LBJs

*No matter how many times I listen to it, I am transfixed and hypnotized by Radiohead's "Let Down." I love the OK Computer album dearly, from the grinding guitar-cum-cello intro of "Airbag" to the plaintive echoes at the end of "The Tourist," but somehow whenever I get to the chiming strings and chirruping synthesizer of "Let Down," I always want to interrupt the album in order to play that song again. Just gorgeous. Send Thom Yorke & Co. to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame now and let's be done with it.

*Speaking of Radiohead, I've noticed that the elevator down the hall has a bell that sounds exactly like the ringing guitar note that opens "No Surprises." Whenever I walk past it and someone's coming down in the car, I'm tempted to burst into song: "A hearrrrrrrt thaaaaaat's... full up liiike a laaaaaaaandfiiiill..." I'm just happy it's not the opening note of something like "I Touch Myself."

*I've been re-reading Douglas Coupland's Microserfs for my summer reading group discussions, and I've suddenly realized that Legos are more than just a reflection of the tech worker's obsession with creating analog forms from binary bits. The entire novel is a work in Lego, a collection of short blocks of text that together form one of Daniel's daily journal entries; the entries form weeks, the weeks chapters, and so on. It's so obvious now that I can't believe I didn't pick up on it the first time. One more good reason to re-read your favorite books.

And yes, I have my personal Jeopardy! categories on this site's biography page in tribute to Coupland.

*If anyone's wondering, the other books I sponsored for discussion this summer were Nick Hornby's High Fidelity, Alan Moore & David Lloyd's V for Vendetta, and Neil Gaiman & Terry Pratchett's Good Omens. So far all seem to have gone over pretty well; I think the biggest surprise for the readers was V for Vendetta, which was clearly far more complicated and engaging than they'd expected a comic book to be.

*My sons have taken up musical instruments, the trumpet and the cello. So far I haven't gotten to hear them play much, but I'm very happy that they picked instruments that aren't too squeaky. The beauty of a well-played violin or clarinet is stunning, but you have to listen to many years of badly-played violin or clarinet before you get to that point. The trumpet may be loud, and the cello's notes may be easily muffed, but at least they won't make my fillings ache during these early days. And besides, it's fun to have two new instruments around the house. That gives us trumpet, cello, guitar, piano, harmonica, dulcimer, pennywhistle, and one not-really-playable Nicaraguan-made toy marimba at home. If I ever get my synthesizer and drum machine back from the recording studio my friends own in Chapel Hill, we're going to be able to make an awful din.

*This is going to be a busy weekend. Grades and comments are due Monday at noon. I have a technical rehearsal for the black box play on Sunday afternoon. I'm chaperoning a trip to King's Dominion on Saturday from 1:00 to midnight.

I think I'll catch a nap tomorrow.


3:01 PM

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