Saturday Sesame Street

I like how there were originally 1776 cherry trees in the orchard:

Saturday Sesame Street: Birthday Edition

For John, because unlike Bert, it is his birthday:



Happy birthday, John!

Also, a virtual cake for you:
(Stolen from Cake Wrecks)

I also highly recommend checking out John's project, Operation Backlog Slog, Days 1-5, 6, 7-9, 10-16, 17-27, 28-30, 31-33, & (so far) 24-43. Check out his explanation for liking Lady Gaga on that last one. It makes me fully embrace my own love for her music, and feel more secure in my decision to not be embarrassed about it.

The Song Currently Playing Loop-De-Loop In My Head

So, for the Christmas before last, my mother got me a record converter. It seemed like a present more for herself than me; but since I do have a sizable record collection for someone whose buying power didn't come about until a while after the record was the convenient and popular way to store music, it wasn't a complete bowling ball moment.

Skip to this year. We've been slowly, stintingly, sputtering along with the record conversion process. Mostly, because it takes a lot of time and you see little results. So, this last time around, we broke out the 45s to convert between full length records. And that's when my mom broke out this song:

James, James hold the ladder steady

James, James I'm packed tonight I'm ready

James, James hold the ladder steady

I'm a'comin' down to your ar-ar-ar-rms

I'm a'comin' down to your arms.

Now James and I we went to mama and showed her my diamond ring

She said "my poor little baby, you must be crazy, to think of such a

thing"

So James, James hold the ladder steady

James, James I'm packed tonight I'm ready

James, James hold the ladder steady

I'm a'comin' down to your ar-ar-ar-rms

I'm a'comin' down to your arms.

Now James and I we went to daddy and said that we want to be wed

Daddy said "nope, you'll just have to elope" and laughed as he went to

bed

But James, James hold the ladder steady

James, James I'm packed tonight I'm ready

James, James hold the ladder steady

I'm a'comin' down to your ar-ar-ar-rms

I'm a'comin' down to your arms.

I'd hate to see 'em in the morning when they both completely flip

He'll be sayin' "they cain't", she'll be feeling faint

And I'll be kissing my husband's lips

So James, James hold the ladder steady

James, James I'm packed tonight I'm ready

James, James hold the ladder steady

I'm a'comin' down to your ar-ar-ar-rms

I'm a'comin' down to your arms.

FADE

James, James hold the ladder steady

James, James I'm packed tonight I'm ready

James, James hold the ladder steady

It has been going around and around in my head for, literally, the last day and a half.

Lesson learned: Never let my mother pick out the 45s to play.

Dear iPod Genius Function:

Little less than three days ago, I thought you were the most brilliant thing ever. I thought you were the savior to humanity, that you would make me complete in ways I had not even fathomed were possible. Three days ago, my exaltations of your wonderfulness rang about the land - or to the four or so people I physically talked during those three days that would care/indulge me.

After a whirlwind courtship, I regret to say the bloom has fallen from the rose. The reason? You are obsessed with Conor Oberst. I know! I, too, am obsessed with Conor Oberst. I think he is brilliant. I love him. I listen to him constantly! Several of his songs are among the most played on my iPod. You seem to agree this was a good choice. Very well.

However. As much as I would normally agree that Conor Oberst goes with everything, I was hoping we could branch out a little bit. Or, if we constantly played Conor Oberst stuff, it wouldn't be the same Conor Oberst stuff - unless that is truly the cream of the crop. Which, no, is unfortunately not always the case.

Listen, I love Bowl of Oranges as much as the next person. But three times? In three different Genius playlists? Also, Eagle on a Pole? If we must have a Conor Oberst song on every Genius list you create, could we at least switch it up a bit? And could we dial back the Oberst love to only one song of his per playlist generated? That would also be swell, because my current Genius creation has five - count 'em, FIVE - songs by this man on it. Out of twenty-five! Even I, with my love for him, recognizes this as a bit excessive.

Once we handle the Oberst Overload, I think we should discuss how you seem to only pull the same artists and the same songs by those artists regardless of playlist generated. I understand that I listen to a lot of music that sounds the same. I understand that Conor Oberst can sound country, so if I pick a Ryan Adams country song or a Willie Nelson country song or a Johnny Cash country song, some Conor may show up. But what's the excuse for throwing in "Annie Waits" by Ben Folds? Or the same three She & Him tunes? Or the Shins?

I have a massive, massive amount of music to choose from, to go hog wild with and make a myriad of interesting and wonderful and exciting mixes. Mixes that will once again win my love and admiration. Mixes that include music I have forgotten I have! I'm not going to forget I have The Shins. Or Ben Folds. Or She & Him. Or Rilo Kiley. Really. I'm not. I listen to those guys on my own.

