nojomo#…oh, forget it

Oh, well, I did it five days- there have been entire months when I didn’t even do that many entries. I think that was farther than I usually get.

In honor of officially giving up on NoJoMo, I’ll do The Currents. Currents are easy. And fun.

Current Achievement: I just realized that I can plug my iPod into the stereo… and…. play my iPod through the stereo!! Never mind that I’ve had this iPod for… four years? At least? And I don’t even remember when we got this stereo. It was WAY pre-iPod. I had no idea I could do that. And I only even tried because I have this old Bose radio/CD player that was my mom’s, and while fiddling around with it I noticed it says "AUX" on one setting. Since that is what I plug the iPod into in the Fit (I’m still thrilled beyond belief that I can plug it into the car) I thought, HEY! Maybe I can play the iPod through the Bose!" Because that would be really really cool! And I wouldn’t have to try to find my CDs which are all over the place and you can only play one at a time in the Boise and although the stereo is a three-changer, it is impossible to figure out how to play the one you want to play. Or to shuffle. Which is why I hardly ever play CDs when I’m at home anymore.

WELL it wouldn’t work in the Bose (weirdly I could hear it through the speakers, but just barely) but then I thought Hey! Maybe it will play through the stereo! And ….. OMG, I unplugged the cord that sends sound from the TV/DVD through the stereo, and plugged in the iPod, and … TaDa!!!! Music!!!! I have NO idea why this has never occurred to me. Well, I’ve WISHED I could play my iPod through the stereo, but I think I always just assumed that since the stereo is pretty old, it wouldn’t have that capability.

Current Activity: Having a concert in my livingroom. How fun is this?!? Baker B went down to his mom’s today and spent the night, so I have the house to myself. Oddly we don’t just sit around and listen to music. We do if we’re in the car going somewhere, but not at home. He likes listening to one thing start to finish and I like shuffle. So a concert is a fun way to spend a Baker B-less evening.

Current Surprise: That I was just wondering, what song IS this?? And then realized it was something I listen to nearly every day. PJ Harvey’s latest album, Let England Shake. I have it on my work computer and play it all the time. It sounded so different on the stereo I hardly recognized it. Probably because I had it turned up loud enough that I actually could hear it.

Refresh if it doesn’t show. And the song on the album doesn’t actually start with the guy reading the lyrics like a poem – I tried to start it with the song itself but that didn’t work for some reason. Oh, well. It’s an excellent album. And really interesting little films on YouTube they did for it.

Current Movies: We’ve been so busy watching TV series on Netflix that we haven’t watched a lot of movies, but we did watch True Grit finally. I REALLY liked it. I always love the Coen Brothers, but this wasn’t quite as Coen-Brothersy as most are – not quite as odd and offbeat as they often are. It was actually more like No Country For Old Men than, say, Fargo. It was very well done. I don’t think I’ve ever seen the original, although I read the book when I was 14 or 15. Oh, and I also watched The King’s Speech a few weeks ago. I loved it. It was a little more cheery than True Grit, too. Not cheery, but not bleak. True Grit ended a little bleakly.

Current TV: Baker B and I are currently watching Season 7 of Desperate Housewives. What a great show! Nobody ever talks about it anymore. I think the current season is the last one, sadly. It’s like a very well-written, hysterically funny soap opera with good actors. Funny and tragic. It’s a fantastic mix. Before that we watched the…fifth? season of Dexter. Zipped right through that — I think the current season is on right now. No telling how long it will be before it’s on DVD. Loved it too. And we’re anxiously awaiting the second half of the Sixth Season Doctor Who. We went through a big Doctor Who spree awhile back, but didn’t jump directly into Season 6 when it aired, and finally caught up with it not that long ago. Now the second half has been released on DVD (they aired and released the second half months after the first half, oddly) and of course we’ve got the VERY LONG WAIT!!! thing. AAGGHH.

I’ve also suddenly gotten hooked on The Tudors. I’m watching it on my laptop – it’s one of the Amazon Prime things I can stream for free. Baker B doesn’t care anything about watching it, and I don’t think he’d like it. It’s kind of humorless. But excellent acting, and very interesting. If confusing. It’s about the reign of Henry VIII, and all the political/religious/romantic intrigue and extreme drama that ensued. I had forgotten a lot about what went on during that time, and OMG a lot went on. I think they’ve taken some liberties with the historical facts, but I hear Season Two is more accurate. I have to say, I was quite surprised to discover that Henry VIII was such a hottie. That certainly isn’t the impression I got from his pictures.

Hmmmmmmm. Somehow I suspect even Jonathan Rhys Meyers would not have looked like Jonathan Rhys Meyers in the early 1500s.

I’m enjoying it, though. Although I watched THREE tonight and now my brain hurts. I just finished the next to last one in the first season.

Current Disappointment: Kim and I are putting the Next Big England Trip off a few months. Instead of next fall, we’re doing it the following spring, or early summer. She is freaking out about finances, and doesn’t think she’ll have the money saved by then. I can use the extra time too. And I was already thinking I’d love to go in summer – of course this summer is out, being the Olympics (and a little too soon financially), so I’m not TOO disappointed. I also kind of like having it to look forward to. And I was already starting to worry about that stupid time share – everything for next fall is apparently ALREADY booked up. SO, putting it off a bit. That’s okay.

Current Thing I Need To Do Right Now: Get off the computer and GO TO BED.

amorcita.

November 19, 2011

my headphones that pook got me (HEADPHONES, not ear buds), made me hear parts of music i’ve never heard before, so i totally get the PJ Harvey thing! and YAY for concerts in your living room!

I”m sorry. I’m having trouble concentrating again and I just can’t read this much at once. It’s cool about the ipod, though. I have a nanno, and we don’t have any other music playing equipment in the house besides our desktop computer. I love to listen to music, but it is distracting to me. I really get into it, and so mostly can only clean house if I am enjoying it in the room “big”! I’ll come back to read the rest later.

what a wealth of entertainment we have with music and shows and books and games and magazines presented electronically!

Jaiyen

November 20, 2011

LOL I don’t think any of us thought of Henry VIII as a hottie! Conveniently all historical knowledge of their lack of personal hygiene is forgotten for TV. Thanks for PJ Harvey video. Never heard them before. Interesting and a bit different.

Happy Trails

Oulin is right; we have so many ways to amuse ourselves. I remember as a kid 3 channels on the TV and so we did a lot of reading and board games and ice skating and sledding and hide and go seek.

Mama Blue

Henry the VIII created a lot of changes in government and religion, but mostly, he served his own interests.

solovoice

November 21, 2011

Schwulerin

November 22, 2011

Congrats on giving up NoJoMo. I don’t want to disparage your — or anyone else’s — intentions, but I’ve never understood how writing for writing’s sake is a virtue. It’s better to write with a purpose, even if the purpose is only simple, joyful fun. I am amazed that your Ipod fits into your stereo, but backward compatibility is a hallmark of a great gadget. It is a shame you didn’t discover this sooner, but at least you got it going on now. Enjoy your rediscovered devices.

noko

November 23, 2011

There is much talk around here about how more music needs to be listened to. That is so great you figured out how to use the stereo! I have Dexter in my Queue and just added The Tudors this week. Somehow I have started watching Damages, it is kind of dark but so far engaging. Maybe if I can show some financial restraint I’ll be able to make England in 2013. I was thinking of youwhen watching Page Eight because they walk around places where you took pictures on the last trip.

It is a cool video. I love the rhythm of the helicopter ride things.