blogs t r e t c h

between a roux and a bechamel

Thursday, October 27, 2005

Wonkette: Chock full of DCeiving Goodness!

For the next 48 24 hours, my blog buddy and general man about the web, DCeiver, will be guest roasting over on Wonkette. Lost was a repeat this week, so his flare for analogies gets to focus on Karl Rove instead of the Rainbow PUSH Oceanaire Club and Rafting Society Unlimited. Catch him while you can, it's been an lol-er already.

On another note, a band I'm fond of, Ringside, has a new video, directed by Jua....I'm not even gonna try Phoenix and produced by band-member Balthzar Getty (did I get that right?), up online. It's pretty tastey. Did I spell that right? I give up.

And, from the horrifying front, teens of the world qualify Axl Rose as an "old person." Albeit, the coolest old person in the world, but an old person nonetheless. When Raven Simone makes the list, I officially expect to get into movies at a reduced rate.

OH! And don't forget to map your love for blogs t r e t c h!

spoOoOoOkys t r e t c h

I'm nothing if not festive. So continuing with all things Halloweeny:
  • Extend the festivities to your nearest drinking glass
  • I've mentioned Do They Know It's Hallowe'en before (a bunch of indie rockers mocking "Do They Know It's Christmas" and donating money to Uniceft). It's come to fruition -- and there's a video! Hilarious.
  • RUN! THE GHOSTS ARE COMING! Haha, psych!
  • What's scarrier than a naked intruder in your bed? Also, this story reminds me of the time one of my roomates 4th year had a night visitor, who lost his way in the dark and wound up in my bed spooninig me. It wasn't at all threatening, so I didn't flail or hit or scream, but I did poke and push until he recognized the errors of his ways.
  • Absolutely nothing to do with halloween, but toothepaste for dinner makes me giggle.
  • We are MAD Scientists! OK, again, totally abandoning the spooky theme. But I finally got around to reading Kyle's We Are Scientists interview from DCist. I'm particularly enamored by the band's advice column on their website.
  • Gavin cares. Follow these tips and you'll never get your brain eaten again!

Do you s t r e t c h?

I saw this new thing called Frappr on some other blogs I read. Basic idea: build a map of all the people that read your blog. So go ahead, add yourself to my Frappr. And remember: blogs t r e t c h is more than a blog, it's a community. At least as far as google hacks are concerned.

Vienna Halloween Parade!

I love the Vienna Halloween Parade. Here are a few reasons why.


It's a tradition for mom and I. Check out our light-up pumpkin necklaces! (And my Luke-Perry-esque eyebrow scar is extremely visible in this shot.)


The Kena Temple Shriners in their teeny tiny cars are always my favorite thing!


Various dance companies in Vienna. They're dancing to "We Built This City."


This year there was a dog parade!


And most excitingly, the REDSKINS MARCHING BAND!!

Wednesday, October 26, 2005

Not to go all Liv Tyler w/a box of animal crackers on you, but

In this age of iPods, I often find myself pondering the odds that someone else is listening to the same thing I am at the same time. Before HFS took a siesta, I used to drive to work with the Sports Junkies. I felt fairly certain that many people were hearing the same thing. But since Smelliot makes me stabby -- nay! curb stompy -- and none of the other options coax even a giggle out of me (which is seriously saying something, as I am widely recognized as one of the easiest laughs you'll ever get), I find myself more often than not listening to CDs or my internetPod on el commute. Obviously, CDs and the listening of them in the car is not an innovation. But I still find myself wondering if there's anybody else, in all the world, that at 8:42 EST this morning was listerning to The Aeroplane Over The Sea by Neutral Milk Hotel.

UPDATE: And here's the thought progression that at 9:19 this morning I wasn't yet ready to fly with: Is the "i" in iPod indicative of interactivity, or is it more akin to the capital "I," the iNdividual experience, iSolation, iSland living? The iNternet connected the masses but made them faceless. Are we now deconnecting ourselves face to face? I've long chattered about the study I'm going to helm, whose findings will be published as "My Cell Phone/My Self." It's now looking like that's going to have to be sidelined to chapter title-hood, as this theorum keeps growing. Stay tooned peoplettes!

