My iPod is Not Lame

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A while ago my mother was in town and bought me an iPod. It’s a big ole’ clunker of a device, as it’s a video iPod and needs a big enough screen to view video clips, so it’s not a teeny shuffle or other device that can only be viewed with a microscope. Since my office is an “open office” (read: everyone listens to each other talk on the phone all day) I keep my headphones on a good portion of the time. As do many of my co-workers.

Yesterday someone mentioned it might be a fun idea if we all switched iPods for a day. Get a taste of what everyone else was listening to. Except, of course, no one wants my iPod. They all jumped on the bandwagon of “Megan Listens to Weird Music.” And EVERYONE felt the same.

Now I have as much Justin and Britney on my iPod as the next gal, but I do have some obscure music as well. In general, though, most of it is pretty mainstream. Definitely not uber-alternative. In fact, most hipster-alternative folks would probably think my iPod is crap due to the large number of Dixie Chicks and Bel Biv Devoe tunes.

In short, here is a sampling of the current Top Ten Most Played list on my clunking iPod. There are a few strange, obscure songs, a few Top 40 hits and older music that has been on my computer since freshman year in college when we downloaded everything for free from Napster. Man, do I miss Napster. Free music is good.

Headlock – Imogen Heap (Great beats, crazy video, insane woman…you gotta love that.)
The Luckiest (Live) – Ben Folds (Got this from someone’s wedding video. Cheesy, but very, very sweet.)
Pinch Me – Barenaked Ladies (Reminds me of college and being hungover.)
Attitude – Alient Ant Farm (This song reminds me of Trent, not because he has an attitude, but because he always has random and wonderful taste in music and introduced me to this band way back when.)
Lost Cause – Beck (This song is from Beck’s dark, sad stage and you can just feel dispair in his voice. It used to be on my mix CD called “Rainy Day”)
Rap Song – Black Eyed Peas featuring Wyclef (Back before the Black Eyed Peas became Fergalicious, they were actually a pretty good band.)
Love Burns – Black Rebel Motorcycle Club (This was stolen from a co-worker in college who was a hipster wannabe with really good taste in music. Unfortunately, that good taste did not continue through his wardrobe choices or use of deoderant.)
Good Woman – Cat Power (Same as the last song. I used to listen to this song when I was feeling all angsty about my relationship when I was 20 and it was OH SO COMPLICATED…not like now. Nope, now not complicated at all.)
Tiny Dancer (Live) – Foo Fighters (Great cover based on that scene on the bus from Almost Famous.)
Delirium Trigger – Coheed & Cambria (Sort of recent, I think this is what my co-workers think I’m listening to on repeat every day, as I am such an alternative freak.)

Totally Random Late-Night Post

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I didn’t realize the people who read this site were so crazy about The Hills! Lord. Yes, I watched The Hills on Monday night and was, of course, enthralled, as I obviously have no filter when it comes to horrible television. I always feel bad for poor LC, who just keeps getting screwed over and over again. I worry that she’s becoming a bit of a man-hater and I just want to reach out and shake her and say, “This is not real life! There are better people in the world then all of these wackos you seem to like hanging out with” or “Chin up, kid, things will get better.” But then she’d probably think I was a psycho as she doesn’t know who the hell I am and, hello, did I notice that I’m 24 years old with a toddler and no money and who the HELL am I to be giving advice. Point taken, LC. Just please don’t get back with Jason. Even though he’s a random, not cute bad boy. I know how those can be temping.

Also, as I am additionally a fan of horrible pop music and romantic comedies, I am obviously a fan of Ms. Mandy Moore. I found this random clip of Ms. Moore covering the song Umbrella (originally by Rhianna) and I thought it was pretty damn good. So if you can sit through the time it takes to load the video and deal with the crappy blue screen effects depicting Rhianna doing some sort of strip tease in the background, I’d give it a listen. Unless you’re a jackass hipster urbanite. In which case, why the eff are you reading this blog?!

You Tube Debate, Translated

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Transcript from the Democratic You Tube Debate

QUESTION: Hey, I’m Mike Green from Lexington, South Carolina. And I was wanting to ask all the nominees whether they would send their kids to public school or private school.

GRAVEL: Check out my vids at youtube.com/user/gravel2008.

FORMER SEN. JOHN EDWARDS: When I’m president I will abolish school hehehe.

GOV. BILL RICHARDSON: Private school, because if you have ever heard the Pink Floyd song “Another Brick In The Wall” you know that public schools are not very good.

CLINTON: THAT SONG IS ABOUT ENGLAND SCOOLS U MORON NOT US SCHOOLS AND PINK FLOYD SUCKS!!!!!!

RICHARDSON: Oh, I’m sure YOU like really good music. Like Pussycat Dolls or some other mass-marketed corporate crap you buy at Wal*Mart.

CLINTON: U ARE JUST SAYING PUSSYCAT DOLS BECAUSE I AM GIRL AND THATS MISSOGENISTIC!!!!!

ANDERSON COOPER: May I interject something here? That hour-long interview I had with Paris Hilton last month? The guys at CNN made me do that. Just so you know. I would have preferred to do a story on AIDS or drought or something, because I’m a respected journalist.

{Pause}

DODD: omg u r totaly gay

OBAMA: rotfl its so true

Read more here (via Mighty Girl).

