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A Colbert Christmas: December 3rd

Colbert at Christmas
Colbert Christmas DVD

Green Screen
Bill O'Reilly Interview

Fighting the absurd with the absurd.

The Days of Mixed Tapes

Back in the 80's and 90's, making mixed tapes was an important past time. I can't count how many I have in my parent's garage (though my mom probably knows, as she asks me to get rid of them almost every time I go home...sorry Mom!), most of them taped from the radio. When I got a new stereo and a CD player, I graduated to making tapes of songs from the CDs I owned...probably a little Janet Jackson mixed with some Trash Can Sinatras or something.

But the ultimate validation came when someone finally made ME a mixed tape. Making a mixed tape was not something to be taken lightly; songs were carefully chosen to set a mood, convey a feeling, introduce someone to something they wouldn't otherwise listen to. To me, getting a mixed tape made me feel so special. Seems silly now, but back then...

The first mixed tape I ever got was from my friend Howser (well, his name was Doug, which we changed to Doogie, which I changed to Howser, as in, M.D. He humored me). I think I had stolen borrowed a tape from him, which had an odd mix but I just loved. He decided it was time I listen to better music, which to him, was punk. So he made me a tape called "Intro to Punk," which had a variety of covers on the "fun" side and awesome music on the "serious" side.

I loved that tape.

We sat together and listened to it, him explaining the various bands to me, making me listen to the words...all the words. When we'd see a poster for a show, he'd point it out and we'd go. I must say...it was much easier to have someone tell me what to listen to!

That tape got me through college and then some. I am surprised I didn't wear it out. When I was having trouble with my lacrosse coach, I would put it in the Walkman, go to the Wall, and throw the shit out of the ball to the rhythm of Samiam's "Bad Day" or "United Cigar" by Good Riddance. They had the perfect anger rhythm, and I got super strong...too bad my coach hated me and still wouldn't play me (um...not bitter or anything).

Somewhere along the line, the actual tape got lost. But not too long ago I found the tape case with all the songs listed, and have been able to download a lot of them. I've been listening to them lately, which causes me to look crazy walking down the street, whipping my head around to the beat. It also makes me want to be back in Yosemite 35K dissecting every part of every song. Oh, and it makes me want to go play some lax, too!!

2 Minute Rule

Most people who know me know I am not the neatest person on the planet. I may try, but my surroundings are usually filled with piles of paperwork, clothes, shoes...all stuff that I could easily put away and just don't.

Recently, I was at lunch with a few coworkers, and we were talking about a class we had all taken together. At the end, we had to write ourselves a note, reminding us of a change we committed to making for 30 days at work. Mine had something to do with finding creative solutions before just saying no. My coworker's was the 2 minute rule -- don't put off something you can easily do within 2 minutes.

Interesting approach, I thought, and decided to apply it to my housekeeping. It only takes a minute to make my bed, to hang up my jacket, put my shoes in my closet...and it has totally changing the way my place looks! It looks so much better, neater, and I don't get so frustrated!

I am not perfect. It is easy to put it off, and sometimes I do. But it has totally changed the way I think about things. I love it!

Happy Thanksgiving.

It has surely been a year of change, and I feel like there are many reasons to give thanks.

This time last year I was a complete mess. Thankfully, I was able to get myself out of that situation and move onto something else. In May, I got the opportunity to head back to Sevilla for the first time in 10 years, and reunite with my amigos muchos. It was so much fun, and much too short a time. How I miss them and those days, and still now, six months later, my desire to go back to Sevilla has not subsided.

I am especially thankful that Americans wised up and made the better choice for our country, and, while it was a bittersweet day here in California, I am hopeful that something good will come out of this all.

My family has remained healthy throughout the year, with a new addition since last Thanksgiving and some excellent accomplishments. And my personal life I think, is going in a good way. We'll see on that one.

While we have a steep road ahead of us, I have hope that we will all reach the top together. I wish all of you a very happy Thanksgiving.

Help Make Dreams Come True!

Prom season is around the corner, and it is a pivotal part of high school for many teenagers.

Prom can be cost-prohibitive for many teens; The Princess Project strives to help lessen some of that burden by providing prom dresses and accessories for young women who otherwise could not afford it.

We are throwing a "Grant Wishes" party...check it out!

Here's to a New Tomorrow.

Yes we did, America. Yes we did.

Rough Road

The events of the last week had me really questioning humanity.

It started with the campaign, which took a really vicious turn. I was hoping, given the state of the world right now, that we wouldn't get into a character/scare-tactic arena with this one. Oh, I was wrong. Not only were there lies being spread, but the fear that has been instilled in us since 9/11 was preyed upon once again. Watching the news and reading the papers...it made me sad that people still think the way they do, and think that it is ok to shout racial epitaphs at people. Why the hate?

