tavie.com

Regimastration was a breeze. Class starts Monday. I think there are going to be a lot of books that I'll have to buy. For this one class. If the syllabus for the second session of the class (taught by a different professor) is any indication. Argh.

My dad came with me and we had lunch at Nussbaum and Wu's and went book-hunting. (He got one book, I got one and I got one for someone else.)

Erin gradumarated today! I was going to go have dinner with her and her peoples to celebrate it, but my dad had another one of those mini-stroke things on the subway ride home. Aphasia and everything. Took him ten minutes to get out a sentence. Scary. A very nice woman was very concerned and made us give her our phone number so she could call and check up on him later. As bad as it is to listen to my dad talking people's ears off when he CAN speak, it's a million times worse to hear him trying to talk someone's ear off and not be able to find the words.

Kirsten's home now and he seems to be feeling better so I'm off to the UCB for a little free Jackie Clarke action.

Why are you in Tavie's head? 6:07 PM | shower me with attention

Today was my last class. Tomorrow is regimastration and then five weeks of fun and then I'm done.

(Yesterday, tomorrow, I don't know, it's after midnight, you know what I mean.)

Fuck you, May 21st!

Why are you in Tavie's head? 1:34 AM | shower me with attention

Wednesday, May 19, 2004

Best thing I've ever heard. (Will only be funny if you're a fan of both Buffy and Lord of the Rings.)

I've read the lyrics before but it's so hilarious to actually hear the songs sung.

Why are you in Tavie's head? 7:35 PM | shower me with attention

If you cross your fingers and touch them to the tip of your nose, you get the sensory illusion that you have two noses.

I would kill for an MP3 of the Muppets singing "Way Down in Borneo Bay". I keep finding one and then losing the connection before it can start.

I had something to say about secular spirituality, transcension of everyday cares through non-(organized)-religious channels, and the paradox of Godspell invoking the sort of almost religious joy that some of us feel when we discover a beautiful piece of musical theatre, completely unconnected to any of the Christianity in the content of the musical itself. There's an episode of Sports Night where Dana discovers the joys of Broadway musicals. She's gotten tickets to The Lion King, thanks to her boss Isaac (played by Robert "Rafiki" Guillame, ha ha), and, having previously pooh-poohed the idea of musicals--

Dana: Oh, I've tried, I've really tried. But the singing and the dancing and there is oftentimes a hoe-down --

Isaac: There's no hoe-down.

Dana: Don't tell me there's no hoe-down, mister, I've been there.

--she is prepared to hate this experience. But she comes back having been seized by, pardon my phrasing, the spirit. She's become a convert to the Church of Showtunes. (And it's fairly amusing for any "serious" theatre-lover that the show that grabs her is The Liong King, that pre-fab, adapted Disney-by-way-of-Elton-John-approximating-the-genre.) But, nevertheless, it's a touching moment when she tries to convey her joy to her office friends:

Dana: Don't you want to hear what happened to me?

Casey: Not unless you held up a deli during intermission.

Dana: I believe in the power of the theatre.

Casey: Well, that's good. I believe in the power of a roast beef sandwich, so I really don't have time to talk. (starts to walk off)

Dana: Casey. (he turns back) It was really quite something. The music began and I just started to cry. I don't know where it came from. It was like... church. I didn't know we could do that. Did you know we could do that?

Casey: (with a gentle smile) Well, when I forget, something usually reminds me.

Dana: (as he walks away) I didn't know we could do that.

I think it would actually detract from my love of Godspell if I were a Christian. I think I'd find it lacking in its ability to describe what I presume is the sort of ecstatic faith in the power of Christ that Christians are supposed to feel. I would find it puny, or something. But as an agnostic/atheist/secular humanist/don't label me, I find it pulls at all my faith in the, what'd Aaron Sorkin call it, the power of theatre. Hippie clowns singing pretty songs, baby. Jesus on the same playing field as Eva Peron, John Adams, Leo Frank, the Von Trapps, Mongkut and Anna Leonowens. A historical figure with a story interesting enough to put three hours worth of songs to.

That's really all I have right now.

Why are you in Tavie's head? 6:53 PM | shower me with attention

If, like me, you're running OS 10.3 with Safari or IE or Mozilla, read this. It's about a security vulnerability that you can fix easily, since Apple doesn't feel like doing it.

Stupid Apple. Fix your shit.

Why are you in Tavie's head? 1:54 PM | shower me with attention

Ratemyprofessors.com is fun.

Why are you in Tavie's head? 1:33 AM | shower me with attention

Tuesday, May 18, 2004

Colonial House is so good. I think it's as good as Frontier House. The people are more likable. And hotter.

Why are you in Tavie's head? 11:30 PM | shower me with attention

I am obsessed with mix CDs now that I have my computer (and Limewire!) back. And with blogging tracklists in lieu of more interesting things to post.

