Variation on the Magic

Tried an experiment with iTunes today - turned out to be worth mentioning. Sort of a key word variation on the ol' Magic 8pod.

I was reading some article that referred to the R.E.M. cover of the Wire song "Strange" which made me want to listen to it, which sent me to the computer (and of course that's a whole other box of wine), which gave me an idea: what would come up if I searched for the word "strange" on the music library that happens to be loaded on the hard drive on this particular day?

Funny you should ask.

Fugazi - Strangelight
Duke Ellington - Strange Feeling
Duke Ellington & His Famous Orchestra - Isn't Love The Strangest Thing?
Johnny Cash - Come In, Stranger
David Byrne - Strange Ritual
R.E.M. - Strange (this of course being the song that led me down the rabbit hole)
The Smithereens - Strangers When We Meet
Leonard Cohen - The Stranger Song
Beck - Strange Apparition
Andrew Lloyd Webber & Tim Rice (Jesus Christ Superstar cast album) - What's The Buzz/Strange Thing Mystifying
Jeff Buckley - I Woke Up In A Strange Place
U2 - Stranger in a Strange Land
Prince - beautiful strange
Prince - Strange But True
Prince - Strange Relationship [it bears mentioning that this list is sorted by album, not artist, and yet three Prince songs from three different albums end up adjacent.)
Yo La Tengo - Mr. Ameche Plays The Stranger
The Everly Brothers - Love Is Strange
The Magnetic Fields - Strange Eyes




There's some potential in this, wouldn't you say? Get in a mood, and see where your tunes take you. Put in a word and see what pops up.

Strange days, indeed...

Saturday in the Park with George

Ok, first things first: today is Cory's birthday. That is momentous, and I think you should take a moment to acknowledge the awesomeness of the occasion. Perhaps light a candle and sing a song. Or something. Something juicy.

Cory came up with the title for this post. You see, as part of her birthday celebration, she got a girls' day and night with our friends from last year's birthday day out. They took a trip to the outlet malls, and while that sort of sounds like punishment to me, they actually planned the whole thing out and were looking forward to it and everything.

One thing Kristin did ask of me was to look after her dog George for the day. "Ummm... ok!"

I mean!

So they came to Chelsea and dropped off George, then took off to Woodbury Common. And George and I got a day together. I'd send them little phone photos with text updates: "George at brunch" (I took him to brunch. No, I didn't feed him from the table.) "George finds the chair." "George finds the couch." "George finds my lap."

It was a ridiculous amount of fun.

And after brunch, and walking through the Village, and listening to part of an opera, and watching a movie together, we decided to go to the dog park in Madison Square.

See, this is life. One day: no fun. Another day: So much fun!

I could go on, but for now, here's a little photo essay of George's interaction with a Weimaraner puppy at the dog run. It's a little scary at first, but it gets better...

See? You think he's in trouble, don't you?

Total stand off.

But many things can be resolved with a little bit of sniffing.

Followed by a little more sniffing.

Those kids are going to get along just fine.

And that's how a bill becomes a law!

There's more to share, but I have to get ready for the Big Birthday Dinner!!!!