Yeeee, two iPod-centric posts in a row? Sorry? Take the edge off and play this.

Tuesday, October 25, 2005

Help a sister out

Anybody know any good stations for iTrip? 87.9 is crapping out on me a lot lately, and my other go-to, 90.3 hasn't been in very good form either. I need iPod access, so help please!

Monday, October 24, 2005

V. Disturbed!

I just saw a commercial for a new Pride and Prejudice movie starring (and here's the disturbing part) -- Kiera Knightly as Elizabeth Bennett. I enjoyed Bend it Like Beckham and Pirates of the Caribbean as much as the next guy, but she certainly can't be accused of having serious acting chops. An authentic British accent is not reason enough. Especially since her accent, much like her mouth, is funny. Not haha funny, but Idon'tlikeitandwantittogoaway funny. Let's let the BBC mini series stand as the dramatization of this one, ok? There's a reason that one was 300 minutes long. It's not an easily encapsulated story. !!!!

Also, I have two new (nevagonna happen celebrity) crushes. 1) The super hot dude from Stars who apparently doesn't exist, as he's not mentioned or pictured on their website. Second, and more importantly, we have Chris Walla. WONDERFULLY WEIRD!! That hair! Those cheekbones! That musical talent! The mental trip to Japan! Cohen's gotten too cool, Chris Walla is my new nerd love.



Oh, and, does this picture of Tony remind anyone else of the horrible smile Chandler had everytime his picture was taken?

You're so cute when you're slurring your speech

But they're closing the bar, and they want us to leave.

(These are Death Cab lyrics. Death Cab, Death Cab, Death Cab!)

Though I'm left with a cold (that's sidelined me from work today in order to pre-empt getting sicker and repeating last fall's plague), this weekend was quite nice! Because decongestants and general sleepiness are addling my creativity, today you're going to have to quench your s t r e t c h thirst with a weekend recap.

Friday: Tyler's band of the month, Midnight Spaghetti and the Chocolate G String played at a bar out in Herndon (in Worldgate shopping center, where I haven't been since the junior year after prom party). After a little hangout time at Sam's, we (Sam, Stacy, Dave Feaster in from Chilladelphia, Stumpy and a very friendly mate of Stumpy's named Johanas) made our way down the toll road. The show was surprising and enjoyable as these guys always are; heck, with a lead singer (who has James Brown dancin' legs, a masters from Carnegie Mellon and a helmet adorned with tropies) as dynamic as this guy is on stage, and Mr. Cash on the keys, you're bound to have a good time. We had some ABCBA gum and made our way home.

Saturday: I got my hair did in the afternoon, met Liz for dinner and consumerism at New Tysons, then went home to get ready. Liz stayed at the mall till it closed, so we didn't make it to Mark and Johna's bday party for Erika until after 11, but we made up for lost time. The keg got kicked reeeeaaaal early, and I wasn't keen on liquor pong participation, so I didn't get too sauced, but I was definitely in the minority. Didn't keep me from have a great time though; there was dancing, couch cuteness, Columbians and Canadians. Who could ask for anything more? A video from the party is soon to follow, soon as I figure out a few bugs.

Sunday: Went over to pop's to watch my SKINS pound all over the niners on the 9 foot tv and spend some q.t. with my aunt in from California. By the time I got home, Lizzard had recently awoken and was still at my place, which was a pleasant surprise. Before too long we made our way to 9:30 for Stars and Death Cab. It was my first "on the guest list" experience, which made me feel very cool. Jenna and Liz had a near catastrophe regarding tickets, but thanks to some sympathetic scalpers, they made it in at little additional cost. I'm sure I speak for them when I say that it was totally worth it. My review's up on DCist (much to the dismay of Jason fans everywhere), so you can catch the full play by play there, but it was truly wonderful.

