Leeder

Leeder

:: 2009 15 January :: 11.50am
:: Music: Vampire Weekend - I Stand Corrected

Best of 2008
Top CDs
1. TV on the Radio - Dear Science
2. My Morning Jacket - Evil Urges
3. The Hold Steady - Stay Positive
4. The National - Boxer (2007)
5. Vampire Weekend
6. We Are Scientists - Brain Thrust Mastery
7. Jenny Lewis - Acid Tongue
8. David Byrne & Brian Eno - Everything That Happens Will Happen Today
9. Augustana - Can't Love, Can't Hurt
10. Death Cab for Cutie - Narrow Stairs
11. Snow Patrol - A Hundred Million Suns
12. Flight of the Conchords
13. Nine Inch Nails - The Slip
14. Nine Inch Nails - Ghosts I-IV
15. The Raconteurs - Consolers of the Lonely

Top Movies*
1. The Dark Knight
2. 4 Months, 3 Weeks and 2 Days (2007)
3. Valkyrie
4. The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
5. WALL-E
6. The King of Kong (2007)
7. Cloverfield
8. Get Smart
9. Chicago 10 (2007)
10. Step Brothers

*This is kind of a misnomer, since I haven't seen the majority of 2008 films that I wanted to. With the assistance of Netflix, I hope to correct this before the Oscars.

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taoman1121

:: 2009 14 January :: 2.20pm

Damon Lindelof on Season 5 of 'Lost'
'One thing we all decided was, the biggest mistake we could make in Season 5 would be to hold back or slow down or go back to a stalling modality. We've basically been feeding the audience crystal meth for a year, to cut them off cold turkey and give them a pack of chewing gum and say, "We'll give you more crystal meth in Season 6," would have been a disaster. When you piss off a junkie, they will do almost anything to get their drug.'

Well said.

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jedibumblebee

:: 2009 13 January :: 8.20pm

new music recommendations please?

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taoman1121

:: 2009 7 January :: 11.22pm

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jedibumblebee

:: 2009 6 January :: 9.59pm

Update
Start: April 4, 2008
End: January 1, 2011

The Mission: Complete 101 preset tasks in a period of 1001 days.

The Criteria: Tasks must be specific (ie. no ambiguity in the wording) with a result that is either measurable or clearly defined. Tasks must also be realistic and stretching (ie. represent some amount of work on my part).

Why 1001 Days? Many people have created lists in the past - frequently simple goals such as New Year's resolutions. The key to beating procrastination is to set a deadline that is realistic. 1001 Days (about 2.75 years) is a better period of time than a year, because it allows you several seasons to complete the tasks, which is better for organizing and timing some tasks such as overseas trips or outdoor activities.

My 101:
Read more..

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jedibumblebee

:: 2009 4 January :: 9.32pm

Randomness
It's really fun to take someone's journal and enter in the following:
www.woohu.com/~username/back/600/
total weirdness and nostalgia time.

If they made a movie of your life, would I be a character in it? Who would play me?

I'd like to think that if I made a movie of my life, I would be played by Alyson Hannigan (a la How I Met Your Mother). And Paul could be Jason Segal.

Upon reflection, I'm starting to think that I must have sucked as a girlfriend. I'm sorry (to all of you).

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taoman1121

:: 2009 1 January :: 11.28pm

My Morning Jacket - Two Halves
Remember when you were seventeen
You goin' crazy, you know what I mean
It wasn't that long ago
In the grand scheme of things
It wasn't that long ago
You think you're so much smarter now
Twenty one everything stays in place
Forty one some things start to fade
Well when you're so young, you wanna be older
And when you're older, you want the body you have now
I believe in a perfect world
You rule your own universe
The only gun you'll ever need will be in your brain
The only gun you'll need is in your hands

You want this now you want that
Can't have it all you should enjoy what you have
But I know what you want
Well I know what you want
Well I know what you want, you want the better of two halves!
Well I know what you want
Well I know what you want
Well I know what you want, you want the better of two halves!

