Happy St. Patrick's Day!

I'm wearing a green shirt to celebrate :D

Here's a St. Patrick's Day greeting from U2, from the early 80s...




I absolutely love Larry's hair. And Bono's too, of course.

And here's a sound clip of a girl in Dublin making a prank phone call to a demolition company, asking them to demolish her school...




Freakin' hilarious!

The weather is absolutely beautiful today, so me and Mom walked down to the library. On our way down, a bunch of kids - I think they were a March Break group of some kind - were walking up the street on the other side, and a few of them were singing 'We Will Rock You'. Cutest. Thing. Ever.

We went to Shopper's Drug Mart first, because Mom wanted to buy hairclips, and then we went to a dollar store place right by the library. Mom bought more hairclips there and some Chupa Chups and two dark chocolate bars, and I got a couple of the dark chocolate bars, too. Then we picked up our stuff from the library and headed home.

I've been listening to U2 songs on YouTube since this morning. U2: Rattle and Hum is on Treasure HD tonight, but I probably won't get to watch it :( I've already seen it, though, so it's not a huge disappointment. I won't get to watch all of it anyway, because Ugly Betty is on at 10 and Rattle and Hum is on from 9 to 11, or something like that.

Crappers...

My hat is going to be too big for me, because I didn't swatch, but hopefully the extra decreases I started doing will keep it on my head. blech.

I'm on a weird U2 kick now. Mostly their 90s songs, but still... U2 are awesome. I might buy Achtung Baby with the rest of my birthday money. Or knitting needles. I haven't decided. I've been listening to their songs from the 90s on YouTube. And I've also been listening to an unfinished song that was supposed to be on their 1987 album The Joshua Tree, and got finished and released a couple of years ago in a special 20th anniversary edition. It's called 'Wave of Sorrow'. Have a listen...

NOTE: the images in the video show malnourished people, so if you squeamish about that kind of thing, you have been warned.






I love it so much I might put the special edition of The Joshua Tree on my Christmas list. There's several special editions for the album's 20th anniversary, but only two or so are available in North America. One is the album on a remastered CD, the other is the album with the bonus CD, which has 'Wave of Sorrow' on it.

New items get added to the library today! I'm happy. I also have a lot of stuff to pick up from the library, eep!

Sleepy

I'm yawning a lot today. Probably because I woke up twice this morning. I first woke at around 7, and heard dogs running around. Then I heard Mom upstairs, so I thought, 'Okay, I can go back to sleep.' I realized I was cold, so I grabbed the knit afghan I got from Value Village when we went there with Justin, and fell back asleep. I woke up again at around five minutes before 9:00.

Didn't feel like eating this morning, so I had a cup of hot chocolate and read Fruits Basket #6 for a bit whilst watching a program on Oasis HD. Then I put The View on because Yoko Ono and Sean Lennon were on. I ate the last of the chili and watched The View, and was just going to start working on my hat when Mom and Dad came home from the doctor's. They also went to the British imports shop and got chocolate and crisps. Yum. I wonder where they put the bag.

They went out again to look for some more pillows at Sears, and I stayed up here on my computer and watched a video of Anthony Stewart Head (aka Giles from Buffy) performing 'Planet Schmanet Janet' from Rocky Horror. Then I watched the video for a U2 song called 'Hold Me, Thrill Me, Kiss Me, Kill Me', which was part of the soundtrack from a Batman movie. I think it was Batman Forever. I've been listening to the song since yesterday, but didn't watch the video all the way through. It's cool. The first line, which is spoken-word, is greatness. I think it goes: "Riddle me this, riddle me that. Who's afraid of the big, black Bat?" That song makes me want to watch Batman movies. The only Batman movie I remember watching is Batman and Robin, and I only saw part of it. It's the one with Uma Thurman as Poison Ivy and Arnold Schwarzenegger as Mr. Freeze.

I vaguely remember the various Batman animated series that ran over the years. I used to watch them with Nathan (my brother) occasionally, but I was more into the Spider-Man animated series, because I thought Doc-Oc was boss, lols. Nathan said once that there was a Batman series that got cancelled after one or two seasons because it was dark and slightly controversial for family viewing, but I can't remember what it was called. Nathan said the story was something like Bruce Wayne developed a heart condition. I've got Wikipedia open, and I'm gonna look for it.

...Well, I can't seem to find one Batman series with Bruce Wayne having a heart condition, only Batman Beyond, where Bruce passes the torch to a young crime-fighter-to-be or something. I remember Batman Beyond, it was a pretty good series. Then there was The Batman, which was cool, but pretty dark. The Joker had green dreadlocks, which was pretty neat.

Oh yeah - is anyone else kinda weirded out by the fact that they changed Catwoman to a hero for the movie? She was originally a villain. I remember my mom was like, "That's not right, Catwoman is supposed to be a villain!" when the movie came out. I haven't seen the movie yet, though.

I think I'm going to check the library for movies based on comic books, because I haven't seen any of the X-Men movies from start to finish, and I haven't seen the second and third Spider-Man movies all the way through. And I haven't seen a Batman movie in years.