Thursday, October 20, 2005

Stinker is Adorable, and other news



And finally, a playlist for this morning, brought to you by my iPod's shuffle setting, lovely fall weather, new albums, and the letters S,T,I,N,K, and Y.
  • "A Kiss to Build A Dream On," Louis Armstrong
  • "Take You On A Cruise," Interpol
  • "Glass Ceiling," Metric
  • "Drive Slow," Kanye West ft. Paul Wall
  • "Into Dust," Mazzy Star
  • "Always Love," Nada Surf
  • "Almost Always Never," What Made Milwaukee Famous
  • "Hello Drama," What Made Milwaukee Famous
  • "They Never Got You," Spoon
  • "Unwind," Rosebuds
  • "Tears of a Clown," Smokey Robinson
  • "Oh, Sweetheart," The Shout Out Louds
  • "Lover I Don't Have To Love," Bright Eyes
  • "Out of the Races and Onto the Track," The Rapture
  • "Riot Radio," The Dead 60s
  • "Bohemian Like You," The Dandy Warhols
  • "A Lack of Color," Death Cab for Amanda

Wednesday, October 19, 2005

Like Butter to my Liberal Popcorn

AUSTIN, Texas (AP) - A Texas court on Wednesday issued a warrant for former House Majority Leader Tom DeLay's arrest, and set an initial $10,000 bail as a routine step before his first court appearance on conspiracy and state money laundering charges.Travis County court officials said DeLay was ordered to appear at the Fort Bend County, Texas, jail for booking, where he'd likely be fingerprinted and photographed. DeLay's lawyers had hoped to avoid such a spectacle.

normcdnld: wait
normcdnld: can't Jesus Christ bail him out of jail? aren't they friends?


(thanks for the news flash Drew)

Run Ins

You spend your entire life in an area and it becomes nearly impossible to leave the house without seeing someone you know. Usually, someone you've known for quite some time. Here's a list of my most recent run ins, plus # of years we've been acquainted. (This is on the heels of the realization that I've known the Three B's for going on SEVEN YEARS -- that feels unpossible).

  • Kristi Fuksa on the Dupont metro escalator (aka, one of my least favorite locations, at no fault of Kristi's) (19)
  • Stanley, my 383 pal, at the Big Hunt (2.5)
  • Drew, at the Pike 7 Plaza Starbucks, which I discovered is more expensive ($4.10 for my normal drink as opposed to $3.85 at the 5bucks on Springhill Road) (16)
  • Kristin Bjourkland, at not one but two Black Cat shows (10)
  • Mike Scheimer, on the interweb. He's a LARP guy!! (10)
  • Jack, not once but twice at New Tysons (7)
  • Mike Mandell, also at New Tysons (6ish?)
  • Mrs. Christofferson, Tysons Kinkos (I'm protesting the "FedEx" part of their name) (19ish)
  • Lesley Pories, at Dr Dremos, fresh from the Peace Corps and all grow'd up! (17ish)

Though it always makes buying certain things at the drug store a bit more nerve wracking than it should be, I generally enjoy the "everybody knows your name" approach to daily living. Wow, this post is completely uninteresting to about 95% of my readership. Whatever, I'm on a roll. A blog roll. Hahahahahha, I crack myself up.

Of keeping rhythm and answering in the affirmative

Last night, in no great shock to your collective systems, I went to a show at the Black Cat (a former Mattos Paints location, for those of you not in the know). The band of the evening was, band of the moment Clap Your Hands Say Yeah (re-read headline in context). Though the company I keep had mixed takes on the event, I agree with both on certain points. The show's progression was perfectly described by Jason, but I did enjoy myself like Jamie did. I was in the way back, station wagon style, so I couldn't get drawn into the bounce of the crowd, which would surely have uped my enjoyment. These guys definitely need to hone stage presence, but they've got a lot going for them.

The evening itself was a blast. I went over with the ladies of Swann Street and our Canadian Imports, met up with a handful of DCists, the Blogging Mottram Brothers, and Kristin B and her cadre of men. I didn't get to see any of that famous brotherly dancing action (or, the "most gutwrenching moment of (Jamie's) life"), as I was much further back than they were, but I spied a few fist pumps that were unmistakable. Most of us went to St Ex afterwards, shot the shit for a while (do you KNOW how much money my father makes?), some people drank a bunch of cough syrup, and it was home again home again. It was a really lovely, carefree night that left me in a great mood. Who knows, I might be driven to clap my hands. Or say yeah.