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taoman1121

:: 2008 30 November :: 9.58pm
:: Music: Nada Surf - Always Love

Things that occurred to me while watching the Giants today:

- It's probably time for me to pick up Dominik Hixon and Kevin Boss off waivers.
- While I think knowing that games can end in a tie is a must for fans and players alike, I can't blame anyone for not knowing that you can only call for a fair catch with one hand. Penalizing a team 5 yards for making sure defenders know that a player is calling for a fair catch seems a little... nit-picky.
- At this point in the season, 11-1 almost seems preferred to 12-0 (provided we go on to defend our title, of course). Less distractions this way.
- Finally, and perhaps most importantly, Hix is the new Plax. If I'm ready to move on, so should the team.

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taoman1121

:: 2008 17 November :: 11.57am

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taoman1121

:: 2008 28 October :: 2.06pm
:: Music: Led Zeppelin - Since I Been Loving You

My dad sent this article to me and some of my uncles today:
http://www.ornery.org/essays/warwatch/2008-10-05-1.html

My response:
Looking at the recipient list just now, I found myself playing a game of "one of these is not like the other." I do appreciate the opposing viewpoint though. Mr. Card actually had me for a while, up until he started engaging in the same mean-spirited mudslinging and finger-pointing that he accuses our Congress of. To tell you the truth, I'm still boggled we're having this discussion when it comes to our Congress. The Democrats took it over four years ago and have gotten about as much done as the former occupants. It seems, at this point, we should be able to agree on one thing: that the majority of our elected officials are about as effective as the Detroit Lions (please note that this has been the true for both for approximately the same period of time). I can tell you one thing that your favorite bleeding-heart liberal nephew/son believes: he wouldn't have voted for that bailout plan if he was given the chance. God forbid the lenders (and the homeowners, for that matter) take responsibility for getting us into this mess. Then again, this in some way probably highlights my naive ignorance when it comes to macro-economics... I really gotta take a class in that stuff.

I can tell you one (other) thing though, it's never been a better time to be a poor graduate student living in one of the most expensive urban hubs in the U.S. Economic crisis? What economic crisis?

Oh, by the way, you can't give much credence to anything that Orson Scott Card guy says. He writes sci-fi. I read a book he edited about 'Lost.' Seriously. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Orson_Scott_Card What, are we going to start looking to Kurt Vonnegut for political viewpoints now? ;-)

All my best,
J.

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taoman1121

:: 2008 24 October :: 11.36am
:: Mood: rhetorical

I was talking to a student today who has shown up for only a handful of classes this semester and who is serious jeopardy of not passing if they choose to stick with the class as opposed to withdrawing. I felt like I was taking an empathic, but firm, stance on their performance thus far in the class. Then, after the student left, the instructor after me remarked about how nice I was to the student, and that she is a lot tougher/meaner in those situations. Normally, I would have felt discouraged by that, but I'm finally to a point to where I'm comfortable enough in that it just felt more ironic than anything else. It's true, though... except in very rare cases where they really piss me off, I don't know how to be an asshole. I blame my upbringing for my inability to be a true sonuvabitch while in a position of authority. On the other side, I've been on the other side on the coin for most of my life, and I know, or at least believe, that management by intimidation and outright dick-age doesn't work that well either. Where's that thin line between democratic, authoritarian, and outright pushover? I'm still learning. I guess we all are.

Another question: Where's that line between resolute and stubborn? I've always believed in upholding your values, whatever they may be, but when it comes at the cost of everything else, when do you just give in, mostly because that thing just doesn't matter to you enough to get all bend out of shape over? I know I'm sounding overly dramatic, and it's not meant to be. Once again, this is just me evaluating my own behavior, trying to strike that perfect balance. Funny me, I keep thinking an evenhanded temperament is the true key to an utopian society.

In any event, my stomach is screaming at me. Time to feed the beast.

P.S. The titles for the first six episodes of Season 5 are out, and are as tantalizing as usual. Check them out behind the cut. And if you don't know what show I'm talking about, maybe you should take another look at my journal background.

Read more..

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taoman1121

:: 2008 23 October :: 6.24pm

I just finished the house-cleaning of my Gmail account that's been ongoing for a little while now.
I now have a mere 66 total messages, which has to be an all-time low since I started teaching.
Meanwhile, I have 462 messages in my trash...