One Week

Saturday

I went to pick up a dresser that matched our vanity from Kim's brother.

It was the first day of rain in weeks, so we moved it in the rain.

Turns out the back left leg had been broken in the previous move. So free dresser, but also weekend repair assignment.

Got it over to my place. Cable guy got our cable installed.

Bought some gorilla glue, messed with the broken leg a bit, and pasted it back on.

The sebaceous cyst that is a always on the back right of my neck had been inflamed for a few days, and bothered me when I moved my head.

I wanted the glue to dry overnight before I screwed in some metal supports.

I can't figure out the best way to quickly filter out the bullshit channels among the U-Verse 200. Like, our 5 shopping channels and 7 religious channels and standard def channels I get in high def.

Sunday

The good people that manufactured this dresser were not exaggerating - this is hard maple. I have to drill pilot holes for the screws, and even then it's tough going. I take my time.

As I'm tightening the final screw of the second bracket, the head falls of from the rest of the screw.

More glue.

I'm not going to feel good about this until I make a little shim and glue it next to this leg's wheel. It takes me a long time. I should buy some real tools.

It's glued in.

The dresser is placed upright. The leg stands.

Monday

Work,

My primary care doctor can't see me until Thursday. I make the appointment.

I walk in to an urgent care right after I get home. I wait about 15 minutes.

I explain I've had this cyst infected before, five years ago or something. It was drained and went away for a few weeks and then it came back as the little bump it always is.

The ARNP says yeah. They should really be removed entirely, but you can't do that when they're inflamed.

He'll drain it now, but it's best to make an appointment weeks down the road with a dermatologist or something to remove it entirely.

I get face-down on a table. He numbs it with injections. He cuts and pokes and drains. Don't look up videos of this procedure on YouTube.

He works hard for 15 minutes. He places material in my neck to wick away more pus and junk. Gauze taped to my neck.

Five years ago, an annoying woman saw my neck bandage and reached for it and said "You have a tag sticking out of your shirt OH it's a bandage."

He gives me prescriptions for an antibiotic and a painkiller. "Lortab makes me nauseous. Last time I took it I threw up on the side of an idyllic Irish road." "Tramadol, then?" "That's fine." I had taken a few of those prior to chemotherapy.

My antibiotic is Bactrim, a sulfa drug.

I eat some leftover tilapia. I take the two pills.

Tuesday

At 3 a.m., I am cold. I start shaking. No fever.

I assume there is some sepsis due to the procedure. I take another Bactrim and an ibuprofen. I grab a blanket. I go back to sleep.

A few hours later I am sweating. I feel better and lose the blanket.

I get up with my alarm and decide not to risk driving to work.

Sometimes you just go, then you're a longish drive to go home, and that drive really blows when you are sick.

The cyst is very tender but okay. I change the gauze dressing. I play Playstation and watch sweet sweet cable. I iron the khakis I've been ignoring for the last 14 days.

I put the drawers inside the dresser. I remember the other quirks he told me about. One handle needs a new screw. One drawer needs a thing reattached to it - the thing that helps it slide.

I attach the slidey thing wrong, but fuck it cause it still works.

Wednesday

I hadn't taken an of my painkillers. I take one in the morning.

I go back to the urgent care. A doctor removes the wick in the cyst hole.

Five years ago, I did that myself in my bathroom. It hurt a lot, and was gross a lot. So I planned ahead and tood that single Tramadol pill.

I drove home and got ready for work. When I took off my jeans a quarter fell on the floor.

I bent over to pick it up. Drops of blood fell from the gauze behind my head to the carpet.

I needed to change the dressing. Where do I keep the gauze? I don't have any gauze.

I do have a white undershirt lying next to my white undershirt pile. It has been separated from the group because it is no longer worthy of work status.

I press the shirt against my neck and drive one mile to Walgreens.

The girl "working" in the makeup section of Walgreens smiles as I enter. She does not offer her assitance.

I walk straight to the gauze section. It's on the back wall. I now believe it should be the first display upon entering. Fuck this sunscreen shit.

She smiles again as I pass her going toward the checkout. Maybe she smiles at everyone that enters the store bleeding into improvised bandages.

Buy one get one half off. I get two.

