Have you ever secretly unwrapped a gift before the big day?
Submitted by Red Pen.
My brother Brodie and I did this one year to the extent that we ruined Christmas. That year we knew that one of our presents was Super Mario Kart for the SNES. My parents both worked so every day for the entire Christmas break--which back then seemed to stretch on for months--we would unwrap the game, remove it from its packaging and play it until one of them came home. Every day. We unlocked all the stages, won all the trophies and raced each other for thousands of pixelated miles. We played the game so much that by the time we actually "received" the gift on Christmas Day we were over it. The game had become a non-present.
That same year my Brodie also got Tom Petty's Wildflowers. He unwrapped it too, and listened to it several times before Christmas. A few days before Christmas he decided to re-wrap the CD and place it back under the tree. He needed a way to get the shrink wrap back on though, and came up with the idea of wrapping the CD case in plastic wrap and microwaving the whole thing. You can probably imagine how successful that was. Everything was fine as the first few seconds clicked off the microwave oven's timer, then the blue arching electricity happened. Before we could turn the thing off, it turned itself off. We opened the door to find, to our surprise that nothing was broken, burnt, or melted. The plastic wrap didn't shrink around the case of course, but no damage had been done. Or so we thought. In the end we simply wrapped the CD and stuck it under the tree hoping our parents with their pre-coffee early morning eyes wouldn't notice the missing plastic.
Christmas morning went off without a hitch. We acted surprised and pleased with everything, full knowing that our crowning gift, Super Mario Kart, was worthless to us. Only later that day, when my brother was about to listen to the CD did we discover what had taken place. The arching electricity inside the oven had shattered the disc, or at least the gold, recorded on portion. The clear outer layer was still intact. The album was unplayable.
We attempted to persuade Mom and Dad that the CD must have been sold to them in that condition, but the jig was up. They had known all along that we had been opening our gifts. They knew the lesson we would learn on Christmas day as a result.
The interview segment was short and peppered with jokes, but Chopra maintained a sensible, intriguing and likable presence. One thing he said that I took to bed with me, and heard in my mind all day was "The wisdom of age, and the biology of youth." I love the ideas behind that sentence, and can't wait to read more like it.
Sadie called me at work today to let me know that my Mother-in-Law, Patty Jones, was purchasing a Wii for me. She had just stumbled across one while shopping at their local Wal~Mart. I had planned on waiting outside target last Sun with some friends, but instead contracted an alien death-virus that kept me indoors and mostly immobile until Tuesday, so this was great news. When I head home this Sunday for Christmas my Wii will be waiting, and the hunt will be over.
What are your top 5 books of 2006?
I read a lot of books this year, but only one of my favorites was actually published in '06.
Of the two Patchett books (I read three this year) Bel Canto was my favorite. I felt like I was reading a dream.
The Fortress of Solitude quickly became one of my favorite books ever. A great combination of comic book sci-fi and coming of age drama.
Both Lisey's Story and The Year of Magical Thinking are about the loss of a husband, the power of love, and marriage. In the case of TYOMT a true account. I bought the book as a gift for my mom last year after we learned my dad was dying. She started it but couldn't finish at the time. When I went home for the funeral I picked it up and I'm glad I did. I think it has given me great insight into what my mom is/will be experiencing. Lisey's Story is one of King's finest. A culmination of his talents as a master storyteller.
I want to get to it, every last bit of it, but there's always more.
I'm not exactly sure where the time is going, the sun is seldom seen these days and time disappears as quickly as daylight. I might manage an hour of TV at night, plus thirty minutes of reading in the morning with coffee and before I doze off at night. I've had Scarface sitting in its little red envelope for two weeks now, unable to set aside three hours to watch it.
The magazines are the most neglected of the bunch. Two issues each of WIRED, and Poets & Writers, three Rolling Stone. I give them each a cursory thumb-through upon arrival before tossing them on the pile with hopes of getting to the meatier articles later.
I invited all of this stuff in, but now it feels like a burden. Something I have to do. I'm gonna have to trim the fat, but at the moment it all seems precious.
What are your top 5 CDs/albums of 2006?
Submitted by eliz. s.
The tough thing about this question for me isn't figuring out my favorite albums. The problem is I'm not able to buy as nearly as much music as I would like. Each year I keep a list of albums that seem interesting that I read/hear about from and typically only end up purchasing a few of those. I file the list away and start over the next year. Sadie and I have been on a debt free plan, and we are debt free now, but we're in the saving phase of our plan and there's little left over for music, books, etc.
But all of that is pure digression. I don't have 5, but I do have two really standout albums.
1.The Crane Wife by The Decemberists
I love the entire sound of this album, the lyrics, and the beautiful Japanese myth that inspired it.
2. Return to Cookie Mountain by TV on The Radio
I must admit that after the first listen I found RTCM to be a collosal waste of money. But I was determined to spend some time with the album, and it really grew on me. My favorite track is "Wolf Like Me," but the entire thing realy grooves.
Sadie and I have been struggling with our weight lately. About a year ago, maybe longer, we toyed with the Abs Diet for a few weeks and it worked. But we got lazy, lost sight of our goals, and here we are again feeling flabby and looking for a cure.
For awhile we were doing the calorie counting thing combined with three or four days a week of cardio. We were becoming healthier, but the fat was just hanging around. My mind turned to the Abs Diet. It worked once before when we weren't really serious about exercise, so now that we have that mindset it should work even better.
We went down to our local bookstore last night and picked up a copy of the book, then over to Wal~Mart to purchase some exercise mats. I know the timing isn't great--smack dab in the middle of the Holiday Buffet--but we're starting immediately.
The book promises results in six weeks, but it's a life changing program and one I think we can stick with.
What comedian makes you pee your pants laughing?
Submitted by pookieb.
There are three that come to mind, in no particular order:
1. Mitch Hedberg
2. Dave Attell
3. Brian Regan
I'm growing sick of Dane Cook these days.
I've tried several pieces of blogging software. I'm scatterd all over the internets. This looks cool though, fun even. I like the neighborhhod aspect, the lighthearted feel. Vox doesn't seem to take itself so serious, and I like that. I'll play around a little bit, try to meet some neighbors and post when and if I can.
