This Side of Lost

This wacky Internet video is a heck of a lot better way to fold a t-shirt than this other wacky Internet video. More worrisome is the fact that there is more than one wacky Internet video about folding a t-shirt. Stranger still is the fact that I've seen them both... sigh. Maybe I'm too obsessed with folding laundry.

I always enjoy folding laundry. It's relaxing. Is that strange?

Last Saturday I went on a 2 hour trek to St. Meinrad, IN, to sing with the IU AGO in the church at St. Meinrad Archabbey. I can't believe this beautiful little campus and marvelous church are out in the middle of podunk Indiana. It was a fun concert (mmmmmmm, Messiaen's O Sacrum Convivium), we were well-fed, I hung out with awesome people... we even stopped at Waffle House on the way back. A good Saturday spent. Though I am currently kicking myself for not at least walking in the library there...

I'm teaching some bibliographic instruction sessions at DePauw tomorrow. Woot, SciFinder Scholar and Web of Science.

Grading 401 assignments is boring. I think I'm gonna get a snack.

I'm not quite sure how I got to this point in my life without being made aware of a thing called Strat-O-Matic. For those of you who are also among the uninitiated, it is a card/dice game designed to closely approximate a baseball game. The cards feature real baseball players and the gameplay is indescribably complex, mimicking features of baseball down to the level of ballpark factors. In short, sounds like the kind of thing that would be right up my alley.

I realize that this makes me perhaps even a bigger nerd than you originally thought, which you probably didn't think was possible. Well, to that I can only say: never underestimate my nerd-itude. That, and what else am I supposed to do while Samantha is out of town for a day and a half for a fencing tournament? So Davin and I are going to hopefully get together this evening and give it a shot.

The always pleasant smell of paint thinner is wafting in from the hallway. Friday headache, here I come.

Can anyone recommend a good RSS reader? I'm looking for something that arranges everything in chronological order regardless of where it's from.

(There's supposed to be a picture above. If you don't see it, it's because one of my webspace providers is down.)

Watching the Super Bowl ads yesterday reminded me of one of my favorites of all time. Samantha and I learned that ads is not enough to keep one's attention during the game. We went to Yogi's because we were feeling antisocial, and ended up leaving at halftime because we were bored. Did I miss any good ones after we left?

Strat-O-Matic is just as much fun as I thought it would be. There's actually quite a learning curve, depending on what level you play it at -- Basic, Advanced or the excellently-named Super Advanced. This also leads to such great lines as, "Okay, Torii Hunter just hit a liner to second. Consult the Super Advanced Fielding Chart to see if Todd Walker can get it."

If you're curious, the Cubs beat the Twins 2-1. Johan Santana and Mark Prior pitched great games, except for the solo homer that Santana gave up to Corey Patterson in the 7th. The Twins tied it up in the eighth thanks to a successful hit-and-run by Lew Ford and a sac fly by Michael Cuddyer that scored Corey Koskie from third (beating a throw to the plate). But J.C. Romero couldn't keep the Cubbies down, and LaTroy Hawkins shut us down for the save. Oh, the irony.

Anyway. I'm totally pumped to play more of this. Davin has the 2004 cards -- which is fine by me, since the Twins were better that year than last year... anyone else interested?

Samantha had a pretty successful tournament on Saturday, both personally and as captain of the four member women's epee team. We are looking forward to both being home this Saturday, though.

There's some weird stuff out there on the ol' Intarweb. Like a site dedicated to almost palindromes, aka falindromes. Take the title of this post, for instance. At first glance, you may think it's a palindrome, especially if it was spoken to you. But upon closer inspection, it becomes clear that it is not. Why is there a site dedicated to this kind of stupidity? Pondering the answers to these kinds of questions may bring you to the brink of sanity...

So, the more I think about it, the more I'm quite sure that Strat-O-Matic's Super Advanced Fielding Chart needs to be a part of every day life. I mean, look at that name. Listen to how it rolls off your tongue with that perfect level of simplicity and kitsch. Super Advanced Fielding Chart. Try it out:

"Hey, can I have some of your fries?"
"I don't know, can you? Check the Super Advanced Fielding Chart!"

"Man, the movie I saw last night was terrible."
"How bad was it?"
"Hmmm... well, let's look at the Super Advanced Fielding Chart and figure it out."