I’ve Been Blocked

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I don’t like to talk about my job too much on this site because I’ve found that even if co-workers don’t know about this site immediately, they will eventually find it. And really, it’s bad enough when they find out that I’m an undercover Space Camp-attending, Harry Potter-loving, High School Musical-watching dork (OK, so I’m not really that undercover about it), so I really don’t need them reading about themselves or anyone else we work with on this site. Also, I like this job. I’d like to keep it. Unlike that one job with the crazy cat lady that made me want to shove pencils in my eyes. Or the one after that with the insane woman who would walk into the office, slam all of the doors, stomp up the stairs, throw a tantrum and then come back downstairs and call a meeting so she could stare at all of us for 20 minutes to see if it actually is possible for someone to melt into their own chair. I don’t mind talking about them. Crazy ass people.

But the new job is pretty nice so I’ll refrain from talking about anyone’s quirks, at least until I can come up with suitable nicknames that will disguise the fact that I’m talking about them.

One pet peeve I will mention, though, is my new office’s Internet filters. In the ongoing fight against worker distraction, they tend to block everything on the planet. When I need to find a new Photoshop brush for a project…blocked (under Hobbies). When I need to find out where to get new blades for our paper cutter…blocked (again, someone, somewhere must have a paper cutting hobby). When I need to find a video of someone using a certain type of miter saw…blocked (under Video).

But now they’ve gone too far. They’ve blocked Entertainment. People.com. Cnn.com Entertainment. E! Online. How am I to find out when Lindsey Lohan gets out of rehab or when Britney finally is sent to a mental institution?! Do they not understand what important business this is?!

Obviously I believe we should protest. Possibly get together a huge group and stand out in the street and hold up signs with sticks. We could sing “Seize the day!” and do choreographed dances with Christian Bale. We could yell at the “scabs” in bad New York accents, possibly with what’s-his-name from Doogie Howser….

Who’s with me?!

The One Where Dork is a Four Letter Word

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The arrival

So, how do I feel about the ending of Harry Potter? Obviously, it’s sad. I’ve had a few conversations with other Potter fanatics who’ve expressed their own critiques of the final (maybe) book in the series. Here are some of my random thoughts:

SPOILERS BELOW!!! IF YOU HAVEN’T READ THE BOOK, QUICKLY SCROLL TO THE BOTTOM OF THIS PAGE! Unless, of course, you’re Trent or another non-Potter fan that just wants all of this Harry Potter stuff to be over, already.

Point 1 (Seriously, this is about to be a spoiler so don’t read unless you’ve finished the book. And don’t be mad at me if you haven’t and this spoils you.): Snape (big surprise) isn’t evil!

I guessed this one as soon as I read Book 6. You just had to know that Dumbledore isn’t an idiot and had some grander plan that no one knew about. The extent to which Snape was good, though, was a surprise to me. He was just a poor guy who lost the girl and spent the rest of his life trying to make up for it.

Point 2: Ron and Hermione / Harry and Ginny

Um, duh, of course they were going to get together. I’m glad JK left out all of the gory details, but gave us just enough to know what was going on between them.

Point 3: All the freaking deaths!

I do have to admit I really didn’t cry while reading this book as I had when past characters have died in Books 5 and 6. There was just so much death, it really didn’t shock me into tears like the others did. I was glad JK didn’t kill off MAJOR characters (Ron, Harry, Hermione, Ginny), but I was still sad about poor Fred Weasley. And Tonks and Lupin right after they had their baby. And Mad-Eye. And Dobby! That was the one that almost brought me to tears…poor Dobby.

Point 4: The Necklace / The Lord of the Rings

I did feel like some of the themes and ideas in this book were taken from other fantasy books. For example, the necklace that held the Horcrux seemed extremely similar to the Ring of Power in the Lord of the Rings series. The way it affected everyone that wore it and how it caused Harry and Ron to act. How they all had to take turns wearing it and carrying the burden. Still a good theme, but I would’ve liked something a bit different here, more original.

Point 5: Is it really over?

I’m not sure, but I don’t think so. Harry’s story might be over, but the introduction of his kids, Ron and Hermione’s kids, Teddy Lupin and Victorie Weasley at the end give me hope of more. I’m thinking it may be like the CS Lewis series, where the characters grow up and their children continue the story in the same imaginary world. JK ended vaguely, so who knows what will happen.

OK, SPOILERS ARE OVER. YOU CAN CONTINUE READING NOW. IF YOU STILL WANT TO, THAT IS. I’M SURE MANY OF YOU HAVE STOPPED READING DUE TO ALL OF THIS HARRY POTTER STUFF. WHY AM I STILL TYPING IN CAPS?

Whew, that’s better. Anyway, to end all of the Potter-mania (at least until the next movie) here are some random links I’ve found in the past week or so pertaining to the HP series. Enjoy!

Top Ten Minor Harry Potter Characters A list of the best of the supporting characters.

Stephen King’s Thoughts on the End of the HP Series See, even literary giants think these are great books!

Harry Potter Recipes: Finally, I can make my own Butterbeer.

Want to talk about the book, but all of your co-workers keep making fun of you? Listen to Mugglecast, a Harry Potter podcast where they discuss the events/themes in Book 7 (this site contains spoilers, so don’t listen if you haven’t read the book).

Hermione Granger: Feminist Role Model A great article about how Hermione raised the bar for girls in kids’ books.

Thanks for listening (reading, whatever) to all of my Harry Potter ramblings for the past week. I promise, no more of this stuff for a while. I will keep my dorkiness reserved for things like Space Camp pictures and stories about my dog. And hopefully now Trent will stop whispering “I’m Voldemort” into the baby monitor when I’m trying to sleep.

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