During my second hour of work I feel lightheaded. How much did I bleed?

I break open some Chicken in a Biscuit I bought on sale after hearing Mike and Tom Eat Snacks discuss it three weeks earlier. When you give blood you eat stuff and then you don't get lightheaded.

My work neighbor brings up the valid point that blood donors give a PINT of blood. We agree it is unlikely I have bled that much.

I break out my meaty turkey sandwich. After three bites I can't look at it anymore. Nausea.

I almost fall asleep in my chair for thirty minutes. I call a doctor about H3N2v.

I have to go home sick. Driving 20 minutes home sick and sleepy is not good. I keep my eyes open.

I park in my garage. I dry heave at the side of my driveway.

I set an alarm for 4 p.m. I sleep for two hours. I go to an appointment made weeks prior with my gastroenterologist.

We talk a little about Crohn's. He says if Tramadol and Lortab both make me nauseous, insist on Percoset next time. He asks if I still have anti-nausea pills from my chemotherapy.

I forgot about those. And the Oxycontin.

He shows me to the clinic restroom so I can dry heave again.

I pick one of the two nausea meds I find in my closet and take one. I rest. I eat one egg and a bowl of Rice Krispies.

Thursday

My apps all stop working. I have to take out the battery to reset the phone. It has happened many times in the past two weeks.

I eat a bowl of Rice Krispies. I feel fine. I drive to work.

My phone stops playback of Uhh Yeah Dude when I hit Topeka. I park and see it's shut itself off.

I read android forums for Nexus S bugs. Nothing works. It won't reboot or recover.

I work on that and work-work until 1 p.m. This schedule allows me to avoid taking sick leave when attending my 1:45 appointment with my regular doctor.

I think I can squeeze in a drive-thru burger at McDonald's, but decide against it.

We talk. She looks at my cyst and tries to drain it more, but it's mostly draining blood, not pus.

The Sprint store guy tries to reboot my phone. He suggests trying the other Sprint store in town.

I go home and eat a tiny bowl of leftover jasmine rice with some chili olive oil on it.

The other Sprint store guy tries and fails to reboot my phone. I make arrangements for a new phone in a few days.

I go home and take off my shoes and socks.

Oh, right.

I get on Facebook and send a message about my dead phone.

I look up information about my feet.

I noticed small red spots on the top of my feet 2 days ago when taking a bath. No shower due to the bandage.

We use the term "petechial rash" at work,and though I don't really know what one is I figured I had one. Now I should check if I am correct.

I know that sometimes people get rashes when they take antibiotics. I am not concerned. It doesn't itch. Just little red spots on my feet. I guess there are some on my legs.

I learn that there is a term called Petechiae.

Petechiae may indicate a number of conditions, ranging from minor blood vessel injuries to life-threatening medical conditions.

Huh.

I call my doctor's nurse. She was very nice a few hours ago. She felt bad because I had cancer and Crohn's at my age. She insisted I call if I needed anything.

It was almost 5 p.m. I looked up their hours - they are open a few hours yet.

I almost don't call. I call.

"How far away are you?" "Less than 10 minutes." "We want to draw some blood. Come back."

I give blood. The phlebotomist looks kinda like the smart sister from Modern Family. She looks that old, too.

I wait. I go back into the room I was just in hours ago. Thirteen months ago, she sat me here and told me I had lymphoma.

My blood showed I had no platelets. Zero platelets. "We ran the test three times." She had never seen this before. My white cells were fine, other stuff was pretty good.

"How is my blood clotting?" "It can still clot without platelets. You need to go to the ER." "I feel fine." "Maybe the test is just wrong, but the only way to check is to go to the ER and test there. And if it's not wrong, you need to be in the ER."

This is weird.

"Do you want me to get a different doctor so you won't have to tell me bad news anymore?"

"Not at all."

I am really hungry. Kim and I were going to make tacos soon. I drove past Spangles but really wanted to drive-thru. I got stopped at the minor light at Schwartz Road for the third time this week. Fuck that fucking light. That neighborhood doesn't deserve it.

I call Kim and leave a voicemail. Remember, you have to call me back on my work phone because the other phone died.

There is no reception in the ER. They plug in a landline. They authorize long distance for the 913 area code. Kim puts away the taco meat and drives over.