I'm sorry, Genius. I think we may have to break up. I'm leaving you for your more erratic cousin, Shuffle. Sure, I am often frustrated and skipping song after song I don't want to listen to in that moment. But at least it sometimes gives me The Clash, or Buffy Sainte Marie, or K.D. Lang. You do not. Maybe we'll see each other around.

Friday Random Ten

1) Rosie - Joan Armatrading

2)Natural Mystic - Bob Marley

3) Baboom/Mama Said - The Vaughan Brothers

4) Air Mattress - Conor Oberst and the Mystic Valley Band

5) There's A Place - The Beatles

6) Rock N Roll - Ryan Adams

7) Crying In The Chapel - Elvis Presley

8) More Than A Woman - Tavares

9) Tell All The People - The Doors

10) Trolley Wood - Eisley

The Coolest Thing

Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

I wish my high school had been, or in this moment was, that cool. Alas, no.

Saturday Sesame Street

One part of one of my favorite Christmas specials:

Monday Reading List

Clothing: The Newest Weapon Against Sexual Assault:

Adam Whiton, an MIT student, and Yolita Nugent, a clothing designer, are leading a research project to develop sensor-studded clothing for women that will record data about an attack in real time and store that information on a computer. Having such hard evidence about an attack may persuade more women to turn to the authorities in crisis situations, and this evidence may make it easier to prosecute and convict offenders.

Just How Pro-Choice Is America, Really?:

...in late 1995, a Florida Republican congressman named Charles Canady had a stroke of insight that would shift it to the realm of both the metaphysical and brutally physical, which is precisely where the pro-life movement wanted it all along. On the floor of the House, he introduced a bill that would ban so-called “partial-birth abortions,” a second-trimester surgical method previously known as intact dilation and extraction. The procedure was extremely upsetting to behold. In it, the fetus—or is it a baby?—is removed from the uterus and stabbed in the back of the head with surgical scissors. It’s a revolting image, one to which the public was ritualistically subjected on the evening news as the debate raged on the House and Senate floors. Defending it was a pro-choice person’s nightmare. Pat Moynihan compared it to infanticide. Clinton still vetoed the ban in 1996, but it was eventually signed into law in 2003 and withstood a Supreme Court challenge in 2007. More important, women were spooked. “A lot of our patients started asking whether or not the fetus felt pain after that, even if they were early along in their pregnancy,” says Albert George Thomas, who until two years ago had spent eighteen years as the head of the family-planning clinic at Mount Sinai.

Ads Gone Bad: The Dockers Man-ifesto:

Once upon a time, men didn't have anyone questioning their shit. They wanted to be congratulated for opening doors and walking across streets. Men were in charge because they kept everyone else down. But somewhere along the way, women wised up and were like, these dudes are fucking assholes and we'd like some freedom and autonomy now, please.

Three Examples of Rape Culture in Nice Guy (tm) Breast Cancer Activism:

Do you feel safer yet? Oh, but this is hilarious, right? Because no-one ever ACTUALLY touches breasts against their owner’s will! See? It’s SATIRICAL. Don’t you get it? The threat is just a JOKE! Lighten up, chicks! God, you’re so SERIOUS.

John's working on a new project, Operation Backlog Slog, Days 1-5, Day 6, and Days 7-9:

Beginning December 1st, I swore off purchasing any new music, movies, TV shows, video games, graphic novels until I finish my existing stockpile of each. I haven’t done a full inventory yet, but I’ve got at least 10 video games, 10 graphic novels (here, plus hundreds back home), two high-capacity DVD binders full of movies and TV shows and several albums to go through.

Stuff You Should Know's Josh and Chuck have a Kiva Team, of which I am a part, has raised $38,600, well on their way to the $100,000 challenge they've set for themselves.

And Toothpaste for Dinner!

toothpastefordinner.com

Charity Via Cake Wrecks

I like mocking the unfortunate results of other people's faulty creative output and I also love looking at pretty things, so I really love Cake Wrecks, the site featuring horrible, professionally made cakes days Monday through Saturday and really fantastic professionally made cakes every Sunday. Also, I have a love for passive aggressive notes, which, while not fulfilling the "pretty things" quotient more than makes up for that in the hilariously creative ways people passive-aggressively communicate via the written word.

Anyway, Cake Wrecks has a large following, due in part to the heinous cakes and in part because of the snark that accompanies them. And so, the creator(s) of the site have decided to do this really cool thing, charity-wise. And that is this:

So here's the deal: instead of buying gifts or trees or decorations this year, John and I are going to donate a minimum of $200 to a different charity or worthy cause, every day, for the next two weeks.

