Monday, December 17, 2007

Replay value

I'm not much of a music reviewer, but still, these are my top albums of 2007, based on replay value, in alphabetical order:

"Strawberry Jam" by Animal Collective
"A Cork Tale Wake" by Chris Bathgate
"Mirrored" by Battles
"Armchair Apocrypha" by Andrew Bird
"Woke On A Whaleheart" by Bill Callahan
"Spiderman of the Rings" by Dan Deacon
"Night Falls Over Kortedala" by Jens Lekman
"Loney, Noir" by Loney, Dear
"Hissing Fauna, Are You the Destroyer?" by Of Montreal
"Person Pitch" by Panda Bear
"Good Arrows" by Tunng

Top homemade release:
"I Am the Water You Are Pumping" by Frontier Ruckus

Top unofficial release:
"Live @ Keweenawesomefest 2007" by Matt Jones

Favorite non-2007 album in 2007:
"Knock Knock" by Smog

Sunday, December 16, 2007

Think of all the ways molecules move

It's snowing like mad out there. I was supposed to head to campus today, but I've decided that I'm snowed in. So I've been knitting and decided to upload the number one winter song that you've never heard.

"Blood On The Snowplow" by Algoma

I started my Noro socks to prove that they won't be ugly. I'm keeping it relatively simple and using the Madder Ribbed Sock pattern in "Knitting Vintage Socks". This means I now have 3 pairs of socks in progress for myself. I did turn the second heel in the very first pair of socks I ever started though. I'm hoping that at least two of these pairs will get finished before school starts up again in January. The LYS is planning a potluck where everyone is expected to bring in all their current works in progress, and I don't want to embarrass myself with so much stuff.

Noro Kureyon sock yarn
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Hiking boot socks, nearly finished
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And now to write some papers!

Friday, December 14, 2007

Soon as I see you walk up in the club

I'm rocking the mash-ups from thehoodinternet.com right now. And still avoiding work.

On the highway here they have signs that flash new speed limits during "inclement" weather. This morning they were flashing 45mph. I'm beginning to take these as more of a challenge than a guideline. If these signs weren't there, I probably would actually go slower than the speed limit. Instead, I go the regular posted limit, because I've driven through worse. Also, I think watching Top Gear is changing the way I drive. I definitely push my car a little bit harder while accelerating lately. Maybe this happens when The Stig is your hero.

Last week was an eMusic week. I was going to do a whole big post just about that, but I guess I put it off. The big winner from the collection was "Parades" by Efterklang though. And I picked up "Sologne" by Loney, Dear at the record store. And yesterday I allowed myself to get "Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix" because I could use my Bull Moose points and get it for half-price.

I bought Noro sock yarn this week. I don't know when I'll get to it. Michelle, the owner of the LYS, assured me that this colorway looked fantastic when knitted into a sweater, so I have high hopes for it in a pair of socks. I also finished my first pair of gift socks. The socks are, unfortunately, different a bit, because I used a different heel on the second one. Oh, and by finished, I mean they are knit, but I have to sew in the ends.

School is almost done. I have a crazy next five days. Then I want to party and knit. In that order.

Wednesday, December 5, 2007

I am he is you are he is

I haven't listened to The Beatles in a while.

There really isn't much to update. I'm at the point where I should be doing nothing but schoolwork, but I'm not good at that. I put these things off for a reason: I don't like them. Ha. I put myself between a rock and a hard place, though. I'll be working on a paper tonight, hopefully getting all the data for my first experiment by the end of the day Friday, grading done Thursday night, finishing paper this weekend, starting another this weekend, gathering data for a second experiment next week, writing a report and keeping a lab notebook about each experiment and giving a ten minute presentation about one of them midway through finals week, plus a final group project for my physics education research class due about then. It almost sounds doable.

In procrastination news, I picked up the DVD "Heima" by Sigur Ros yesterday. If you like the band, get it. Seriously. I also finished the cuff on my first gentlemen's sock with lozenge pattern from Knitting Vintage Socks by Nancy Bush.

Oh, and I am really spoiled by Fiberphilia, my local yarn shop. I stopped by yesterday, trudging through an unshoveled walkway to find out that the store was closed. Michelle was there though, and saw me, and let me in to buy yarn so that I'll be able to finish my gift socks without running out. The store actually lost money on Monday trying to keep the parking lot plowed during the snowstorm, so I completely understand her closing on Tuesday. I think that she was having so much fun with her paperwork when I showed up on Tuesday that she needed a break.