New blood is drawn by a paramedic student. My platelet count is now 6.

Normal Results: 150,000 - 400,000 platelets

I am admitted for overnight observation. I am in a room by 9:30.

Kim goes to get some clothes and a meaty pizza from Papa John's, because the other day I was thinking, "That pizza is kind of garbage but pretty good."

As I'm eating the pizza 45 minutes later, Kim tells me she left it on the roof of her car for a few blocks before realizing the error. Roof pizza is pretty good.

The TV remote breaks and I have to swap it with the older model. No number pad - I've got to move up and down one channel at a time. The Washington State game is a huge disappointment. One channel above it is Mitt Romney's Disappointed Dad Face.

I get to sleep at midnight.

Friday

They wake me up at 5 a.m. to take blood. Once I'm up I usually can't get back to sleep.

I watch the first of many iterations of Law & Order. This one is Criminal Intent, with Neil Patrick Harris as a shy man who drugs and kills women and once ate a calf muscle.

My platelets come back at 6,000. I meet with an oncologist. He thinks they'll continue to rise if I keep taking steroids. He says it's Immune Thrombocytopenia (ITP), maybe caused by the Bactrim, maybe not. It happens sometimes to people with a history of lymphoma.

In most cases, an autoimmune response is thought to cause ITP. Normally, your immune system helps your body fight off infections and diseases. But if you have ITP, your immune system attacks and destroys its own platelets. The reason why this happens isn't known.

Right as I finish breakfast and the paper, a Big Gulp cup is set next to me. It contains radioactive iodine and lemonade Crystal Light. It's for my CT scan. I down it quickly.

Two hours later I get to the scan room, and they ask me to down a glass or two more. I guess they didn't expect it to take this long for me to get in there.

CT scans are really easy and not very unpleasant. They inject you with an IV solution that makes you feel warm and tingly, and can sometimes make you feel like you are peeing yourself. The great part is, you AREN'T REALLY PEEING YOURSELF. It only takes ten minutes once you're in the CT machine room.

The pharmacist assigned to the 3rd floor meets with me as a friendly formality. "From an organic chemistry standpoint, how would Bactrim cause me to kill my platelets? Bear in mind I got C's in organic chemistry." "I don't really know, but I will look it up."

Later he tells me the method of action is "idiosyncratic", which is a scientific way of saying nobody knows.

Black Dog is a 1998 motion picture starring Patrick Swayze as a trucker trying to get his life back in order, hauling a dangerous load alongside now-disgraced country music superstar Randy Travis, while Meatloaf and some other dudes attempt to seize his shipment.

EVERY SINGLE MOVIE ABOUT TRUCKERS IS GREAT, SO WHY DOESN'T HOLLYWOOD MAKE MORE TRUCKER MOVIES???

A guy on Jeopardy! does well enough to set a new one-day record, but elects not to bet it all in Final Jeopardy. He should have, though, cause it was super easy. Did Jeopardy! get easier or did I get older?

My count is up to 10,000. They tell me I'm staying overnight.

I live less than 10 minutes away from the hospital and could easily come back for labs in the morning. Whatever.

SVU. A close game of travel Scrabble.

Saturday

5 a.m. again. Every time they take blood, I'm left a purple spot called purpura. Blood bruises, kinda. I have junkie smack arms.

My count is up to 25,000.

I don't know why Notre Dame and Navy decided to air an 8 a.m. game they are playing in Dublin, but this blowout is much better than the Law & Order episode that's on.

 

The oncologist says he'll recommend I go home today. Eventually the hospitalist agrees. Eventually the discharge paperwork is processed and signed. I get free tape and gauze to take with me.

I go to HyVee to fill my prescriptions, a new antibiotic and steroids. Since I'll be on steroids, I buy snack food, because it makes you bounce around like a madman and hungry like the wolf. Summer sausage. Powdered mini-donuts.

I mean, did you read my prednisone-fueled March Madness blogs? Weird stuff.

I have a follow-up appointment Tuesday. I feel fine. I felt fine the whole time.

I have a new phone. The Nexus S is replaced by a Galaxy S III.

You can stop reading now.