Oh yeah. I wanna see The Green Hornet when it comes out, 'cause Seth Rogen is playing The Green Hornet. Heck yes :) I remember Book TV used to run the TV series, as well as the live-action Batman series. I miss Book TV...

I'm yawning less now, but I still think I'm just going to focus on finishing my hat and hand in my neckwarmer as unfinished. I don't feel like blocking it and sewing buttons on it today. blech.

Off to the library site...

Sweltering!

It's hot and humid here. In April. eep.

I put my too-big shorts (the pull-on ones) in the wash and dried them on hot to try to shrink them some more. They shrank a little bit, but they're still loose. Mom may have to put a dart in the back.

I made a U2 playlist. Rattle and Hum was on MoviePix 2 on Saturday, so I'm on a U2 kick. Especially the song 'Van Diemen's Land'. It's fabulous, and it's sung by The Edge, one of the few U2 song that The Edge sang on. I love his voice. I also love the gospel arrangement of 'I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For'...



Love it. It makes me smile.

So, in other news, I reserved Fleetwood Mac's Rumors album from the library, because I'm also on a Fleetwood Mac kick. There's one copy and five people ahead of me on the list, so I may not get it for a couple of months. There's a charity knitting book called Knitting for Good waiting for me at the library, and I'm Not There is in transit. Huzzah!

I'm getting a headache now, though. Probably from the humidity.

I've started writing in my journal again. I'm gonna try to make a habit of it.

The weirdest thing is that I haven't been knitting much. I don't want to start much because the HP Knitting and Crochet House Cup is starting soon. I might make a belt out of some leftover cotton, though, to fill the void.

I'm feeling bitter today.

I'm feeling bitter because I feel cheated. You know how I said that they had the Unitarian church's minister down as on 'parental leave (January)' on the orders of service - the pamphlets for each service? They lied. She did resign. Obviously, she was forced to resign. They probably made things so uncomfortable for her that she resigned, because I'm sure she would have loved to come back as our minister. And so the search for a new one begins.

I feel that they gave people false hope by printing 'on parental leave (January)' on the orders of service, and I'm pissed. She didn't do a damn thing wrong, the minister.

I'd like to dedicate the following song to her, because, as the song says, "If you walk away, walk away, I walk away, walk away, I will follow." I may not be able to physically follow her, but that won't stop my mind from following her. Where ever she goes, my heart, my mind, will follow.

Holiday to-do list.

I got the idea from AJ's blog. Hope you don't mind, AJ :)

Holiday To-do List

1. Help Mom clean up the house for Christmas. This includes sweeping, dusting, washing the couch covers, maybe vacuuming the couch (ah, the joys of having a Jack Russell Terrier!) and washing the dog bed.

2. Play lotsa Christmas music!

3. Help Mom with the holiday baking.

4. Get Justin's scarf finished.

5. Start and finish Breanne's Calorimetry.

6. Buy Mom and Dad's Christmas presents.

7. Wrap presents.

8. Make sure my room is relatively clean. This is a bit difficult, since my room is the basement!

9. Watch as many movies off the Holiday Movies to Watch list I made (see this post).

10. At least finish the pockets for my vest.

11. Attend the Christmas Eve service at the Unitarian church, even if Reverend Barrett isn't there. I miss her :( I hope she DOES come back in January. At first I thought she was forced to resign, but now they're putting the minister down as 'parental leave (January)'. So hopefully she'll come back. If they DID force her to resign, I might cut down on services.

12. Put up a post on Christmas Eve with 'Happy Xmas/War is Over' by John Lennon and the Plastic Ono Band in the post - via YouTube, of course.

13. Hopefully put up a post on Christmas Day.

14. Put up that video of Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band playing 'Santa Claus is Coming to Town' in the Bruce Springsteen group on Ravelry.

15. Hopefully hang out with Holly before the new year.

16. Every year, the youth group volunteers at a place that is a food bank and a place for the poor to get Christmas presents for their families. If I can, I'll volunteer there with the youth group, but last year I didn't because of Dad's work schedule AND the fact that there were no permission forms.

17. Set up the tree, of course! We got a red tinsel tree last year with lights already on it, and it's really pretty, so maybe we'll put that up. We would have to stick with mostly silver-coloured ornaments, though, because gold would be too much for our yellow-painted living room! Actually, we have some pretty cool straw ornaments that would look pretty on the red tree.

18. Put on the Galaxie Traditional Holiday channel on December 1st. This also falls under #2.

19. Sort out my sister Katie's birthday present. Her birthday is in the first week of December, so it's a bit difficult!

20. Find out where Christmas dinner is going to be, so I can prepare myself for any bullshit.

21. If we're going over to Grandma and Grandpa's for Christmas dinner, I want to put together a punk outfit ahead of time, to shock my grandparents and my least favourite aunt.

22. Play Grandma and Grandpa's piano, if I can. Usually they have a table in the way, though. Or then there was Grandma's 70th birthday party, when Aunt Patti (my least favourite aunt) got all pissy and wouldn't let me play the piano because it was annoying her. Well, it's not my fault it's out of tune, Princess Patti!

