Might I suggest...

I enjoyed Lily Allen's first album but I can't say that I was crazy about it. "Smile" was a fun song but kinda seemed like a throwaway to me. I appreciate her lyrics and spunk but her cockney-rap gets a little old after awhile. Plus, she seems like an attention seeker who just wants to be on gossip websites as much as possible.

I take it all back! I am completely infatuated with her second album, It's Not Me, It's You. I appreciate her honesty (see "Everyone's At It"), her ability to poke fun at her own fame (see "The Fear") and her humor (see "Not Fair"). I also like that she's switching up her musical style. "Not Fair", for example has a country spin to it. "22" has a great pop sensibility with a singable, if not utterly depressing chorus. "Who'd Have Known" is a sweet song even if it sounds just like Take That's "Shine." It appears that Lily might be growing up a bit but isn't shying away from her in-your-face lyrics.

Anyway, that's what I'm listening to these days. As always, any new music recommendations are welcome...

The Grammy's: Some Thoughts

Ugh! I've been horrible about keeping up with this whole blog thing. I set my aspirations too high by committing to 2 New Year's resolutions. On the plus side, I have been running a lot and am finally getting back into shape. Yay! I think that half-marathon is going to happen after all in March.

I could share about all of the fascinating things I've been learning about syphilis and how complicated multidrug-resistant tuberculosis treatment is but I think I'm going to keep those supercool aspects of my life under wraps. Instead, I want to share my thoughts about the Grammy Awards last night. My friend Rachel was there (so jealous!) and I had to watch just to see if we could get a glimpse of her. Alas we did not, as she "was sitting next to the camera." Apparently there was only one camera at the Grammy's...

*U2 opened the show. Good choice but I'm undecided about how I feel about the new song. I'm underwhelmed.

*Whitney is preparing a comeback. She looks great but I wonder how much make-up they used on her last night.

*Coldplay's performance was phenomenal (minus the Jay Z portion, of course). I can't believe I saw them so many years ago right after Parachutes was released.

*Adele won Best New Artist. Yay! I heart her but I would have been happy if Duffy would have won. I'm just glad the Jonas Brothers did not.

*Speaking of the Brothers Jonas, I think the idea of them preforming with Stevie Wonder was good in theory but the execution wasn't that great. Plus, it seemed like they were too much in Stevie's personal space.

*Carrie Underwood rocks my world and I'm not ashamed to admit it. I'm not a huge country but I love "Last Name."

*I thought the Adele/Sugarland "duet" was kinda odd and didn't work.

*Miley Cyrus is super annoying. I'm also pretty sure she was lip syncing and Taylor Swift was live. Plus, she needs to stop waving at the crowd.

*I'm tired of Jamie Foxx and his "music career."

*Even though I'm a big fan of "Hot 'n Cold," I couldn't bear to watch Katy Perry sing "I Kissed a Girl."

*Radiohead!? Awesome!

*I like Allison Krause and all but really?

*Why do they insist on putting movies actors on music award shows? The Rock? Kate Beckinsale? Jack Black? Don't even get me started on the CBS actors...

*Finally, I thought it was strange that Stevie Wonder "closed" the show. People were filing out while he was singing!

Peace out!

Kicking the Habit: TV Edition

Due to the many time constraints in my life, it has become necessary to make cutbacks in my pop culture addiction. I think the first step was minimizing the number of gossip blogs I view on a daily basis. Sorry Perez Hilton, you're not worth my time anymore. Don't get me wrong, there are still many sites that I check out multiple times a day (they are listed at the bottom of my blog) but at least if there is some news mixed in I feel less bad about myself.

The next step was ditching Grey's Anatomy. I watched the first two eps of the season and couldn't take it any longer. GA, you lost me when Christina got impaled with the icicle. Even shots of McSteamy shirtless aren't enough to keep me watching. Now I hear about Izzy and her ghost sex and I'm SO glad that I've given up on this. What was once an enteraining and smart show is now the hollow shell of what it used to be.