Enjoy Wheat Every Day

One excuse for not blogging is creating and hosting a presentation on wheat farming. You can see the all slides! Not that they make much sense without my narration, but there are some fun videos of farm accidents, and some swear words to spice things up.

Oh, and I guess I should point out that the first two title slides are JOKE title slides. Just some jokes! Relax!

Read What I Read

The next day, Eunice and I took the Long Island Rail Road to Westbury, Long Island, to meet the Abramovs. The love I felt for her on that train ride had a capital and provinces, parishes and a Vatican, an orange planet and many sullen moons --- it was systemic and it was complete.
 
--- Gary Shteyngart, Super Sad True Love Story

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Since A Hologram for the King was a new release, the library insisted I return it within 2 weeks instead of the normal 4. I hate having such deadlines for reading, but Dave Eggers is always a fast read for me, and I happened to finish it within 2 days, and I returned it to the library this morning since I had a dental appointment. Getting that novel back on the shelf in such a quick turnaround is practically charity work, and when the time comes to remember me at the funeral wake or in the New York Times obituary, this fine deed should be told as an example of my selflessness.

Internet Browsing Club - July 2012

Our pal Adrienne recommends the 2009 New Yorker profile of Arizona sheriff Joe Arpaio, who is still in the news from AZ's immigration law.
 
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Our pal Bobbo recommends this interview with Hemingway from the Paris Review.
 
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Our pal Nick recommends this profile of hot dog eating outcast Kobayashi.


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Uhh Yeah Dude mentioned this article about why people think they have something they saw on WebMD

The way gamblers say they have a “hot hand,” she says, cyberchondriacs believe they have “hot symptoms”: if they hit the first two in a list, they believe they must have the third one as well.

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After an NPR intern wrote she’s only paid for 15 albums in her life, despite an iTunes library of 11,000 songs, David Lowrey of “Cracker” wrote a lengthy, compelling response discussing why a generation that pays for fair trade coffee won’t pay artists for their work.


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Two articles from CDC’s Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report are interesting. First, take care when cleaning your grill.

A man aged 50 years arrived at the ED with abdominal pain that had begun after eating steak at a backyard barbeque. Computed tomography (CT) scan of the abdomen and pelvis revealed a linear object extending through the wall of a loop of small intestine into the omentum (Figure). Laparotomy was performed to remove the foreign body, which appeared to be a wire bristle from a grill-cleaning brush. The patient fully recovered and was discharged the next day.Five more patients visited the ED during August 2011–June 2012 after inadvertent ingestion of a wire bristle that had become dislodged from a grill-cleaning brush and embedded in food. In all of the cases, the bristles were initially identified by radiographs of the neck or CT scans of the abdomen and pelvis, and their origin was confirmed after removal (Table). Patient interviews revealed a common history of recent ingestion of grilled meat. After definitive treatment, all six patients recovered fully.

Second, motorcycle helmets are really good:

In 2010, motorcycle crashes made up 14% of all road traffic deaths, yet motorcycles accounted for <1% of all vehicle miles traveled. Helmet use prevents an estimated 37% of fatalities among motorcycle operators and 41% of fatalities among passengers. Compared with motorcyclists in states with a universal helmet law during 2008–2010, fatally injured motorcyclists in states with a partial helmet law were more than five times as likely not to have been wearing a helmet, and fatally injured motorcyclists in states with no helmet law were more than six times as likely not to have been wearing a helmet. Economic costs saved in states with a universal helmet law were, on average, $725 per registered motorcycle, nearly four times greater than in states without such a law ($198). Although approximately $3 billion in economic costs were saved as a result of helmet use in the United States in 2010, another $1.4 billion could have been saved if all motorcyclists had worn helmets.

