1) Reminder that CBBC starts on Monday! We'll be reading The Age of Innocence Chapters 1-10. This is really more of a reminder for me than you - I really need to get started reading those chapters!
2) Reminder that Elisabeth is also starting the Finding Joy in Gratitude Collective on Sunday! Get started on finding things to be grateful for!
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| The angst is real. |
3) Weather update: It's cold as balls. I actually considered the high of 15F/-9C on Wednesday to be warm. It didn't get above 0 for five days straight and is still regularly going below zero at night. I mean, most of the country is in this polar vortex, but I just take comfort in the fact that it's literally too cold to snow here.
I bring this up because of poor Hannah. Her boots are tearing up her feet. I got home on Tuesday and Hannah came up to me wagging her tail and when I said "do you want to go outside for a walk?" her little tail tucked and she dropped her head. No more boots, says I! I have ordered some fancy Canada Pooch suspender boots, but I suspect they won't come in until the cold snap has been completed.
4) Earlier this week, I confessed to a personal demerit on Elisabeth's blog: I need to make a phone call about a contact lens rebate. The paperwork is stalled and I think I did something wrong, but I don’t know what. The thing is that the place is in a different time zone and I work and it’s only available a few times a week and blah, blah, blah. I just need to write it down and do it. It’s a pretty sizeable rebate and I don’t want to leave money on the table.
Friends, I resubmitted the paperwork. Let's see how it shakes down. Thanks, Elisabeth, for the encouragement to get to it.
5) Last week, NPR posted a list of its best music videos of MTV's golden era (1981 - 2001). RIP MTV, right? This devolved into Dr. BB and I watching a lot of music videos and debating their choices.
A-ha "Take On Me"
Peter Gabriel "Sledgehammer"
Dire Straits "Money for Nothing"
The Buggles "Video Killed the Radio Star"
Sinead O'Connor "Nothing Compares 2 U"
Janet Jackson "Rhythm Nation"
Eurythmics "Sweet Dreams (Are Made of This)"
Toni Basil "Mickey"
The Pretenders "Brass in Pocket"
Robert Palmer "Addicted to Love"
George Michael "Freedom '90" - I must admit this is the one we watched over and over again.
Bjork "Human Behavior"
Twisted Sister "I Wanna Rock"
Herbie Hancock "Rockit"
Dr. Dre "Nuthin' but a 'G' Thang" (feat. Snoop Dogg)
Beastie Boys "Sabotage"
Fatboy Slim "Weapon of Choice"
Missy Elliott "The Rain (Supa Dupa Fly)"
Cyndi Lauper "Girls Just Wanna Have Fun"
Jamiroquai "Virtual Insanity"
U2 "Where the Streets Have No Name"
REM "Losing My Religion" - I'll be honest and say I watched this video and then danced around the house flailing my arms like I was Michael Stipe, which is one my favorite things to do to annoy my husband.
Prince "Kiss"
I know these lists have to be incomplete, but it's utter bullshit that my girl Madonna doesn't get a shoutout here. Madonna was the queen of the music video. Which do I pick? "Like a Virgin"? "Like a Prayer"? "Material Girl"? "Papa Don't Preach"? My husband would make a plea for "Open Your Heart." FUCKING "Vogue"!!
OH. And how about "Cold Hearted" from Paula Abdul? Or "Rush Rush" which is a classic music video?
I'm done. What video do you think should be on this list?
Where's Loveshack? And I like Beat It better than Thriller- all those gang members dancing! A-ha is the best! My favorite REM video is "Furry Happy Monsters" from sesame street, but that probably didn't play on MTV. Why Mickey? That video is more of a novelty song to me.
ReplyDeleteHonestly, I hear Madonna and Michael Jackson on the radio too often now- someone from GenX is in charge of the Playlist.
Love Shack is a great one! You're right - where is it?
DeleteI think any Michael Jackson is too much (sorry, not sorry, he was a terrible human and did terrible harm and being a good dancer and whiny singer isn't enough for me)! But Madonna is queen!
Engie, I hate phone calls and forms and all of those silly things that are required of us in adulting so ALL THE GOLD STARS for tackling this. I have been putting a few similar things off and, guess what, I'm still putting them off. Engie, come to Nova Scotia and inspire me.
ReplyDeleteMy copy of Age of Innocence has not come in yet. ARGH. I need to get on that. (Okay, gold stars that I paused typing this comment, went to Libby and found an eBook. I would prefer a hard copy but sometimes needs must and now I can keep up with the cool kids). I have to admit I will probably read it in one fell swoop because I have a hard time reading a book in stages. I will take notes (maybe, that might be asking too much of myself).
Thanks for the shout-out for FIGs. I feel like we all really need this right now and I appreciate you helping to spread the word.
I can't wait for FIGs. I have set some rules for myself. I will continue tracking my gratitude in my journal, but I will have to come with a new FIG for my blog post every day that's different from the one in my journal and I'm going to send you TWO FIGs every week via email. I am going to have to being attention and looking for the happy.
DeleteAwwww, poor Hannah! That stinks so much that the shoes are bothering her feet.
ReplyDeleteI downloaded Age of Innocence on audiobook and... I'm not sure that's going to work for me. The language is old fashioned enough that my mind kind of wanders??? We'll see.
Love this list of videos. I only watched MTV in small bursts in my piano teacher's basement den while waiting for my lesson to start, but I would add Peaches by the Presidents of the USA, Stan by Eminem, Hit Me Baby One More Time by Britney Spears, and Black Hole Sun by Soundgarden to this list. Maybe Oops I Did It Again by Britney as well.
