All posts in: weird things i love

13 Mar 2012

so you ran out of This American Life…

There comes a time in every girl’s life when your demand for This American Life podcasts outpaces a measly one-episode-a-week demand.

It’s understandable. Life throws you a lot of tedious tasks that simply can’t be accomplished without auditory assistance. Like cleaning. Folding laundry. Exercising. Opening boxes of books for hours (just me? huh…).

Or walking.

And sometimes your attention span just can’t handle an audio book, you know?

The last time I tried to listen to Non-This-American-Life podcasts, the whole concept of podcasts was fairly nascent. Which means: the podcasts available were pretty crappy. Luckily for me, there has been a boom in podcast quality during the past years! Yippee!

So here is what I have been listening to with relative obsession for the past few weeks. If you have found yourself in a This American Life drought, then these may fill that massive void in your life.

For a basic primer on quality comedy podcasts, I would recommend my friend Ashley’s post Podcasts for your Ears.

I will admit that I feel a bit of kismet has brought me to the world of podcasts. As soon as I started listening to some of the more popular comedy podcasts, I spotted references to them EVERYWHERE. It was like this bit of counterculture I was never aware of. Anyway, my introduction to these podcasts also began auspicously – as soon as I said “WAH I NEED MORE THIS AMERICAN LIFE WHAT SHOULD I DO??” I swear, the next day, Ashley made this post. MAGIC!

Ashley covers the big ones: Nerdist. WTF with Marc Maron. The Pod F. Tompkast. I’m not hooked on any of these yet, but they are certainly entertaining, and feature some quality guest stars. Head on over to Ashley’s blog for a more thorough recommendations – she’s been at it for much longer than I have!

Additional moments of kismet:

If you aren’t in the mood for comedy and you have two working ovaries, I would heartily recommend Hilary Frank’s The Longest Shortest Time. On this podcast, Frank interviews new moms and dads about the bizarre experience that is raising Very Tiny Babies. Think of this as a well-produced mommy blog for your ears. I was so sad when I listened all the way through this series.

Moment of kismet:

If you ARE in the mood for comedy, allow me to reveal my biggest obsession – You Had to Be There. I saw this article about the podcast in the NYTimes last week and was so intrigued. While I like comedy podcasts, what drew me to this one was the strange premise. The two hosts, comedians Nikki Glaser and Sara Schaefer met at a party and hit it off. They wanted to be friends. Instead of doing awkward lady-dates – or however it is you make friends when you aren’t in school I have no idea – the decided to start a podcast. So it’s part funny podcast, part two new friends getting to know each other. I am a big-time voyeur, so this was intriguing. And I was SO instantly hooked. In fact, I have not listened to anything else since discovering this one because GUESS WHAT! It’s a year old so there are 700 million episodes to listen to.

 

Moment of kismet:

  • I am about 10 episodes in and for some reason these episodes have been disproportionately MICHIGAN and KANSAS heavy! I believe my readership here is about 90% people from Michigan or Kansas, so this might excite you.

I will also add these notes:

  • The musical guests are all… strangely awesome.
  • It’s pretty raunchy. Actually, a lot of these podcasts are pretty raunchy. If you are adverse to the raunch, listen with care.
  • I love that this is two ladies. Lady humor ftw!

And in a final moment of kismet, just as I entered this Let’s Hunt for Podcasts stage of my life, another college friend of mine was like SO YEAH I STARTED A PODCAST!

 

And it is funny. Very funny. Recommend! J.D.’s Cocktail Lounge is available on my friend’s tumblr or on iTunes.

This last one has made me miss my college friends something fierce – I need more hilarious discourse in my life.

Additionally, this whole experience has made me want to start a podcast. Every time a funny exchange occurs between me and a friend in real life, I start to wonder “Hmmm… what kind of podcast could we make?” I feel like it may be a sickness, but it also makes for a fun conversation starter at parties.

But seriously. Anyone down?

 

 

02 Mar 2012

some links for march

These are the Ways You Love Yourself

“forgive yourself for not handling it all better, for feeling like you let others down. the path is not done, the road is not finished, why are you trying so hard to rush the whole thing? celebrate the fact that your story has some major departures.”