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Reddit’s Ask Me Anything features can be great. A tobacco marketer did one, and a commenter chimed in with some stories about his time working at Marlboro during the beginning of the Marlboro Miles program, where smokers could collect prizes through proofs of purchase:

The first year of the program, Marlboro substantially underestimated customer response. They also didn't expect customers to team up for the bigger stuff. For example, whole bars full of customers would team up to get the pool table for their favorite bar - Marlboro was suddenly on the hook to buy way more pool tables than expected, and they had us calling everyone who had ordered a pool table to see if we could talk them into accepting something cheaper. (Nobody did.) But the worst was the kayaks: Marlboro found that they had enough orders that they basically were committed to giving away the entire world's output of kayaks for the next three years. We advised them to buy a kayak manufacturer, I don't know what ever became of that. Anyway that's why the big ticket items suddenly required massively more proofs of purchase the second year. They also changed the name of the program both in advertising and on the proofs of purchase to ensure no further orders could come in for the original stuff, and this made customers REALLY angry when they found out they couldn't mix old and new proofs of purchase. We had quite a few smokers freak out at us about that on the phone.

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K-State was just the second university in the nation to offer a bachelor of technical science degree with an emphasis in unmanned aircraft systems (AKA “drones”).

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Mark Titus is one of the few Grantland staff I always read. He’s from Indiana, and wrote about the Indy 500 experience:

Yes, I've been to the Kentucky Derby. And while I agree that it's also a kickass time, there's nothing the Derby has that the 500 doesn't except for goofy hats, less than half as many people, and a stupid rule that doesn't allow me to bring my own alcohol into the track.

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Bob Powers continues to write very funny, very short stories. “Your high school got together and named you boyfriend of the year” is my latest favorite.

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Chuck Klosterman attended a Creed/Nickelback doubleheader.

 
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Joe Posnanski wrote yet another good piece on how bad the KC Royals suck at baseball:

Royals, games behind at All-Star break:

2012: 7.5 games back
2011: 10.5
2010: 10.5
2009: 11.5
2008: 11.5
2007: 15
2006: 27.5
2005: 27.5
2004: 16
2003: UP 7 games!
2002: 15 games back
2001: 21
2000: 15
1999: 21
1998: 12.5
1997: 9
1996: 14.5
1995: 12

Look at that chart. That might be the most depressing thing I’ve seen in a long time. It isn’t just that the Royals have been terrible year after year since the strike. It is that they have been out of contention every single year by the All-Star break -- this in a division that has not always been particularly strong. Not counting that crazy 2003 season, they have trailed by double-digit games every year except 1997 and, perhaps, this year. Perhaps. At this point, if you are a Royals fan you are not even asking for a meaningful September. A meaningful July would do.

You Can Cram It With Walnuts, Ugly

Why don't you update YOUR blog?

Great Hospitality

I know you’d prefer I wait until December to review the entire year in music, but I’m throwing caution to the wind and alerting you of something I like RIGHT NOW. And since Brooklyn resident Alipete likes it, too, I asked her to share her comments. Three weeks later, she did! We did a track-by-track review of Hospitality’s self-titled debut album, giving each song a score out of 10 (so the final grade will be out of 100).

1. Eighth Avenue

Da’s, Na’s, or Ooh’s? Yes: “Ooooooooh ooh ooh ooohooohooohooo”
Reference to New York? Yes: see song title

10/10
This may encapsulate the album (and the band?) as a whole. It’s got some twee aspects: twinkling keyboards, dreamy vocals you can’t always understand but assume vaguely involve New York City.  But it’s also got some surprisingly aggressive musical moments – pre-chorus drummming that makes me bang my steering wheel in agreement, and a chaotic electric bridge and outro. Plus she uses the word “maudlin” in the chorus so you assume the band is smart, and you congratulate yourself for listening to smart music.

9/10
I agree that this song encapsulates the band/album as a whole, though for the first 10 seconds, I feel like I'm listening to Belle and Sebastian. To me, her enunciation is particularly bad on this track. I hear a bunch of mumbled words punctuated by "oooooo"s. But it works! I do really love the line "Young and maudlin, you were alright till the end of the night." Maybe because they're the only words I can discern, maybe because "maudlin" is such a great word, maybe because I can super relate to the thought. Either way, it's a good chorus and a great start to the album.

2. Friends of Friends

Da’s, Na’s, or Ooh’s? No.
Reference to New York? Yes: “old New York”, “14th Street”, “New Amsterdam”

8/10
The simple rhythm reminds me of Vampire Weekend’s “Oxford Comma”, plus I’m a sucker for any brass instruments used in songs not performed by Bruno Mars. I also think the bridge of this song is musically interesting, beginning predictably and becoming complex.

