Strange Pulse

My sister-in-law Audra tagged me for this meme.

3 Joys…

• Arguing over what movie to watch with the kids, when it turns into a massive laughing insult-fest over what movies we each like/dislike.
• A song that makes me marvel.
• Taking pictures.

3 Fears…

• Spiders.
• Heights. Well, not really afraid of them, they just make me dizzy, and that’s scary.
• Mosquito-eaters. They’re a lot like spiders, but they fly.

3 Obsessions…

• Music
• Music
• Music

3 Surprising facts about me…

• To some, it’s the fact that I’m Mormon. To others, it’s the fact that I love doom metal. (I just asked my son what’s surprising about me and he said, “You’re into doom metal. Oh, three things? Uh…you’re into funeral doom metal.”)
• Surprising to my blog readers? Hmm. That’s tough. I pretty much let it all hang out around here. Have I ever posted anything about myself you thought was surprising? How about that in person I’m completely boring.
• I have a shoe fetish, which is surprising when you consider how few shoes I own. I remember people by their shoes, too. Daniel laughs at me when I try to describe someone we knew in high school by the shoes they wore.

I’m not gonna tag anyone, if you feel like doing the meme, go ahead. Or just post your threes in the comments here.

What would the internet be without it?

I got an email from someone who wanted to correct me on something I commented about on another blog—a song lyric. It was an old comment that linked to my old blog address. On my old blog layout, I had an “email me” link that when you clicked on it, was programmed to automatically make the email subject line say, “I love your blog!” Like this. Neat trick, right?

Here’s part of his email:

By the way– bonus ego points for assuming, in your subject line, that people love your blog. It takes either serious egotism or crushing self-esteem issues to pre-emptively congratulate yourself so others won’t have to.

Hmm. Obviously a fan of hyperbole. He continues:

Your blog, by the way, isn’t bad. It aint great, but it has a great layout and is visually pleasing.

Boring as hell, but good visual appeal.

Don’t bother responding. I just wanted you to know that you were being driven crazy by a song lyric that you were hearing incorrectly to begin with.

Have a nice day.

What’s funny is I forgot that I put the “I love your blog” subject line in there right after I did it. So whenever I get an email from someone via my old blog location, I see an email that says “I love your blog!” and get excited. Hey, someone’s writing to tell me they love my blog! Then I open the email and they always remark about the subject line being programmed in. And I remember, oh yeah, I put that there.

It’s like a little practical joke I played on myself. They love my blog! …Oh wait, no. Actually they don’t.

Good has come of this, though. I realized my current blog layout was breaking in IE, so I fixed it. I also realized I didn’t have an “Email me” link on this layout, so I added it. (Top right under the radio.blog.) Do you think the subject line I stuck in there on this layout will generate any hate mail? Maybe I should change it.

Suggestions? Maybe one of these:

Email me
Email me
Email me
Email me
Email me

Elijah and I were in a Subway and apparently he didn’t like the music they were playing. He told me he hates ballads, and only likes the anti-ballads, such as Metallica’s “Fade to Black.”

I asked what he meant and he said, “Ballads are all about hope, and holding on, and…pushing through.” He sounded disgusted.

“I like the anti-ballads. They’re about depression, and darkness, and just wanting to die.”

Like so often when he renders me speechless, I stuck my fist out for a pound.

I’ve never posted on my blog about American Idol, but I thought this conversation I had with my best friend from high school was kinda funny. We email each other back and forth almost everyday, and we always talk about American Idol on Wednesdays. Sometimes it reminds me of when we were in psychology class together and would write notes on the same piece of paper, passing it back and forth. (Daniel was in that class with us.)

Forwarded conversation
Subject: AI
————————

From: JM
Date: Wed, Apr 30, 2008 at 7:56 AM
To: Susan M

How funny was Paula?!?!

———-
From: Susan M
Date: Wed, Apr 30, 2008 at 8:03 AM
To: JM

“This is really hard!”

She does so well under pressure.

———-
From: JM
Date: Wed, Apr 30, 2008 at 8:00 AM
To: Susan M

Yeah, Michael and I were cracking up because no one corrected her right away.

———-
From: Susan M
Date: Wed, Apr 30, 2008 at 8:05 AM
To: JM

No one could believe their ears.

———-
From: JM
Date: Wed, Apr 30, 2008 at 8:02 AM
To: Susan M

So who do you think will go?

———-
From: Susan M
Date: Wed, Apr 30, 2008 at 8:18 AM
To: JM

Dial Idol actually has Syesha and David Cook at the top. I was hoping she’d leave. They’ve got Brooke at the bottom. I think at this point it’s anyone who could leave. I think the final will be David Cook and David Archuleta, either one could take it. I think David A has gotten a little old and David Cook is more relevant to today’s radio, so David Cook will probably win.