I love Meg’s posts. I bookmarked this weeks ago, but after writing yesterday’s post, it seems relevant yet again.

 

13 Practical Ways to Face Your Fear, Take Control, and Conquer Anxiety and Phobia

Just remember, fear is natural. It’s normal. It’s there to protect you. It’s your friend. Don’t beat yourself up for being afraid, try instead to be kind and thankful for it. Face it. And love it.

Respect it. Play with it. Make yourself comfortable with it.

Speaking of self-care, I thought this article from The Freedom Experiment about conquering legit phobias offered a lot of small, practical tactics for just calming yourself down when you’re feeling a bit too keyed up. “Breath in squares” feels much more tangible to me than “just breath.” Worth a read if you are a high-anxiety type.

 

15 Fights to Have Before You Get Engaged

Honey, I was watching this Oprah show about a beautiful family with forty foster children…

I found this exceedingly old article the other night and it was probably the funniest piece of relationship advice I’ve read. I like reading about how to effectively navigate major romantic relationships, but every article is the same, you know? This one hits all the obvious points, but the humor hits the points home a bit harder.

 

25 Things I Want To Say to So-Called “Aspiring Writers”

Agents, editors, reviewers, readers, trolls on the Internet, they’re going to say things you don’t want to hear. A thick skin isn’t enough. You need a leathery carapace. A chitinous exoskeleton. Writing is a hard-knock career where you invite a bevy of slings and arrows into your face and heart. It is what it is.

Repeat what I said above, but replace “relationships” with “writing.” I’m trying to keep this particular quote in mind this week because I am feeling too much like a delicate flower.

 

 

When We Fail To Do Our Part

These hard-working committees can miss something simply because of how overwhelming their tasks are. They can miss something because they miss something. Human error happens. But anyone who reads can pitch in and do their part, too, so books like Imaginary Girls don’t unfairly slip between the cracks.

Even though the 2011 book award frenzy is dying down, the process for handing out Newberys and National Book Awards and such is really going on all year. Kelly’s article on Stacked talks about YALSA awards and a little known way that everyday readers can “lobby” for a favorite YA underdog.

 

Advocating for Contemporary YA Lit

Contemporary ya lit doesn’t get the marketing or publicity bucks behind it that so many other genres do. Pay attention to the advertisements you see around for books — do many of them look familiar? Do they target the same few books over and over?

Another Stacked article! This one is a bit old, but I am taking this YA Lit class that has me thinking all about how to keep up with what’s new in YA without getting buried/discouraged – believe you me, there are SO MANY BOOKS! This article, though, presents the task as more of a professional responsibility than the simple act of “keeping up with those kiddies” – it’s important to support quality lit so that publishers will continue to support quality lit, rather than publishing Twilight knock-off after Twilight knock-off.

 

Sendak on Colbert

I’m sure everyone and their 90-year-old grandmother have already seen these videos, but they are SO hilarious, SO amazing, that I’m just going make extra-double-sure that EVERYONE possible has seen it.

Did you see it?

Good. Aren’t you glad?

 

28 Feb 2012

birthday wish list

Friends, in twelve days I am celebrating a birthday.

I am going to be quite old, let me tell you. Quite old, indeed.

And while I have little desire to add more stuff to my life, if you, for some reason, are sitting at home and saying “Gosh, I sure want to send Jessica a present for her birthday, but I just don’t know WHAT!”, well here is an extremely short list of things that I would like.

This print by one of my favorite illustrators, Sophie Blackall. I saw another one of these long posters on the subway in NYC, and I about flipped when I heard that Blackall had one. Want!

My running shoes have a big chunk missing from the inside heel – every time I take off my shoe, bits of foam fly everywhere. Also, they smell kinda awful! I need a new pair. Plus, I read/was indoctrinated by Born to Run, so I’m now convinced that my extra-padded shoes are giving me injuries every time I run. So maybe a minimally padded number, like these fancy New Balance Minimus? Anyone?