23. Stand up to Grandpa if he decides to be a complete asshole to someone I actually care about.

24. Hopefully go carolling, even if I go alone.

25. Send a Christmas card to Holly. And maybe one to Erica if I feel like it. Even though she usually sends me one, and I always forget to, we're still not as close as we were. But sending her a card would be a good gesture, I think.

26. Say 'happy birthday' to Holly on Facebook. It must be a real bummer to have a birthday shortly after Christmas.

27. Hopefully finish my fingerless gloves, but they can wait. Gifts come first.

28. Go with Dad to the Italian bakery we love on Christmas Eve to pick up some cannoli for our Christmas Day breakfast. Cannoli are Italian pastries, and they're GOOD!

Oh my god, 'Stuck in a Moment' by U2 just came on iTunes. I love that song, but it always reminds me of 9/11...

Rattle and Hum!

I'm borrowing U2's film Rattle and Hum from the library. I watched it today, and it was BRILLIANT!!!!!! I loved it!

So now I wanna borrow U2 CDs from the library sooooooooooo bad. But I already have 14 items out:

• The Who - My Generation (a CD)
• Ringo Starr - Liverpool 8 (another CD)
• U2: Rattle and Hum (DVD)
• Season one of Doc Martin (DVD)
• U2: Zoo TV Live in Sydney (DVD)
• Season two of Saturday Night Live (DVD)
• Terrier by Tamora Pierce
• "We're Going to See the Beatles!", which is a book, but I can't remember the author's name
• A book on nature and landscape photography
• John Lennon: The Life by Philip Norman
• A book on Lucy Maud Montgomery
• 50 Nifty Beaded Cards
• The Chicks with Sticks Guide to Knitting
• The Official Rules of Soccer

I think that's all.

I have two books in transit - one on the French Revolution and one about Rosa Parks. The book on The Beatles is due in three days, and the DVDs are due in four days, so I should be finished with three of the DVDs by the time I have to take that Beatles book back.

I did put U2's How to Dismantle an Atomic Bomb on my Christmas list for my sister, and The Joshua Tree on my Christmas list for my mom, so hopefully I'll get something U2-related for Christmas.

Another funny

I forgot to mention something funny that happened at Costco.

Dad started looking at computers, because he wants to replace this one (it is at least five years old). So we were trying to crack the passwords on the computers. I couldn't get the first one, but the second one I tried to crack had a picture of a kitty as the user photo, so either my mom or my dad suggested that I try 'kitty'. It worked! But the computers were set up so that you can't access them even if you get the password right. It was still awesome, though :)

Mom and Dad went shopping while I stayed home and watched the David Gilmour DVD. When they came home, Dad immediately asked me to take frozen macaroni and cheese and frozen Jamacian patties to the downstairs freezer. I tried to put them in the big freezer, where frozen meals normally go, but it's packed. With meat. That they bought and sealed up with the Foodsaver vac-packer. So I got all PO'ed, and Mom told me to put it all in the bread freezer. So after complaining that the bread's gonna shatter, I put it in anyway. Then Dad storms downstairs, ready for an argument. Honestly, does he always have to be in attack mode when I'm angry? He could have spoken to me civilly. One of the baskets in the frezzed slips when I'm angrily trying to put it back in, so he says to let him do it. I'm trying to fix the problem, and he yells at me to get out of there and let him fix it. Typical.

And afterwards they gave me three packs of Pocky. Pocky are these biscuit sticks covered in chocolate, or strawberry cream, but I'm pretty sure that there are other flavours that we can't get here. They're made in Japan, and they're yummy. Plus, they aren't completely covered in chocolate - one tip is just bare biscuit so that your hand doesn't get messy! How awesome is that?

Anyway, Mom wanted me to apologize first, so I did. I did overreact, probably because I was in a rotten mood. The DVD skipped on a track or two, and I had to pause it a few times because the dogs were barking.

And now I'm listening to U2 :)

Photo of my hood.

This pattern is such a nice, quick pattern. I love it. I only have an inch or two left, I think, before I have to do the three-needle bind-off. Fun. I've never done that before, so it'll be.... interesting.

In other news, I put the U2 album that I bought at the Streetfest on the computer. War is such a good album. My favourite track off of the album would have to be either 'New Year's Day' or 'Seconds', and 'Two Hearts Beat As One' is also great.

Yay!!!!!!

I got to go to the streetfest after all. I went with my sister and her boyfriend. Mom didn't come, though, because it was too hot. It still is pretty hot and humid. I bought a used copy of U2's War, which is in fabulous condition. And it only cost me $4.00!!! I also bought two chocolate bars and a denim bucket hat. My sister bought me a snow cone, which ended up on the ground. Oh well. She also bought us three elephant ears (fried dough, not real elephant ears!), which we split between the three of us and Mom. We saw a fire-eater, who kept trying to get kids to volunteer in his act. He was scaring the girls a little, which was funny.

I have a slight headache - probably from the humidity.