10/10
This song is instant joy. The lyrics are almost comically simple, but it doesn't really matter. (And I don't understand the line "I'd rather be home. My president's there." Patriotism?) But the drums are great. And what's the brass? A sax? An oboe-sax? I like it. Also, I can't separate the song from the video, so it makes me think of Maeby Funke eating hot dogs in New York, which is great. The album, especially these first two songs, seems like it could be the soundtrack to my New York life if I did cooler things.

3. Betty Wang

Da’s, Na’s, or Ooh’s? Yes: “Dah da da da dah dah”
Reference to New York? Yes: “Edison Hotel”, “If you leave New York”

6/10
You think she’s singing “Sous chef” but she’s singing “Su Chia”, the Chinese name of Betty Wang, a woman that was her co-worker. Or so the internet tells me. Pleasant but a little too simple.

6/10
I thought she was singing "sous chef" too! I agree with your assessment that it is pleasant, but too simple. Doesn't stick with me, though I like how she sings "You don't laugh at my jokes. I appreciate your time." In my mind, Betty Wang looks a lot like Knives Chau from "Scott Pilgrim."

4. Julie

Da’s, Na’s, or Ooh’s? Yes: “Dah da da da dah dah”, like in Betty Wang, but slower
Reference to New York? No

9/10
This is probably the quietest song on the album, where her voice is most showcased, and I still can’t quite tell what every fourth word is. So like the rest of the record, I can’t really tell what it’s about, but it’s pleasant on my ear holes.

6/10
I'm surprised you gave this one such high marks. I kept waiting for this to break open into something really sweeping and anthemic, but I was left disappointed. Pretty, but underwhelming.

5. The Right Profession

Da’s, Na’s, or Ooh’s? No
Reference to New York? No

6/10
I’d again compare this tempo to Vampire Weekend. Not a great tune, but not bad, and at under 2 minutes it’s not worth complaints or praise.

7/10
Kind of forgettable, but a good pick-me-up after downer "Julie." Fun, poppy, summery, and all over the place musically. They pack in a lot of different sounds in less than two minutes, though I'm still struggling to hear the Vampire Weekend comparison here. Anyway, I like the somehow-kind-of-British-sounding singalong on "I don't want to tell you more."

6. Sleepover

Da’s, Na’s, or Ooh’s? No
Reference to New York? No

7/10
It’s a laid-back, shiny groove. Reminds me a little of the xx’s music? Again, lyrics I can’t really hear or comprehend, but I assume it is about a children’s sleepover. Does she say “raisin-colored eyes”? I can’t imagine anyone accepting that as a compliment, no matter how accurate the description may be.

7/10
I feel like there is something slightly (ever so slightly) Pavementy in this song. Is that way off-base? I think it might be, but I keep thinking it. I don't know. The sound is kind of sleepy (get it?) and comforting. Reading the lyrics, I think this is more of a "grown-up" sleepover than a children's sleepover. She is totally digging those raisin-colored eyes. Which I think is kind of an awesome description even though I hate raisins.

7. The Birthday

Da’s, Na’s, or Ooh’s? Yes: “Na na nah na na na nah na na na na na na”
Reference to New York? No

9/10
This is great but I couldn’t say why. It’s simple. It’s got a cool, driving beat. It’s got a bass and some drums and some jangly guitar, and keyboards on the chorus, and some brass at the end. That’s definitely what’s got. It’s real good.

9/10
I'm a big fan of this one as well. It makes me think of a spy movie. Not the lyrics; I have no idea what she's saying for the most part. (I just looked up the lyrics. Check them out! "The ruins of Rome in your armchair... Filling up your pores and your wars and your basket" What is going on here?? ) Anyhow, something about it sounds kind of espionagey, and I like it. Also, all the nah nah nahs! Fill a chorus with "nah nah nah" and I will love your song. True.

8. Argonauts

Da’s, Na’s, or Ooh’s? Yes: “Da da da da da da da da da”
Reference to New York? Yes: “Ellis Island”, “Miss Liberty”

9/10
The best thing I can say about this song is that it was stuck in my head for 48 hours and I still like it. Again, I can interpret bits of what she’s saying, but the lyrics as a whole are puzzling. “Don’t forget the bow?” Like the bow of the ship that’s taking you to the Statue of Liberty?