Ever since I beat Twilight Princess, there’s been a small hole in my heart. Not that I have any time for video games…… but I want to have time for video games…. If you are reading this and want to beat it and then mail it to me *cough* DOROTHY! *cough*, then this would count as a birthday present.

I think if I had all those things, my life would be complete.

Unless anyone has a fulltime job + benefits laying around they’d like to offer, that is…

14 Jan 2012

dear roommate

I am sad that you had to leave, and that I hope I didn’t make it too hard for you to go. Or too easy. I was aiming for something in the middle.

Anyway, I could really sit here and think about the reasons I will miss you all day, but here are just a few examples, to help you visualize how much you will be missed:

1. If I accidentally eat too many eggs and run out before I can buy more? No breakfast for me.

2. Never again will the words “So, there’s this lady whose blog I read…” leave my mouth. Really. Never! Who would I say that to, other than you?

3. I am back in the eating-brunch minority. My brunch intake will decrease dramatically. (Side note: why are 2/3 of my first examples breakfast-related? I have issues)

4. Bad things that will probably happen over the next 6 months: my library books will go overdue, I will lock myself out of the apartment more than once, Peach will meow sadly by her food dish during the day, I will have to go to bars with boys by myself.

5. Nobody will call the cops on the downstairs neighbors! Their late-night domestic disputes will go unpunished. Also, with fewer people around the house to eavesdrop, I will surely miss out on some of their choicier dialog, as will you! A highlight from last night’s discussion? “I can’t BELIEVE that I have allowed myself to be manipulated like this… BY A WOMAN!” And from today, “No, YOU’RE A FART-FACE!”

6. Additionally, nobody will believe that these quotes are real, other than you.

 

There are plus sides, too, I suppose. Peach now has her own room. She is currently sleeping in it – laying on a blanket, of course. And I’ve entered a phase of existence that feels much like what I do when I have a break-up: I suddenly realize how much time there is in a day. All the time spent hanging out and telling “so there’s this lady whose blog I read” stories has to go somewhere, I suppose, so I’ve been doing such things as A) going to bed even earlier (didn’t think it was possible, but hey!) B) forcing my boyfriend to have really long discussions about such comfortable topics such as religion (lucky Lance!), and C) going to the gym a lot. Yes, I realize you’ve been gone for like, 2 days, but believe me that all of those things have happened in 48 hours. If I can keep it up, maybe my life/relationship/waistline will be better, once I recover from my loss.

Maybe.

Probably not, but maybe.

But despite all of my bullshit, I hope that your move brings you joy and prosperity, I really do. Please move somewhere awesome so A) you will have a subsequently awesome life B) I can visit you all the time for vacations or C) I can force you to hire me at your library and move in with you against your will.

I really just wanted to tell you, though, how much fun I had these past few years, and that I am deeply worried I will never find another friend quite as awesome as you.

You will be a hard act to follow, so let’s just be friends forever, mkay?

Sincerely yours,

Your Roommate

P.S. Shout out to Faryle who, almost 3 years ago now, made this post possible. Forever grateful that you passed this lady off to me.

09 Jan 2012

2012: week one

January 1 – January 7

  • First week back from Michigan. Jumped right from vacation to working, but feel a little mentally unprepared for the upcoming semester. I feel about three steps behind never quite ready for what’s going to happen next week, tomorrow, later this afternoon. Stuff like “laundry” and “grocery shopping” and “cleaning up” seems incredibly challenging. Hopefully I will snap out of it.
  • A bit on edge. Catch myself clenching my jaw unconsciously. Headaches. A migraine on Thursday.
  • Watching: How I Met Your Mother, season 5
  • Reading:
  • Thinking about:
    • My resume
    • How to slice some $$$ from our grocery budget.
    • My sister and her sick gall bladder/subsequent surgery.
    • How much I will miss my roommate and how and when we will be reunited in the future.
    • Exciting upcoming mail deliveries.
  • Major accomplishments:
    • Beating Zelda Twilight Princess.
    • Going to the gym 3 days in a row.
01 Dec 2011

end of an era

I just realized that in four hours, I will finish my last MA Children’s Lit class.

