Also, I think my mom got a time machine

Out of office reply:

I am out of the office working in the field. I will be back in the office tomorrow, 4/1/07.

Cross-Species BFFeration Strikes Again

Cutest story ever? Yes! Until, that is, the last sentence. I'll just keep looking at that photo and forget about that not-so-Disney ending.

Musical comparrison of the moment

"War-era U2." I've read this in no less than 12 reviews of different bands in the past 3 weeks.

iTunes Question

When I try to make a play list in the most recent versions of iTunes, it alphabetizes it (or mixes at random if shuffle is on), and doesn't let me rearrange the tracks. It. Is. Infuriating! Anybody know how to turn this little feature off?

OK Heroes, What Gives?

If you're, say, teamed up with someone who weilds the power of the Internet, and you want to, say, hack into someone's computer, wouldn't you maybe, perhaps, bring said Wireless hero with you? Just a thought. Poor scene set up dudes. But so far (28 minutes in), a pretty good episode.

Thirsty?

Anybody feel like grabbing a drink later?

At least I'm consistent

Looks like I took the same picture two winters in a row.

Books, books, books

I've been in a reading rut lately. I've started in on four or five different books lately, and gotten horribly bored and given up. So bored in fact, that the only one whose name I can remember is Confessions of an Ugly Stepsister. I just referenced an old DCist email thread about favorite books, which lead me to ordering Kavalier & Clay, Microserfs, and A Confederacy of Dunces off of Amazon.* In the mean time while Super Saver Shipping does its thing, anybody got any good reccomendations? Something with a good story and characters that aren't loathsome? I've been particularly enjoying southern novelists and sci fi lately, so anything in those realms? Or anything at all, really. And, no need to feel like you have to suggest the most intellectual thing you've ever read either. I'm as open to an easy read as I am an enlightening one. Entertain me, people!



*I'm goin all pyg-style on your ass. In addition, also bought the complete series of Undeclared, Firefly and Freaks & Geeks. Because I am Amazon.com's biggest sucker.

Cruel & Unusual

Celine Dion comes out on the Oscar stage. To sing. I say "SHIT!", as though I have no choice in the matter and am now forced to endure this hateful creature. Then I remember that I don't! So I mute my tv. But can still hear her, because the apartments above and below me are both also watching the Oscars and didn't decide to drown out the sound of that Canadian abomination.

I Heart Peel

I Guess I'm Floating pointed my attention towards Peel a couple weeks ago, and so far I'm loving it completely. Basically, you tell it your favorite music blogs, and using the iTunes interface, it pulls all of the mp3s out of them, lets you stream or download, open that blog post to see more about the song, etc. Then once you download, it automatically loads it to your iTunes library. It's essentially an RSS feed for mp3s on your favorite music blogs. Awesome! Right now it only works for macs, so enjoy it, fellow apple people.

Uh

What the...? Seriously? Do we have that law here to? Is that why concerts are the way they are? This could explain so much...

But really, what kind of bs is that?

Notes from the office

1. I just walked past someone I don't know's office, and they have a Dwight bobblehead.
2. A lot of the guys in the office have bought light sabres, that glow and make swooshy fight noises. So they can fight with each other. To be embarrassed, or elated?
3. I like working on international clients. Rather than talking about work/life balance and compensation, they talk about needing to overcome the onus of filling positions that do not serve a function "which makes [employees] dream."

More OC

I've been spending some time wading through the OC wikiquote page. There are too many great ones in season 1 to pick a favorite, but this one is classic. Pure Cohen gold.

Seth: I think it might be time to take a step back and untangle this incestuous web that I like to call the 'Julie-Caleb union'. Now, let's think about this. When this bizarro knot gets tied... (to Sandy) Julie Cooper is gonna be your mother-in-law. Yeah, enjoy. (to Kirsten) She's gonna be your stepmom.

Kirsten: Seth, my head is spinning.

Seth: Yeah, me and Marissa? We could be related. I can't even do that math. But the real kicker is...Julie Cooper? My grandma. My grandma wears Uggs. Think about it.

Dear 800-927-2291

Stop calling my cell phone. Cut it out. Now.

And also, whoever keeps calling my home line from Wyoming, every day, for the last three months, and never leaving a voicemail -- you cut it out too.

Love,
me

Hey. Hey.

Well, the day has come. Tonight those of us still hanging on to the sun, fashion, beauty and sarcasm drenched hours in Newport will bid farewell to The O.C. this evening. I'll say goodbye with the troop of O.C. Party-goers I've accumulated over the years; we'll eat Helbing Ham Sandwiches, drink wine, play O.C. trivia and probably, cry a little. Me, I'll probably cry a lot, as I'm a huge sucker. What can I say, I really love The O.C. I think Ryan's playing the roll of Scarecrow here, for I do believe I'll miss him most of all. Seth Cohen made geeks chic, Sandy & Kirsten made mom/dad love cool, Summer's the tart with the heart of gold, but Ryan -- he's the man.

