Friday, December 14, 2007

Monday, June 11, 2007

a journalist walks into a baseball game and...

...is ejected because he's live blogging? The NCAA claims they own the game until it's over. Go higher education! That's the spirit.

"Once a player hits a home run, that's a fact. It's on TV. Everybody sees it. [The NCAA] can't copyright that fact."

Tuesday, June 05, 2007

terrorists 1; teachers 0

tonight marked some more debates among our GOP candidates and not a word about education or schools. But let's keep fighting terror.

Awesome.

Thursday, May 03, 2007

false advertising

My one photo from the Bright Eyes show last Saturday at the Denver Center for the Performing Arts, before I walked out after four songs, completely bored. The whole thing was hugely pretentious and maybe, maybe appropriate for somebody who, say, had 2 or 3 decades of arena performances under the belt. conor's an indie baby. but in his white stayin' alive suit and jackassy jaunt, he was more of a self-important douche.

conor: i hear some of you missed your prom for this show. so let's dance to this next one. c'mon everybody, let's dance.


did he even go to his prom? get off me. I so much wish I had gone to Electric Six instead.

excellent birthday spam

Thursday, April 19, 2007

what the hell.

my blog is all f'ed up. what happened to my pictures, I wonder to myself. Fuck.

crazy. but that's how it goes

In other distractions, I joined twitter.

Thursday, April 12, 2007

where's the snow.

They were predicting a blizzard today. It was supposed to start at 4. There's no blizzard. I need school to be canceled tomorrow. It would make a four day weekend, since there's no school on Monday. C'mon, weather.

Today, toward the end of math class, one of my students asked me (fairly loudly) why I was so funny today. I'm always funny, I reply. You just never listen. Betty, another student, contributes, "oh, it's because she ate today. She's always in a better mood when she eats." Which made me question her logic, seeing how 1. I eat the same exact thing every day and 2. Betty has lunch in my classroom daily and watches me eat. That's right, daily. Usually it's just her, but today more kids figured my class was better (and warmer) than outside, so like 6 kids came up to play cards and eat the cashews I always share at lunch.

Cashews are magical, I tell them.

Better than hot cheetos, in any event.

Sunday, April 08, 2007

coffee update

so I started drinking my homemade coffee black. because i ran out of milk and had no choice. but that's not the point.

friday evening, after a day of skiing with my students, i was at the irish rover. not with my students. i was standing outside, keeping my smoker friends company, but not smoking, when this vaguely familiar face came up to me and said,

hey, i know you. you come into the starbucks on broadway. you drink a vanilla latte."


Correction, I respond. I used to drink a vanilla latte. Now I just drink black coffee. No fancy drinks for me.

"Why not?"

"Too expensive. I can't be wasting all my money on vanilla lattes."

"Oh. Well, if you come in when I'm working, you can have whatever you want and I'll just charge you for a black coffee."

Check.

Last night's whiskey drinking was punctuated by an uncharacteristic visit to some warehouse club, falling down some stairs, a giant bruise on my leg, and little to no lesson learned.

black coffee.mp3 Bjork & Tricky

Thursday, March 29, 2007

last night at lola's...

probably lasted far longer than it should have.




Tuesday, March 27, 2007

sweet, wonderful coffee

so after my semi-victory of my local starbucks hombres 1. remembering my drink and 2. remembering that i am a regular customer, my need for over-priced, over-roasted and over-flavored coffee beverages has been satiated.

I finally grinded the tasty yet neglected coffee beans from Porto Rico Imports, much to the dismay of my cat. Who hates the sound. But loves when I make my own coffee because he knows that somewhere, somehow, there is milk in store for him.

I forgot how delicious regular coffee is. Yes, still with milk and sugar but at least it's a start. Once the weather warms up consistently, I will do my best to switch to black. It is going to be warm today, though, so off on my bike I shall ride. I wish Spring Break could last until Summer Break.