That is the other thing that gets me, and really hit me last week...that the people saying they are living a good Christian life really live a life of hate. The God I believe in certainly doesn't hate, and the Jesus I learned about in school lived a life of love and acceptance, not hate and "maybe I'll tolerate you."

Anyhoodle, then, the same day this is all going on, the Wall Street probe (probe, heh) broke the news that Lehman execs took millions of dollars in "bonuses" as their company was failing. Aren't bonuses only to be used when your company is doing well? And, a memo was released that had them laughing off the option of foregoing their bonuses for the year. Meanwhile, thousands lost their jobs and the failure of one of the oldest companies in the USA helped serve as a catalyst for worldwide economic failure. (yes, I know it wasn't the only reason, but it sure didn't help quell any fears and set off a panic)

I live with the belief that people are good. Even those who, on the surface, don't treat me or others well, I like to think that deep down there is a goodness that is for some reason in regression. It really knocks me for a loop when people blatantly disprove this notion of mine. It happened several times last week, and it was really disheartening.

Then came my birthday and the stock market crash. One of the worst days in history for the Dow. Happy Birthday to me:-)!

Debate This

I will admit...I enjoyed a bottle of wine during the debate. I also enjoyed G-chatting with my pal Robin throughout the grand event.

Our IMs went something like this:
annie: WTF is she talking about
robin: WhoTF knows
annie: YES
robin: YES
annie: OMGOMGOMG
robin: seriously?
annie: how many calories in a bottle of wine
robin: global warming?
annie: nice suit!
robin: OMG. What is she talking about
annie: no he didn't
robin: no he didn't
both: are people really so stupid that they'd believe this?

It was a way more entertaining debate, even without the wine.

Required Reading: Walking With the Wind

Sometime last year, my Uncle told me he had a book I would love. My Uncle understands me pretty well, so this piqued my interest. I asked him what it was about, and he said it was written by a guy named John Lewis, and it was about the Civil Rights movement. I told him I would check it out sometime...then he said that my cousin, his son, said he felt like he wanted to be a better person after reading this book. My cousin is a pretty good guy, so I figured this must be some kinda book.

They were right.

The first 2/3s should be required reading in every American history class. It is a first-hand account of the Civil Rights movement, focusing especially on how much of the success was a result of grass-roots efforts. It also went into the politics behind the movement -- which, yes, there were lots of politics at play.

I feel like we didn't learn much about the movement in my classes. Maybe a little about Rosa Parks and Martin Luther King, Jr. This book opened my eyes in a way no other book ever has. And it gave me a new way to look at people with whom I disagree, whose ignorance astounds me.
We are entering a huge time in our history, where we have the opportunity to make progress or move backwards. There is an eerie similarity to the Civil Rights movement and what's going on now. When zealots on either side of the coin obscure the issues, and use false reasoning to progress their cause. As we move to a place where more and more rights could be taken away, it is important we look back at this very recent history (John Lewis, the co-author and one of the leaders of the Civil Rights movement, is still serving in the Senate). All of this just happened about 40 some odd years ago.

Now's our chance to move forward. I just hope the best choices are made, and that in 40 some odd years, we look back at the "big" issues now with disbelief.

Oh, the Horror

Most people who know me know I don't embarrass easily. I can probably count on one hand the times I have been embarrassed:

1. Sitting in Sister Joan's office, and having to recount what the boys in my class were up to in front of my parents and Monsignor Lucid. This was true shame at its worst...and I hadn't even done anything wrong. To this day, it still makes me a little red in the face.
2. The day my dad started talking to the bum outside of my brother's graduation because he knew the bum and the bum's girlfriend. And there were people I knew standing in line in front of us...
3. When I first brought Luca to the vet because he had a little infection in his private area... I was in the waiting room with a bunch of good looking guys and their big dogs, and the nurse shouted at me, asking what was wrong with my little dog...and I had to decide to use proper terminology rather than "his wee-wee is infected."
4. Today, going into the doctor's office and having to tell her my leg -- which was swollen to about twice the normal size -- was a result of playing kickball. Yes, kickball, and yes, I am an adult (or so they tell me).

While she kept her cool when I was in the office, I bet she had a good chuckle when I left. I mean... adult, swollen leg, kickball...I tried to soften it by saying I had played soccer when the original injury had occurred, and she kept referring to soccer, so I think she, too, was trying to avoid the whole kickball issue. It was nice of her, I thought!