June 12th, 2006 by Blythe
I resolve to try to curb my sporadic posting habits of the last couple of weeks. I do have a few excuses:
-Visit from one adorable niece, accompanied by her two minions/parents. They were on their way home to France from a jaunt to Hungary and we enjoyed our week playing with them, despite weather that reminded us of our days in the Pacific Northwest.
-Visit from Scott and Kerri and subsequent sightseeing, sausage-eating, and general merriment.
-Beginning of a certain major worldwide sporting event that everyone in the world is watching. Except in the USA because sports like American football and baseball are so much more exciting. Um, right.
Jeff scored World Cup tickets through tenacious participation in two different lotteries, so we will enthusiastically cheer on the USA next Saturday versus Italy and the following Thursday versus Ghana. Watch for us if you’ve got cable.
June 7th, 2006 by Blythe
I love filling out questionnaires, which means I love memes. Since I never seem to get tagged for these things, I’ve taken to stealing them from others. This one comes from Mena Trott, tech royalty.
Name your top 10 most played bands on iTunes:
1. Dandy Warhols
2. Anna Nalick
3. Nena
4. Coldplay
5. Jeff Buckley
6. Fettes Brot
7. Kelly Clarkson
8. INXS
9. Travis
10. Yo-Yo Ma
What was the first song you ever heard by 6 (Fettes Brot)?
Emanuela, the one I have on my iPod. I saw it on MTV Europe during our initial visit to Germany, and I couldn’t get it (or its goofy marching band video) out of my head.
What is your favorite album of 2 (Anna Nalick)?
Since she’s only got one…Wreck of the Day.
What is your favorite lyric that 5 (Jeff Buckley) has sung?
I know that there’s a god above/but all I’ve ever learned from love/is how to shoot somebody who outdrew ya
How many times have you seen 4 (Coldplay) live?
Never. CURSES.
What is your favorite song by 7 (Kelly Clarkson)?
I think this officially makes me uncool, but I really like “Since You’ve Been Gone.” And I’ll even admit to having a soft spot for “A Moment LIke This.”
What is a good memory you have involving the music of 10 (Yo-Yo Ma)?
I downloaded this because I heard it on an outstanding episode of The West Wing, where Josh suffers from post-traumatic stress disorder. Hearing it makes me nostalgic for the heady days of Aaron Sorkin-led TWW.
Is there a song of 3 (Nena) that makes you sad?
99 Luftballoons, only because it reminds me of all the bad clothes/hair/behavior of junior high school.
What was the first song you heard by 8 (INXS)?
The One Thing, on MTV, along with the sexy video involving food and slinky cats.
What is your favorite lyric that 2 (Anna Nalick) has sung?
There’s no turning back/we’re like cars on a cable/and life’s like an hourglass/glued to the table
How did you get into 3 (Nena)?
Well, there’s that whole 99 Luftballoons thing, but I rediscovered Nena when I moved to Germany and saw her cool Lass Mich video on TV.
What was the first song you heard by 1 (Dandy Warhols)?
Bohemian Like You. Yeah, I know, I lived in Portland and I didn’t hear them before they hit the mainstream. What of it?
What is your favorite song by 4 (Coldplay)?
Fix You
How many times have you seen 9 (Travis) live?
Never. Actually I only listen to one Travis song and don’t know anything else about them, but clearly I listen to this one song a lot.
What is a good memory you have involving 2 (Anna Nalick)?
I first heard her on my favorite radio station of all time, KINK FM 102 in Portland. (Don’t go to kink.com, you’ll get something else entirely.)
Is there a song of 8 (INXS) that makes you sad?
Mystify. Because it’s just such a great song, and I’ll never hear Michael Hutchence sing it again.
What is your favorite cover by 9 (Travis)?
Hit Me Baby One More Time, which is actually the only song by Travis that I listen to. But it’s a doozy.
June 6th, 2006 by Blythe
Let us raise our yellow pencils and pink erasers high to Katharine Close, who won the 79th annual national spelling bee last week. She correctly spelled “ursprache” after the runner-up misspelled “weltschmerz.” I immediately noted that both words were of German origin; all those weeks of German class apparently didn’t go to waste.
As a word geek, I’ve been following the pop culture rise of spelling bees in the past few years. From local celebrity bees to Broadway musicals to hit documentaries and feature films, spelling is the new skateboarding. This year’s bee was the first ever to be televised in prime time, possibly counteracting all those hours of King of Queens and Two and a Half Men that have been eating America’s brains for the past few years. For a little spelling fun of your own, check out the national bee’s practice word list.
June 3rd, 2006 by Blythe
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Our visit to Roma was full of sunshine, gelato, pasta, and old stuff. Really old. I’ve never before visited a city where ancient ruins and buildings stood in such harmony with surrounding modernness.
Click on the photo to see more pics from our trip.