Which ones?

Well, that's where you come in.

See, we have a few organizations in mind, but certainly not 14. So, I'm asking for your recommendations.What are you passionate about? Where do you volunteer your time, talents, and money? Who do you know that needs help? Tell me in the comments (not e-mail!), so that we all can read and learn and maybe even give a little together.

Oh, and if you're worrying that CW is going to turn into a charity-pushing propaganda site for the next few weeks: don't. I'll just be adding a footnote to each day's post giving you the name of the organization, a one-sentence summary, and a link if you want to learn more.

Now, John and I will be choosing each day's charity based on our own individual passions - which might not match up exactly with your own - but even so I'm going to issue you a little challenge. Ready? Here 'tis:

Give one dollar to each day's charity.

If you each give one dollar - just one solitary smackeroo - together we can raise over $80,000 each day. BAM. Just like that. Imagine that 14 times over, all for worthy causes. Imagine the number of lives that could impact. Imagine, if you will...the bragging rights.

Yeah, you heard me. When you get involved in something that awesome, you get major bragging rights.

Ok. So. You pumped? You with me? You...ready for this post to be over? Heh, I hear ya.

I, for one, am pumped! I am ready and willing and able to give one dollar per day to a charity for the next 2 weeks! And I've decided to spread the word! They've already got three charities up. Those are:

Charity: Water

St. Jude Children's Research Hospital

Heifer International And, for ease of payment, Cake Wrecks has set up a Firstgiving page.

So, if the Christmas spirit grabs you, stop by Cake Wrecks, check out the wreckage (or wonder), and peruse the charity o' the day.

A Post In Which I Review Dollhouse's "The Left Hand"

I'm kind of depressed about how long it has taken to write this review, partially because after Hulu kept crapping out during the episode I broke down and bought it for 3.99 on iTunes. Of course, I now have one of my favorite scenes ever on my iPod constantly, so maybe it's all a wash in the end.

So, I'm going to do something I've been avoiding since this Healthcare debate thingy started in Congress, and that is talk about the state of Healthcare and those Congresspeople making the laws. Because Joss Whedon told me to. Seriously. Don't believe me? I offer Evidence A (which is actually from The Public Eye):

No one is saying the work these corporations do isn't vital, but there must be accountability. The health of our citizens cannot be held hostage to a profit motive.

Sounds like some healthcare angst to me. Evidence B is the fact Perrin is a man made and supported by the very industries he is supposed to be going after. Say, that's kind of like my own state senator, a Mr. Joe Lieberman! Who is a guy I voted for, in part because he campaigned in 2006 on the promise of fighting for a Public Option! Which, in turn, has made me into the schmuck of my immediate family! Who, of the two other members who are legal voting age, voted for Ned Lamont! Damn Lieberman! Oh, this also goes for a whole bunch of other people in Congress. Perrin, who is very much a demonstration of false consciousness, is used to validate and prop up the very industries that are going to bring about the end of civilization, Epitaph One style. Which, in turn, makes me think those Whedony people are probably pretty pissed and concerned with the way the Healthcare fight is going. Also, kind of like they think our elected officials are bought and paid for by Big Corporations, which is also the tale of today's Non Sequitur. There's probably a lot more to say about this issue and Dollhouse's handling of it, but I'm going to move on, now.

To Cindy Perrin. Who kind of gets the bad end of every stick. I know I'm not supposed to sympathize with someone who is clearly not on the Moral Train, but Cindy does stir something in me resembling empathy. And that is because she is pretty much in the exact same position as the Dolls, except she doesn't have the benefit of being a True Believer. She is used as just another object for the Dollhouse's purposes. And she is trapped by her role as a wife:

I can't stand you. Having to be your wife, letting you touch me, pretending that when it doesn't disgust me, it doesn't bore me? That has been really hard.

She is being forced to have sex with a man she does not love, forced to allow someone she doesn't even like, to touch her. And while I think her anger and hatred is more than a bit misguided - it isn't Perrin's fault, after all - it is also entirely realistic to rail against the person trapped with you in this type of farce than the nameless, faceless decision-makers that put you both there. And then, she dies. Cindy Perrin's situation just drives further home the idea that the Dollhouse - and Rossum - don't actually see people, merely opportunities to do what is best for their own self-interest. Which is, actually, yet another arm of the "corporations are soulless and need to be controlled for our own good" argument the entire show seems to be making.

What I really want to discuss, though, is the geekiest love affair known to man, and that is the mutual lovefest between Bennett Halverson and Topher Brink. Mostly for this:

BENNETT: How do you work it? The disrupter?