Just what i needed.mp3 The Cars

Monday, March 26, 2007

8 days of nothing

today marks the official start of spring break. which was unhappily punctuated by a call this morning at 7:45 from my realtor:

"Rebecca, is it a good time?"
"I guess so," I replied sleepily.

I want to make sure that you are aware of this, this, this and this, and also this differential that and everything else in the world, here it is."

"Um, I lied. I'm actually sleeping. I have no idea what you just said."
"I'll call you later."
Click.

Anyway, from this weekend, tator tots and whiskey. Beat that.

Friday, March 23, 2007

restoring faith

can faith be restored when it never actually existed to begin? maybe it just becomes a lack of disappointment.

anyway, i went into starbucks yesterday morning--yes, every single day I continue to pay way-too-much for an unfair and inequitable flavored coffee beverage, despite my home delivery of the best coffee beans around (Porto Rico Imports). But this day would be different for I had forgotten to bring my mug.

So when I got to the counter, the manager breezed by me and said, "Rebecca, where's your mug?" Stunned, I explained that I had forgotten it. He smiled and questioned,

Will you still have a grande* vanilla latte?"
"Um... yes," I replied slowly

As I left the store, the man behind the register called out,
See you tomorrow."

Mission accomplished. Thanks, Starbucks.

I remember.mp3 Damien Rice


*I always order a medium and refuse to call a medium by any other name just because some corporate giant has trademarked an otherwise inaccurate description of the one in the middle.

Tuesday, March 20, 2007

the hierarchy of internet safety

  • streaming_media
  • r rated
  • pornography/adult content
  • dubious/unsavory

    Dubious slash unsavory? By far the best denial of all.




  • Monday, March 19, 2007

    on the rocks

    taking a night off from whiskey drinking to post some pictures about whiskey drinking.

    whiskeybreath.mp3 Devotchka





    almost there.

    On hold with my mortgage company. I once loved my mortgage company. That is, until they put me on hold for 22 minutes and forced an instrumental eight-minute version of Lisa Stanfield's "If I could change the way" upon my unwilling ears. Still on hold. New song. This one sounds country. I can't quite place it. Oh, I'm off hold. Michelle, my loan associate, does not know what is playing on the instrumental channel. And no, they don't give her a playlist. Anyway, I love my mortgage company again because they approved my loan and I am One Step Closer to growing up. On a related note, I spent yesterday afternoon hanging out at the denver art museum with my niece. And llama riding. Which was purely coincidental. So all day she had been talking about her new friend Maddy and how excited she was to have a new neighborhood friend and Maddy this and Maddy that and when I dropped her off, I got to meet Maddy who, after I smiled and offered sweetly but not condescendingly in that tone that adults use with children whom they know should be kept on their good side, "It's so nice to meet you; I've heard so much about you," gasped as her jaw dropped and said, "you're Aunt Becky? You are not what I was expecting." And so of course I asked her, a little bemused, exactly what she was expecting. She thought, from the stories that Lily told her about me, that I was Lily's age. Lily is five. I'm not sure what to make of this.

    2 + 2 = 5.mp3 Radiohead Baby Rock

    Wednesday, March 14, 2007

    growing up, part two

    Having my second go-round at real estate. Rather than the 19th century fix-me-up residential jalopy I was sure that I was craving, I decided to heed my infinitely-wiser brother's advice and consider a condo. So I did. And when I walked in, and saw the shiny wooden floors, granite countertops and stainless-steel appliances beaming newly with pride, I was sold.

    Tomorrow the contract headaches begin anew.

    Here it goes again.mp3 OK Go
    Here I go again.mp3 Whitesnake

    Monday, March 12, 2007

    why starbucks should fail

    i enjoy coffee as much as the next girl. i have my beans delivered to my house, even. but i keep forgetting to grind those beans.

    so for the last two months or so, i've been stopping by my neighborhood Starbucks for a medium vanilla latte. Every single morning. Same time. The same people wait on me. Every single day for eight weeks.