See also: Kyle's personal lambast of the show.
And, a DCeiving take on the whole New York buzz band issue.

Stolen Fun

Here's my first foray into memes. Stole this one from DCeiver. The idea is that you either reply with your answers, or post them on your own blog. Ready? OK!

UPDATE: I forgot that one of the elements here is to "tag" other bloggers to participate. So consider yourselves tagged, Ike, Mottram Junior, Mottram Senior, Wombat Esquire and Ten Bullets.

The Task: Choose a band/artist and answer ONLY IN SONG TITLES by that band:


Are you male or female: "Girl Inform Me"
Describe yourself: "Girl on the Wing"
How do some people feel about you: "Weird Divide"
How do you feel about yourself: "Mine's Not a High Horse"
Describe what you want to be: "Those Bold City Girls"
Describe how you live: "So Says I"
Describe how you love: "Kissing the Lipless"
Share a few words of wisdom: "Know Your Onion!"





Band: The Shins

Tuesday, October 18, 2005

Defeat

Um, so, yeah. I put together this really big elaborate music post, but the formatting got all effed up and I really didn't feel like re-doing it.

So...hi.

A couple interesting blurbs (as always) from Slate science. Men on the pill, adult ODs on the rise, and more!

I've been defeated by blogger and have nothing more to give at the moment. Tonighto : RTFO at CYHSY. YEAH!

Monday, October 17, 2005

Gubinatorial

Is a fun word to say. Go vote for Tim Kaine on the poll here.

For the Love

of all things good in this world PUT LAVAR IN THE DAMN GAME! How many points do we have to give up before Williams wakes up and puts our best effing athlete back on the field? Williams and our defense have been amazing this year and last, but come the bleep on people!



UVA beat FSU. And it's amazing. I was busy getting my rock on (shocking, right?) at the Fiery Furnaces show on Saturday night (and reeling from Liz's awesome party, and watching Aaron's nuptuals), so I didn't see any of the game. But from what I've heard, wow. Go Hoos!


Friday, October 14, 2005

WTF

Someone reached my blog by googling "hoy sex pics."

Also, who is Paulo? Thanks guy!

Post Secret

For some reason, Post Secret has been popping up a lot lately(that All American Rejects video, DCeiver's Lost recap, etc.). It's been around for years, but if you don't know about it, or haven't read it in a long time (like me), it's a site that collects postcards people send them with secrets on them, and posts them all up. Things like this:



It's in the same vein as Group Hug or Overheard in New York, but more fascinating I think.

Thursday, October 13, 2005

Costume Search 2005

Well, according to a quiz I just took, this is my costume:

china
You Are A....Dragon Geisha!
-relaxed

-peaceful

-sweet


What's Your Halloween Costume? .:with pics:.
brought to you by Quizilla

Thanks for the tips, but I think I'll pass. A conversation with Becky this morning pointed me in the direction of a great costume. I'll have to let it be a surprise, of course!

PS: Anybody that watches Lost should be reading the DCeiver's recaps. They're fantastic. Beyond hilarious. The "Pre Lost Study Questions" are great too.

And a big thanks to the Drew for help with computroning last night. Always appreciated.

Wednesday, October 12, 2005

"And although some psychologists question the use of the Internet for therapy..."

Ahhh, journalists discovering blogs. It's like that scene in Bill & Ted when Beethoven wanders into the music store and the keyboards blow. his. mind.

It's a rainy week here on the EC. My time's been occupied by work, finding a dress for Aaron's wedding, planning the celebration of Liz's birth, and staring at the wall. Let me tell ya, walls do the darndest things.

If you haven't been drinking your blogstretch koolaid and adding DCist to your list of daily reads, then you may not know about the Bon Jovi Ticket Contest we're running. Thought that might interest some of you.

The next round of job fairs are tall lined up, so I'll be heading to Ft Hood next week for a site visit. Me and the military are spending a lot of time together these days. Yeeeeeehaaaaaaaaaw!