Which brings us to 2009... My first TV vow of the new year is that I will not watch American Idol until they get to Hollywood Week. I can't stand the auditions and the exploitation of ridiculous singers. Yes, I know these people show up and think they have talent and on some level deserve to be made fun of, but it's just too much. Plus, AI was on for FOUR hours over two nights this past week! My DVR (and my brain) can't handle it. AI, I'll be there once the real talent shows up. Until then, there's always Youtube.

XOXO

Alright, alright... I have a confession to make: Gossip Girl is hands down my favorite show on television right now. I've watched it from the very beginning and I'm proud to say that I've convinced several people of its wonderfulness. Why do I heart it so? Well, I enjoy some guilty pleasure TV. I think there's a fine line between "trashy TV" (read: anything on VH1 or MTV these days) and primetime soap operas that are entertaining but have an element of sleaze. Watching this show has also become a ritual with my friend Rachel (well, Shawn too but he won't admit it). It reminds me of high school when we would gather on Monday nights to watch Melrose Place. Ah, the memories.

I also enjoy reading recaps of GG. Well, I only read one (this week's found here) and it always seems on par with my thoughts about the episode. So, I'm thinking about doing a weekly recap here (as if I don't have enough to write these days). I'm not quite sure what format it would take. Is anyone else watching this show???

Mental Health Break

This clip totally lifted my spirits from a crazy week:

And so it begins...

Today was the first day of Winter Quarter. I am SO not ready for it... I would much rather be on break for another couple of weeks. It didn't help that I found out on Saturday that a class I had registered for meets on days that are opposite than what the registration site stated. How does that happen??? I ended up dropping it which I think will work out better in the long run because I'll be taking less units and it frees up a bit more of my time.

I've listening to a lot of new music like crazy. I think I have a problem! I keep reading all of these "Best of" lists of 2008 and discovering some really great music. In the genre of "scratchy-voiced, tortured singer-songwriter" (a personal fave of mine), my new obsession is Joshua James. I listen to a lot of singer-songwriters but I find that most of them sound very formulaic -- like they're writing songs to try and get on the radio. Joshua James is very stark with his lyrics and I've been mesmerized by his words and music. Check him out!

Here are some songs that are getting me through the week:

The Walkmen - In The New Year
Leona Lewis - Run
The Killers - Tidal Wave
Katy Perry - Hot n Cold (Yes, I finally drank the Kool-Aid!)
Fleet Foxes - White Winter Hymnal
Joshua James - Lord, Devil & Him
Department of Eagles - No One Does It Like You
Keane - Better Than This
Roisin Murphy - Slave To Love
Bon Iver - Skinny Love

Out with the old...

I'm enjoying my last days of break before school starts again on Monday. Trying to catch up on all of the TV that piled up over the past couple of months. Made it through about half a season of Amazing Race, a few episodes of Pushing Daisies and am now going through almost the entire season of Chuck.

2008 has been an incredible year. It was a year with a lot of change, mostly change for the better. The most significant development was that I started graduate school in August. It's been a challenging transition to go from working full time to taking 14 units and working part time. I've met some really great people in my program and I'm looking forward to starting the next stage.

What about 2009?

2009 will be the year that I turn 30. It will be the year I (nearly) finish my Master's degree. It will be the year that I...? Well, hopefully it will be the year of love but we'll see.

I'm not the biggest fan of resolutions but if I've learned anything this past year it's that it's important to have goals and to work toward them. Therefore, my two goals for 2009 are:

1. To run a half marathon in March. This is tied in with some other fitness/weight goals but 13 miles seems for attainable.
2. To blog more. I started this blog to start writing more and I think I've been doing a pretty good job so far. So, I will be posting at least 4-5 times a week in January. We'll see how it goes...

Now, I'm off to accomplish Goal #1: 6 miles. :)