    And every single day, they ask me what I'm drinking. Every day.

    Here's the thing is that it might be nice if they just tried to guess. Even if they were wrong. It might be nice.

    Here's the other thing is that every single day I bring in my own cup: a bright orange cup with a sticker of a horse on it. There's a fucking horse sticker on my cup. And nobody notices that I come every day.

    It's not like they're completely aloof. This morning, the younger girl barista told me I looked like a movie star in my sunglasses. On Friday, the older lady barista told me she liked my hair in a ponytail and asked me if I was ready for spring. Christ, that same lady once asked me if I knew who won the Frontier Airlines Denver's Favorite Animal contest. "Ummmm, no..." I replied slowly. The customer behind me thought it might have been a penguin.

    Every time I have to remind them at the register that it's a personal cup and I get a ten cents discount (whoo!). Today, the young girl barista was ringing me up and, as she rang up my order, I remind her that it was my own cup.

    Personal cup, you mean?"
    "Yes," I reply, "every single day."
    "Oh, good for you!" she offers in mock enthusiasm.

    Last week, the flamboyantly-friendly guy barista, after I paid, commanded for me to hold on a minute. He then reached into his tip canister, grabbed a dime, and exclaimed, "Oops! I forgot to give you your personal mug discount,"as he dropped the dime into my hand.

    I think this began to officially annoy me on Thursday, after I went to my local hipster pizza place for the third time in two weeks. I walked in and, without even looking up, the guy behind the counter said, "Greek salad, right?" Three fucking visits and they know why I'm there. Because it's their job. And they didn't even try to upsell me, like they do every single morning at Starbucks. I don't want your crappy pastries, Starbucks. I don't even want your crappy coffee, it's just on the way and I keep forgetting to grind my beans. And when I get to the counter, and you say to me, "any pastries today?" and I say, "no thanks," do not accuse me with, "are you sure? I saw you looking in that pastry case." Yeah I was looking in your pastry case. What else am I going to look at while I stand in line? Shall I whip out my phone with defiant self-importance, confident that everybody in the entire store wants to hear my business at 7:30 in the morning (loudly, at that)?

    I'm going to go grind me some coffee.

    ...although the masochist in me wants to go back to Starbucks for as long as it takes for them to remember my drink order. Or, at the very least, let me know that they know that I'm there every morning. I'm a regular, dammit! Notice me.



    Music for morning people.mp3 Kid Koala
    Fucking alone.mp3 Iggy Pop

    Tuesday, March 06, 2007

    ending the day with a song

    Sentiments of love and hate.mp3
    (right click on link + save as to download file.)
    Total playing time: 32.14.


    Late-night music-compiling feeling-sorry-for-self sort of mood.

    1. Tom Waits - 2:19
    2. Grizzly Bear - Shift
    3. Decemberists - 16 Military Wives
    4. Modest Mouse - Satin in a Coffin
    5. Deerhoof - Flower
    6. Simon & Garfunkel - Only Living Boy in New York
    7. Uncle Tupelo - Still Be Around
    8. Deerhunter - Lake Somerset
    9. M. Ward - Chinese Translation
    10. The Boy Least Likely To - Warm Panda Cola

    Wednesday, February 28, 2007

    Maybe I wasn't meant to grow up

    The inspection report on the house was miserable. Miserable! So it looks like I am a not a homeowner after all. My inspector told me that it was the worst house he had ever seen and that, under no circumstances, could he recommend its purchase.

    Adding to my Be A Grown Up Initiative was this weekend's purchase of a bunch of mutual funds. Nice that my Very First Business Day would welcome the very worst stock drop in six years.

    Which makes me want to immediately take off for the Greek islands with only my passport and a credit card. Or, at the very least, take advantage of Frontier's round trip special this weekend of Denver to Mazatlan for $159.