TOPHER: How'd you know it was called that?

BENNETT: What else would you call it?

TOPHER: A signal goes out for 50 feet, but everywhere. That's what messed up your senator and ruined your evil plan.

BENNETT: If you route the signal through here, it becomes directional. Not like a bomb. More like a taser.

TOPHER: Huh! (Tries To Tase Bennett) Huh.

BENNETT: Did - did you just try to tase me?

TOPHER: No? No, No! That would result in - you'd be unconscious. Why would I want that?

BENNETT: And it only works on Actives. I'm concerned that you may have just tried to tase me.

If only there were more times in life when one could say, "I'm concerned that you may have just tried to tase me". But it is their geekitude, their giddiness when bouncing ideas off one another, and their ultimate betrayal of each other - Topher by stealing Perrin's brain scan, Bennett by trying to kill Echo - that truly makes the episode for me. Well, them and:

VICTOR-TOPHER: What you're not getting, man-friend, is that this whole operation is dependent upon me. Not, uh, brain-constructy me, but "Bond, James Bond" me. Which is, not so me.

BOYD: Vic-Topher. All you hae to do is stay calm.

VICTOR-TOPHER: This from the guy who had to dismember my last little outing?!

Whedon has done the one person in two bodies before with Xander Harris on Buffy, being played by Nicholas Brendon (who was normally Xander) and his twin brother (who normally was not). This was better. Giving Enver Gjokaj opportunity upon opportunity to shine makes Dollhouse an incredible actor's vehicle - just not the actor it was designed for. Gjokaj's ability to go beyond mimicry, to actually embody the character created by another actor, is incredible. I was beyond impressed when he became Dominic last season. His Topher was even more superb, possibly because Topher is a exaggerated character to begin with. The concept could have become a gross parody of itself, but instead it was both masterfully written and acted. It was fun and self-aware and perfect, for the show and for the two actors. And my favorite moments were their interactions, possibly because two Tophers are always going to be better than one in my world.

But, again, it is Topher-Topher who truly makes the episode for me. From his:

I'm just here for Echo. My last ethical quandary was... unhelpful.

to his:

This isn't about Caroline! This is about Echo!

to his:

It wouldn't be a second opinion! It would be the same opinion twice!

It is Topher's emerging and continuing humanity that keeps me engaged. It is his continuing moral development that makes him still profoundly interesting. The fact that both he and Victor-Topher are still so focused on his last "ethical quandary" makes him a person with real regret and remorse. The fact that he sees Echo as a distinct person, as a friend separate from Caroline, makes him someone for whom the Dolls are becoming more and more, as themselves, actual people. And then there is the continuation of the idea he first expressed in the season opener to Whiskey/Saunders. What Topher is concerned about intellectually isn't so much having someone who agrees with him, who thinks like him and who will come to the same conclusions he has, but someone who will be able to see where he is blind. The fact that he doesn't want himself around for help analyzing Perrin's brain map could just be an ego thing, until it is related back to the idea that he is terrified he is going to miss something, and that someone will get hurt.

And yet, the most important part of the episode may be something Bennett herself was blinded to. She tells Topher:

I have a theory that the human brain can hold multiple imprints and still function... ...Not a composite. Something new.

This is what Echo is. This is what Echo develops into. This is what Bennett herself doesn't see when she at first tells Echo, and then Topher, that Echo is merely a shell - and at the same time Caroline. Topher seems to have a better handle on the fact that the person Echo is now is separate from who Caroline was, but the implications of that statement are far-reaching. What it does is offer a bit of hope for humanity even as it explains Echo's own existence. It offers up a new kind of humanity, after we have been ravaged by the world of Epitaph One. It is the series' optimistic rallying cry, that all is not lost. And, it creates a whole host of coolness we'll never have a chance to see fully examined.

We do see it examined partially, though, through the experiences of the escaped Perrin and Echo:

PERRIN: Even if I could, I don't know if I want to be the man I was before.

ECHO: I understand.

PERRIN: You do, don't you?

ECHO: I'm afraid of Caroline. If she comes back, where do I go? I don't want to fall asleep, even for a little while.

Echo is probably afraid of Caroline at least in part because she saw what Caroline did to Bennett, but the underlying fear that coursed through Whiskey/Saunders is also present here. These are people, and they exist. But the bodies they exist in are not, strictly speaking, theirs. And what we see through Perrin and Echo is this desire to continue to live on, to not disappear into the night. And it makes Echo into what she needs to be, a character in her own right and not just a placeholder for a person we have yet to truly and deeply meet. It creates just that one more level of moral and emotional conflict. And that, along with the fun, makes The Left Hand possibly my favorite episode of Dollhouse.

