Note: This audio file is no longer available, because I don’t believe in music. Oh, wait… scratch that. It’s not available because I don’t believe in calculators. Or conversations.
On today’s episode, we discuss a Lowercase People article, get some new contact info, and hear music from Telecast and Mae. Sorry it’s kind of long this week, but it’s good stuff! Enjoy and let me know what you think…
Howdy. Welcome to the word of the week, which I trust you will use responsibly and often this week. Enjoy!
-nefandous (nĕ-făn’dus) adj. –> unmentionable, unspeakable
Ex: The cause of his illness was nefandous, so onlookers were kept in suspense about why the man had four feet.
And now for a random fact:
Early astronomers thought that each day of the week was ruled by its own heavenly body, and as a result every day is named after an object in our solar system. It’s easy to see how Saturn, the Sun, and the Moon are commemorated in Saturday, Sunday, and Monday. The other four days, Tuesday through Friday, get their names by a more roundabout route, from Tiw, Woden, Thor and Freya, the Anglo-Saxon equivalents of Mars, Mercury, Jupiter, and Venus. Feminists will be happy to note that we should thank a goddess it’s Friday.
That’s all I have for you today, folks. Stay warm and well-informed in the upcoming week (mainly by reading my blog!). Au revoir.
Fondly,
Dr. J
PS - I should note that most of the random facts presented in the WOTW are brought to you courtesy of Scot Morris’ excellent Book of Strange Facts and Useless Information, which is unfortunately no longer in print. So thankyou Mr. Morris.
Note: This post contains graphic depictions of sporaceous fungi. Please use discretion; you may not want to read this while eating if you are of the squeamish type.
Alright, so the other day I was looking in the cabinets for a little evening snack. I found some chips and salsa and thought that sounded good, so I looked for some cream cheese to go with my salsa. I was very excited to find a big container of luscious Philadelphia cream cheese in the fridge. But when I opened it, do you think I found this…?
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Oh no. No creamy delicious cream cheese for me. Instead, I found this…
Welcome to a review of The Everglow by Mae. Mae is an independent (though soon to be signed to a major label) rock band whose name stands for “Multisensory Aesthetic Experience.” Lead singer Dave Elkins has a lovely voice; it has an almost conversational quality about it, and it is very pleasant to listen to. The music on this album generally uses pretty basic rock structure, but they sound very good, and they make excellent use of the piano. The lyrics on the album are always very good, sometimes excellent. The Everglow is bookended by an outdated but clever “Prologue” and an “Epilogue,” which contribute nicely to the feeling that this is an entire listening experience. The first song, “We’re So Far Away,” is definitely the best track on the album and is the best song I’ve heard this year. It showcases a beautiful blend of vocals, piano, and strings. This track has a great transition to “Someone Else’s Arms,” which is the next best song on the album with great rock guitar and soaring vocals. “Suspension,” the album’s first single, is very catchy, probably because it has more pop influence than other tracks. The next four songs (from “This is the Countdown” to “Breakdown”) start off nicely, but they each get a little bogged down and a little boring after a minute or two. “Painless” is the best of the four with some great piano moments. The album picks back up with the pretty, ambiguous “Mistakes We Knew We Were Making” and then continues with four songs that are lyrically, vocally and musically excellent. The album ends with “The Sun and the Moon,” which is almost as beautiful as “We’re So Far Away,” but runs about two minutes too long. You can listen to quite a few of Mae’s songs on purevolume or on their MySpace page, or you can buy the whole album on iTunes. Very highly recommended overall. Highlight tracks: “We’re So Far Away”, “Someone Else’s Arms”, “Cover Me”, “Anything”
Note: This audio file is no longer available, because. That’s all. Just because.
On this episode of audioblogging goodness, we discuss the best internet radio around, changes to my blog, and we hear music from Half-Handed Cloud and Derek Webb. Better sound quality this week too!
It’s that time again. It’s time for me to remind you that you can sign up to receive email updates every time I post on this blog. You now have two ways to do this. You can either go to our Google Group site and click “Join This Group” (you need to create a Google account to do this) or you can just tell me you want to receive them and I’ll add you to the list. To do this, leave a comment or email me at jillmdblog@gmail.com (the new special blog email address!). You should do it. It’s fun to get email.
For our second order of business, I am asking you to talk to me. Evaluate me. Tell me what you like and what you would like to see different in this blog. Do I post too often? Too infrequently (yeah right!)? Are posts too long? Too short? Is there too much text? Too much video/audio? What do you most look forward to? What do you skip? What would you like to see me write about? How do you feel about the site layout/color scheme? Please let me know, so that the work I put into blogging will be enjoyable to you! You can leave a comment with your suggestions or email me (again, it’s jillmdblog@gmail.com). I look forward to hearing from you…
Hey everyone! Welcome to the word of the week. I hope you enjoy using this word in your everyday conversations. Remember that this will help you to cement the word in your memory, and it will share this wonderful knowledge with the rest of the world! Here it is, folks, our newest WOTW:
-hypobulia (hī-pō-bū’lĭ-u) noun –> difficulty in making decisions
Ex: I experience hypobulia when choosing beverages. Coke? Diet coke? Coke with cherry? Caffeine-free diet coke? Coke zero? Coke with lemon? Diet coke with lime? Ahh! This is why I drink water.
And now for this week’s random fact (it’s kind of a story, actually, but oh well…):
During Prohibition, a popular (and legal) consumer item was the “wine brick” - compressed grape concentrate sold in a dozen varieties such as Bordeaux, Riesling, and even Champagne. The sly “warning” on the package made everything clear: “Do not dissolve this in a gallon of water and let sit for 21 days. If you do, it will ferment and turn into wine. That would be illegal.”
Hey hey hey! Now that fall is upon us and the trees are looking lovely, I thought it would be a good time to do a little tree tribute. I love trees. I love these pictures. You will too. So enjoy.
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Mela knows how to have a good time.
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Red trees are my favorite.
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Kiwi Trees (aka Tree-covered and snow-covered moutains in New Zealand)
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This one is poetic.
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This one is poetic too.
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Beautiful Irish trees and sky. Makes you just want to hop on a plane and go there, doesn’t it?
So there you have it - beautiful trees. If you live in New England, go outside today and enjoy the changing leaves before they all fall off and turn brown and it’s too cold to go outside. If you don’t live in New England, I’m sorry for your loss. Have a great day anyway. Bye.