    I don't wanna grow up.mp3 performed by The Ramones
    I don't wanna grow up.mp3 written and performed by Tom Waits

    Saturday, February 24, 2007

    growing up a little

    As of yesterday, I am a home-owner. It needs a handful of work and is just on the fringe of an emerging neighborhood (according to the American Planning Association, anyway) and I am so excited I can hardly stand it.

    Come On A My House.mp3
    Rosemary Clooney

    Tuesday, February 13, 2007

    Mix Tape 07 Part 3 of 3

    Fourteen Degrees on a Tuesday Evening (getting colder).
    (right click on link + save as to download file.)
    Total playing time: 32.14.


    The third in my thirty-minute series of nothing much at all.

    1. Jim White - Burn the River Dry
    2. Hello Stranger - We Used to Talk
    3. Animal Collective - Grass
    4. British Sea Power - A Wooden Horse
    5. Air - You Make It Easy
    6. Billie Holiday - The Man I Love
    7. Magnetic Fields - 100,000 Fireflies
    8. Peeping Tom feat. Kid Koala - Celebrity Death Match
    9. Persephone's Bees - City of Love

    Tuesday, February 06, 2007

    Absurdistan

    So I was casually glancing about Wikipedia (procrastinating on the headache that is laundry) when I read that, as of December 21, 2006, Saparmurat Niyazov* has died. Reportedly of a cardiac arrest, though some theorists believe he was poisoned.

    What is that going to mean for Turkmenistan? Apparently, they amended the constitution so that those of mixed ethnic backgrounds could be president (read: Saparmurat's son, Murat).

    Also according to the constitution, next in line to the presidency was Öwezgeldi Ataýew, but he was coincidentally thrown in jail on the exact same day that Saparmurat died, on charges that he was harrassing and humiliating his daughter-in-law, driving her to attempt suicide.

    Presidential elections are this Sunday. I can't WAIT to see what happens. But it gets better.

    Acting president is Gurbanguly Mälikgulyýewiç Berdimuhammedow, who was a dentist, before he entered Turkmenistan politics. He is said to be responsible for the mandate that closed ALL of the hospitals outside of the capital city (based on flawed logic that if you are sick, you want to be near the best resources). Uncoincidentally, Turkmenistan is reported to have the worst healthcare among the former Soviet nations.

    According to rumors, the acting president is also the former president's illegitimate son (not to be confused with his legitimate son, also a presidential contender, Murat).

    *You may recall Saparmurat Niyazov from his greatest hits like: "President For Life;" "Ban Ballet and Opera in the Name of Useless;" "Close All Rural Libraries and Hospitals Since the Common Man Knows Neither Books Nor Medicine;" "Dogs and Video Games Are Forbidden Because They Stink/Stink of Violence."

    And for you, Saparmurat, The Man Who Would Be King.mp3.

    Sunday, February 04, 2007

    i'm a breck girl

    Scenes from Breckenridge this afternoon, which was sometimes sunny and always beautiful and not at all crowded on account of the football game. My only complaint was that we had to pay $10 for what used to be the free parking lot. Which would have been fine because the gondola took us straight to the mountain and we didn't have to wait for the bus.

    But when we left for the day, mechanical problems kept the gondola from bringing us back. So we had to wait for the bus anyway, but without a parking fee refund. Which seems unfortunate, because the only reason the parking lot is pay (as of 01/07/07 or thereabout) is because of the gondola access.


    video music - Hanasakajijii (One: The Angry Neighbor) by Anathallo.





    saturday afternoon skiing



    Rocking the Molly Hogan at A-Basin.

    Tuesday, January 30, 2007

    Mix Tape 07 Part 2 of 3

    Twenty-Two Degrees on a Tuesday Evening.
    (right click on link + save as to download file.)
    Total playing time: 32.28.


    It always ends the same (alone).

