Sorry folks, I was waayyy busy at my new job to write here (for months, obviously). It has slowed down a bit, so expect me to go back from not posting at all to posting sporadically & commenting. And posting youtube videos from time to time :P

A Tribute to Automatic for the People is available for free download:

http://www.stereogum.com/drivexv/track/

I haven't listened to it yet, so I can't vouch for quality or anything.

Packing, packing, packing.

Driving to Chicago on Tuesday. It should take us 4 days to get there.

Getting out of SoCal is <3.

Interesting Feline News: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/19959718/?GT1=10150 (Kitty predicts nursing home deaths)

The 2-year-old feline was adopted as a kitten and grew up in a third-floor dementia unit at the Steere House Nursing and Rehabilitation Center. The facility treats people with Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s disease and other illnesses.

After about six months, the staff noticed Oscar would make his own rounds, just like the doctors and nurses. He’d sniff and observe patients, then sit beside people who would wind up dying in a few hours.

Dosa said Oscar seems to take his work seriously and is generally aloof. “This is not a cat that’s friendly to people,” he said.

Oscar is better at predicting death than the people who work there, said Dr. Joan Teno of Brown University, who treats patients at the nursing home and is an expert on care for the terminally ill.

She was convinced of Oscar’s talent when he made his 13th correct call. While observing one patient, Teno said she noticed the woman wasn’t eating, was breathing with difficulty and that her legs had a bluish tinge, signs that often mean death is near.

Oscar wouldn’t stay inside the room though, so Teno thought his streak was broken. Instead, it turned out the doctor’s prediction was roughly 10 hours too early. Sure enough, during the patient’s final two hours, nurses told Teno that Oscar joined the woman at her bedside.

Doctors say most of the people who get a visit from the sweet-faced, gray-and-white cat are so ill they probably don’t know he’s there, so patients aren’t aware he’s a harbinger of death. Most families are grateful for the advanced warning, although one wanted Oscar out of the room while a family member died. When Oscar is put outside, he paces and meows his displeasure.

Would anyone like a referral for eMusic.com? They're running a limited promo right now--free trial membership via referral with 50 free MP3 downloads. To browse/search their selection & listen to samples (no sign-up needed), go here. I don't get anything for referring people to the trial, I only get a perk if someone actually pays for at least a month's subscription, which doesn't seem likely because most everyone I know either downloads illegally or buys cds. But I thought perhaps there are some indie/jazz/classical-heads here who might be interested in some free tunes.

Anyway, if interested you can send me your email addy in a comment (which will be screened for confidentiality). Their downloads have no DRM whatsoever, but they have no major-label releases if that's your kind of thing.

I turned 30 today. Yay!

Owen made me chocolate chip pancakes for breakfast. They were scrumptiolicious.

Thanks to all the greetings and gifts! I'm majorly PMSing right now (can't keep my eyes open) so I will thank y'all individually after I ingest some caffeine.

Wow, Spiderman 3 was jaw-droppingly EMO. Yew. It was AIGHT, I could've done without the excess hair & tears. What a precipitous drop in goodness from Spidey 2.

Some FUCKING ASSHAT THREW A WATER BOTTLE at Neil Finn in Coachella.

Just bizarre. He's not exactly one of those hate-inspiring types.

Where are Flanagan's bouncers when you actually need them?

I am SO pissed off. I think I am going to watch some Colbert Report to cheer myself up.

Crowded House were AMAZING last night.

I haven't played Sims 2 in forever because Seasons (the latest & best EP which also has higher computer spec requirements) slowed it down and I hate playing with all the graphics settings turned low. I miss building Sim houses.

The US release of The Veils' 2nd album, Nux Vomica, is out. I highly recommend it to my alterna-rock-listening peeps. Even though their album has such a title, they don't sound like The Autumns.

An ocelot whose name means "shame". Assertive & shy? How Gemini!

According to the Crowded House forum @ frenz.com, CH's opening band on Friday is 16 Frames. I kind of like their MySpace songs, even though they're in that pukey subgenre that includes a lot of music I hate. They should make the wait for CH pleasant enough!

Tracy & I had a productive time last Friday & Saturday. We had a concert, music shopping, shoe-shopping, tasty chicken, chocolate chip pancakes, movie, and token Hollywood celebrity sighting.

The Autumns were great at their show @ The Roxy. However, they were even louder than usual so Tracy sadly stopped hearing things halfway into the show. I fortunately remembered to bring earplugs (but not extra ones for nufnuf, sorry!). During the opening act before The Autumns, Ryan Gosling stood 2 feet away from us. He probably would've stayed where he was if some starstruck guy hadn't chatted him up and asked to introduce him to the starstruck guy's date, etc. I often confuse Ryan Gosling with David Arquette. The way I can tell them apart many times is that Ryan Gosling isn't twitchy.

T & I. bought 2 pairs of shoes each at her nearest Payless. I got 2 Champion pairs--green sneakers & black flats. They were comfy, though I think I still want a new pair of "everyday" sneakers (instead of using the green ones everyday...I don't want to wear them out that fast because they're so cute). We ate at Roscoe's & the new Doughboy's on Highland. Doughboy's' chocolate chip pancakes are awesome, even Tracy who doesn't like chocolate couldn't stop eating it. Owen met up with us on Saturday to watch Hot Fuzz at the Arclight. It was really entertaining, even though more graphically violent than I expected. After the movie we went to Amoeba (I know, I've said I'll never shop at Amoeba but they had Suk/Katchen's Brahms violin sonatas new for like $5 and I hadn't been able to find it via cd-swapping sites. I was able to limit myself to 1 cd).

It was also nice to get to hang out with Andrea (who became Tracy's roommate when amandica moved and who is Owen's ex-roommate and became Kimmy's roommate when Tracy & I moved out of Kimmy's and Kimmy replaced me with Owen. Don't worry if you don't follow that) when she got home from (I think) doing errands. They got a 3rd roommate recently but she wasn't around & I don't remember if I've met her already (she works with Tracy).

Do any of you have any favorite shampoos for frizzy coarse hair?

Finally starting to feel somewhat normal again. Sheesh. I hate colds. I didn't have a cold for like 2 years, and then I get one and it lasts for almost 2 weeks.

I'm going to visit nufnuf tomorrow. I haven't see her in ages. We're going to see The Autumns, whose past recent shows I've skipped as well. It should be fun!

I'm sad that Rufus Wainwright still hasn't released sheet music :(