would look like, though I'm not sure I'd have so many clothes on standing next to Jon Hamm....

Word of the Day

Per the Wiktionary, asshat is slang for having one's head up one's ass, thus wearing the ass as a hat. Use it in a sentence at least once tomorrow, preferably not in reference to me.

R.E.M. - Top 10 Songs

Over on Pop Candy, Whitney linked to a post in Paste listing the top 20 R.E.M. songs, and she also listed her own top ten. As an avowed R.E.M. fan, I feel compelled to list my own. R.E.M. set the soundtrack to my college years after my friend Michael introduced them to me in high school. To be fair, I totally mocked him at the time, but soon learned the error of my ways and became a huge fan. In fact, the most embarrassing moment of my life occurred after attending a fabulous R.E.M. concert in Louisville. But I digress....

10. Half a World Away - Very maudlin, love the longing

9. Exhuming McCarthy - Dig the typewriter intro and the political lyrics

8. Leaving New York - Really like the melody and looping and layered chorus

7. South Central Rain (I'm Sorry) - Such a simple refrain, but still gives me chills

6. Cuyahoga - Love the lyrics (Let's put our heads together, and start a new country up, our father's father's father tried, to erase the parts they didn't like)

5. I Am Superman - Hated it the first time I heard it, grew to love it quickly. Great harmonies, and I like Mike Mills taking lead

4. Near Wild Heaven - Another one with Mike Mills singing lead, more great harmonies, and more fun

3. Driver 8 - ITunes says I've listened to this song more than any other, and it's easy to hear why

2. Fall On Me - Seminal song of my college days (Buy the sky, sell the sky...) and I loved it most until...

1. Nightswimming - My favorite song of all time, I think. I just love the story in the lyrics, the beauty of the piano, the longing in Michael Stipe's voice, and then the strings kick in and it's just total bliss.

Honorable Mentions go to Imitation of Life (Great Title) and Supernatural Superserious (Horrible title, great song)

New Movie Posters for TCM Classic Movies

I love this poster for Guess Who's Coming to Dinner. TCM has a summer movie event and has re-imagined several posters to go along with the showings. Check out the entire group images here. Which ones do you like?

Inspiration

Often times, when I'm looking for something to keep me engaged or thinking about the world in different ways, or just looking to get out of a funk, I try to find something inspiring. Sometimes that means reading a new book, or checking out Fast Company magazine, or getting into an argument with my friend Niki, who without question is the most innovative thinker I know, but that doesn't always mean she's right, if you know what I mean. And Niki, that is a compliment, if a slightly backhanded one. Love you!

Anyway, one of my sources for inspiration is the TED website, where famous and not so famous people come and give talks on a variety of subjects. One day, I hope to be so creative that they will invite me to come. Until then, however, I can generally find something really interesting, creative, or funny to get me thinking in different ways, and if I'm really lucky, I'll get all three.

Tonight I was browsing their collection of clips and came across this one, which is one of my favorites, on the subject of dictionaries of all things.




The part that gets me the most is the 'Ham Butt' part. How much of my life is what it is because someone else's pan was too small a long time ago? I often accept the easiest interpretation of things because I don't even know that I can otherwise ask the question. Or worse, I jump to a conclusion that creates a solution first without knowing what the question really is. I hate it when I do that. I don't even know where the gaps are in my thinking. Oh well. At least I know where the gaps are in Niki's thinking. It's a start.

Statistical Humor

Another highly amusing nugget from the interwebs.

Reader's Block

Bookslut has a great article on what makes a good book worth reading, and equates it to the idea that publishers add secret ingredients to books so that people will read them, just like companies add sugar and other additives to food so that people will crave them. It's an interesting concept. I like to think I'm intelligent enough to find unique books to read, but I totally admit I love me some Steven King Doritos too.

Books versus Movies

I am a voracious reader and have always loved books. Last night we went and saw 'Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince' and I enjoyed it quite a bit. But because I've read the books and because of the way I read books, I've almost learned not to equate a book and a movie in the same way. There so much nuance and character details that books give that helps me understand the story and that enriches my experience. Movies don't usually do it for me that same way. I've also learned not to get into a debate over whether a book is better than the movie, as that's generally a time waster - it's always the book. Kidding! I just usually prefer to create my own visualization of what I'm reading that have someone else's presented to me in the movie form. And I get that not everyone feels the same way. Still, most often, the book speaks to me more than the movie. When I finish reading a really good book, I miss the characters like I miss my friends when they are not around. That connection almost never happens with movies.

Exceptions to prove the rule:

Fight Club - Way sexier than what was in my head, and I just couldn't get into the writing style. But the movie rocks!

Contact - The movie had more emotion and resonance for me than the book, which is pretty hard to do.

I'm sure there are others, but that's what comes to mind right now. What movies are the better than the books they are based on in your opinion?

Atlas Mapped

This is really cool. I think I'll use this for my next ransom note.

Wingspan in Trouble

Wingspan, the Tucson GLBT Community Center, is in financial trouble and needs donations badly. The center, which opened in Tucson in 1988, is moving to a different location to cut costs and needs to raise $125,000 by October 31, 2009 in order to stay open. This is a vital organization to the GLBT community in Tucson, so please do whatever you can to support it. The community outreach, anti-violence program, and youth and senior programs, among other services are enriching programs that serve our community and would be sorely missed. Please give what you can.