Imaginary Meme

Did this on FB, but I thought it would look nice on the blog.

"Beliefs of their Audience" by 1978 Atlanta Braves Season

A long-lost gem by baseball-loving folk rockers

In case you didn't know, the real Atlanta Braves 1978 Season was a dismal one. 69 wins against 93 losses put them at the bottom of the National League and their musical namesake didn't fare any better with their career (owing perhaps to their chosen moniker).

Formed in the early 80's, when the days of disco were fading and a New Wave was on the horizon, 1978 Altanta Braves Season were out of style before they even began. 1978 ABS was all softly strummed guitars and haunting a cappellas, reminiscent of 60's doe-eyed balladeers Chad & Jeremy. It's no wonder1978 ABS was shunned almost immediately by the listening public who were eager for a look into the future (with synthesizers!) and not a remembrance of things past.

It was certainly a pity 1978 ABS didn't come about during a more sympathetic era. "Beliefs in their Audience" is a magnificent record, full of great melodies and the occasional full sting orchestra. Best songs in the album are "Who am I Today?" an ode to Peter Sellers, and "I Sat by the River to Cry", a melancholy love song at its best.

Recently reissued, "Beliefs of their Audience" comes highly recommended and hopefully 1978 Atlanta Braves Season will have a better batting average this time around.

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Imaginary Album
To Do This
1 - Go to "wikipedia." Hit “random”
or click http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:Random
The first random wikipedia article you get is the name of your band.

2 - Go to "Random quotations"
or click http://www.quotationspage.com/random.php3
The last four or five words of the very last quote of the page is the title of your first album.

3 - Go to flickr and click on “explore the last seven days”
or click http://www.flickr.com/explore/interesting/7days
Third picture, no matter what it is, will be your album cover.

4 - Use photoshop or similar to put it all together.

5 - Post it to FB with this text in the "caption" and TAG the friends you want to join in. (you can untag yourself if you don't want this photo up).

I cannot stand for this shit

Ugh Mandy Moore. I can't put my finger on why I dislike her so much but it's been that way ever since her huge head floated into the public's consciousness.

Maybe it's because she's a mediocre singer at best.

Maybe it's because she's one of the worst 'actresses' I've ever seen. Don't you dare try to defend her acting skills to me. All her facial expressions and 'I'm-just-so-thankful-to-be-here' mien gets on my nerves. Gahd.

I can't tell you how much she ruined an episode of HIMYM for me. I was never a Ted girl* but seeing her suck face with him just put me off him entirely.

Maybe it's because when I was in college, I was at an out of town trip with friends and two of them insisted on playing 'Crush' the WHOLE DAMN NIGHT. Over and over and over. Pao and James, I still do not forgive you.

But believe me when I tell you that I don't dislike her any more because she's engaged to Ryan Adams. She can have him for all I care. Just as long as he keeps putting out good music and she keeps being irrelevant.

*I have a theory that if you're female and a fan of HIMYM, then you're either a Ted girl or a Marshall girl. But you ask, what about Barney? He's the awesomest! And you would be absolutely correct, my friend. My answer to that would be: We are all Barney girls (and boys) so there's no need to choose sides on that one.

Where's Fluffy?

Last night I finally saw "Nick and Nora's Infinite Playlist" which is a movie made for people like me (albeit I'm about 10 years older than their target audience). I liked the movie a lot. Good actors (if you consider what Michael "George Michael" Cera does is acting), good pacing, and of course good music.

It made me miss making mix tapes for my friends. Nick's break-up mix, complete with sleeve, was so great. It makes me aspire to create something like that, even if only one person gets to enjoy it.

Unfortunately I've been so remiss in listening to new music. I've driven myself into a figurative rut when it comes to new music. Any real music lover will tell you that it takes a lot of effort and time to find new, good music. I admit I've had a lot of time but I've lost the hunger for new stuff. I just have to push myself I guess to get out there again.

So to those who regularly get my mixes, you'll be getting some new ones soon. Hopefully.

***
The kitty named Walter nesting on my lap, grooming himself. After three weeks of getting Walter, we have cat hair all over our clothes and long scratches on our legs to show for it. It's been great though. He's just so damn cute.

Since I spend a lot of time with him, he seems to have grown fond of me and follows me around like a furry little shadow. I have to watch where I step or else I end up squooshing him.

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I'm finishing up the Dashiell Hammett works. I've always wanted to see 'The Thin Man' but never got the chance. I saw 'The Maltese Falcon' when I was too young to understand anything that was going on except that (spoiler!) the bird was fake. Reading the novels makes me think the films are extremely different from the source.

If you're into the whole hard-boiled detective/film noir genre like I am, then Hammett is highly recommended.

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I hate to admit it, but I do miss home. I love being with Marc in NZ but there are days when I want to hear the racket of jeeps and the smell of poison in the air. That, and I've been wearing the same batch of clothes for the past 4 months. I desperately want to go shopping. Oh Greenhills how I miss you.

I miss anything inihaw too. Gahd, you'd think with all their posturing about Down Under barbecuing, their bbqs would actually be any good (it's not). Thank God for all the Asian restaurants in Christchurch, without them I'd be starving in a land of bland food and fish n' chips.

Walter

Our new kitteh! He's already full of lols.

Queenstown roadtrip

Since we got a car, we decided to go on a little roadtrip to see a bit more of NZ. A co-worker of Marc has been bugging him to bring me to Queenstown since I got here so that seemed like the obvious destination.

It's a 6-7 hour drive to Queenstown from Christchurch and of course the scenery is always good.

Apparently, Queenstown is the "adventure capital of NZ" which means lots of throwing yourself off of bridges and airplanes, and other similarly dangerous pastimes. We, or at least I, however decided to not risk life and limb. We merely rode on a 80kph speed boat that did 360 turns, luged down a mountain on a tiny plastic car, ate some extremely spicy Korean food and endangered our health by hanging out in a freezing storage locker with booze too keep us warm.

Here are some pictures!















More photos here.