I wish you could’ve heard Daniel’s comments after David Cook performed. He went off about Simon thinking he was “brilliant” because he’s just like all the other schlock on the radio for the last 10 years.

———-
From: JM
Date: Wed, Apr 30, 2008 at 8:16 AM
To: Susan M

I told Michael after David Cook sang, here’s the next Goo Goo Dolls.

Yeah, I think Syesha needs to just go to broadway. She’s a much better singer/actor than pop singer. I think Jason and Brooke did terribly last night. And David A. is starting to sound like a 1 trick pony.

———-
From: Susan M
Date: Wed, Apr 30, 2008 at 8:25 AM
To: JM

Daniel said David Cook must be a big fan of the Goo Goo Dolls, too.

I liked Jason’s first song. I like that he doesn’t seem to care. I really think he’s just going through the motions at this point, though. I’m wondering if he’s just overwhelmed by it all and wants it to end or something.

I liked Brooke’s second song.

“America” was the best number, I thought, but it’s just such a great song. Daniel was saying it’s like “Bohemian Rhapsody”—so cheesy, but it’s just constructed so well, the chord progression, the way it builds—you can’t help but start feeling like “Yeah! AMERICA!”

———-
From: JM
Date: Wed, Apr 30, 2008 at 8:25 AM
To: Susan M

America is one of my favorite Neil Diamond songs and both Dylan and Michael were like “I hate this song”. I was like “WHAT?!” yeah, I didn’t like either Jason or Brooke’s songs last night. Actually, I’m getting quite bored by the whole thing. There’s really no one I like, you know?

———-
From: Susan M
Date: Wed, Apr 30, 2008 at 8:31 AM
To: JM

Well the problem is I don’t like them on *American Idol.* I think I’d like Jason and Brooke’s albums when they come out, if they’re allowed to do their thing. They do their own thing well. They’re just not American Idol material. David A for sure is, but he is getting boring. He needs to liven it up somehow.

———-
From: JM
Date: Wed, Apr 30, 2008 at 8:30 AM
To: Susan M

Yeah, I would agree with you on all counts. David A. is just trying to not get beat by his daddy every week!

———-
From: Susan M
Date: Wed, Apr 30, 2008 at 8:37 AM
To: JM

Neil Diamond night wasn’t the trainwreck I was hoping for, but it definitely wasn’t a stellar night, either.

Nathaniel and I went to Hollywood Saturday morning to go to Amoeba Records. We parked in a garage across the street.

He picked up a DJ Shadow album on vinyl (and has been listening to it ever since). I went through a few of the $1 vinyl bins and got:

Joe Jackson - Stepping Out
Air Supply - The One That You Love
Fame Soundtrack
Hoodoo Gurus 12″

Plus a few other albums. Mostly crap. Problem is, I love crap. I can listen to crap all day. And when it’s only a dollar, I can buy all kinds of it.

After Amoeba I wanted to walk around and take a bunch of pictures, but we’re having a heat wave and it was just too hot. I managed to get this picture up the street of a Church of Scientology building:

Then we went home. Tried to find a place to eat on the way, pulled off the freeway a few times, but couldn’t find anything! It was ridiculous.

Daniel had gone dirt biking while we were gone and when we got home he wanted to go to the back end of the Bolsa Chica Wetlands to see what sort of bmx jumps there are there. But first we went to his work to drop off his motorcycles.

Nathaniel and me in the truck:

A *crazy* tree across the street from Daniel’s work that I’ve wanted a picture of forever, and it’s finally in bloom again:

Front door of Daniel’s work:

Then we were off to the wetlands. One reason I’m glad we don’t own a dog:

The jumps there weren’t much to look at:

This is what a palm tree looks like when it’s left untended:

There were snails *everywhere*:

Pretty wildflowers:

And junk:

Can you spot the lizard?

For some reason, Daniel wanted me to take a picture of him with this sign:

After that, we came home and soaked in the pool.

I saw a kid on a bmx bike riding to school the other day. Looked like he was about 13. He was riding with no hands on the bars. In one hand, he had a sandwich that he was eating. In the other, he had a cell phone that he was dialing.

–

I did a search for recent Converge setlists and came across a metal web forum. Here’s a screen shot of the thread, with a few notes I’ve added:

The band is Graves at Sea, one of my favorite doom metal bands. Unfortunately, they broke up recently. I’m hoping that the band members will go on to form more brilliant doom metal bands. Sort of like how when Kyuss broke up they spawned a wealth of great music.