So, on to pressing matters. What should I be for halloween? I'm leaning towards pirate (as we all know my love for piratude), but the lack of halloween store by my work this year leaves me to fend for myself, which means my pirate costume could be lack lustre. If you have any good suggestions for costumes t r e t c h, please hollar. I've got parties to attend with tuff guys and girl scouts, so I need to get my ass in gear.

I just got a bit nostalgic. It was about a year ago that I started blogging. As some off you may remember, my first site was on a different domain (and all those posts are now gone), but one of the first ones was about greatest halloween candies. As an ode to my burgeoning blogger self, let's go for another spookster list.

Best Halloween Costumes I've Ever Seen

10. Republican. Last year, a friend of Kail's came to his halloween party as a republican. He had fake business cards, smoked a cigar, and talked about how rich he was all night. It was pretty classic.

9. The Great Pumpkin. When we were about 9, Diana's mom had this really great pumpkin costume made for her. It was so great, she wore it for the next 4 halloweens. As my eternal trick or treating partner, I saw a lot of that dear pumpkin. Not necessarily a "best" costume, but certainly one dear to my heart.

8. Willy Wonka & Oompa Loompa, 2004. I didn't see this in person, but the picture of Chris Hoy and ex GF last year at halloween are burned in my memory as some of the best effort and awesomest outcome in a costume I've ever seen.

7. As a kid, I had a good friend named Alita. Alita had reaaaaaaaaally long hair. For halloween one year, she dressed as a birthday cake. Her parents built this awesome round costume, and she put her hair into a braid and stuck a wire in it to make it stand straight up. It was the candle!

6. The Swan. Several girls did this last year, but I still thought it was great. Dress like a prom queen, but put bandages on your nose, fake black eyes, etc. Brilliant.

5. Small Pox. 4th year my roomates and I dressed up as cowboys, indians, and small pox. This was, of course, Betsy's addition to the group costume. She wrote SMALL POX on a tshirt, and ran around all night putting little red dot stickers on everyone. Classic Betsy.

4. Space Cowby. In a nod to Steve Miller, John Lane dressed as a Space Cowboy ~ in a silver western jumpsuit.

3. A Random Hook Up. Becky wrapped extension chords all around herself and was very thematically dressed for a frat halloween party.

2. King Of Beers. Last year, Derik bought a king costume and adorned it with pieces of beer packaging (bottle caps, case cut outs, etc) to become the King of Beers. Very clever, my friend.

1. My first year of college, I was outside at a halloween party, drunkenly chatting with some girl.
"Well, what do I look like?"
(Me, assessing the alarm clock, tissue box, book, glass of water, all atop the table that she was wearing) "A bed side table?"
"Yeah, and what's another name for that?"
"A night stand?"
"And how many of them am I?"
"HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!"

Friday, October 07, 2005

This Week in Stretchville

I've said it before, I'll say it again ~ fall is crazy in my line of work. So sorry for the lack of posts.

Have a good weekend. I'll be (shockingly) catching a concert (third of the week), and bouncing around to a few varried social events. Try and stay dry!

Tuesday, October 04, 2005

"You can't make this shit up."


My coworker and good friend Sarah's 19 year old cousin has gotten herself into a bit of a fix and is getting married next weekend (same day as Aaron, coincidentally). Her bridal registry at Target not only includes the satin babydoll nighty (that's already been purchased by someone, for $16.99), but the movie The Runaway Bride. ON HER WEDDING REGISTRY!

On Of My Favorite Things

Putting my hair up before it's dry in the morning and taking it down late in the day. Why? Because, it's still wet (in a refreshing way, not in a gross way), and hits you in the face with really yummy shampoo smell.

Monday, October 03, 2005

Peter Who?

For the record, Jenna, Colin and Claire:

Petra Hayden sang The Who Sell Out, not The Guess Who.



Pete Townshend was in The Who, not Peter Frampton.



Peter Gabriel was in Genesis, not Peter Frampton.



Peter Frampton is, however, synonymous with the suburbs. (Claire, you were right, it was WW2, not WW1.)



I'm sure if our confusion has been allowed to peter on any longer, we'd have started discussing the wicked cool Gallagher era of The Kinks. Glad we had a concert to catch.



This would have been a lot funnier if I had photoshopping skills. Use your imaginations.