Grade: A+

Quotes of the Episode:

VICTOR-TOPHER: She's going to look at my 1.0, and she'll know!

BOYD: I have to track down Ballard. You just run the house and wait for yourself to call.

TOPHER: I poo you not!

BENNETT: I'm concerned that you may have just tried to tase me.

BENNETT: You hacked into my system. Stole Perrin's brain map.

TOPHER: You're trying to kill Echo!

BENNETT: So we're even?

Saturday Sesame Street

Yesterday, on my way home from work, It's Not That Easy Being Green came on my iPod. And so I knew exactly what video I was going to pick:


I always always always tear up when I hear this song. Because I'm more than a little pathetic. But also because it makes me think of this version:



This one, I don't have on my iPod. For what should be obvious reasons.

Friday Random Ten

1) Little Thing - Dave Matthews

2) When You Got A Good Friend - Robert Johnson

3) Crazy Little Thing Called Love - Rihanna

4) Long Shot - Aimee Mann

5) The Tide Is High - Blondie

6) Blue Suede Shoes - Brian Setzer

7) Stop - Ryan Adams & The Cardinals

8) Eagle on a Pole - Conor Oberst and the Mystic Valley Band

9) Circles - Incubus

10) Graveyard Blues - John Lee Hooker

Male Bands: 7
Bands with Women: 1
Women Bands: 2

Women: 3
Men: 25

The Cutest Website Ever

Is Disapproving Rabbits! Look:

And more cuteness!


Between this and Plants vs Zombies, my life is kind of complete.

Oh, and Bob Dylan's Christmas CD. That's totally made of win, too.

Quote of the Day

I like how the comics are in the Business Section.

- My sister.

I, too, like how the comics are in our Business Section.

Saturday Sesame Street

"We superheroes bruise easily, you know":

Friday Random Ten

1) The Other Night Blues - B.B. King


2) Big Shot - Billy Joel


3) Mustang Sally - The Commitments


4) Five O'Clock World - The Vogues


5) Kansas City/Hey-Hey-Hey-Hey! - The Beatles


6) Don't Ever Love Me - Harry Belafonte


7) Blue - Joni Mitchell

• Blue by Joni Mitchell

More Joni Mitchell music on iLike

8) Same Girl - Jack Johnson


9) Black & Gold - Sam Sparro


10) 1989 - Mindless Self Indulgence


Male Bands: 7
Bands with Women: 2
Women Bands: 1

Women: 6
Men: 20

Josh & Chuck (Well, Mostly Josh) Issue Stephen Colbert A Challenge

That's pretty much it, actually:


In case anyone doesn't know, Stuff You Should Know is one of my favorite podcasts. I also contribute to Josh and Chuck's Kiva team, because I don't know how to say no to organizations who want my money. Actually, I do. It's called "I made a 12 month list, 12 organizations get a month, and if you harass me about giving you more money during that 12 month period after I've explained the system, you're sitting out for at least a year while another equally worthy organization takes your spot". Josh and Chuck have a month, and they don't harass me for more money. Because they're unaware I exist. Which works out well for them as well as me, since that means whenever I get fed up with an organization (ACLU, I'm looking at you!), I tell them they've lost their month to the Stuff You Should Know Kiva team.

All of this is to say: Josh and Chuck bring the hilarity. And cue cards. And so I'm hoping many, many people help them reach $100,000 in loans. Also, I'm amazed at the 750,000 downloads a week stat, though not surprised by Chuck bringing it.

So, if you feel like joining in the weekly hilarity, the Stuff You Should Know podcast is on iTunes, and also here. Their blog is here. And their Kiva team is here. They're one of the brightest spots to my week.

Saturday Sesame Street

Featuring one of my favorite people, Madeline Kahn:

Saturday Sesame Street

Savion Glover is incredible:

Friday Random Ten

1) Wispering Bells - The Del Vikings

2) Straighten Up And Fly Right - Natalie Cole

Straighten Up and Fly Right - ...

3) For What It's Worth - Buffalo Springfield

4) Hello - Oasis

5) The Happy Ending - Phantom Planet

The Happy Ending - Phantom Pla...

6) Man in Black - Johnny Cash

7) Wake Up - Alanis Morissette

8) Brand New Day - Van Morrison

Brand New Day - Van Morrison

9) The Fall of the World's Own Optimist - Aimee Mann

10) Cars Trucks Buses - Phish

Male Bands: 7

Bands with Women: -

Women Bands: 3

Women: 3

Men: 26