Yeah. Definitely.

Life continues on its merry way. Nothing more of interest lately. I live a generally content existence. Can't ask for much more, really.

If anyone has any bright ideas for good venues for our shindig in June, drop me a line. Indoor, outdoor, whatever.

I can't tell you how many times I've had trouble making this decision. Thank goodness this Dan fellow can help me out.

Speaking of cats, I'm planning a feature-length post about my cats for sometime in the near future for those of you who have never had the joy of meeting them.

In other news:

• Has baseball started yet? No? Shoot.
• My sister is taking Human Biology ("intended for non-majors") and just asked me if I knew which cell organelle does protein synthesis. *brain cramps* It's been too long...
• Woot, opera tonight. We're also trying another fancy-dancy restaurant called Truffles.
• We'll be looking at a few possible sites for our party in June on Saturday. Sigh. Wasn't the idea behind eloping that we didn't have to plan anything?
• I learned last night that Samantha likes chili dogs. As if I needed more proof that I married the right woman.
• Quote of the Week (Month, maybe?) 21, an exchange overhead at Jiffy Treat last night:
  Woman, looking at Adoptable Cats poster from the local Humane Society, to husband: "We should have gotten a cat instead of a bird."
  Man standing in front of her in line: "Getting the cat might solve both problems."

Happy Valentine's Day. I'll post in more detail about the weekend and such tomorrow, but here's today's love in the library story (and no, it's not about sex in the stacks).

I thought this day would never come. The Twins don't report for three days yet, but whatever. Finally the off-season is over.

'Twas a very enjoyable weekend. Our pre-opera dinner at Truffles was fantastic. I had one of the best salads of my life (spinach with goat cheese and vinaigrette dressing) and then a pork chop with rice pilaf and veggies, and strawberry white chocolate cheesecake for dessert. So so so good. Also rather pricey, but hey, if it's worth it. The opera was The Barber of Seville and it was also fantastic. Other than some mild personal distaste about certain voices, I have nothing to complain about -- it was beautifully sung and acted, the music was incredible and it was silly and fun.

Saturday we looked at some venues for ye olde party in June. Also pricey. Not as much fun, but something we've gotta do. I don't think 80+ people will fit in our apartment. We also had chili dogs for dinner. Sweet.

I sent off the applications for a couple of jobs with the USPTO on Monday. Gary is optimistic -- me, not so much, but you never know.

Ooh, it's time to get pizza. Talkatcha later...

EDIT - One of those jobs link was broken -- fixed now.

Much like Strat-O-Matic, I'm not sure how I got to this point in my life before becoming aware of Eddie from Ohio. They are a foursome out of Virginia who sing great harmony and play kinda folksy, kinda poppy, really funny and sometimes poignant music. Think a healthy blend of Guster, Moxy Fruvous and Caedmon's Call and you've almost got it. Clearly something I would enjoy.

Anyway, more surprising than this is the fact that none of my friends seem to be aware of them either, because for just about every song on Quick (the album I own), I can think of a friend who would like it:

1) Quick: Peter Pearson. He'd probably like all of it, since it's kinda folksy and heavy on acoustic instruments, but a song arguably about relativity? Yeah, that's him.

2) Let's Get Mesolithic: Joe. Something (err, everything) about this one would definitely appeal to his sense of humor.

3) The Best of Me: Jen, about three years ago. She's pretty happy in her relationship right now, but I bet she would have appreciated the bitter tone of this one. But she'd still like the verse with all the pet names.

4) Hey Little Man: Kelsay, who loves upbeat songs, a capella music and literary references.

5) Number Six Driver: Megan, for the introspective, wistful lyrics, the road-song aesthetic and straight-forward sound that is very reminiscent of Caedmon's Call.

6) One Thousand Sarahs: Me. I heart this song.

7) Monotony: Matt Kuhn would just be bowled over by the wittiness and sarcasm of this one.

8) Candido and America: Gillian, because it's just a beautiful and thoughtful song.

9) Abraham: The only one I can't think of anyone for, because it's pretty depressed and resigned, and I'm generally not friends with those kind of people.

10) Cantering On Fool: Steve Vandahm, for the finger-pickin' goodness of the instrumental.

11) Tommy the Canexican: Leif. The man who describes his religious beliefs as Cath-eran would love the outrageous wordplay.