8/10
I like how she sings this one. It's kind of sleepy and dreamy, but she hits certain words in a great, clipped way.   Like on "Julie," I thought this would become something big. When she's repeating "don't forget the bell" (not "bow"! ... I think) I wanted it to keep growing, and it somehow got quieter. And I feel like this one should close the album. I also wonder what her deal is with the Statue of Liberty. You're in a New York band. We get it.

9. Liberal Arts

Da’s, Na’s, or Ooh’s? Yes: “Da da da da da da da da da da da da da”
Reference to New York? Sorta: “Garden City”, on Long Island

4/10
Reviews of the album seem obligated to mention these lyrics, about a hyper-educated literature major who “found your joy on Saturdays / Friends and film and ___ your girlfriend”. But the perv critics don’t mention how “You traded all your time for money” doesn’t make sense for that guy. Wouldn’t that apply to some alpha capitalist businessman?

7.5/10
Simple and pleasant overall. I immediately liked this one because of the line "no trust fund, no daddy doctor." But you're right about that "trading time" line. Maybe it's like "trading time for money" working lame part-time jobs to pay for your education since you're not a trust-fund kid having money handed to you by your parents? That is my leading theory that I just made up. The "da da da"s and "do do do"s are great.

10. All Day Today

Da’s, Na’s, or Ooh’s? No
Reference to New York? No

10/10
Here, they put it all together again. Great horns, great rhythm, a sing-along chorus, some interesting electric guitar rocking. Love it.

10/10
Yes, this chorus was exactly what I was looking for. Finally! Also, I'm interested to hear what you think of the lyrics. It's a fun, happy-sounding song, but I can't decide if it is indeed happy. "All day today I met you" is lovely and sweet. But then it reaches "All day today I left you"... Is she in love or is she mourning something lost? Am I dancing to a song of pain? And what's with the little lambs?? AM I OVERTHINKING? Whatevs. The lyrics don't really matter. Just dance. (Lady Gaga)


Final Score
dn: 78/100
a: 79.5/100

As the numbers show, this album merits a “strong buy” recommendation from us both. Alternatively, you’d be wise to cherry pick the strongest songs to add to your collection. If you’d like to see them live, come to the Jackpot on June 8 - I plan to be there.

Internet Browsing Club - April 2012

The author of the online comic Toothpaste For Dinner has a new website, Worst Things For Sale. After reading this post, I noticed an Amazon review for the product that said “...it does come in handy while driving”. If I see someone using this thing on the highway I am gonna road rage them into a ditch.


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Rock N Roller Jack White was profiled in New York Times Magazine. “This generation is so dead,” he said at one point. “You ask a kid, ‘What are you doing this Saturday?’ and they’ll be playing video games or watching cable, instead of building model cars or airplanes or doing something creative. Kids today never say, ‘Man, I’m really into remote-controlled steamboats.’ They never say that.” Do toymakers manufacture remote-controlled steamboats? Do they run on steam?




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Ever wonder how they manufacture the basketball courts used during the NCAA championship tournament? USA Today had a feature about it. It definitely makes sense to build new courts with ugly NCAA logos and insert them in huge stadiums too big for ticket demand, where players find it harder to shoot. That’s definitely better than simply playing in arenas built for basketball, where courts already exist.


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Nick and I both read this New Yorker article that shows how unhelpful brainstorming can be. The evidence has been around for half a century, and I’m just now learning this?




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I think Bobbo passed on this article on prisons, which addresses the same general topic of that one I shared a month or two ago. A few similar thoughts, but some new ideas, as well.

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Before reading this Atlantic piece about a professional gambler’s huge blackjack run in Atlantic City, I didn’t consider this probability wrinkle: “Many casinos sell laminated charts in their guest shops that reveal the optimal strategy for any situation the game presents. But these odds are calculated by simulating millions of hands, and as Johnson says, “I will never see 400 million hands.”


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Lindsey and I read all 5 of these AV Club articles where creator Paul Feig details every episode of Freaks and Geeks. That was a good show.

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Bob Powers continues to write genius stories on an almost-daily basis. The Ice Couple Day is my recent favorite.