–

Nathaniel asked me how come I don’t dress like a rocker. I probably should’ve said something like, “Because I don’t need to wear my coolness on my sleeve,” or something equally obnoxious and stupid. But instead I was honest and said, “Because I’m too poor and too fat.”

Actually, if I could afford to dress any way I wanted to, I’d look like a hippy. I am a closet granola type.

Although it was basically one-sided.

Elijah, my 13yo, said to me:

“Mom, when I start a thrash metal band, it’s gonna be like an 80s thrash metal band. It’s not going to be like a lot of the thrash metal bands are today, with just thrash metal influences. They’re all trying to be the heaviest. I just want to stick to the roots of thrash metal.”

I didn’t reply, just stuck out my fist for a pound.

Then he got to the real point. “So, uh…when are we going to look for guitar lessons for me? I mean, I need someone to teach me how to solo. And how to write music.”

I told him maybe this weekend we could look around. He’s taught himself a lot already and even composes music on his computer with a freebie program he found. He’s actually made some cool stuff on it, but it only saves the files out as midi sounds rather than actual guitar sounds, so it sounds kinda silly.

Later that night I told Daniel what Elijah said. Daniel’s response: “Nice! A thrash purist.”

(Old school thrash metal = Megadeth—Elijah’s favorite band—and early Metallica.)

Spaghetti.

He and Catherine got into an argument over whether songs were better with guitar solos or without. You can guess which side Elijah was on.

Cat eventually got sick of him insisting he was right and yelled, “I don’t care!”

I said, “You can’t argue with Catherine. She’ll just say, ‘I don’t care what you say! I’m right! SHUT UP!’”

She laughed and said that’s right.

Elijah said, “I know, it’s annoying. It’s like talking to a wall. A wall that yells at you!”

We’re heading to the desert tomorrow night for a few days, staying with some friends who have a giant RV. Should be fun. Hopefully the weather stays in the 80s and not the 90s.

To the grocery store.

Usually Nathaniel likes to go grocery shopping with me. He likes the one-on-one time, and he can be sure I’ll get the food that he wants.

This time, Cat came along, too. I figured awesome, two extra hands to make it go by even faster! And since the kids are home for spring break, we need extra food around, and she can let me know what she wants.

Argh. See, I have this thing about personal space. My kids do too. Except their thing about personal space is the *opposite* of my thing about personal space. And they love to drive me crazy with it.

My thing is: I don’t like my personal space invaded. I don’t like being touched. And for some reason, when my kids start invading each other’s personal space, it drives me crazy. Makes me get all tense, like they’re doing it to me. And they do it to each other all the time. So there we are, walking through the grocery store, and they’re jumping around and slapping each others’ hands and pulling on each other and bumping the cart into each other and DRIVING ME INSANE.

Everytime I said “Stop it!” they laughed. So I got suspicious and asked them if they were counting how many times they could get me to say “stop it.” They laughed even more. And began counting.

In the check out line I’d had enough. I waved my hand between them, cutting off their hand-grabbing INSANITY and said, “Discontinue!” Which totally set them off. Now Nathaniel won’t do anything except wave his hand in front of me and say, “Discontinue.”

I said, in an attempt to get him to feel some sympathy, “Listen! I put up with your car-stereo-volume-weirdness, only allowing the volume to be in multiples of five!” (One of Nathaniel’s OCD-ish quirks.)

He waved his hand and said, “Discontinue.”

I had a dream the other night that I was at a U2 show. I was right up front. It was 80s era U2, and they were singing “Pride.” Something happened though and they needed to stop the show. So the band decided to move it to an outdoor park, a big grassy area. There were tons of people there, but somehow I again ended up right up front. The area where the band was playing was small. The band was sitting on the ground, as was the entire crowd, while they waited for the sound equipment to be set up. I was literally a foot away from Bono. My best friend from high school was there too, only we were separated by a couple people—other friends from high school—and I leaned over to look at her. We didn’t have to say anything—we both knew what each other were thinking. “Can you believe this?!”

Best dream ever.

I told my son Nathaniel about it. He said, “You can tell people, ‘I was this close to Bono!’ And they’ll ask when, and you’ll say, ‘In my dreams!’”

Yeah, he can laugh. But then I reminded him I have actually been that close to Bono. I had to tell him the story of meeting U2 again. Kids! They forget all the important stuff parents tell them about.

Then last night, I had the worst dream ever. My daughter Catherine died in it. And to make it worse, in the dream, I first had a dream that she died! It was horrible. Made me glad I don’t often remember my dreams.