I am having trouble expressing exactly how baffling this is. Not only am I growing sickeningly closer to The Future in which I Apply For Jobs, I also have to leave this community of professors, classmates, and scholars who I love so dearly and admire so much. It’s a dream of a life, sitting around and talking about books you love with really smart people.

I need a minute, but I don’t have one.

It’s time to go spend three hours talking about TWILIGHT!

In the meantime, here is a picture of a cookie, courtesy of my Sister Caroline.

31 Oct 2011

Halloweenie

I do not like Halloween.

In the interest of having a good time, I roused my sick boyfriend, my indignant roommate, and a number of semi-indignant friends to dressing up and attending a party on Saturday. In the snow.

It wasn’t a bad evening.

But since I got that out of the way, now I can return to not liking Halloween.

Except that I do like a few Halloween type things.

I like looking at pumpkins.

I like Edward Gorey.

I like Werewolf Bar Mitzvahs.

I like The Nightmare Before Christmas.

I like the Halloween episodes of most television shows.

But other than that, I am just a Halloweenie.

15 Jun 2011

my life in pictures

I feel weird writing something here without a picture to show you. I mean, I don’t mind READING stuff online that doesn’t have pictures, but I still feel like an entry is more substantial, more finished, if there is something interesting to look at.

This occasionally creates a problem. You see, I don’t like lugging my stupid camera around with me, and even if I did, I’m not all that great at wanting to use it. On vacations, I typically make Lance the designated photographer unless I chance upon something particularly scenic. Unlike me, Lance is constantly snapping pictures and has thousands of them to show for his efforts. All those Chihuly pics? His.

So if I must Blog With Pictures, then I only have my relatively small amount of images to pick from.

So I must Blog About Whatever It Is I Took a Picture Of.

So today, I get to tell you about how when Lance spotted his first 12 pack of Sam Summer at the liquor store a month or so ago, he grabbed the box and held it over his head and sang that little song from Zelda. You know the one when you get some really cool item?

Oh, it’s this song! Just watch the first 10 seconds.

Bonus points for being yet another awesome example of Nerdy Children On Youtube. I love all you little guys, I really do.

Anywho, so my Fully Grown boyfriend carried the box around over his head for awhile, then we paid and went home and got to drinking.

And then I memorialized the blessed event with the taking of a zillion photos of the First Pour and the First Sip and the First Tasting of the Sam Summer Season.

Lance is clearly not the only nerdy one in the household.

Also: give us a break! We had a long winter! It was probably still snowing out or something.

Well that story’s out of the way.

Additionally, I could tell you about my cat and her strange sleeping habits.

Actually, I could do a whole series of entries on that one.

Because it’s pretty much all I take pictures of.

MY BLOG IS ABOUT TO GET SO EXCITING!!!!

Two Random Addendums:

1) Would you scroll back up for a moment and check out my boyfriend’s fine beard? Daaaaamn. It is gone now. He was happy to see it go.

2) Would someone like to talk me out of re-reading all 7 Harry Potter books over the next 30 days? I think I am going to have enough reading on my hands, buuuuuuut…. it’s Harry Potter!!!

11 Jun 2011

my misspent youth

Fun fact about me:

I have really weird taste in Youtube videos.

Some favorite categories:

  • Old Sesame Street clips
  • The Swedish Chef
  • Live collegiate a cappella
  • Songs I find hilarious (but make other people wonder what is wrong with me)
  • Live tornado footage

And today’s favorite:

Children With Youtube Channels

It started with this inspired video

Seriously. I could watch it all day.

And then, I became strangely impressed with The Food Reviewer and his admirable commitment to video taping himself eating every food product in his home.

I’m not sure why I am so endeared to these young videographers. However, when I chanced upon this video early this morning, it hit me.

If I had a video camera and a Youtube Account when I was 12,

I would have been recording stop-animation music videos

to Weird Al songs

with my Legos.

I am almost 100% sure of that fact.