12) Tom Burleigh's Dead: Samantha. Irish drinking song, somewhat sick sense of humor? Check.

13) Great Day: Anyone I knew from Wapo Bible camp, for the rollicking, joyful exultation.

"Maybe we didn't realize how weird some people are until we came up with the Internet." - Samantha

That's all I got tonight. More tomorrow, maybe.

1) The Internet is smaller than you think, or
2) it is possible for Internet celebrities to extend their 15 minutes of fame.

I was originally just going to post The Ultimate Showdown of Ultimate Destiny, which is strong enough to stand on its own, in my opinion, but in the process of taking a closer look at it, I learned something far more interesting.

Some of you may recall a rather bizarre Flash video entitled Hyakugojyuuichi! (and other videos like it) that made the rounds about five years ago. I remember it as one item of the initial wave of True Internet Weirdness™ that broke about the turn of the century. Anyway, the video in and of itself was pretty strange, but the startling thing was that its creator, Neil Cicierega, was only thirteen.

So fast forward to last week, when I found the above song. And after a little bit of digging, I found that the artist behind the song, Lemon Demon, is a pseudonym for the same Neil Cicierega, who is now 19 and still up to plenty of Internet hijinx.

Weird! You'd think there were enough people out there posting True Internet Weirdness™ without coming across the same guy more than once. Incidentally, his music sports a pretty heavy TMBG influence. ZOMG.

In other news:

• Our weekend was good, if busy. We did squeeze in a stop at Tracks (the record store downtown) and picked up KT Tunstall's disc Eye to the Telescope. It pretty much rules.
• Samantha's going to be a cross-country traveller for the next two weeks. This weekend is a fencing tourney in South Bend, while the weekend after that is the opening of a performance of Grease back in Statesboro, in which her brother Tim (he's the non artistic one) has a starring role.
• All this also means that Samantha can't go to any of the opera performances over the next two weekends. :( Anyone else want to go with me?
• Umm... apparently her life is far more interesting than mine.
• Oh, yeah, I bought four boxes of Girl Scout cookies. But no Piñatas. Where have you gone, Piñatas? *weeps for lost Piñatas*
• Ten pound weights become infinitely heavier the more you lift them.
• Quote of the Week 23: "That person helps you find stuff when you can't find stuff." - A little boy in reference to my friend Davin working the desk at a public library

Now I'm off to find out if all the special characters in this post show up on a PC.

Everytime I turn around there is more good music awaiting my thirsty ears. I was a little stagnant in my listening (and purchasing) habits for the past year or so, but I think I'm making up for it recently...

• Butterfly Boucher: That's "bow-cher." One of my somewhat random used CD purchases at Cheapo over winter break. I can't believe her Another White Dash isn't plastered all over AAA radio.
• Eddie from Ohio. Pretty sure I already covered this. Where can I get more?
• KT Tunstall: You may have heard her Black Horse and the Cherry Tree. That was enough for us, but it's not all, by a long shot.

And things that I'm thinking about and just finding now...

• The Ditty Bops. Also discussed previously.
• The Duhks. They seem too much like other bands I enjoy to ignore.
• The Mammals. I just found them, like, three minutes ago, but I'm already really intrigued. Covers of Nirvana and Morphine? Cheeky.

And yes, I noticed that all three of the above acts will be at Merlefest. Like I need more incentive.

Anyway, the wishlist is updated. In other news:

• I am on Day 2 of the four-day Jon Yaeger-fest I've embarked on. It just worked out that way, really.
• Wish Samantha and her epee girls luck as they head out to South Bend this weekend. Rar!
• More Strat-O-Matic on Saturday! We've got four nerds this time -- look out, it's a tournament! Where's my d20... and the Cheetos... *snort snort*
• I just preordered the Baseball Prospectus 2006. Can you tell I'm antsy?

Off to class -- more Nisonger jokes await! Happy weekend!

For those of you who care about such things, Anne Coulter recently came to IU. Naturally, hilarity ensued, not the least of which was some pretty rampant stereotyping regarding sexual orientation by her and IU College Republicans president Shawn Kennedy. Check out the IDS article and my friend David's hilarious and spot-on reaction (including a run-down of Kennedy's Facebook and Friendster profiles).