I have read exactly one chapter of TAOI and I will tell you right now that it is NOT working for me. But I need to just push through. I'm sure it will get better. Like the first chapter of The Secret Garden is terrible, but that book gets so good.
DeleteI was ready to tell you that those videos were outside of the time range, but I think they all squeaked in right under the radar. I have to agree with Hit Me Baby One More Time as an absolute classic (and honestly I haven't seen any of the others, so they certainly weren't classic in my world!).
Britney!! Hit Me Baby One More Time defined the style of a generation! WHERE IS MADONNA? WHERE IS NIRVANA. I call bullshit on this list.
ReplyDeleteEh. Nirvana videos are boring. I agree with leaving them off the list! But Justice for Madonna and Britney!
DeleteI feel like contact lens rebates are the most aggravating thing in the world. The last time i did it, I did all the many steps to get it submitted, and then the rebate finally came in the form of a gift card. Which I forgot I had, and then when I finally went to use it, it had EXPIRED. The whole thing is such a scam- they really try hard not to give you that money. Good for you for getting it done though.
ReplyDeleteGAH. I have to get a copy of the book! Every time I think about getting it, I wonder if I still have my old copy at home, but then when I'm at home I forget to look. That's it, I'm getting it from the library today.
Poor Hannah and her droopy tail!!! Winter is hard.
YES!! This stupid card is going to be a gift card. I'll add it to my Amazon account and since I rarely (RARELY) use it, that card would probably last six months or so. But I do hate that they do it this way. And I feel like every year when I order my contacts I have to figure out the paperwork!
DeleteJanuary - March is why I don't complain about summer! Bring me the heat and humidity!
Poor Hannah. We had an overnight cold warning. It has been quite a month.
ReplyDeleteJanuary weather has been brutal. I blame Canada. ;)
DeleteThanks for the reminder an Age of Innocence! I'll start it this weekend :)
ReplyDeleteLet's do it!!!
DeleteContact rebates are so much work. I just submitted mine. I had to log into a website, fill out all this information, scan one of my boxes of contacts, and submit the bill from my eye doctor. And then after jumping through all those hoops, I had to mail a copy of the bill with a code written on it! Why is this so HARD! I mean, I know. It's because some people will get frustrated and give up. Not me, Acuvue!! Hurrrah.
ReplyDeleteThe weather has been so very cold. I got to escape for a few days to Vegas (bleh!!) but I was cooped up so much that I only got about 30 minutes outside but boy did I feel like a cat seeking out a sun spot during those 30 minutes.
YES!! Why are contact rebates so hard?! (Imagine I'm saying that in the whiniest voice possible.) I'm unable to just leave the money on the table, though.
DeleteYeah, it's too cold. I'm barely getting 30 minutes a day outside and I feel so cooped up. *sigh* It's going to warm up soon, though - it has to!
I started Age of Innocence --- question are folks reading their introductions? Do *you* read the introduction? I skipped it in my copy and went right to chapter one, but then I thought, Maybe I'm supposed to read it? Am I over thinking this???
ReplyDeleteMy parents strictly restricted by tv in the golden era of MTV music videos - not because of music videos themselves, but because they thought TV was going to be the reason I didn't get good grades. But I had a babysitter who was obsessed with Madonna. So even though I recognize I don't have a huge amount of experience in the matter, I do agree with you that a Madonna *something* should be on that list.
My edition doesn't have an intro, so I won't read it! I'm going to have to do some research on Wharton for the first post, though, so I would probably do it if there was one to read. You certainly shouldn't feel like you *have* to!
DeleteMadonna 4 LYFE.
This list of songs is mostly really obvious and boring. “Best”? No. I would argue most played, and that perhaps they are what people think about when they think of MTV. That doesn’t make them the best. Having said that, some of these were really good videos…Nothing Compares to U, Freedom, Kiss. And yes, where the hell is Madonna? I think I would choose Express Yourself.
ReplyDeleteI can’t even with Michael Jackson. I turn the station if he comes on.
I have never heard of dog shoes hurting their feet! Poor Hannah! That’s some serious BS right there.
Congrats on doing the thing with the rebate. I’ve been buying my contacts online from Costco, and they always claim they are sending me the rebate information but they never do, and without the form I don’t know if I can get a rebate and I don’t bother to try because it’s a pain in the ass. This year if I get my contacts from Costco, I will (maybe) try a little harder.
Oh, J, I think you know I'm not going to leave that money on the table! But I would be annoyed if my eyeglass place didn't make it easy for me to get a rebate. My doctor's office gives me all the things I need, so at least that part is easy.
DeleteBoth Madonna and Weird Al need to be on the list. Like A Virgin should be #1 and Like a Surgeon should be #2. That is all.
ReplyDeleteCan we PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE get the temperature back to where our poor dogs can have their normal walk times back? Doggo and I both have cabin fever.
WHAT? CBBC starts on Monday? Well yes I do need to start reading but also HURRAY!!!
YES!! I have cabin fever, too. I want to be outside for longer than seven minutes at a time. I hate winter so much. It feels never ending.
DeleteSorry to be anonymous. Sarah in UK. I nominate In Demand by Texas. Check out Alan Rickman doing the tango ....
ReplyDeleteI've never even heard of this song!! Did the video get played a lot on MTV?!
DeletePlenty of classics on that list, but also some omissions. "Cold Hearted" for SURE. I can't count how many times I watched that video. And I'd add "Magic" by The Cars. Ric Ocasek is freakin' walking across water, Jesus-like! How can that NOT make the cut??
ReplyDelete