From the creation of the Hey-Hey, to Seth's fantastic one liners ("who's winning -- me or my hair?"), the unshakeable Sandy & Kirsten, cold as ice Caleb, Marissa's clothes, the ferris wheel, the coffee cart to the million other times I loved something from that show more than a woman of my age should have, The O.C. was a delight, even when it sucked (Oliver? Lindsay?). But, I do agree that it's time to say goodbye. Let's end on a high note.

...And Jeff Buckley swells up in the background, we look longingly at each other with our enormous blue eyes, and the scene fades out...

Oh, and, go take a peek at this Guest List on Pitchfork. It's from Walter Martin, one of my favorites. Thanks Graham for pointing that out to me. I'm totally trying for a Beatles cover band at my wedding. But I disagree with him about Set. That game is badass. But I might only love it so much cause it's the only game I can always beat my dad in.

Say it aint so

There's a man setting up some sort of Pepsi display/dispenser in one of our conference rooms. This makes me nervous because one of the perks of working where I work is an endless supply of free Coke products. I am a die hard Coke girl. I don't drink a ton of soda, but when I do, you can bet it comes out of a red can. Having to trek down to the cafe and pay for coke on hangover days? I shudder to think!

Amazing

I just can't get over how long the batteries on the new iPods last. My old one had gotten to the point where the commute to work put 'er down. I haven't charged this one in probably 5 days and it's not even half a battery icon down. Thanks, technology. I really like what you've done here.

Also, does anyone else secretly (or, not so secretly) really like this latest Nelly Furtado song, "Say It Right"? I can't help it. Ever since Stacy demonstrated how she'd choreograph it, with "lots of slow turns," I just can't get enough.

Wow

So, Kurt Cobain would have been 40 today. I feel old. And suddenly, really pissed at my parents for no good reason (aka, 12 years old).

Check it out!

Look! Updated sidebars & blog roll! Happy Presidents Day!

Quite possibly the best YouTube video of all time

Warning: lots of f bombs and drug references.

I have excellent hygiene!

According to my dentist. He was very impressed with my toothbrushing skillz. Which I'm now oddly proud of. And he's really, really happy that I use Colgate Total. Quote of the day: "It doesn't matter if you go rotary or manual, just as long as you're movin' plaque."

Also: odd -- a teeth cleaning seems to have significantly dissipated my hangover. Rock.

Dude, I forgot my trapper keeper!

Friday Morning, 1986, originally uploaded by AMattos.

In Catherine's sneakers, Kriston's socks and my bright fuschia leggings that were hip the night before, I looked like I was walking to the school bus stop circa 1986 this morning as I trekked from the flop house (thanks again, Catherine & BFF) back to my car. Totally rad.

The Mystery of the Blogentine Rolls On

Kriston compiles the facts (with vehn diagrams!) as they currently stand in the great mystery valentine caper of 2007. DCeiver's incrimination of Goodspeed seems pretty unshakable, though Sommer says he's not involved. Catherine assures me it's not Yglesias or Spencer, as they wouldn't ever do such a thing. Drew, Ficke and The Governess have all claimed innocence (some more vociferously than others). My money's still on the Nabob or Goodspeed. Though I haven't ruled out Catherine completely. That would be a very Marsian turn to the tale, wouldn't it?

Let's solve this once and for all!

Mystery valentine sender, come out to Unbuckled tonight. Show yourself! Reveal your identity! Let the truth bounce from wall to wall in DC9 so we can all rest easy. And thank you for the super cool princess valentines and hours of intrigue in person.

Cinderella Hearts My Blog!

I'm incredibly lazy about checking my mail, so after being accused of sending the mysterious Disney princess valentines, I put on my snow boots and picked up the mail to discover that I'd gotten one too! So far our top suspects are Ficke, The Pygs and Drew. Stay tuned as the tricky, blog loving cupid mystery unfolds!

Happy Valentines Day

Hey all you lovers out there. I'm celebrating this candy coated holiday from the confines of my condo, clad in monkey pajamas and writing my little heart out. I hope you're all dedicated to the ones you love and are making big romantic plans for the evening. I think mine is going to involve some sort of wine and food extravaganza with the other members of SARS (Sam, Amanda, Reed, Stacy). What's more romantic than platonic friends and their imaginary band?? Anyhow, as you look into the future and beyond pink hearts and cards made out of doilies, clear your calendars for tomorrow night because UNBUCKLED 5.0 is upon us! It's going to be a great show and a great time, as Unbuckleds always are. It would mean oodles and ooldes to me if you came, so I hope to see you there! Details are on the flyer below. Let me know if you have any questions, comments, concerns or declarations of love.

Damn Ice

Because of you, I'm at home, scoring 100% on online Hugh Grant romantic comedy quizes instead of seeing bands with cool people. Shenanigans!