    1. Super Furry Animals - Hello Sunshine
    2. Hello Saferide - The Quiz
    3. Devotchka - Queen of the Surface Streets
    4. We Are Scientists - Nobody Move (acoustic)
    5. Wilco - Will You Still Love Me
    6. Elliott Smith - Say Yes
    7. The Mountain Goats - Love Love Love
    8. Bright Eyes - We Are Nowhere And It’s Now
    9. Bjork & Tricky - Black Coffee

    identity theft frustration

    Blockbuster called me yesterday to tell me that my account was about to be charged $150 for my unreturned videos.

    "What?" I asked myself. "I don't rent from Blockbuster."

    I promptly called the number left behind via the Robotron voice, only to learn that somebody checked out various episodes of Grey's Anatomy under my name.

    "You must have loaned your card out," Blockbuster assured me.

    "No, I did not," I assured back. "Check and see how they paid for these videos because I swear to you neither I nor anybody I know would ever rent them."

    "With a Visa. Oh, and Becky? It's signed with your name."

    "But I don't have a Visa card. And Becky isn't my name. It hasn't actually been my name for decades. Clearly this is an imposter."

    "Well, we'll just remove the charges on your behalf."

    "Okay... thanks. But shouldn't you call the police or something?" I asked, still mildly horrified by the idea of someone signing my childhood nickname across a credit card receipt, twenty minutes on the other side of town.

    "No, you'd be surprised how often this happens. Nine times out of ten, you just loaned your card to a friend and forgot that you did."

    "But I'm a 31-year old science teacher. It's not like my friends and I run around town, loaning out our Blockbuster cards to rent back seasons of mediocre television programs."

    "Don't worry, we are not going to charge you anything."

    "But that's not the point!"

    "Well, you can call Customer Service, but there's not actually anything they can do to help you."

    Wednesday, January 24, 2007

    sandwich vernacular

    I've been noticing grinders on menus as of late. At Keysone Resort this weekend. At Starbucks this morning. That's right, Starbucks serves up a grinder.

    But theirs isn't right. Their grinder has turkey salami. Lettuce leaves. God only knows what else. Probably chopped onions and sliced pickles.

    A grinder should have 1. shredded lettuce and some tomato slices 2. salt & pepper 3. oil 4. provolone and 5. fucking genoa salami. Genoa.

    Jeez.

    Sunday, January 21, 2007

    skiing (gone so wrong)

    Voici un photo de Keystone, which would have been glorious if only someone had not stolen my skis in the end. Quel dommage.

    Mix Tape 07 Part 1 of 3

    Sunday Afternoon in Duluth*.
    (right click on link + save as to download file.)
    Total playing time: 33.16.


    *now! with new directions.

    Upon review, I see that two songs are about death (1 and 10). That makes a death sandwich. With a pinch of anger (9), aliens (8), alcohol (7) and sex (4).

    1. Architecture in Helsinki - In Case We Die (parts 1-5)
    2. Air - Radio #1
    3. Tapes 'n Tapes - Insistor
    4. Spoon - I Turn My Camera On
    5. Feist - Mushaboom
    6. Devotchka - Miette
    7. Devotchka - Ocean of Lust
    8. Radiohead - Subterranean Homesick Alien
    9. Delgados - All You Need Is Hate
    10.U.N.K.L.E. - Lonely Soul (abridged)

    Saturday, January 06, 2007

    more on steamboat, less on vegas

    My whirlwind trip to Vegas came to a staggering halt when I caught word of yet ANOTHER snowstorm in Denver. To hear it told, it would once again shut down the city. Argh.

    So I ran as fast as I could from Las Vegas, catching an earlier flight. Only to arrive seven hours early in Denver, where there was little to no new snow.

    No pictures from the city of sin (just a distant memory of whiskey at the Playboy Club), however more pictures from Steamboat:


    Wednesday, January 03, 2007

    felíz año nuevo

    As I slowly emerge from my New Year's daze, I must pack for Vegas. Busy, busy. I spent the weekend on a mini-ski holiday in Steamboat Springs. I was able to keep my 1999 resolution, that is, to never forget another NYE. This one was spent drinking coke and watching fools be fools.