I like this one even better than the first. Better range of tempos for when I get tired and have to go more slowly, or want to pick up the pace:

Gay Workout Mix Part Two:

1. "Sisters and Brothers" - Free to Be You and Me
2. "?" - Andrew WK (something about Partying Hard when the time comes)
3. "Don't Nobody Bring Me No Bad News" - The Wiz
4. "Rio" - Duran Duran
5. "Learn to Fly" - Foo Fighters
6. "Praise You" - Fatboy Slim
7. "Hotel Detective" - TMBG
8. "Eye II Eye" - Powerline (Tevin Campbell), A Goofy Movie
9. "Heterosexual Man" - Odds
10. "Everybody Rejoice" - The Wiz
11. "Stand Out" - Powerline (Tevin Campbel), A Goofy Movie
12. "Travelin' Prayer" - Billy Joel
13. "Interviewing Randy Newman" - Glenn Tilbrook
14. "We Beseech Thee" - Godspell
15. "Barrel of a Gun" - Guster
16. "Silver Lining" - Jordan Cooper
17. "Movin' Right Along" - The Muppet Movie
18. "Time Stand Still" - Rush
19. "Ana Ng" - TMBG
20. "New York city" - TMBG

I love this CD a lot. You may laugh at me, but those Tevin Campbell numbers are really amazing.

Why are you in Tavie's head? 5:20 PM | shower me with attention

Would you guess that my favourite piece of music in the world is the closing theme ("Edge of the World", sans lyrics) to Wargames?

Because it is. My absolute favourite and has been since I was about 12. So there's some trivia.

Why are you in Tavie's head? 3:54 PM | shower me with attention

Perhaps I was a little hasty below. I don't mean that I actually hate my sister. Actually I love her. And she helped me incorporate her point while maintaining my argument. So it all turned out okay.

But, man, who knew The Rock was a satire?

And thus concludes my final paper as a college undergraduate. Not counting the ridiculous and impossible essay I have to prepare (and basically memorize) for my (closed-book, notes-free) Satire final next week, and the possibility of graduate school in the hazy and distant future, I am done writing. Forever. Woo! No more writing! Boo, writing, boo!

Why are you in Tavie's head? 3:32 PM | shower me with attention

Rest in peace, Dr Lao.

Why are you in Tavie's head? 1:48 PM | shower me with attention

MotherFUCKER. I asked my sister to proofread my paper, and she just went and NEGATED MY WHOLE THESIS.

And she's RIGHT.

It's a FUCKING SATIRE.

I HATE HER.

Now she should have to rewrite the whole thing.

Why are you in Tavie's head? 12:47 AM | shower me with attention

I think I just finished the last paper I'll ever have to write, maybe.

Check out my extraordinarily clever title:

“The Rock”: A Hard Place to Find Satire

I'm such a wit. I'm a regular Robert Benchley.

Why are you in Tavie's head? 12:34 AM | shower me with attention

Monday, May 17, 2004

Now Colonial House is over and there's nothing left for me to do but write that stupid, stupid, stupid, stupid paper.

How do I stretch the following into paper length:

"The Rock is just plain not a satire because no one who watches it recognizes it to be a satire."

?

Why are you in Tavie's head? 10:35 PM | shower me with attention

I want to make a mix CD loosely based around the theme of the 1964 World's Fair. Trouble: I can't think of enough songs. This is all I have so far:

-"There's a Great Big Beautiful Tomorrow", Richard & Robert Sherman (with Walt Disney) - this is the only perfect one, because it's the theme for Disney's "Carousel of Progress", which was created for the World's Fair. Better this than "It's a Small World After All", which doesn't belong on any mix CD.

-"Fifty Years After the Fair", Aimee Mann - About the '39 World's Fair, but close enough.

-"Me and Julio Down by the Schoolyard", Paul Simon - There's a lot of stuff about the Queen of Corona, and it reminds me of the time my mom first took me to Corona Park to see the old fair site, and also to look for Tony, the Lemon-Ice King of Corona. (Who wasn't there.)

-"Ana Ng", TMBG - There's a reference.

And that's all's I got. Any suggestions?

Why are you in Tavie's head? 3:40 PM | shower me with attention

Kitana heads off to Sri Lanka today. She goes from there back to her mom's house upstate and from there straight to Madison, Wisconsin to learn Tamil for two months. We here at the home fort won't see her until mid-August. Bon voyage, Kit.

As for me, this is my last week of regular classes (ever?), which officially end Wednesday (although my Latin teacher is holding a class on Thursday anyway, that I should probably maybe attend.) Finals are on May 24. I register for Latin at Columbia this Friday. If that works out, those classes start next Monday and go until July 2. Must remember to apply for graduation audit.

Finally, I had a ~~dream~~ nightmare last night where my sister, Tilly, David Gest (AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAGHHHHHHHH) and I were trying to be the first ones to get tickets online to a special Stephen Trask/John Cameron Mitchell performance. David Gest and I had a tussle over a laptop, and I ended up biting his finger and drawing blood. He cried like a baby. It was the scariest dream. David Gest is so, so frightening to me.

Why are you in Tavie's head? 1:46 PM | shower me with attention

I stayed at Not Mint Manor last night. I'm gonna leave soon and go straight to school.

Something peculiar: Stephanie bought this fake cheese, this weird vegan "Veggie Slices" cheese, and hated it. I tried it and I love it. It's so weird. It looks like those horrible plastic Kraft singles, but the taste and texture is so much better. Not that I have any need to eat vegan cheese, but it's interesting that it doesn't taste awful.

Why are you in Tavie's head? 1:36 PM | shower me with attention