This is the Internet's s t r e t c h, coming at you from a seires of tubes

Voicemail: "Hello Miss Mattos, this is TV's Randy Scott, calling from TELEVISION."

Give a guy a couple years as an on-air sports reporter and it goes straight to his head.

We're back!

After weeks and weeks of waiting for an appointment at the apple store to figure out why my computer stopped doing anything but rotating the screen between primary colors, we go and POOF! All better! But hey, the "all better" seems to have continued past the magic zone of the genius bar, so I'm appeased. So, we're back in business! ("we" = me and my computer)

Oh, and "we" have a new family member. A shiny new 30 gig iPod, oh my! My old one was declared DOA. This is a really uninteresting post, so I'm gonna stop.

A beginning and an end

Today is a good day! After months of trying, I've finally been able to get appointments to fix my computer and iPod. All s t r e t c h, all the time to commence shortly.

However, I'm fairly sure that "My Humps" winning a Grammy is a sign of the impending apocalypse, so I may not be able to use my newly fixed computer for very long.

UPDATE: Stephen Colbert weighs in on this absurdity.

This better work

Bleg: Computer Skillz

So, I've got this series of pictures from last night. Each individually, not so great, but clicking really quickly through them like a flip book on my camera -- pretty hilarious. To get that effect I'm assuming I'd want to do something like an animated gif? Or better suggestions anyone? And, how do I do that? I'm on a pc.

UPDATE: I figured out the part about how to make it, but now the new question: how to host it? It's too big for Flickr or Blogger, and while I could put it up on YouTube, that kind of defeats the whole purpose of making it a gif, right?

Is it just me?

The other night I dreamt that I was drivin' along, being me. When I reached my destination, I got out of the car and suddenly I was pregnant Tori Spelling. I got really mad at the paparazzi for taking pictures of me buying baby stuff. (Which, obviously would never happen cause TS is a publicity whore.) But to my point, Tyler tells me that it's weird to turn into other people in your dreams. I do it all the time. Anybody else?

Also, on Gilmore Girls this week, Laurelai was talking about how in her dreams -- particularly the scary ones where she's trying to get away from something or reach someone quickly -- she's always barefoot, and that's always the worst part. ME TOO. TOTES.

Eating Habits

I'm enjoying a piece of Dove milk chocolate right now. It's one of my favorite candies, and while I don't have it very often, when I do, I have a preferred method of consumption. I put one piece in my mouth (they're small), and suck on it like a hard candy. It maximizes the delicious creamy chocolatiness and makes it last so much longer than the standard chewing approach to chocolate eating. As I was just sitting here doing this, I wondered if anybody else has any suggestions for ways to better enjoy certain foods or drinks? Please share.

Bridge to where?

Thanks to PopCandy for pointing me in the direction of this article. I've been wondering what in the hell the makers of the movie version of Bridge to Terabithia were thinking and meaning to blog about it for weeks. As I remember the novel, it's pretty much the saddest book ever and mainly about dealing with terrible things in your life, including the death of your best friend. Now, I haven't read this book in probably... 15 years or so, but my mom confirmed the copious amounts of tears I shed while reading it, so, I'm gonna go ahead and assume I'm right on this one. It's much more Secret Garden meets My Girl than it is Baby Lord of the Rings. If I were a parent and wasn't wise to the real subject matter and took my kid to see this, I'd be pissed. Real pissed. Luckily, I'm not a parent and I do know what it's about, so I get to go out and drink beers with my friends instead of take my kids to the movies.

Is this thing on?

Why has bloglines stopped telling me when DCeiver drops new, dependably delightful posts? And why is it trying to tell me that the pygs just posted this? I know some of you have been grumbling about bloglines of late as well -- anybody come up with a more satisfactory solution?

Something Circus This Way Comes

There are a few pockets in my new office that smell really strongly of cotton candy. I checked and the last guy that was in here had no clown, fair, carnival or other simliar affiliations.

Bad Blogger

Yikes, I've been pretty content-light lately, huh? There's a lot of that going around. What with trying to make sure my fingers to freeze off, working to get my voice back from the larengitis monster -- made all the more difficult by hours of screaming at a Justin Timberlake concert, experimenting with various ways to cook fish and generally being a bum without a (functional) computer at home, well, I haven't been big with the blogging. Oh, and TV -- I've been watching a lot of TV of late. Not that that's abnormal, but, anybody else pretty bored with pretty much everything at the moment?

Also, I'm in a temporary office with a really sweet view and whatever direction I'm facing -- completely unsure -- appears to feature an errupting volcano. I'm certain that's not what it is, but, big mountainy shape with billowing smoke coming out? I hereby declare that somewhere in... Virginia or Maryland or DC or another neighboring location, there is a volcano errupting, right now!!

Let me just take a moment to say

GO HOOS!!!!

I get a little freaked out

By people with small to tiny heads and extra broad shoulders. I'm generally pretty sensative to disproportion, but that one always bugs me.